All of a sudden, Victoire was all that Teddy could think about. It seemed every time he walked down a corridor he heard the Weasley name, every meal time she was sat in perfect view; he even kept bumping into her as she was leaving the Prefect's Bathroom, when she smelt of bubbles and flowers and utter perfection.

Desperately he tried to push her from his mind, convinced that there was something quite wrong in what he was feeling. After all, she was practically his cousin and the thoughts he was having definitely weren't those you were supposed to have towards a family member.

He had never been so grateful for moving staircases as when they prevented their paths colliding and he was ashamed to say that there had been more than one occasion when he had escaped into an empty classroom when he thought he saw her coming the other way. Prefect meetings were the worst when, as Head Boy, he was expected to give instruction with her sat, smiling, right in front of him. She must know, he thought to himself. He was convinced that he was failing to act like a normal human being and she knew him so well that it must be obvious that something was wrong. Thankfully she said nothing.

He spent the next month trying to decide whether to tell her. If he did, what would he say? What if she laughed at him? What if she didn't feel the same? He couldn't bear the thought of ruining their friendship. In the end, the answer seemed obvious. He would wait until the end of the school year. If he waited until he had finished at Hogwarts, at least he could escape if she said no. He could have space and time and, if necessary, could come up with a legitimate reason to leave the country.

Yes, that was the plan. For now, he needed to focus on his NEWTs and Head Boy duties and enjoy the rest of his final year. Victoire could wait.

That was the plan.

Then, James Potter came along and ruined everything.

...

As Teddy had spent so much of his childhood with Harry and Ginny, James was almost like a brother to him and they had always got on incredibly well. Like Victoire had done, James had spent the summer leading up to his first year at Hogwarts bombarding Teddy with questions and begging for stories, to which Teddy was only too happy to oblige. As eager as he was to have James at school with him, however, Teddy had learnt his lesson with Victoire. He knew that the chances of James being sorted into Hufflepuff were slim and that James would soon have his own friends.

Besides, James didn't come alone. September 1st also saw the arrival of Fred Weasley and together they formed an explosive duo. Teddy couldn't help but turn to watch Neville's face as Fred was sorted to join his cousin and thought he detected the slightest hint of fear behind the Professor's smiles at Gryffindor's newest recruits. He turned back to the Gryffindor table to see that Victoire, like Neville, was doing her best to look pleased. She was fiddling with the shining prefect's badge pinned to her chest and Teddy could only imagine her wondering how many minutes it would be before she had to exercise her authority over her cousins. Over the previous summer, Charlie and Percy had enlightened him and Victoire on the pressures they had faced, as a Prefect and Head Boy, of having Fred and George at school. The warning behind their stories was not missed and their advice was desperately taken.

To give them credit, James and Fred were always very respectful to his Head Boy commitments and would usually schedule their pranks for times when he was safely tucked out of the way. Anyway, it was very rare that they would get caught. It was as if they always knew when someone was going to be coming and had a way of disappearing at exactly the right moment. Teddy always wondered whether he should question Harry about it, but decided it may be safer not to. He was quite happy with his immunity to their pranks and wanted to keep it that way.

Unfortunately, Victoire was not so lucky. Dom was their natural ally, always willing to play a role in their pranks, whilst Molly was too laid back and kept herself to herself. But Victoire...catch her at the wrong moment and she would blow up like a game of Exploding Snap. Everyone else tried to avoid these outbursts but James and Fred loved to cause them. They seemed to get hours of amusement out of it and would go to great lengths to wind her up.

And so, as Teddy suddenly found it impossible to be in the same room as Victoire without losing his composure, she began to seek him out more and more, begging him to use any sway he had to get them to leave her alone.

Now was one of those moments. Teddy was trying desperately to concentrate on getting his tomato soup into his mouth and not all down the front of his robes whilst taking in what Victoire was saying, without looking at those beautiful blue eyes that he knew would be the undoing of him.

"He's just such a cocky prat," Victoire protested. "You'd think with Fred in detention he might calm down a bit, but he's worse. Thinks he's all that for not getting caught. And then he has the cheek to tease me about it, saying that I should have flattered Dave into getting Fred off. Why can't they just follow the rules like everyone else? Trust me to be related to such delinquents!"

Teddy took a chance on looking at her and instantly regretted it. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips pouting and she had begun to fiddle with her hair.

He took a deep breath. "He just wants a reaction. Don't let him get to you; he'll give up soon enough."

She huffed. "Easy for you to say. They'd never do anything to wind you up, they think you're brilliant."

Teddy chuckled. "Aren't I?"

She hit his arm playfully but immediately regained her serious composure. "It's not just that though. James has changed since he got here – maybe like I did – " she eyed him warily, "but he's become really full of himself. You don't get to see it, but in the common room he really plays up the 'son of Harry Potter' thing and he's always making out he's better than everyone else. Of course he should be proud of Harry and James is top of the class in everything, but it's just a bit too much sometimes. I thought maybe it was just me, but Tommy agreed and said the rest of the sixth years all think he's rather annoying."

"I didn't think you and Tommy were together anymore?" Teddy couldn't help but blurt out.

Victoire stared at him. Of course, that wasn't supposed to be the main point of that conversation. James. Say something about James.

Victoire started talking again before he could formulate conversation. "I changed my mind. It's nice having someone around when all you get is grief off eleven year olds every night. We don't all have the pleasure of being able to escape from the things that are bothering us."

The words cut through Teddy. Had she guessed what was going on? He had a horrible feeling that on those evenings when he had been trying to stay out of her way, Tommy had been the one there offering her comfort. Maybe he would need to rethink his strategy.

"I'm not meaning to escape things. I'm here if you need me, you know that." Instinctively he grabbed her hand and squeezed it. Her eyes widened, staring deep into his own.

Teddy felt his heart beating faster and a tingling sensation spread through his body. Now was the moment. She was moving closer towards him, her lips were only a wands length from his own. It would be so easy to kiss her. He wanted to, so badly. He took a breath.

"Vic, you coming?"

Victoire turned scarlet and fumbled to give him a hug, before scrambling to the side of the Gryffindor sixth year.

Teddy clung to the bench for a moment, regaining his composure. Vic? She let him call her Vic? She hated nicknames and had always insisted that it was Victoire and nothing else. Bill and Charlie could get away with a well chosen term of endearment on a good day, but that was it.

Realising she was still hovering, he forced himself to stand. Tommy towered above them, his arm protectively around Victoire's shoulder. Teddy fought the urge to make himself taller.

"You'll speak to him then?" she asked, still a little pink.

Teddy could do nothing but nod.

...

Teddy tried to concern himself with thoughts of James, using these to push out the 'what ifs' that surrounded Victoire. It didn't work very well. He was convinced that she had wanted to kiss him too. Would it have happened, if they hadn't been interrupted?

He both dreaded and longed for the next time he got to see her alone. She was doing a very good job of surrounding herself with her girl friends, as if she was avoiding bumping into him unprotected. On the plus side, Tommy was nowhere to be seen. Teddy quietly persuaded his friends to keep an eye out around school, to try and work out exactly what the situation was. If she broke up with Tommy, would that be enough of a sign that it was him she wanted? Could he risk their friendship and their history on that?

Annoyingly, he felt that James could well be the key to it all. As much as he wanted to avoid having that conversation, for he couldn't see how James, who had been brought up to be so disparaging of the world of fame, would suddenly want to bask in it, he wasn't about to break his word to Victoire.

...

Teddy pinned James down two nights later. True to his easygoing nature, he was incredibly honest.

"It's hard you know, having Harry Potter as your dad. Everyone expects you to be this really special person, to be brilliant at everything...I didn't want to disappoint them. "

His words echoed those that Victoire had shared only a few years ago, a constant reminder of the pressures that still hung on the next generation, the children of war heroes.

"Just don't go overboard though James, no one likes a brag."

James pulled a face. "Victoire's just too sensitive, that's all." He laughed. "Don't give me that look. I know it's her who put you up to this. I know you get it though Teddy. You know what it's like being around my dad and how people act around him, how people expect you to know everything when actually it feels like your life is one big secret."

Teddy chuckled. He knew exactly how James felt.

"At least Fred is there to fill in the gaps," James continued. "Uncle George has a tendency to tell him things he shouldn't, whereas Dad is a bit too good at remembering when to stop talking. It's like you and Victoire. She's amazing at getting things out of people, so then she can fill you in on all the things you need to know. Not that she'll tell me anything. I've tried asking her about that big chat she had with Dad about Grandma and your mum last summer, the one Mum stopped me listening to with the Extendable Ears. Except she said it wasn't her place to say anything, which is funny, because that's exactly what Dad said too. That's what they always say when they're talking about the war and what happened at Hogwarts though, isn't it? I bet they've told you stuff though, haven't they? I bet you don't have to put up with all of these secrets, not now you're of age. Oh, I can't wait to be older so I can find things out. It's rubbish being kept in the dark all of the time." He paused, noticing Teddy's silence.

Teddy had stopped listening. Victoire had been to see Harry, to talk about his mum? His mind began to whirl as it entered into a thousand possibilities.

Quickly he made his excuses and returned to his dormitory. Now his mind strayed to Victoire for completely different reasons. Hadn't they agreed that they would be completely honest with each other, that there wouldn't be any more secrets? That was a lie. He fought back the urge to go and find her, to find out what in Merlin's name was going on. He would deal with her later. First, he needed to speak to Harry.

A/N: So that chapter went in a completely different direction to what I originally had planned and ended it up being a lot fluffier, but there you go.