Year 7: Meant to Be

Chapter 66: February 2018

As the date of the Hogsmeade weekend got closer, Victoire got simultaneously more nervous and excited. Excited, because now that she'd broken up with Joe, she was single again, and still had strong feelings for Teddy. Nervous, because after everything that had happened between her and Teddy, she wasn't sure how he would react.

At Christmas, Victoire had told Teddy that he needed to move on. What if he had?

"Stop worrying so much," Brianna insisted. "That boy lives and breathes for you."

"You haven't seen him recently," Victoire shook her head. "You don't know. A lot has changed since he was in school with us."

"Not that much," Brianna insisted. "Look, he may have been the one to break up with you, but did he ever say he'd stopping loving you?"

Victoire thought about it and realized that Brianna was right. Never, not once, had Teddy ever claimed to have fallen out of love. He'd said he needed space. He'd said he didn't want to have to worry about Victoire all the time. But he'd never said he'd stopped loving her.

"You're right," Victoire realized, suddenly feeling more confident.

"Of course, I am," Brianna agreed, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "I'm always right."

VvVvVvVvVvV

The day of the Hogsmeade trip arrived, and Victoire had made up her mind. She'd been hemming and hawing about it for weeks, but she'd finally decided that she was going to go all in. She was going to tell Teddy she wanted him back. If he said no, she would get over the rejection. But if she never asked, she would never forgive herself for staying silent.

It took Victoire the entire morning to get ready. Everything had to be perfect: her hair, her clothes, her makeup, even her jewellery. She had plans to meet Teddy at one o'clock, so she waited until noon and then headed down to the Entrance Hall to begin her journey to the village.

"Victoire, I promise this is the last time, but I'm going ask you once more," Kara said as they stepped onto the path that led to Hogsmeade. "Are you sure?"

"Oh, leave her alone," Brianna waved Kara off. "Victoire's a big girl. And if it doesn't work out then it doesn't work out."

While Victoire appreciated Brianna's support, she also appreciated Kara's caution. Victoire did not want to mess this up again. This was her last chance with Teddy, and if she wasn't truly ready for what she was about to walk into, she shouldn't do it. But Victoire had agonized over her decision for a while, and she was positive. She knew what she wanted.

"I'm sure," Victoire responded with all the confidence in the world. "I don't think I've ever been more sure of anything in my entire life."

They arrived at the village, and after parting ways with Kara and Brianna, Victoire made her way to the Three Broomsticks. Teddy was already waiting for her at a table off to the side, two cups of butterbeer on the table before him.

Victoire's heart did a little leap when she saw him. It was silly, really. She saw him all the time, had basically grown up with the boy. But somehow, he could still cause the reaction out of her.

"Teddy," Victoire breathed, stepping up to the table.

"Victoire," Teddy returned, standing to greet her.

There was an awkward moment where Victoire went in for a hug and Teddy went in for a handshake that ended in the two giggling nervously and sitting down without doing either.

"So…" Victoire said, unsure how to even start the conversation. "How are things?"

"Things are good," Teddy nodded while Victoire took a sip of her butterbeer. "After we spoke at Christmas, I've been doing a lot better actually. Been focusing on my work some more. And there's this girl in the office across the hall that I've been out with a few times. I think I really like her."

"Oh," Victoire said in surprise, hating the way her heart started to shred just at the thought that Teddy was going out with someone other than herself. "That's… great." She forced a smile.

"And what about you?" Teddy asked. "How are things now that you've started your second term?"

"Things are alright," Victoire nodded. "I'm doing really well in herbology, and not too bad in potions either. I feel pretty confident about my upcoming N.E.W.T.s, not that I won't still have to study like mad for them."

"That's really great," Teddy said. "That you're confident, that is. It's good to go into your exams feeling that way. You're more likely to perform better because you won't be as stressed out."

Victoire nodded. That made sense.

They went on like that for another half hour or so, chit-chatting about meaningless topics, before Teddy finally got tired of all the beating around the bush.

"Why did you ask me to meet you here, Victoire?" he asked. Their butterbeers were empty now and they had yet to talk about anything real. "You said there were some things you needed to say."

"Right," Victoire nodded nervously.

Right up until arriving in the Three Broomsticks, Victoire had been sure about what she wanted. She was going to tell Teddy she still loved him, that she wanted him back, and that she never wanted to be apart from him again. But… Teddy was happy. Teddy was healthy and doing well and seeing some girl. Was it wrong to try to disrupt all of that? Victoire had had her chance, back in September and again at Christmas. She'd said no then, so what right did she have to change her mind now that Teddy was finally feeling himself again?

"Well I just wanted to say… You were my first boyfriend. I know I technically dated Nathaniel before I dated you, but he barely counts. You were my first real boyfriend, and you taught me so much about love and about life…"

"You taught me a lot too, Victoire," Teddy returned. "I don't think I knew what it was to truly love until I was with you."

Victoire felt her heart ripping itself apart even more. She had to force herself not to cry right then and there. The tears could wait until she was back in her dorm, with her curtains pulled and a silencing charm had been cast so that her friends wouldn't hear her.

"You'll always hold a special place in my heart," Teddy continued. "And who knows? Maybe someday, somewhere along the road, we'll make our way back to each other."

"Yeah, maybe," Victoire nodded. But she knew it could never be. They'd had their chance and she'd ruined it. There would be no 'someday'. Teddy would find someone else, the two of them wold settle down, be happy, and Victoire would become a distant memory. Meanwhile Victoire would go off, to Dublin or somewhere, and spend the rest of her days regretting the choices she'd made that had led her to where she was.

"Look, now that the air between us has been cleared and we're talking again and everything, maybe we can be friends?" Teddy asked.

Friends. Victoire had to hold back the grimace. Teddy wanted to be friends. It was the final straw on the camel's back, the thing that finally shattered for Victoire the illusion that this conversation could go any other way. Teddy wanted to be her friend.

"Friends," Victoire repeated, forcing herself to breathe. "Yeah, that would be good."

"And maybe we can write each other now and then?" Teddy suggested. "Keep up with each other's lives?"

"Yeah," Victoire nodded as she swallowed thickly. While she couldn't imagine the torture of having to read letters from Teddy talking about the great adventures he'd be going on without her and the various girls he might date that weren't her, Victoire also couldn't bear the thought of never knowing anything about Teddy's life again. So, she agreed, if only to torture herself even more. "Yeah, that sounds good."

"Great," Teddy smiled. "Hey, I'm really glad you invited me to meet you here," he added.

"Oh yeah?" Victoire asked, forcing herself to maintain her cheery exterior.

Teddy nodded. "You were right, we did need to talk. There still felt like there was some unfinished business between us. Now I feel like I can move forward."

"Good," Victoire said. "Me too. Listen, I have this plant I need to check on in the greenhouse, so I should really be getting back up to the castle soon. But it was good seeing you."

"Oh, yeah," Teddy nodded, mimicking Victoire in getting up from their seats. "Of course. I'll walk you out?"

"Sure," Victoire nodded.

She let Teddy lead the way through the throngs of Hogwarts students that filled the small pub. Once they were outside, Teddy continued to walk with Victoire all the way until the beginning of the path that led up to the school.

"Well, I guess this is it," Teddy said, coming to a stop at the gate.

"I guess so," Victoire nodded.

"I'll see you around?" Teddy asked.

Victoire nodded. If not just the two of them, then she'd see him around the Burrow at some point for sure.

She took a step onto the path and waved goodbye to Teddy, turning her back to him and starting the journey back. Behind her, Teddy waited a moment, and then turned and started walking away as well.

As Victoire took one step and then another, she just couldn't believe she was letting Teddy get away like this. For all her plans and all her sureness, was she really just going to walk away?

Though she knew that it could ruin everything, knew that if she was wrong about this, she might be about to ruin her chances of even being friends with Teddy, she had to do it. She'd never be able to sleep again if she didn't.

Boldly, she turned around, planted her feet in the snow, and called out to Teddy. "I broke up with Joe!"

She watched as Teddy came to a halt, and then ever so slowly turned back around to face Victoire.

"What?" he called back, his face a mask.

Victoire took a step closer. "I broke up with Joe," she repeated.

Teddy took a step closer too, and Victoire desperately tried to read his expression. But it was unreadable.

"You broke up with Joe?" he asked, repeating Victoire's words.

Victoire nodded. She took another step forward.

"Why?" he asked. His mask broke, and Victoire saw a sliver of hopefulness break through. Her heart soared, and she confidently took another step, and another.

"I think you know why," she replied, no longer needing to yell now that they'd closed the gap between them.

"You need to say the words," Teddy insisted. "I need you to say the words."

Victoire let out a shaky breath. It all came down to this. After everything they'd been through together, everything came down to this exact moment.

"Because I love you," Victoire said.

Without warning, or even a moment to prepare herself, Teddy's lips crashed against hers. He kissed her with more heat and more intensity and more passion than ever before, and Victoire returned the kiss in equal measure. She poured all of herself into the kiss, and Teddy poured all of himself back. They only reluctantly stopped when the need for air became so strong that Victoire felt like she was going to suffocate.

"What about that girl?" Victoire asked, panting from lack of breath. "The one from across the hall at work."

"Forget about her," Teddy shook his head, pulling Victoire close and starting to pepper kisses all over her face and neck. "She's not you."

Victoire drew Teddy's lips back to hers, and this time their kiss was slow, deep, filled with all the emotions that had been welling up in both of them since their breakup. It was like coming home after being away for a long time. It was like finally feeling like you belong, when you've felt like a fish out of water for months and months. It was like the entire world spinning on its axis and finally being right again. It was everything.

"Come with me," Teddy said breaking their kiss, but not pulling away.

"Where?" Victoire inquired. There weren't too many interesting places to go in Hogsmeade, and they'd already been to the Three Broomsticks.

"I know you're not supposed to leave Hogsmeade, but I promise I'll have you back in plenty of time. Nobody will know you were gone," Teddy replied.

Victoire nodded. "I just want to be with you."

Grabbing Victoire by the hand, Teddy hurried the two of them down the lane and towards the Hog's Head. When they arrived, Teddy and Victoire said a quick hello to the owner of the much less popular of Hogsmeade's pubs, and Teddy led Victoire over to the fireplace. He helped her step inside and then joined her, wrapping an arm around her waist with one hand as he took a handful of Floo Powder in the other. He threw it down on the ashes below their feet and called out an address, and then Victoire felt herself get swept up into the Floo network.

When the fireplace finally spat them out, it took Victoire a moment to get herself oriented. When she did, she looked around and realized almost immediately where she was.

"This is your apartment," she said, looking over at Teddy.

While she hadn't been here in over a year, it looked exactly the same. It was still decorated exactly the way Victoire had decorated it the summer before her sixth year and was still as messy as ever.

Teddy nodded. "I just wanted – I wanted it to be just the two of us," he said.

Victoire nodded. "Me too," she agreed, closing the gap between the two of them and pulling Teddy into another kiss. This one was different than the first two they'd shared. They were alone now, didn't have to worry about anyone watching or stumbling across them. Now they could kiss each other without restraint, without abandon, and without limitations.

"I want you," Victoire said even as they continued to kiss.

She watched as Teddy's eyes went dark, and hurriedly started undoing the buttons on his shirt. It had been about a year and a half since Teddy and Victoire had slept together – since Victoire had slept with anybody – and Victoire did not have the patience to take things slow.

In less than a minute, Victoire had divested Teddy of his clothes and he'd done the same to her. The two lovers fell onto the couch in a tangle of limbs, and Victoire almost cried at the sheer perfection of being with Teddy again after so long.

VvVvVvVvVvV

Hours later, Teddy and Victoire lay together on the couch, Teddy playing almost absentmindedly with Victoire's hair while Victoire traced patterns on Teddy's palm.

"I never stopped loving you, you know," Victoire informed him. "That day on the platform, the first of September? I was confused, and I was still hurt, but I was still in love with you, even then."

"I never stopped loving you either," Teddy replied. "I told myself I would one day, but I didn't really believe that. When you rejected me in September, I thought I'd messed things up for good."

"I never loved Joe either," Victoire said. "I thought I could, if I gave myself enough time. But I realized recently that that was never going to happen. Because of you."

She could practically feel Teddy smile at that.

"And the girl from across the hall," he added. "The one I went out with a couple of times? Her name's – "

"I don't want to know her name," Victoire insisted, holding up a hand.

"Right," Teddy agreed. "Well the girl then. I thought if I went out with her, I might be able to stop thinking about you, even if just for an hour or two. But it only made me miss you more."

"We're so pathetic," Victoire found herself laughing. "Can't get on without each other."

"I thought that once too," Teddy agreed. "But I don't think it's pathetic anymore. I think it's love."

Victoire pushed herself up and turned so that she was facing Teddy. She leaned close, so that their foreheads were touching, and their lips were millimeters away from each other.

"I never want to be apart from you again," she said. "Promise me. Promise me this is forever."

Teddy wrapped his arms around Victoire and pulled so that their torsos were pressed against each other.

"I promise," he said softly. "You and me. Forever."

They kissed, but after only a few minutes, Victoire pulled away sadly.

"I have to get back," she said miserably. "They'll start looking for me if I don't check back in soon."

Teddy sighed unhappily. "I'm not ready," he insisted.

"Me neither," Victoire agreed. "But it's only a few more months. Then I'll be free of Hogwarts. What's a few months when you have forever?"

Teddy smiled at that. "We'll make it work," he decided.

"We'll make it work," Victoire echoed.

Reluctantly, Victoire got up off the couch and started getting dressed again. Teddy followed suit, and once they were both ready, he flooed them both back to Hogsmeade and walked Victoire back to the gate.

"When's your next Hogsmeade weekend?" Teddy asked as the two lingered at the gate, neither wanting to walk away first.

"Either second or third week of March," Victoire replied. "I'll check the noticeboard and owl you as soon as I get back to Gryffindor Tower."

"I'm not sure if I can wait that long," Teddy insisted.

"You can always come visit your grandmother," Victoire hinted.

"I might have to," Teddy said seriously. "If only in the hopes that I might run into you while I'm visiting."

"Trust me, if you're in the castle, you'll run into me," Victoire assured him. "I'm Head Girl now, you know. I can go just about anywhere I want, any time I want."

Teddy leaned in for one last quick kiss and then stepped away, putting physical distance between himself and Victoire. They both knew that it was the only way they were ever going to part from each other.

"I'll see you soon," Victoire said, taking a step backwards.

"I love you," Teddy said.

"I love you too," Victoire returned.

She took another step backward, and Teddy did the same. Victoire kept going backward until she couldn't anymore, and then with a final wave goodbye, she turned to face the castle and began the trek back to Hogwarts.