Chapter 5 – Mr Weasley

Teddy stirred from his sleep, feeling the sunshine warm his face. Curiously, he opened one eye and was nearly blinded by the brightness. He had forgotten to close his curtains last night. Why would he do that? And then, opening his other eye, he noticed the most beautiful, angelic creature lying peacefully on top of him, with her hands placed delicately on his clothed chest. When had he gotten dressed?

He beamed to himself. Some of the details from last night were a little but fuzzy, but some definitely weren't. Victoire was so cute when she slept, so peaceful and relaxed. Teddy could hear the birds chirping happily outside and wished he could stay in this moment forever. He began reminiscing about last night when a loud and hurried knocking pulled him back to reality.

Victoire began to stir and Teddy decided to simply let the visitor leave, whoever it was. His stomach twisted into tight knots when the knocking continued, and Victoire's father, Bill, began shouting his name in despair. A sharp ripple of nerves shot up through Teddy, and he and Victoire sat up in sync, startled by Bill's voice.

Victoire leapt off of Teddy, and he ran down the stairs two at a time, terrified of what Bill would do to him if he found out about what had happened between him and his daughter.

If? But surely Bill must know. That's why he was there – so he could strangle Teddy with his bare hands, and beat him to a pulp, or something similarly unpleasant. But how he could possibly know?

Trying to steady himself and prepare for what horrors he would now face, Teddy counted to three before opening the door and revealing the miserable face of Bill Weasley. He looked like he hadn't slept much, or even at all.

Teddy had always respected Bill for his strength and stability, but this was nothing like he'd ever seen before. Bill was shaking, and looked as though he was about to collapse, so Teddy gripped his upper arm tightly to stop him from falling over. This was very worrying.

"Mr Weasley, are you alright?" Teddy said, extremely concerned. It was rather obvious that he wasn't alright, but what else was he supposed to say? He led him inside and received a particularly intense sense of déjà vu. He remembered a bedraggled girl showing up at his door, unable to speak properly and looking rather crazed...

"It's Victoire," Bill managed to stutter. "Gone... all night... looking... need help!"

So he didn't know about him and Victoire, Teddy realised, he'd merely come to ask for help in searching for her. Teddy began to feel very guilty. After all, it seemed that Bill had been out all night searching for Victoire, when, in actual fact, she'd been there with Teddy all along, perfectly fine, and doing things he really didn't want to discuss with her currently deranged father.

"Mr Weasley, it's fine. Victoire's here – she upstairs. She's perfectly fine, trust me," Teddy reassured him, patting his shoulder awkwardly.

Bill looked up like a dog hearing the clatter of its bowl being filled. "Here?" His eyes were now terrifyingly wide.

Before Teddy could say a single word, Victoire crept down the stairs.

"Dad?" she asked cautiously. "It's me, Victoire – I'm fine, see?"

Bill released his grip on Teddy, and fell to his knees with his head in his hands. Victoire ran to him, and wrapped an arm around his back, calming him and reassuring him that she was fine and Teddy had looked after her like a perfect gentleman.

Teddy somehow felt like his hair had turned that embarrassing pinkish-red colour again, and he hurried upstairs to give them some privacy (and to give himself a chance to evict any tell-tale signs that would betray him and Victoire once his grandmother returned). After an in-depth room search, he came across the lamp that had shattered last night. He repaired it immediately with his wand and caught sight of his injured hand.

Except now it didn't look so injured at all.

The deep gash in Teddy's flesh had been replaced by a faint pink line, barely noticeable unless he squinted. How was that possible? Wounds couldn't heal that quickly! He hadn't used any form of magic besides the spell to prevent the blood flow. He came to the conclusion that Victoire must have done something to it whilst he was sleeping, and went to confront her about it.

Bill and Victoire were now sat in the living room on one of his grandmother's musty old sofas. Bill was much calmer, and they seemed to be having a reasonable conversation. Feeling like an intruder, Teddy loitered in the door way, not wanting to interrupt, but Bill saw him out of the corner of his eye, and beckoned him into the room. Teddy decided to ask Victoire about the mysteriously healed wound some other time.

"Teddy, you don't know how grateful I am to you. I can't thank you enough for what you did for my daughter," Bill said, full of respect. Teddy found it hard to concentrate on acting mature and responsible, as Victoire smirked behind her father's back, slapping a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles.

Teddy glared at her in a joking way and said to Bill, "My pleasure." That really set Victoire off, and Bill turned towards her curiously.

"I think I ought to take you home now. Your mother's been tearing her hair out in despair and couldn't sleep a wink last night." He turned back to Teddy. "You're always welcome round ours, Teddy. Do pop in once you have a chance some time."

Bill shook Teddy's hand with the familiar strength that he was used to receiving from him, and then strode out the front door, muttering something about apparition. Victoire followed him, but with a quick glance at her father, turned back to Teddy and gave him a fleeting kiss on the lips, before hurrying out of the house, back to her own.

Teddy stood in the doorway, watching her go, even after they'd disapparated into the clear morning air.