Year 3: Friend Like You

Chapter 24: December 2013

December arrived, and with it, the weather grew colder and more and more snow began to fall. Victoire stared out at the grounds grumpily each morning, knowing that her favorite season of almost-winter had already passed. Despite the approaching of the Christmas holidays, Victoire didn't feel in a cheerful mood at all. She'd barely spoken to Teddy since the Hogsmeade weekend in November – every time she saw him he seemed to be just leaving or late for an appointment with a Professor. Meanwhile, things with Nathaniel were becoming boring. At first the prospect of having a boyfriend had seemed exciting to Victoire, but she was coming to realize that it wasn't as fun as she'd imagined. After the first few weeks, they ran out of much to talk about and for some reason, Nathaniel was always insisting they play wizard's chess – a game Victoire hated.

"You should just break up with him," Brianna told her. "Get it over with."

"I don't want to hurt him," Victoire protested.

"So instead you're going to lead him on?" Brianna questioned.

"We're in third year," Victoire shrugged. "It's not like either of us thought this relationship was going to last very long."

"Well if you don't do something about it, then it's not going to go anywhere," Brianna pointed out.

"Can't I just wait and see what happens?" Victoire asked. "Maybe we'll just drift apart."

"You sit together in every class, you eat meals together, you study together in the library… that doesn't look like a dying relationship to be," Brianna pointed out.

Victoire knew Brianna was right. If she wasn't interested in Nathaniel, she had to tell him. The problem was, he was actually really nice, and Victoire had never broken up with a guy before. She'd asked Brianna what she should do, but Brianna's suggestion had seemed much too cold and unfeeling. She'd asked Kara what she thought, but Kara was as in the dark as Victoire, having even less experience with boys than she. Victoire wished she could talk to Teddy about this. He was older. He'd probably dated before and would know what to do. But every time she tried to talk to him, he insisted he needed to be somewhere.

The December Hogsmeade weekend came and went. Victoire and Nathaniel went to the village together and Victoire convinced herself she was going to break up with him on their date. She waited for the perfect opportunity. Unfortunately, their first stop was Honeydukes and Nathaniel bought her some more chocolate, which made her feel guilty about wanting to break up with such a nice guy.

She allowed herself to be dragged around to different shops while Nathaniel did his Christmas shopping and she even got some of her own done. She bought a nice scarf for her mother and a funny pair of Christmas socks for her father, some red nail polish for Dominique, and some of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum for Louis, who loved to chew gum. For Kara and Brianna, she bought them each a tube of special glitter body lotion from Madam Primpernelle's. Her Secret Santa for this year was Hugo, so she bought him a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, knowing that Aunt Hermione didn't like to let her kids eat candy all that often.

After their morning shopping, they went to the Three Broomsticks for some lunch. Victoire thought about breaking up with him there, but she decided it would be best not to do it in such a public space. She didn't want him to feel embarrassed or anything. They ate their sandwiches in an awkward silence, having run out of conversation topics back at Tomes and Scrolls after Nathaniel had told Victoire about his mother's love of books. Looking out the window, Victoire saw Kara and Brianna laughing and entering Madam Primpernelle's and she was jealous that they were having so much fun without her.

By the end of the day, Victoire and Nathaniel returned to Hogwarts and still Victoire had said nothing. She returned to her dorm completely spent and at a loss as to how to proceed. She'd had the whole day to say something, and yet she'd chickened out. It was pathetic, and Caitlin wasted no time in telling her so when she overheard Victoire talking with Kara and Brianna later on.

"Put the poor guy out of his misery," Caitlin insisted. "It's cruel what you're doing to him. He's probably going to buy you a fantastic Christmas present and then you're going to break up with him right before he gives it to you, and then he's going to be stuck with it, always reminding him of what you did. Better to end it now, before he invests any more into this farce of a relationship."

As much as Victoire disliked her room mate, she knew she was right. It was basically what Brianna had said, only more direct and a lot meaner. But finding the right time and place in a castle full of students was difficult. She couldn't do it in the middle of the Great Hall, or in the library, because there were people there all the time. She obviously couldn't do it in class, and when they were in the common room, their friends were always around. Victoire was quickly discovering that Hogwarts offered absolutely no privacy.

Finally, the day before Christmas holidays were to begin and they were all meant to return home on the train, Victoire decided it was time. She wouldn't let the whole two-week vacation go by with Nathaniel still thinking they were together.

"Hey, do you maybe want to go for a walk outside?" Victoire asked when their final class was over. They didn't have to do any homework, because they had the whole holiday stretched out ahead of them.

"It's cold out," Nathaniel pointed out. "You hate the cold."

"I brought my scarf," Victoire said, producing it from her bag. She'd come prepared. "Besides, I thought we might talk."

"You don't want to talk in the common room where there's a fireplace and blankets?" Nathaniel checked, frowning at this strange behavior.

"No, I want to talk alone," Victoire clarified.

"Okay then," Nathaniel agreed, letting Victoire lead them down the Grand Staircase to the Entrance Hall.

They reached the front doors and Nathaniel held them open, letting Victoire pass through before him. Victoire sighed. Nathaniel really was a nice guy. If only she was more interested in spending time with him...

"The weather's pretty nice for this time of year" Nathaniel commented, setting the pace as they passed through the Entrance Courtyard and down the covered bridge to the grounds.

"I guess so," Victoire shrugged. She wasn't partial to the cold that came with winter, and to her, once it got cold, it was all bad weather.

"The trees look really pretty with the snow on their branches," Nathaniel added, pointing to the Forbidden Forest.

"Yeah," Victoire agreed. She supposed they were nice, except for the fact that the trees were all dead until spring. Winter was such a dull and barren season.

"Was there something you wanted to talk about?" Nathaniel asked, sensing that Victoire had something on her mind. She clearly wasn't interested in the topics he was bringing up.

"I did actually," Victoire said nervously, the butterflies in her chest fluttering as she worked up the nerve to do what she came out here to do. "I don't exactly know how to say it…"

"You're breaking up with me," Nathaniel said simply, pausing and turning to face her.

"I – how did you - ?" Victoire gaped.

"I've just had a feeling," Nathaniel said. "I probably would have soon too if you hadn't. We simply don't have as much in common as I'd originally thought."

"Sure we do!" Victoire protested, unsure why she was protesting in the first place. This was what she'd wanted, wasn't it? "We're both in Gryffindor, we're both in third year… we both enjoy Herbology…"

Nathaniel shook his head. "See? You can't come up with anything else. It's just not enough."

"But we have such great times together," Victoire pointed out. "And you're a great help when we're doing homework."

"If I'm more useful to you as a peer tutor than as a boyfriend, then that should tell you there's something missing," Nathaniel said.

"But – "

"Look, you were right to want to break up," Nathaniel interrupted her. "I think both of us would be happier finding someone else."

"I don't – "

"Goodbye Victoire," Nathaniel interrupted again. "For what it's worth, I really enjoyed getting to know you."

He turned and left then, returning to the covered bridge and re-entering the castle. Victoire just stood in the snow, staring after him. What had just happened? She felt miserable. Her intention had always been to break up with Nathaniel, but when he did it instead… It wasn't that she wished they were still together, but to have him be the one to end it… Victoire was so confused. She didn't know why she felt this way. She should be glad it was over and happy to move forward, be able to spend time with her friends again. Instead, she just felt empty.

VvVvVvVvVvV

"Victoire?" Kara gasped when Victoire returned to the dorm two hours later. "Where have you been? What's wrong?"

Victoire was shivering and she looked frozen.

"Have you been outside this whole time?" Kara asked, knowing that Victoire's plan had been to take Nathaniel for a walk and break up with him then. "Nathaniel was back over an hour ago."

Victoire opened her mouth to talk, but all that came out was a lot of teeth-chattering.

"Oh, you must be freezing!" Kara cried, grabbing the blankets off Victoire's bed and wrapping them around her, pulling her over to sit with her and rubbing her arms to try and warm her friend up with heat from friction.

Soon, Victoire began to warm up and she stopped shivering. Pulling the blankets tighter, she leaned back against the headboard of the bed and closed her eyes.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Kara asked.

Victoire shrugged. "There's not much to talk about," she said.

"Did you break up with him?" Kara prodded.

Victoire shook her head.

"You didn't?" Kara asked, confused. "So then why – ?"

"He broke up with me," Victoire said. "I should be relieved. I mean it's over and I didn't even have to do it. But…"

"But it hurts," Kara said, understanding. "It hurts that he did it instead of you."

Victoire nodded.

"Oh sweetie," Kara said, reaching over to hug her friend. "I'm sorry."

Victoire accepted her friend's comfort, letting Kara fill her up with friendship to fill the hole left by Nathaniel's absence. Brianna arrived later, having been in a meeting with the Headmistress about promoting the healthy food trolley on the train – apparently the Headmistress refused to invest in advertising. Kara explained what had happened and while Brianna was less sympathetic than Kara, she was still understanding and tried to comfort Victoire as best she could.

Seeing Nathaniel in the Great Hall the next morning was difficult, but thankfully, he didn't try to talk to Victoire. She didn't think she could handle it if he had. Once they were on the train and safely ensconced in a compartment, Victoire didn't have to think about him.

"You don't even have to see him for two whole weeks," Kara pointed out.

"Hopefully by then I'll have stopped feeling like this," Victoire muttered.

The train ride back was spent trying to help Victoire forget about Nathaniel. They played exploding snap, and truth or dare. They ate food from both trolleys and Brianna shared some gossip she'd overheard. By the time the train pulled into King's Cross Station and Victoire said goodbye to her friends, she was in good spirits.

VvVvVvVvVvV

Victoire and her family were the first to arrive at the Burrow for Christmas Eve dinner that year. Victoire and her siblings gave their grandparents hugs and Victoire and Dominique were asked how it was going at Hogwarts. Victoire was surprised when Dominique told them about a tournament that had taken place in Defence Against the Dark Arts, which one of her best friends had almost won. Victoire hadn't even known the tournament was happening. When her grandparents turned to her, Victoire simply told them she was doing well in Herbology and that apart from that nothing much else was new.

"What about your boyfriend?" Dominique challenged her.

"You have a boyfriend?" her father asked, shocked. Dominique smirked.

Victoire sighed. "I do not have a boyfriend," she assured them all.

"Yes you do," Dominique disagreed. "I see you hanging out with him all the time."

"So I suppose Miles is your boyfriend then?" Victoire challenged. "I mean, you two are together all the time."

Dominique shot Victoire a look.

"That's what I thought," Victoire said. "Don't worry," she added, for the benefit of the adults in the room. "I definitely do not have a boyfriend."

"You'd better not," her father said crossing his arms. "Thirteen is much too young for that sort of thing."

"It is not!" Victoire protested. "I'm in my third year. I can go on Hogsmeade weekends. I can date if I want to."

Bill opened his mouth to say more, but Fleur shushed him. "Why don't you kids go on and play?" she suggested.

Eager to get away from the conversation at hand, Victoire led her siblings upstairs where the cousins would be gathering.

"Why did you lie about Nathaniel?" Dominique asked.

"Oh, so you know his name now too?" Victoire cried defensively. When Dominique didn't answer, Victoire sighed. "We broke up, okay? It's over."

"Oh," Dominique said. "I didn't know. Are you – ?"

"I'm fine," Victoire said shortly.

It wasn't long before the rest of the cousins started showing up. Soon they were only waiting on Teddy to start their annual game of hide-and-go-seek, and Molly wasn't having any of it.

"He can join in when he gets here," she declared, rattling off the rules again for anyone who might have forgotten – really for the benefit of the little kids. Albus volunteered to count first, and as he covered his eyes and began, everyone hurried to find hiding spots.

Victoire hadn't put much thought to where she was going to hide and ran down the stairs to the second floor, entering her Aunt Ginny's old room. She went to the closet first, but she was too big to be able to hide herself behind her aunt's old school robes. She tried to fit under the bed next, but she wasn't as small as she once was and couldn't fit there either. She was about to give up and simply cover herself with a blanket when she noticed something odd looking out the window.

It was Teddy. He was sitting outside under the same tree they'd sat under last Christmas, but all alone. Suddenly, Victoire was mad. Was he really so intent on avoiding her that he was going to isolate himself completely and not even play hide-and-go-seek? Angrily, she stomped out of Aunt Ginny's room and descended to the first floor, bypassing the living room where the adults were congregated and slipping outside. She approached Teddy in silence, so he didn't hear her coming.

"Hi Teddy," Victoire said.

"Victoire!" Teddy said in surprise, scrambling up. "I didn't hear you come over!"

"Here I am," Victoire said.

"I was actually just going inside – "

"No," Victoire said, blocking his path as he tried to leave. "No, this stops now."

"What?" Teddy asked, frowning.

"You're avoiding me," Victoire said. "You've been avoiding me for the past two months and I'm sick of it. Just tell me what I did."

Teddy took a step back. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said.

"So you're saying you haven't been leaving rooms whenever I enter, making excuses about places you have to be whenever I try to talk to you? Merlin, you're even sitting out here instead of playing hide-and-go-seek with the rest of us!"

"I'm fifteen," Teddy said. "I'm a little old to play hide-and-go-seek, don't you think?"

Victoire shook her head and turned to leave. "Whatever," she muttered. "I'm sorry I thought you might actually treat me like a person for once."

"Wait," Teddy cried, reaching out and grabbing Victoire's arm. "You're right. I've been acting like a jerk."

Victoire turned and crossed her arms. She was waiting for an apology and Teddy knew it.

"I'm sorry," he said. "You don't deserve to be ignored and it's not fair of me. Can we be friends again?"

"I don't know," Victoire said, unwilling to forgive him. "Am I going to get a reason for why you've been acting so mean?"

Teddy sighed and looked away. "I don't really know," he said eventually.

Victoire stared silently.

"Look, I really am sorry," Teddy assured her. "I guess I'm just dealing with some stuff and I took it out on you. It's not like I was mad at you or anything."

Victoire uncrossed her arms and her expression softened.

"Do you want to talk about any of it?" she asked.

Teddy clenched his jaw and turned away again. "Not really," he said.

Victoire considered him for a moment. "Alright then," she said, nodding. "So we're good?"

"Yeah," Teddy said. "We're good."

She started to walk away, but about halfway to the house, she felt bad and turned around. Teddy had sat down again and was staring out at the large expanse of land ahead. Something was bothering him. He may not want to talk about it, but he clearly needed a friend. Victoire turned and walked back over, sitting down in the grass next to him.

"You don't have to sit with me," Teddy said. "Go back to your game."

"It's just a dumb game anyway," Victoire shrugged.

"So how's Nathaniel?" Teddy asked, still staring ahead.

"We broke up," Victoire said.

"You did?" Teddy asked, his head snapping around to consider Victoire. "When?"

"The night before we left the castle," Victoire said, confused as his reaction.

"Are you alright?" Teddy asked, concern filling his face.

"I am now," Victoire replied. "I wasn't at first."

"What happened?" Teddy wondered.

"We just weren't right for each other," Victoire said. "We both knew it."

Teddy nodded, turning his head back again, looking out at the hills. "So what now?" he asked. "Are you going to go out with any of the other boys in your class?"

Victoire shook her head. "Not now," she said. "I mean I'm thirteen. I don't need to be in a relationship. I'm so young. I should be spending time with my friends and focusing on my classes. I can worry about boys when I'm older."

"Of course," Teddy agreed, nodding his head. "Yeah, you should just enjoy being with your friends."

"That still includes you, right?" Victoire asked, just to check.

"Of course," Teddy assured her.

The lapsed into silence then, simply sitting together, comfortable in the quiet.

"Victoire!" Molly's voice sounded. Victoire spun around to find her cousin leaning out an upstairs window. "What're you doing down there? That's against the rules!"

"I'm not playing!" Victoire called back.

"Well you should've told someone!" Molly screeched. "Albus has been looking for you forever!"

"Sorry!" Victoire called back, feeling bad.

Molly retreated and Victoire rolled her eyes. Molly could be so uptight sometimes about rules and things.

The rest of the evening was full of joy. Now that she and Teddy were speaking again, Victoire was in a far better mood than she had been previously. The annual Weasley Family Quidditch Match ended up being a three-on-three game; Aunt Angelina had a cold and wasn't up to flying, and Uncle Charlie was busy doing something with Grandfather Weasley in the old shed. The teams were divided so that it was Victoire's father, Uncle Harry, and Uncle Ron against Uncle George, Aunt Ginny, and Teddy. As usual, Victoire, along with all the cousins, rooted for Teddy's team.

Dinner came soon after the game ended and Victoire sat with Teddy at the end of the table. While the younger cousins threw food at each other, Teddy and Victoire caught up on what they'd missed in each other's lives over the time they hadn't been speaking.

After dinner, they had their Secret Santa exchange. Hugo loved the candy Victoire had bought him and Victoire was very happy when her brother's gift to her was to make her bed for her for the remainder of the holiday. Before they all left, Grandmother Weasley gave them all their new Weasley sweaters. This year, Victoire's was green with a red V on the front – very Christmas-y.

By the time everyone said goodbye and returned home, Victoire was happy. It had been a good Christmas.