Chapter 21 – True Happiness

Victoire Weasley stood alone, gazing out of the window into the beautiful streets of Paris.

It was everything she had dreamed it to be – the way the birds flitted around the rose bushes, chirping sweetly in the morning – the way the sun fell upon the city, glistening off the glimmering structure of the Eiffel Tower – the soft crunch of French baguettes – the enchanting tones of the violins that echoed around the restaurants.

Paris was perfect. Yet Victoire was not content.

Now a mature, young woman, Victoire had begun to make her own decisions in life. It had been almost two years since she'd completed her Seventh Year at Hogwarts and left school. The events of that school year were still vivid in her mind. It was the year she'd fallen in love, the year she'd lost her virginity, and of course, it was the year when she'd become a mother.

Neville and Hannah had been ecstatic when she and Teddy had asked if they'd like to adopt their son. Neville had even cried. It had been such a touching and overwhelming moment that Victoire had been certain it was the best choice. They'd asked her to name the baby, but she'd never been too creative.

In the end they named him Felix. Neville had explained that it was Latin for 'happy,' and getting a son made him the happiest he'd ever been. Hannah said it reminded her of the Luck Potion, 'Felix Felicis,' saying that it was perfect because it was luck that had finally presented her with a child.

Felix was two years old now and every bit as beautiful as Teddy was, with the exception of the piercing blue eyes that he had inherited from Victoire. He was learning things quickly, demonstrating amazing intellectual capabilities even at such a young age. Neville was so proud, certain that his son would be the genius that he never was at Hogwarts.

Although Victoire loved Felix dearly, she avoided any interactions with him. He was not her son anymore, and she wanted Neville and Hannah to have the full experience of raising a child. Felix did not need to know that Victoire was his mother. She refused to let any of the glory and happiness be taken away from his new parents.

But as much as she convinced herself that this was the reason she avoided seeing him, it was not by any means entirely true. The truth was that Felix Longbottom bore too much resemblance to his biological father for Victoire to handle emotionally.

Teddy Lupin and Victoire Weasley were a couple that everybody believed were made for each other. They were a couple that the stars had aligned to create. They were a couple that were so perfect that they would be together forever. And nobody had believed this more than Victoire did. Alas, surprise had always been a key factor in Victoire's life.

After Felix's birth everything had seemingly clicked into place. The Weasley family was closer than ever, and despite giving birth only a few months before, Victoire had passed all her OWLs all with either an O or an E. And after Felix's adoption had all been officially arranged, and Victoire had finished school, Teddy and Victoire's romance had blossomed like never before.

There was no pregnancy, no disapproving father, and no school to stop them from enjoying their relationship. That summer had been the best one she'd ever known. They'd spent countless days out down the beach, enjoying the sun, or trekking through fields hand in hand, enjoying the soppiness and beauty of young love. And they made sure to keep it good, clean, love – nothing that would lead to another unexpected pregnancy. It was pure bliss.

Teddy's Auror training had been going great too. Kingsley reassured him he would be fully qualified in no time, and gave him his first pay cheque, "to help ease the transition into becoming a real man." Teddy had never been paid before, and feeling like a real man was exactly what it gave him. It also gave him hope – hope that he could really do something with his life. And so he'd told Victoire that she was his life now. They had begun to make plans to buy their own house together.

Now that the couple had all the time they wanted, Teddy decided to push his earlier experiment further. Victoire had at first been embarrassed when Teddy had taken her along to St. Mungo's, and exclaimed that her voice could heal cuts to the astounded and disbelieving Healers that worked there. Slashing his own arm to produce a bleeding wound, Teddy had asked Victoire to demonstrate her extraordinary talent to the Healers. Coughing nervously, painfully aware that all eyes were on her, Victoire began to sing. And just as Teddy had known it would, the cut sealed itself until only a faint pink line was left on his arm.

"Incredible," the Healers had murmured in awe. Teddy had squeezed Victoire's hand proudly, and for the first time in her life, she felt like she was really worth something. The healers had immediately gotten to work, eager to see how far they could extend this ability. Victoire had visited ever single patient in St Mungo's, singing the same, sweet, melodious tune, so the Healers could observe whether it had any effect.

There were some startling discoveries. It was effective not only on ordinary cuts, but also some cursed wounds that were thought to be un-healable, and even dragon bites. And perhaps the most extraordinary breakthrough was the reversal of recent lycanthropy (the werewolf transformation).

Research at St. Mungo's allowed the Healers and Medi-wizards to understand exactly what Victoire's skill was, and why it was possible. It was not only the combination of witch and Veela genes that made this occur, like Teddy and Victoire had always assumed. It was the mild werewolf DNA that Victoire had inherited from her father as well, and even more importantly, the exchange and combination of DNA from Teddy, and therefore his father, when Felix had been conceived. It was an extremely rare and unique combination of genes to possess.

Although still impossible to reverse the process of frequent werewolf transformation within fully mature werewolves, Victoire's healing song worked successfully with people bitten within twenty-four hours. It meant that these victims would never endure the suffering of transforming into a werewolf; they would merely have wolfish tendencies like Bill.

This breakthrough had meant immediate fame for Teddy and Victoire. She gave him full credit for the discovery; after all, if he had not convinced her to experiment then they would never have discovered exactly how much depth and magical quality Victoire's voice had.

As soon as the Healers were convinced they fully understood it, the story had been sold to the Daily Prophet, and Teddy and Victoire became world famous in the wizarding community overnight. It was the most important medical breakthrough since the Wolfsbane Potion. People from everywhere had flocked to Victoire, offering her large sums of money to cure either themselves or ill relatives. Victoire refused the money; she offered her voice free of charge, assured that the satisfaction of healing and helping people was payment enough. Yet most people insisted upon it, and thrusted the money into her hands, disapparating before she could object.

Victoire split the money in different ways. Some she donated to St. Mungo's to help them research and develop more possible cures for other diseases, some she gave to Neville and Hannah to help them raise Felix, some she gave to her own family, and some she kept for her and Teddy. It was enough for them to finally buy their own house together.

Victoire's fame died down quickly. Most wounds were easily healable by spells anyway. And the Healers were eventually able to store the quality and transfigure it into a solid ingredient – an ingredient that could then be used in potions – potions that could be administered to patients with cursed wounds or lycanthropic bites, essentially removing Victoire's role in the healing process. She was now much less involved, only travelling to people who could not afford to buy the potion.

And yet she did not mind that she was now practically deemed unnecessary, because she had everything she'd ever wanted. She had a wonderful family and a wonderful boyfriend. They lived in a lovely little house with enough money to live comfortably for the rest of their lives. It was too perfect to be true...

Fame had opened doors that Teddy and Victoire had not even considered. Both young, and attractive, and splashed across the Prophet's front page together, they obtained unexpected attention. Victoire had always had admirers wherever she'd gone at Hogwarts – she accepted this as the norm when you were part Veela, and she'd learnt to live with it, always saving herself for Teddy – the one who loved her for who she truly was.

And similarly, Teddy had always caught the eyes of jealous young girls at Hogwarts – he was a Metamorphmagus, and a naturally handsome, well-built boy. For a couple as strong as they were, this was not an issue. They were so in love that temptation was not a problem even in the slightest. Both would rather die than betray the other.

But seeing the attention the other one got and the admirers they gained, both Teddy and Victoire began to question their relationship. What they had was love – true love – and they knew this. But they were young – they had not lived their lives yet. They'd already had a baby and they were already living together. Were things moving too quickly?

When Victoire thought back to how their relationship had begun she was appalled at the realisation. They had been best friends for years, she had been distraught after an argument with her mother, and had fled to Teddy's house for comfort, where they had then talked, possibilities forming in their young, naive minds, and within an hour of confessing their love for each other, Victoire had already conceived their first child.

They had got lost in the moment. It was not how their fairytale romance was supposed to happen. They had no time to enjoy being loved up teenagers, because they'd had to accept responsibility and get through a pregnancy. It was all wrong.

Another problem was Teddy's Auror training. After the summer, when he began working again, it consumed all his time and energy. Whether he liked it or not, he had no time for Victoire anymore.

And so the two had mutually agreed to end their whirlwind relationship.

"If we truly love each other – like I know we do – then we can get through this, Victoire," Teddy had told her one night. "If we're meant to be together then it will work out for us, I promise. But for now we need to live our lives separately. We need time to grow – time to explore different things – different people, maybe."

It had taken all her strength not to cry. She knew she could never love anybody as much as she loved Teddy.

"I will always love you, Victoire. Please remember that."

As soon as the news of Teddy and Victoire's breakup had gotten out, the admirers had swarmed. Victoire tried dating other men but these encounters were always brief. Nobody she met seemed to truly love her. Besides from her money there was only one thing they wanted – the thing that she would never give them. She was saving herself entirely for Teddy and was terrified of becoming pregnant again. Once she made her intentions clear they always left.

She very rarely saw Teddy; it was too painful. She couldn't hate him though. Although he'd broken her heart, she was not capable of despising him. Rumours let her know that he was happy and that he had been spotted with a few other women. She'd even heard he was engaged...

Shortly after hearing the rumour was when she'd met Oliver Perks, the recent victim of a werewolf bite. She healed him, he wooed her, it was simple. He was not Teddy but he was the first one to seem genuinely interested in her. She did not love him. She could not, no matter how much she tried. But certain that she would never find anybody like Teddy again, she had settled.

After a few months of dating he announced his desire to travel with her. When he asked where she wanted to go her immediate response had been Paris. Long forgotten was Teddy's promise to take her there. Oliver had seemed disappointed with the suggestion, hoping for somewhere far more exotic. But the only place Victoire knew she would be able to tolerate going was Paris, and so here she was.

As she stared out of the window, Victoire was so overwhelmed by the blissful tranquillity and beauty of Paris, that she made a decision by herself. She would leave Oliver. Or rather, he would leave her.

She would not return to England. France was where she belonged; it was far away from her childhood and Teddy. She could start anew here.

The whereabouts of Oliver where currently unknown to her. She was certain that he hadn't gone out for fresh air as he had claimed, but was probably wrapped around the pretty waitress he'd been eyeing up last night. He was no different to any of the others. He did not love her; he was merely after her body. She accepted this, but at least he'd had the decency and honour to bring her to Paris, even if it was a cheap attempt to entice her into bed.

A hurried knock on the door startled Victoire. The return of Oliver was something she was hoping would be prolonged. She had been enjoying the Parisian views.

"It's open," Victoire called out in a bored voice, continuing to gaze out the window. His arrival did not interest her in the slightest. And why was he knocking? Why did he not just come straight in? Victoire didn't even care; nothing mattered to her anymore.

"Victoire."

She froze, her eyes widened in shock. That voice did not belong to Oliver. He did not talk in a soft, pained way as the voice that had just said her name did. And she would recognise that voice anywhere…

Yet she refused to turn around – refused to believe that it was real, and not just in her head. Because it was impossible. Teddy Lupin had forgotten her. He was back in England with his fiancée. He did not love her anymore.

"Teddy," she whispered softly under her breath. He was not here. She would not turn around and feel the disappointment as she saw the empty room. She could not break her heart any more than it already was.

"Victoire," the imaginary voice said again. "I don't even know where to begin..."

She began to hum softly under her breath, watching a couple of butterflies float past the windowsill.

"Victoire, please don't ignore me."

Victoire hummed louder. "It's not real," she murmured to herself. "He's not really here."

A warm hand clasped her arm, causing her to spin round in shock. And there he was. Taller and more handsome than when she'd last seen him. His turquoise hair seemed more vivid than she remembered, and his deep aqua eyes were glistening with sorrow… guilt...apologies...

"How did you find me?" Victoire said quietly with an accusatory edge to her tone. After all, she had come here to escape him.

"I needed to see you, Victoire. I needed to tell you..." he looked away, embarrassed, running his hand through his hair like he always used to.

"How did you find me?" she repeated, almost slightly aggressively this time.

"I asked your parents, and all your family, and anybody I knew who might know where you were. They told me you met somebody – Alistair."

"Oliver," she corrected.

"– and he took you to Paris." Teddy gulped. "I was supposed to take you to Paris, Victoire. It was supposed to be me. I made you a promise..."

Victoire pursed her lips, willing herself not to cry. It was cruel of him to come here. It was cruel of him to bring up his old promise. He clearly did not understand how much he'd hurt her.

"Why do you care?" she asked. "I heard you were engaged."

"Engaged? You heard incorrectly," he said slowly, trying to choose his next words.

"Then why did you come here?"

He took a deep breath and looked her straight in the eyes. "I came here because I needed to tell you that I'm in love."

She nodded, understanding finally. He'd come here to tell her that it was all over. That he'd realised it wasn't her that he truly loved – he'd realised that he was in love with somebody else.

"Do you know why this day is special, Victoire?"

Victoire did not even know what day it was. Was it August? She shook her head.

"This day is special because exactly two years ago something happened that changed my life. A pretty blonde girl in a ripped summer dress knocked on my door in the middle of a thunderstorm. She had bare feet and she was shivering uncontrollably. I carried her upstairs and got her cleaned up. We spent a lot of the night talking. I confessed how I'd been feeling towards her and we kissed." Teddy paused.

Victoire's eyes dropped the floor in the cute, shy way that they often did. She could not look him in the eye any longer.

"That girl was my best friend. She was beautiful, intelligent, generous, and I loved her more than anything. But then I made a mistake. I thought I wasn't good enough for her. I thought I was setting her free. But if I'd known how much it would break both of our hearts I never would have done it."

Teddy tilted her chin up gently so their eyes locked once more. "I loved her, Victoire. I still do. I always will. I can't fight it, and I don't deserve your love in return, but you have to know that I never stopped loving you, and the past year has been the biggest mistake of my life. If you can forgive me then I promise that I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you and keeping you happy, because nothing is more important to me than your happiness. I love you."

Victoire couldn't fight it any longer; the tears were streaming down her face. Teddy brushed them away delicately with his thumb. "I know I don't deserve you," he murmured.

"Two years ago I became a woman," Victoire said, speaking strongly despite the tears. "Not because I lost my virginity, and not because I got pregnant. I became a woman because I fell in love. That night was the best night of my life – it symbolised the beginning of a relationship that I knew would last forever." She felt the hot blush of her cheeks, certain she was the reddest she'd ever been. This could not be happening. She thought she'd lost Teddy forever.

"We're meant to be, Vic. They all knew long before us!" he said with a chuckle.

"Who?" she asked suspiciously.

"Harry told me they made bets on when we would get together."

Despite the tears, Victoire couldn't help but laugh. It was absurd. Whether she wanted to hate Teddy, or despise him, or live with the pain of a broken heart, she would never be able to do it. Teddy meant more to her than anything. And there they were, in Paris, declaring their undying love for each other. Could it get any better?

Teddy had a slight mischievous twinkle in his eye. Victoire recognised it instantly – he was up to something. He'd planned something else. It was the same twinkle he'd had right before he'd snogged her in front of her father. Whatever he was going to do would leave him ecstatic.

"What are you thinking about, Ted?" she asked him curiously.

He just beamed at her like a lovesick puppy. "I've wanted to do this for a long time, Victoire," he told her seriously, sinking down onto one knee. From his pocket Teddy produced a little velvet box, and opened it out in front of him, revealing the most beautiful ring Victoire had ever seen.

"I can't bear to live without you, Victoire. Will you marry me?"

Victoire felt as though the birds she'd watched through her window were now dancing around her stomach. "Yes," she gushed, barely seconds after he'd proposed

Teddy's grin was wider than it had been before. Seeing him so happy made her feel proud. It made her feel so loved.

He slipped the ring on her finger. "A perfect fit," she whispered.

"Just like us." Teddy winked at her, and if it was possible, Victoire blushed even more.

The ring had a brightly coloured blue gem in the centre. "It's a blue diamond," he told her. "Rare and unique, just like you – and the colour matches your eyes." He had clearly put a lot of thought into this.

On the back of the ring there was a single engraved word. Forever.

Victoire looked into his eyes, and for a moment there was nothing else that mattered. Almost sheepishly he added, "You heard I was engaged... I guess the rumours are true."

And without another word, Victoire pulled Teddy's head towards her, kissing him for the first time in nearly a year. The kiss, the location, the man... everything was just perfect, Victoire thought to herself.

Two weeks later, Victoire clutched her father's arm as he led her down the aisle towards her beautiful husband to be. Behind her, Dominique was walking with Lily Potter, Molly, Lucy, Rose, and Roxanne – her cousins.

Dominique was now dating a boy that was as perfect for her as Teddy was for Victoire. He loved her more than life and she was rarely seen without a smile. She'd gotten a job at Hogwarts as what the Muggles liked to call 'a guidance counsellor.' She was happy.

To the side, Fleur was weeping softly next to Ginny, Hermione, Harry, and all her other aunts and uncles. Harry was so proud of Teddy, and he was sure that Remus would have been to. They were happy.

Neville and Hannah were sat on the other side, with Felix sat peacefully on Hannah's lap, as he watched his biological parents get married. They were happy.

As Victoire and Bill approached the end of the aisle where Teddy was waiting, Bill gave Teddy a firm nod, letting him know he was proud, and completely approving of him marrying his eldest daughter. He was happy.

But nobody was as happy as Teddy and Victoire. After all the years or drama, heartbreak, forbidden love, and hidden passion, they were finally together, for good this time. Forever.

And as Victoire took her place next to Teddy, and they said their 'I do's she knew it was where she belonged. And in that moment, they felt true happiness.

THE END