Pictures and Words

"Why can't I wear a beret?!" Victoire stomped her foot as she looked at herself in the mirror,

"Because Alodie will be wearing one and you'll look like a wannabe French girl," Aaron replied before biting into an apple,

"But I'm not a wannabe French girl, I am a French girl!"

"Half French; it doesn't count."

Victoire turned to look at her friend lounging on her bed and gazing at the sky as if he was even allowed in her room. Unfortunately, Brea- the one friend who agreed with all of Victoire's fashion choices- was at a class, which meant she was stuck with the very blunt best friend. Though his matter-of-fact personality helped her make the best decisions, she missed having the constant seal of approval. To look like a prize student, she had to take off her best friend broach and her 'I heart Youngstead' badge, leaving her prefect and head girl badges to shine proudly on her robes. Light bounced off of her gleaming brogues, the pleats in her just above the knee skirt were almost too crisp and she worse a brand-new jumper to look even cleaner. As she started to style her hair, she contemplated any accessories that would fit her uniform and show her individuality, but Aaron wasn't having it.

"I'm just saying, you've already changed the outfit for the tournament, show some grace and love for tradition by not adding anything new to our uniform," Aaron calmly insisted,

"But how am I meant to stand out next to the infamous perfect blue uniform and a tall macho man in a fur jacket?" Victoire asked as she began plaiting small sections of her hair,

"Your smile and personality will put you above them, I promise."

An interview with Aunt Ginny was nothing to worry about, but underneath the thick layers of confidence, there was still a layer of anxiety in Victoire. It was common knowledge that Victoire loved to talk, but if that love took over, she could say something that would damage her image or even the image of Hogwarts. As she pinned down her intricate plaits to the side of her head, Aaron stood behind her and watched her for a second in the mirror. Though she was focussed on her detailed ponytail, she noticed her friend adjust her collar and show a warm smile. Once she had completed her high ponytail, she turned to him and gave him a loving hug. She wasn't sure what the rest of their year would be like, but she knew that the tournament would make her most likely more distant from her friends as she attempted to balance it with her studies. This was the calm before the storm.

"Thank you," Victoire whispered,

"Anything for you, French fry," Aaron held her a little tighter.

Smiling and waving was a repetitive cycle Victoire went through as she strolled through the corridors and students congratulated her. Even some student from the other schools would want to stop and talk to her, but she wasn't going to risk being late to her interview. Upon arriving to McGonagall's office, Alodie and Leon were stood outside the door with their backs facing each other and acting as if the other didn't exist. Victoire's eyes went back and forth from both of them and a grin attempted to creep onto her face at how childish the two seemed. It was as if they had both been put on the naughty step after placing the blame on each other for something that they both did. A quick glance at her watch which showed noon was Victoire's cue to open the doors as she rolled her eyes and sighed heavily.

The champions were greeted by McGonagall and Ginny who both smiled at them warmly as they walked into the room and the doors closed behind them. Seeing family always helped Victoire combat any nerves easier and seeing Aunt Ginny brought her mind to the happy place of in front of the fire playing wizards chess and eating cookies that were meant to be hidden. The light beaming into the room made Ginny's bold ginger hair glow as she tucked it behind her ears and she wore a thick burgundy and navy striped knitted dress, accompanied by a shining new black briefcase. A hug would be Victoire's usual way of saying hello to her aunt; instead she gave her a firm handshake after Alodie and Leon.

"We don't have a lot of time, so let's get you three in place for the photos and then I'll interview you one by one," Ginny's voice was assertive with a hint of cheerfulness as she beckoned over the photographer.

Victoire was used to taking selfies on her cameras or on Teddy's mobile cell phone thingy (whatever you call it) and therefore didn't take kindly to being manhandled and forced into position. First, the photographer scanned the three of them up and down, analysing every detail from their hair to their shoes. Then, he carefully placed Alodie and Victoire behind a chair with a slight gap between them and instructed Leon to sit proudly on the chair.

"You own this room, you own this school, I want to see power ooze from every crevice of your body into the camera," was the photographer's motivational speech as he picked up his camera.

Instantly, Victoire lifted her head a little higher, placed her hand on her hip and looked into the camera hoping whatever she was doing would look good and she wouldn't blink at the flash. Luckily, her eyes stayed open as two pictures were taken, but the photographer did not look convinced by what he was seeing. He began to click his tongue and tap his camera with his finger as he circled them.

"Erm, hunky boy, you swap places with Miss Alodie," he instructed.

Leon looked confused by the instruction and slowly stood up, clearly not knowing why he wasn't good enough for the centre position.

"Quick, quick, gosh if you're this slow, I don't know how you'll last in the tournament," the photographer grabbed his arm and put him into position while Alodie took her place in the chair.

A giggle came from Alodie as she elegantly placed one leg over the other and flicked her hair as if to scream to everyone in the room that she was superior. After a couple of adjustments, the photographer was ready to take the next set of pictures and Victoire only hoped that these would be good enough so she could move on to her interview. Alodie did many over the top and frankly unnecessary poses in the space of what felt like only a couple of seconds; she'd go from smiling to pouting, moving her legs around, changing the way she sat on the chair and adjusting the angle at which her hat sat on her head. But even all of her efforts weren't good enough for the photographer, as he lowered his camera to reveal a disappointed look.

"I swear if you fail me, I'll just take pictures of your shoes! Ravenclaw girl, swap with miss blue and give me what I'm looking for became I am starved of personality from the other two," his words put pressure on her.

Tentatively, she moved from her comfortable spot behind the chair as Alodie stood and looked at her with disgust. At first, sitting in the middle of the two people who she knew would happily rip off her head made her feel on edge, but when she saw the camera slowly be lifted, she allowed confidence, pride and her playful nature to take over. A smirk graced her face, she leaned forward as her head rested on her hand and she imagined Teddy being behind the camera, rather than some over dramatic stranger.

Flash.

Her pose subtly changed into her smiling with her head titled to the left.

Flash.

She crossed her feet over each other, grabbed the edge of the chair and smiled cheerfully.

Flash.

"Trust a Delacour to give me what I need!"

Thank Rowena, Victoire said to herself as she changed her pose. She didn't know what the other two were doing; she didn't care, she had herself to worry about and making sure she didn't look like an idiot on the most read thing in the wizarding world.

Next was the interview.

"Just stay calm. I'm not a Rita Skeeter; I'm not going to change what you say to make you sound horrible, for which I expect a great Christmas present," Ginny laughed,

"Don't worry, you'll get something extra special," Victoire laughed along.

With a wave of her hand, Aunt Ginny's deep red quill and pad floated into the air and the quill stood to attention, waiting for words to write. Victoire clutched the end of her skirt subtly as she took a deep breath. This had to go perfectly.

"Victoire Weasley, the blonde bombshell of Hogwarts, the next generation of a legendary family- if I do say so myself- and a girl who obviously loves to stand out. From what I know, you've been on the quidditch team, a prefect, you've recently become head girl and now the Triwizard tournament. How do you feel about your accomplishments?"

Words instantly tumbled out of Victoire's mouth, "I feel elated. I want to do as much as possible to not only make my family proud, but me proud as well, so I'm happy that I'm going to have this to look back on."

More and more questions were fired at her and with her racket mouth, she slammed them out of the court and now it was the end of the match. Pleased with her answers to the questions so far, Victoire became certain that the next one couldn't throw her off and took a sip of water in order to prepare her mouth to answer.

"You come from a family where two members were part of the tournament, one member is known for being the brightest witch of her time and most are known for their bravery in such a dark time. This can be a lot for someone to live up to and as the oldest, do you feel the pressure to be the perfect student on your shoulders? I mean, you've racked up all these achievements, but for what? Is it really because you want to or is it because you need your name to live up to that of your mothers, let alone the rest of your families?"

Aunt Ginny's question echoed in Victoire's head. Her mind became ensnared by the question, begging to be let go and have any other question take over. This was what she was afraid of. A question she was too terrified to even ask herself. It wasn't that she didn't know the answer, it was that both her heart and head were certain of the answer, but it was one she did not wish to admit.

"Erm…" Victoire gulped and looked down.

She couldn't just not answer.

She couldn't let Aunt Ginny down.

"I-I-I know what my family has done, and I couldn't be prouder. I have the upmost respect for them," she took a heavy sigh, "I guess it is a lot of pressure. The fact I was the first one and didn't get into Gryffindor made me realize what I have to follow. I do what I do with my future in mind; I need to have a respected reputation to build my career so I guess my need to achieve so much is because I want the best future for myself, b-b-but also because, well, I mean, my mother is Fleur Delacour, that says it all. I just need to make my parents proud because," she took another heavy sigh as she fought back tears, "without their pride I'm just not complete."

Her voice became softer, more brittle and more delicate than it had ever been before. Ginny took Victoire's hand and looked at her with sympathy in her face. What she had said wasn't even half of what she felt but was the most she had ever said to a family member that wasn't Fred. Upholding the Weasley and Delacour name was a back-crippling weight that she carried ever since she entered Hogwarts and she was getting tired. Tears trickled down her cheeks as she thought of how hard she had tried to gain her parents' approval and all the times she had failed. Perfect Weasley's were Gryffindors who strived to become aura's, while perfect Delacour's attended Beauxbatons and had a pure image, but Victoire had failed at all of this. She had failed. Now she could only try to make it better by attempting to achieve all she could. She didn't want to cry; sadness wasn't an emotion someone who seemed to have a perfect life should feel, but she couldn't hold in her mental exhaustion.

"I'm sorry," Victoire sniffed as she wiped away tears with her sleeve,

"No, I'm sorry," Ginny handed her a handkerchief, "I always worried there would be too much pressure on you and Fred, but I focussed more on Fred than you,"

"But Fred has gone through a lot, he needs the attention,"

"As so do you."

Adamantly, Victoire shook her head.

"You have made all of us so proud. No female in the Weasley family has achieved so much at such a young age and it's amazing that it's you who's doing all this. I was always too scared to break Weasley tradition, but you do it without even asking for permission and I honestly envy you. When you leave this interview, consider that weight on your shoulders lifted and turned to dust. You do not have to worry about living up to any standards or making any of us proud, because by simply being you, you have made me the proudest aunt in the world."

Victoire nodded before hugging her aunt and smiling through the tears as the suffocating weight became lighter.