THURSDAY
Lunch breaks were supposed to be relaxing. Lunch breaks were supposed to be enjoyable. But no, Victoire Weasley had forced her presence upon him. He pretended to ignore her as he walked out of the Auror office. She continued to follow him. He decided to go home for lunch by Apparating. Just as he stepped to turn Victoire reached over and grabbed him so that she Apparated with him.
"Victoire!" Teddy growled at her "What are you doing?"
"Pick blueberries," she replied with a pout to Teddy's tone.
"Victoire…" he said warningly. He wasn't in the mood. He was never like this but recent circumstances had brought a change.
"Fine! I want to talk, okay?" she confessed.
"About what?" Teddy said coldly.
"You know about what. And quite with the harsh tone," she told him.
"There's nothing to talk about!" Teddy exclaimed.
"Boy you got it ba-ad," Victoire sung. Teddy turned around and walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge, ignoring her. She skipped in and followed him.
Victoire knew she had him. He made it all too easy. "Is that why you broke up with me?" she asked.
"This is what this is about? Us braking up?" Teddy asked.
"Merlin no," Victoire said "I was just asking. I mean it wouldn't have worked anyway. What with me needing the liberty of being single and you being gay."
The words hung in the air.
"I'm not–"
"Yes you are," Victoire cut across him.
Teddy glared at her.
"Are you going to fight me on it?" Victoire asked him with raised eyebrows. "No one else is here, just us two. The only person who knows you better than I do is Harry. I've been watching you for a long time."
Teddy continued to make himself lunch.
"You can't keep ignoring me," Victoire told him.
"Yes I can," he said to her, still not making eye contact.
"Fine," Victoire shrugged but then added "I'll keep talking and you can just listen until I get so annoying that you finally crack and say something." Teddy didn't say anything so Victoire took that as her cue to continue, "So I first noticed it about six months ago. You should have seen yourself, it was amazing. Ravenclaw would have been proud to have me because I really think I was the only one to notice. Actually, I was proud of myself because I don't even think Harry knows. Interesting how you haven't told him but I guess it makes sense since it is his son who you want."
Teddy swallowed and reminded himself not to let her provoke him. He continued buttering his bread calmly.
"But then I thought to myself, six months no way – it had to have been longer. How long was it? A year? A year and a half? What's been keeping you back?"
Teddy continued to ignore her questions no matter how badly he wanted to answer them.
"I mean sure, there's a bit of an age gap between you but James is a big boy he can decide for himself don't you think? Why have you been holding back? Is it because of Harry that you couldn't go out with his son? Because that's ridiculous."
She considered the man standing in front of her. "You must want him so bad that sometimes you can hardly stand it," she said quietly.
Teddy slammed his plate down and glared up at her. "Stay out of it," he warned her.
"Oh, so you're admitting it now?" she asked with a smile which Teddy found quite annoying.
"I didn't say anything," he said.
"You didn't have to," she looked up at his hair and said in an amusing tone "your colour change says it all."
Teddy groaned. "Victoire just leave me alone," he finally told her.
"No," she said.
"Leave me alone," he repeated more forcefully this time.
"No," she said again "not until you can say it out loud."
"I hope you enjoy disappointment then," he said coldly.
"He is good looking," she began, Teddy's mouth formed a hard line "if I wasn't related to him I'd go for him. He's handsome, funny, a pain in the arse at times – just what you're looking for. He comes from a good family. I don't know what you're waiting for to be honest."
Didn't she get it? Teddy thought. It would be forever awkward between them if Teddy reveled his feeling for James because James would never return them. He was stuck. This had been his predicament for a long time now.
"Aren't you lucky that I didn't say anything when we were picking rooms? You two share a room and you like him. It's like putting Rose and Scorp in a room together really."
"It's totally different," Teddy snapped.
"It talks!" Victoire announced "And it's exactly the same."
"No it isn't," he said tightly.
"Give me one reason it isn't," Victoire asked him. Oh he was so close to where she wanted him to head, just a bit further.
"Because…" Teddy couldn't finish the sentence because he couldn't say it.
"Say it," Victoire pressed.
"Because I…he…just shut up Victoire," Teddy said.
"Say it," she pushed.
"Drop it," he warned her.
"No," she said firmly "I want to hear you say it."
"Just stop alright?" he exclaimed.
She looked at him with intense eyes. "Say it," she demanded.
Teddy gave in. "Because I'm in love with him and he doesn't love me back! There. I said it!"
The kitchen was filled with a heavy silence.
"Says who?" Victoire said slowly.
"What?" Teddy frowned.
"You said he 'he doesn't love me back' and I said, says who?" she repeated. There was no teasing in her tone anymore. She was dead serious and it worried Teddy because she was rarely ever serious. Victoire was thrilled on the inside because she had gotten him in the spot she wanted him in.
"Says…me…I…I don't understand," Teddy was incredibly confused.
"You wouldn't, would you?" she smiled "Because no one notices the things I do. I notice everything. Like the way he looks at you…" she trailed off.
Teddy instantly knew where she was heading and he wouldn't let her get his hopes up for something he knew was impossible.
"Stop," he warned her.
"Or the way his face lights up when you're in the room," she continued, full well knowing what it was doing to Teddy.
"Stop," he repeated.
"Or how he gets up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom only once you're asleep because sleeping in the same room as you effects him as much as it effects you," her tone was becoming more excited as she spoke because she knew the moment was so, so close.
"Dammit Victoire, stop!" Teddy said loudly, with a look of desperation – he wanted to hear more so badly but he knew that he shouldn't.
"You tell me how long you've liked him for and I'll tell you how long he's liked you for," Victoire offered. Teddy didn't reply. "Remember when we were having dinner last week and I said I knew who James actually liked? He thought I was bullshitting because he really hasn't told anyone but I could see it. He's liked you for a long, long time Lupin." Victoire told him.
Teddy swallowed.
"There," Victoire exhaled "I've finally told you. Goodness that felt good."
"Four years," Teddy said quietly.
"What?"
"Four years, I've liked him for four years. He was seventeen at the time, what was I supposed to do?"
"He was of age," Victoire reasoned.
"Barely," Teddy shook his head at her "I was twenty one, it wasn't going to happen."
"It could of," Victoire told him honestly "why do you think he became an Auror?"
"Because he's good at it," Teddy said immediately, not understanding what he was getting at.
"Yeah," Victoire agreed "but he could have played Quidditch. He wanted to play Quidditch. He's good at Quidditch. But please, remind us all what occupation you have?"
"Auror," Teddy said weakly.
"Now you know everything," Victoire shrugged. She then sighed, "But true to character you don't take my word for it. So ask him yourself."
"No," he answered instantly.
Victoire grinned that grin of hers that frightened Teddy out of his wits. "Then make me ask him," she said simply.
"What good will that do? Wait…you want me to Imperise you?" he asked with wide eyes.
Victoire shook her head and sighed. "What can you do that no one else can?"
Teddy frowned, "I…metamorphosisize."
Victoire raised her eyebrows as she waited for him to catch on.
"Oh," Teddy said suddenly, shocked.
Victoire got up from the bench and picked up her wand. "You think about it," she said "but know you have my permission."
With that she Apparated leaving Teddy with a lot to think about.