Year 2: Triple the Trouble

Chapter 19: May 2013

On May 2nd, Victoire awoke to a pile of presents at the end of her bed. It was her thirteenth birthday and she was so excited to finally be an official teenager.

"Happy birthday!" her friends greeted her, having made sure to awaken before her. "How do you feel?"

"Extremely mature," Victoire smiled. "I feel like I'm a totally new person."

"Here, open your presents," Kara said, tossing one on the top to Victoire. "This one's from me."

Victoire opened it obediently. It was a beautiful blue nail polish that would look amazing on her.

"Thanks Kara!" Victoire exclaimed.

"Mine next," Brianna said, picking the correct gift and passing it over.

Brianna had gotten her a super cute new bag to carry her books in.

"I love it," Victoire smiled. "Thanks Bri."

Next she continued to open the rest of her presents. Her parents had bought her a makeup kit, complete with mascara and everything. Before she'd only been allowed to wear lip gloss and a little blush – of course, her parents didn't know that she'd been borrowing Kara and Brianna's makeup since first year.

Dominique had gotten her a new pot of ink and a quill, her note claiming that she needed to write more often. Louis had supposedly gotten her a subscription to Teen Witch, but she was pretty sure her parents were paying for that one too.

Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione had got her a book entitled The Teenage Years. She supposed it was probably a compromise between Aunt Hermione wanting to get her a book and Uncle Ron wanting to get her something that wasn't educational.

From Uncle George and Aunt Angelina, she received a Weasley's Wizard Wheezes care package. It wasn't much of a surprise – Uncle George always gifted them with products from his store, because he got them for free.

Uncle Percy and Aunt Audrey actually had bought her an educational book. It was a history book called European Wizardry: from 457 to 1343. Victoire put that one straight in the bottom of her trunk. Maybe she would read it over the summer if she got really bored.

Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny's gift was a really nice bracelet. She could tell Aunt Ginny had picked it out and she thanked Merlin Uncle Harry hadn't tried to contribute. Her Uncle Charlie had bought her a pair of socks with dragons all over them and she laughed over her poor Uncle's inability to shop for girls.

From her Aunt Gabrielle, she got a beautiful blue sweater that she could tell without trying on would look amazing on her. Aunt Gabrielle was amazing at finding the perfect clothes. From Grandmaman Delacour, she got a pair of earrings in the shapes of little butterflies whose wings fluttered back and forth magically.

There was also a whole tin of Grandma Weasley's homemade fudge and a card signed by the whole Weasley family.

"Wow," Brianna noted when Victoire was finished. "You have a lot of relatives."

"Yeah," Victoire agreed. "And this is only with one present from each household."

Though it was Victoire's birthday, it was also the anniversary of another event – the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts. Normally, there was a short commemoration ceremony in the Great Hall that took the place of first period, and then the day would carry on as usual, but this year it was the fifteenth anniversary, and so a more elaborate ceremony had been prepared. Classes had been cancelled for the entire day and family and friends of those who had died in the battle were invited to visit the school and honor the fallen. The Prophet would even be here to report on the sad day.

If Victoire was being honest with herself, she hated that she'd been born on May 2nd. It was selfish, and she knew it, but she hated that her birthday was never a happy occasion. Her Uncle Fred had died in the battle, and every year her family spent the day grieving her uncle instead of celebrating her birthday and eating cake. At her eighth birthday, everyone had gathered at the Burrow for a family dinner and her Uncle George had locked himself in his old room for the entire evening while Grandma Weasley spent most of the night crying over the broken off hand of some clock.

Since she couldn't just stay holed up in the dorm all day, Victoire got dressed, putting on her new sweater from Aunt Gabrielle, and making sure to wear the bracelet from Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny. She thought about wearing the socks that her Uncle Charlie had sent her, but in the end decided to just leave them in her trunk – it's not like Uncle Charlie would know the difference. Then she put on her brand-new makeup and joined her friends in the common room.

"You look awesome," Kara said when she emerged.

"Really?" Victoire asked, looking down. She knew she looked awesome, but it was still nice to hear.

"Definitely," Brianna confirmed.

"You want to go get some breakfast?" Kara asked.

"I guess so," Victoire agreed, following her friends out of the tower and down the Grand Staircase.

When they got to the Great Hall, they began to eat their breakfast and then Headmistress McGonagall stood up to address everyone.

"Today is a very sad day for many of us," she began. "Fifteen years ago, though we won the war, many good, brave, young souls were lost fighting for the freedom that you all now enjoy. I know there are some of you who would rather be celebrating the victory that was won on this day. I know many of you can't understand what happened here and some of you might even rather be in class."

"Who would opt for more class?" Brianna whispered under her breath.

"Today, there are going to be a lot of people here," the Headmistress continued. "There are going to be a lot of strangers around, and they are going to be wandering the halls. We are of course, doing security checks at the gates, so you don't have to worry about anybody trying to sneak any dark magic into the school. However, I want to ask that you all be respectful to our guests today. There are probably going to be a lot of people who are still grieving. It may have been fifteen years, but for some the battle can feel like it happened only yesterday. I want to see you all on your best behaviour."

VvVvVvVvVvV

A little while later, Victoire found herself ditching her friends to take a walk through the castle. Like Headmistress McGonagall had said, the castle was filled with a lot of people Victoire didn't know, and many of them were crying. One lady even stopped her and told her she looked just like her daughter had before she'd gotten caught up in an explosion.

Victoire's friends were trying to make the day fun for her, but it wasn't really working. It just wasn't a fun day. She couldn't celebrate knowing that so many people were mourning. It just didn't feel right. But at the same time, Victoire wanted to celebrate. It was all so frustrating that she just needed to be on her own.

She was wandering around somewhere on the seventh floor on the other side of the castle, where she rarely went, when suddenly, she came across her Uncle George sitting against the wall and staring straight ahead, his face completely emotionless.

"Uncle George?" she asked, taking a step closer. When he didn't respond, she asked again, a little louder. "Uncle George?"

"Hi Victoire," her Uncle said, his voice strange. "Oh, happy birthday by the way."

"Thanks," Victoire said, coming a little closer. What was he doing up here anyway? She knew his brother had died in the battle but… "Uncle George, is this where…?"

Victoire, I'd really like to be alone right now if you don't mind," he said.

"I'm sorry," Victoire apologized, backing away.

What was wrong with her? Obviously her Uncle knew she went to school here. If he'd wanted to talk to her, he could have come and find her. If he was sitting alone in some corridor nobody ever used, then obviously he was trying to find some peace and quiet.

As she continued walking back in the direction she'd come, she glanced out the window and noticed Teddy sitting alone down by the lake. She knew this day was usually pretty hard for him, and she wondered if he'd like some company. It wasn't like he was hiding in an abandoned corridor. Anyone could see him sitting out in the open like he was. Victoire decided to go ahead and she began to make her way back to the Grand Staircase.

"Hey," she said softly as she approached the lake.

"Oh, hey Vic," Teddy greeted her with a half smile.

Victoire took that as an invitation and she sat down in the grass next to her friend.

"You alright?" she asked.

"Yeah, I guess so," Teddy shrugged, staring out across the lake again. "I guess I'm just… confused? I don't know if that's the right word for what I'm feeling actually, but it's the best I have."

"What's… confusing?" Victoire asked.

"It's just… all these people," Teddy said, gesturing around to the general area. "They're all here mourning the people they lost. I can't do that."

"Sure you can," Victoire said.

"I can't," Teddy disagreed. "I can be sad, but I can't really mourn. I never knew them. I don't know what it is that I lost, just that I lost something."

"That doesn't mean you don't have as much right to this day as they do," Victoire said.

"I know," Teddy said. "But these people have real pain. I saw one lady crying so hard she just crumpled to a ball in the middle of the stairway and couldn't keep going. I don't have that."

"You want to be stuck in the stairwell?" Victoire questioned, trying to lighten the mood a bit. She panicked for a moment when Teddy didn't react right away that she'd said something wrong, but then she saw the hint of a smile and knew she'd said exactly the right thing.

"No, but I think I just wish I felt something besides this… emptiness," Teddy said. "It's like there's a hole where they should be, but I don't know what goes there. These people didn't used to have holes. They were whole and healthy and happy, and then the hole came. My hole's always been there."

"I think the important thing to remember is that we all have holes," Victoire said. "Some people have bigger holes, some people have a lot of little holes, and some people's holes have been there longer than other people's holes. Maybe some holes used to be full and other people's holes eventually do get filled while other holes are holes forever. But a hole is a hole, and pain is pain. You don't have to compare yourself to anybody else. Your pain doesn't have to look like someone else's pain for it to be pain."

A single tear rolled down Teddy's cheek and he wiped it away quickly, not wanting Victoire to see him cry.

"You know, you're pretty wise yourself," he said, forcing a smile.

"You don't have to be all strong and put together just for me," Victoire said, taking his hand. "If you need to cry or whatever you can."

Teddy nodded and then turned so he was staring out at the lake again. Victoire did the same, figuring he would be more comfortable if she wasn't staring at him. After a few moments, she could feel him shaking next to her and she snuck a glance at him to see that he was in fact crying.

They sat there for a while, until Teddy was all cried out. Luckily, Victoire had some tissues in her pocket, which she produced and handed to Teddy.

"Thanks," he said, wiping his tears and blowing his nose. "Will you judge me if I throw these in the lake?" he asked.

Victoire shook her head and Teddy launched them forward so that they landed on the surface of the water not too far away and slowly began to sink.

"You're a really good friend," Teddy said then.

"So are you," Victoire returned.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Teddy exclaimed suddenly, reaching around into his bag and producing a small wrapped package. "Happy Birthday!"

"Oh, you didn't have to get me anything," Victoire protested. "I know today isn't really a celebration-y kind of day. I'm thinking of switching my birthday to like, May 5th or 6th to avoid all the confusion actually."

"Don't do that," Teddy said. "This is your birthday. It's not something you just change because you don't like where it falls. I doubt Louis likes his birthday all that much, being so close to Christmas, but you don't see him changing it."

"It's not really the same th – "

"Just open the present," Teddy said, shoving the package into her hands.

Trying not to seem to eager, Victoire slowly pulled the tape off and slowly removed it from the packaging.

"An exploding snap deck!" Victoire exclaimed. "Thank you." She leaned over and pulled Teddy in for a quick hug. "It's great!"

"Is it?" Teddy asked. "I wasn't sure about it. I know Kara has one, and you usually use hers, but I thought you might like to have your own deck so you could play whenever you want."

"No, it's awesome," Victoire assured him. "I love it. Now I can play with Dominique and Louis when I'm home for summer. Or I could bring it along to family dinners and give the cousins something more interesting to do than yell at each other for looking at each other funny."

"Well I'm glad you like it," Teddy smiled.

VvVvVvVvVvV

Soon, it was closing in on the end of May. Exams were fast approaching and tensions were running high. Victoire was starting to panic. She'd done alright last year, but this year she'd struggled with a few of her classes. Would she do as well in them this year, or was she doomed to fail and get stuck in summer school with a bunch of other losers?

"Victoire, calm down, it's going to be fine. It's just second-year exams, they're not that important," Teddy told her one evening. "I'm the one who has to worry. They won't let me into my O.W.L. year if I can't pass my fourth-year exams."

"Oh don't be so dramatic," Victoire said. "First of all, fourth years have just as much right to retake a class in summer school as the rest of us, so don't act like it's a bigger deal than it is. And second, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. You've never even failed a simple assignment, so why on earth would you think you're going to fail your exams?"

"Okay, maybe you're right," Teddy allowed. "But if I'm not allowed to worry, then neither are you. We're both going to do fine and that's all there is to it."

If only Teddy's words had been enough to convince Victoire that this was the case. She was so terrified of doing poorly on her Charms exam that she even went to see Professor Flitwick to ask if there was any extra credit work she could do to boost her overall mark going into the exam. There wasn't.

"I can't fail!" Victoire insisted to her friends. "Maman and papa would be so disappointed in me. Grandma Weasley would take my potions essay down. Uncle Percy would never talk to me again – "

"Okay, none of that is going to happen," Kara assured her. "You just have to take a few deep breaths and keep revising and everything will be alright."

VvVvVvVvVvV

"WHO STOLE MY LUCKY QUILL?" Raina roared a couple days later as she tore through her things.

"You have a lucky quill?" Kara asked with a frown.

"Oh, don't act so innocent with me," Raina said, throwing a shoe in Kara's direction. "I know one of you three stole it. You want me to fail, don't you? Well it's not going to happen. I'm going to find my quill."

She ran over and threw open Kara's trunk, rifling through it frantically.

"Hey!" Kara cried. "Cut it out, that's my stuff!"

"You stole my quill and I want it back!" Raina cried.

"I never stole your dumb quill," Kara said. "I didn't even know you had a special quill – "

"LUCKY quill," Raina corrected.

"Fine, lucky quill," Kara muttered. "And besides, I don't want you to fail."

"Oh, but don't you?" Raina demanded. "I've heard you guys whispering in the bathroom when you don't think I'm there. You're all worried you're the ones that are going to fail, so now you've made sure that it's me and not you."

"You know that's not how it works, right?" Kara asked nervously. "They'd don't like, fail a predetermined number of people or anything."

"Oh, that's just what they want you to think," Raina cried manically. "But really, they do. It's this whole big conspiracy to make sure people go to summer school. How else are they going to ensure job security for summer school teachers?"

"You sound like you've been reading The Quibbler or something," Kara said.

"So what if I have?" Raina cried. "Just because it came from a less reputable source than say, the Daily Prophet, it doesn't mean it's not true.

Kara sighed. "I don't even know what to say to you."

"JUST GIVE ME MY QUILL!" Raina screeched.

VvVvVvVvVvV

Dominique,

Remember my roommate Raina? She's completely lost her mind. I'm thinking of asking Madam Eldridge to give her a sedation potion or something soon, because she's spent the last two days ransacking the dorm looking for some lucky quill that she thinks one of us stole. I'm not even sure she actually has a lucky quill. We've never seen it before, and she's never mentioned it until now.

Other than that things are good. Exams are coming though, so we are all a little stressed out about that. It'll be fine though. Soon they'll be over, and we won't have to think about school until September. Of course, we do still have to write the exams. And second-year exams are a lot harder than first-year exams. At least that's what I've heard. You know what? I should really be revising right now.

Victoire

VvVvVvVvVvV

Knowing that everyone was extremely on edge, the Professors started introducing meditation at the beginning of their lessons to try to calm everyone down and focus. This only made Victoire more nervous, because it gave her time to think about the amount of information she had yet to learn. She felt like her brain was going to explode from all the knowledge she was trying to cram into it.

"Kara, can I borrow your Herbology notes?" Brianna asked one night in the library.

"Borrow Victoire's hers make more sense," Kara said.

"Victoire – "

"Here," Victoire handed over her notes. "Does anybody remember the twelve uses of dragon's blood?"

"That's first year material," Kara said. "Why are you studying that?"

"Because I feel like we talked about one of them in Herbology this year, but I can't remember," Victoire said, banging her fist against her head.

"Here it is," Brianna said, pointing to the place it was written in Victoire's notes. "If you add it to dragon dung fertilizer, it makes it ten times more effective."

"That's right!" Victoire cried. "Thank you!"

"Which conference was held in 1408?" Kara asked. "Was it the International Warlock Convention or the Medieval Assembly of European Wizards?"

"The second one," Victoire replied. "Warlocks were in 1289. I wrote my first term paper on that."

"Thanks," Kara muttered, scribbling it down.

"We're going to be fine, right?" Brianna asked nervously, looking up from Victoire's notes.

"We're going to be fine," Kara assured her.