Victoire Weasley fancied her mother wouldn’t be pleased with the way her daughter was screaming herself hoarse. But really! The outcome of this Quidditch match would determine whether Gryffindor remained in the running. It was the last game before Christmas break. And it was against Slytherin.
All were perfectly good reasons, Victoire believed, for her to jump up and down every time the Chasers scored. The Gryffindor and Slytherin Seekers had just raced neck and neck for a Snitch that evaded them once again when Victoire felt a tap on her shoulder.
“No matter how tightly you clench your fingers to your face, it won’t make Mulholland fly any faster.”
Victoire smiled brilliantly at the vocalizer of such bitter scorn, her eyes wide in surprise. “Teddy! How could I not know you were behind me this whole time?”
Teddy Lupin grinned in a mischievous way that made Victoire’s heart skip a beat. “I came a bit late. And you were so into the game I just couldn’t bear to distract you until now.”
“You certainly would’ve done that.” Victoire reached up and flipped a lock of Teddy’s hair “ which he’d grown out to accentuate the flamboyance of its scarlet and gold stripes “ over his shoulder.
“Victoire! Look!” Victoire’s friend Tina nudged Victoire hard until she turned back around. The Gryffindor Seeker had suddenly made a steep dive, the Slytherin Seeker close behind.
“Oh! Oh! Oh!” Victoire put her hands to her face, then remembered Teddy’s mockery and clutched them together instead. “Come on, come on!”
Mulholland pulled out of the dive, her fist clenched around the Snitch.
The crowd went wild.
Victoire was laughing with delight as she hugged Tina, who was yelling at the top of her lungs. Then Victoire turned around to throw her arms around Teddy “ all in the spirit of Gryffindor’s victory of course “ and her laugh died.
Some blonde hussy had gotten there first, her arms wrapped so tightly around her Teddy that Victoire couldn’t even see who it was. Only when she pulled her face back enough to give Teddy a triumphant kiss on the cheek did Victoire recognize her.
Erin Connelly. Oh, Victoire ha “ well, she actually tried really hard not to hate her. She’d been spending a lot of time around Teddy lately, and since Victoire tried to do the same, she’d attempted to look past the fact she was Irish, blonde, beautiful, and much more demanding of Teddy’s attention than Victoire was comfortable with. At the moment, though, Victoire did not have any charitable feelings whatsoever toward that particular young lady.
“Hey.” Tina was tugging on Victoire’s elbow. “You look like you are about to kill her. Or at least pry her off Teddy.”
“Don’t think I’m not thinking it,” Victoire whispered harshly, tearing her eyes away from the spectacle and looking down at her friend, whose eyes were brimming with sympathy for Victoire and irritation at Erin.
“Maybe we should just go back to the common room,” Tina said. “There’s sure to be a victory party and that’ll take your mind off things.”
Victoire was about to agree, then Erin said in her perky voice, “Come on, Teddy! Let’s go up to the victory party!”
“Well.” Tina did her best to pull on Victoire, who suddenly felt she’d like nothing better than to collapse on the bleacher and freeze to death. “We still have to go up anyway. It would be polite of us to stop in at the party, too. You don’t have to stay long enough to see anyone. Come along, or I’ll have to call for assistance.”
It was hard for Victoire not to smile. Tina was about two-thirds Victoire’s height, and slender as a twig. If Victoire continued to resist, Tina really would need to ask for help to get her anywhere. She decided it was better just to head toward the warmth of the indoors, despite her despondency.
“Besides,” Tina said conversationally, tucking her arm through Victoire’s elbow as they walked, “I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”
“What do you mean? Tina, did you see her?”
“I saw her. I’ve been seeing her. I’ve also seen you.”
“Me?” Victoire grumped. “So you’ve seen me spend the whole term try to woo Teddy and completely fail.”
“Yes, and had your commentary about it all year,” Tina remarked. “Longer than that. Victoire Weasley, I have been listening to you rant about Teddy Lupin from the day we met, six years ago. It was a nice change this year to finally hear you talk about wanting to get together with him instead of complaining that all you wanted was friendship and everyone that thought you were or should be dating ought to be...what was it again?”
“Fed to a Crumple-Horned Snorkack,” Victoire supplied, smiling in spite of herself.
“Whatever that is,” Tina said dismissively. “Anyway...I had a point...oh yes, you and Erin.”
“Do we need to talk about this? The sooner we stop discussing, the sooner I can forget everything I feel about “ ”
“No,” Tina interrupted firmly. “We’re on the subject anyway, we might as well continue. You and Teddy are best friends. You’ve been friends your whole life. Erin, on the other hand, hardly knows him at all. He doesn’t know her.”
“Is that supposed to be an advantage? He knows me so well he’s probably decided that we could never suit. Erin’s a new mysterious horizon. If I were him and she were after me like she is, I’d welcome her advances to get rid of mine “ er “ Victoire’s. If I were him. Does that make sense?”
“Logically, yes. Realistically, no.” Tina sighed in utter exasperation. “You are determined to be pessimistic about this, aren’t you?”
“Have you forgotten what he said? After the Halloween feast?” Victoire clasped her hands in front of her and recited bitterly, “‘Victoire, no one would ever think anything of seeing us alone together.’ That’s pretty telling.”
“Well, considering the Halloween feast was almost two months ago, I don’t think it’s a crime for me to devalue the significance of that particular quote,” Tina replied. “Besides, it was in response to your jab at his “reputation” if you went on a walk together, right? Maybe he was flustered by your teasing and had to dissemble in case you didn’t actually mean to be flirting “ it’s hard to know with you, you know.”
“That’s what I tried to tell myself at the time,” Victoire admitted.
“Not only that, but it’s true,” Tina continued relentlessly, clearly pleased to have gained a concession. “Even if you wandered into the Great Hall holding hands, no one would think twice. We’ve been expecting it for years now.”
“Hmph,” Victoire said. “After all my hype for years about the impossibility of that scenario.”
Tina giggled. “So, you see, there’s nothing to worry about!” She skipped up the main staircase as if she had nary a care in the world.
Victoire pulled free before she was coerced into participating in such blithe motion. “Of course there is. This whole conversation you haven’t given any reasonable proof that I’m in no danger from Erin.”
“Nothing I say will convince you,” Tina said after a moment. “You have to decide yourself whether you’ll trust me or wallow in misery for a while before your own observations prove that Erin’s got nothing on you.”
“Except blonde hair.”
“Strawberry blonde is so much more attractive. You’re grasping at straws.”
“I still don’t want to go to the party and have my feelings confirmed. ‘I told you so’ is not always gratifying.” Victoire was determined to stick to this. By this point, all she wanted was to go to sleep.
Once they got to the Gryffindor common room, though, it was clear that they wouldn’t be able to just sneak through the party. As soon as the Fat Lady’s portrait swung open, a reveler near the door spotted them and pulled them in.
“Where have you girls been?” It was Teddy’s friend and fellow seventh-year Gryffindor, Seth. “I was just thinking about how you hadn’t shown up.”
“Victoire had to be forcibly dissuaded from her new-found aspiration to be an icicle,” Tina informed him matter-of-factly.
“Oh, really, Tina.” Victoire rolled her eyes.
“What? I’m not exaggerating!” Tina looked up at Seth, her eyes wide-eyed and innocent. “I had to pull her.”
“You pulled her.” Seth couldn’t keep from grinning at Tina. “No wonder you were late. I’m impressed you made it here before curfew.”
Tina pouted. “Your confidence in my strength is really inspiring, Seth.”
“Oh. Hey, sorry.” He reached out to pat her arm. “I didn’t mean “ holy Helga, you’re cold!”
Victoire was about to make an amused remark about his choice of exclamation when her mouth dropped open: Seth had slid his hand down Tina’s arm to her hand and was chafing the frigid appendage.
“You can blame Victoire,” Tina said quietly, as if talking too loud would cause him to let go of her. “She really didn’t want to come in for a while.”
“Why on earth not?” Seth asked, sending a shocked glance Victoire’s way. She glared back.
“Guess,” Tina replied coyly. “You’ll get it right first try.”
“All right, that’s it,” Victoire said finally. “If you’re going to keep talking about me like this, I’m just going to bed.”
“Good night,” Tina said absentmindedly.
Victoire turned away, a bemused smile on her face. She’d hardly made it three steps toward the girls’ staircase before someone called her name and the smile fell right off her face.
“Victoire! Victoire, I’ve been looking for you.”
“Hey, Teddy.” She made a valiant effort to put that slippery smile back.
Teddy bounded toward her, grinning. “What do you think?” he said conspiratorially.
“What are you talking about?”
He nodded behind her, where a quick glance revealed Seth and Tina standing awkwardly far from each other and not making much conversation “ something completely out of character for both of them, outgoing as they were.
“Oh.” The sight of them made Victoire smile again. “I’ll be interested to see how that plays out.”
“Definitely. They might require some help, though.” Teddy leaned close to Victoire; she reminded herself to breathe. “Are you in?”
“You have to ask?” Victoire replied, tossing her head. “Of course. I’m right there with you, partner.” She raised her eyebrows. “Partner in crime.”
Teddy laughed and tweaked Victoire’s nose; she batted his hand away. “I told you not to do that!” she scolded.
“I’ll do what I please, Miss Weasley,” he responded.
“Speaking of people getting together,” Victoire said, hating herself, “where’s Erin?”
“Erin?” Teddy’s face was clouded in confusion. “Oh, Erin!” He pointed. The little Irish girl was lounging in a chair next to the Quidditch Captain. “Wait, you thought she and “ and me?”
“You’ve been spending a lot of time together,” Victoire hazarded, looking down demurely while her heart leapt.
“Oh, come on, Victoire. You, of all people, should know that doesn’t mean anything. I don’t feel anything for her.”
Victoire really disliked any comparison between herself and Erin, but hearing Teddy declare his apathy superseded that for the moment. However, when she glanced back towards Erin, the latter sent her a venomous glare. Apparently the lack of attachment wasn’t mutual. Not that she could bring herself to care.
“So...can I get you anything to eat or drink?” Teddy asked, changing the subject. “Something to get you feeling properly victorious?”
“Don’t say it...” Victoire warned, but Teddy never passed up this opportunity, and tonight certainly wasn’t any exception.
“It’s not a victory party without Victoire feeling victorious, I always say,” Teddy finished smugly, reaching out to tweak her nose again.
“Butterbeer, perhaps,” she said, nimbly evading his fingers. “I’m still thawing from Tina’s and my sojourn through the chill.”
“Certainly, madam.” Teddy bowed and darted off. Victoire smiled sadly. It was no wonder everyone thought their eventual relationship was a given. Maybe Teddy was the only one that didn’t know that yet. Well, Victoire could try and do something about that.
“May I lead you to a seat?” Teddy had returned, a glass of butterbeer in his hand.
“Thank you.” Victoire pressed herself a tad closer to him than usual and clung just a bit longer when he deposited her in her chair. “Come sit?” She scooted over to show that there was room for both of them.
He quirked his brow incredulously. “I still haven’t forgotten fourth year, when I tried that and you spilled your drink all over me. The floor will be fine. Or, better yet, the arm. That’s above the spill zone.”
Blast, Victoire thought. Still, if he was above her she could look through her eyelashes at him, and she knew how alluring that was.
For a few minutes Victoire simply sat and sipped her butterbeer, occasionally employing subtle veela tricks as she and Teddy talked about their plans for Christmas. She was very pleased to hear him say that he would, of course, be attending the Potters’ annual party.
The music that had been playing in the background suddenly increased in volume just as an old Celestina Warbeck Christmas classic began. Students all around the room were standing up to dance.
“Well, would you care to join me?” Teddy asked Victoire, completely surprising her.
“I thought you didn’t like to dance,” she replied, accepting his offered hand and standing. Her veela tricks must have worked.
“Well, it’s my last Christmas at Hogwarts,” Teddy said, his eyes a little bit sad.
“Oh, right.” Victoire patted his shoulder, then left her hand there as they began dancing. “It will sure be weird next year with you gone.”
Teddy nodded and pulled Victoire infinitesimally closer. He didn’t seem to have done it on purpose, and really it was so small he probably didn’t notice he’d done it, but Victoire noticed. Emboldened, she moved her leg back then forward again, swiveling slightly in a dampened version of a veela dance.
“Look,” Teddy said, not even watching Victoire.
“What?” she whispered, irritated that her efforts were going unnoticed.
“They’re dancing,” Teddy replied, lifting his hand from her back so he could turn her chin in the correct direction.
It was comical, really. Seth was a few inches taller than Victoire, and Tina couldn’t even reach his shoulder. He was hunched over so their clasped hands weren’t so high she had to be on her tiptoes while she held on to his elbow. Neither of them were looking at each other, seemingly more interested in their feet or anybody else in the room.
While Victoire was turning her head back around, a couple of boys caught her eye. They were staring avidly and one “ she knew she’d seen him before but couldn’t recall his name “ winked rakishly at her. She looked away quickly, glancing up at Teddy. He was still watching Seth and Tina, his brow furrowed.
“I think it’s time for my hair to change back,” he said thoughtfully.
“Oh?” Victoire had been expecting him to say something about the couple he was watching. The change of subject disconcerted her and she missed a step.
“Might as well keep with the Christmas spirit, though,” Teddy continued. As he spoke, his hair shortened to his preferred length just at his ears, the scarlet deepened to a more brick red, and forest green stripes appeared between the red and gold. “What do you think?”
Victoire eyed him. “You look ridiculous.”
“What a thing to say!” Teddy looked down at her, incredulous, then snapped his eyes away.
Why won’t he look at me? Victoire wondered desperately, deeply hurt. Things had been going so well before she started...dancing....
Abruptly, Victoire stood stock still, removing her hand from Teddy’s shoulder. “Perhaps you could tone the Christmas spirit down a bit,” she said, trying to sound normal. “Mostly green with just hints of red and gold.”
“Good idea,” Teddy said as the music died down and the students restarted more exciting activities. He smiled at her and popped his hair to the colors she suggested. “I’m going to go grab a snack. Want one?”
“No, thanks,” Victoire replied, returning his smile. She wanted a moment to herself to think about what had just happened. He’d seemed almost angry. She couldn’t understand why. If anything, she had a right to be angry. What was the point of dancing seductively if he wouldn’t even watch?
“Hey there.” The boy who’d winked at her earlier had sidled next to her. “How’s it going?”
Victoire glanced at him but didn’t respond.
“Don’t you have anything to say?” the boy asked, sliding his arm around her shoulders.
“I don’t even know you!” she replied hotly, removing herself from his grasp.
“The name’s Rand.” He smirked and stepped toward her. “But don’t worry; we can get to know each other very fast, and you don’t have to do any talking if you don’t want.” His smirk grew into a leer and he stepped even closer.
“What? Get away from me!” Victoire backed as far from him as she could, but he kept coming.
“Oh, baby, you can’t dance like that and not want something for it!”
“I want you to leave me alone,” Victoire said firmly, stopping her retreat before she tripped over something. “Now.”
“You don’t mean that,” Rand started, but Victoire’s wand suddenly in his face halted his retort.
“Yes. I do,” Victoire assured him. “My daddy’s a curse-breaker for Gringotts and he taught me some great tricks for getting rid of people. I would not hesitate to practice on you. Unless you go away this second.”
“Fine,” Rand muttered, turning and making a quick exit. “Just being friendly, anyway,” Victoire heard as he headed toward the boys’ dormitory.
Victoire stashed her wand back in her robes just as Teddy came back.
“Hey,” she said, smiling up at him. “Looks like you found yourself a chocolate tart. Mind if I try a bite?”
“You said you didn’t want anything!” Teddy reprimanded her, holding his tart out of reach and even morphing his arm a little longer so she had no chance. “No bites for you!”
Victoire pouted and turned away from Teddy, pretending to be deeply hurt. As she did so, she wondered if he’d seen what had just happened with that jerk Rand.
“Not the pouty face,” Teddy lamented. “All right, Victoire; here.”
She turned back in surprise; he’d broken off a small piece of tart and was holding it to her, a placatory look on his face.
“Thanks,” she said, smiling as she plucked the piece from his fingers and popped it delicately into her mouth. It was hard to tell if he’d seen her interactions with Rand; there was a little bit of anger hidden in his eyes, and the slightly stiff way he held his hand, as if he was actively keeping it from forming into a fist. But he could still be miffed at her for her dancing “ which, if he was, Victoire thought he should say something. He remained silent on the subject, though, and Victoire was content enough to talk about the pros and cons of different kinds of tarts until she was yawning too often to finish a sentence.
“You were going to go to bed hours ago,” Teddy said finally, glancing at his watch. “Sorry for keeping you up.”
“Oh!” Victoire grabbed his arm to illustrate her sincerity. “That was before I knew that I’d get to spend the evening with you! I’ve missed nights like this. They’ve been few and far between this year.”
“N.E.W.T. classes,” Teddy agreed solemnly. “Not to mention the near impossibility of evading the clutches of certain Irish beauties.”
Victoire giggled. “It’s a wonder we’ve spent any time together,” she said, knowing that every situation where they had had been carefully engineered by herself and Tina.
“Go ahead and sleep,” Teddy said, crooking his finger to beckon her closer. “And start brainstorming ideas to keep our mutual friends together longer than one dance.”
“Oh, right!” In all the hoopla about Victoire’s dancing, she’d forgotten about Tina and Seth. She craned her neck quickly and saw them on opposite sides of the room, each animatedly chatting with other people, but intercepting glances from the other every so often. “You’d think they’d both be less shy about this.”
“Ah, there’s no explaining love,” Teddy said airily.
“Now there is truth,” Victoire replied, looking down at her feet instead of being brave enough to look Teddy in the eye. “Good night.”
“‘Night.” Teddy caught her nose in one more tweak before he gave her one last smile as she headed up to bed.
Victoire wasn’t at all sure she would sleep. Still, she lay in bed and just thought about how the evening had turned out so differently than she’d expected. She had more hope than she’d ever allowed herself to have. He’d sought out her company, told her once and for all there was no chance with Erin, asked her to dance, and enlisted her in the cause of Seth and Tina.
Speaking of...the dormitory door opened, very quietly.
“Victoire?” Tina whispered.
“Yeah?”
“Sometimes ‘I told you so’ is very gratifying.”
Gratification and Justification by Cinderella Angelina
Chapter Notes: This story was written for ElectronicQuillster/Marie. When I wrote it, there was no reason for me to believe Victoire wasn't an only child. I'd also like to thank the mods for being wonderful during this interesting and frustrating time for MNFF.
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