It was 3 in the afternoon; time to board the Hogwarts Express. Everyone went to the Great Hall, grabbed their trunks, and the carriages took them to the station. The teachers all waved goodbye to their students as the train left, and soon the castle was out of sight and the green countryside was racing by through the window. Halfway through the trip, Hana kissed Liam and waved goodbye as she went to sit with her Hufflepuff friends in a separate car. The three friends bought some sweets from the trolley and settled back into their seats. Teddy looked out the window, his chin resting on his fist. "We've really changed a lot, huh?" he thought aloud. Liam and Victoire looked at him.

"What do you mean?" Liam asked.

"I just…when we first met, Liam, we were twelve. And now we're seventeen. You and I have seen each other grow up, we've seen each other become who we are. And Vi, I honestly can't remember my life before you. We were best friends when we couldn't even talk. I just think that it's so mad sometimes that if we never met each other, our lives would be so different." It was silent in the rocking train car for a few minutes as they all thought.

"Yeah, you're right," Liam said softly. He waved as his sister walked by and smiled at him. "I still can't believe that witch tricked my sister." Teddy shook his head.

"Just forget it," he said. "It doesn't matter."

"It will at the hearing," Victoire said. Liam nodded. They had told Liam and Hana briefly that they had to be at Sagitta's court hearing at the Ministry, but they didn't tell anyone that they had to speak as key witnesses. It wasn't safe to spread that around.

After an hour or so, the whistle tooted and the chugging slowed down. The station suddenly appeared and waving parents were in full view. The train stopped, and the first years stepped off. The second and third years, then the fourth and fifth, then the sixth and seventh years were greeted by their families. Teddy said goodbye to his friends and promised to write. He put his trunk in the back of the Muggle car and snapped his seat belt on in the back of the car. He answered the usual questions from his grandparents, and was relieved when his house was in view. He told them that Victoire would be staying with them that week, and he had to Apparate to her house to pick her up since she couldn't do it yet. They smiled and Andromeda gave a little clap. "Oh, we haven't seen Victoire since Christmas! It'll be lovely to have her with us, won't it Ted?" Teddy's granddad responded with a grunt. His wife shouldered him and he gave a laugh.

"Of course it will. She's a lovely girl. Where will she be sleeping?"

"Um, I thought my room?" Teddy shrugged as he was stared down by his grandparents.

"Now you know we don't like that, Teddy," his grandmum said. "She'll sleep in your bed and you can sleep on the couch." Teddy whined and eventually hushed up when his grandmum pushed him upstairs with his trunk and told him to unpack before he picked up his girlfriend. He quickly threw his books on the desk, piled his dirty clothes in the hamper, and threw the trash in the bin. He called downstairs that he was leaving, but right as he was about to Apparate his grandmum ran upstairs. "No, I want to see! Let me see you Apparate, dear." Teddy sighed and closed his eyes. He felt the strange sensation and when he opened them, he was standing in the living room. Victoire smiled when she saw him and grabbed her duffel bag.

"Mum, Dad! Teddy's here and we're about to leave!" Fleur had a tray of cookies on the stove, and she handed one to Teddy after she gave him a huge hug. He gratefully bit into it, but threw the rest away since it was hard as a rock. Bill gave Teddy a handshake and asked if he had a good second term. He told him that his daughter had explained the attack, and he was grateful that Teddy was there to protect her. Dominique and Louis gave Teddy a hug and then said goodbye to their big sister. Fleur gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek and handed her a plate of the cookies to give to Teddy's grandparents. Victoire gave Teddy a look, and he tried to choke down a laugh. They said goodbye and Teddy Apparated the two of them back to his home.

"Hello, Victoire dear! How are you?" Victoire was embraced by an excited Andromeda.

"I'm very well, how are you? Oh, and thank you for letting me stay here." Teddy handed his grandmother the plate of burnt cookies and dragged Victoire upstairs. "Say hi to your husband for me!" she shouted while running up the stairs. She dropped her bag in the corner of the room when Teddy shut the door behind them.

"Sorry about her," he said. she smiled and told him it was fine. Victoire walked over to his desk and looked at the pictures he kept there. "These are so lovely," she breathed. She picked one up and smiled. "Was this taken by Hana?" Teddy nodded and walked over to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"It seems like so long ago," he said. She said nothing, but he could tell she agreed. She set the picture down and quickly turned around. Victoire cocked her head and looked in his eyes.

"Why do you love me?" Teddy didn't know what he was going to say, but he opened his mouth anyway.

"I love you because I know you. I know how you think; I know how deeply you feel. I love you because you care about others, but you don't care about what they think of you. I love you because you are so beautiful. I love you because I can't imagine my life without you." She was quiet for a moment, then buried her face in his chest and wrapped her arms around his back. "Are you okay?" He whispered. From the folds of his shirt, she muffled "Mhm." He laughed and kissed the top of her head.