Year 5: Head Over Heels
Chapter 47: March 2016
As the fifth years got closer to their OWLs, the announcement was made that career advising meetings were going to be starting. They were important because they would help students to figure out what they wanted to do and also what classes they needed to take to get there. Pamphlets started circulating through the common rooms outlining all sorts of fun and exciting jobs and all the fifth years were getting excited about their futures.
The only problem was, Victoire wasn't interested in a career. She knew her future more certainly than she ever had. Her future was Teddy. Now that they were together, she knew they were for forever and she was looking forward to moving in with him and marrying him and raising children with him. She didn't need a career to worry about, especially since Teddy already had that covered. So when the signup sheet was circulated, she didn't bother writing her name down. She didn't need guidance. Her mind was clear. She knew what she wanted and she was on track to getting it.
Unfortunately, Professor Longbottom didn't see things that way. One day after Herbology class, he asked Victoire to stay behind for a moment, a frown on his face.
"Is everything alright?" Victoire asked, worried that there was something wrong with her most recent assignment.
"I noticed you didn't sign up for a career advising meeting," Professor Longbottom noted. "You know they're very important in deciding your future."
"Oh, but I don't need one," Victoire explained, relaxing a bit. Professor Longbottom would understand once she'd explained herself. "I already know what I want to do and how to get there. I wouldn't want to waste your time or mine on a meeting I don't need."
Professor Longbottom seemed unconvinced. "Even though you may think you know where you want to go, I still think it's important for you to sit down and at least talk things out with an adult. Can I put you down for tomorrow afternoon?"
"There's really no need," Victoire insisted, not wanting to waste an afternoon with her Professor when she could be spending it with Teddy. "There's nothing to discuss. Really."
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to insist," Professor Longbottom said, marking Victoire's name into the empty slot on his sheet. "I'll see you tomorrow afternoon."
As she left the classroom, Victoire felt frustrated. Professor Longbottom was just wasting her time. There was no need for her to go to this meeting and she had other things she'd rather be doing than talking to her Head of House. Why did adults always have to think they knew better? How could Professor Longbottom possibly know what's better for Victoire when he had no idea what her life was like or where her mind was at? Victoire was fifteen years old for Merlin's sake! She could make up her own mind, thank you very much.
VvVvVvVvVvV
"Victoire," Professor Longbottom greeted the fifth year at the door to his office the following afternoon. "Come in."
Victoire did as requested, taking a seat in front of her Head of House's desk while he shut the door and took a seat himself.
"So," Professor Longbottom said then, leaning back in his chair. "Have you thought at all about future career possibilities?"
Victoire sighed and shrugged her shoulders. There was really no need for her to be here in the first place. She'd told Professor Longbottom she didn't want an appointment, but he'd insisted and so here she was.
"Come on Victoire," Professor Longbottom insisted. "If we have to be here, the least we could do is talk a bit about your plans."
"My future plans don't really concern you," Victoire replied. "I see no reason why I'd need to discuss them with you." She knew she was being unnecessarily difficult, but she was upset with Professor Longbottom for disrupting her afternoon.
"Well it's not about me," Professor Longbottom explained. "It's just that if I know your goals, I can help you to determine the best course of action to achieve them."
"But I already know what my life's going to look like and I know what I have to do to get there," Victoire explained. "So this is entirely unnecessary."
"Well why don't we start with something simpler and we'll see where that takes us," Professor Longbottom suggested. "What classes were you thinking of continuing with next year?"
"Well it hardly matters," Victoire replied. "I suppose whichever ones I do well enough in to continue with. The minimum number of N.E.W.T. classes a Hogwarts student is allowed to take is three, right? So I'll just choose my top three."
"Don't you think you should put a little more thought into it than that?" Professor Longbottom wondered. "After all, the N.E.W.T. classes you take define what sort of job you'll be eligible for upon graduation."
"That's true," Victoire agreed. "And it would be relevant if I were concerned about finding a job after I graduate. But since I'm not, it doesn't really matter."
At this Professor Longbottom frowned and leaned forward in his chair a bit. "And what is it that you plan to do, if not work, upon your graduation?" he wondered.
"Well if Teddy hasn't proposed by graduation, then I'm sure it won't be long after," Victoire explained. "And he's applied to work at the Ministry in the Department of International Magical Cooperation. It's sort of inevitable that he'll get the job, my Uncle Percy works in the DIMC and he'll get Teddy the job. And he'll make plenty of money to support the both of us."
"Entry-level Ministry jobs don't usually pay very much," Professor Longbottom commented.
"That's why it's good that he's going to start work this summer," Victoire replied. "See, he can work for the next two years while I'm still in school, and save money, so that when I graduate, and we get married, we'll already be pretty financially stable."
"You seem to be making a lot of assumptions about the future of your relationship with your boyfriend," Professor Longbottom noted.
"Yeah," Victoire nodded, crossing her arms defensively. She didn't like her Professor's tone. "So what?"
"Well, I think you should be careful about pinning your entire future on something that may not last. You're only fifteen – "
"Almost sixteen!" Victoire interjected.
"Fine," Professor Longbottom allowed. "But you're still a fifth year, and a lot can change between now and graduation."
"Not this," Victoire shook her head. "Teddy and I are forever."
"But what if something happened?" Professor Longbottom wondered. "Something out of your control. You could break up – "
"We're not breaking up," Victoire protested.
" – Teddy could lose his job, or fall ill, making him unable to work. You could find that a single income isn't enough to support the both of you, especially if it's the single income of a junior Ministry employee – "
"Teddy will have worked for the Ministry for two years before I move in with him," Victoire insisted. "I'm sure he'll have been promoted by then."
"But do you see how there are many factors here outside of your control?" Professor Longbottom tried desperately to get Victoire to see. "If you toss your education away, you'll be limiting your options for the future."
"I don't need options for the future," Victoire said. "I have Teddy." Why was everyone always against her and Teddy? First her friends were trying to get her to spend less time with him, then her parents, both with the trip to France and the patrolling, and now Professor Longbottom was telling her the relationship was doomed to fail? It just wasn't fair!
"I just think it would be wise for you to have plans in place that aren't dependent on someone else," Professor Longbottom said. "You can think of it as a back-up plan."
"Back-up plans are for people who have a reason to doubt the actual plan," Victoire disagreed. "I have no doubts."
"It's only practical to have a disaster kit in the closet in case of a flood," Professor Longbottom said. "I just want to make sure your kit is well stocked."
"Well you wouldn't need a flood kit if you lived in the desert," Victoire retorted.
Professor Longbottom closed his eyes and took a breath, taking a minute to collect himself. He didn't want to argue with his student, he just wanted her to see that it was better to be prepared for any situation – and the best way to do that was to have a solid education.
"Victoire, you do realize that most high school relationships don't last," Professor Longbottom said gently.
Victoire shook her head vehemently. "That's not us," she said. "We're not most people. We're solid."
"This is only your first serious relationship," Professor Longbottom said. "You're still so young. You can't know if it will last, or how it will fare next year when you're here and Teddy's somewhere else."
"Look Professor Longbottom, I appreciate your concern, I really do," Victoire said. "But my relationship is hardly your business."
"You're right," Professor Longbottom agreed. "So let's get back to academics." He rifled through some papers and produced Victoire's permanent record. "You have shown an aptitude for both herbology and potions in your time here," he said. "Despite your sub-standard performance at the end of last year, you've been doing very well so far in herbology this year, and I'm confident that if you study hard you can achieve an E or even an O in your O.W.L. As for potions, though your grade dipped a little last year as well, you've been pretty consistent in your work and Professor Abbott-Longbottom assured me that she has full confident that you'll ace your potions O.W.L."
"So what?" Victoire muttered. "If I do well in them, then maybe I'll continue with them both next year."
"I think you should," Professor Longbottom agreed. "And I think you owe it to yourself not to slack off once your O.W.L.s are completed."
"Who said anything about slacking off?" Victoire demanded. "I'm a good student. A prefect even. Just because I don't see myself having a career after graduation doesn't mean I don't care about my grades at all."
"Listen, I've seen it before," Professor Longbottom said. "When students become unfocused in their sixth and seventh years, they can begin to drift. Up until fifth year, the only goal is passing the O.W.L.s, because they're mandatory. But since N.E.W.T.s are optional, many students who don't think they need the qualification will fail or simply not take them at all."
"Well that's not me," Victoire said. "My father would kill me if I didn't take my N.E.W.T.s."
"You'll be seventeen when it's time to sit your N.E.W.T.s," Professor Longbottom pointed out. "You'll be an adult. Your father can't force you to sit them."
"Can't I just focus on the O.W.L.s for now?" Victoire pleaded. "All this talking is just taking away from the time I could be spending studying."
"Just one last thing before you go," Professor Longbottom insisted. Victoire nodded to indicate that she was listening. "Don't cheat yourself out of the opportunity to do something exceptional because you're so blinded by love that you can't see past this future that you've constructed for yourself. It may be a really lovely dream, but that's what it is right now, a dream."
"Is that all?" Victoire asked when Professor Longbottom finished talking.
He sighed. "That's all," he nodded. "You can go."
VvVvVvVvVvV
"How was your meeting?" Teddy asked later once Victoire had returned from Professor Longbottom's office.
"Fine," Victoire shrugged, not wanted to get into it.
"That's it?" Teddy asked. "Just fine? Did you talk about potential careers?"
"Well I don't really need a career, do I?" Victoire asked pointedly. "Not if I'm going to be raising children like my mother."
"No," Teddy agreed. "You could have one if you wanted one, but I'd be happy to support both you and our future children if that's what you'd prefer."
"It is," Victoire affirmed. "I don't want them being raised in the Ministry daycare. I want them to be raised at home, like I was."
Teddy smiled. "Well then I want that too," he said.
VvVvVvVvVvV
As March wore on, classes only got more and more difficult, both for Victoire and for Teddy. With their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s approaching, their teachers were piling on the homework, leaving very little time for leisure.
Somehow, through all the studying, Kara and William still found time to spend together. They'd been dating since November and still Brianna had no idea. Victoire didn't know how Kara did it, but when Kara pointed out that Victoire was still keeping her relationship hidden from her brother and cousins, Victoire couldn't really say much else.
One particular night, Kara and William were studying together in the new inter-house lounge while Victoire kept Brianna occupied with their own homework in the common room.
"Where's Kara?" Brianna wondered after a while. "She still has my astronomy notes, and I need them if I'm going to finish this assignment tonight."
"Why don't you work on potions?" Victoire suggested. "Astronomy isn't due for a few days still."
"No, I really want to get astronomy out of the way," Brianna shook her head. "Do you have any idea where she is?"
"I think she mentioned something about returning a book in the library," Victoire invented. "I'm sure she'll be back soon though."
"She's been gone a while," Brianna commented. "I don't think I've seen her since dinner, and that was over an hour ago."
"Well there's no use wandering around the castle looking for her," Victoire insisted. "She has to come back here before curfew anyway, and then you can get your notes."
"I really just want to not have to think about this anymore," Brianna sighed. She pushed her chair back and stood up, causing Victoire to mirror her action and stand up as well. "I'm going to go and check the library, see if Kara's still there."
"I'll come with you," Victoire immediately volunteered.
Brianna frowned. "That's really not necessary. You should do your potions essay. You have to round tomorrow night, so you're not going to have much time to do it then."
"Right," Victoire sighed. "You'll just go to the library?" she asked. "Then you'll come back?"
"Yeah," Brianna nodded. "If she's not in the library, then I'll come back and work on potions like you suggested. I don't have time to chase her all over the school."
"Alright," Victoire nodded, sitting back down. "I'll be here."
"Sure," Brianna nodded, heading for the portrait hole and disappearing into the corridor.
As soon as Brianna left, Victoire started to worry. She had promised Kara she would keep Brianna occupied, and now Brianna was out on her own looking for Kara. If Brianna caught Kara with William, not only would she be mad at Kara, but Victoire would be implicated too. Victoire knew she should never have agreed to hide things from her friend, but she'd felt bad about neglecting her friends at the beginning of the year and thought it would mend her friendship with Kara.
As long as Brianna went straight to the library and back, she shouldn't run into Kara though. Kara was meant to be in the inter-house lounge, which was on the third floor, while the library was on the second. Brianna would have no reason to go down the particular third floor hallway, since it was nowhere near a staircase. So it would be fine, Victoire assured herself. Nothing was going to go wrong.
Trying to focus on her work, Victoire flipped the page of her potions textbook and continued to read about the side effects of laugh-inducing potion. It was difficult at first, but soon she was able to focus, casting Brianna and Kara from her mind as she worked on her essay.
Suddenly, Victoire was wrenched from her studies when two very angry girls burst into the common room, making a beeline straight for Victoire.
"You were in on this?" Brianna cried, pointing an accusing finger at Victoire.
Caught off guard, Victoire knocked her ink to the ground and looked up at her two friends, filled with trepidation. Brianna was livid, her eyes shining with rage and her body shaking as she tried to contain herself. Behind her, Kara was a mess, eyes red from tears, arms wrapped around herself as a form of protection.
"Brianna, I – "
"No!" Brianna screeched. "Tell me the truth. Were you in on this? I mean, you must have been, or why would you have been so reluctant for me to go to the library?"
"It wasn't – "
"I can't believe this!" Brianna roared. "My two best friends are both lying to me, sneaking around my back. And with my ex-boyfriend no less!"
"Well to be fair, he was never really your – "
"Don't you dare finish that sentence Victoire," Brianna cried. She clenched her jaw and Victoire could see her trying to reign in her fury. "I just – after everything we've been through together, I can't believe you would do this to me," she said, a little softer, but no less harsh.
"Bri – "
"I can't," Brianna shook her head. "Not right now. I need some space."
Brianna disappeared up the stairs to their shared dorm and Victoire simply stared after her, unable to move. When she finally regained the ability to turn her neck, she looked back at Kara in confusion.
"What - ? How - ?" she struggled to find the right question.
Kara sunk into the chair next to Victoire, pulling her knees up and resting her feet on the seat of the chair. "She just walked in and saw us," Kara said.
"But she was going to the library," Victoire frowned. "What was she doing – "
"We were in the library," Kara sighed, closing her eyes miserably. "The lounge was really full, so we decided to find a quiet place to study in the library. I thought she'd be up here with you all night, so I saw no reason not to relocate."
"I tried to convince her not to go," Victoire said. "I told her I'd go with her, but she insisted on going alone."
"It's not your fault," Kara shook her head. "It's mine. I should never have kept this all a secret."
"What did she say?" Victoire asked. "She seemed pretty mad."
"It was worse in the library. I wouldn't be surprised if William never spoke to me again," Kara said sadly.
"He will," Victoire promised her. "If he's the guy you say he is, then he will."
Kara nodded. "She'll never forgive me now."
Victoire felt a lump catch in her throat. "Maybe if we – "
"No," Kara shook her head. "She could have handled it if it was just that I was dating her ex. But the lying? She won't forgive that."
"You forgave her for what she did in second year," Victoire pointed out.
"We were twelve," Kara reminded her. "This is different. This is worse."
"Brianna's done some pretty mean stuff," Victoire said.
"I don't think pointing that out to her will make her any more inclined to forgive," Kara muttered.
Victoire saw her point.
"I should never have got you involved," Kara said. "I'm so sorry."
"Don't apologize," Victoire said. "Not to me. I could've said no, but I went along with the whole thing."
"I tried to apologize to Brianna a thousand times on the way up here," Kara said. "But she wouldn't listen."
"She needs time," Victoire said wisely. "If we just give her that for now, maybe we can work on repairing things in the future."
"Yeah," Kara nodded. "I guess so."
VvVvVvVvVvV
Over the next few days, Brianna remained mad at both Kara and Victoire, avoiding them in the dorm, sitting apart from them at meals and in classes, and spending all her time holed up alone in the library. Victoire felt horrible – not only that she'd conspired in lying to one of her best friends, but also that now her best friend was alone with nobody really to talk to. Victoire could only imagine how horrible it would be to have both Brianna and Kara refusing to speak to her, and Victoire still had Teddy. Brianna had no one.
"You want me to what?" Teddy asked. A week had passed and still neither Victoire nor Kara had made any progress with Brianna. Victoire was getting desperate, and knew she had to figure out something before Brianna went insane.
"I want you to study with Brianna," Victoire repeated. "Maybe try to talk to her."
"You want me to apologize for you?" Teddy frowned.
"No," Victoire shook her head. "I need to apologize for myself. But if you could just get her talking, help her to see that it's worth hearing me and Kara out. Or at the very least just let her not be alone for a little while. I don't think she'd talked to anyone in this whole school since our falling out. Besides answering questions in class, which hardly counts."
"Alright," Teddy agreed reluctantly. "But I don't know how much success I'll have. This is Brianna we're talking about."
"I know she's not your favorite person in the world," Victoire nodded. "So thank you for doing this."
Victoire wished she could go with Teddy and watch or listen to his conversation with Brianna, but she knew she couldn't. If she was there Brianna would shut down, refuse to talk at all, and Teddy would have no luck. So instead she stayed back in the common room with Kara, anxiously awaiting Teddy's return.
After an excruciatingly long time, Teddy did return. Victoire rose to meet him, desperate for good news, but Teddy simply shook his head and went straight for his dorm, where Victoire couldn't follow.
Victoire exchanged a sad look with Kara. This must mean that it hadn't worked – if Teddy didn't want to talk about what had happened, then it couldn't have gone well. Victoire felt herself start to cave in, and then Kara's eyes widened and Victoire turned to see what she'd seen.
Brianna entered the common room and slowly made her way towards Victoire and Kara, not making eye contact, but not looking away either.
"Teddy said I should give you a chance to say your piece," she said, standing her ground and crossing her arms in a defensive position.
Victoire's heart soared and she made a mental note to thank Teddy immensely for managing this.
"Brianna, we are so sorry about everything," Victoire said. "We didn't mean to – "
"You didn't mean to lie to me?" Brianna interrupted. "Because it seems to me that's exactly what you wanted to do. Except that you got caught."
"What I was going to say is that we didn't mean to hurt you," Victoire finished her statement. "We thought we were protecting you."
"Protecting me?" Brianna frowned. "How is lying to me supposed to protect me?"
"William is your ex-boyfriend," Kara said. "When he asked me to dance, I figured a dance couldn't hurt. But things just clicked, and when he asked me out I couldn't say no. But if I'd told you – "
"I'd have understood," Brianna said. "I barely dated him. I stalked him for a month in second year, that was all. It's not like we had an emotional connection or anything."
"I thought you would be hurt if you knew," Kara said. "So I didn't say anything. I figured we'd go out once, maybe twice. I didn't know how much we'd end up liking each other."
"So what, you're dating now?" Brianna asked. "Is he your boyfriend?"
Kara nodded and Brianna closed her eyes to process the information.
"Okay, fine," she finally said. "So after the second date, when you knew things were getting more serious, why didn't you tell me?"
"I thought about it," Kara admitted. "But every time I thought about it, I thought about how upset you'd probably be. It was easier to keep hiding it to admit that not only was I dating your ex, but that I'd lied to you about it."
"Well that worked out pretty well, didn't it?" Brianna said sarcastically. "So you were never going to tell me?"
"I'm sure I would have eventually," Kara said.
"But it's impossible to know now," Brianna added. She turned to Victoire next. "And you? What's your excuse?"
"Kara asked me to keep the first date a secret," Victoire said. "I figured if it went poorly, it would be better for you to just never know it happened."
"And the second time?" Brianna demanded.
"I encouraged Kara to tell you the truth," Victoire replied honestly. "But I thought it should come from her, not from me."
"Yet you conspired with her. You intentionally kept me away from her whenever she was with William. Am I wrong?" Brianna asked.
"I didn't want you to just happen across them like you did," Victoire said sadly. "I was trying to prevent exactly what happened."
Brianna sighed, exhausted from all the conversation.
"You shouldn't have lied," she said. "Either of you."
"We know," Kara said while Victoire nodded. "We're so sorry. It won't happen again, no matter what it is."
"Alright then," Brianna took a deep breath. "Then I guess I forgive you."
"Really?" Victoire asked in surprise. "That's it?"
"Would you rather I stay mad another week?" Brianna asked.
"No," Victoire shook her head. "I'm just surprised. I would have expected you to hold a grudge for a month or more after what we did."
Brianna shrugged. "I'd have forgiven you eventually," she said. "What's the use in dragging it out another month?"
"So we're okay then?" Kara asked, to make sure.
Brianna nodded. "Yeah," she nodded. "We're okay."
Brianna took a seat at the table with Victoire and Kara and opened her transfiguration textbook to join them in their studying. As everything went seemingly back to normal Victoire couldn't help but marvel at how everything had turned out. What had Teddy said to her? Because whatever it was, he was a miracle worker.