Happy New Year! Had to redo this chapter several times, so hard to write for some reason.

Anyway thanks for your reviews!

Enjoy!

Chapter 37

Empty eyes. Cold, dead, empty eyes.

Every time Teddy closed his eyes, he saw them. Those eyes which had always been so menacing, so sneering and mean, suddenly devoid of all emotion and life, simply empty.

He's dead, thought Teddy, Roman Rosier is dead. He had dreamt of this day since the first time he had encountered his nemesis and now it had happened and all Teddy felt was numb.

It wasn't supposed to be like this, Teddy thought anxiously. People you wanted dead weren't actually supposed to die. They were not supposed to turn up in lifeless in hot tubs, drowning in their own blood.

Teddy heart pounded as he thought back to the gruesome scene. So much blood, just the thought made Teddy want to wretch for the second time tonight.

Stop thinking about it, he ordered himself and yet he couldn't stop the images swarming around his mind. Empty eyes, cold, lifeless, empty eyes.

"I need to go home,"he decided. He needed to sleep, to forget tonight ever happened. He needed to get out of here.

He looked up from where he sat in the study of Malfoy Manor. There was a large grandfather clock on the other side of the room, twenty past four, it showed.

Teddy couldn't believe it was almost half four in the morning and he was still here at the Manor, he had wanted leave over an hour ago but Harry had asked him to wait for him here.

After the Rosier brothers' bodies had been discovered, several Magical Law Enforcement Officers had turned up at Malfoy Manor along with a few Investigation officers who took witness reports and photographs of the murder scene. Teddy had been one of the first to give his account of the evening after which he had watched the officers remove the bodies from the tub into the house. It was about quarter to two before Harry turned up at the manor along with four other Aurors. They had gone directly to where the bodies were before examining the hot tub and other areas of the garden. A couple of the Aurors had tried to speak to Caspian but, and Teddy wasn't sure if his best friend was in shock or simply being difficult, Caspian refused to speak to anyone without his lawyer present.

"Draco is going to kill me," his best friend had continually muttered, wandering around his home listlessly, his grey eyes wide with a fear Teddy had never seen in them.

Some guests were taken to St. Mungo's for shock, but the majority were allowed to leave except under aged wizards who the Enforcement Officers escorted home. Teddy's heart had ached as he watched his girlfriend being guided out of the Manor, along with Mandy, Nathan and Dorian, without having had the chance to reconcile with her.

Finally, at around three, the house was empty save for ministry staff and Harry, seeing how tired his godson looked, had offered to escort Teddy back to his home once he had finished one last comb through the garden.

So here Teddy sat in the study waiting for him, clutching his head in pain as he tried to battle the searing headache he'd had for nearly five hours.

Suddenly the door creaked opened and Teddy looked up. To his dismay, it was not Harry who was strolling in but a smartly dressed blond haired wizard who approached the table Teddy sat at with a grim smile.

"Anthony Goldstein, head of the serious crimes investigation unit. You are Teddy Lupin, correct?" asked the man, offering his hand to Teddy, who shook it tensely and nodded. Goldstein took a seat opposite Teddy and pulled a small piece of parchment from his robe pocket and a quill. He looked up at Teddy, "I'm just here to ask you a few questions about what happened tonight."

"Someone has already asked me questions," Teddy said briskly, rubbing his head. He was not in the mood to repeat himself. He just wanted to go home.

"Teddy," began Goldstein carefully. "Two boys have been killed tonight, it is my job to investigate exactly what happened so we can find out who did this and why."

"Well, I can't help you with any of that," Teddy replied with a weary sigh.

"As one of the last people to see the Rosier brothers alive, I beg to differ," Goldstein countered.

They were interrupted by the door opening and to his relief, Teddy saw Harry come into the room.

"Ah, Harry," Goldstein said with a polite smile as Teddy's godfather approached them and took a seat beside his godson.

"I told you to wait for me," Harry said with a frown.

"I was just introducing myself to Teddy," Goldstein responded, "And explaining how useful Teddy's account may be to this investigation."

"And I was telling Mr. Goldstein that I'd rather not answer the same damn questions again," Teddy snapped irritably.

Harry glanced at his godson. Teddy looked thoroughly exhausted and Harry had noticed tonight how yellowy his eyes seemed, but Goldstein gave him a knowing look so he said,

"Teddy, Mr. Goldstein just needs to clarify a few things with you then we can go."

Teddy caught the exchange of glances and stared at his godfather suspiciously but his green eyes gave nothing away.

"Okay," he said finally, he turned to Goldstein, "What do you want to know?"

"I want to know about the argument you had with the Rosier brothers at approximately ten pm last night. There seems to be no mention of it in your accounts to my investigators yet several people claimed to have witnessed it."

Teddy stiffen slightly, "Oh that.. I forgot."

Goldstein raised an eyebrow, "You forgot you argued with two boys who were murdered a mere hour later?"

Teddy shot him a look, "I don't really remember much about last night to be honest, as I've told several of your colleagues, I've had a lot to drink."

Goldstein glanced briefly at Harry before asking, "Do you at least remember what you were arguing about?"

Teddy held his head as he thought back, "Yeah, they wanted to be let into the party even though they weren't invited."

"But they did have an invite," Goldstein stated, "Our investigation officers found it in the older boy's robe pocket. Why then would you say they weren't invited?"

"Because we're not friends with them," Teddy replied matter-of-factly.

"We?"

"Caspian and I."

"And you devised the guest list together?"

"Well, no," Teddy admitted, he had hardly had a say on who was invited, apart from asking Victoire to be put on the list, "But Cass would never have invited the Rosier brothers. Plus, if they were on the guest list Dorian Bailey wouldn't have called me out to get rid of them."

"So this invite we found in their pockets-"

"-fake, probably," Teddy cut in.

"Fake?" Goldstein mused, "You think they made it to try and sneak in?"

"Maybe," answered Teddy with a shrug.

"Why would they do that?" asked Goldstein, "What would they gain?"

"Disrupt the party?" suggested Teddy, "To sabotage it."

"Is that something the Rosiers would do?"

"Roman's done worse," Teddy replied curtly.

"You appear to have had a less than friendly relationship with the Rosiers," Goldstein commented.

Teddy glanced at his godfather before answering, "Yeah, well Roman and I are...I mean...were not friends, everyone knows that. I don't really know much about his brother, Herman, except he bullied a family friend of mine so I'm not exactly his biggest fan either."

"And was there a particular trigger for this animosity between you and Roman Rosier?"

Teddy stared at Goldstein, wondering where this was leading, before saying, "Well, I suppose it all started when Cass got sorted into Gryffindor in first year, they didn't like it that he became friends with me and ditched them."

"They?" queried Goldstein.

"Roman and his crew, Adrian Avery and Malcolm Mulciber. They had been friends with Caspian before Hogwarts started. Must have been some death eater play date group or something," Teddy quipped.

Goldstein looked at Teddy curiously before pressing on, "Okay going back to the argument last night, according to witness statements it ended with you jinxing Roman and Victoire Weasley hexing Herman Rosier, is this correct?"

Teddy thought back, "Yes, I think so," he answered after a while.

"And what provoked you to resort to magic or in Miss Weasley's case illegal magic?"

"They were insulting Claude, Victoire's brother, that's why she hexed him. I can't remember why I jinxed Roman. I think it was mainly to get them both off the property."

"And what happened next?"

"I don't know! I left Nathan, Dorian and Chastity to sort it out. Maybe it's them you should be interviewing not me," Teddy suggested sharply, "I don't see how what happened between Roman and I is relevant to them ending up dead."

"It's relevant because it's the last time either of them were seen alive. According to statements from those present, after being jinxed and hexed, the Rosier brothers were escorted out of the property and the front doors closed behind them."

"Okay then," said Teddy in bemusement, "Again, not really seeing how this is relevant to me. Shouldn't you be focussing on finding out what happened to the Rosiers after they left the premises?"

"Believe me, Mr. Lupin, we have our best officers retracing the steps of the Rosier brothers as we speak but that's not my job. Knowing where the Rosier brothers were is only half the key to solving this case, the other half is knowing exactly where every single guest was at the time of the murders. There are only a handful of people we cannot place at the time of the murder and one of them is you."

Teddy nearly rolled his eyes but controlled himself. "I was in the dining room as I've already told your colleagues,"he said bluntly.

"By yourself?"

"Yes," answered Teddy.

"What were you doing?"

"Nothing. My head was hurting and I just wanted somewhere to sit for a bit."

"Can anyone corroborate that?"

"Victoire Weasley... possibly."

"Possibly?"

"Well, she found me there but I can't really remember what time that was."

"Seems like you can't remember a lot of things that happened last night Mr. Lupin," Goldstein said casually but with a slight edge to his voice.

Teddy glared at Goldstein incredulously before turning to his godfather, "Harry, can you please tell this guy that I'm not a murderer?"

"No one is suggesting you had anything to do with what happened tonight," Goldstein insisted hastily his eyes flicking from Teddy to Harry.

"Well this interrogation suggests otherwise," returned Teddy angrily, "Just because I jinxed Roman before he died, doesn't mean I killed him. I've jinxed Roman more times than I've had hot dinners but have thus far managed to refrain myself from doing him in, why would I start now?"

"Well, like you said yourself earlier tonight, you're out of school now and you can do whatever you like," answered Goldstein tersely.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly seemed to drop a couple of degrees, as Teddy stared at Goldstein viciously. For a second Goldstein could have sworn he saw the teenager's eyes flash red in front of him.

"Anthony," Harry said in a warning tone to his colleague, "I think you've asked Teddy enough questions tonight and I would remind you your job is not to investigate not intimidate. Let's go Teddy."

Anthony open his mouth to reply but Harry stood up, pulling Teddy up with him and leading him to the door but Teddy wriggled out of his grasp and turned back to Goldstein as he remembered something.

"Goldstein," he called trying to ignore the intense pain in his head, the wizard looked back at him.

"Yes?"

"If you really want to crack this case, you need to start speaking to Lucy Bennett, not me."

"What do you mean?" asked Goldstein in confusion.

"I'm willing to bet whoever killed her husband had something to do with the murders of the Rosiers."

"And how do you figure that?"

"The Untouchables," said Teddy simply, and with that he left the room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next few days were miserable for Teddy. Despite his constant owls, Victoire was not speaking to him. Bill had come over the day after the party to tell him that Victoire was indefinitely grounded and they would not be requiring his tutoring services as she would be spending all day in her room and was not allowed visitors for the remainder of the summer. That punishment had seemed overly harsh to Teddy at the time but as news spread quickly about the murders of two teenagers at a birthday party and the subsequent fearmongering led by the Daily Prophet and other publications, Teddy wondered how many other parents were taking similar stances with their children.

On Monday, Teddy's grandmother left for her cruise with Clyde Mist. Both Danny and Teddy had been there to wave them goodbye. When he returned home to his empty house that day, Teddy had nearly cried at the thought of spending the night alone at home without his grandmother. Adding to his loneliness was the fact he had hardly spoken to Caspian since his birthday party. Draco and his family had cut short their holiday to deal with the aftermath of the murders and the sole correspondence from Caspian to Teddy was on the day they came back:

"Hi Ted.

Sorry I haven't been in touch. Been at the ministry almost everyday. They're asking loads of questions. I get the feeling they think I have something to do with the murders.

Draco, Maribel and Scorp got back this morning. I don't know what to say to them. Never seen Draco and Maribel so disappointed in me. They didn't even shout. Said nothing. Even Scorpius. They all hate me, I can tell. If they could, they'd kick me out. Now I really hope we find my mum because I don't think I have a family here any more.

Cass."

Teddy felt bad for his friend. Despite how much he pretended otherwise, Teddy knew Caspian cared about his cousin and even more so, Maribel and Scorpius. Maybe some time away would help them forgive him, Teddy thought as he packed his suitcases for South America. It was Thursday evening and Teddy's flight to Ecuador was in less than twenty four hours.

The more he thought about leaving England for a few months, the more it made sense to him. His grandmother was gone, he was at a stalemate with his potion and he quite frankly with what had happened this weekend, he needed a change of scenery.

And yet he thought, as he packed his "Very Advanced Dark Magic" book into his suitcase, the idea of leaving without patching things up with Victoire was heart wrenching. If he left without even saying goodbye, well, he couldn't imagine how on earth they could ever repair their relationship when he eventually returned.

Suddenly there was tap on his window. Another owl from Hubert no doubt, thought Teddy without turning from what he was doing. Hubert had been writing to him almost everyday since the party, it was starting to get out of hand. The taps grew louder.

"Okay, one sec," he moaned turning round and nearly falling over his suitcase in shock. Hovering on a broom outside his window was Victoire Weasley. Teddy tripped over his pile of books in a haste to let her in.

"Hi," she said simply as she stepped into the room.

"Toi, what the hell are you doing here?" Teddy cried.

"Nice to see you too," replied Victoire sarcastically, taking off her cloak.

"Sorry, hi," Teddy said quickly, surveying her and the broom in her hand. "Did you fly all the way here?"

Victoire nodded proudly, placing her broom carefully to lean by the bookcase.

"What about about your parents? I thought you were grounded."

"Mum's gone to France for the week with Amelie and Dad's on an overnight business trip in the North Sea, so it's just me and Claude at home tonight and Claude's disappeared off somewhere, so I took my chance. I just had to see you before you went away."

She blushed and Teddy smiled sheepishly taking a step towards her, "So you got all my letters?"

Victoire nodded and smiled slowly, "They were very sweet."

"So I'm forgiven?" Teddy asked timidly.

"No," Victoire said firmly, "I'm still really mad at you, but I just couldn't bear the thought of not seeing you one last time."

Teddy frowned, "What do you mean one last time? I'll back before Christmas."

"You say that," Victoire sighed, "but things change when you move somewhere new, people change, Teddy."

"Well not me," Teddy replied taking her hand in his.

"Maybe I'm not talking about you," Victoire said softly.

Teddy looked at her in surprise dropping her hand roughly, "I thought you were here to make up, not break up with me again. I don't understand you, Victoire."

"Well the feeling's mutual," Victoire shot back immediately. Teddy turned away from her and slumped onto his bed while Victoire stood awkwardly, "Well I guess I should go then," she said finally but Teddy sat up immediately.

"No," he said with a sigh, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry about everything. I should have told you about South America earlier."

"You should have told me about everything earlier, Teddy," Victoire responded, "That party was the first I've ever even heard about Caspian's mother!"

"I know," Teddy acknowledged guiltily.

Victoire looked at him in exasperation, "I just...I just always feel so out of the loop with you. It's like you have this whole separate life with Caspian and the other sevenths and I'm on the outside all the time, never part of the grand plan, just a dumb, blonde afterthought."

"No," Teddy insisted, standing up and walking towards her, "Victoire," he said firmly, "You're one of the most important people in my life."

"Then why don't you tell me anything, Teddy?" Victoire asked desperately, her hazel eyes wide with hurt, "Whether it's going to South America or trying to break up with me last Christmas, you can never just tell me straight. Every minute I'm with you is like a constant guessing game. I never know what you're thinking or feeling. I mean last Saturday at Caspian's birthday when you were drunk, that was the first time I really thought I was hearing the real you and I liked it, Teddy. I really liked it. I made me feel closer to you. But I don't want to have to get you blinding drunk every time I want to know how you're feeling. I just want you to be honest with me because I tell you everything Teddy but never you tell me anything," Victoire finished breathlessly. She stared at Teddy for a second before turning away in frustration.

There was long silence before Teddy spoke up, "If I told you even a fraction of what I feel, you'd have me committed to St. Mungo's."

"What?" Victoire turned round.

Teddy sighed and took a seat by his desk. After a few seconds he looked up at his girlfriend with a serious expression, "Victoire, I love you, but believe me, you don't want to hear the stuff that goes through my head, if you did you'd never want to talk to me again."

"That's not true," Victoire argued.

Teddy laughed softly, "Victoire, I don't even want these thoughts in my head, let alone want to talk about them. Half the stuff that runs through my brain, I just want to lock up in a cupboard and throw away the key. I'm not who everyone thinks I am. I'm a mess," Teddy admitted, his voice cracking slightly.

Victoire instinctively came closer to him, sitting at the edge of the desk, staring down at Teddy in concern. "How can you be a mess? Your whole life is perfect."

Teddy closed his eyes, desperately wishing he could magically make her understand everything he was trying to say and everything he was feeling but instead when he opened his eyes, she was still looking blankly at him.

"Never mind," he muttered with a sigh, wondering why he'd even bothered to explain himself.

"No," Victoire said quickly, placing a hand on his face, "Teddy, please talk to me. I want to understand."
Teddy looked up at her, she had never seemed so young as she did right now. "No, I don't think you can," Teddy said earnestly. Victoire looked at him, evidently upset, so Teddy kissed softly on the lips, "It doesn't change the way I feel about you," he said quickly, "Toi, I know I've messed this whole summer up for us but if I could take you with me to South America, I would. I wish I could spend everyday single day with you."

The slightest of smiles grew on Victoire's face and Teddy knew that was all she had really wanted to hear. He smiled too, resting his head on hers, trying desperately to convince himself that one day he would be able to tell her everything and that she would not look at him like a madman.

"So, are we okay?" he asked finally.

"I guess," Victoire responded, sitting back.

"It's only a few months anyway," Teddy said, taking her hand in his.

"But I'll still be at school and then what?" Victoire sighed.

"We'll figure it out," Teddy promised, "We'll have Christmas and Easter and you're forgetting the Hogsmeade trips. They'll be loads of those and I'll come up every time."

Victoire's face changed suddenly.

"What?" Teddy questioned.

"There probably won't be any Hogsmeade trips for me this year."

"Why?"

Victoire looked down for a moment and when she looked up again, Teddy found to his shock her eyes were welling up, "My parents are really mad at me right now Teddy," she whispered, "Sneaking out to Caspian's birthday party was the final straw. They want to send me to Beauxbatons."

"What?" exclaimed Teddy in surprise, "They can't do that, you're in sixth year."

Victoire shook her head, "It works differently over there, plus mum knows the headmistress and Claude's already there. Basically, if I don't pass my Charms retake, I'm leaving Hogwarts."

Teddy suddenly felt even more guilty than he already did about leaving Victoire.

"When's the retake?" He asked quickly.

"August 31st" Victoire answered grimly, "If I fail, I'll be at Beauxbatons on September 1st. Mum's organising it as we speak."

"Oh Toi," was all Teddy could muster to say, "Look, whatever happens, whether you're at Hogwarts or Beauxbatons, I'll still come visit."

Victoire shook her head again, "Everything's so complicated right now, Teddy. I think it's best if we don't make promises we can't keep. It'll hurt too much."

Teddy looked at her and felt a lump in his throat as his mind swarmed with a million different thoughts at once.

"You'll write to me though?" He asked anxiously, "Let me know what happens?"

"Of course," Victoire said, "And you know maybe it'll all work out, I have been studying really hard."

"Yeah maybe," Teddy agreed but they glanced at each other unconvincingly and there was a long silence as they both sat lost in thought.

"I should probably go home now," Victoire said but Teddy held onto her hand firmly and shook his head.

"No," he said.

"No, what?"

"Stay here tonight," Teddy said reaching up to kiss her softly.

"Teddy, I don't think-" Victoire began but Teddy cut in.

"Just to sleep," He clarified watching her face, "Who knows when I might see you again and your parents are away anyway..."

Victoire smiled awkwardly, her face flushing, "Okay," she nodded.

Teddy grinned, standing up and pulling her close to him, entwining their fingers together.

"You can sleep in my bed if you want," he told her.

"W-with you?" Victoire stammered, her face completely red. Teddy smiled nervously.

"If you want," he whispered.

Victoire gulped but nodded.

"Are you hungry?" Teddy asked suddenly remembering his manners.

"No, not really," Victoire answered, "I can help you pack," she said looking around the room and at the huge piles of scattered books and clothes. Teddy smiled and they began sorting out the mess on the floor. It took them nearly an hour and half to pack but eventually Teddy had managed to get everything he needed for his trip into one suitcase and a carry on.

"Finished," he said triumphantly, looking around the room.

"What's this?" asked Victoire, Teddy looked up and saw her twirling a small vial filled with clear liquid between her fingers from where she sat on his bed.

"Er...nothing," Teddy answered immediately, snatching the vial from her fingers quickly. Victoire looked up at him curiously.

"Just another thing I wouldn't understand?" She asked with a knowing glance. Teddy grinned and kissed her firmly, running his hands up her side.

"Yes," he answered, "Thanks for helping me by the way," he added resting his chin on her chest.

"It's fine," Victoire said stifling a yawn.

"You're tired," said Teddy.

"Amazing observation skills detective," Victoire quipped, laughing heartily as Teddy tickled her in response.

"Okay, let's find you some sleeping clothes," Teddy said, standing up and heading to his drawers where he found his favourite oversized t shirt. He threw it towards Victoire who picked it up in disgust.

"No way am I sleeping in a Chudley Cannons shirt," she scoffed.

"Well I guess you'll have to sleep naked then," Teddy retorted with a smirk. Victoire stuck her tongue out at him.

"Fine. Turn around."

Teddy did as told as Victoire changed.

"Ok, you can look now."

Teddy turned round to find his girlfriend wearing his bright orange Qudditch shirt which was so large it went down to her knees.

"And here I was thinking you couldn't look any sexier," Teddy teased.

Victoire made a rude gesture as she sat on the bed.

"Why did you buy such a large t-shirt?" She asked as Teddy settled beside her.

"I thought I'd grow into it," Teddy shrugged, "Didn't realise at the time I was doomed for a life of lankiness."

"You're not lanky," Victoire replied instantaneously, "You have a great body, not too built not too skinny, just the right amount of muscle."

Teddy laughed.

"What?"

"You're just adorable Victoire," Teddy said earnestly, kissing her on the forehead. Victoire frowned.

"Adorable is what you call your little sister, not your girlfriend," she admonished.

"Sorry," Teddy said pulling her closer to him and kissing her again, this time on her cheek.

"Aren't you going to get changed?" Victoire asked surveying his worn out black t-shirt and jeans. Teddy sat up and took off his t-shirt before taking off his jeans, leaving him standing only in a pair of light blue boxer shorts. He sat back on the bed. Victoire stared at him, her mouth agape.

"I-is that all you're going to wear to bed?" She spluttered.

"It's the middle of summer and didn't you just say you liked my body?" he answered with a grin. He slipped under the covers of his bed and turned to Victoire who was still looking at him in surprise, "I'm not making you uncomfortable am I?" He asked in concern, "I can put on my pyjamas if you really want me to."

"No," replied Victoire quickly with a small smile, she stroked his chest softly, "It's fine."

Teddy could feel his face flushing so he quickly turned round and switched off the lights before wrapping his arms around Victoire and resting comfortably against her, loving the smell of her skin and the way her hair brushed his neck.

They talked for a while before Victoire fell asleep mid sentence and soon afterwards Teddy felt his own eyes begin to droop and suddenly he was in same forest that seemed to occupy all his dreams lately, wandering around listlessly as he always did. As usual, he eventually came to a river and on the other side of it was the same naked girl who haunted all his dreams. "Victoire?" he called out. The girl did not move. She was dead, he realised. He swam effortlessly to the other side of the river. He could clearly now that she was not Victoire. Where Victoire's hair was strawberry blonde, this girl's was black and silky and strategic draped around her body to cover herself. Her skin was completely white, like fresh winter's snow and when he touched her cheek, it felt like ice. He knew what he had to do, he had to save her. He took out the vial he had taken from Victoire and poured the clear liquid into her mouth. Her bright brown eyes fluttered open and she smiled,

"What took you so long Ted-"

Teddy woke up abruptly. He had heard something. To his right was Victoire, still sleeping, snoring softly. Teddy sat up gently and lifted up his head to hear clearly. He was often woken up by sounds no one else heard, he had always attributed this super sensitive hearing to being one of the number of werewolf traits his father had passed down to him.

Teddy heard the noise again, it was the front door he realised. He stepped out of bed and grabbed his wand from his bed side table. As he walked down the stairs, he caught sight of the clock in the hallway. It was quarter past three in the morning. Who would be knocking at this time? he thought curiously. He gripped his wand tightly, just in case he told himself as he cautiously unlocked the front door and opened it.

"Teddy!"

Bill Weasley blustered into the front hall. Teddy stared at him in horror.

"Sorry to wake you up," Bill said briskly, he was wearing a suit and looked out of breath, "I need your help. I can't find Victoire. She's snuck off again while I was at a meeting like I knew she would. I've tried Mandy's and she's not there. Claude swears he never saw her leave, he's obviously covering for her. I need you to contact that friend of yours, the Malfoy boy, he'll know where she is, I think there's something going on between them."

Teddy stared at Bill, unable to comprehend what was happening right now.

"Teddy, are you awake? My daughter is missing!" Bill snapped impatiently.

"I-I er..er..." Teddy stammered, trying desperately to think of how to get Bill Weasley out of his house and Victoire out of his bedroom.

Bill looked at Teddy oddly, he surveyed the eighteen year old who stood simply in his boxer pants and sniffed. Suddenly his eyes narrowed and he sniffed again, it was only on the third sniff, Teddy realised to his absolute dismay what was going on. He was not the only one here with super senses.

"She's here," Bill whispered in confusion, holding his nose upwards. He glared at Teddy, "I can smell her on you, she's here!"

Before Teddy could stop him, Bill was charging upstairs.

"I can explain," Teddy yelled following him as Bill barged into his bedroom with Teddy a few steps behind. Bill stood still at the door way, staring at his daughter who was sitting up in Teddy's bed in shock, her hair messy and wearing an oversized men's t shirt that obviously did not belong to her.

"Get up," Bill ordered after the excruciating pause.

"Dad, please," Victoire began fearfully.

"UP!" Bill barked, Victoire tumbled out of the bed, hastily picking up her clothes in the process.

"Uncle Bill," started Teddy but Bill turned to him viciously.

"Don't call me that, don't ever call me that again!" Bill spat, he stared at Teddy, his face a mix of boiling anger and betrayal, "I trusted you Teddy! I treated you like a son!"

"I know," Teddy replied weakly, unable to find anything to say.

"Dad, this isn't what you think," Victoire said clutching her clothes in her hands, "I love Teddy and he loves me. We just wanted to spend some time together before he goes to South America tomorrow. We wanted to tell you and mum but we were trying to find the right time."

"You love him?" Bill repeated with a hollow laugh, "You're a child, Victoire."

"No, it's true," Teddy insisted, "And I love her."

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Bill cried glaring at Teddy venomously, "Do you think I don't remember what it was like being an eighteen year old boy? This isn't love. You don't hide away love. I know exactly what this is. So tell me Teddy, how long have you been sleeping with my under aged daughter?"

"Dad!" Victoire exclaimed, "We've never...Teddy and I, we've never-" she turned bright red.

"Oh so you expect me to believe this was just a friendly sleepover?" Bill asked incredulously.

"Unc-, Bill," Teddy began hurriedly, "Like Victoire said, I'm going away for a few months so I asked her to stay over to help me pack and then we fell asleep. That's all," Teddy promised.

Victoire nodded and Bill's anger seemed to subside a little.

"Fine let's say I believe that," Bill said, taking a deep breath, "That still doesn't take away from the fact that you've been lying to me for...for... how long exactly have you two been seeing each other?"

Teddy glanced at Victoire who looked back at him nervously.

"On and off since last Summer," answered Victoire eventually. Bill clenched his fists and turned away from them both, holding his head in his hands before composing himself and turning back to them.

"So, you mean to tell me you've been keeping this from your mother and I for a whole year?" Bill asked through gritted teeth. Victoire nodded guilty. Bill turned to Teddy, his whole body seemed to been shaking in anger, "And you, all that time you were supposed to be helping her study, you were...you were..."

"It wasn't like that," Teddy interjected, "We didn't really get together into school started and then we broke up because I didn't want our relationship to affect her school work. We only got back together in the Spring, just before exams." Victoire groaned and Teddy immediately wished he hadn't had said that last bit. Bill's face, if possible, seemed even more red. He was now apoplectic.

"Just before exams? No wonder she failed then!" he roared. He took another deep breath and closed his eyes, "You know what I don't want to hear any more. Victoire, let's go home. We'll discuss this in the morning."

Victoire looked at Teddy sadly, despite the situation, Teddy put his arms around her and kissed her softly.

"It'll be okay," he whispered into her ear as her father looked on in disgust, "I love you," he added loudly.

"I love you too, let me know as soon as you arrived in South America," Victoire replied, shooting her father a defiant glare before exiting the room.

Bill followed her out but stopped as he reached the doorway and spun round to face Teddy, his expression no longer angry but simply disappointed.

"Why, Teddy?" he sighed, "She's two years younger than you. She's supposed to be your little sister, not your girlfriend."

"I'm sorry, I tried not to fall for her," Teddy explained, "I really tried."

"Well you should have tried harder," Bill snapped, "You're completely wrong for each other anyway."

"What do you mean?" Teddy shot back angrily.

"You know exactly what I mean," Bill responded sharply, "Teddy, I know you, I've known you since you were born and I know my daughter. She deserves someone who cherish her more than everything else in the world, more than success, more than fame, more than power. Can you honestly look me in the eye and tell me you could do that?"

Teddy opened his mouth, he willed himself to say yes, a thousand times yes, but no sound came from lips.

"That's what I thought," Bill said with slight shake of his head, he sighed again, "Do the right thing for the both of you and stay away from her, Teddy."

With that he departed and soon after, Teddy heard his front door close. Teddy slumped onto his bed hopelessly. He had never wanted to be somewhere else more badly than right now. The fallout from this would be awful. He knew how fast gossip spread in the Weasley family, he was sure even Uncle Charlie in Romania would know about him and Victoire by tomorrow afternoon. It made him almost glad he would be thousands of miles away in a few hours and out of the throttling distance from Ron, Percy and the rest.

This is such a mess, he groaned internally. A mess you created, his inner voice reminded him. You should have stayed away from her. Caspian warned you. Harry warned you.

But I love her, he argued with himself. I love her so much.

But do you love her more than success, more than fame, more than power?

"No," answered Teddy softly, hating himself for saying it but realising with sudden agonizing clarity it was the truth. "Never" he whispered as he fell asleep with tears in his eyes.

A/N -

There you go! What do you think? Is Uncle Bill right?

We're heading into some very interesting territory now and I'm so excited! The next few chapters might be...controversial for some...but just as a point of reference, we're about a year away from "19 years later" DH epilogue so just keep that in mind!

In the next chapter: Ecuador, Peru, barbarians and dream girls.

WFG x