The air was warm and dry around the VIP campsite and it was far too hot, Harry reflected, to be surrounded by thousands of other people, but in less than an hour this was exactly what they would be doing when he and his family crowded into the quidditch stadium for the final match of the World Cup.
This trip had been a well-needed holiday for him. He had been working too hard and he was worried that with his eldest about to start Hogwarts and Albus not far behind he was missing out on crucial moments from his childrens lives. When Ginny had been offered the coverage of the World Cup, a once-in-a-career opportunity, he had suggested that he take four weeks off from work to look after the children and then join her with the family in Argentina for the final week.
Harry couldn't lie to himself, as much as he loved his children dearly, he was exhausted. He had snatched a rare moment whilst the children were being quiet to read the paper (no more updates on his family, he noted. Perhaps Rita Skeeter had had her fill and would leave them to enjoy the rest of the trip unbothered?) and enjoy a cup of tea. The boys were painting their faces ready for the match, and Lily was painting Ted's nails scarlet.
"To match our shirts," She had told him, as she dipped the brush into the pot of polish and smeared it across the tip of his index finger. "And you'd better change your hair to match, so you don't look silly."
Ted gave Harry a half amused, half pleading look, but he knew his godson would oblige his youngest, at least for a little while. He had never been able to refuse Lily.
He smiled to himself, watching them. He often credited Ted for Lily being as gentle as she was, having always been patient and understanding with her. James and Albus were vibrant and loud, but Lily never drew attention to herself and Harry was sure that Ted, as a single child (at least for a little while), had related to her most. He had seen in Lily what her brothers were too young to see, and both he and Ginny were grateful for that.
Harry glanced towards the previous days Prophet, still crumpled on the table next to todays copy. He had gone to throw it out but something had stopped him. Perhaps it was because of the explicit details Rita Skeeter had known about his godsons life that he hadn't. He had always had such a close bond with Teddy that he had been surprised to find out he was snogging (dating?) Victoire and apparently had been for some time. He'd have been surprised to know he was dating anyone, but then reminded himself, as Ted had, that he was sixteen and that was what sixteen year old boys did.
The thought gave Harry a queasy stomach. He hoped Ted was more responsible than he and his friends had been at sixteen. Especially Ron.
He'd come down hard on him for drinking, but the truth was he couldn't blame him for his behaviour - he and Ron had been just as bad when they had finally been given relief from the war, and when he looked around the campsite he saw multiple other teenagers drinking. Why should Ted be any different because his godfather was famous?
It was when Ted screwed up that he most missed Remus. Harry felt that in a perfect world he would have been the fun godfather instead of attempting to fill in the blanks Andromeda couldn't. Not that Andy hadn't been enough for Ted and had obviously done a wonderful job raising the boy, it was just that sometimes a young man needed his father.
Harry had tried, he really had. So why hadn't Ted confided in him about his relationship?
What else was Ted keeping from him?
"You can't wear that." James was saying.
Albus stamped his foot at his brother. "Yes, I can. I want to wear green, it's to support Flores."
James rolled his eyes (Harry noted he'd been doing that a lot recently.) and pulled a face that said 'i'm older so I know best'. "Flores is stupid. You should wear Red for Krum."
Albus stuck his tongue out at that but luckily Ted felt the need to intervene before they all had their day ruined by a tantrum. The heat had made them both irritable and quick to snap. "James, stop it. It's just a game, Albus can wear whatever colour he likes."
James narrowed his eyes. "What colour are you wearing Teddy?"
He glanced at his poorly painted nails and then scrunched up his nose. "Blue, of course."
"That's not for quidditch," James huffed and turned on his heel as Ron and his family emerged through the entrance. He took a long look at their clothes and then threw himself onto the couch, arms folded. "You're all rubbish."
"Wow," Harry said, observing his oldest friends outfit. "Old grudges really do die hard."
Hermione shook her head at her husband. Her family had all dressed in green in support of Brazil. She, however, had opted for a neutral black shirt and jeans. She had never cared for quidditch and had felt no need to dress up for a match she was hoping would end within the first twenty minutes.
"Viva Brazil!" Ron announced, a little too loudly, his grin too wide to really be authentic.
"Last week it was Viva America!" Harry reminded him. "You said Brazil were a substandard team and-"
"Opinions change."
"You never change," Hermione said lowly. "Just because Viktor is playing-"
Ron cut her off. It appeared they had had the same discussion multiple times. "That's nothing to do with it. Viktor who?"
Hermione looked at Harry in exasperation. "I told him: 'go have fun, take the kids, I'll be at the bar with a glass of wine and a book.'" She shook her head again and gestured to herself. "And yet, here I am."
"You're a good wife," Harry told her. He checked his watch. "Lads, Lily, we should go."
The walk to the stadium was short, the VIP camp site on its doorstep. It took only ten minutes and a security check before they were climbing the many steps to the height of the stadium, the best seats in the house and dead center looking onto the pitch, a box that been reserved under the name of 'Potter and additional' but should have been named Weasley for the sheer amount of them.
Ted sat purposefully in the seat in front of his godfather and his children, on the pretense of being able to turn around and talk to him better. He wasn't fooling anyone, the empty seat next to him had been reserved for one person only.
She arrived only minutes before the match began, out of breath and pink with the heat. Only Fleur remained immaculate, as she always was. Victoire smiled and slipped into the seat to his left, and he'd thought himself clever until Bill took the adjacent seat.
What Bill possibly expected them to get up to whilst in the company of their families Ted wasn't sure. It wasn't exactly on the cards to sneak off with twenty Weasley's on their case.
Harp music began to play and the Bulgarian mascots emerged onto the pitch. Fifteen veela women danced and shimmered across the grass and Ted began to feel his head go a little slack on his shoulders, his brain fuzzy. He had grown up around Fleur and her Veela charm, so he was somewhat used to the effects, but not when it was concentrated and in full force. These women were something else...they were...were….
There was a sharp jab under his ribs and the effect was broken. He blinked several times and turned to Victoire sharply, not quite sure what had just happened. His brain must still be fuzzy, he managed, because her skin seemed to glow, her hair white under the midday sun and her lips the perfect rose. Ted could think of nothing better than to kiss her, and felt himself begin to shift to lean in, an all encompassing desire he needed to fulfill...
"Don't think I didn't see you go all cock-eyed, Lupin," she teased, eyes narrowed.
The venom in her eyes broke the spell completely. He sat back, trying to get his bearings as below him the Veelas continued to dance. Looking around him men across the stadium were attempting to clear their heads.
"That was weird," He managed.
Victoire tsk'd. "You are so male."
Ted knew her too well to know she wasn't as annoyed as she was putting on. "How do they even do that?" He checked his hair, but luckily it was still as blue as he'd left it. "One minute they're dancing and the next I'm feeling like I need to kiss you…."
Victoire gave him a weird look and opened her mouth to speak but Bill interrupted her. "That's it, change places with me."
"Daddy, why?"
Bill Weasley pulled his daughter from her seat with one hand. "It's bad enough having to see you two making kissy faces at each other without having to hear about it as well."
His daughter pouted, but did not protest further. Ted kept his eyes dead straight on the match so as not to acknowledge him.
It didn't take long for him to forget Bill was there. As much as he wanted to spend the time with Victoire he couldn't ignore that quidditch history was being made before him, and he had the best seat in the house. An hour passed in minutes and only when the crowd were on their feet cheering for the snitch did Victoire manage to sneak from beside Bill to join the space on Teddy's right. He was pulled back into reality as the game was paused to assess an injury, and he took the opportunity to pull her close to him (around the waist, so that Bill couldn't see.)
Soon after, and the snitch had been seen again. The crowd was roaring and Teddy joined his the stadium in jumping to their feet. Krum and Silva were neck and neck, shooting upwards and then swiftly downwards. Ted was screaming, Ron was swearing, he was gripping the side of the box tightly.
"Grab it!" he screamed, "Faster, dammit! GRAB IT!" He flung his arm out in exasperation as Krum narrowly missed snatching the tiny golden ball,..
...And collided heavily with Victoires nose.
She sat down immediately, holding her bruised face. Ted's heart dropped, and Quidditch was ignored as he crouched down to meet her. "Oh my god! oh my god! are you okay? I'm so sorry…"
She waved him off and released her hands from her face. "I'm okay," she insisted. "You just caught me by surprise." Victoire rubbed her nose, Ted still looked concerned. "Don't look so worried."
He hugged her tightly, uncaring who was watching. Why was he so bloody clumsy? If he just looked what he was doing...one of these days he was going to hurt someone.
"Stop it." Victoire had poked him in the ribs again. "I know that look, stop beating yourself up."
"No, that's what I do to you, apparently."
She sighed and rolled her eyes.
The crowd roared again. Krum had caught the snitch and was completing a victory lap around the pitch. Teddy had missed it, but that was okay, he thought, as Victoire clapped and cheered next to him. Their family was too busy celebrating to notice them becoming closer, so Ted took the opportunity and leant towards her, softly kissing her. It was short lived, as these things tend to be around relatives, as someone (he presumed George) wolf-whistled and Bill cleared his throat loudly.
He stood up straight, sighing to himself. In forty-eight hours he had seen her twice, and neither times had been unaccompanied by her family. He missed closed doors and walks alone.
The walk back to the campsite was short but hectic. He carried Lily on his shoulders, who was chatting excitedly and Albus and James ran around him updating him on the very same game he had just witnessed. James had sourced a foam beaters bat and was hitting his brother and Teddy at varying intervals, re-enacting the plays he had seen.
Tomorrow they would return home and life would return to normal. They would sleep in their own beds, and Ted would go home to his Grandmother, who was enjoying a trip to the Caribbean with her friends in his absence. Victoire would no doubt be kept busy by her family who would find activities and chores for her to complete instead of visiting Ted. School would start in another month, but he couldn't wait that long, and with them being in separate houses and him starting his final year he had been hoping to enjoy the summer together before the chaos started.
That meant Teddy had one night to get her alone whilst their families were distracted. One night to talk to her about their future and reassure himself of his fears without someone peering in or checking they were a respectable distance apart.
He just had no idea how to get her alone.
Thanks for reading! I think we're getting close to the end now. Please review, I really enjoy reading your feedback.