Chapter 3: The Tenth of February

Saturday, 10 February, 2018 (week 7)

Teddy stared absent-mindedly out the window of the Hogwarts Express as nine-year-old Lily Potter chattered excitedly about finally going to see Hogwarts. Normally, Harry's daughter was adorable, and Teddy loved her like a sister, but at the moment, Teddy had something else on his mind. Well, technically two things on his mind: Victoire and the baby.

Teddy never thought he'd ever ride the Hogwarts Express again, but now he, along with Harry, Ginny, and Lily, were riding on the train to visit Victoire, James, Albus, and the rest of the cousins for a special Valentine's Day event. Teddy, of course, was anxious to see Victoire, but he still couldn't believe they were having a baby together. The train ride was extremely nerve-wracking, because today was the day the couple was going to tell their families about the pregnancy. This was frightening, because the Weasleys were very scary when angered, especially Victoire's mum, Fleur.

As soon as he arrived at Hogwarts, Teddy anxiously searched the crowd for his girlfriend. She wasn't hard to find, because she too, was looking for him. "Vic!" Teddy called as soon as he saw her. Victoire ran towards him and flung herself into his arms. "How are you?" he asked, giving her a quick kiss.

"I'm great." Victoire replied, giving Teddy a small smile. For a moment, Teddy and Victoire were the only two people in the world. However, that moment was short lived when the couple was soon joined by the other Weasley-Potters. Looking around, Teddy took a quick head count.

Besides Victoire, Teddy saw Dominique, Molly, Louis, Lucy, James, Fred, Rose, and Albus. They were soon joined by Roxanne, Hugo, and Lily, who were still not old enough to attend Hogwarts, although Roxy had just received her Hogwarts letter at the end of September. The letter taunted her, because even though she had turned eleven, she was born twenty-seven days late, and had to wait a full year before she could attend Hogwarts. The twelve Weasley-Potter cousins were also joined by five sets of parents and Grandma and Granddad Weasley.

After dozens of hugs and kisses, The Weasley-Potter clan managed to find an abandoned hallway, so that they could eat their lunch as a family without being disturbed.

Throughout the meal, Teddy and Victoire didn't say much. They both were extremely nervous, and for good. Harry, who always noticed the slightly change in his godson, seemed to know that something was up, but didn't say anything. Suddenly Teddy cleared his throat so loudly, that everyone turned to look at him and became silent.

"Everyone, Victoire and I have something very important to tell you. It will change all of our lives forever." Teddy said nervously, and Victoire suddenly stiffened beside him.

"Well, spit it out." George teased. "Don't take all weekend!"

Victoire took a deep breath. "I'm pregnant." She whispered but everyone still heard her.

Grandma Molly dropped her glass of fire whiskey on the floor, causing it to shatter. Fleur began swearing violently in French, while Bill looked extremely hurt and disappointed in his little girl. Dominique looked as though she had been punched in her stomach, probably because her older sister, her role model, had done something she would have never imagined her sister doing. Harry seemed surprised as well, but the more he thought about it, the more he wondered why he didn't realize it before, since he was their when Teddy received Victoire's upsetting letter. Everyone else in the family looked so shocked that they couldn't speak.

Suddenly, Fleur got over her anger enough to stop swearing in French and start yelling in English.

" 'ow could you do zis, Victoire? We trusted you, and Teddy!" she snapped.

"I-I'm sorry, Mum." Victoire stammered. "We… we didn't mean to…"

"You didn't mean to? Zey always say zat. 'ow could you 'not mean to?' You 'ave brought shame to both ze Weasley family and ze Delacour family! You're not even out of Hogwarts yet!"

Victoire couldn't take it anymore. She burst into tears and buried her head in Teddy's shoulder. Instinctively, Teddy began rubbing her back, attempting to calm her down.

"Fleur," Bill said softly, speaking for the first time. "Now let's not be unreasonable."

"I am not being unreasonable! You are taking her side, and I cannot take it!" Fleur snapped, and stormed down the hall.

Bill sighed. "Victoire?" he asked softly.

Victoire lifted her head from your shoulder for a second. "Yes?"

"Can I ask you just one question?"

Victoire nodded weakly.

"Did I fail you as a father?"

Victoire gasped. "Daddy, no… don't say that…"

Bill sighed again. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

Victoire nodded, and followed her father in the opposite direction that Fleur had gone in.

"Why did you do this?" Bill asked softly. "Why? What did I do wrong?"

"You didn't do anything wrong, Dad. It was completely mine and Teddy's fault. We were celebrating that I was back for Christmas, and... and things just sort of got out of hand. It's not like we planned it, Daddy, I swear."

Bill closed his eyes and sighed, running his hand through his long red hair. As all his children knew, this was a sign that he was stressed. "Are you mad at me?" Victoire asked, but regretted it as soon as she said it. What a stupid question to ask.

"No," Bill sighed. "I'm just disappointed. I just… I can't believe that… that…." Bill voice trailed off.

"…That you're baby girl would do something like this." Victoire finished.

Bill nodded. "Vic, come here, please." Victoire hesitated before stepping toward her father. Then, very unexpectedly, Bill embraced his daughter in a fatherly hug.

"Dad…?" Victoire asked uncertainly.

Bill broke away to look Victoire in the eyes. "Vic, listen to me. Obviously, I'm disappointed about this, but I want you to know that I'm here for you. I'm here to be as good of a father to you as I should be, and if you ever need anything, I'll be here to help."

Victoire smiled weakly. "Thanks Dad. But… what about Mum?"

Bill sighed. "Your mother is clearly very upset, and I think she will be for a while. You know she's not as… lenient as I am. But I also think she'll get used to the idea in a few months. It will give her an excuse to go on a shopping trip in France with your tante Gabrielle. She could shop for clothes and toys to spoil her first grandchild with there. Now, come on, let's rejoin the others." With that, Bill took his daughter by the hand and led her back to lunch.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Meanwhile, the rest of the Potter-Weasley clan was silent, not sure what to say after all that. Finally, Harry broke the silence.

"Teddy, will you come for a walk with me?"

Teddy stood up silently, and the two of them set off for a third hallway. They walked in silence, until Harry asked, "Is this what the letter you received about two weeks ago was about?"

Teddy nodded. "I still have in my pocket."

"May I see it?" Harry asked softly.

Teddy nodded again, and handed me the letter.

Harry read the letter, and handed the letter back to his godson. As he did so, Harry saw that Teddy was crying. This was the second time in about two weeks that Harry had seen Teddy cry, when normally his godson was a brave Gryffindor who could seemingly handle anything. This just showed how much stress Teddy was under.

"Harry," Teddy sobbed. "What am I going to do? I'm not ready to be a dad. I'm nineteen!"

Harry hesitated. "I tell you what you're not going to do. What I never want to see you do is leave Victoire in the time that she's needs you most. Do you understand me?"

Teddy nodded weakly. "I don't think I could ever do that. I love Vic too much to ever to ever hurt her like that."

Harry smiled. "That's good. You're being extremely responsible. And, although I'm a little disappointed with both you and Victoire, I'm proud of you for making this decision."

Teddy sighed. "Thanks, Harry. But... there's just no way I'm ready to be a dad. I won't even be done with my auror training. How am I going to support Victoire and a baby?"

"Teddy Remus Lupin," Harry said firmly. "I will do everything in my power to help you become an auror as quickly as possible. Until then, I'll lend you money, and you can pay it back whenever you are able."

Teddy smiled. "Thanks, Harry." he said, and gave his godfather a hug.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

After a while, Bill, Victoire, Harry, and Teddy returned to the rest of the family, and eventually so did Fleur. Everyone still ate in silence, as no one could think of what to say. It was finally, thirteen-year-old Lucy, who always had a talent for cheering people up, was the one to break the silence. "I guess there'll be another Weasley soon."

"It will be nice to have another Weasley around the Burrow." Grandma Molly admitted. "Imagine, Arthur, we're going to be great-grandparents!"

"It's great, isn't it, Mollywobbles?" Arthur replied cheerfully.

Soon, all of the Weasleys and Potters were involved in conversations about the new baby. Fleur was the only one not to join in as she stabbed her food angrily with her fork and ate in silence. Teddy and Victoire looked at each other and smiled. Although this had been difficult news to announce, and despite a few tears and a little bit of yelling, it had gone well. If they could handle the Weasley-Potter clan, Teddy and Victoire were sure they could handle anything.