The weeks after the end of term passed quickly. Victoire and Teddy went shopping for the flat almost immediately following her return home, and by the time she left for France at the beginning of July, the place was fully furnished.

The moment their Portkey stopped in France, Victoire was swept up in a hug.

"Victoire, you look lovely," Gabrielle said. "'ow 'ave you been?'

"Okay," Victoire said. "It's been an interesting year, but I'm doing well now."

Gabrielle was saved from answering when someone shouted Victoire's name. A moment later, she was hit from both sides and hugged tightly. She laughed and wrapped her arms around the two girls before stepping back to look at them. The one on her left had blonde hair that hung perfectly straight down her back and around her shoulders, while the girl on her right had curly dark brown hair. They both shared the same blue eyes, however, and the same high cheekbones, defined mouths, and sharp jaw lines.

"Nia, Beth," Victoire said. "It's good to see you."

The dark-haired girl smiled. "Nia hasn't shut up about you coming for weeks." Her English was perfect, with only the smallest trace of an accent.

"I was excited, I can't help it," Nia said, her English equally good. "Dad, look! We found Vic!"

A dark-haired man approached them and smiled at Victoire, his brown eyes crinkling. "I can see that. I hope you girls aren't bothering her too much."

Victoire laughed. "No, they're fine. Hi, Uncle Caleb. How's France been treating you?"

"Good as ever," Caleb said. "I do miss Wiltshire though, but so long as Gabby needs to stay here, I'll stay too."

"You know you're always welcome to come visit us," Victoire said.

"Can we go stay with Vic, Dad?" Nia asked.

"I think we need to wait a bit for that," Caleb said. "You're only fourteen, after all, and Beth is thirteen. Maybe once Beth turns sixteen, I'll speak to your mother about it."

"Three years?" Nia asked. "Really? Do we have to wait that long?"

"We don't want to impose," Beth said, elbowing her sister. "We'll go when we're invited and Mum and Dad say that we can."

"This summer wouldn't be the best choice anyway," Victoire said. "Give it a couple years, let me finish school and get settled into whatever job I end up with. Once I have a flat of my own and a steady job, you're more than welcome to come and visit. Your dad is right though, it'll be more fun when you're a bit older anyway."

"I'm just tired of France," Nia said. "We never go anywhere exciting."

"You live in Marseille," Victoire said. "How is that not exciting?"

"We live here," Nia said. "For us, it's normal. Excitement means going somewhere different and doing new things and meeting new people, not going to the same beach we've been visiting since we were babies."

"Just be patient," Victoire said. "I know it's difficult, but we'll have more fun when you're older. I don't know what we'd do other than visit Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade right now."

"I'm sure we'd think of something," Nia said.

Victoire smiled. "Probably, but your dad has said not yet, so I'm going to have to say not yet as well."

"I never get to have any fun," Nia said, her shoulders slumping.

"How about you let me get myself settled into my room and then we'll go find something to do?" Victoire asked.

Nia straightened, a wide smile forming on her face. "Okay!"

She followed Victoire into the house and up the stairs. Victoire and her siblings had stayed in the same rooms since they were little, and Victoire knew the whole house like the back of her hand after a number of visits over the years. No sooner did she set her things down than an owl flew through the window and dropped a letter on the bed before flying to perch on the back of the chair.

"Hey there, Grunnion," Victoire said, reaching out to stroke the head of the tawny owl. "What are you doing here?"

Grunnion hooted softly, and she fetched a treat for him before opening the letter.

"Who's owl is that?" Nia asked.

"He belongs to a friend of mine," Victoire said as she opened the letter.

Tori,

I know you're probably wondering why I'm writing you so soon, seeing as you've only just gotten to France, which means I had to have written this before you left, but I had a few things I needed to tell you and I knew I wouldn't see you until you got back, so I wanted to send you something just so that you'd know and I wouldn't forget.

Gran really wants to see you, so once you get home, we'll have to go pay her a visit. I think she's been feeling a bit lonely lately, now that I'm living on my own and you aren't over visiting all the time. She's fine, but it would be better if we went to see her sooner rather than later. I'm sure she'll want to hear all about your adventures in France.

I'd also like for you to come spend a night or two with me in the flat once you're home, just so that we can make sure that it really is the right place. I want to know that it feels like a home when we're both here for more than a few hours at a time, and the only way to do that is to actually spend some time here. I promise I'll feed you. Ask your parents and write me back to let me know. The weekend you get back would probably be the best bet, because I don't have to work then, but if they're not okay with that, we can sort something else out.

I guess that's really only two things, so in order to make it a few, here's the third: I love you. I just thought I'd give you a reminder.

(and yes, I might be writing you because I miss you already, but we don't need to talk about that)

Yours,

Teddy

Victoire smiled to herself and folded up the letter so that she could slide it into the pocket of the bag that held her clothes.

"Okay, whoever it is that the owl belongs to, they're definitely not just your friend," Beth said.

Victoire raised her eyebrows. "Oh? What makes you say that?"

"You're blushing," Beth said. "And I know that smile."

"What do you mean?" Victoire asked.

"It's the same smile my parents get when they think about each other," Beth said.

Victoire gaped at her cousin for a moment. "You are way too astute for a thirteen-year-old, you know that?"

"It's been mentioned, yeah," Beth said. "So, who are they?"

Victoire looked at Nia. "Shut the door and lock it, would you?" Once the lock clicked, Victoire sat down on the bed with her back against the pillows. Beth and Nia sat cross-legged on the end of the bed, looking at her expectantly. She sighed. "You can't tell anyone what I'm about to say to you, got it? Not even your mum. My parents don't know yet."

"What is it?" Nia asked, bouncing up and down on the bed.

Victoire fixed her with an even stare. Beth shook her head. "We won't say anything, right, Nia?"

"Right," Nia said.

"You'd better not be lying to me, Antonia Apolline Rutherford," Victoire said.

"I'm not," Nia said. "I swear I won't say anything to anybody."

Victoire nodded. "Okay." She took a deep breath. "I'm seeing someone."

"Well, I figured that," Beth said. "You should have seen the look on your face. Who is it?"

"You've met him, actually," Victoire said. "He came with us to visit when I was twelve."

"No," Beth said, her eyes wide. "Not—Everyone always said you'd end up together and you always said no!"

"That was before I grew up," Victoire said. "We actually dated for a bit last year, and then we had a fight and split up, but we got together again in October. Well, sort of. It wasn't really official until he got back from Australia." In answer to Beth's raised eyebrows, she smiled. "He was there for Auror training."

"We'd better be invited to the wedding," Nia said.

Victoire made a face. "That's a long time coming, if at all. I'm only seventeen."

"Still, we'd better be invited," Beth said. "It's only right, after all. We are family."

"Of course I'll invite you," Victoire said. "I wouldn't dream of doing anything otherwise. It's just a bit soon to be thinking about the guest list, that's all."

"Oh, so you admit that there's going to be a guest list?" Nia asked. "I guess that means that there's definitely going to be a wedding."

"Yes," Victoire said. "No. I don't know. I'm too young for these questions."

"Will we ever get to meet him before then?" Nia asked.

Victoire shrugged. "I don't know. Step one is telling my parents and his grandmother that we're together. Step two will be telling the rest of the family, and we'll probably wait on that for a little while, just to save ourselves from having to go through the constant questioning. Maybe once everyone knows and I'm out of the house, he might come on these family trips with us, but I can't really say. Either way, I can pretty much guarantee that you're going to be old enough to come and visit me before I get married, and you'll definitely meet him then."

"I can't wait," Nia said. "He was cute."

"I'd hope so," Victoire said, grinning. "He's a Metamorphmagus, he can change his appearance at will. He usually keeps his normal face and eye color, but the turquoise hair only stays because he knows it's my favorite."

"That's adorable," Beth said.

"I wish we lived closer to you so that we could see you two together," Nia said. "I bet it's the cutest thing."

"Most people don't get a chance to see us together," Victoire said. "Only the few friends of ours that know, and a couple of family members. Most people are completely unaware. They just think that we're best friends. Although, granted, we don't act that much different now than we did before we started dating. There's just more kissing involved."

"I wish I could date my best friend," Nia said, sighing.

"Give it time," Victoire said. "You're only fourteen. You don't need to be in a relationship now. Merlin, I don't even need to be in a relationship right now. It just sort of happened, and it made sense, so we went with it."

"You two are going to have a fantastic story to tell your grandchildren," Beth said.

"Now we're really getting ahead of ourselves," Victoire said. "Like I said, I'm only seventeen. There's a lot that needs to happen before I even start entertaining the notion of kids, let alone grandkids."

"It would be so sweet though," Nia said.

"Perhaps," Victoire said. "Either way, there's still a long time to go before I even think about that. Now, enough about me. What have you guys been up to here? Is there anything new that I should know about?"

The girls went off into a long explanation of the last year and the interesting things that had happened, and they only left Victoire's room when it came time to go downstairs for dinner.

Afterwards, Victoire approached her parents, who were sitting on the patio looking out towards the sea. They both looked up as she approached.

"What is it, Vic?" Bill asked. "I know that look."

"What look?" Victoire asked.

"That ees the look you get when you want something," Fleur said.

Victoire smiled sheepishly. "Uh, it's nothing huge. I just need your permission for something, and Teddy wanted me to ask."

"Well, ask then," Bill said. "The worst we can do is say no."

"Yeah, I know," Victoire said. "He invited me to come stay in the flat with him for a couple days the weekend that we get back, and I wanted to know if that would be okay."

"I don't see why not," Bill said. "Teddy's a good kid. Fleur?"

"Eef you be'ave yourself, I see no issue," Fleur said.

"There's your answer," Bill said. "You've got our permission. When would you go?"

"I'd hazard a guess that he'd like it if I came on Friday after we got back and he finished with work, and then came home on Sunday evening," Victoire said. "Apparently Nana Andromeda wants to see me, so we'll probably spend a bit of time with her while I'm staying with him."

"You'll be in good hands, then," Bill said. "Go, write him and let him know that it's all right with us."

Victoire smiled again. "Thanks, Dad, Mum."

She hugged each of them swiftly before she ran up to her room and got out some parchment and a quill to hastily scrawl a note.

Teddy,

Mum and Dad said it's fine. I can come over on Friday and leave Sunday, if that's good for you.

Love,

Tori

She rolled the note up and approached Grunnion, who had fallen asleep on the back of the chair.

"Hey there, boy," she said, reaching out to stroke his head as he woke up. "Did you have a nice nap? How about you take this back to Teddy for me?"

He hooted softly as she tied the note to his leg, and then took off and flew out of the open window. She watched him go and then sank down on the edge of her bed.

The next week passed quickly. The days were spent on the beach or in town with Nia and Beth, and nights were spent out at dinner or watching the stars. Despite the wonderful atmosphere and her fantastic cousins, Victoire was all too ready to get home when Friday came.

She hugged Beth and Nia goodbye. "I'll see you guys as soon as I can manage a trip, all right? Try to stay out of trouble."

"I will," Beth said. "I can't make any promises for Nia though."

"I'm not going to do anything," Nia said. "Bye, Vic. Let us know what happens."

"Of course I will," Victoire said. She waved goodbye to her aunt and uncle for a final time. "Bye, Aunt Gabrielle, Uncle Caleb."

"Au revoir," Gabrielle said, smiling.

"Goodbye, Vic," Caleb said, his arm around his wife's shoulders.

Victoire stepped up to the Portkey, where Dom and Louis waited, and laid her hand on the old hat. Fleur and Bill joined them a moment later, and in an instant, the hat glowed blue and they were whisked back to Cornwall.

Almost immediately upon arriving home, Victoire ran up to her room and put her things away, only to fill a smaller bag with clothes for the weekend. She glanced at the clock as she shoved her favorite cardigan into the bag. It read eight minutes past four. Teddy was scheduled to arrive at a quarter past, and she changed her clothes hurriedly, swapping her skirt and blouse for jeans and a t-shirt. She had just enough time to go into the bathroom to grab her toothbrush, sweep her hair up into a ponytail, and get her bag before the telltale crack of Apparation announced his arrival.

She made her way downstairs, passing by Dom's room as she did. Dom was lying on her bed, a book in front of her, and she looked up as Victoire paused in the doorway.

"I'm heading out," Victoire said. "See you in a few days."

"Yeah," Dom said. "Don't get up to any mischief."

"No promises," Victoire said, grinning. "Bye."

Dom hummed a noise of agreement and turned her attention back to her book as Victoire continued on her way downstairs.

She entered the living room to see Bill standing there with Teddy. Her father's arms were crossed over his chest, and he was staring threateningly at Teddy. Victoire rolled her eyes and walked to Teddy's side. "Everything all right in here?"

"I'm just making sure he knows that he needs to take the best care of you possible," Bill said.

"I've spent plenty of time with him before and I'm not dead yet," Victoire said. "I'll be fine."

"'Yet' being the key word," Bill said. "You almost died back in April, Vic. I'm just being careful."

"He couldn't have done anything about that anyway," Victoire said. "I'm fine, I'll be fine, and we're going to go now, all right?" She stepped forward and kissed Bill's cheek. "I'll see you on Sunday."

"Okay," Bill said. "Say hello to Andromeda for me."

"I will," Victoire said. She looked at Teddy. "Come on."

He followed her out of the house. Once they were outside, he took her hand and grinned at her. "This should be fun."

They walked out beyond the wards of the house, and with a crack, they appeared in the street outside of the flat. Teddy unlocked the door to the building with his wand and led her upstairs to the flat. She turned and smiled at him before turning back to the door. "Victoire Weasley." The lock clicked, and she pushed the door open and went inside, dropping her bag on the half-circle table that was pushed up against the wall by the door. "You have no idea how much satisfaction that gives me."

"I can imagine," Teddy said, following her inside and shutting the door. "It gives me satisfaction just to hear you say it."

Victoire looked around the flat. The polished hardwood floor of the living area was mostly covered with a large, pale blue area rug. A coffee table sat in the middle of it, and two beige couches formed a right angle around the table, another table in the spot between where their corners met. Blue curtains on the windows formed a nice contrast to the cream-colored walls, and the golden brown stone of the fireplace tied the whole room together. Through the archway to her left, she could see the warm rust-colored stonework of the kitchen, and she knew that if she went down the short hallway to her right, she would encounter the bedroom, study, and bathroom, both of which were furnished equally as warmly. "It's so nice in here. We did a fantastic job on decorating, if I do say so myself."

"You mean, you did a fantastic job of decorating, and I did a fantastic job of paying for it," Teddy said, smiling at her.

"Basically," Victoire said, grinning at him.

"I must say, it looks much better now though," Teddy said.

"What do you mean?" Victoire asked, turning her attention back to the room. "It's looked like this for weeks now."

"Yeah, but you weren't here before," Teddy said.

She glanced at him, a smile playing on her lips. He grinned at her before he closed the distance and kissed her warmly, his hands moving to her waist without a single hesitation. She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled into the kiss, only to make a pleased noise when he bit her lower lip a moment later. She parted her lips for him, and his hands slid under her t-shirt to rest against her skin as the kiss grew more intense. His skin was warm against hers, his fingers slightly callused. She slipped her hands up to his hair, her fingers tangling in the soft strands. His hands began to trail up her back as he kissed her, and he paused when his fingers reached the clasp of her bra, his breathing heavy.

"I do believe your dad would kill me if I let this go any further, so I think we should stop," he said, moving his hands back to her waist. "Not that I wasn't enjoying myself, because I was."

She laughed and gave him a swift, chaste kiss. "I was too, but you're right. Anyway, I'm hungry."

"Me too," he said. "You can put your things in the bedroom while I start on dinner, if you want. It's going to take a bit because I'm going to make shepherd's pie, but you're welcome to raid the kitchen for something to eat before then."

"When you say put my things in there..." she trailed off.

He grinned. "Put your clothes in the dresser and your shoes in the closet, you know. It's our flat, remember? I want you to feel at home here, not like a guest."

"Just checking," she said, smiling. She kissed his cheek and picked up her bag. "Be right back."

"I'll get started on dinner," he said.

He caressed her waist gently and let her walk away. She went down the hall into the bedroom. The room was large and airy, with a large sleigh bed made of dark wood sitting as the focal point. A pale blue comforter covered most of it, but the top was folded down to reveal tan sheets. A series of tan and blue throw pillows covered the full-sized ones that rested against the headboard, and a tan blanket was folded at the foot of the bed. Against the wall beside the door to the closet, there was a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf, and a tan couch rested in the corner beside it (Teddy had wanted to decorate the room in Gryffindor colors, but Victoire had won the argument and convinced him that such a color scheme was better suited to the study, and in a muted form at that).

She set her bag on the bed and took her clothes out before walking over to a dresser made of the same dark wood as the bed. Her footsteps were soft on the tan rug that rested before it, and she opened each of the drawers, smiling when she realized that Teddy had divided each of them in half, leaving room for anything that she might have wanted to put inside. She divided all of her clothes up based on type and stored each type in a drawer of its own. After dropping her shoes in the closet, which he had also divided up, she went out to the kitchen. Teddy stood at the counter, busily chopping up ingredients, and he turned to smile at her when he heard her footsteps.

She walked over to him, laid her hand on his shoulder, and gave him a brief kiss. "That was really sweet of you."

"What was?" he asked.

"Dividing up the drawers and the closet like that for me," she said. "It makes me feel like we're living together."

"Well, if all goes according to plan, we will be once you're done with school," he said, smiling at her. He kissed her quickly and smiled again. "I'm glad you're happy though."

"I don't know how I couldn't be," she said. "Now, what can I do to help?"

"Keep an eye on the potatoes, and mash them up when they're done," he said.

She nodded. "Got it."

They moved seamlessly around each other as they prepared dinner, and once the glass dish that held the shepherd's pie was in the oven, they retreated to the living room and sat down on the couch to wait.

"Why are you smiling like that?" Teddy asked after a few moments of silence.

"Like what?" she asked.

"I don't know, you just have this look on your face," Teddy said. "It's something... It's new, and you know there aren't many new expressions of yours for me."

She shrugged. "I don't know, I just... It's nice, being here. I like us like this. I feel like I'm at home, you know? It just makes so much sense. We make sense. Am I even making sense right now?"

Teddy smiled at her. "I know exactly what you mean, and believe me, if I could have you here with me every day for the rest of the summer, I would."

"I guess I'd better work on getting my Apparation license then, huh?" she asked.

"Most definitely," he said. "I want you to be here every day, even if it's only for a few hours. This last week was hell without you."

"What are you going to do when I go back to school?" she asked, even though she was smiling.

"Live in denial for a bit, beg Professor McGonagall to let me come and see you, come to every Hogsmeade visit that I can," he said. "I'll figure it out. It won't be easy, but I'll figure it out."

She brought her legs up onto the couch and nestled into his side. He put his arm around her and pulled her closer, resting his chin on top of her head.

They stayed like that until dinner was done, and the night was spent lazing around the flat playing chess and kissing (lots of kissing).

The next morning, Victoire woke up to light streaming through the curtains. She yawned and did her best to stretch, a difficult feat given that Teddy's arm was wrapped around her, his chest pressed against her back. Rolling over, she kissed him quickly and smiled. His eyes fluttered open, and he grinned at her a moment later.

"Morning," he said.

"Morning," she repeated. "Sleep well?"

"The best I've gotten in ages," he said.

He kissed her, and she let him for a moment before pushing him back lightly. "Morning breath!"

"You didn't mind so much when you kissed me to wake me up," he said.

"Well, that was then," she said. "This is now."

He smiled. "I'm sure." He tightened his arm around her and pulled her closer to him. "Can we just stay here like this for a while?"

She nodded. "That sounds good to me."

For a while, the only sound was that of their breathing. Their legs were tangled together, and his hand rested on her bare waist where her shirt had ridden up during the night. His chest was warm as she nestled her head against it, and her fingers traced a pattern on his bicep.

After an unidentified period of time, she sighed. He raised his eyebrows. "Everything all right?"

"Better than all right," she said. "We should tell your grandmother today."

"Tell her what?" he asked.

She smacked him lightly. "You know what! When we visit her today, we should tell her we're together. We'll have to swear her to secrecy though, I don't want her telling my parents before we get the chance to, and since we won't be back to my house until Sunday, she can't say anything to—" He cut her off with a kiss, and despite her earlier protests, she let him. After a few moments, she pulled back. "What was that for?"

"I love you," he said. "I love you, I love you, I love you."

She smiled. "I love you too. Breakfast?"

"That sounds good to me," he said.

They got up and ate. Shortly before lunch, they took the Floo network over to Andromeda's. She was seated on the couch with a book in her hands when they clambered out of the fireplace, but she put it down and stood up to greet them.

"Oh, Vic, it's been so long since I've seen you," she said. "Christmas! And you're of age now. Well, come into the kitchen with me, and we'll make lunch."

It wasn't until after they finished eating lunch that Victoire glanced at Teddy. He nodded and took her hand under the cover of the table. She looked at Andromeda, who was smiling at them.

"We have some news for you, Gran," Teddy said. "It's sort of important, but you have to promise us that you aren't going to say anything to anybody until we say you can, okay?"

Andromeda raised her eyebrows. "Oh?" When Teddy maintained his stare, she nodded. "I won't say anything, Teddy. You know that. What is it?"

"Teddy and I..." Victoire paused and looked at him. He smiled at her, and she looked back at Andromeda. "We're... Well, we're together. My parents don't know yet, that's why you can't say anything."

Andromeda froze for a moment. Teddy's eyes widened. "Gran?"

His voice seemed to unfreeze her, and a wide smile spread across her face. "Oh, I was waiting for this to happen! I always knew it would. How long?"

"Well, now, it's been since October," Teddy said. "Christmas, officially, but we talked about it when I was back for a couple of days in October."

Andromeda clapped her hands together, only to pause. "What do you mean, now?"

"We were together from Christmas until Valentine's Day last year," Victoire said. "No one really knew about that though, except for a few people, and when we broke up... Well..."

Andromeda nodded. "Why didn't your parents know?"

"That was why," Teddy said. "We didn't want it to be uncomfortable for everyone else if we split up. It was bad enough for us to deal with it, and our friends. Imagine if the entire family had to?"

"I see your point," Andromeda said. "So why now?"

"Things are going well," Victoire said. "And the flat feels like home, so it just seemed like the right time."

Andromeda nodded again. "I understand. Dating Ted put me in the same position, though for different reasons. Regardless, I'm so pleased for the two of you."

"Thanks," Victoire said, looking down at the table and blushing. "I wasn't really sure how this was going to go."

"As if it could have gone any way but well," Teddy said, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. "Gran loves you. The real question is if I'll survive your dad after we tell your parents."

Andromeda chuckled. "Bill likes you, Teddy. He'll try to intimidate you, but as long as you take care of Vic, there won't be any problems. You'd better take care of her, or I'll kill you myself."

"I had no intention of doing anything otherwise," Teddy said. "Besides, you'd probably have to dig me up first, because I would bet that she would be the first one to do away with me."

Victoire laughed. "I guess we'll find out."

They spent the majority of the afternoon and much of the evening with Andromeda flipping through old photo albums and reminiscing about when they were younger. When they got back to the flat, the sun was beginning to go down. Teddy kissed Victoire quickly and then gave her a gentle push in the direction of the bedroom once the front door was shut.

"What is it?" she asked.

He smiled. "Go get dressed. I'm taking you out to dinner." At the confused look on her face, his smile widened. "It's in Muggle London, don't worry. No one will see us."

"I don't have anything to wear," she said after a moment. "You should have told me, and I would have packed something."

"You have something, don't worry," he said. "I got Dom to Floo it to me while you were showering this morning. It's hanging in the closet, and there are shoes too."

"She would be in on your evil plan," Victoire said. "But all right."

She went into the bedroom and opened the door to the closet. It was walk-in, something she was very happy about, and sure enough, hanging from one of the racks was a beautiful black dress. It was form-fitting, with a lace overlay that went up over her chest to her collarbones and that covered her arms to her wrists. Beneath it on the floor was a pair of silver heels.

She went back out to the living room. "Teddy, how did you get that dress?"

"Like I said, Dom sent it to me," Teddy said.

"But how did she get it?" Victoire asked. "I've had it and the shoes for ages. I was saving them for the perfect date."

"I told her I needed something for you to wear to dinner at a nice restaurant, and she sent me that," Teddy said, shrugging. "Ask her when you get home. It is all right, isn't it?"

"It's perfect, I was just surprised," Victoire said. "I'm going to change now."

She went back into the bedroom and got the dress out of the closet. It didn't take long for her to change, and once she did, she walked over to the mirror and fixed her hair. She pulled it up into a high ponytail and wrapped some hair around the elastic, and then she pulled her fringe and a few pieces out to frame her face. A small coat of mascara was all she needed after that, and once that was on, she pulled on her shoes and went back out to the living room. Teddy was seated on the couch, but he had changed into a suit. He looked up at the sound of her heels clicking on the floor, and he smiled.

"What?" she asked. "Is it too much?"

He shook his head. "You look beautiful." He stood up, crossed the room, and kissed her. "Come on, love, let's go."

He led her out of the flat, her hand resting in the crook of his elbow, and once they were outside in the growing darkness, he Disapparated.

They appeared in an alley that Victoire didn't recognize, and he led her out of it onto a busy street. People crowded around them, but they didn't have to walk very far before they stepped off the sidewalk and into a restaurant. The noise level dropped dramatically to a quiet murmur of conversations and the clinking of glasses and silverware against plates. Victoire followed Teddy to where the hostess stood, and it only took a mention of his last name for them to be led to a table at the back of the restaurant.

"Teddy, I don't understand," Victoire said once they were seated and the waiter took their drink orders. "What are we doing here?"

He smiled. "Just try to have a good time, for me."

She sighed, but nodded anyway. Dinner was filled with pleasant discussions of her trip to France and the Quidditch match Teddy had gone to while she was awake, and once they were finished, he took her hand and led her out into the street and back to the alley where they had come from.

"Where are we going now?" she asked.

"You'll see," he said. "Trust me."

He squeezed her hand once and then they Disapparated.

This time, they appeared in a place that Victoire recognized all too well. The sea breeze ruffled her hair, and quiet music played in the background. She looked behind her to see a gazebo covered in lights, and behind it, a sprawling restaurant. When she looked back at him, he was smiling.

"Why are we in wizarding Brighton?" she asked. "For that matter, why are we in Brighton at all, and beyond that, why are we here?"

His smile widened. "You remember the last time we came here?"

"Of course I do," she said. "It was the summer before fourth year. We came with the whole family for two weeks, and one night, my parents brought us to dinner here. We danced in the gazebo until we got bored, and then we came down here and laid on the beach and looked at the stars. I don't understand what that has to do with anything."

"It has to do with everything, actually," he said.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

He led her over to a bench that sat at the end of the path they stood on, just before the smooth stone transitioned to sand, and they sat down. He kept her hand in his as he began to speak. "It has to do with everything because that night was the first night that I realized."

"Realized what?" she asked.

"That was the first night I realized that I loved you as more than a friend," he said, reaching up to brush her hair out of her face.

"I don't understand," she said. "You had a girlfriend then."

"I know," he said. "That was part of the problem. It just hit me, you know? We were laying here under the stars, and I looked at you, and you've always been gorgeous, but the moonlight was hitting your hair and you were smiling and you were just so you and it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. You were the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen, and that was when I realized that I loved you more than anything. I didn't really know what to do about it, and like you said, I had a girlfriend, so I just promised myself that I'd be the absolute best friend you'd ever have, do everything I could to make you happy, and that if I ever got a chance with you, I would do everything in my power to keep from screwing it up. Of course, I ended up breaking up with Tessa as soon as we got home, but you didn't need to know why. Obviously, I failed the last parts of that promise quite dramatically, but the point still stands. I'm just trying not to mess them up this time around."

She smiled, feeling the burn in her cheeks. "I love you too, you idiot, but I still don't understand why we had to come all the way here for you to tell me that."

He released her hand and then grabbed it again, turning it so that her palm faced up. A moment later, a gentle weight settled into her hand, and she looked down to see a tiny black box. She looked at him, gaping, and he smiled. "Open it. I promise it's not what you think it is."

She opened the box to reveal a ring. The band was silver, with tiny red, gold, and clear stones set into it. "Teddy, this looks like exactly what I think it is."

"Not quite," he said. He took the box from her hands, pulled the ring out of it, and held it up so that she could see it clearly. "This ring is a prequel, a promise, if you would. It's my way of promising you that I'll put a real ring on your finger one day, whether it's in two years or five years or ten, and that I'm going to try my hardest not to fail miserably at those promises again. I love you, Victoire, and I want that to be obvious to everyone, but most of all to you, no matter how much of a prat I may be sometimes."

Her hand covered her mouth as she stared at him, and after a moment he chuckled nervously. "Will you take the ring, or should I put it away and pretend that this didn't happen?"

She lowered her hand and smacked him. "Of course I'll take it, you idiot. I'm just... shocked, that's all."

He smiled. "And there's the Victoire I know and love." He reached out and took her right hand, sliding the ring onto her ring finger. Once it was on, he kissed it and lowered her hand. "I love you, Tori. To the moon and back, more than anything."

She smiled, a tear making its way down her cheek. "I love you too, you great big idiot."

"Oh, don't cry," he said, reaching out to wipe the tear away. "I didn't want you to."

"I'm just so happy," she said.

"That was the idea," he said. "Now, what do you say we go home?"

She nodded. "I'd like to take these shoes off."

"I figured as much," he said.

They stood, and within moments, they were outside of their building. Once they got into the flat, Victoire slipped her shoes off and left them beside the door before sinking onto the couch. Teddy sat down beside her, having divested himself of his suit jacket, and she looked at him.

"You know, I was really happy, but now I'm on the verge of being annoyed," she said.

"What?" he asked, his eyes wide. "Why?"

"I'm still waiting for you to kiss me," she said.

He relaxed and grinned. "Yeah, I sort of forgot that part, didn't I?"

He leaned over and pressed his lips to hers. One of her hands moved to the back of his neck, the other to the back of his shirt. She pulled the fabric loose from where it was tucked in as he lowered her to the couch, and it wasn't long before the shirt ended up on the floor. One of her hands gripped his shoulder, the other running up and down his bare chest as he kissed her, and he had knotted one of his hands in her hair. The other rested on her hip, but it moved towards her thigh, and she smiled and hummed her approval when she felt his skin against hers. He pulled her leg up around his hip, his hand beginning to make its way beneath the skirt of her dress. All of a sudden, he paused. They were both breathing heavily, their lips swollen and their eyes bright.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked. "I don't want you to feel like you have to, just because I gave you the ring."

She shook her head. "You're an idiot." When he began to sit up, she pulled him back down. "No, you're an idiot because you think I'm not sure. In case my enthusiasm wasn't enough of a giveaway, here are some words for you: I want this. I want you. I love you, and this has been a long time coming. I'm of age now. I can make my own decisions, and I want you."

He smiled then and kissed her for a long moment. "Well then, how about we move this party to someplace a little more comfortable?"

He didn't wait for her to answer before kissing her again. As he sat up, he pulled her with him and brought her legs around his waist. One of his hands supported her as he carried her to the bedroom, the other tugging at the hem of her dress. Her hands tangled in his hair as he carried her inside.

The door swung shut behind them with a resounding thud.

She woke up the next morning to Teddy pushing some of her hair out of her face. She blinked slowly and then smiled at him. One of her legs was hooked over his, and he had his arm wrapped around her. At some point before they'd fallen asleep, she had managed to pull on her underwear and one of his t-shirts, and he wore his boxers.

"Hey," she said.

He laughed. "Hey."

She pressed herself closer to him as she kissed him, her hand resting on his chest. "I love you."

"I love you too," he said. "Does this mean you've decided morning breath isn't so bad?"

"Not if it's yours," she said, kissing him again.

"So you don't regret last night then?" he asked when they broke apart.

She shook her head. "Of course not." She smiled a moment later. "Would it be terribly cliché of me to say that it was the best night of my life?"

He chuckled. "No, because it was definitely the best night of mine."

She smiled and kissed him once more. A moment later she groaned. "I wish I didn't have to go home."

"I know," he said. "I wish I could just have you here with me all the time, but I don't think your parents would like that very much."

"I'm of age," she said. "They wouldn't really have any choice in the matter. Regardless, I like having parents, so I should probably go home sometime. I just wish I could wake up like this every morning. Who knows when I'm going to be able to again? Once Dad finds out we're dating, there's pretty much a zero percent chance that he'll let me stay here overnight."

"Like you said, you're of age," Teddy said. "If you really want to come here, he can't stop you. We'll talk to him, though. I love you and I want to see you, and this is going to be your home as well as mine soon enough. We can make him see reason about it."

"I suppose it helps that he's always trusted you," Victoire said. "You're the best, you know that?"

He smiled. "I know."

They got up and had breakfast a while later, and then spent the day lazing around. Shortly before dinner, he took her home, though it was without any of the things she had brought with her (She had deemed it reasonable to leave everything at the flat, seeing as she had every intention of returning, and he hadn't disagreed). They paused just outside the door to her house and looked at each other.

"We've got this," he said. "I know we do."

"You're right," she said. "I love you."

"I love you too," he said.

She took a deep breath and opened the door. The house looked exactly as it had when she left it, and her dad's voice filled the air as she shut the door. "Vic, is that you?"

"Yeah, Dad," she called back. "Teddy's here too. Are you with Mum?"

"We're in the living room," Bill called.

Victoire swallowed and, holding Teddy's hand tightly, went into the living room. Bill sat there with a sheaf of papers in his hand (Victoire recognized them as something he'd brought home from work), and Fleur was straightening the cushions on the couch.

"Can I talk to you two for a minute?" she asked. "Seriously?"

Bill looked up from the papers to look at her. "You can always talk to us, Vic. You know that. Hi there, Teddy."

"Your fazer ees right, Victoire," Fleur said. "We'll always leesen."

Victoire swallowed. "There's not really a tactful way for me to put this, so I'm just going to come right out and say it. Teddy and I are together and we have been since Christmas."

"And we were together from Christmas to Valentine's Day last year and the reason why we didn't speak at the end of last year was because we split up," Teddy said.

"And we didn't tell anybody except for our close friends at school because we didn't want it to be weird for everyone if we broke up," Victoire said.

"But I gave Tori a promise ring and we figured we should probably start telling people. Also, I got the flat with the intention that it would belong to the both of us, and we both hope that you'll still allow her to stay over with me even though we're together and not just friends," Teddy finished.

Bill put down his papers. "Well."

"Is that a good well or a bad well?" Victoire asked.

"Zis does not surprise me," Fleur said.

Bill nodded. "Your mother is right. Much as I hate seeing Victoire in a serious relationship—it makes me feel old—I'd rather it was with you than anyone else, Teddy. I trust you."

"Thank you, sir," Teddy said.

"You can still call me Bill, Teddy," Bill said.

"I know," Teddy said. "Sir just seemed appropriate there."

Bill chuckled. "It did, yes." His expression grew serious a moment later. "But just because I trust you doesn't mean that I won't hesitate to kill you if you hurt her, do you understand me?"

"I knew I was going to have my life threatened," Teddy said. He smiled. "I understand perfectly. Gran already gave me the same threat, and I'll tell you what I told her: Tori would probably kill me before either of you got a shot anyway, but I'll take that into account."

"You're probably right about that," Bill said. "For that matter, Fleur would probably get there before I did."

"I would," Fleur said.

"See, I knew it," Bill said. His gaze shifted from the pair of them to something in the hallway. "Did you know about this?"

Victoire turned around to see Dom standing there, her broom over her shoulder. Dom shrugged. "Yeah, I've known for ages. Now, if you'd excuse me, I need to go trounce Louis in a one-on-one match."

She left without another work. Victoire shook her head and looked back at Bill and Fleur. "Thanks, Mum, Dad."

"We just want you to be 'appy," Fleur said.

"But I will lay down some ground rules," Bill said. "You're allowed to date her, I'll kill you if you hurt her, and she's allowed to stay at the flat with you, but not more than two nights a week, understood?"

"That's more than I was expecting," Victoire said.

"You're of age," Bill said. "It's not like we can stop you from coming and going. You'll really be needing that Apparation license now, won't you?"

Victoire nodded. "I really, really do."

"We'll get started on that tomorrow," Bill said.

"Thank you," Teddy said.

"You've always been like a son to us," Bill said. "More to Harry and Ginny than anyone, but to us as well. It'll be good to have you really be a part of the family."

"Speaking of family, can the two of you refrain from saying anything for now?" Victoire asked. "It's not that I don't want people to know, but I'd rather deal with all of the comments and questions after I'm done with school, if possible."

"I zink we can manage zat," Fleur said.

"We'll do our best," Bill said. "Now, Teddy, how about you stay for dinner?"

Teddy looked at Victoire, who shrugged, before looking back at Bill. "That would be great, thanks."

Bill crossed the room and clapped Teddy on the shoulder. "Take care of her."

"I think she can take care of herself, but I'll do my best," Teddy said.

Fleur followed her husband out of the room, only pausing to kiss both Teddy and Victoire on the cheek. Once they were gone, Teddy turned to Victoire.

"What do you say we go join Dom and Louis and get in a nice match before dinner?"

Victoire laughed. "That sounds great."

A/N:

I don't have a lot to say here, except a) this is the longest chapter I've ever written for this story (It's over 8000 words), b) there's one chapter left in this story and that's the epilogue, c) the rating has changed from T to M purely because I don't want to risk someone reporting this even though nothing particularly explicit happens, d) I wasn't sure if I would ever actually end up with them sleeping together, but it seemed like the proper course of action for this particular chapter, so it happened, and e) always check for consent, kids. Even if they say they love you, even if you've known them forever, always, always, always make sure it's what the other person wants.

I hope you guys liked the chapter, and look out for the epilogue soon. I'll be out of the house tomorrow for a long time, and most likely for a while on Friday because I'm doing things with friends, and all day Saturday because I'm going to a horse show to see my old trainer and cheer on my current trainer and my friend and to do groom-y things like muck stalls and hold horses and polish people's boots, but I will get it up ASAP.

Peace and love x

~AC