~Teddy's POV~

I was silent as I let Victoire lead me through the halls. My mind was traveling faster than the Hogwarts express, filled with questions for her. I longed to stop her and demand answers. Seeing her so pale and . . . deathly, it unnerved me.

It was still early in the morning, and I knew that I would miss classes and probably get detentions, but I didn't care. She looked so empty; it was unlike her. Usually she was filled with that Weasley spirit, especially this time of year, so close to the holidays. I couldn't remember a time when she wasn't getting antsy to return to the Burrow this close to Christmas.

"Vic, where are you taking me?" I finally asked.

"McGonagall's office," she replied, not looking at me.

"Well, alright then," I muttered under my breath, wondering why she was taking them to their Headmistress' office. Once they got there, Victoire muttered the password to the large stone winged lion that guarded the door. When it turned, revealing spiral stairs, she looked around before heading up. Following her lead, I made sure no one was around before I went up myself.

Once in the office, I looked around in awe. I had been in this office many times before, but it's wonder never ceased to amaze me. All of the magic in the air, the house colors displayed on the walls, and the pictures of deceased headmasters and headmistresses hung around the room. Dumbledore's picture hung high and proud directly over McGonagall's mahogany desk. Looking into the kind former headmaster's eyes, I understood why my godparents spoke so highly of him. He was a brilliant wizard. Traces of his legacy would live on forever. All over Hogwarts there were reminders of how Dumbledore had changed the school, and, some say, saved Harry Potter himself. He lay at rest in a stone tomb on the grounds, and a special memorial statue had been built in the courtyard, where he fell to his death, in remembrance of him.

Forcing myself back to reality, I noticed that Victoire was silently charming the pictures, so that they couldn't see what she was doing. She didn't charm Dumbledore's picture, though. I couldn't blame her.

When she had finished, Victoire took my hand, leading me towards a slim basin of water.

"What is it?" I asked her quietly.

"It's called a Pensieve. This one was Dumbledore's," she explained. I then knew why she didn't cover Dumbledore's picture.

I watched as she pulled out her wand and gently touched it her temple. She closed her eyes and just stood there for a moment. Then she slowly pulled her wand from her head. From the end of her wand, a soft blue light swirled around in the air. With the flick of her wand, the blue light dropped into the water. It instantly dispersed, making the water glow.

"This is a memory of mine, Ted. I want you to see it. It's a dream I've had, a reoccurring one. I can't seem to shake it."

"Okay," I said tentatively.

"Just trust me. Now put your face in the Pensieve."

I sighed and did as I was told.

~Victoire's POV~

I hoped I had made the right decision, by showing Teddy my dreams. I knew it could go terribly wrong, but I had to take the chance. I had to let him know. If he found out I hadn't shared this with him, he would be crushed.

Even though he deserved to know, I couldn't help but feel like I was breaking his heart by letting him watch his parents die.

Teddy's head was still in the Pensieve, but I noticed his shoulders shaking. His hands were tightly clutching each side of the bowl. He was crying, I realized with a sinking heart. Teddy was crying. My Teddy, strong Teddy, the Teddy who hadn't even cried after he broke his arm when he was six, was in tears.

I rushed over to him and tried to pull him away, but he resisted. Apparently he wanted to see every last bit of it. I knew I should give him time to watch, but seeing him crying made me panic inside. Pushing aside my better judgment, I kept pulling at his shirt and sweater. After another moment of struggle, he let me pull his head up.

He looked distraught, and struggled to stand up straight. I quickly gathered him in my arms as best I could, pushing his head onto my shoulder. He buried his face in my hair, and I could feel him shaking in silent sobs.

His tears poured down his face and onto my neck, mixing with mine. I hadn't even realized that I was crying silently right along with him. Ted's arms clung to me tight, while my small hands traced small circles on his back. He was hunched over, almost all of his weight leaning on me.

I wished I could ease his burden. I wished I could be the one to go through this, not him. I'd do anything to make him better, to make all of this pain and loss vanish from sight.

I knew I couldn't. There was nothing I could do. He was strong, and he would get through this, with or without me. But for now, I would be all that I could: A shoulder to cry on. Even if it was somewhat awkward due to our height difference.

"I-, I-, I'm so sorry, Ted," I stuttered when he seemed to have settled down. "I shouldn't have shown it to you. I just thought you'd want to see…" I trailed off when I realized I was probably making things worse.

Too my surprise, Teddy suddenly lifted his head and roughly grabbed my shoulders.

"NO! Don't say that, Vic! Merlin, as much as it hurts, I am glad you showed me this. It… makes me feel closer to my parents. Makes me proud to see them give up their lives for their friends," He told me fiercely, all of the sorrow suddenly gone from his face.

I could only nod under his intense gaze.

"And," He continued, "It reminds me how lucky I am to have such amazing people in my life." With those words, he pulled me back to him in a tender hug, enveloping me in his warmth. I hugged him back, burying my head in his chest, inhaling his scent.

"God, Victoire," He breathed into my hair. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you, too."

I held him tighter in response. I understood. He was such a big part of my life, a big part of me. We held each other up. I never depended on anyone more than I depended on Teddy, nor did I trust anyone as much as I trusted him. To have something like that torn away from me, would be heartbreaking. I couldn't imagine it. It would be like playing Quidditch with no broom. No reason to go on, and nothing to keep you from falling into a downward spiral.

When we finally pulled apart, I moved to sit on the step that split McGonagall's office into two sections, motioning for Ted to join me.

"So . . . what you saw in the Pensieve, that's what I've been seeing every night for the past week," I deadpanned. "Well, I've also had a few other awful dreams, but that one of your parents dying is the most common one." I cringed at my insensitive choice of words.

If this had bothered Teddy, he didn't show it. He just looked thoughtful, sitting there with his elbows on his knees, hands clasped loosely together in front of him. "What happens in your other dreams?" He asked.

I hesitated before whispering, "I die."

"The same way you did in that dream?"

"No, not necessarily. Sometimes I'm strangled, other times I fall to my death. Once I was Crucio'd." I said, trying to act nonchalant about it. Glancing over at Ted, I noticed that he was sitting very still, his eyebrows furrowed together.

"Vic, do you feel it? When you die?" He said, so quietly this time that if I had not been so focused on his words, I would have missed it.

I looked down at my hands.

Yes, I did feel it. The pain was what made me wake up every time. I had felt death. I knew that it hurt. And I had to return to it every time I closed my eyes. Each time I died, only to wake up and know that I would have to feel that pain at least one more time before I was truly dead.

When I fell, I felt my bones shatter and my skull crack when I hit the ground. When I was strangled, I could feel my lungs collapsing under the lack of air, or my esophagus being crushed by my attacker. When it was a spell that ended me, I wasn't spared from any of the pain.

"Vic?" Teddy questioned after I didn't reply.

"Yes, Teddy. I feel it," I said, trying to sound strong for him, but my voice cracked with emotion at the end. "I'm just. . . afraid. Afraid to close my eyes, afraid one of these days it won't be a dream, that I truly am dying and I will never get to see my family again, never get to fly on a broomstick again, never get to make snow angels with you during the holidays, never get to prank another one of those bloody Slytherins again."

Then I looked at Teddy and said, "I'm afraid that these are the last times I will ever get to hear your laugh and see you smile."

He locked his eyes on mine and held my gaze for a long time.

"Well, Little one, we wouldn't want that, now would we? How could I deprive you of my gorgeous smile?" Teddy joked, grinning stupidly at me.

I lightly punched his arm, thankful for his light heartedness.

"As for your dreams, Victoire Weasley, I shall have to stay by your side every night to keep you safe, won't I?" He decided.

As much as I wanted to refuse, I didn't. Maybe he could keep me safe.

Taking my silence as agreement, Teddy suddenly hoped to his feet and grabbed my hand, pulling me up so I was standing.

"Since we are in McGonagall's office, we might as well make use of her killer sound system!" He let go of my hand and strode over to the old fashioned muggle record player that sat on a table against one of the walls. Picking a record, he put it on and waited for the music to start before coming back to me.

"May I have this dance, milady?" Teddy asked my theatrically while bowing from his waist.

Playing along, I curtsied and took his outstretched hand.

We started out waltzing, but when the music took a turn, Teddy led me into a series of complicated twists and dips. We both knew the moves by heart, my mother had insisted that I learn to dance, and she had forced Teddy to be my partner. Since I was ten, Teddy and I had loved to dance the moves, and always showed off our skills at family weddings and gatherings.

We started twisting faster and faster until I was being yanked from move to move so hard I couldn't even control myself if I wanted to. Laughing hysterically, we both added our own extra moves to the routine. Teddy tried to be a ballerina, spinning in circles with his arms in an 'O' above his head. I was dying laughing, on the floor clutching my stomach at his silly theatrics.

"What's all that noise- OH!" McGonagall cried as she stepped into her office and caught sight of Ted dancing ballet.

Teddy blushed and dropped his arms. I couldn't help but keep laughing at his face and hair as they began to turn matching shades of pink.

"Err, uh- you see…" Teddy trailed off, unable to think of an excuse for his antics. A speechless Teddy Lupin! Who would've thunk? I laughed even harder.

Luckily, McGonagall seemed to be more amused than anything, so she merely sighed and gave us detentions before sending us on our way. We ran out, trying to escape before she changed her mind and expelled us.