Ted didn't get to see Victoire for the rest of the day. The morning was spent sulking on his bunk and sleeping away the night before in an attempt not to over think his encounter with Bill and his concerns over Victoire.

He was awoken by Lily crawling onto his bedspread just after noon. She settled into the crook of his arm and rested her head on the pillow. When he opened his eyes he saw her big blue ones staring curiously back at him, her blue rabbit tucked beneath her chin.

"Why are all the adults mad at you?"

He yawned, considering his options. If he told Lily and the boys, assuming Harry hadn't already, he'd never hear the end of it. If he kept it his relationship a secret there would be a few less people to question him if it all went wrong and he might have some hope of privacy with his girlfriend. There was no use in getting them all riled up for nothing.

"Because I did something stupid."

"What stupid thing?"

He sat up. Lily splayed out on the mattress like a starfish, attempting to reach each corner with each limb. She wasn't even close.

"I stayed out too late. And uncle Bill is angry because I kept Victoire out late too."

She hmm'd, accepting the answer. "Dad says to get up, you have a job to do."

This 'job' Harry had assigned was more pleasant than he had anticipated. The afternoon was spent assisting Ginny keeping on top of the coverage for the world cup. It was his godfather's attempt at a punishment, but Ted didn't mind it too much when it involved talking about quidditch strategies with some of the most prestigious players in the world. Ted mostly believed that Harry had veiled the task as a chore so that when Bill questioned him about it later he had a response. That, and Harry had always been terrible at disciplining his godson.

When he and Ginny returned to the tent that evening Harry had constructed a bonfire and was heating a cauldron of chilli over the flames. The children were roasting marshmallows over the flames. As they sat down to eat, Harry mentioned "Vic stopped round to see you."

His heart skipped a little beat. Despite himself, he asked "Was she mad?"

Harry stared at him for a long moment. "No, she wasn't mad. She said she'd pop back."

Throughout the meal he continued to glance at the tent four plots down, imagining her inside. He wondered if Bill and Fleur had calmed down enough for him to visit. Would he be allowed to see her? One thing was for sure, they weren't likely to get any alone time in the foreseeable future. Their days of shut doors and daytrips to Diagon Alley were over.

But Ted needed to see her, even if it was in the company of her family.

The night darkened, the fire burnt on, rising higher. One by one they were joined, George and his family, Charlie, Ron and Hermione with Rose and Hugo. Eventually, Dominique and Louis, Victoire's brother and sister crowded around the campfire, followed by Fleur and Bill, who despite their earlier interaction smiled and greeted Ted as normal.

No Victoire.

Ted was just beginning to wonder if he could sneak away to find her without bringing a whole world of trouble on top of him when he saw her approach. His heart did that annoying double flip it had taken to doing when he saw her and a stupid grin stretched across his face. The irrational thought at the back of his mind that said she'd been avoiding him vanished when she smiled in his direction, and he felt a physical tug towards her.

Had he been aware of anything except her, Ted would have noticed that every adult in the group had shifted their attention towards him, watching for his reaction at her approach. She closed the distance between them and sat on the camp chair next to him, a respectable distance away. The adults continued to stare and had become silent.

Victoire, unfazed, beamed at them each in turn. Casually she reached across and took Teddy's hand in hers, a defiant show of affection.

It had not been unusual for he and Victoire to be casual in their contact before. They had been play fighting for as long as Ted could remember and he was used to her small cuddles and shoves, having been the only other child close in age when they were growing up. But this felt different, and he felt his hand go slack in surprise as George snickered loudly at her action. He felt as though they'd been caught in an act much less innocent than simply holding hands.

She smiled at him, and said quietly. "Hey. I missed you today."

He couldn't keep the goofy grin off his face. "Me too. Did your dad calm down after you left?"

She flicked her hair away from her face with her free hand. "Not really. I had to clean the entire kitchen." She pulled a disgusted face. "By hand, the muggle way."

They could hear the VIP lounge in full swing at the end of the camp site, some popular band was screaming a song Teddy didn't recognise but Victoire was tapping her foot to. The camp was buzzing with excitement for the final match the following day. He wondered, not for the first time, if it would be worth asking their parents if they would be allowed to join in the celebration tonight. He doubted it.

Relenting to the situation he was in and simply enjoying her company, the world returned to normal for a few hours. It felt as though it were just another Weasley gathering, albeit a better attended one with Charlie there, and once the adults had gotten over the initial novelty of the new couple they were treated the same as they always had been.

At some point Lily had crawled into his lap and cuddled her blue rabbit against his chest. Whereas James and Albus were loud and excitable, Lily was sweet and gentle and often sought out Teddy for a break from the havoc of her brothers. He nudged Victoire and nodded towards the resting child. "Is she asleep?"

Victoire nodded, nudging the rabbit back under her cousins arm.

"I should take her to bed," he said, gently positioning her so he could stand.

Victoire's smile became wicked. "Okay, but then it's my turn."

Ted stopped and glanced around quickly. Luckily no one had appeared to hear her. He blinked several times, but couldn't think of anything to say in response. Victoire, it seemed, was going to be trouble.

"Uh-"

"I meant for a cuddle." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Get your head out of the gutter, Lupin."

Ted should his head slowly, as if to clear it, and then turned away.

Victoire watched them go with amusement. When they had ducked under the tent flap, she turned to her father. "Daddy, could Ted and I-"

"Absolutely not."

She pouted, but didn't press the issue. When Ted returned she made a point of pushing her chair closer to his and resting her head on his shoulder. She wished he would return the gesture and pull her to him, but he had become tense with the family observing them. He would occasionally glance at her parents and then guiltily lower his gaze.

The younger children drifted to bed one by one, leaving only Victoire and her siblings with the adults. This hadn't served to relax Ted any, and he became increasingly more tense as the children left. She was becoming frustrated with this.

She grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet. Bill opened his mouth to comment, but she cut him off abruptly. "We're just going over there to talk."

Bill watched them go. "No lurking in dark corners please. I want to be able to see you both the whole time."

Teddy was pulled rather sharply towards the front of her parents tent and was dragged to the floor. The campfire was far enough away that they could speak in private. He groaned, "we are never living this down."

"We only have to suffer until september, and then we can do this-" She leaned forwards and pressed her lips against his "-anytime we like."

He immediately pulled away and glanced around, but they were unnoticed. Victoire sighed and shook her head. "Relax, no one cares."

But he couldn't relax. The bravery he had felt the night before was long gone and he couldn't help but miss the buzz of alcohol and the confidence it had given him. Not to mention the feel of Victoire's hands on his arms, his chest, in his hair… "I miss being close to you," he admitted.

Ted leaned suddenly forward and kissed her. It was a long kiss, a damn good one. Gone was the hormones and desperate need from the night before. He tried to tell her in that kiss everything he couldn't say aloud quite yet, the feelings he hadn't figured out himself and his apology for screwing it all up, for not realising they were being watched by the press. But most of all he tried to tell her that he wanted her, that he was prepared to show her family and his that they were serious.

Or at least, he would have had he not been acutely aware of several sets of eyes on them. Bill Weasley was rising from his seat. Victoire sighed, their night wasted. Her father beckoned her towards him.

Bill cleared his throat and she dutifully separated herself from him, standing as she did so. As she returned to the camp fire she tugged at a lock of hair, giving him a pointed look.

It took Ted several embarrassing seconds too long to realise his own hair had turned an alarming shade of pink.

Thanks for reading everyone. Next chapter is the final of the World Cup so that'll be a lot of fun.

If you've got any ideas, prompts, or just want to tell me you enjoyed it please leave a review.