Single Parent!AU - Ginny/Harry are divorced because Ginny had to go abroad. Let's stick with that.

Teddy's smile falters as he pulls open his curtains and glimpses the dismal scene outside. The sky is a dull, dreary gray, and rain falls at a steady pace.

Today, of all days. On his birthday. His eighteenth, the first time he'd be celebrating a birthday outside of Hogwarts in several years. Victoire and the others are supposed to be coming over, and they'd planned a game of Quidditch in the backyard, followed by a picnic, courtesy of Nana Weasley.

Now, they'd have to cancel these plans.

With a sinking heart, Teddy goes downstairs and into the kitchen. The aroma of pancakes fills the kitchen and his godfather is at the stove with a spatula in hand and wearing an apron, and his back is to Teddy. Teddy leans against the doorframe, briefly content with watching Harry cook, until Harry turns around and starts, almost dropping the pancake.

"Good morning," says Teddy, only slightly guilty and managing a small smile.

"Morning!" replies Harry brightly. "And happy birthday!" He deposits the pancake on a plate on the table. "Eat up, you've got a big day ahead of you."

Teddy seats himself, reaching for the syrup. "What are we going to do, though?" he asks dubiously. "We can't play Quidditch or have that picnic now."

"Oh, I've already made other arrangements," Harry says with a conspiratorial wink, and Teddy suddenly feels nervous. "Don't worry, we're still going to make this a good birthday. Just because we can't play Quidditch or have a picnic doesn't mean you can't enjoy today."

Teddy stands up as Victoire steps out of the fireplace, brushing ashes off of her clothes, and as always, Teddy loses his breath. It's not like she was exceptionally pretty today — she was always pretty — but today, with love glowing in her eyes and the way she's looking at him, she's radiant.

There's something about Victoire that makes him so...so inexplicably happy.

Today, the feeling is magnified.

Teddy meets her in the middle — one step, two steps, and they're in the middle of the room, not quite touching, but so close he can feel her body's warmth and count every freckle on her nose.

"Happy birthday," she whispers.

He doesn't answer, just cups her face between his hands and bends down a little, fitting his lips against hers. She's wearing her strawberry lip balm today and it is sweet on his lips, and what is meant to be a chaste kiss turns into something more hungry, more desperate, and soon he's kissing her like a drowning man needs air —

Someone clears their throat and Victoire pulls away, her cheeks reddening. Teddy releases her face with reluctance, knowing exactly who has interrupted him.

"Dad," he says with exasperation. Turning around, he glares at his father. "Do you mind?"

Harry looks amused. "Listen, I know Victoire was giving you an early birthday gift —" Victoire grins sheepishly and Teddy slides an arm around her shoulders " — but it can wait until after the party. Everyone else will be here soon."

Teddy groans. Victoire ducks out from under his arm and pops up, her embarrassment vanishing into thin air. "Anything I can help with?"

"Actually, would you mind watching the fireplace? Ron, Arthur, and George will be here soon, and we don't want a repeat of the last time they used the Floo together…"

The party is in full swing and Teddy has (almost) forgotten about the rain. Surprising no one, he's not upset anymore.

"Having fun?" James approaches him with a friendly smile, and Teddy is instantly suspicious. James is never nice to him — only whenever there's a prank involved.

"What did you do this time?"

"Nothing, nothing!" James waves his hand dismissively. "I promise I've got nothing bad planned."

"Your definition of bad is different from mine," says Teddy, narrowing his eyes."You're saying there's something planned? Should I worry that it might cause bodily harm or humiliation to one or more people at this party?"

James looks momentarily befuddled, and then his face clears. "You'll just have to wait and see," he says airily, then pauses. "Well, not bodily harm, because Nana and Aunt Hermione would kill me."

"Not Dad?"

"Nah, you know what he's like. He'll have a good laugh at it." With that, James strides away, presumably to chat up one of Teddy's (older) Hogwarts classmates. Teddy scans the room, searching for either Victoire or Harry.

Victoire is nowhere to be found but Harry is by the fireplace, keeping an eye on it. As Teddy watches, the fire reveals Kingsley and he and Harry embrace affectionately. Teddy's heart warms at the sight, but his fondness quickly turns to mortification as Harry and Kingsley start...canoodling. Whispering in each other's ears and Harry turning pink. Teddy wrenches his eyes away from the sight — did they really need to do this now, in front of everyone? — and once again checks the room for Victoire.

The door to the kitchen and Nana emerges, levitating a massive cake, and the noise from the party dies down as everyone gapes. Nana preens as she sets down the cake on the table in the center of the room and Teddy is shoved forward by the general crowd.

Victoire had come in behind Nana and she grins at Teddy, tucking a lock of golden hair behind her ear, and seats herself across from Teddy. A faint glow seems to emit from the cake, illuminating her face.

"Happy birthday to you," she starts singing, her crystal clear voice ringing through the room, and soon the whole room is singing along. Teddy ducks his head, his cheeks warming, but he can't deny that it feels good.

This is way better than what had been planned originally — and as the song fills her heart, he can't imagine why he'd been disappointed at all.

981 words

Written for Assignment 8 - Celtic Studies - Write about an unexpected change in weather ruining a situation.