Disclaimer: If I was J.K. Rowling and had spent seventeen years writing incredible stories which are some of the finest tales this century while simultaneously going to press conferences, being interviewed, and getting bombarded with fan mail, all in the name of Harry Potter while being a single Mum, getting married, and having two more children, and was finally done after almost two decades, do you really think I'd spend my days writing Harry Potter fanfiction?
Prophecies and Plums
Teddy dug through his trunk, muttering. Here he was, a boy of sixteen, with a girlfriend whom he adored who also happened to be widely acknowledged as the smartest, wittiest, kindest, most gorgeous girl in the entire school, he looked like a complete rocker with his black hair, ear piercing, and brooding good looks (Victoire had recently developed a taste for the Weird Sisters, which Teddy was only too happy to encourage)… And he was searching through his school trunk for a necklace which had what looked like an orange radish dangling from its chain.
A letter lying on his bed explained his sudden descent from coolness.
Dear the Mortals (That's much easier),
Luna and I can't wait to have you over at two o'clock on Friday! She'd write this herself, but she's packing for our Quest, which we'll tell you about when you get here. Don't forget your Dirigible Plums, although I'm sure they've already helped you so much that you wouldn't dream of leaving them behind!
Please remind me to make you Infusion of Gurdyroot! Luna now refuses to make it, because she says that mine's so good. So you see, marriage can be very good for teaching you new things.
See you Friday!
Rolf (And Luna, and all the fantastic beasts)
Victoire bounced into his room just as he was pulling up the necklace from underneath his very battered copy of The Standard Book of Spells Grade Two. Her own Dirigible Plums were swinging merrily from her earlobes. "Why so glum?" she asked, taking one look at Teddy's expression.
Teddy glowered. "I'm looking for Dirigible Plums, Victoire. Dirigible Plums! How am I supposed to go round with radishes hanging off my neck?"
Victoire sighed. "You're in one of your punk fazes, aren't you?" she asked. Ignoring his protests, she continued. "I thought the last major one was the time when you were dating Fayza and I was being a brat. But please stop it. Some people just aren't meant to be gloomy and cool." Teddy spluttered. She flashed him a smile. "While we're on the subject, why are you trying to act like a rock star, again?"
Teddy had really been hoping that this wouldn't come up. "No reason." He started changing back into his regular form, feeling like a dog who had been scolded.
Victoire studied him closely as his eyes lightened from black to grey and his hair began changing colour. "Come on, out with it."
If only being a Metamorphmagus would let you control your blushes, Teddy thought as his cheeks heated up. Victoire was still regarding him curiously as he stood, chagrined, the necklace still clutched in his hand.
"I don't deserve you, that's why. Go on, laugh."
Victoire looked astonished. ""Are you serious?
"Well, it's true! You're funny, and lovely to everyone, and beautiful, and the closest to perfection anyone's ever going to meet, and I'm…" He trailed off. Victoire's mouth was hanging open.
"Teddy, have you been reading your grandmother's romance novels? What on earth do you mean? I'm not perfection! I'm nowhere near! And as the question of deserving people goes, I don't think I deserve you!"
"Me?" Asked Teddy, flabbergasted.
"You! You're so brave, and amazing at comforting people, you're the best friend I've ever had, you are very easy on the eyes, you've been through so much more than I can possibly imagine-"
Teddy's face was burning. "Stop!" he said hastily.
Victoire obliged; her face was pink as well. They both stood, staring at each other.
She thought she didn't deserve him? He, Teddy, who'd been told at least five hundred times what a pansy he was, who's overheard Clara MacDonald saying how boring he was, who couldn't even complete a History of Magic OWL… Victoire thought- she thought- they were moving closer now; he could see every fleck of purple in her eyes-
They both jumped away from each other as James burst through the door. "Teddy, can I borrow your Thunderbolt?"
"Um, yes, just be really careful," said Teddy. "The key to the shed should be hanging on the hook in the kitchen."
"Thanks, mate!" James waved, and disappeared.
Victoire seemed to have hidden behind the door and gotten stuck in all the rubbish he stored there; her face was still glowing as Teddy helped her out.
"That would not have been good for James to see," she squeaked. "What would he have told everyone?"
"They already know," Teddy pointed out, advancing towards her again. "Now, where were we?"
"Time to go to the Scamanders!" Victoire ducked under his arm, grinning back at him as she ran out the door. Teddy flung his Dirigible Plum necklace around his neck and followed her, thumping down the flights of rickety wooden stairs until they arrived in the sitting-room. He grabbed the giggling Victoire by the waist and spun her around to face him, starting to laugh himself.
A small cough broke the moment; they turned to find Hermione sitting on a chair with a book in her hands, smiling at them. "Time to go see Luna and Rolf?" she asked, with a pointed look at Teddy's hand, which was still on Victoire's back. He removed it hurriedly.
"Yes, Aunt Hermione," Victoire replied meekly.
"Do say hello from us. And-" Hermione continued, giving them a stern look, "A bit of advice from your aunt- you look very sweet together, and I'm sure you'll be happy, but get a good job before you marry, all right? You have lots of time, so don't rush things."
Teddy grabbed himself a handful of Floo powder, tossed it in the fire, stepped in, and shouted "Incredibus Cove!" before Hermione could subject him to further mortification. How could she put the idea of marriage into Victoire's head? They had never once talked about getting married- this was not the Dark Ages any more! Fourteen-year-olds did not marry sixteen-year-olds! In fact, it was very rare for anyone with 'teen' attached to the end of their age to be married at all!
Teddy tried to imagine himself, married to Victoire, having children with her and living in a tall, crooked house, perhaps with a white picket fence… but before he could continue on this alarming train of thought any further, he collided painfully with something very hard and was spat out of the system of grates onto the floor.
He had crashed into Warner, who yelled with pain, then lunged at Teddy, trying to drag him away from the fireplace. He wasn't fast enough; in another second Lydia, Keeya, and Victoire emerged from the hearth in a tangle of limbs. Finally, Eira and Fayza shot out on top if the whole lot of them, shrieking.
Teddy opened his eyes; everything had gone slightly hazy. Looking up, he saw the big, brown head of Rolf blinking bemusedly at the mass of teenagers who had appeared in his sitting-room.
"Luna," He called grandly, turning round, "May I present to you the Hope of the Wizarding World!"
Victoire staggered to her feet. The rest followed suit as Luna, an Occamy draped across her shoulders, entered the room. She was closely followed by none other than Professor Trelawney. Luna looked oddly beautiful as usual; her robes were a magnificent shade of lime-green, with little purple notes pinned all over it which seemed to be squeaking. After a moment's stunned silence, Teddy could make out words among the shrill sounds: "Bring a toothbrush!" "The Draught of Peace was recommended!" "Don't wear your Butterbeer corks in front of Muggles!" and "Don't forget the Dirigible Plums!"
"Hello, you lot," said Luna very happily. "Please excuse my notes, they're to help me remember everything for our trip; we're packing right now to go to Colombia. I don't think I've met you," she added to Lydia, Eira, Keeya, and Warner.
"No," said Warner, staring at her. "Indeed you have not."
"I'm Luna," she informed them, sitting down on the floor. "You can stare, if you like. I know you haven't seen many houses like these."
At her serene permission, all four new to the Scamanders and their home goggled unabashedly at the bright murals on the walls, the parchment, quills, and books scattered on the ground, and the animals which roamed everywhere.
"This is Sybill Trelawney," Luna continued, gesturing at Professor Trelawney, who had settled herself on the couch. "Do any of you take classes with her?"
Teddy tried desperately to pretend he had no idea who she was. Victoire, though, waved. "Hello, Professor Trelawney. I'm Victoire."
Teddy stepped on her foot. "What are you doing?" he whispered out of the corner of his mouth. "She's batty!"
"She killed the werewolf who infected your Dad and mauled mine," Victoire whispered back. "Batty isn't always bad- look at Luna and Rolf!"
She had a point. Teddy cleared his throat. "Erm… hi, Professor. Staying for long?"
Luna understood the real question behind his words. "Sybill dropped in today unexpectedly. She's got to go soon, though, because she's going to a Seer's Conference in Manchester."
"I tell you, though," said Trelawney, "I do not think I'm welcome there. The many witches and wizards styling themselves to be my fellows quite often laugh at me or contradict my Inner Eye. One of my Talent has always been subjected to jealousy by her lesser. It is- alas- our fate."
Teddy had a feeling he'd heard that line from her before, and restrained himself from rolling his eyes. He'd barely managed to contort his face into something resembling polite concern when Lydia spoke.
"Excuse my aggressive intrusion when we've very recently gotten acquainted- but, Mrs. Scamander-"
"Just Luna," said Luna, picking up a passing Crup and stroking it absentmindedly. "Every time I head 'Mrs. Scamander' I look round for Rolf's mother."
"And Luna," said Rolf, "Isn't in the least like dear old Mum." He paused, then added, "Thank heavens."
"Sure, Luna," said Lydia impatiently. "The point is- you do know what is currently coiled round your windpipe and using you as a method of transport for its deeds, which are perhaps nefarious?"
"I thought Sheila was an Occamy," she said in great surprise, craning her neck to look at the animal draped across her back. It looked rather like a snake, except for its scarlet plume, wings, and two legs, which scrabbled against Luna's collarbone as it moved into a more comfortable position. Teddy had never seen something that looked less like a 'Sheila'. "Is she something else? Could it be-" She looked excitedly at Rolf, who looked ready to explode with happiness.
"Are you saying," he whispered, "That Sheila is not an Occamy? That she's something…else?"
"What on earth would have implanted that suggestion in your consciousness?" Lydia asked. "It is an Occamy, which have been designated a significant threat to human safety if near the vicinity of the aforementioned individuals."
"Not with little Sheila!" Rolf retorted. Luna seemed to have deflated, and leaned against a nearby table listlessly.
"What were you thinking she'd say?" asked Bridget.
"We thought Sheila might have been what we're searching for," said Luna, sitting up straight again. Her eyes gleamed silver. "What we're searching through Columbia for."
"What?" Asked Teddy, fully aware just how far they'd digressed from the subject they were supposed to be talking about. But while Trelawney remained in the house, there could be no question of discussing the Aetenitae.
"We found the first mention of this creature in a Muggle poem," whispered Luna solemnly. "We thought there was more to it than just nonsense words, and we asked many magical experts about what they thought of the poem. They all agreed the author had shown distinct symptoms of a badly-done Memory Charm, and the poem was based on his experience in the magical world. We therefore must try to track down every animal the author mentioned in the poem." She peered around at them all, breathless with wonder. "Have any of you ever heard of… the Jabberwock?"
There was a long silence.
"No," said Victoire finally.
"Ah," said Luna, but did not look concerned. "I suppose we'll find it sooner or later. Oh, Sybill, you're leaving?"
"I must," said Trelawney, who had just stood up. "I cannot allow myself to be too late- even if one has much more skill than anyone else, one must not take liberties. Farewell, everyone!" With a wave of her glittering hand, she left the room.
"We'll walk you to the door," said Luna brightly. She, Rolf, the eight Mortals, and various animals all followed. The procession stopped in the entranceway. Teddy was so busy trying to hold Victoire's hand without anyone else noticing that he only looked up to where the adults were when Professor Trelawney spoke in a voice very unlike her own.
"She is coming."
Luna and Rolf suddenly stilled, watching Trelawney carefully. She seemed to have gone into a trance; her eyes rolled, she sagged against the doorframe. Her voice was hoarse, deep, and oddly frightening.
"Cursed at birth, yet left behind, she has lived a life of jealousy and hatred. She has found them now. She, too, quests for the Deathstick, the Cloak, the Stone. She is rejoining them whom she was made to serve… soon… soon…"
Everyone had gone silent, staring at the woman. Gradually, she relaxed, then straightened up.
"I do apologize," said she in her normal ethereal tones. "I didn't sleep much last night, my crystal ball was telling me much. It is a symptom common to those of great talent in Seeing... Well, good-bye!"
Everyone watched her Disapparate in silence.
"Well," said Luna finally, "that was interesting."
"Do you think it was a real prediction?" Asked a rather frightened voice from the back.
Luna walked through the throng of teenagers to where the question had come from. It was Eira, who had spoken for the first time since she had arrived at the Scamanders.
"You are the spy," said Luna. She stared down at Eira, who glared back defiantly. Teddy had forgotten how sensitive Eira could be around people who thought her a traitor.
"You are so brave," breathed Luna finally. "So brave. Dirigible Plum?"
Looking rather alarmed at the sudden change of subject, Eira took the pair of earrings Luna had produced from her robes. "They're to help you accept the extraordinary," Luna explained. "I'm sure everyone else has been wearing them lots."
"Um… yes, loads of times," said Eira, as Teddy nodded frantically at her behind Luna's back.
"Oh, good… come on, we should talk now, shouldn't we?"
"Er… Yeah, that would be great," said Teddy. He turned and led the way back to the Sitting-room. Luna again settled herself on the floor.
"Sit wherever you like, please."
Teddy and Victoire sat side by side on the couch. As surreptitiously as possible, Teddy took her hand; it gave a nervous twitch as Luna started speaking.
"You're very few to be fighting so many. But that's all right. The good side always has to be outnumbered in the stories, right?"
"Yeah." Said Martin quietly.
"What was that thing with Trelawney about?" Asked Eira, who had seated herself on a footstool as close as possible to Luna; it was quite clear she already adored the strange, wonderful woman.
"That was a prophecy," Luna explained, not looking very impressed. "Her third, I believe. It must have been about the Aetenitae."
"She's joining them." said Eira slowly. "So, what does that mean for us? Who's 'she'? Does it mean we're going to lose?"
Luna shrugged. "Prophecies aren't very reliable, I think. A lot of prophecies haven't come true. But I think we can be sure that someone else has joined the group; someone who will help them."
"You seem rather calm about this," said Fayza; there was an edge in her voice.
"Well, what can we do? We fight, of course. Eira-" Eira's head shot up, and she stared at Luna like she was the best thing since Self-Stirring Cauldrons. "What have the Aetenitae been planning?"
"Well," Eira replied quickly, "they're doing everything they can to bring Harry's morale down. I'm on the team which is supposed to be hurting Teddy and Victoire. Jane and Judas Adderly are on that team too. They're planning to make us get quite aggressive towards them both next year, without actually making it bad enough fir Teddy and Victoire to leave the school. I try to ambush the attacks before they're started, but there's only so much I can do without being suspected."
Luna nodded thoughtfully. "Is it hexes and things that they try to do?"
"Hexes, teasing, emotional torment- did you hear about Hamish Blackthorn?"
Beside him, Victoire stiffened.
"No," said Luna, stroking Sheila. "Who's Hamish?"
"A sixth-year Slytherin," said Victoire shortly. "He pretended to be my boyfriend and then tortured me when I tried to break it off."
Luna turned her silvery gaze to Victoire, who was trying valiantly to make her story sound like a mildly amusing anecdote. Her eyes though, held tears.
"You've been through an awful lot," said Luna. "All of you. We might drop in, sometime, in Hogwarts and say hello, would you like that?"
"We'd like that very much."
"And I'll drop a line to Dean telling him to watch out for the Adderlys," said Luna thoughtfully. "He's quite a good friend of mine."
"But what should we do?" Asked Bridget. "Is there anything we can do to defeat the Aeteniate- I make up spells, I could make up something-"
"You experiment with spells?" Asked Luna in a strange, choked sort of voice. Teddy looked up to find her staring at Bridget as though she's never seen another human being before.
"Yes," said Bridget. "Is that bad?"
"No- it's just- you remind me of someone very much," said Luna, resuming her stroking of the Occamy.
"Oh," said Bridget. "Well, can we do anything?"
Luna considered. "Do you have any way to contact us?" she asked. "In case of an emergency, I mean."
Bridget produced two sheets of parchment from her rucksack and explained about the enchantment.
"You are very clever," said Luna, studying the parchment. "We will bring these with us to Columbia. Thank you."
"But what's going to happen?" said Martin. "You're the only people we can talk to about this, other than McGonagall-"
"What?" said Rolf.
"Professor McGonagall knows?" Luna repeated. "Oh, I'm glad, I do like her."
"We're not sure how she found out," said Teddy, "But she was testing me fore my Defence Against the Dark Arts OWL and she told us to come round to her place this summer so we could talk about it."
"And she might actually help us!" said Martin darkly. "Not just have long chats about Columbia and Jabberwocks-"
"Please be quiet," said Luna, and there was a power behind the dreaminess of her tone which made the usually irrepressible boy fall silent. "We are doing our best to help you. We are not just going to Columbia to looks for the Jabberwock- there is a rumour that the Aetenitae are using an old wand-maker there to tlel them about wand-lore. We are doing our best to infiltrate the Aetenitae, with the help of our friends." she gestured round the menagerie of animals, all gathered on her floor. "We are doing all that we can, in… in present circumstances."
Teddy noticed that Luna's hand had gone protectively to her belly, and he suddenly had a hunch about what was going on.
"We understand, and we're just so grateful you've been doing all you have been for us," he said, giving Martin a look. "We'd better go soon, now, so is there any advice you can give us?"
Rolf looked to his wife, who wrapped her hands around her knees and rocked back and forth, somehow not falling over on her dirty-blonde hair, which straggled to the floor.
"When I was in Dumbledore's Army," she said finally, "We didn't just learn spells, and how to fight. We were friends. We were close, we helped each other and tried to keep hoping, even when the Carrows had taken over Hogwarts and our world was crumbling around our ears." She looked up at them, seeming to come back into the present time. "Stay together. Wear your Dirigible Plums, be careful but don't stop meeting, and stay away from Zacharias Smith. He was very rude when I went to school, and I think he might be part Erkling."
"We'll keep it in mind. Thanks again, Luna," said Teddy, and one by one they stepped into the fireplace. Teddy was the last one out; he had barely started to spin out of sight when he heard Luna's voice:
"Oh, we forgot to make them Infusion of Gurdyroots!"
A/N You guys are reviewing! I love you! No, really, I do! If you review now, I shall give you the gooiest, most wonderful chocolate and caramel cake in the world. Because you're that awesome.
OK, I've actually got a question here I'd love you to answer in your review. Would you like some chapters which are just Teddy/Victoire fluff, mostly? Is the story getting a bit too 'plotty' for you? (My spellchecker says that's not a word, but you lot know what I mean!)
Lots of love,
Victoire