J.K. Rowling owns.

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Victoire

Victoire was ecstatic. Elated. Euphoric. A whole bunch of other words she would never use.

It was funny how easily she had changed her mind. But hadn't she decided to allow things to take their natural course? Well, the course had been followed, and this was the result.

Seeing Teddy… it had been so magical. He had come all that way, just to tell her that he loved her… not to mention the rush of emotion which had overcome her upon seeing him, upon kissing him. That kiss had been magical. The feel of his lips against hers was the only thing that stopped her from thinking that it was a dream. As it was, she still had to pinch herself every few minutes to be sure that she wasn't asleep.

She had been forced to admit to herself what she had been feeling when Teddy said the word which bound all of those emotions together, love. That was what she had been denying for weeks, months really.

It seemed silly to continue to pretend that it was just the remnants of an old crush, when it was obvious that the feelings ran deeper than that. She was in love with her best friend, and he was in love with her. It was the kind of thing that only happened in storybooks, muggle fiction and fairy tales. And yet it was happening to her.

Victoire slipped back into her room.

"What were you doing out there?" Dominique demanded.

"Just… getting some fresh air," Victoire replied, the picture of nonchalance.

"Why is your lipstick all smeared?"

Damn. "I must have wiped my mouth. I've been dying to do that all evening, but I knew you'd kill me." She began to take the pins out of her hair. Dominique left to brush her teeth, and Victoire slipped out of the dress and into her comfortable pyjamas. She looked at the dress, now lying over her travel bag. It wasn't so bad, really, she decided. Not so bad at all.

A few minutes later, she was in the bathroom, removing her make-up as though removing a mask. It had been fun, she thought, as she rubbed hard at the dark eyeshadow with a flannel. It had been fun, dressing up, like an actor on stage. She had felt that she had been playing a part, the pretty, coveted heroine. But, on reflection, she would much rather be herself, simply Victoire. She wondered if any of the boys ogling her that night would have looked twice at her, had she not been so dramatically made up, and wearing such a tight dress.

But she didn't need any of them, she thought with a smile. She had found someone who knew what she looked like when she had just rolled out of bed, and loved her anyway. That was far more precious than any jewel in even the most expensive collection, more valuable than any number of Valentines sent by any number of boys.

She climbed into bed, suddenly exhausted from the party, and emotional revelations. She thought of the kiss again as she settled down to sleep, and grinned to herself. Her second last thought before drifting off to sleep was of the look on Felicity's face when she found out. Her last thought was of Teddy's smile, just inches from hers.

Throughout the remaining week of the holiday, Victoire didn't do much. Her family stayed with her grandparents for a few more days, before going home. It was a nice holiday, but Victoire found herself aching to be at home. She was desperate to see Teddy again. Despite their revelations with regards to one another, there was still so much left unsaid.

Two days before term began again, Teddy called round to Shell Cottage. Victoire was, obviously, delighted to see him. Instead of risk being overheard in the cottage, they made their way to the patch of beach which Victoire always thought of as theirs. Victoire had brought a large thick blanket from the house, which she wrapped around both of their shoulders, and Teddy lit a small, blue fire which burned away, the tongues of flame rippling in the cold wind, but never disappearing.

Victoire leaned against Teddy's chest, his arm around her. She could hear the steady thrum of his heartbeat against her ear, feel the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, echoing the ebb and flow of the sea. They didn't talk at first. It was enough to simply be with one another, to know that the other felt the same way. Love was like a bubble, a bubble that nothing could burst.

"When did you realise?" Teddy asked after a while. Victoire could feel the words as they were spoken.

"I don't know," she replied, truthfully. It was hard to pinpoint exactly when her feelings had changed. "I suppose… when I saw you and Felicity together. I couldn't understand why I felt so… upset about it. But I convinced myself it was just a crush. But, I suppose that was when I started to feel differently. When was it for you?"

"I realised, definitely, that night as well. Because I felt so horribly guilty, and then I realised… it was because I didn't want to kiss anyone but you. But it wasn't so sudden. I'd been thinking about you more and more ever since the beginning of term."

"That long?" Victoire asked.

"Yeah. That long." They were silent for a little while. Then Teddy said, "have you told anyone?"

"Not yet. I was going to see if you had."

"I haven't." They were quiet again.

"Who are we going to tell?" Victoire asked. "I don't know if we can keep this a secret. If we want to act like a couple at school, then our friends are going to know, and most of our family. If Dominique finds out then she'll definitely tell my parents, and if Fred finds out he'll make fun of us constantly, not to mention making sure every member of the family knows about us."

"I see your point."

"And, I don't know how my parents would feel about me going out with a guy two years older than me, even if it is you, who I've known forever. I am only fifteen, and that's still quite young for this kind of thing."

"I know."

"And besides," Victoire continued, "if it doesn't work out, it'll be awkward enough being around each other anyway, without the whole family feeling awkward as well."
"But I really don't think that's going to be an issue, do you?" Teddy asked, stroking her hair.

"I hope not," Victoire replied, kissing him gently on the lips. Teddy responded with enthusiasm, burying his hand in her hair.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too. But we need to talk about this. We need to decide."

"I know. So. Do we tell people, or keep it a secret?"

"I don't know," Victoire sighed. "I don't want to keep it a secret. I don't want to hide this. I'm not ashamed. But… I don't know if I can cope with everyone talking about it. And this year… there's a lot of pressure, on both of us. You have your NEWTs, I have my OWLs. We won't be able to spend much time together. And it's not like we really hang out together at school anyway."

"I know. But this is our last year, together. I'll be leaving, and we won't see each other much for two whole years."

"Let's cross that when we come to it. I'm more worried about the here and now."

"Right. So, do you want to tell anyone?"

"I… I don't think I can keep this secret from Jenny. Or Molly. But I trust that neither of those two will tell anyone if I ask them not to."

Teddy was quiet for a moment. "I don't know who out of my friends I could tell. Maybe Andrew. And… I'd like to tell my Grandma. I don't like keeping secrets from her, she's my only family."

"I understand. But… do you think you could ask her to not tell anyone until the summer? I'd like to be the one to tell my parents… and maybe by the summer it'll seem more acceptable to them."

Again, Teddy paused. "Did it ever occur to you that they may already know? I mean, Harry and Ginny both guessed."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, at Christmas, I asked Harry for some… advice. After all the situation…"

"Is very similar," Victoire finished for him. "I agree. I had a conversation about it with Ginny."

"Did you? That's funny. Seems we both had the same idea."

"Well, you know what they say. Great minds think alike!"

"Indeed."

They were quiet once again. "So," Victoire said. "You tell your grandma, and maybe one of your friends. One you can trust to keep it a secret. I'll tell Jenny and Molly. We wait until the summer to tell my parents." Victoire paused for a second. "I suppose I should tell Dominique too. She's bound to find out, and she'd be hurt that I didn't tell her myself. Besides, I have a fair bit of blackmail material on her. I could make sure she doesn't tell anyone."

Teddy chuckled. "Really? Like what?"

"That's classified," Victoire grinned. "Stuff I promised I wouldn't tell."

"I understand," Teddy said.

"But if she can't keep her mouth shut, you may just find out…" Victoire teased him, snuggling closer to his warm, muscular body. Right then she felt as though there was no future, no world around them. The only things that existed in the universe were Teddy, and the vast ocean before them. They both looked out to the dim horizon, from which the weak winter light was already beginning to fade.

"Victoire?" Teddy said.

"Yeah?"

"You know on New Year's Eve… and I got all muddled about the time difference?" Victoire grinned. It had been so cute. "Did that mean… that you did kiss someone else at midnight?"

Victoire sighed. She'd been hoping that this wouldn't come up. "Yeah. Guys had been ogling me all night, and then by midnight there were loads of them around, and the one nearest just sort of grabbed me."

"Oh." Teddy was silent for a little while. "How was it?" he said after a moment, his voice tight.

"Honestly?" Victoire moved her head off his chest, and looked him in the eye. "It was a good kiss. A great one. From a really good-looking guy. Easily the hottest guy in the room." Teddy looked annoyed. Victoire grinned again. "But it was nothing, compared to you." She kissed him softly on the lips. "See?" she whispered. "I'd rather do this any day."

Teddy laughed, and kissed her on the forehead. "I'm glad to hear it," he said, smiling. The talking pretty much stopped after that, although that didn't necessarily mean that they stopped communicating their feelings.

"Teddy and I are dating, and you are not to tell anyone, understood?"

Dominique put down her magazine and looked directly at Victoire, who was stood at the end of her bed. "I know."

"You-what?" Victoire was startled.

"Come on," Dominique said exasperatedly. "You really think I believed your lame story about 'wiping your mouth' and 'getting some air'? Come on Vic, you aren't that great a liar."

Victoire laughed. "I suppose."

"Besides, I saw the two of you kissing."

"You did?"

"Of course! You really think that thirteen years of being a little sister have taught me nothing? I can be pretty good at spying when I want to be."

"That you can." Victoire sat on the end of her sister's bed.

"I caught you at it again on the beach yesterday."

"What!?"

"Oh get over yourself already. Besides, it's not like it's that big a deal. The whole family have seen it coming for years!"

"Really?"

"Of course! Remember Dad used to joke about it with Grandpa?"

"Yeah, I do. Dom? You haven't told anyone have you?"

Dom raised her eyebrows, an evil glint in her eye. "Well, I might have mentioned it to Dad, and Uncle Ron when he came round the other day. Oh and I sent an owl to Fred, but they don't really count, right?"

"You-what? You didn't-" Victoire spluttered.

Dominique laughed. "No, of course I haven't told anyone. You really think I'd stoop that low?"

Victoire breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks Dom."

"What are sisters for?" Dominique said. Victoire smiled. "Now get out of my room."

"Going." Victoire reached the door. "By the way, Dom? If you do happen to let slip, you know, about Teddy and me to anyone, especially Fred, I may have to inform them about a certain incident last year at Mamie's. I'm sure you know the one?"

Dominique blanched. "You wouldn't."

"No, you're right. Unless I'm given a perfectly good reason to."

"Well played my sister, well played."

Victoire laughed, before turning serious again. "No one finds out about me and Teddy unless we tell them directly. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Thanks Dom."

"No problem. Now leave me alone."

"Leaving."

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

To those who were confused as to whether they are dating or not, I hope thats cleared that up for you.

Sorry if I don't update in a while. School is starting again properly as of tomorrow, so I'll probably have less time for writing and stuff.

As always, huge thanks to

MaryLouise1996, Valkariekain, HarryPotterNut94, GoldenGyrfalcon, ksrli, ohsosexyfoxhat, ntasdbevertickleasleepingdra gon, iheartweasleytwins, HogwartsDreamer113, meganooch, , narniaandharrypotter4ever, My Thunder, The Scratch Of Quills, xoxopotterheadxoxo, confusednikki24-7, deathlyhallowsalways, TheMoonIsLowTonight-funkyfish, JustMeMarissa, mimzy69, owlcity2013, RJMSnape, GreenField, Calixte, Bookwormlovesharrypotter, .311, snowybare96, Teddy Lupin Forever, NifflerPajamas0519, Eeyore1999, Paralove, Hallows Searcher, JessandDarcy, and PJHPSGfan.

Thanks also to the 66 who've followed, the 37 who've favourited, and anyone else who's read this. I've reached well over 10,000 views thanks to you, and it makes me so happy to think that people are reading and enjoying my work.

Thanks again!

Love

RoLouG