Chapter 2 – Complications

A thousand questions were running through Teddy's mind, but he became overwhelmed with a sense of security. He needed to protect Victoire and care for her.

Retrieving his wand from his bedroom, he hurried into his grandmother's room in search for clothes. He didn't go in her room often, and it had a subtle powdery, flowery smell that hung in the air. He searched though her wardrobe and drawers quickly, feeling like he was invading her privacy.

He tried to tell himself that any old jumper would be fine – after all, it was only to keep Victoire warm and dry – but he knew they weren't exactly her style, and he felt it would be too surreal for him to see Victoire wearing his grandmother's clothes. Especially considering the way he'd been feeling about her lately

Teddy let out a deep, long sigh, closing the drawer he'd been hastily searching through. Feeling defeated, he slumped down on the floor in front of an ornate floor-length mirror, which had a fine layer of dust settling on the surface. He stared long and hard at himself, very slowly picking himself apart.

Nineteen years old and he felt like he'd done nothing worthwhile with his life. By this age, most of the adults in his life had been on conquests and adventures of great skill and admiration, fighting and battling in a long awaited duel between good and evil. Why, Harry had perhaps performed the most intriguing and breathtaking deed the magical world had ever seen at the mere age of one!

Even as a helpless baby he had achieved great things. Ginny, Hermione, Ron and in fact all of the Weasleys had achieved great things too, and contributed to the downfall of the Dark Lord, even if they had barely finished, or were still at school. And as for his parents...

Well, they might not have been as involved when they were young, but the things they'd done, the struggles they'd faced, the things Teddy had to live up to...

He was a good enough student, earning mostly E's and a few O's in his OWLs and NEWTs, but did intelligence really matter in the world anymore? Courage, bravery, physical skill – those were all the things that were important in the world.

And all the things he lacked.

He'd been in Hufflepuff at Hogwarts – the house everybody judged as being for the unskilled and unsuccessful wizards and witches. Personally, Teddy felt proud to be in Hufflepuff, just as his mum had. Hufflepuff valued wizards for their loyalty, their friendship, their fairness and their hard-working attitude. He definitely exhibited all these traits, but did other people value them so much?

Of course not; Hufflepuffs were a joke.

Which is why, he thought to himself, he had to prove everybody wrong. He needed to do something incredible to get his name, and his house, whispered amongst wizards and witches everywhere.

But what? And how?

It seemed like every respectable deed had been done, and as he ran a hand through his turquoise locks, Teddy had never felt so hopeless and unremarkable in his life,

And then there was Victoire, he thought to himself.

Victoire Weasley.

How often had he run that name through his mind in the last two years? He'd lost count, completely.

And now she was here, in his house – in his very own bathtub, he realised. But no, it was wrong to think of her like that when she was in such a weak and vulnerable state. Right now she needed him to be a friend, a protector, almost a fatherly figure in some sense, but one thing was certain: she definitely didn't need him as a lover.

Ever since he could remember they'd been the best of friends. Whereas most young children were frightened and baffled by his ability to transform his features into any odd or inspiring shape and colour, she was the one that was intrigued. They'd spent all of their childhood years together, playing, climbing trees, or simply just lying in the sun and talking for hours.

Victoire had always admired him and looked up to him as a role model, and this had given Teddy such joy and purpose in his life. They'd had an instant bond that took some people years to amount to. He would always protect her when she was scared or hurt, and she had taught him how to appreciate the simple beauty of life.

Growing up without any parents or siblings hadn't affected him when he was with Victoire, because she was the sun in his life – the source of all his happiness.

But then something changed.

He'd felt odd one summer's day when they'd been sitting by the Black Lake, for even at Hogwarts they'd been inseparable. Suddenly, when he looked into Victoire's eyes, he noticed how beautiful she really was; how the sunlight bounced off of her golden curls, how her rosy cheeks brought such colour and beauty to her face, and how her lips, so enticing, glittered with an uncontrollable attraction.

It had taken all his strength to wipe away these feelings, to the point that it was now physically uncomfortable for him to be around her when he knew all he would ever be in her eyes was Teddy Lupin, her best friend.

Which is why he'd been so relieved when he completed his education at Hogwarts. She'd completed one year without him, but now still had one more to go. For one year he was to be free from her hypnotic, and oblivious, charms. He'd hoped this would be just enough time for these foolish feelings to melt away, but he had encountered no such luck so far.

And now she was here, in his house, looking perhaps the worst she possibly could. Yet still the emotions pestered him, deep now in his core. And she needed him right now, more than she ever did when she'd fallen from the tree as a seven-year-old, so how he could ignore her and deprive her of the love and friendship she needed so desperately right now?

With that in mind, he rose from the fading carpet and continued his quest to find her some suitable, warm clothes, trapping all feelings of desire and longing in an as unnoticeable corner of his mind as he could manage.

Author's Note: I feel it fair to mention, in light of recent information JK Rowling has revealed, that this story was written before it was made known that Teddy Lupin was Head Boy in his Seventh Year, hence why I never allude to it. I guess I got lucky in the sense that it was also confirmed Teddy was in Hufflepuff ;)