'Are you still angry with me for telling Teddy you lurrrrve him?' Dominique sniggered wickedly, as Victoire attempted to page through the Daily Prophet.

'I don't love him!' Victoire exclaimed,

'D'aww,' Dominique sneered, 'you're just sad because Teddy will never feel the same… I mean, who would? Look at you,' a wicked smirk glittered on her face,

'Just stop it, Dom,' Victoire muttered, turning away.

'You know it's true,' Dominique teased, grinning,

'SHUT UP,' Victoire screamed, throwing the paper down on the table. Dominique's eyes widened, looking rather taken aback. She had rarely seen her sister like this. 'You are a spoilt, evil little brat!' Dominique opened her mouth to retort, but Victoire continued to speak, 'I have absolutely NO idea how you have friends.' Victoire clenched her fists together, 'you're horrid, manipulative, and downright rude… you have absolutely no respect for anyone or anything,'

'Victoire-' Dominique whimpered, suddenly looking on the brink of tears,

'NO,' Victoire roared, 'don't make me look like the bad guy here, Dominique.'

'I- I-' Dominique stammered,

'You WHAT?' Victoire yelled,

'It's not my fault!' Dominique spluttered,

'Not your fault?!' Victoire gasped, 'Not you're fault?!' she repeated angrily, 'then who's fault is it, Dominique?'

'I can't- I can't,' Dominique sniffed,

'You may be able to strut around acting like a little bitch at Beauxbatons, but I'm not going to take it anymore,' Victoire fumed,

'I- I'm sorry,' Dominique wailed, erupting with tears. Victoire froze. 'I'm so sorry,' Dominique said once more, 'I don't mean to, I- I really don't,'

'Dommie,' Victoire sighed quietly,

'Please don't hate me,' Dominique sobbed, rubbing her eyes with the sleeves of her loose blue jumper.

'I don't hate you,' Victoire exhaled,

'That makes a change,' Dominique sniffled,

'What do you mean?' Victoire frowned, 'I've never said I hated you,'

'No,' Dominique said, 'everyone else hates me,'

'No they don't!' Victoire exclaimed, 'Maman treats you like some sort of angel, and-'

'No,' Dominique protested, 'I don't mean you guys. I mean everyone…at school and stuff,'

'What?' Victoire narrowed her eyes, 'I thought you were some sort of Queen bee…'

'Pfft,' Dominique spat, wiping the tears from her cheeks, 'I'm lucky if anybody speaks to me,'

'But- but you said that you had boys chasing after you left, right and centre!'

'I wish!' Dominique murmured,

'Oh Dominique,' Victoire sighed, 'you should have said something… told us that you were having a tough time,'

'But I couldn't!' Dominique sighed,

'Why not?!' Victoire asked,

'Because it was embarrassing!' Dominique told her, 'what with you, swanning home every term, going off to stay with friends as perfect as Millie Boot…'

'But I was miserable,' Victoire told her, 'Millie was horrible to me… but she was my only friend,'

'I didn't know,' Dominique whispered, '…nobody at school will talk to me.' She said, 'the girls keep taking my stuff, and they make fun of me for being a Weasley,'

'You're actually being bullied?' Victoire's eyes widened,

'I- I didn't want to say anything,' Dominique said quietly, 'Maman was so perfect at school… everybody loved her. I just wanted to be like her… to make her proud,'

'Dominique,' Victoire sighed, 'don't be silly,'

'I'm really sorry, Vic,' Dominique whimpered, 'you were right. It's no wonder I have no friends,'

'Don't be silly,' Victoire frowned, putting an arm around her sister, 'I promise you we'll sort this out.'

New Year at the Potters' was always a crowded affair. Years ago, the new year party alternated between homes, sometimes Ron and Hermione would host, and other times Andromeda would feel guilty, and attempt to fit everyone in her small home, but as years past, an unspoken agreement took place, and from then on, everybody simply returned to Hallows House for the celebrations. The Potters had enough room for the annual party, and space for everybody to stay the night- even if it did mean pitching magical tents in the garden. Regardless- there was a routine. The Burrow at Christmas, Hallows House at New Year, and Ron and Hermione at Easter.

As Victoire walked towards the building, she could feel the atmosphere pulsating outwards. Muffled music vibrated through the walls, and chimes of laughter hung in the air. An unexplainable feeling of nerves erupted in the pit of her stomach. Victoire frowned inwardly. What on earth was going on? The Potters' annual New Year party was nothing to feel nervous about… if anything it was something to be excited for. She should have been eager to get inside and watch Uncle George dance on the ceiling after one too many fire whiskeys, or to receive another wacky piece of jewellery from Aunt Luna… but something…strange… made her stomach turn.

'Well knock on the door then, Vic,' said Bill, who stood behind her impatiently. It became apparent to her that she'd been stood vacantly, lost in thought.

'Oh, right,' she said, an unintended shake rippling through her voice. She lifted the heavy brass knocker, that hung from a triumphant looking Lion's head.

The door tore open almost instantly, to reveal James looking rather proud of himself.

'Hey guys!' he beamed, although his eyes seemed distance, 'come in, join the party,' he said, stumbling to one side to let the family in.

'Are you ok, James?' Bill glowered,

'Oh, I'm fine Uncle Bill,' James grinned, 'absolutely excellent in fact,' he added. Bill narrowed his eyes, 'Mum and Dad are in the living room,' he chirped.

'You look funny, James,' said Louis, once Bill and Fleur were out of earshot, 'and why do you keep saying things weird,'

'I'm not saying things weird,' James sniggered,

'Yes you are,' Louis protested, 'you'ressaaayingthinggslikethisss ss,'

'I've had some of Teddy's dragonrum,' he whispered loudly. Victoire felt her stomach lurch at the name. Shit.

'Teddy gave you dragonrum!?' Dominique exclaimed,

'Well, only a little,' James smirked, 'I took the rest when he wasn't looking- hey, I could get you guys some if you want?'

'Yeah!' said Louis, grinning wickedly,

'Go on then,' Dominique smirked, 'where are Roxanne and Molly?'

'They're in the garden- they've got some butterbeer, we'll meet them in a second.'

'Jesus Christ,' Victoire said, 'have any of the adults noticed the state of you yet?'

'Nah, they're all off their heads too,' James smiled, 'come and join us, Vic!'

'Maybe in a bit,' Victoire sighed,

'Come on,' James said, 'we're going to get Al to ask out our babysitter,'

'Your babysitter?' Victoire spat,

'Yeah,' James sniggered, 'Al has a GIANT crush on her,'

'That's cruel, James,' Victoire sighed,

'How is it cruel?' he asked micheviously,

'Because you know she's going to say no to him… she's obviously a lot older, and Al's only eight.'

'Whatever,' James shrugged, 'it's going to be hilarious,' he said, with far too much emphasis on every word.

Victoire sighed. It wasn't like she'd have much fun on her own amongst the adults… and she had no intention of finding Teddy- if the butterflies in her stomach meant anything at all, she knew that seeing him would be completely unbearable.

'Alright,' Victoire sighed, 'but if any of the adults find out about this, I had nothing to do with it,'

'Whatever,' Louis sniggered, 'It looks like somebody's left that bottle of brandy unoccupied, I'll go and grab it. See you all outside in five minutes. Get what you can,' he said, before running off.

'Oh god,' Victoire grumbled, 'I'm off to get smashed with a bunch of thirteen year olds.'

Getting outside was a challenge in itself- the house was so crowded that it was almost impossible to walk anywhere without uttering the words 'sorry' and 'excuse me' about a hundred times a second.

'Hey Victoire,' yelled Roxanne, over the increasingly loud babble of the party goers.

'Oh, Roxy,' Victoire smiled, 'how are you?'

'I'm great,' she said, 'me and Fred are just doing a booze-cruise of the dining room, want to come with?'

'I think I'll pass,' Victoire said, shaking her head. What had gotten in to the family this year?

'If you're looking for Teddy,' Roxanne began, oh god, that name again, 'he's in the kitchen, flirting with some girl,'

'I wasn't looking for him,' Victoire blurted out, defensively, 'I was just trying to get to the garden,' her stomach knotted, a tight pain piercing her gut.

'Well I'll see you in a bit,' Roxanne said, dashing into the crowd and out of sight. Some girl? Who was she? How did he know her? Victoire panicked. Wait. Why on earth was she panicking about this? She tried to convince herself that she didn't care… why should she care? She was still in love with Drew, of course.

But she couldn't help herself. She had to see this 'some girl' that he was 'flirting' with. So, she made her way to the kitchen. Well, the kitchen doorway, where she could peek though and see what was going on, without being seen.

She was pretty. Really, really pretty. Far too pretty in fact. She had a head of tightly curled dark hair, and almost Italian, with big dark eyes and a dazzling smile. She was also tiny- much more petite than Victoire, but some how had a bigger chest, and much more impressive curves- which she shamelessly showed of in a very clingy red dress. Victoire resented her almost instantly.

'Victoire,' whispered a voice from behind her, she turned around, to see a very impish looking Albus, with a bottle stuffed up his shirt. 'I see you're scanning the place for more drinks too- good work,' he said, his smile glittering. It was obvious that he'd never done something as naughty or exciting as this before.

'Who's she?' Victoire asked, without thinking?

'You know her, silly,' said Albus, 'that's Granny Molly,'

'Not Molly,' Victoire groaned, 'the girl that's talking to Teddy,'

'Ohhh,' said Albus, prolonging the sound to an extent that was almost annoying, 'that's Rebecca,' Albus said, 'she babysits us sometimes,'

'That's your babysitter,' Victoire spat,

'Yeah,' Albus said, 'she's really pretty isn't she,' he added, almost longingly,

'How old is she?' Victoire asked,

'She's twenty,' Albus sighed, 'her dad goes to work with our daddy,'

'Right,' said Victoire stiffly, 'isn't she a bit too old to be talking to Teddy then?'

'No,' Albus said defensively, 'I'm only eight and I'm in love with her,'

'Oh, right,' muttered Victoire.

'Come on,' Albus said, tugging her arm, 'everyone's outside already,'

'I'll come in a bit,' she said,

'No, you're coming now,' Albus demanded, pulling her away.

Outside was chillier than expected. Victoire had half forgotten that it was December, and that snow was on the ground.

'Right, we're all here then?' James checked, doing a head count of the group. He'd obviously elected himself as group leader for the evening.

'Is Teddy not joining us?' Fred asked, quickly scanning the area for his friend,

'No, he's flirting with Rebecca,' James told Fred,

'He's not flirting with her,' Albus exclaimed,

'Yes he is,' Roxanne sniggered, 'did you not see the he was looking at her- they were giving each other that 'get in my bed now' stare-'

'Alright Roxanne, keep it clean,' Victoire snapped,

'No!' Albus cried, 'Rebecca loves me!'

'Yes, I'm sure she does,' James patted his brother on the shoulder in a patronising manner. 'Right,' he announced, 'we're going to the swings at the bottom of the garden- has everyone got everything they need?' The ground murmured and nodded before they began their venture down the soggy lawn.

'Are you jealous?' Dominique whispered to Victoire, so quietly that only she could hear,

'For god's sake, Dominique,' Victoire hissed, 'you need to drop the whole 'me and Teddy' thing,'

'No, I'm being serious,' she said, Victoire didn't say anything. 'You are, aren't you?'

'No!' Victoire insisted, 'this is exactly how he behaves at Hogwarts, Dom, I'm used to this kind of behaviour from him,'

'Whatever you say,' Dominique sighed, turning back to her conversation with Molly. It was fair to say that Victoire and her had been getting on a great deal better since their chat back at Shell Cottage. Victoire had a newfound understanding for how Dominique had been acting- after all, they did always say that those had been victims of bullying often become bullies themselves. Dominique on the other hand had suddenly realised the error in her ways, and had set herself straight… at least most of the time… but what's a few arguments between sisters?

'We have exactly one hour until midnight,' said Fred, once they arrived at the woodland patch at the bottom of the yard, 'we'll be expected back at the house then, ready for the count down, so somebody keep an eye on the time,'

'I'll do that, then,' said Dominique, looking down at the pastel blue watch she'd been given for her twelfth birthday.

'Excellent,' said James,

'I think some of us older lot may be able to come back out here after the count down,' said Fred, 'but I'm afraid Al, James and Louis may have to go to bed,'

'What!' they protested in unison,

'I'm sorry,' shrugged Fred, 'it's just the way I think the adults will react… especially when you stumble in there, ready to ask Rebecca out on a date, Al,'

'Well we can always sneak back out, right,' James said, a new grin spreading across his face.

'Sounds like a plan,' said Fred, 'and maybe once Teddy's detached himself from that Rebecca girl he can join us as well,' The group nodded in agreement, before getting their findings out proudly and placing them in the middle of the circle.

'Let's play truth or dare!' Molly suggested, excitedly,

'Great plan, Mols,' said James, 'You go first,'

'That's not fair!' Molly demanded,

'Well, you suggested it,' James retorted, Molly groaned.

'Fine.' She said, 'Truth,'

'Borrringg,' Albus slurred, already tucking into the bottle of brandy Louis had found.

'Can somebody please stop him,' Victoire sighed, 'we can't let an eight year old get drunk,'

'She's right,' said Fred, 'hand it over, Al,' he said, extending his arm across the group,

'No!' Albus yelled, 'I'm just as grown up as all of you,'

'I know you are, mate,' said Fred, 'I just don't want you to get in trouble with your mum and dad,'

'They wont find out,' Albus giggled,

'Jesus Christ, guys,' Victoire hissed, 'how much has he had already?'

'Not a lot,' Roxanne whispered to her, 'he's only had a sip of real stuff… the rest of the time we've just been giving him apple juice and telling him it's whisky. He's definitely putting it on,'

'That's a relief,' Victoire sighed, 'honestly this is ridiculous, we're all too young-'

'Oh my god, Victoire!' Louis exclaimed, 'will you just quit being such a spoil sport- you sound like mum!'

'No I do not!' Victoire exclaimed,

'Yes, you do!' Louis said, 'just just ruining it,'

'I am not ruining it!' Victoire protested,

'Alright then,' said Louis, 'prove it,'

'Fine!' Victoire snapped, grabbing the bottle of dragonrum and taking three large gulps. 'There, are you happy now?'

'Break it up, guys,' said James, 'we need to come up with a truth for Molly,'

'Have you ever kissed a boy?' Albus said, in such a scandalous tone that he made kissing sound like some sort of exotic ritual,

'Well… once,' Molly said, her blush radiating through the darkness.

'Who?' James asked,

'That wasn't part of the question!' Molly cried,

'Nobody cares,' Victoire smiled, 'you have to tell us who,'

'Well… it was Andrew Bell,' she said, looking at her feet,

'The chaser Andrew Bell?!' Fred exclaimed,

'Well, yes,' Molly said, 'we kissed after the Yule Ball,'

'Oh la la,' Albus chuckled; obviously acting in the way he thought that 'drunk' people should behave. Now Victoire knew that it was all an act, she felt she could relax a little more.

In the space of about half an hour, Victoire had witnessed James eating several handfuls of dirty snow, Dominique running around the garden half clothed, Fred declaring his love to a drunk adult that had stumbled out of the house and Albus admitting that he wanted to marry Rebecca (no surprises there).

'Your turn, Victoire,' James said,

'Oh god,' Victoire sighed, contemplating whether choose truth or dare. If she chose truth, the question would inevitably be 'Are you in love with Teddy?' which she certainly didn't want to answer… heck, she didn't even know what the answer to that question was. So, she went with the only other option. 'Dare,' she said.

'Wicked!' said James,

'I have a good one,' Fred said quickly, smiling to himself,

'Go on, then,' James said,

'Go inside,' Fred began, 'and kiss Teddy!' the group erupted with laughter,

'No!' Victoire exclaimed, 'I can't,'

'Why not?' Fred demanded,

'Because-' Victoire began,

'Because nothing, you're doing it,' Fred said flatly.

I'm so sorry I took SO long to upload that! I really have absolutely no excuse but just being really lazy- but I'm back on form now and I HOPE to be uploading chapters far far more regularly than before!

So, as always- you know how much I value your reviews- I read every single one, and I try to reply to every question that's asked- I just LOVE hearing your feedback- positive or negative, it's a great way to understand what I need to improve, and what I need to continue- and also what direction I should take the story in.

Anyway- if you have the time, please do let me know what you think. Also- in response to your question FlubbsxLove, yes I did do my GCSEs, and my results are coming out this Thursday! Ahh! I'm seriously nervous- but I'll let you all know how I did... seeing as I kind of abandoned revising to write this story... oh well!

Lots of love darlings,

Em x