As the days of December dragged on, they eventually came to enter the week of the Yule Ball. It was to take place that very weekend and people were equally as excited as they were most definitely freaking out. Dress robes were dropping down on the tables of the Great Hall during mail delivery, like dead flies at the end of September.

See Victorie didn't usually mind the school putting on festivities, but this time she was finding it unbearable. Which was why she found herself less than engaged in the discussion of dresses and dates going on in her group.

Jamie and her had already assembled everything they needed for the spectacle they were planning, and there wasn't much more to do now except suffer through everyone's excitement for the event.

She had her elbow leaning against the armrest of the couch in the common room and her hand pressed against her cheek as she watched the fire crack on.

Around her Delilah was telling Teddy, Ethan, Jamie and Maya about exactly who had paired up with whom for the ball.

Just as Delilah was going through the whole list, a sixth year came up to them. Teddy's eyes flitted over to Victorie for a second, before turning to look at the boy along with everyone else, including Victorie. But when the boy directed his attention at Teddy and opened his trembling mouth, Victoire zoned out and decided to watch the flames instead, knowing exactly what was coming.

"I'll get back to you." She heard Teddy's voice.

Evidently the story of how Teddy and her had kissed, and the speculation regarding them being an item or not, had died down. She wasn't receiving the same stares anymore, and the whole thing seemed to have come to be largely regarded as false information after subsequently seeing Teddy and Victorie act like normal.

Normal — as in the way they were before the kissing had started.

After the gang scattered to go off to bed, Ethan lingered by Victorie as she stretched and yawned. "Do you have a date yet?" He asked her.

A gloomy expression settled on her face. "I don't really want a date." She muttered self-righteously.

"Right." He mumbled, then went to say goodbye to the rest of the company before exiting the common room to head back to his own.

The next day she had a little more luck with the topics of conversation. Though every time she found herself near Teddy, without fail, someone would approach him on the topic of being his date for the Yule Ball.

The propositions were getting more frequent the closer they got to the date. And every time he would give them an appreciative smile, but respond with a variation of the same statement…

"I'll get back to you."

…

"Let me get back to you on that."

…

"If it's okay, could I get back to you?"

All with the same casual but suave disposition.

They were currently sitting on the floor outside the busy hallway of the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, waiting for their class to begin.

Maya and Delilah were telling stories from their first years at the school, relaying every embarrassing thing they had all done in almost chronological order. And for a blissful few minutes, Victorie was actually having fun.

They were just telling the story of how Victoire had had a slight obsession with Babbity the Witch. The one from Beedle's fairy tale. How she had slept with a stuffed toy version of the witch's rabbit-form every night throughout first year, and a little while into second.

Teddy seemed more than delighted to hear about it. He didn't even attempt to conceal the stupid smile spreading across his face as they told the story, obviously loving every second of it.

He poked Victorie on her side and smirked. "Babbity Rabbity, eh? You do know that she tried to convince the Witch-Hunters to cut a man in half?" He teased.

"Only served him right." She joked while trying to evade Teddy's increasingly committed pokes.

His chuckles were laced with adoration, and she couldn't help but giggle a little too, despite how unfair it was that he was the only one exempt from being ridiculed by embarrassing anecdotes.

But their battle was soon interrupted by another suitor, appearing out of the flood of students making their way to their classes.

Teddy visibly tensed. It was the first time that he looked properly bothered by the interruption. But an instant later he managed to wipe his face clear of any annoyance. He looked up at the girl and greeted her with a pleasant, "Hello." Believable enough to hold up in court.

Victorie's annoyance remained however. With her jaw clenched tightly shut, she stood up and disappeared into the classroom to await the teacher in there instead.

But after the class something even worse happened. She packed up her bag and hurried off into the corridor before everyone else so that she wouldn't have to explain to anyone why she had acted so cold earlier. She didn't make it far down the hall though before being stopped.

A third year came up to her with an envelope, asking if she could deliver it to Teddy. It was in the exact same fashion as many students had done during her first few months back at the school after summer holiday. Although this time, the letter was of course regarding an invitation to the ball.

Victorie basically snatched the envelope out of the student's hand and pressed her lips together in a tight and over exaggerated smile. Then she stomped back to the classroom where Teddy had just made it out. She pulled the boy off to the side and took a deep breath to let out some of her steam before handing him the envelope in a somewhat calmer state.

Teddy seemed to know exactly what it was regarding right away. His shoulders sank ever so slightly and he shut his eyes for a second. When he opened them again he gave Victorie an apologetic smile and retrieved the envelope resolutely.

"Before you even open it you should know that it was a third year who asked me to deliver it to you." She explained, like her whole involvement in the matter was beneath her.

"Right." Teddy then immediately went and made a big show of throwing it into the nearest bin. After, he turned and grinned at her, as though it was supposed to be funny somehow.

But it wasn't the slightest bit funny to her. It was humiliating to act like his manager for the misplaced adoration of his prepubescent fans. She wanted to tell him exactly how unfunny it was (despite better judgement) and she might have actually done so, had they not been interrupted by yet another person.

This time Teddy was quick to excuse himself from Victorie and drag the girl a meter or two away from her before asking what she needed from him in a hushed voice.

But by the time he had said his usual line and the girl had left, Victorie was already on her way down the hallway.

"Victorie!" He called out, but she didn't stop. Teddy zigzagged between the students as quickly as he could to catch up with her.

"She was asking me about a group project for Herbology." Teddy let out in the same breath as the one he used to compose himself from the exertion. His voice was stained with feigned casualty and a barely distinguishable tremor.

None of it could keep its balance, and Victorie gave him a look that happily expressed to him that she knew very well that he was lying right to her face. If that wasn't enough, she muttered, "Yeah right." and watched as the lie Teddy had constructed tumbled and crashed to the floor.

Teddy wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. He didn't want to lose his trustworthiness, so he added, "And then she also asked if she could be my date." Like he had planned to let her in on that bit of information all along. He shrugged and shook his head, "But I don't really want to go with them."

"Her!" He corrected. But then he thought better of it and decided to just be truthful. "And well… them."

Victorie looked straight ahead as she walked. "Then you might have to start actually telling some of them that, instead of what you're doing now. Or you might end up going to the ball with about 50 different dates." She gave him a sideways glance, looking him up and down before landing with her eyes on his ever-changing hair. "And even you can't pull off that many costume changes."

Teddy dragged his hand through his hair and twisted uncomfortably, almost shivered at the prospect. Yet she still hadn't quite reasoned with him. "I'm sure they'll catch on eventually." He said.

Victorie sighed loudly. "Or, you could realise that you can't please everyone and just be honest." She suggested in a derisive ta-da moment.

Before Teddy could reply, Victorie's eyes drifted off somewhere behind him, and she quickened her pace.

Upon noticing this, dread washed over Teddy, but before he could think up an escape plan from whoever was coming up behind him, it was too late. Someone tapped him on the shoulder.

He grunted to himself. "No!" He insensitively burst as he turned to meet the intruder.

But behind him stood Thomas, and Teddy was pretty sure that the boy's opinion of him wasn't favourable enough to land him a date proposal, like he thought he was going to be faced with.

"I came to ask you about the rehearsals." He explained tensely.

"Right." Teddy mumbled.

Thomas' eyes drifted toward Victorie, who was turning a corner at that moment and disappeared out of their sight. "Still no luck with her, huh?" He commented.

Teddy glared at the boy before him. He balled his hands up into fists. Thomas recoiled a little, and could swear he noticed a slight tonal-change in his hair for the redder by the way that he was fuming.

"For Merlin's sake! You actually saw me in that closet with her, you know exactly how lucky I've been with her." Teddy snapped. "…And I'm pretty sure that her quick exit has something to do with how you decided to spread rumours about us to the entire school!"

Then Teddy stomped off in the opposite direction of where Victorie had disappeared off. After only making it a few steps though, he turned back toward Thomas. "And the rehearsals are tonight, Thursday, and Friday at 5 p.m. — don't be late!" He spat, as a way to prevent the risk of having the boy approach him again.

Published: 27 April 2022

A/N: The next chapter will be the last for this story.