Chapter 8 – Bill's Fury
The next moment happened in an alarmingly fast blur. Victoire leapt away from Teddy and began screaming, as Bill stood in the doorway, absolutely livid with rage. He was blasting random spells around the room, cursing at Teddy with all his might, as they ricocheted of the furniture and walls.
Teddy began to panic – how could he have been so irresponsible? Bill was going to kill him! He began shouting at Bill, trying to drown out his curses whilst dodging his spells at the same time.
"Mr Weasley, please let me explain – it's not what it looks like, I swear!" he desperately shouted at Bill. He was extremely grateful that he and Victoire hadn't gone too far yet and were still wearing their clothes.
"DON'T YOU DARE LIE TO ME, BOY – I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT WAS BLOODY GOING ON!" he roared, with the crazed look in his eyes that Teddy had rarely seen. This was not the last face he wanted to see before he died. Bill was so angry it looked like he would turn into a werewolf at any moment. The thought sent shivers down Teddy's spine.
"Daddy, please. Please don't hurt him," Victoire begged, clutching his wand arm, trying to wrench it from his grasp. But she was no match for Bill's great brute strength. He pushed her aside in one swift movement, and she fell to the floor in despair, crying her eyes out.
"YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO THIS FAMILY!" he roared at her before turning back towards Teddy and baring his teeth.
This was it, Teddy thought. He'd finally gone too far, and now he was going to pay the price. Even if he survived this ordeal, there was no way Bill was ever going to let him near Victoire again. He partially considered apparating somewhere far, far away, but how could he possibly do that to Victoire?
There was no way he was going to let her face up to the full fury of her dad. They were in what he hoped was a fully committed relationship now, and she needed him to be responsible and to protect her, even if it meant he would be forbidden to see her ever again. Teddy was not a coward, and he was definitely not going to leave Victoire to face this battle by herself, no matter how much Bill frightened him.
Suddenly there were raised voices coming from the stairs and two men hurtled into the room, thrusting their arms around Bill and dragging him back from the room and away from Teddy. But there was such a vicious rage in Bill, that Harry and Ron were no match for his strength. Harry was yelling at Teddy, telling him to keep calm and stay back, as they struggled to hold Bill back. More people were now entering the house, hearing the commotion. Fleur was screaming, whilst Ginny and Hermione stood there baffled, demanding to know what all the fuss was about.
Now George and Charlie were grabbing Bill as he continued to hurl curses in Teddy's direction. The four men managed to pin him down securely, whilst Angelina strode in and quickly disarmed Bill. Teddy began to relax a little, but he realised, as eight pairs of suspicious eyes turned towards him, that he had a lot of explaining to do.
Nervously, he glanced out the window. It was still a beautiful summer's day, but the feeling that hung in his stomach was no longer delight. It was dread. Molly, Arthur, Percy, Audrey, Luna, Neville, and Kingsley hadn't seemed to notice that anything was going on, and that the majority of the adults had left the garden. Or perhaps they had concluded that the commotion was easily enough handled by the others, and their prime responsibility was keeping the children occupied and out of the way.
As Bill was dragged from the room, still screaming insults at Teddy and cursing loudly, the three women, minus Fleur who had gone to calm down her husband, came in and shut the door quietly.
Hermione folded her arms and gave Teddy a stony expression. "Explain," she ordered.
Teddy sighed, not knowing how to begin.
Victoire sniffed loudly, still on the floor. Ginny went over to her and pulled her to her feet, before wrapping an arm around her waist reassuringly.
About half an hour later, Teddy and Victoire were sat on her bed together, whilst Ginny, Hermione, and Angelina loomed over them, listening intently. The two teenagers concluded their explanation and sat in a chilling silence. After a tense pause, Angelina began to chuckle. Hermione looked at her disapprovingly before proceeding to tell Teddy and Victoire how irresponsible and stupid they were.
As they hung their heads in shame, Angelina continued to laugh. Hermione frowned at her. Clearly this was the effect of being married to George. "Oh, come on, Hermione! Don't you remember what it was like to be a teenager and to be in love?" she asked.
Hermione looked horrified. "Of course I do, but me and Ron never got up to this, especially whilst we were still at school," she said, glaring at Victoire, who was staring down into her lap guiltily. "Think about your education!"
Angelina rolled her eyes.
"For your information, Ronald and I waited until we were happily married before engaging in acts of –"
"Oh my gosh, please stop talking!" Ginny cut in frantically. "I really don't want to know what you get up to with my brother!"
Hermione went red. "I'm just saying, if you're really in love then why not just wait until you're both a bit older?"
"Or," Angelina countered, "Why delay? If you're really in love then why wait at all?"
Hermione glared at her. "Because, Angelina, they're clearly not old enough to handle a responsible, adult relationship."
Angelina opened her mouth to protest, but Ginny interrupted their little debate.
"Okay, look. Teddy, Victoire, we know you're in love – we've all seen this coming – I mean, who couldn't? It's perfectly fine for you to be in a relationship, but I have to agree with Hermione. Don't take it too seriously, just have some fun. But not that kind of fun, and if you do, then just be careful. But you have to consider the consequences and please, just at least wait until Victoire gets out of school. It's only one more year, and then as far as I'm concerned you can do whatever you want. Maybe try and look for a job, and a house, Teddy, if you're really that serious about becoming more independent and err, grown up," She suggested.
Hermione and Angelina nodded in approval, and Teddy and Victoire gave their word.
"Thanks," Victoire said shyly, beaming up at her three aunts.
"So, err, what do we do now?" Teddy asked cautiously.
"Now," said Ginny. "You talk to Bill."
Teddy's smile dropped, and his stomach felt like a hundred daggers had been thrust into it.