Chapter 4 – Destroyed Innocence
Victoire didn't speak a word; she was stunned into silence.
Teddy stared into her eyes, desperately trying to find any hint of an expression, other than surprise. Driven by a sudden overwhelming desire to press his lips to hers, he leaned down hesitantly. She showed no signs of backing out, and followed his mouth with her eyes.
They were face to face, so close now that he could count every single golden freckle on her face, or every, thick black eyelash. He could feel her nervous breath on his skin. And before either of them could pull away, or utter a single word, he closed the gap, kissing her tenderly for a brief second.
Teddy pulled back, trying to figure out if he'd just made a horrible mistake or a triumphant gesture. Victoire looked intrigued and deep in thought. Too scared to disrupt the silence of the tense atmosphere, Teddy searched deep in her eyes, looking for any signs that she either wanted him to stop, or progress further. He leaned in closer once again and brought his hand up to her face, cradling her cheek.
Their eyes locked, and Teddy's insides began to squirm in delight. Before doing anything he might regret, he urgently attempted to communicate with his eyes, asking if this was okay with Victoire. When she showed no signs of backing out he kissed her again, longer this time, and closed his eyes, lost in the delight of the moment.
Victoire didn't seem to be reacting as much as he'd thought she would. In fact, it seemed almost as if he were kissing a statue. With this frightening realisation in mind, Teddy broke contact, and dropped his hand immediately. Victoire still had the intense, almost vacant expression on her face, with just a hint of what looked like disappointment. Panic began to swell in Teddy's chest. Was his kissing really that bad?
But this time, Victoire was the first to move. She leant up on her knees so they were the same height, and their eyes (and mouths) were at the same level. Teddy opened his mouth to say something – to apologise for his sudden behaviour, or change the subject, or anything at all. But before he could utter a single word, Victoire had flung her arms around his neck and thrust her mouth upon his in a much more passionate kiss.
Taken aback by this sudden motion, Teddy fell back slightly, and had to cling to her for support. This was like nothing he'd ever imagined, in all of his wildest dreams. All the times he'd thought about being with Victoire, he'd never imagined it could feel as wonderful as he felt right then.
Teddy felt vulnerable and unsteady though, so carefully he began to take over the kiss, feeling much more in control. Now Victoire was the one holding onto him, but suddenly he began to feel a flicker of guilt. He didn't want to ruin their friendship, and no matter how much he wanted to, he had to be responsible. She was probably still very distraught from her experience, and in need of attention. For her this was probably just an escape from the world, and he doubted that she really felt the same way he did about her.
So, once again, Teddy broke off the kiss, and a mixture of confusion and longing appeared on Victoire's face. Teddy didn't want to pressure her into anything she didn't want to do.
"Just let me know if you feel uncomfortable and I'll stop right away," he told her seriously. And Victoire trusted him wholeheartedly.
As if giving her trust and permission, she continued where they left off, throwing her arms around his neck once more. This time Teddy was ready, and matched her determination and passion equally. Kissing Victoire just felt so right, so natural. He racked his brain, trying to figure out why they hadn't done this sooner.
His thoughts flashed back to when he was nine years old, and she seven. They'd been at Harry and Ginny's for a family lunch one early summer's day, and he and Victoire had snuck off to play together. They were the oldest of the extended family. Lily Potter was the youngest, and she had only been a baby at the time, and all of the other children were only a few years or so older.
When Ginny had been pregnant with James, Harry had built, with the help of Ron and George, a magnificent treehouse in their backyard, in the oldest and biggest tree that stood there. Teddy and Victoire had been in awe of this house, five and seven at the time, and as they were the only children old enough to go up there, they would spend hours of fun together, completely oblivious to the rest of the world
Teddy thought back to that pleasant summer's day. Ginny had been on the warpath, trying to make everything perfect, and he and Victoire had escaped to the treehouse. All morning they'd chatted about anything and everything they could. He'd been morphing his facial features into various different shapes and sizes, making her laugh that adorable little giggle he loved. And whilst they were chatting, they made a promise to be friends forever, when suddenly Victoire had decided upon a new game wherein she had dared Teddy to kiss her, before swiftly jumping down from the tree, shrieking the whole way, whilst he leapt up and chased her.
And they had laughed the whole way, when suddenly she'd crashed straight into the unsuspecting legs of her mother, Fleur. All the adults were gathered around, enjoying the sun, and Hermione had inquisitively asked what they were doing. Back then, Teddy didn't understand why they'd all laughed at his innocence in such a knowing, adoring way when he told them he was trying to kiss her.
And he distinctly remembered feeling completely baffled as Harry had ruffled his hair and joked to Bill about how they would grow up together and end up falling in love. Victoire had gone a deep shade of red and hung onto her mother's knees whilst Ginny punched Harry affectionately at his remark, rolling her eyes.
Teddy was abruptly brought back to reality. This time he really was kissing Victoire, roughly ten years on from that day. Not a thing had changed in their friendship, except the fact that they were now tightly embraced and making out for all they were worth...
He was suddenly aware of Victoire grabbing fistfuls of the hoodie he was wearing, without moving her lips away from his. Realisation dawned on him immediately – was she trying to take it off!?
Teddy opened his eyes curiously, and sure enough, Victoire was tugging at his clothes, struggling to remove them without his help. This was not what he'd expected at all! Before tonight they'd never even kissed, never even had the slightest romantic encounter – they couldn't be ready for this already, could they? Victoire was beginning to get frustrated now, and stopped kissing him to glare at his hoodie, as if staring at it in hatred would make it disappear.
"Victoire," Teddy said cautiously. "Are you sure we're ready for this?"
"Teddy," she responded sternly. "You don't know how long I've waited for this."
A look of genuine surprise filled his face. "Really?"
Victoire was no longer the scared little girl that had stood in his doorway in a soaking wet, ripped summer dress, earlier that evening. Nor was she the shy little girl that had hidden her face behind a wall of hair, after confronting him about her tendency to get distracted without him.
No, this was a Victoire he hadn't witnessed much before. She was brimming with confidence and control, determination set in her eyes.
"Not this exactly," she laughed in a gentle manner. "But… but still something more than... just friends." She offered a timid shrug, though her confident smile never faltered. This information startled Teddy. So it wasn't just him who had begun to feel differently towards his childhood friend?
"I know we haven't even talked about this before but, I really want this, Teddy," she said, tightening her grip.
Teddy slowly ran a hand through her hair, feeling each strand before letting it fall back around her shoulders. Then in one quick movement, feeling slightly self-conscious, he whipped his hoodie off over his head, tossing it to the other side of the room.
After that, Victoire became quite rough, kissing him with so much energy that Teddy could hardly breathe. The rain was still drumming an irregular thumping rhythm onto the roof of the house, and lightning kept illuminating the room every so often. Not that either of them could notice the weather anymore.
Somehow they had managed to stand up, and Teddy was steering her towards his bed when Victoire rather violently rammed him into his bedside table, causing him to slam his hand down to keep his balance. Unfortunately, his hand crashed into the glass lamp that had formerly stood there, which shattered into jagged pieces, resulting in him screaming in agonised pain. Victoire stepped back in alarm and rushed to his aid. "Teddy, I'm so sorry!" she gushed, rubbing his hand soothingly.
"It's fine. Seriously, I'm fine," he said through gritted teeth. Muttering the only healing spell he could remember, the wound stopped bleeding, but it left a rather ugly, deep gash just below the surface of his skin. Feeling exasperated, Teddy slumped down onto his bed, and Victoire sat down next to him, hugging her knees tightly to her chest. It seemed as if all the romantic energy had escaped the room, leaving an awkward tension hanging in the air. Teddy was very conscious that his hoodie was screwed up on the floor and he was sat on the bed, topless...
"A bit of a mood killer," he said sadly.
"I'm really, really, really sorry, Teddy." The amount of guilt overwhelming her tone almost broke his heart. He placed a hand on her knee in a reassuring way.
"It'll take a few days or so to heal, but it was worth it." He flashed her a mischievous grin and she soon returned the smile.
Slowly, Victoire began to kiss him again, much more softly this time, as if worried she would damage him, and they lay down. After a few moments, Victoire spoke with a nervous tone.
"Your grandmother –" she said, slightly alarmed.
"Isn't coming back until next Monday," Teddy finished calmly. "She's visiting a friend in Tahiti."
Victoire looked reassured with this information, but Teddy had worries of his own. "Err, Victoire, I don't think I have any, well, you know..."
How could he bring himself to say it? He still couldn't believe this was actually going to happen – that it was happening.
Well, it didn't seem like anything was going to happen now. Not without... protection.
But Victoire didn't seem disappointed by this. In fact, she looked almost pleased.
"I know a spell," she admitted. Teddy's eyes widened and he raised an eyebrow at her. "No, no, no," she assured him. "It's not like that! I read it in a magazine – it was my mum's." She shuddered at the thought. "Don't worry, I'm still a... a..." She trailed off, blushing deeply. A virgin is what she wanted to tell him, but this conversation seemed to be getting more awkward by the second.
Teddy shifted uncomfortably. "That's, err, great." He smiled at her. "Me too."
"Okay, well..." Victoire turned away and began to recite the spell, waving her wand slowly.
Teddy couldn't hear the words she was saying, but he watched, entranced, as a soft silver stream flowed from her wand tip, and twisted around them both. It was like a glittery mist drifting around them, which was glowing brighter as Victoire continued the incantation. Once she'd stopped, it faded dramatically until nothing but clear air surrounded them. Victoire smiled at him charmingly, letting him know she was finished.
Teddy felt a lot of pressure. There was no reason to delay anymore, and he was certain that they both wanted this, but glancing around his bedroom, he felt very embarrassed indeed. He'd grown up in this room, and hadn't bothered to clear any of his old stuff out – he'd only added new stuff to it as he'd gotten older, which made it feel like he was violating his childhood room. It was his grandmother's house, he remembered.
The film had finished long ago, but the television was still on, wasting electricity, and Teddy could see the photo of his parents out of the corner of his eye, watching him. It was rather unnerving. But, he told himself, he mustn't lose his cool.
Teddy turned his attention back to Victoire, who looked as nervous as he felt. But with a reassuring smile, the old familiar connection sparked between them, and without another word, they completely destroyed all the innocence of their friendship.
Teddy was cradling Victoire to his chest. She tenderly kissed his injured hand whilst he lay back, in desperate need of rest. They were now fully clothed. In a soothing way, she began singing softly under her breath, her sweet voice sending Teddy straight off to sleep, before she too, felt her eyelids flicker and close, and began to dream deep, beautiful dreams of her and Teddy walking down an aisle together.
Author's Note: The flashback scene where Teddy and Vcitoire are 9 and 7 was inspired by Taylor Swift's song 'Mary's Song' - I'm a huge fan of her music, and thought it was a beautiful song that beautifully suited Teddy and Victoire - even the ages were right! If you haven't heard it then I sincerely recommend that you check it out :)