Bill Weasley first saw Fleur Delacour in May of 1995. She was a participant in the Triwizard Tournament, the representative from Beauxbatons. She was eighteen, beautiful, blonde, and obviously talented, considering she had been selected by the Goblet of Fire. He was a cursebreaker who had been in Egypt for years, coming now to see the final task.
He caught her noticing him and gave her a slow wink. She was seven years younger than him-roughly-and probably taken. There was no way such a good-looking girl could be single. But it was possible for a guy to dream.
His dreams came true when Fleur started work at Gringotts. She wanted to live in England for a while and get some practice with the language. He offered to help her out. She was a quick learner, despite her strong accent, but he could still easily understand her. A quote came back to him-love transcends all borders-and he couldn't help but hope that maybe, it could apply to them.
He asked her out, and she said yes.
Voldemort's return really put a damper on things, Bill thought after more Order business interfered with spending time with Fleur. Who knew, also, how much time they would have? If he was really back, if this was going to be like last time...he could still remember the fear and terror, the grief when his mother's brothers died, and many of her friends...what if it was Fleur? Did they really have a while? Did they really have time?
"Fleur Delacour, I love you." Bill kneeled down and held out the box holding an engagement ring. "I know this is rushed, but...will you marry me?"
Tears of joy were streaming down her face. "Nothing could make me 'appier."
She stayed at the Burrow the following summer, getting to know the Weasley family. Molly and Ginny's disdain for her was obvious, but she would not let it bother her. She was getting married to Bill, and that, really, was what mattered.
She ignored Ginny's glares and spiteful comments, and Molly's subtler, but almost as bad, attitude.
Everyone expected her to leave as soon as Bill was attacked by Fenrir Greyback. What could a beautiful, one-fourth-veela girl want with a scarred man seven years older? But she stayed.
She wouldn't leave him for anything.
The happiest moment of both their lives was their wedding day, when they were finally tied together legally. Every time either one summoned a Patronus during the terrifying year that followed, that was the memory that they both thought of.
When Fleur Delacour became Fleur Weasley, wife of Bill.
It was Bill who picked out the little cottage on the beach, Shell Cottage as it came to be known. He would always remember the first time Fleur saw it. She was standing in the doorway, a small smile on her face as she admired the home.
"Eet ees beautiful," she murmured as he came closer.
"You are beautiful."
Victoire's birth happened just one year after the Battle of Hogwarts, on the precise day, to be exact. It was bittersweet for the Weasleys, who had lost so much, but seeing a new life, a healthy new baby, come into the world made up for it.
Victoire was French for 'victory'. The name was chosen by Fleur, but it was perfect in all the others' eyes.
Over time, the little family of three became a family of four, with the addition of Dominique, and then five with Louis' birth. They were not a perfect family-such a thing was not even possible, of course- but they all got along most of the time, and loved each other. That was what was important.
Nothing could come between them.
Eleven-year-old Victoire looked down at eight-year-old Dominique and four-year-old Louis. "I'll make sure to tell you all about Hogwarts. Teddy told me that it is the best place in the world!" she added excitedly.
"I'll miss you," Dominique said quietly.
"I wanna come!" Louis shouted.
"I'll be back," Victoire promised.
Dominique was happy when she was sorted into her older sister's house of Ravenclaw. The girls had been inseparable when they were younger, and once Dominique came to Hogwarts, the two girls renewed that closeness.
Louis, Sorted into Hufflepuff, was the odd one out, but they loved him anyway.
Dominique was a little jealous the year that Teddy was dating Victoire, but she never admitted it to anyone. After all, she didn't want to ruin her sister's first real relationship with someone. She was too good of a sister for that.
Maybe someday, down the line, there could be a DominiqueandTeddy. But she stayed quiet and took solace in Lorcan instead.
"I feel so old," Fleur said throatily when Louis graduated from Hogwarts, his cousin Lucy right next to him.
"You feel old? I'm seven years older," Bill joked.
Seventy-seven-year-old Bill and seventy-year-old Fleur were sitting on the front steps of their home, watching their numerous family members frolic around the lawn. "Would you change anything?" he said. "If you could?"
"If I changed anything, I might not 'ave ended up with you," she whispered, enfolding herself in his arms. "I love you."
"As I love you," he said.
So, there it is! JK Rowling owns everything, and the idea for this story came from the Photo Album Competition over at HPFC. Thanks for reading and please review.