With a week left to the ball, the castle was in full swing of festivities. Rumors were spiraling about dates, and there had been a rather nasty one about Victoire going around, probably caused by Trinity Warrington, that she had turned everyone down because they weren't pureblood. This was easily disproven because she had turned down her fair share of purebloods who were among the group, but she had decided to tell people that she had finally accepted a date anyway. That news spread faster still and on the Tuesday before the ball as Teddy sat in the Great Hall buttering toast, it finally reached his ears.
"I heard she's going with the Beauxbatons champion." Said a Hufflepuff girl from behind him, and his ears pricked up in curiosity. "Figures." said her friend grumpily. "They're both gorgeous and popular. They can go off and have their own little perfect party by themselves for all I care."
"Oh don't be mean." scolded her friend. "Victoire's really nice, everyone knows that. It's not like she's popular for her looks."
The friend snorted. "Yeah. Right."
This was enough for Teddy. He pushed his bench back from the table roughly, causing it to screech on the stone floor and the two girls sent him a look. Grabbing his bag he made his way out of the hall, briefly noticing his hair was a dull grey showing his gloomy state. So she was going with pretty boy Alex. Well that was fine with him. He could go with anyone he wanted. Except her he thought sadly, turning the corner and nearly crashing into a fifth year girl with wild orange hair.
"Oh, sorry..." he mumbled, trying to slide his way past but the girl spoke his name.
"Teddy, it's me." she repeated, and looking down at her he realized it was Ginger, but not the Ginger he was used to. She looked like hell; her hair frazzled and wild, not as contained as he was used to. She had dark circles under her eyes and her robes had a strange green stain on the front.
"Ginger, hey." he said, trying to hide his surprise.
"Something wrong?" she asked, nodding to his hair.
"I could ask you the same thing." he said, dodging the subject slyly. To his surprise, she let out a huge breath and looked around disappointedly. "It's Sean." she huffed, crossing her arms across her chest. Teddy quirked an eyebrow.
"Oh come on," she sighed, frustrated. "Don't tell me I haven't made it obvious."
He let out a laugh and was glad when a turquoise strand of hair fell into his eyes, assuring him he didn't look like an aging old man anymore. "Well, if you want the truth..."
"Right! So don't tell me it's my fault that he hasn't asked me to the ball yet." she grumbled, matching his pace as they walked down the corridor together. "I've made it perfectly clear, and he still won't ask me."
"Well, you know Sean." Teddy said shrugging. "He just needs a bit of... motivation."
"Motivation like how?" she asked dully. "I've tried everything except slipping him a love potion, and believe me, I've considered that one an awful lot too."
"No, I mean motivation, you know? Find someone nice to take you to the ball. Get dressed up. Show him what he's missing out on." he said, nudging her in the ribs. Aside from Toire, Ginger was probably his best girl friend, and although she could be a bit too girly for his taste at times, she was really an amazing witch. In the years he'd known her, she'd shown kindness, wit, brains and humor. She always stuck by Victoire when she needed her, and was fair to everyone who hadn't done her harm.
"Well that sounds like a great idea Teddy, except that the ball's a week away." she sighed, frustrated that she hadn't tried his plan sooner. "Everyone worthwhile is taken."
"Hey." Teddy said, a thought striking him and he glanced down at his friend. "Do you want to go with me?"
She was so surprised she nearly stopped in her tracks and looked up at him quizzically. "With you?" she repeated, and he shrugged.
"I need a date, you need a date, and everyone else worthwhile is taken." he said, basically repeating what she had just said. "How 'bout it?"
"Well..." she said, hesitating. "I had sort of thought you would be asking someone else." she said lightly and he felt a drop in his stomach.
"What do you mean?" he asked her, trying to come off as surprised but just ended up sounding tense.
"I know, Teddy." she said looking at him honestly. "It's been pretty clear to me for awhile now. I just thought you would act on it sooner."
He stopped walking and grabbed her arm, pulling her into an alcove.
"What exactly are we talking about here?" he whispered, wanting to get the subject clear.
"What do you think we're talking about?" she asked, eyes squinted, smile playing at her lips.
"Come on Ginger, don't play with me like that." he said sternly and she rolled her eyes. "What's this about?"
"It is about you and Victoire." she said as he heart plunged into his stomach and his organs twisted. He let out a long sigh, unaware of it until it was gone.
"Don't feel bad. I'm supportive of the idea actually. You two are perfect for each other, you just haven't noticed it yet." she said bluntly.
"We're not perfect for each other." he said hurriedly, trying to get her to quiet down.
"Oh quit lying to yourself Teddy." she smirked, waving his ideas away. "I can see it all over your face, you're in love with her-"
"WOAH!" he said, causing a group of fourth years to send them suspicious looks as they passed. "Woah!" he said, softer this time. "I am not in love with Victoire."
"Suit yourself." she said shrugging, clearly not believing him as his heart tried frantically to keep up with his head. Suddenly her eyes lit up and she smiled. "Oh I see what you're doing here!" she said happily. "You're following your own advice! Go to the ball with me, make Victoire see what she doesn't know she wants! That's brilliant Teddy, you came up with that?"
That hadn't been at all what he had intended, but it sounded good as Ginger said it, so he just nodded as they merged their way back into the hall traffic.
"In that case then, yes I will go to the ball with you." she said smiling as she neared potions. "Great plan Teddy, I can't wait till my dress gets here in the post." she beamed, waving as she disappeared into the room. Teddy simply stood there dumbfounded.
It looked like he had a date to the ball after all.
On the night of Christmas Eve that year the group of friends were all refuged together in the Gryffindor common room. The Beauxbatons students had gone back to their carriage for the night in order to make some last minute arrangements for the next day, leaving the Hogwarts friends to finally get some time alone together. Ginger and Sean occupied the two armchairs on opposite ends of the couch, Ginger deliberately ignoring Sean as he sat there merrily unaware. On the couch Marcy was curled up against Clyde who was acting surprisingly calm and every now and then would reach down to stroke her hair and she would lean deeper into him. Victoire was squished tightly between Jensen and Teddy, a fact that Teddy found quite comforting as she readjusted her position on lean against his side.
"I wish you'd tell me who you were going to the ball with." she said, stifling a yawn in the light of the dying fire. "I hate living in suspense."
Ginger had come up with the idea to keep their dates a secret until the night of the ball. "That way", she'd said, "it'll really hit them hard."
Teddy had rolled his eyes at the idea, but whatever made Ginger happy...
"It's a surprise." Ginger said now, glancing at Sean who did nothing to react at her news. "Believe me, it's not a huge deal."
Victoire had surprisingly not even bothered to ask Teddy how his search for a date was going, which although it made it easy not to lie to her, bothered him a bit.
"Hey Toire! Wake up! Happy Christmas!"
Victoire rolled over in her bed, her blue eyes blinking in the early light and taking in the now focusing figure that turned out to be Marcy.
"Happy Christmas to you to." she smiled, sitting up in bed to see her friends, Ginger already half way through her stack of presents. "How did you get up here?"
"Oh please." Marcy scoffed, waving away the question. "You Ravenclaw's aren't the only ones who can answer a riddle. Despite my size I'm easy to miss, but caught under me you'll be forced with a kiss." she repeated in a sing-songy voice.
"Mistletoe." Victoire mused. "Festive. Have you opened all your gifts yet?"
"Yep. Thanks by the way, I loved the locket you got me." she beamed, pulling out a gold locket from under her sweater and showing it to her. Victoire had bought one for herself and Ginger as well, placing a picture of the three of them inside. She'd gotten it in London over the summer at a muggle jewelry store. On the front was an intricate design with three sunflowers wrapping around each other before disappearing under the clasp. "It's actually a bit like what I got you." Marcy smiled, handing Toire a red and gold wrapped present that felt and weighed about the same as a book.
"Literature, Marcy?" she mocked, tearing the paper off, but was pleasantly surprised to see a brown leather bound photo album. Inside were dozens of moving photos of their group of friends. Their dates shifted from their very first year all the way up to the previous month. Victoire smiled down at the album, taking in one particularly good shot from the previous summer. It was of Victoire and the boys playing Quiddich at the Burrow the week everyone had visited. There was Clyde, attempting to knock Sean off his broom, Jensen laughing in the background and in the center of it all, Teddy and Victoire still playing the game; tossing the quaffle back and forth while speeding towards their goalposts and then accidentally whacking a laughing Clyde in the back of the head with it.
"This is amazing Marcy, thank you." she beamed, hugging her friends.
"Lets get some breakfast." Ginger announced, popping up from beside her bed, fully dressed, hair pulled back into a messy bun which she'd un-ceremoniously stuck her wand through. "I'm starving for waffles."
Fifteen minutes later the girls were entering the Great Hall. The room was busier then normal and full of conversation surrounding the ball that would be held that evening. Victoire spotted Teddy from across the room, his turquoise hair even more dominant today against the red sweater he wore that Victoire instantly recognized as a classic Weasley jumper.
Victoire had gotten one as well, just as she had every year. She'd put in on back in her room, the golden V standing out against the sky blue background of the sweater. As the group approached their friends at the Gryffindor table Victoire slid up behind Teddy and squeezed his shoulders before taking a seat beside him, feeling a momentary bit of surprise at the muscle she'd felt there but was soon distracted by the smile he gave her as she took her seat.
"Happy Christmas." he said, sliding down the bench a bit to make room for her.
"To you too." she beamed. "Can't wait for your present." she said, elbowing his side lightly. "It's had better be good you know, I've got high expectations." she joked.
Every year on Christmas the two always exchanged their gifts after dinner. This year though, since the ball would be taking place then they'd decided to do it right before it was time to start preparing, which would be shortly after lunch. She thought back to the gift she'd gotten Teddy for this year. She was by far his closest friend, but still. The gift she'd picked out was awfully personal and she hoped it would be okay that she'd give it to him.
"Don't think I don't have them too now." he said winking. "I expect nothing but the best from the infamous Victoire Weasley."
The rest of the afternoon went by in a blur of snowball fights, soaked sweaters, matted hair and laughter. At lunch the crowd of students who'd escaped to the grounds to participate in this mass snow battle trudged into the hall for lunch, their clothes dripping snow and slush all over the stone floors causing people to slip and slide their way to their tables. After a lunch of dripping roast beef sandwiches with mashed potatoes and chips, Ginger made the announcement.
"Well, I'm off." she stated, standing up from the table, her cheeks still pink from the cold outside, her jeans sagging from the melted snow they'd been drenched in. "The ball is in seven hours, and that's not nearly enough time to get ready." she grinned. "So I'll be seeing you all very soon."
The group waved goodbye as she headed out the door towards the Ravenclaw common room and Victoire turned to Teddy.
"Anytime you're ready."
He turned round in his seat to glance at the sky above them, then at his watch.
"I'm free now." he smiled.
The pair made their way out onto the grounds again, dodging another ongoing snowball fight just like the last time they'd been alone together. They crossed the grounds towards a snow covered gazebo that stood empty in the bright surroundings and climbed the stairs up onto the platform. Victoire hoisted herself up onto the railing of the structure and Teddy did the same beside her.
"You go first." she said, leaning back and letting her now dry hair float down behind her.
Teddy glanced down once at his gloved hands, his fingers entwined together before reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a little black bag.
"Happy Christmas." he said, reaching over and handing it to Victoire who's eyes had widened somewhat at the gift. She took the bag tentatively and reached inside.
Her hands felt something metal and she pulled out a long chain that was attached to a locket not unlike the one she'd given her friends. She gasped slightly at the simple beauty of it, a plain face and shining silver in the light.
"Open it." Teddy said softly.
She ran her thumb over the surface and pressed down on the little latch that held the two pieces together. The front swung open and inside she was touched to see a familiar photograph. It was a copy of one that was in the Burrow on the crowded wall of family pictures. In it were Teddy and Victoire as children the year before Teddy was meant to go off to Hogwarts. They stood side by side in front of the Burrow, hands deep in their pockets, laughing. There was a height difference already with Teddy standing several inches above Victoire, his jeans torn and muddy, a part of her dress stained with what looked like lemonade.
She bit her lip and smiled to herself, still watching as the young versions of themselves fidgeted and poked each other for the photo.
Teddy watched her carefully. The second before she'd taken the locket out of the bag he'd had a fleeting thought of worry: wasn't a locket or any sort of jewelry for that matter the sort of thing you'd give a girlfriend? He'd panicked momentarily, not wanting to freak her out or give her the wrong idea. Or what it the right idea? He had no clue and almost wanted to grab it out of her hands to stop her from opening it. But then he saw that smile, and suddenly he knew everything was alright.
"Teddy..." she said, her mind coming up blank for words. "I don't know what to say."
"If you don't hate it, that would be nice." he joked, his ceased panic sending him into a state of easy calm.
"How could I ever hate it? Teddy, it's beautiful!" She beamed and grabbed his hand squeezing it tight before slipping the locket over her head so it bounced lightly as it landed on her shirtfront just over her heart. "Now my turn." she said, turning round to reach into her bag. She dug around for a bit and finally pulled out a medium-small sized box wrapped in purple and green paper. He reached out for it but she hesitated.
"Now..." she started and he quirked an eyebrow. "...it's not something you probably expect." she said, choosing her words carefully before handing it over. Curiously, he tore the paper open before being faced with a little brown book. The cover was plain except for a small letter L that had been carved into the leather in the corner.
Wondering what could be inside, Teddy opened it to the front page and froze.
He was staring down at a picture of his mother.
He only ever knew her front photographs, but the likeness was as recognizable as looking in the mirror. In the photograph she was standing in the hallway of a dusty house. People milled around her, coming and going and as they did so he started to recognize some of them. There in the corner was Victoire's grandfather, and there was Bill walking purposefully across the shot talking to a grizzled looking man with a madly spinning eye. His mother remained in the midst of it all, trying to hold a straight face for the camera but always breaking into a fit of giggles, her bright pink curls bouncing everywhere as her shoulders shook and she leaned against an ugly umbrella stand.
Teddy tore his eyes away from the photograph and let out a gust of air he never knew he'd been holding. He tried not to think that much about his parents who had died only months after he'd been born, figuring that you couldn't miss what you never felt you had. But this always failed in the end. Living with such a massive family as the Weasleys, you couldn't help but wonder what your own true family would be like. He'd lived with his grandmother for awhile, but she had died shortly before he was to go off to Hogwarts, leaving him as the last of his real family. Now faced with this obvious image from the past, he felt almost as if someone hand reached in side him and wrenched on his heart.
"Where did you get this?" he asked, his voice coming out ragged, making a cloud in the cold air.
"I was in the attic going through some old Order photos. I found heaps of them and decided to sort through. There are more in here, look-" she said, leaning across and gently turning the page to another photo. In this one there were several more people, all in what looked like to be the same house from the first one, all of them crowded around a kitchen table pouring over maps of some sort. He recognized more people here- He saw Mrs. Weasley, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Bill, the same gruff man with the funny eye, and even...
There to the far left of the picture crowded in between a sallow faced man with long black hair and Mr. Weasley were his parents. His father was bent low, muttering something to the black haired man while his mum stared intently at a piece of writing on the table all traces of her joking gone, now only seriousness in it's place. Suddenly in the photo she called across the table to the grizzled man who used an old battered cane to walk around and lean over her shoulder, glancing steadily at what she was pointing to while his magical eyes whirled around in it's socket.
"Everyone's in here." Victoire said softly. There are even some of Harry and the others. And towards the back..."
Again she reached forwards and flipped through several pages until she landed on one that made his heart stutter.
His mother and his father, clearly recognizable in his grandmother's home. His mum was seated in a wingback chair by the fireplace, his father kneeling down beside her. Both of them were smiling, and in her arms was a tiny baby boy with a tuft of bright teal hair.
Teddy pushed the book away slightly, leaning his head back to stare up at the ceiling forcing the wetness in his eyes to go back to where they'd come from. Then, very slowly, he turned to a cautious looking Victoire.
"I know it's personal." she said, looking to continue but before she could he put his hand up to stop her.
"Toire." he said, locking eyes with hers. "Thank you."
Something in her face softened and she leaned towards him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders as the two of them stared down into the faces that had helped save their world so they might live in it today.
So right off the bat I want to apologize for two things, reason one being that it has been WAY too long since I last updated because my internet was down for a week, and I'm in school now, and I'm hooked on True Blood when really I should be writing. Reason two is that I said the ball would be in this chapter. I just squeezed to many things into it! But guarantee it's in the next chapter, promise.
I want to ask you guys something because I've been a bit torn on the subject. Would you like to have shorter chapters more frequently or longer chapters with lengthier times in between me publishing them. Let me know in the reviews!
Speaking of that, I just gotta say thank you! I've been getting amazing amazing comments and I love all of you from the bottom of my fangirling heart 3 So thank you for giving me over 50 reviews!
I promise to be better with the rest, and believe me the next chapter (the ball) will be a good one and will open some doors to some romantic feelings!
xx
Cheers,
Cal
(Oh and a shout out to Lotta Devon for all her amazing reviews, you're words really supportive and you've been with me for awhile to thank you!)