All I want for Christmas Is you
December 25, 2015
--
"Merry Christmas!" exclaimed Teddy, resting his weight on the door frame of the Kitchen door of The Burrow. "I think…" he finished, once he saw the absolute mess that was now part of the room. It was far obvious that it wasn't Molly Weasley the one doing the baking today. The evidence was clear at showing that it was Victoire the one in charge.
"What the hell happened here?" he said at the sight of the place. A thick layer of flour and drops of chocolate covered the kitchen table making a weird sticky contexture that made Teddy wonder if it was possible to ever clean that up, even with magic.
"Hey!" she said, turning from the stove towards Teddy, with a wide smile. Her regularly soft cheeks were covered with Flour and Teddy didn't restrain a chuckle. "What? What is it?"
"Nothing…" he grinned. "Exactly what are you baking?"
"Not much. Cookies, an apple pie, chocolate pudding…"
"Oh…is that all?"
"Well, what did you expect? There are almost thirty people out there." Teddy looked back at the living room. It had taken him and Andromeda almost a half hour to cross the room. Charlie had been at the door chatting with George when he arrived, and that alone made Teddy spend ten minutes with both of them, since it had been almost three months since he had seen Charlie. After answering all of the questions that concerned girls as prudently as possible, he went to greet the rest of the family. But before he could keep walking he couldn't avoid being attacked by a group of excited kids, that involved Albus, Rose, Hugo, lily and Roxanne. All of them hugged him and pulled his sleeves down to gain his attention. Finally, after leaving his presents under the Christmas tree, saluting the men in the house, receiving a couple of unasked for advices from Percy, having his hair messed up by Angelina, kissing Ginny's forehead and Hermione's cheek like he always did, and receiving his traditional 2 minute long Christmas hug from Molly Weasley, he was able to ask Fleur where Victorie was. It wasn't a surprise that she was at the kitchen filling Molly's place in the desert department, but he didn't imagine he would find a mess that big, reminding him the many messes she made when she was eight years old and insisted on learning to make chocolate pudding when her grandmother wasn't looking.
"It is a bit crowded out there, isn't it? Has Grand Molly seen this mess?"
"Actually…that's what makes you so opportune," she said, her voice almost singing in over reacted innocence.
"Forget it. You'll have to clean this up without magic."
"Come on!"
"No."
"Please…"
He shook his head firmly.
"Teddy…" she asked one more time, her voice soft and melodic, she walked up to him a few feet, and was suddenly but pleasantly close to him.
Teddy didn't answer. He rolled his eyes at the pleading face of the girl, partly annoyed by the powerful persuasion of her glance. "That chocolate pudding better be really good," he replied as he took his wand from his pocket and pointed it at the questionable mess on the table.
It took him more than he had thought to return the table to its normal condition, while Victoire cleaned the pots and trays all around them. "There, all done," she said when he finally got the table cleared up. Teddy laughed again at the sight of her pink skin now also covered with chocolate.
"What? What is it?"
"Nothing, you just have a bit of…"
He took his hand slowly towards her face, to the corner of her lips, to brush away softly the chocolate cream. He did this as fast as possible, because if he let himself enjoy the feeling of the surface of her skin under his fingers, then he would end up aiming straight for her lips. And then, he thought for a moment, that if he stopped right there and fixed his eyes on hers, she might be able to see what he had been wanting her to see. Determined, he let his thump slip down her cheek in an attempt to caress the smooth, humid area of her lips.
Screw the boyfriend
It was a matter of inches, their distance was short. Her back was set against the counter and he could simply lock her position with his own arms. It was simple, far too simple, if it weren't because she seemed more turned on by the stove than by him. But he was willing to take the risk. He knew what he had to lose, but the hell with that, it was all or nothing. The stressful wait could be over soon.
"It's done," she said.
"What?" he asked quietly.
"The pie," she answered. The alarm of the oven had been loud enough but Teddy hadn't even noticed, even though a sweet smell of cinnamon and apples was swelling the kitchen. She walked away from him, towards the oven to pull out the apple pie. She immediately ran to the stove to stir the chocolate pudding. Teddy breathed, his hand was still feeling the recent touch of her skin, he soon realized he had been leaning forward, and he had been left in an awkward position.
"Teddy would you mind taking this batch of cookies outside, please? Oh, and the pie too," she said once she passed the desert to a clean plate.
Teddy grabbed the tray, exhaled patiently and picked the pie up before walking away from the kitchen.
--
Christmas at The Burrow was always loud and crowded, the tree was never big enough for the amount of presents that were always under it, and there was always more food than anyone could ever eat. It was a traditional scenario, one that Teddy had experienced since he could remember. But he and Victoire had a little tradition of their own as well. Every year they exchanged presents, and every year they gave each other the wickedest thing they could find out there. It all started years ago, thanks to Victoire's questionable taste while picking out presents, he began to mock her by buying her the same type of wicked things, and since then it became some sort of inside joke. But this year he had violated the rules and got her something especial instead.
"It's a little weird for a guy but…" he said between laughs, holding high a scarf that changed its colour every other second. They were sitting together, crammed in a small couch by the Christmas tree and Victoire had insisted that he opened her present first.
"Just say it…"she said, a shy smile on her lips that went along with the light blush of her cheeks. "Say it's a terrible gift…"
"It's a terrible gift," he smiled widely. "You're far better at making chocolate pudding than picking out presents," he teased and won himself a gentle smack on the shoulder. "But you know that already."
"You hate it!" she exclaimed with a chuckle.
"I love it," he said sincerely, straight and clear, eyes firm on Victorie's embarrassed blue gems. She gave him a slightly suspicious look but couldn't control her pleased smile. He took the scarf and wrapped it around his neck. The piece of clothing turned into a bright shade of green that matched the current tone of his hair. "There..." he said. "Do I look ridiculous enough for you now?" Victorie laughed again.
"You look pretty cool," she said, her face sincere. Teddy lowered his eyes and searched for a topic to cut the embarrassed look of his face.
"So…I hear Warren went to your house to meet your parents the other night," he pulled out, remembering that he had been waiting to get her side of that event. Dominique had detailed the night for him. It didn't take much to make her talk, mostly she only needed to be asked a question and she would answer gladly with details, dates and curious events included.
Fleur had invited Warren for dinner, with the interest of meeting Victorie's new boyfriend. Apparently he won the mother with his rehearsed charms. The father, on the other hand, was very hard to win. Especially if the boy was dating his precious Victorie. Bill had a great temper, and Teddy knew that his way of intimidating was silence and a rock hard Weasley sight. He would have paid to see Bill staring at Warren.
"Don't remind me."
"That bad, huh?"
"It wasn't bad more than it was painfully uncomfortable. My maman…she adores him already. But I don't think my dad liked him at all, although he doesn't say much about him…he mainly just looked at him like he was waiting for him to commit an ultimate crime or something."
Teddy couldn't help himself from laughing at the thought of Bill being less than pleased with Victorie's boyfriend. He tried to keep his laughter discreet but Victoire looked at him right away.
"It's okay, you know?" she said, once she saw him restraining his laughter.
"What?"
"To not like Warren."
"I never said I didn't—"
"—Teddy, please, you avoid him like he was a plague. You can't hide it, you're too transparent."
"I am, huh?" he asked, she nodded firmly.
"You are. But its fine, you don't have to like him. Actually, I don't expect you to." He raised his head, filled with expectation.
"And why…exactly?" he asked, almost choking in his words, his throat closing to the idea of Victoire finally leaving her long oblivious state.
"Because…you worry about me…"
"Right…"
"And you care about me…"
"Right…"
"And, well, because we're family."
Wrong
"We're…we're not...family," he corrected, his back straight and his voice suddenly dry. Victoire immediately rolled her eyes at him.
"Teddy, what's the matter with you lately?" she snapped. It's Christmas, don't be bitter and accept the fact that we are your family." Teddy exhaled strongly and looked away from her, at Molly and Lucy, who were sitting in a corner with Fred, opening small boxes that had three golden W's written clearly. "I never thought much of your girlfriends either, you know, especially of Grace," she finished, with a little tone that Teddy recognized as pure Weasley irony. He turned around to face her again, now filled with a new form of interest.
"What was wrong with Grace?" he asked, and Victoire looked at him sternly.
"Well, for one she was always all over you, she never left you alone! Not even for a second…" Teddy smiled gently.
"So? She was attentive…" he said innocently.
"And she pulled you away every time you talked to me. Me! How ridiculous was that?"
"Well, she was over protective. But that's kind of nice when you think about it," he pointed out, his lips fighting the impulsive twist of his mouth. Victoire's eyebrow curved gently.
"And, she had the most annoying laugh. You could hear her from across the Great Hall. I always knew when she was laughing."
"Alright…I can give you that. But she had a nice smile..." he said again.
"Will you stop defending her?" she snapped, the exact reaction that Teddy had been provoking. "She's not even your girlfriend anymore." Teddy snorted, and Victoire's face softened to the sound of his careless laugh.
"Fine..." he shrugged and pressed his lips together to simulate a solemn attitude. "I Didn't know she bothered you that much." Victoire shrugged and an innocent smile fell off her lips.
"Never mind..."she said softly, and as she lowered her voice, he leaned forward to hear her better. "Did you talk to uncle Harry?" she asked, throwing Teddy off.
"About ?" he said distracted, or maybe more concentrated on her than her actual words.
"About what you wanted to ask him about your parents!" she answered annoyed.
Teddy shook his head and loud explosion interrupted the conversation. When he turned he realized it came from Lucy's spot. The girl's face was a dark shade of purple, and her laughter got caught in a coughing episode. Out of nowhere appeared Percy, who yelled at George reminding him what he had said hundreds of times about not bringing his explosive artefacts into the house, and especially close to his daughters. Victoire grabbed Teddy's chin, and turned him to face her. The proximity was almost ridiculous. But the crowded room of people reminded Teddy that doing something to eliminate the remaining distance might be even more ridiculous.
"Well, when are you going to talk to him?" she insisted.
"I told you…I'll do it," he said softly, but slightly irritated by her persistence. "Why don't you open your present now?" he asked, partly to avoid the conversation and partly because he really was looking forward to that. He stood up and reached the foot of the Christmas tree. He soon found a small box wrapped in a shiny yellow paper. He sat back on the small couch and Victorie took the present in her hands.
She unwrapped the present with delicacy, and as the yellow wrapper fell to the floor a gasp escaped from her lips. Teddy simply examined the look on her face, which contemplated astonished the locket that was inside the box she had just opened.
"It's…" she said breathlessly.
"It is…" he said back, smiling at her surprised reaction.
Victorie took it to her hands, her lips moved disconcerted as she traveled her slim index finger through the cold, shiny silver piece. The small jewelry fit perfectly inside the heart of her palm, it was slightly rough on the edges, but its diamond shape made it seem like an authentic precious stone. Victoire's eyes were soon captured by its shiny surface. She opened the locket, to the place where a picture should have been kept, and read out loud the J that was inscribed with a date below it, 1817. The initial probably belonged to its previous owner. What had captivated Victorie's interest in the locket the first time she saw it at Hogsmade's antique store, was the history it might hold. She then realized that a much newer initial was written on the silver. A V, with the date 2015 below it. Victoire laughed softly, and for the first time since she opened the present she looked up and met Teddy's eyes.
She didn't speak for more than a minute and her voice broke softly when she finally did.
"This is…I mean…it's"
Teddy shrugged. "It's not much…"
"It's gorgeous," she cut him. "Evelyn…she told you, right? I mean, I nagged her for weeks with it, but I never encouraged myself to buy it. I can't believe you got it for me, " she said, again looking straight at the locket. "I…and I got you a scarf…"she said horrified. Teddy laughed.
"It's not a competition Victorie," he said firmly, a frown developing in his eyes. He was familiar with her unhealthy competitive behaviour.
"I can't say how much I love this…" before being able to anticipate her reaction, Victoire had thrown her arms around him, tightening the grip fast. He got lost as soon as he smelled the chamomile that was hidden in the strings of her golden hair. His lips were so close to the border of her jaw line that he could have kissed her skin and she probably wouldn't have noticed. He did brush her surface slightly, as his hand posed comfortably on her waist, grabbing it tightly for dear life. "Thanks," she whispered close to his ear and a cold shiver took advantage of his skin and all the way down to his stomach.
"Did you just see what I saw?" Ginny asked Hermione, her hand holding a piece of apple pie, a few feet far from the scene.
"I think I did…" she whispered, her eyes as estranged as her friend's.
"Do you suppose he…"
"I suppose he does…"
The two women stood still for a while, both looking at Teddy, especially at the expression of his face once he and Victoire broke apart.
"Huh…25 sickles say she doesn't realize it for another year or two," said Ginny, as she took a spoon full of pie to her mouth.
"Ginny!" scolded Hermione, smacking her arm softly.
"What? Trust me, she won't!"
"She will! Unless Teddy's not being clear enough." Ginny looked severely at Hermione .
"Not being clear enough?"she answered. "I really hope you're joking. Besides, you're underestimating Ted Lupin, Hermione. He's not Ron or Harry."
"Well...there you are right."
--
A/N: I almost wasn't able to publish this. This week has been crazy for me!I mean with the holidays and all...
I hope you spend a wonderful Christmas, and I hope you get everything you wished for! Happy Holidays!! As a Christmas present: Review!!
Artist: Mariah Carey or My Chemical Romance. Both are just as good.
