Author's Note: Just in case people didn't know, Dominique is Victoire's younger sister. Although JK Rowling hasn't released anything official concerning some Next Generation ages, in this story Dominique is 15 and in her Fifth Year at Hogwarts. And where it says 'Bobbin,' that's referring to the new Hogwarts Headmistress. Once again, as JK hasn't confirmed who the new headteacher is, I had to create my own character. I use her very prominently as a character in my multichap story 'Rose and Scorpius: A Forbidden Love,' if you've happened to have read it, but the stories are not intertwined in any way.

Chapter 3 – Revealing The Truth

Clumsily, Teddy groped around in his own cupboard, before selecting a sky blue hoodie he hardly wore, due to it clashing horribly with his usual shade of hair. It matched Victoire's eyes perfectly.

Then he hit a rock.

All he really wore were jeans, and they were far too big for Victoire. And besides, jeans were very poor at keeping people warm. As a last resort he grabbed his wand and foolishly muttered "Accio, err, girl trousers that will keep Victoire warm…?"

Teddy began chuckling to himself as he realised what a bizarre thing he'd just said. Of course, nothing zoomed into his room to answer his demand, but an idea came into his head instead.

He recalled seeing a bright pink trunk flung carelessly up into the loft near the box of Muggle videos he'd found a few weeks ago. Due to its unordinary colour tone, he'd opened it up out of curiosity only to find a collection of clothes that had once belonged to a young, teenage witch, whose hair had exactly matched the colour of the trunk.

At once Teddy summoned it, having to duck to avoid getting knocked out as it flew into his bedroom. It landed with a thunk by his bed. "Alohomora," he practically whispered, suddenly noticing the untidy scrawl on the side of the trunk that read Nymphadora Tonks. With a click of the lock, the trunk's lid sprung open to reveal a pile of messily folded clothes.

Teddy dug around a bit and found a pair of simple black leggings. They looked like the perfect size, and he only hoped they would keep Victoire warm enough. Tenderly, he placed them on top of the hoodie.

Then he hit the second rock. Underwear.

No doubt Victoire's would be soaked through, but how could he possibly lend her his mother's or his grandmother's!? He slammed the trunk shut and awkwardly picked a pair of his own boxer shorts to add to the pile of clothes. It felt weird, yes, but she'd surely appreciate having all dry clothes. He didn't even want to think about bras; he definitely didn't have one of those to lend.

Desperately trying to banish all thoughts of women's underwear out of his head, particularly Victoire in her underwear, Teddy grabbed the clothes and placed them outside the bathroom door. "Victoire?" he called, lightly tapping on the door with his knuckle. "I've left you some, umm, clothes outside the door."

When she responded, he could hear the difference in her voice immediately. "Thank you, Teddy" – the voice of an angel.

The film was still playing as Teddy re-entered his room and slumped back into the position he'd been in before Victoire's arrival. For what felt like hours, he sat there, patiently staring at the screen, until finally the door of the bathroom creaked open and he felt the presence of another human in the doorway.

Teddy turned his head towards Victoire and took a sharp breath, his eyes wide. She stood there awkwardly, hoping for acceptance and forgiveness for her sudden surprise visit. This was not the wild girl that had showed up on his doorstep only an hour or so ago. The difference was extraordinary.

Her long golden locks tumbled down around her face, highlighting the few freckles dotted across her now colour-filled cheeks. Her eyes were a dazzling, deep blue, shining with life, and she looked so calm and relaxed. Her eyes darted to the floor in an adorably shy way, staring at her completely dry, and perfectly clean, but still bare feet. Teddy was very pleased to see the clothes fitted her well – the leggings at least (the hoodie looked slightly baggy and roomy for such a petite figure).

Embarrassed, he ran a shaky hand through his turquoise hair, desperately searching for anything to say. But words escaped him. Instead, Victoire spoke in a shy voice. "I hope she won't mind, but I used some of your grandmother's quick-drying hair solution. It was in the cupboard..."

"That's f-fine," Teddy stuttered, not even realising how dry her hair, in fact, was. Hastily, he turned away and continued to watch the film, now nearing its soppy end.

"Werewolves, huh?" Victoire's voice asked, startlingly close to his right ear. He jumped in shock to find her sat daintily on the floor next to him, studying the old video case now in her hands.

Teddy grinned; that was one thing they shared in common.

Well, almost.

Victoire's dad, Bill, was a bit of a special case when it came to werewolves, having been attacked by one, but not mutating or transforming at all, despite a brutal and ugly scar now slashed across his face.

"Yeah, but it's not very good... at all," he admitted. She laughed half-heartedly.

Gaining confidence, Teddy turned to face her, a broad smile now decorating his face. "I think it's time you gave me some answers, Victoire."

Casting the feelings out of his mind, he began to bring up memories from their childhood. Memories of when they were best friends.

Friends

Because, he kept telling himself, that is all they were, and all they were ever going to be.

Victoire's smile dropped, and she looked slightly anxious. Before answering, she let out a sigh. "I had an argument with my mum. She was threatening to send me to Beauxbatons."

For a second, Teddy thought she was going to burst into tears, but he resisted putting his arm around her, and held back his desire to embrace her. "The French school that she went to?" he asked with deep concern.

Victoire nodded, staring into her lap.

"Why?" Teddy asked. "I mean, no disrespect, but Hogwarts is probably the greatest magic school there is!"

"I know, and she knows that too, but I've been kind of distracted recently, and she thinks sending me to France will clear my mind and sort me out."

Teddy was genuinely confused now. "Distracted?" he asked her. He had spent his whole life with her and she had never seemed distracted by anything.

Victoire looked very embarrassed now. "Professor Bobbin sent her and Dad a letter saying that they were concerned about my grades."

Teddy was enraged now. "But you got practically all O's on your OWLs!" He himself had helped her study for them. Not that she'd really needed his help – she was a model student anyway.

"I know, but my grades last year weren't as good as they should have been, and Bobbin suggested I partake in extra tuition, otherwise I'm going to fail my NEWTs. Mum's been threatening for a while to send me off to France, but Dad convinced her to give me a chance at Hogwarts still. But we've been arguing a lot lately, and now even Dad's starting to take her side instead of mine."

Teddy paused for a while, taking in this new information, before speaking in the same angry and puzzled tone. "Victoire, what's going on? How is that even possible? You're an incredibly bright witch, a lot better than most people in your year. You were top of all your classes, I swear, and you've never seemed distracted when you've been with me."

Refusing to look at him, she continued to stare down into her lap. "It's not when I'm with you, when I get distracted."

"I don't understand," Teddy gently urged.

Rather abruptly, Victoire turned to look him straight in the eye, with an expression of what appeared to be guilt. "It's you, you fool! I always miss you when I'm not with you, and last year I missed you a lot. And this year you're not going to be there with me at Hogwarts again, or Beauxbatons if Mum gets her way, and I don't know how I'll cope. I can't help it, you're my best friend, Teddy, and I feel kind of empty when I'm not with you."

Teddy was shocked into silence, and Victoire blushed deeply. "Teddy, please say something," she pleaded.

"I... I feel like that too. I mean, we are best friends, and I'm going to miss you as well when you go back to school. A lot... But, you can't go to France, no matter what!" He nodded determinedly.

"I know," Victoire agreed. "Anyway, Mum asked me to help clean the house earlier and I kind of, well, forgot. I was at the cove, watching the waves, and I guess time just slipped away."

Teddy didn't find that surprising at all. Victoire was a dreamer, after all. He smiled fondly at the thought.

"So when I went back she was really angry and started shouting, saying I never listen to her and I'm going to be a big disappointment to our family, and precious Dominique would never let her down. And that I'm supposed to be the oldest, and the most mature, and a load of rubbish! Then she brought out the Beauxbatons threat, but this time I knew she was serious, and I got angry and panicked and I just needed to leave. So," – she paused to take a breath – "I ran here, and then it started raining, and I got scared, and I didn't even know if you would be home or not." She breathed in deeply, ending her story.

Teddy looked startled. "You ran here!?" She nodded in confirmation. "Victoire, you're seventeen – you're of age! You could have apparated, or at least summoned some shoes or something."

"I wasn't thinking straight. I was quite emotional…"

There was no doubt in Teddy's mind about that. Although he tried, he couldn't help but notice how incredibly beautiful she looked when she was embarrassed and shy. He couldn't help but wonder if maybe, just maybe, there was a possibility that Victoire could feel, even the slightest bit, the same way that he now felt about her.

She got distracted when he wasn't with her, right? So it wasn't completely impossible to believe that she too could harbour deeper feelings of love for him.

He could hope anyway.

Teddy leaned in slightly, and kissed the top of Victoire's head. His lips brushed her soft hair and he could taste the subtle fruit flavour of his grandmother's quick-drying hair solution. He pulled back slowly and suddenly she looked shocked, before laughing her soft, warm laugh. Teddy felt awkward. Perhaps that hadn't been the best thing to do, but she was watching his hair, entranced.

"You're hair just turned a sort of reddish-pink colour!" she giggled. How embarrassing, Teddy thought.

"Oh, oops." He concentrated on turning his hair back to its usual shade of blue, as his face no doubt turned the same reddish-pink colour his hair had just been. "It's not the easiest – being a Metamorphmagus," he said, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

At this comment, Victoire narrowed her eyes in disgust. "Yes, I'm sure it's horrible being able to transform your appearance at will. It can't be easy, looking so bloody perfect all the time! You know, some people have to spend ages, with potions and spells and stuff, trying to look their best so that they can at least look decent next to their Metamorphmagus friend, whereas you have to waste so much energy and time looking flawless in a mere second if you want to!" she bellowed at him, her eyes wide with rage, and her nose scrunched up.

Teddy was so taken aback by this outburst that it took him a moment before he could retaliate.

"You have no clue what you're talking about! Being a Metamorphmagus isn't all fun and games, actually. As a matter of fact, it does take a lot of energy and strength to transform my hair and face and keep it the way I want it. You just saw how uncontrollable my magic is if I let my guard down. Sometimes it's even painful to transform, which is why we tend to stick with the face we were given by birth. Do you honestly think I just chose to have bright, turquoise hair?

"Of course I didn't – it's ridiculous! But it's comfortable, and for me, it's natural. I'm not saying it doesn't have its obvious advantages and benefits, but seriously, sometimes being a Metamorphmagus is a burden. But you wouldn't understand..."

Victoire looked stunned, and very apologetic. Teddy gazed straight into her eyes and took a deep breath before continuing in a much calmer voice.

"Do you honestly think that you're the one that feels dull in this friendship?" he demanded. "Compared to you, my hair colour is nothing next to your radiance. You're part Veela, for crying out loud! No other girl I've ever met, nor will I ever meet, could even come close to how beautiful you are, Victoire. You're like, everything that's good and pretty in this world all rolled up into one amazing girl. You're the flawless one, not me.

"You don't need any spells, or potions, or anything other than your natural self." Teddy looked straight into her eyes, his voice barely more than s gentle whisper. "You're the most beautiful girl in the world, Victoire."

Teddy had never felt more self-conscious. What was he thinking, just opening his heart up like that and gushing such horrific, soppy confessions to her? Now he'd really done it.

But there was nothing else to do; there was no going back now.