Chapter 2

Author's Note: This is chapter 2! Hope you enjoy- and please feel free to review! I appreciate any kind of feedback more than you know :)

Night flying was exhilarating. I was so thrilled to finally see Victoire and take her to something I knew she would love so much-the Hearthead concert. Vic's notorious wild streak made for the best adventures- she could be absolutely intoxicating with her fairy laugh and bouncy hair. Maybe that explained the excitement I was feeling.

I tilted my broom up to brake when I arrived at her window at Shell Cottage, breathing in the salty sea air. It was a familiar place, a place I grew up and learned my love of beach and my best friend. Honestly, I was a bit jealous Victoire had such an amazing place to experience every day.

"Victoire," I breathed, rapping softly on the glass. The curtains ruffled to the side, revealing my best friend beaming at me from inside. She lowered her window down.

"Teddy!" Victoire exclaimed pulled me forward for a tight hug. I wrapped my arms around her dainty shoulders, which was a bit difficult on my broom, and she squeezed me in return. I took in her delicious, familiar scent of lavender and girl. "I've missed you!"

I pulled back. "I've missed you too, Vic! So much. It wasn't easy escaping my bonkers family," I confessed, taking her in. Her Muggle attire consisted of a sheer black shirt, silvery chains hanging from her hips, and wow, a leather skirt!

"Do you like it? I've been sneaking this stuff past Maman for weeks," Victoire giggled, twirling around in her pink room for me to observe.

"You look, uh, amazing Vic. Really." For some reason, I was finding it difficult to speak. Maybe I was sick? Maybe I had some sort of virus that tricked my brain into giving me a stuttering problem.

"Thanks! You don't look too shabby yourself, considering you're now an official chauffer."

I blushed. "I'm glad you think so. My mum would probably have a heart attack if she saw me like this," I responded, glancing down at my punk clothes.

She grinned. "Imagine how my father would react to this skirt!"

I shook my head quickly. "Uncle Bill would be more upset than when he caught us smuggling those ancient Gringotts artefacts from his study."

Vic shuddered. "Don't even remind me." Yes, I was very wary of Bill Weasley. The man had werewolf instincts and was thus extremely protective of Victoire. Apparently, his caution didn't work too well, Vic's favorite activity was pushing her parents' limits.

"Are you ready for this concert?"

"Are you kidding? I've been wanting to go to one for years!" she grabbed my hand and pulled herself onto the cobblestone edge of the window. I felt her hands wrap around my torso, holding tightly. "C'mon Ted! It's now or never."

I turned around and searched her face, and wow, how had I never realized she was so pretty? I mean, she's always been a nice-looking girl, but right now? Her cheeks rosy and eyes eager. She was beautiful.

"Ted?"

I coughed, "W-what, Vic?"

"Are you ever gonna go?"

"Right, sorry."

And I took off up into a sea of stars.

I mentally kicked myself on the fly over. She's your best friend. You can't look at her like that! And of course, I was right. Not only my best friend, but my cousin!

I reasoned with myself that the only reason I was viewing Vic that way was due to her being a teenage girl with her hands wrapped around my body. How could you blame me, I was a hormonal teenage boy, right? Any bloke with testosterone would do the same. Especially with a girl like Victoire.

We flew over London high up in the atmosphere, doubled with a Disillusionment Charm to steer clear of Muggle eyes. Talking was made impossible from the wind. Finally, we reached the venue Hearthead was performing at. I carefully maneuvered into a dark alley nearby where I knew no Muggle eyes could pry. Victoire and I hid my broom and set off to find our other friends- Ollie Humberstone, Piper Zhao, and Max Williams.

"Hey, Teddy! Victoire!" some voices shouted over the loud rumble of teenagers and young adults scattered everywhere. We whipped around and spotted the rest of our friends.

"Hey, mates!" I joined my friends, punching Ollie's shoulder.

"Teddy, you made it!" Piper exclaimed. She was Victoire's best friend, contrary to what many would assume. The two contrasted each other quite a bit. While Vic was more of a girly girl who hated flying and loved frills, Piper was rough and tumble, a Quidditch fanatic, and stuck to jeans and T-shirts 90% of the time. Opposites attract, I suppose. Tonight was an exception to Piper's rule against girly things. She uncharacteristically had a similar outfit to Vic's dressy grunge. I even think I spotted her sporting some red lipstick- it made her jet black hair shine.

The two girls quickly connected with each other, jabbering about each other's outfits and other typical girlish things of Victoire's expertise. They moved over to a shorter line, deserting us and giving them time to catch up on gossip. I watched as Victoire pushed a long strand of blonde hair back behind her ear, glancing at her happy pink lips moving up and down and up and down-

Suddenly, I noticed both Max and Ollie grinning at me suspiciously.

"Why are you both looking at me like that?"

Ollie shot me a knowing eye. "Oh, no reason, Teddy."

"Yup, nothing at all..." agreed Max.

I gave him a joking elbow to the shoulder "I know it's something," I said over the loud crowd of people beginning to file around us.

"Well, I suppose it is something." admitted Ollie, snickering to Max. "Is it true that Victoire took a ride on your broomstick?"

Max burst out laughing at the sexual joke. I rolled my eyes at my idiotic friends. "Shush, guys! She's standing right over there with Piper, don't be prats." I jabbed my thumb in the girls' general direction.

Ollie laughed. "Whatever, mate." His voice dropped a notch, harder to hear over the loud crowd in the line for tickets. "Look, it's okay to think a witch is good looking. I mean, look at Piper. She's hot."

That was new. Ollie had never had eyes for Piper that way in the past. Max and I glanced back at Piper. "Well, Piper has always been good looking. So's Victoire. It's nothing different," I reasoned.

"Ted, you've been with a million witches at school! You're the biggest flirt in any of the upper years. You could get Victoire if you really wanted to," Max insisted. We were getting closer to the ticket stand, now.

"This is different."

"How?" asked Ollie and Max in tandem.

I shrugged. "First of all, Vic's my cousin. That's weird. Second of all, why are you two so sure I like her?"

Ollie looked at me like I had grown a second head. "No offense, mate, but you're incredibly obvious. Even when you were with Amber Lincoln last year, who you claimed you were crazy about, you always talked about Vic. Who's not your actual blood cousin, I might add. You're not blood related, so nothing's weird. What's weird is when you stare at her with this dopey look on your face all the time."

I scoffed. "I don't do that!"

"Yeah, right," Max joked as we shifted forward in the line.

This was getting increasingly annoying. "For your information, she's my best friend. It's not weird to look at your friends," I huffed. Then I got an idea. "Say, Ollie, since you're suddenly the expert on witches, why don't you ask out Piper? You were talking about how pretty she was just a minute ago."

Ollie took a step closer to me. "Alright, Teddy. I'll make you a deal. If I successfully ask out Piper, you gotta give it a go with Victoire." Ollie stuck out his hand, typical goofy grin plastered on his face.

I considered it for a second. Would Ollie, who's never had a girlfriend, really ask out Piper? Piper who actively chose to be single and free? Maybe there was a slight chance in an alternate universe, but nothing more.

Then again, I didn't want to look like I was afraid. Resolutely, I reached out and shook my best friend's hand. "You're on."

Ollie grinned, shifting in the line to better be in view of where the girls were chatting. "Oi, Piper!" he called.

Piper and Victoire both halted their conversation and turned to us. "What?" Piper shouted.

I heard Ollie intake a sharp breath next to me. He seemed to gain a little composure after stuffing his hands in his pockets casually. "Wanna go out with me next weekend?"

Piper, who was normally queen of calm, cool, and collected, suddenly was blushing profusely. But Victoire suddenly linked hands with her, beaming, and muttered something in Piper's ear. Piper turned back to Ollie, giving him a small smile. "Yeah, okay!" she yelled back. The two suddenly turned back away from the rest of us, blocked by a large group of Muggles in black.

I, however, turned to face Ollie and Max, jaw dropped. "How the bloody hell did you do that so easily?"

Max rolled his eyes at my apparently obvious stupidity. "Teddy, we've seen you pull the same moves with tons of other girls! The only difference is you haven't even realized how hard you've fallen for Vic. I mean this in the least offensive way, mate, but you're completely blind to the fact you're head over heels."

"So now you have to make a move on Victoire," chimed Ollie. "I played my part in the deal, mate!"

I groaned. "Fine, you prats win. But I'm not tonight, we've gotta focus on partying to Hearthead!"

Max and Ollie agreed, and we finally met back up with the girls at the front of the ticket stand, who now each wore matching ecstatic looks.

The opening act was blaring from inside the venue. I could feel the heavy bass pumping into my veins. The five of us walked in and rushed to our seats, the buzz of euphoria in the electrified fans spreading all around. Our whole group was cheering at the top of our lungs when Hearthead came onto stage.

But something felt off. Would I even be able to enjoy the night with the sensation of butterflies swarming in my stomach at the mere thought of Victoire? Max was right- I didn't realize how crazy I was about this girl. But when I glanced over at her, I knew it was true. She was absolutely gorgeous- porcelain skin emphasizing long lashes and a button nose, icy blue eyes, and full lips. It was something more, though, that I wasn't familiar with. I mean, I had fun with plenty of pretty girls at Hogwarts-Amanda Seyfield, Macey Brams, and Jane Godfrey, to name a few. They were certainly nice, but something I couldn't quite place was missing. It was Victoire's fiery personality that made her different. She had the prettiest heart and could make me laugh like no other. And the stuff we did together- the girl was daring and did the craziest things.

As we shouted along to the music, it hit me. I really did have a crush on my best friend. I sighed to myself. Would she feel the same? Or did she just look at me like her childhood friend or even *blech* just her cousin? If she didn't reciprocate the feeling, I wouldn't know what to do.

Thankfully, the butterflies in my stomach evaporated with the music. Hearthead was amazing. Listening to their Muggle albums and CDs was one thing, but it was entirely different to feel the energy created in the venue as they rocked the house.

The best part was when Victoire grabbed my hand and started jumping along to the music with me in tow. It sent about a billion shivers down my spine to, but I shook off the nerves and danced. I even mustered up the courage to grab her hips and move along to the loud music with her. It was a good move, she loved it, and we ended up shouting the music even louder.

Ollie and Piper were suddenly very close to each other, too. There had to be something in the air tonight. Poor Max was left without a girl, but he entertained himself by waggling eyebrows at me at remotely any interaction I had with Vic, much to my annoyance.

Speaking of Victoire, I was really hoping she was picking up on my crappy attempts at flirting. I had a feeling it was probably a lost cause, which was so unfair. Normally I was as smooth as silk when it came to girls, but Vic suddenly had the ability to make my stomach do backflips.

Unfortunately, Hearthead had finished playing with a final "Thank you, good night London!" and was headed backstage. Sad the invigorating concert was over, my friends and I headed back outside into the cool night air.

We stepped out onto the entrance of the venue. "Wow," breathed Victoire, still panting from dancing.

"It was amazing," I said.

Everyone murmured their agreement as we broke into conversation debating the best moments of the entire show. Despite my issue with sneaking out, I was so glad I came. I truly did have a wonderful time, and it wouldn't have been worth missing for the world.

Plus, the situation with my friends had gotten a lot more interesting in the span of the two hour concert. For example, Piper was far more giggly than I had ever known her to be. Perhaps it was because she was hooked onto Ollie's arm. Ollie, of course, looked quite pleased with himself. Max and I shared a look and stifled a laugh. Did the deal to ask Piper out really cast Ollie under her spell so quickly? Apparently so, because Ollie announced he was going to take Piper home and waved goodbye. Max, not one to third wheel, quickly followed them out. That left just me and Vic.

Victoire and I. I and Victoire. The butterflies were back.

She beamed at me. "I had the best time."

"It was so cool seeing them in person," I agreed.

She dove into a story about how she thought the keyboard player had winked at her, and I laughed along. We chatted all the way back to the dark alleyway where my broom was located, and it felt surprisingly normal, despite the new feelings present.

"Teddy, it's really late," Victoire said as we approached the alleyway. "Didn't your parents give you a curfew?"

I blushed. I guess I forgot to mention I wasn't really permitted to be out either. "I snuck out," I admitted.

Vic gave me an unbelieving look. "Oh, really?"

I nodded. "You know how my mum is about Hearthead." I casually leaned onto the wall of the entrance to the alley.

"Aunt Ginny feels about the same as Maman does." Vic suddenly straightened her posture and flipped her hair, in a near exact replica of her French mother. "She's all, 'Mon cheri, thees ees not music!"

I laughed. "You play your mum so well."

"I've lots of practice," she grinned. Suddenly, her features lit up, and I knew she must have gotten one of her grand ideas for a scheme. "Hey, Teddy?" asked Victoire innocently.

"Oh, no. You've got that look on your face. Should I be worried?"

"Don't be silly," she said, nudging my shoulder and giggling.

"Alright. Let's hear it."

Vic smiled. "Since neither of our parents know we're out, what if we make the most of tonight?"

My brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I mean we take advantage of being unsupervised and free, and explore this side of London, silly!"

Here we go again, I thought, glancing at my watch. 12:31 AM. Certainly late. I didn't really want to risk anything more- coming to see the concert was already pretty serious. And my parents would absolutely throttle me for walking around any kind of city at night. But Victoire had her hand on my chest and was looking up to me under long lashes and flushed cheeks and a teasing smile and before I could stop myself- "Of course, sounds fun!"

Merlin, this girl's wild side was eventually gonna get me killed.

After racing across a street full of cars, we found a little all-night café. I treated her to about the crappiest latte Muggle money could buy, and we both tried drinking it with straight faces (unsuccessfully, I might add). Thanking the sweet waitress, we raced out of the store, Vic pulling me into an old-fashioned book shop after quickly and illegally magicking the door to unlock. It was near impossible to hold in our silent laughter while exploring the dusty sets of antique stories, but we grabbed stacks upon stacks of strange Muggle book titles and curled up in a cushy corner to sort through them all. Our Aunt Hermione would be so proud. Neither Victoire or I were very big readers, but something about the quiet of a closed book shop made it much more intriguing.

"Vic," I whispered. "Vic!"

She was enthralled in whatever it was she was reading. "I'm a bit busy, Ted!" she responded, quickly turning her eyes back down to the book. I rolled my eyes and grabbed her hand to get her attention. She looked up at me huffily.

"I just realized what time it was!" I showed her my watch, and she looked at me with round eyes.

"No way, is it really that late?"

It was now 1:47 in the morning, and we were still sprawled across the floor of the musty antique book store. "Yeah. I've been having the best time, but I reckon we ought to get back."

Victoire gave me puppy dog eyes, but thanks to becoming immune to that look with practice from Lily, I shook my head. "We seriously gotta go home."

She looked like she was going to consider pleading for another second, but quickly offered a reluctant, "Fine. You're no fun though."

I playfully rolled my eyes, and grabbed Vic's warm hand to help her up.

We quickly scattered across the store to put books back in the general area of where we found them, and met up at the front to leave. Slowly checking for any Muggles who might see us exiting the shop, we ducked out of the door.

Once we were back out on the street with a bit of distance between us and the book store, something finally took over us and we exploded into a fit of laughter at our own adventure.

"I cannot believe we did that!" shrieked Victoire.

"I don't even like books!"

"Well, apparently you like them when you're with me!"

I coughed. "I would like just about anything when I'm with you."

Vic slowed down our amble on the sidewalk and looked up at me. "What?"

Did I really just say that? Shite, shite, shite! "I mean, what? I didn't say anything!"

She nudged my side with a giggle. "Teddy, I heard you perfectly clearly. You said you like everything when you're with me."

Oh. "You're my best friend. Of course I like everything I do with you."

"Oh."

I frowned. I thought that was a good recovery! "Why the oh? I just called you my best friend."

Vic kicked a rock ahead of us on the sidewalk as we headed back to the alley. "I know. It's just- we've always been best friends."

"Right." I murmured, now confused. "I thought that was a good thing."

She then started nodding her head quickly, suddenly more sure of herself. "You're right, Teddy. Of course it's a good thing! We've always been best friends, and we always will be."

I felt my heart sink a little. "Yeah, we always will be," I repeated.

We had a bit of a ways to go to the alley I knew my broom was hidden. I had to admit it. London was a little creepy at night. In Westminster, there was a good chunk of people sleeping on the sidewalk or occupying benches. I genuinely felt bad for their situation, but it also made me a little nervous knowing just about anyone could be out lurking around us. Luckily, the bright lights from different buildings around made walking more bearable, but Victoire still leaned in a bit closer to me whenever we weren't under a streetlight.

Vic and I had nearly made it near my broom, when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I whipped around and stood in front of Vic. A ragged man stood in front of me. He looked to be an elderly Muggle, with yellow teeth and sparse white hair. He grinned at me, revealing a missing tooth. "Now, what are two young children like you pair doing out on a night like this?"

I glanced back at Vic, who looked unsure. I took a step back. "I'm sorry, sir, we can't really talk right now."

I made to turn away and start running to the alley, but the man grabbed my shoulder, suddenly angry. "Where are your manners? A pretty girl like her deserves a nicer lad, you know." He winked at Victoire, and I felt her shudder in my hand.

"Teddy, let's go," she whispered urgently.

The man took a step forward in Victoire's direction. "Now, gorgeous, what's the rush? You should be coming with me."

"Get away from me!" she shouted, pulling my arm.

The Muggle man clenched his jaw, and rushed forward on Victoire. I didn't know what to do, as he roughly grabbed her arm and yanked her in his direction.

"Vic!" I screamed, trying to pull her out of his grip.

He was too strong. Victoire struggles and whimpers to escape his rough hands only angered him, and he yanked her onto the ground.

Her scream set something off in me. Who did this man think he was? I itched to make a grab for my wand, but instead lurched my arm back and swung at him hard in his jaw. The creep staggered back, clutching his jaw and moaning as blood dripped towards the ground. I didn't have time to pay attention to his reaction, though. I lifted Vic from where he had dropped her and quickly drug her back to the alley.

When I was absolutely positive we were safe from anyone's eyes and completely hidden, I turned to Victoire. "Vic, I'm so sorry! Are you alright?"

I placed a hand on her distraught face. Her heart must have been racing. "It's just my arm, Teddy."

I glanced down, and felt my eyes bug out of my head at the sight. "Vic, it looks terrible! We need to get that fixed!"

The top of her arm was already bruised a deep purple in the shape of the man's hand's brutal grip. He must've sunk his nails in, too, because red scratches had drawn blood. It was now dripping to her elbow.

She shook her head. "It's fine, Teddy. I can't have Maman and Daddy find out."

I furrowed my brows and brushed her hair from her face. "Don't be ridiculous. It looks terrible, they'll see it anyway."

Vic eyed me pleadingly. "It hardly hurts! I'm really okay, I promise!"

"What about you? Not just your injury, are you okay?"

She looked down, then glanced back up at me. Her voice shrunk down to just above a whisper. "That was so scary. I thought he would get away with me until you punched him."

I glimpsed down at my already-bruising knuckles. "I wouldn't let that happen."

Victoire wrapped her arms around my shoulders in a hug, and I returned the favor. "Thank you," she whispered.

"It's my fault this even happened."

She pushed away. "Huh?"

"It was my fault for not getting you back to our broom earlier. We should've just went home."

Victoire scoffed. "Don't be absurd. We were having a good time, of course we should have stayed out. And I'll have you know," she glared at me, "I can make my own decisions."

"That's not what I meant. I just should have listened to my gut and left after the concert," I shrugged. "I just feel awful about your arm. I'm supposed to protect you."

She sighed and gave me a small smile. "Teddy, you can't save me all the time."

"Well, I should've this time."

Vic rolled her eyes playfully, grabbed my arm, and marched me to the broom. "I'll tell you what. Before you drop me off at Shell Cottage, you take me to your house and fix my arm up to your satisfaction. Would that help you feel better?"

I smiled in relief. "That's all I ever wanted."

The fly back to my house was brief. I didn't want to leave Victoire with a painful arm any longer than necessary, so I flew at top speed. When we finally reached my window, I leaned over to lift it up.

I frowned. "It's locked."

I could practically feel Victoire rolling her eyes behind me. "You're a wizard, are you not?"

"Oh, right."

But even when I murmured the Alohomora incantation, the tell-tale click never came. I tried again.

"It's not working!" I whispered frantically.

Victoire blew out a sharp breath behind me. "Alright, it's no big deal. We'll just have to go in through the back. You always keep an extra key there."

So we flew to the grass, hid my broom in the bushes, and tiptoed around to the door. I searched for the spare key under the rock it was kept under.

"Got it," I murmured.

I slowly turned the key into the lock, and carefully creeped in to the house. Victoire was on my tail. We were well-versed in silent walking from years of practice at Hogwarts, and even though we didn't have my dad's useful Invisibility Cloak, we still succeeded in reaching the healing cabinet in my family's kitchen.

She quieted a giggle as I shuffled through the billions of little jars we kept. My dad was an Auror, so Mum insisted on having every little potion or healing cream known to wizard-kind in the slight chance we would need it.

"Teddy, you were much better at cleaning that bloke's clock than healing me up," Victoire snickered.

"Shut up," I whispered, without any real bitterness to back it up.

"I'm just saying, grumpy pants!"

"Prissy princess."

"Stuck up git!"

I shushed her again, to no avail. Victoire struggled to keep her laughter down as I failed to find the bruise healing cream, even after plenty of searching.

"I'm serious, Vic, if my parents hear us, we're both dead!" I whispered.

The dark of the kitchen made it impossible to put my finger on the right medicine that would correctly heal Victoire. "C'mon Teddy. We're being near silent. There's no way your parents will hear us."

Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice clear their throat from behind me. "I wouldn't be too sure about that, Victoire Gabrielle."

Startled, I dropped the container I had been holding as Vic and I shared a panicked look.

Bloody hell. We were done for.

Author's Note: Sorry to leave you on a bit of a cliffhanger. I'm working on chapter three, but it may take me a little longer to get up because I have a very busy weekend. I will still try to update by the end of next week, to stay on par with the weekly updates. I hope you enjoyed and come back for more!