#10 VICTORIA

Rating: T.

AN: This story was written for the Weasleys, Witches, & Writers Facebook group's It's A Weasley Winter Flash Comp. This was a great fest, thank you so much the mods for hosting it!;)

My Prompt was "Next Gen Weasley" - my chosen main character was Victoire.

Alphabeta love to the wonderful cinnamonbun24.

Victoria

OS.

"Now that she lies in ruins I will prosper."

T

It was snowing heavily on the cliffs as she wandered, angrily kicking at the path. She knew her mother would come looking for her at some point. Or maybe her dad. She hoped it would be her maman, she had no time for her dad right now.

She clutched her necklace, the last gift he had given her, as she wondered. It was beautiful, in precious silver, with a pendant the colour of her eyes. Sapphire. The gem for devotion, loyalty. Love and faith. She scoffed. Should she throw it in the sea? It was a deep blue as well, maybe it would get lost in it.

Her fingers wrapped around the stone. Should she keep it? As a token never to trust men and the vile lies they poured in your ears, until it reached your heart and your very soul? Until they gained all they had ever wanted?

"Victoire!"

She looked up and saw Dominique running towards her, her hair dishevelled, her eyes wild.

"Where were you? We've been searching for you. Maman is about to bring the bûche." [1] [3]

Victoire smiled fondly at her little sister.

"Lead the way, I'll follow you back home."

What if her heart had shrunk to a kernel, now that she had known love, lost it, and felt so jaded?

As they approached, she could hear her mother's voice chiming sweetly for her guests.

"Winter in France is so beautiful and different eveywhere. In Strasbourg, it's a real treat with snow all around. At Beauxbâtons, the weather was rather mild; you could dip your feet in the sea during daytime. But for me, nothing is sweeter than Christmas in Nice, I know no greater feeling than walking on la Promenade des Anglais on New Year's Eve." [4]

Of course. Nice. The city of her grandparents. The city her maman had loved and longed for all her life on the English shores. The city she was pretty sure she was named after. If it wasn't already ironic to be named after a victory she had no hand in. [4]

Fleur smiled at her daughter, as she took her place at the long table where they were all seated. Louis didn't even pretend not to be bored as her dad threw her way a concerned look.

"Ah there she is. Come, viens, ma chérie, I'll bring the Yule log now that we're all back together." [2]

"Maman, why is it that... I mean..." [1]

Fleur combed through her eldest's long blonde hair, humming softly.

"You want to know why we stayed in your father's country, don't you?"

Victoire nodded. She didn't want to open old wounds, but every year it seemed her maman missed the French coast more and more.. If anything, her mother was a strong, independent woman. Why had she accepted to follow her husband? For love? Surely that wasn't it. Love couldn't be worth it.

"Well, it was war, ma chérie, we wanted to fight with our family and friends. And then, it didn't seem to matter where we would live if we weren't alive. And then..." [2]

Her voice cracked a bit, and Victoire knew she thought about that uncle, the one she had never known but that everyone seemed to have loved so much; that everyone dearly missed today.

"Well, we were just used to it when all was better, and I was..."

"You were trapped."

She looked sadly at her daughter, caressing her cheek before inspecting her face and her braid.

"Live your life, mon coeur. [2] Follow your dreams and don't ever feel bad for running after what you truly want."

Deep blue eyes met cerulean ones, and Victoire could see that her maman knew how she felt, how her heart ached, how she longed to forgive and run back to Teddy. But she couldn't. Not yet. Not when she felt so lost in her feelings, so angry and hurt, and so afraid of her own powers, as if a tempest had arisen in her chest.

"No man is worth your tears, ma chérie." [2]

She knew that. She really did. But why did it hurt so? Wasn't everything supposed to smile upon her with a name like hers? Wasn't she supposed to achieve it all, instead of failing as she seemed to be doing since she had left her parent' house?

"Maman, I wish..."

Fleur slowly rocked her.

"I know, ma chérie." [2]

As her mother's arms cradled her, Victoire felt at ease, finally understood. She would come through this. Wasn't she named after a goddess who could conquer and prevail all?

Notes :

[1] Maman = mom
[2] Ma chérie, mon coeur = sweetheart
[3] Bûche = Yule log
[4] Nice was first named after Níkaia, which means "victory", la Promenade des Anglais is the name of the promenade (or sidewalk I guess?) next to the beach.