Sorry this is a day late - I worried about it and then of course, the answer came to me as I was falling asleep. Figures.
For ReadBooksWriteThings for the monthly exchange - August. Prompts: Teddy and Victoire, romance, hurt/comfort, lovely, yellow. A couple of swear words for a warning, I suppose.
"Gorgeous as always, Vic."
"You think so?"
Victoire twirled lightly on her toes, letting the swing dress fall around her. She looked to Teddy, who was on the couch watching her. She ignored the thunder as it crashed outside, effectively ruining her hopes of a picnic today. Teddy smiled at her. "I know polka dots are totally my thing, but I wasn't sure about the yellow." Lightning flashed and she said with a laugh, "In that light it looks white."
"I guess it did," Teddy agreed. "But you look good either way. I don't lie to you, do I?"
"I guess not," Victoire said with a teasing grin. It faded as she looked outside.
Teddy followed her gaze. The storm raged on, and they both jumped when a tree branch hit their window. "Wish we could change the weather," Teddy said. "What's the point of seven years worth of magical education if we can't even do that?"
"By Merlin, you're right. They didn't teach us to be a god. What failure." She made sure he saw her roll her eyes, and he laughed.
"Thank you for seeing it my way, lovely."
Thunder hit once more and she bounded to the couch to slide into his arms. He pulled her closer and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Obviously," she muttered. There was silence for a while, then Victoire said, "I bought it for Dominique originally."
Teddy hummed. "I thought so."
"...do you think she'll ever talk to us again?"
He hesitated. Victoire didn't push him; she knew he was just trying to avoid upsetting her. Too bad it wouldn't work. "Dom has always looked for a reason to run," he said quietly. "She's never quite fit in. I think one argument, no matter how small or big, was going to tip the scales and give her an excuse to leave."
The room lit up as the lightning streaked across the sky, echoed swiftly by thunder. The storm was getting closer. "Like Albus," Victoire said, and her voice matched his in the volume. As the eye of the storm drew near, it seemed almost sacrilegious to break the silence.
"Like Albus," he agreed.
The branch hit the window again, hard enough to leave a scratch on the glass as the wind pushed against it. They both winced at the noise. "That's a disaster waiting to happen," she complained. Teddy just sighed and said nothing, but she hadn't expected a response anyway. She leaned her head on his shoulder and watched the rain.
"It's easy to forget that she was so unhappy all the time," Victoire said. "She bitched about it, but then she'd brush it off like nothing and I never knew how serious she was."
"Merlin forbid Dom not have something to bitch about," Teddy said with a huff of laughter.
"I know, right?" And for a moment Victoire smiled, but it dimmed quickly. "I just want to hear it again, stupid as that sounds. She was very creative when she came up with insults."
"Especially to Gryffindors, unfortunately."
"Yes."
"I'm sure she's fine, Vic. She's resourceful." She could hear the frown in Teddy's voice, though she couldn't see his face.
"But she doesn't have any friends, and she walked away from her family."
"She always said she didn't need other people."
"She'll regret it," Victoire said. She lifted her head to meet Teddy's eyes, a dark shade of gray today-when he didn't concentrate his eyes always matched the sky. "But hey, at least I still have you, right? We'll never be alone."
Teddy's smile wasn't as bright as normal, but at least it was there. "You'll always have me," he said softly.
And outside, the storm raged on, unpredictable and wild, not unlike Dominique, and entirely unlike Victoire. It reminded her of their stark differences even beyond that. Dominique always said she was too soft for her own good. She always told her sister she was too cynical in return.
It was their downfall in the end, but at least she didn't have to face the wreckage alone.