308JK Rowling owns and all that jazz.
Also, I had no time to proof-read this chapter, and I no longer have spellcheck so I apologise for any errors.
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
Chapter 35 - Victoire
Teddy's return to Hogwarts the following Saturday was much rejoiced by everyone in Gryffindor house. Victoire had been continuing to coach the Quidditch team, and the rest of the team had helped by being co-operative. Since her revealing conversation with Felicity, the two girls had reached some sort of understanding. Felicity now not only listenened to what Victoire suggested, but often made useful and intelligent suggestions of her own. But it was still a relief to have the team whole again.
On the night of Teddy's return, he and Victoire managed to slip away from the well-meaning friends and housemates to have an hour or two of privacy in the Room of Requirement. Teddy told Victoire about the offer Kingsley had made him.
"So, you're in?" Victoire asked, leaning against his chest as they sat on the sofa provided by the room.
"Well, I have to meet their requirements. Like, I have to get the NEWT results, and pass the tests. But for all the people who meet those requirements, and there are quite a few people who do that, there's something ridiculous like three or four places, sometimes less. What they're saying is, if I pass all their tests, I've definitely got one of those places, above the other applicants."
"That's brilliant Teddy. I'm so proud of you!" Victoire leaned upwards to kiss him on the cheek.
"It's so weird," Teddy said, his arm around her tightening. "I've wanted this for such a long time and now it's finally happening. I can't quite process it."
Victoire gave a little laugh. "It is a lot to process. You've just got your entire future sorted out. You have a plan."
"Do you have a plan?" Teddy asked her.
Victoire shrugged. She had been doing a lot of thinking over the past few weeks. It was kind of a reequirement, given what was happening with her education. Although few had chosen definitively, many people were considering thier NEWT options, and a few of her friends already knew what they wanted to do. Jenny wanted to be a Healer. Her roomate Diana wanted to interview famous witches and wizards for Witch Weekly. Felicity had mentioned over the past few practices that she was considering working in the Quidditch industry, either as a player or, if she couldn't make it, writing for one of the Quidditch magazines. Victoire found herself pleased that, through playing for the team, Felicity had found something to persue. She almost regretted her initial reluctance to have her on the team, although she couldn't quite forget how Felicity had treated her. But, she supposed, they were all growing up.
But Victoire still didn't know. She phrased this to Teddy, trying not to sound as worried about it as she was.
"Don't worry Vic, hardly anyone knows at OWL level."
"You did."
"Yeah, but you can't base everything off of other people. Everyone's different, and even the people who think they know might change their mind in two years. You have time."
"But we have careers advice coming up soon. I don't want to walk in there and just improvise a bunch of stuff so that Professor Longbottom doesn't think I'm a total moron."
"He wouldn't think that, he knows you."
"Yeah, but honestly, Teddy, what am I good at? Apart from Quidditch?"
"Lots of things! Vic what are you on about?"
"I don't know. I'm just feeling a bit... useless lately. And so much is changing and I just don't want to think about it."
Teddy stroked her hair comfortingly while she talked. There was a little pause, before he spoke. "Things you're good at. Charms, Defence, you're about a hundred times better than me at potions." Victoire smiled weakly. "And those are just school subjects. You're smart, and quick to catch on. Don't think I've forgotten you keeping up with me when we were homeschooled. You always see the best in people. From what you've told me about our dear friend miss Wells, you don't hold grudges, and I hope you know how rare a quality that is, especially for a teenager. And I could list about a hundred more, but I'd rather do this instead," he said, leaning in to kiss her on the lips.
When they broke apart, Teddy sighed. "I'm going to miss this."
"Miss what?"
"This. You. Seeing you every day."
"Me too." They were silent for a minute, before Victoire voiced one of her most worrying thoughts. "What's going to happen to us? Next year, when you go away?"
"I don't know. I don't know what it's going to be like, how much free time I'll have. I imagine not much."
"We aren't going to see each other often."
"Unlikely. It'll be like when I started Hogwarts."
"Only worse."
"Worse how?"
"Now you'll be risking your life. You'll be in danger all the time."
"You shouldn't worry about me. I'll be learning to cope with the danger."
"That's what you said before work experience," Victoire said quietly.
"Hey, none of us were prepared for that!"
"I know, I know. But you really frightened me there Teddy, seeing you in St Mungos. And it got me thinking... about the future and stuff, and how we... how we're going to make us work..."
"Are you breaking up with me?" Teddy sounded shocked and more than a little hurt.
"No! Of course not, I'm just... trying to be realistic and think things through properly." This was so difficult. "It's going to be nearly impossible for us to be a couple while I'm stuck here at Hogwarts and you're off doing dangerous and exciting things... What if you get hurt." Worst of all... "What if you meet someone else?"
"Vic I'm not..."
"I don't want to hold you back, ever. And you're going to meet other people, and I don't want you to not be happy because I'm in your way."
"Vic, I love you. I always have."
"I love you too. But we do need to talk about this." Victoire looked him in the eyes. She could tell that he saw the truth in her words.
"Yeah, but not right now. We can still enjoy being together for the rest of this year. And after that... well we'll see. But I have no plans of meeting someone else right now. I love you." He kissed her again, as if to prove his point.
When they broke apart, Victoire smiled contentedly. "Ok. You've bought yourself a stay of execution. Nothing will change until further notice."
"Good."
"But we will have this conversation again, Teddy."
"I know."
They sat in a silence interrupted by kissing until they had to return to the common room.
"Right team," Teddy called them to attention. The team gathered around, all in their kit, ready to go. The game started in ten minutes.
"I know the last few weeks have been tough. But you've all worked amazingly in my absence, so I can only applaud you for that. From what I saw at yesterday's practice, we're more than ready for them."
"Hear hear!" Fred said.
"So let's get out there and show them that even without the captain, we're the best team out there!"
Everyone cheered and grabbed their brooms with enthusiasm, and waited until their names were called to walk onto the pitch. Once both teams were in position, Teddy shook hands with the Hufflepuff captain, and they prepared for kick off. The whistle blew and the game began.
"And that's Lupin straight in there with the quaffle, which, considering that he's recovering from a major head injury is pretty impressive. No doubt if they were against a different team that would be used to their disadvantage, Lupin passes to Wells, what a girl, she can really fly... but it's not like me to get distracted by a beautiful woman..."
From high above the game play, Victoire snorted, along with the general laughter of the crowd. Jack Baker, the commentator, was notorious for being a bit of a sleaze. He had been one of the guys she'd turned down for the Yule Ball. She watched Felicity handle a tricky backwards pass to Abigail with ease, and cheered as Abby scored the first goal of the match.
It was clear that Hufflepuff were no match for them. They barely had a chance with the quaffle, and ten minutes in, the score was already 40-0 to Gryffindor.
"Lupin is underway again, looks like he's going to score, look at him go! Nice swerve there to avoid the Hufflepuff beater, oooh, did you see that pass? Perfectly caught by Wells, the teamwork on display here is incredible, it's like they're reading - LOOK OUT WELLS, ouch that bludger must have hurt! Hufflepuff in poss- no, Fawcett's got it back, Gryffindor in possession, she passes to Lupin, who scores! The score is fifty-nil to Gryffindor, and it looks like Lupin's calling a time out to get medical help for his chaser. We'll take a minute."
Baker continued to go over the highlights of the match while Madam Pomfrey mended the arm which the bludger had broken. Felicity grinned and wiggled her fingers at Teddy to show that she was fine, and play resumed.
Within another ten minutes the score was 70-10, Hufflepuff having managed to break through Gryffindor's excellent teamwork and gain posession long enough to score a goal. But it was just one goal, Victoire thought, and the snitch hadn't been sighted yet.
While she searched keenly, she tried not to get distracted by Teddy. Their conversation on the day of his return had been much needed, but it had left a kind of mark, a tiny hint of tension. She didn't think that she had been wrong to bring it up, but maybe she should have waited. After all, it certainly wasn't doing her any good thinking about it now. She needed to find the snitch.
A lot could happen in a year. Two years. Victoire knew that already, from when Teddy had first gone to Hogwarts. When she had joined the school, it felt like he was embarassed to be around her sometimes. What if the distance proved too much for him and he found some beautiful trainee Auror and he went back to thinking of her as immature and -
"AND IT LOOKS LIKE HUFFLEPUFF SEEKER VIOLET EDWARDS HAS SEEN THE SNITCH!" The word snitch pulled her back into focus. Baker was right, Edwards had seen the snitch and there was no way Victoire would catch up. She cursed her distractedness as she aaccelerated in an attempt to reach it. She wasn't going to make it and Edwards was feet from it...
"Nice bludger there from Weasley! And... yes it looks like both seekers have lost sight of the snitch, so we're back to square one. Hufflepuff chaser Deacy with the quaffle."
"Bought you some time there cuz!" Fred cried as he zoomed after the bludger, and with an almighty thwack completely disproportionate to someone his size, sent it shooting towards Deacy, who dropped the quaffle into Abigail's waiting arms.
The game had been going an hour and, apart from that one brief sighting, the snitch had remained elusive. The score was 80-20 to Hufflepuff, and it was clear that Gryffindor were going to win this one. The Hufflepuff team were tiring out, while the Gryffindors were a unit of energy, running on adrenaline and the joy of having their captain amongst them. In the next ten minutes, Gryffindor scored two more goals, and due to an almost accidental foul by Fred, Hufflepuff managed to score one more goal through a penalty.
100-30.
120-30.
After a total of an hour and forty-five minutesplay, Gryffindor were at 150-30, and the game was getting tense. Hufflepuff were desperately trying to score goals, but the Gryffindor team were too consistent, and Hufflepuff simply no match for them.
Fifteen minutes later, the score was 170-30, and it was clear that even Gryffindor were starting to get complacent. Hufflepuff managed to score another goal, which Gryffindor then matched.
They were about to hit the two and a half hour mark, the score still 190-40 to the lions, when an almighty cheer rose up. Edwards was speeding down the pitch, and Victoire, who had been at the other end, was speeding directly towards her. She could see the fluttering golden ball, but she was too far away from it. Why was Edwards trying to catch the snitch now, she wondered, as she took a sharp turn upwards, corresponding with Edwards and the item they both persued. All Hufflepuff could do now was draw, never a satisfying conclusion to a game. It would have made more sense to try and steer Victoire away from it, until Hufflepuff could score again.
But it appeared Edwards wasn't that sneaky. She had the advantage though, she was nearer to the ball, and no matter how hard she tried, Victoire could not get her broom to go fast enough. Baker was focusing on the racing seekers, his commentary of her incompetane drilling into her brain. Almost all players in the game were watching the race for the snitch now. But out of the corner of her eye, Victoire noticed Felicity and Deacy speeding towards the Gryffindor goalposts, the quaffle securely under Felicity's arm. She heard the ring of the ball going through the post, and knew that Felicity had scored, although Baker didn't seem to notice.
She realised that she had slowed down, and urged her broom to speed up again. The snitch turned sharply and the seekers moved with it, almost neck in neck now. But Hufflepuff had the edge, and Victoire saw Edwards reach out for the snitch and knew that she was too late.
"AND EDWARDS GETS IT! That was a really intense few minutes, what a race, Weasley was so close, but in the end didn't quite manage to beat the lead that Edwards had on her. Which means that Hufflepuff- no wait a second. It appears that in the race there some sneaky Gryffindor chaser managed to get a goal past the keeper, meaning that Gryffindor wins, 190-180! It was close there, but it appears that last goal saved it!"
Victoire landed on the ground. She tried to hide her anger and frustration. If she hadn't been os distracted earlier in the game, she could have won it for them. But instead, the team crowded around Felicity, congratulating her on taking the initiative to keep playing while everyone else was preoccupied.
"Well done Felicity!" Victoire said, trying to sound happy, and not bitter. "You won it for us!"
Felicity grinned, and Victoire didn't like to admit it, but it appeared to be free of malice. "Thanks," she said, sounding as sincere as anything. Victoire kept the grin plastered on her face, until Teddy came over.
"Well done," she said brightly. "You were amazing."
"So were you," Teddy said, pulling her into a tight hug.
"But I failed," Victoire said, her facade almost breaking.
"Hold it in," Teddy whispered, and with an arm tightly around her, he lead her off the pitch, the rest of the team following.
"Well done chasers!" Teddy called out. "You were brilliant. Hufflepuff had no chance. Phil, don't sweat those few goals, that second was a tricky shot, we can practise that next time. Fred, don't ever let me see you pull a foul like that again."
"But it was an accident!" Fred protested.
"Come on, Fred, you're better than that. Right party back at the common room!"
The team filed out happily, leaving Victoire and Teddy behind.
"Come here," Teddy said, pulling her against his chest. Victoire finally let the tears fall, making a wet patch on his jumper.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered.
"There had to be one you didn't get," Teddy said, his arms around her. "We still won."
"But I didn't get the snitch. We almost lost because I got distracted-"
"But we didn't." Teddy pulled back and looked her directly in the eye. "I've seen you pull off some amazing catches, I know you can do it. The whole school has seen you do it a number of times. Edwards was just closer to it, that's all. We can learn from this."
"It just... bothers me, I suppose. There's not much a seeker can do besides catch the snitch. And now Felicity gets all the glory for winning us the match-"
"I thought you two were friends now?"
"Sort of, yeah. But it still bothers me, you know?"
"Listen, Vic. There's a bigger picture here. Yeah, you didn't catch the snitch, but we still won the match, and that's what counts. You flew really well, but in the end it's down to chance. And Hufflepuff made the mistake of forgetting about the quaffle when the snitch is in sight, which is something I'm sure they'll never do again."
"I'm still annoyed."
"Of course you are. But don't even dare think I'm disappointed in you. Yeah, maybe I'm disappointed for you, but only because I know how angry you are at yourself. Don't beat yourself up about it." He kissed her gently. "Now. We've got a party to get to."
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
Back again! I got my sister to change my tumblr password (I'm .com if you want to follow! I have a very long queue set up), so now there's nothing for me to do to procrastinate from my exams other than write! And yes, once again, I use exams as my excuse. But this week has been so intense (two speaking exams and a concert) that I thought I deserved a writing break!
Of course, thanks goes to everyone who read, favourited, followed and reviewed. It amazes me that you're all still putting up with my long absences. There probably isn't that much of this fic left to go. I've planned out the end, it's just getting there that's the problem! But we will get there.
And possibly good news! I have started writing a new next-gen fic! It's mostly just random scenes right now, but I like it a lot better than this one. It also includes a lot more of my headcannons, which I came up with after writing this, and it's too late to include them now :( the trouble is remembering which headcannons are already in this fic!
Love you all forever
Peace out
RoLouG
xxxx