Year 5: Head Over Heels
Chapter 48: April 2016
"Happy Birthday!" Victoire exclaimed loudly.
She ran to Teddy and gave him a big hug, followed by a birthday kiss.
"Thanks Victoire," Teddy smiled, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend.
"How does it feel, being eighteen?" Victoire wondered.
Teddy shrugged. "Not much different than seventeen, I guess," he muttered.
"Well that won't last for long," Victoire promised. "I'm going to make this your best birthday ever."
Victoire had put a lot of thought into what she wanted to do for Teddy's birthday. After their conversation at Christmas, Victoire had been waiting, sometimes a little impatiently, to see when their moment was going to come. Teddy seemed to think it was just going to magically happen – that one day the stars would align or something equally as romantic, and they would 'just know'. But Victoire wasn't waiting for fate anymore. She had it all planned out. And it was going to be perfect.
VvVvVvVvVvV
That evening, as everyone began to head down to dinner, Victoire pulled Teddy aside, out of the main stream of students.
"Come with me," she said. "I have a surprise for you."
With a smile and a nod, Teddy let her lead him back up to the seventh floor and then down the hallway, past the Divination Tower, past the Astronomy Tower, and even further down the corridor.
"Where are we going?" Teddy frowned, knowing there wasn't much down there, other than some unused classrooms.
"Don't you remember?" Victoire asked. "You took me on a date here once, back when we'd started dating."
"The West Tower," Teddy nodded with a flood of realization.
"Exactly," Victoire nodded.
Once they reached the tower in question, Victoire held the door open for Teddy – typically he did this, but it was his birthday after all – and the two began to climb the circular staircase to the top.
"Victoire, this is – " Teddy didn't know what to say as he emerged at the top of the tower. It was arranged just the way it had been the last time they'd been here – a blanket spread out in the center of the room with a basket perched on top of it. There were also a scattering of pillows around – Victoire figured they might make things more comfortable later on – and right in the center of the blanket was a gift box wrapped with a bow.
"Happy Birthday," Victoire smiled, saying it for probably the hundredth time that day, and knowing she'd probably say it a hundred more times before the day was done.
"Thank you," Teddy said, pulling Victoire to him and pressing his lips against hers. "This is perfect."
Being held like that in Teddy's arms, Victoire allowed herself to momentarily forget her plans for how the evening was going to proceed. It wasn't until her stomach growled loudly that she pulled away, embarrassed and remembered that they had yet to eat.
"Sorry," Victoire felt her face heat up, apologizing for ruining the moment. "I didn't get a chance to eat lunch, because I was setting this up."
"Don't apologize," Teddy said, leading Victoire to the blanket and opening the basket to find something for her to eat quickly. "I just can't believe you went to all this trouble for me."
"Of course I did," Victoire said. "I'd do anything for you."
Teddy leaned forward at this and gave Victoire a chaste kiss and then pulled away again before they got carried away. He began to properly explore the picnic basket then, pulling out all sorts of delicious looking foods and spreading them out in front of them.
"The elves really outdid themselves this time," Victoire commented approvingly. "They must really like you. I told them if was for your eighteenth birthday."
"Hey, look at this!" Teddy said, producing a small card from inside the basket. "It says Happy Birthday Mister Teddy."
"Oh how sweet," Victoire smiled, helping herself to some of the food. Now that she was aware of her hunger, she found herself eager to get it under control.
Teddy began to eat too, and while they ate he told her about his lunch with his grandmother and how she'd gotten him a nice pair of shoes – very practical, as always.
"I got you something too," Victoire said then, gesturing to the wrapped box that Teddy still hadn't touched.
"I noticed," Teddy said. "I wasn't sure when I was supposed to open it."
"You can open it now," Victoire offered, clearing away their dishes and putting the remaining food back in the basket for the elves to deal with.
Tentatively, Teddy took the small package and slowly tore the paper off, throwing it to the side. Victoire felt herself grow nervous as he opened it, wondering if it had been a stupid idea.
As Teddy opened the box and stared at his present, Victoire only grew more nervous. When he didn't say anything, she hurried to explain.
"I know guys aren't really into wearing necklaces," Victoire said in a rush. "Which is why I put it on a long chain – so you can hide it under your shirt where people won't see it. See, it's half a heart and… and I have the other half here," she pulled her own necklace out from under her shirt to show Teddy how the two matched perfectly. "I know it's stupid and cliché and all that," she continued. "But I just thought that while you're out in the world next year, you might like to carry a part of me with you."
A lump caught in her throat as she finished her speech. But then Teddy smiled and relief washed over her.
"I love it," he said, slipping the long chain over his neck and letting it fall under his shirt. "It's perfect."
Victoire smiled. "And I have something else for you," she added, her heart rate increasing in speed as she said so.
"Oh?" Teddy asked, looking around, as if there was something he'd missed earlier.
Victoire nodded and crawled forward so that she was right in front of Teddy. She leaned her head forward and pulled him into a kiss, starting slow but escalating quickly. Victoire reached around and grabbed Teddy's shirt, pulling it over his head in one clean motion. Then she lowered her hands to his chest as they continued to kiss, feeling every inch of his torso and memorizing this moment for all eternity.
Victoire broke away then for air, and then latched onto Teddy's neck, slowly kissing her way down his chest. Teddy's eyes drifted closed and Victoire smiled to herself as he groaned. Suddenly, he reached for her head and pulled her back up, crushing his lips against hers and pulling her closer, one hand tangling in her hair and the other lowering to her hip.
As their kiss deepened, Victoire began to reach for the hem of her own shirt, intending to pull it over her head, but then Teddy was pulling away, panting slightly and shaking his head.
"Victoire, we have to stop," he insisted. "We can't – If we keep going then we're going to – "
"Then let's not stop," Victoire said, reaching forward and pulling Teddy back into a kiss. She could feel his resistance, but she could also feel it slowly melting away. If she could just get him to –
"Victoire I'm sorry, but we can't," Teddy said, breaking apart and scooting away to get some distance. "Not tonight."
The sting of this second rejection was like a slap in the face. Victoire couldn't understand what she'd done wrong. At Christmas, Teddy's reasoning had made sense – it had been the wrong time. He'd wanted it to be right. But now it was right. They were completely alone – the prefects didn't even round on the West Tower, so there was no chance of interruption. So the only explanation left was…
"I don't understand," Victoire said in a small voice. "Do you not want to?"
Teddy shook his head and Victoire could see the wanting in his eyes. "That's not the problem," Teddy assured her. "Trust me, that is not the problem."
"Then what is it?" Victoire frowned.
Teddy sighed. "I have to patrol soon," he said regretfully.
"What?" Victoire frowned. "But you're not on the schedule for tonight. I checked. I even told Marina it was your birthday and not to schedule you."
"I know," Teddy said. "But Elijah is in the hospital wing – came down with something in charms earlier – and I have to fill in for him."
"Why can't Marina fill in?" Victoire demanded, knowing that it was always the Head Boy or Girl who were responsible for last-minute replacements.
"She's already patrolling with Rebecca," Teddy replied.
Victoire sighed. She hated Elijah for getting sick, hated Marina for having already been on the patrol schedule, hated Madam Eldridge for her rules about her patients not being allowed to leave the hospital wing, even when it was important. But mostly she just hated that her plans were now ruined.
"I'm sorry," Teddy apologized.
"No," Victoire shook her head. "It's not your fault Elijah got sick. It's just really bad timing."
"Really bad timing," Teddy agreed.
"Are we ever going to - ?"
"Yes," Teddy said, before Victoire even finished asking her question. "Yes," he repeated, more fervently than the first time. He leaned forward and kissed Victoire hard, only pulling back when he remembered he needed to reign things in if he was going to go on his rounds soon.
"Soon?" Victoire asked heart beating hard in her chest as she asked.
Teddy nodded. "Soon," he promised.
VvVvVvVvVvV
The Easter holidays came late that year. As the sign-up sheets for students wanting to stay at Hogwarts circulated, Victoire inquired with her friends as to what their Easter plans were.
"I'm going to go home," Brianna said. "My dad wants to have this whole big thing. No idea why."
"I'm going home too," Kara added. "I just need a change of pace, or else I think I'm going to explode before the O.W.L.s are over."
"What about you, Victoire?" Brianna wondered.
"I'll probably just stay here," Victoire replied. "My brother and sister want to go home, but I'm still a little mad at papa for talking to Professor Longbottom about me. I'm not sure I want to see him right now."
"And I'm sure it doesn't hurt that Teddy's going to be staying," Kara commented.
"And the fact that William's going home didn't affect your decision?" Victoire retorted.
"I was just making an observation," Kara said defensively.
"So was I," Victoire returned.
VvVvVvVvVvV
"So you signed up to stay over the Easter holidays?" Teddy asked as he and Victoire relaxed together on a couch in the common room.
"Yeah," Victoire nodded. "Kara and Brianna are both going home though. So is Caitlin. Unfortunately Raina decided to stay, so I'm going to be stuck in the dorm with her for two weeks. What about Billy, is he staying or going?"
"Going," Teddy replied. "Actually, all my roommates are going to be gone over the holiday. So it'll be just me."
"I'm jealous," Victoire said. "I wish I had that. You'll have total privacy, and I'll be listening to Raina prattle on about fertilizer.
"Victoire," Teddy said, something in his voice causing Victoire to look up at him quizzically. "My roommates will all be gone. Except for me, my dorm will be totally empty."
Victoire's heart pounded loudly in her chest as she realized what Teddy was trying to tell her.
"Oh," she said, eyes widening in surprise.
"If you've changed your mind…" Teddy said. "If you're not ready, we don't have to do anyth – "
"I haven't changed my mind," Victoire assured him.
"We'll have two whole weeks to ourselves," Teddy said. "We don't have to rush anything."
Victoire nodded, thousands of thoughts running through her head. Now, with the verbal agreement it seemed much more real than it ever had before. Even when Victoire had thought it was happening, it hadn't felt as real as it did now.
"I love you," Victoire said, leaning forward to kiss Teddy. "I want this. We're doing this."
"I love you too," Teddy said, returning her kiss. "So much."
VvVvVvVvVvV
It felt like the Easter holidays would never come. The days leading up to the holidays dragged by and all Victoire could do as she sat in her classes was think of Teddy. She knew she needed to focus, with her O.W.L.s coming up, but she couldn't. Not after their conversation.
When the day finally came for the student who were going home to leave, Victoire practically chased Kara and Brianna to the carriages. It was pointless really, because there were hundreds of students that needed to leave, and getting rid of her two friends wouldn't get the rest of the students out of the castle any quicker. Brianna considered Victoire with a puzzled expression as Victoire ushered them into a carriage and bid them goodbye.
"Victoire, is everything - ?"
"Everything's fine," Victoire promised. "Have a good holiday, I'll see you when you get back."
She shut the door on them and the carriage took off, leaving Victoire alone at the front entrance of the school. Unable to contain herself now that she had two uninterrupted weeks with Teddy, she hurried to the prefect's lounge, where she knew he would be, working out a patrol schedule for the few prefects who were remaining at school over the next two weeks.
Victoire would have let Teddy take her up to his dorm the first chance they had. Teddy, on the other hand, had other ideas. Like he'd suggested, he insisted that they take things slow. With a near-empty common room, Teddy and Victoire spent most nights by the fire, sometimes kissing, and sometimes just enjoying being together. But every night, when Victoire would start to yawn, Teddy would kiss her goodnight and walk her to her staircase, where he would wait for her to ascend to her dorm before retreating to his own, alone.
And despite her earlier impatience, Victoire was completely happy.
VvVvVvVvVvV
On one such night, about halfway through the holidays, Victoire and Teddy found themselves stretched out on the couch in front of the fire. Teddy lay along the length of the couch and Victoire was curled into his side, her head leaning against his chest above his heart.
They had spent the day being very productive. Teddy had finished all the rune translations that he'd been assigned for the holidays while Victoire had managed to complete both her potions essay and her charms essay – and writing the latter had been as painful as pulling teeth.
Neither of them were rounding tonight – a rare occurrence with such a limited number of prefects left at the school. Even though they'd cut the number of prefects to patrol each night from three pairs to two (each pair took on half of middle rounds to add onto either top or bottom rounds), most of them were still rounding every other night. And since Teddy and Victoire weren't allowed to round together, it was the first time they'd both had the same night off.
Lazily, Teddy traced random patterns on Victoire's back as they both just lay together, enjoying the feel of each other. Glancing around, Victoire realized that the common room had finally emptied out – they were the only ones left.
"Everyone's gone," Victoire murmured softly.
"I know," Teddy nodded. "I heard the last of the fourth years head up ten minutes ago."
Slowly, Victoire tilted her head upwards and pressed her lips against Teddy's softly. She started to move her lips against his and Teddy responded in kind. There was nothing rushed about it and Victoire audibly sighed at the sheer perfection that was this moment.
It wasn't long before Victoire wanted more, and she parted her lips, allowing Teddy's tongue entrance into her mouth. She moaned and found her arms wrapping around Teddy's neck as she tried impossibly to pull Teddy closer to her.
Suddenly grabbing Victoire by the hips, Teddy shifted their positions and now he was above her, pressing her into the couch cushions as he peppered kisses along all her visible skin. Victoire let out another sigh and her eyes drifted closed as she allowed herself to just feel Teddy, her skin burning everywhere that he touched.
"Teddy," she said breathily, trying to regain some composure and failing miserably. "Teddy, I think we should – "
Teddy pulled back and Victoire opened her eyes to meet his as they bore into hers. Her heart was racing and she was breathing heavily, but she was sure. She could see her sureness reflected in Teddy's eyes, and the next thing she knew he was climbing off her so that he could stand, and then he held his arm out to her, offering his hand.
Victoire swallowed and took it, allowing Teddy to help her off the couch and slowly lead her to the boys' staircase. For a moment, she worried the staircase would turn into a slide, like the girls' staircase did when one of the boys tried to climb it, but it didn't.
Teddy's dorm was higher up than hers and it felt like it took forever to finally reach it. But they did, and upon Teddy's gesture, Victoire turned the knob to open the door and entered the room.
It was immediately clear which bed was Teddy's – the only unmade bed in the room. With his other roommates gone, their beds wouldn't have been slept in for over a week. Victoire could feel the nerves settling in, and she didn't want Teddy to see, so she walked over to his bed and tried to focus on his belongings.
There were a lot of clothes on the floor – but even as she noticed them, Teddy began to kick them under the bed.
"Don't worry about it," Victoire shook her head, stopping him from his actions.
There were textbooks and papers littering his bedside table as well as the floor by his bed, and Victoire smiled as she discovered how messy a person Teddy was. She didn't mind though. As long as he didn't mind having her tidying up after him once they moved in together.
Her eyes drifted to the bed and she smiled when she was something familiar laying against the pillow.
"Remus!" she exclaimed, picking up the stuffed wolf and holding it out so Teddy could see. "You still have him."
Teddy nodded, looking a little embarrassed. "I'll just put him in my trunk," he muttered, grabbing the stuffed wolf and putting it away.
With nothing more to say, Victoire took a step closer to Teddy just as he did the same. And staring into his eyes, the last of Victoire's nerves dissipated and she kissed him, pulling him backwards until the backs of her knees hit the bed and she lowered herself onto it.
Boldly, Teddy climbed onto the bed with her, pulling his shirt off as he did so and then removing hers in a swift motion. They kissed again, passionately, and without even realizing what she was doing, Victoire found herself wrapping her legs around Teddy as she tried to pull him closer still.
And then Teddy's hands were on her and she felt like she could melt right into him. And now they were kissing in a way that they never had before and Victoire wanted to cry because it felt so good. And as Teddy's strong arms encircled her and his mouth moved against hers and his body pressed against hers, she felt warm, and safe, and so loved. And it was everything.
VvVvVvVvVvV
"I love you," Victoire murmured later as the two lay entwined in Teddy's bed.
"I love you too," Teddy said.
You were right," Victoire said then.
"Of course I was," Teddy agreed. "But about what?"
"This," Victoire sighed. "You were right. The stream by the Burrow, the West Tower… they weren't our moment. This was."
"I told you it would happen," Teddy smiled, pressing a kiss to Victoire's forehead. "So you think it was worth it?"
Victoire nodded. "So worth it," she agreed. "Absolutely perfect."