Part 2:
31 August, 2017

No matter how often he visited, Teddy could never master an appropriate landing when Apparating to Shell Cottage. He always aimed for the pebbled path that lead to the front door of the house. Today, as per usual, he missed the path, landing beside it instead. The sand that got kicked up swirled around him like a desert windstorm, and Teddy dusted off his shoulders and hair before making his way up to the seaside cottage.

He rapped three times on the wooden door embedded with shells, cracking it open when he heard the familiar voice of Dominique.

"Come in!"

Teddy entered the Weasleys' sitting room to find Dominique perched on the sofa, legs stretched out and resting on the coffee table in front of her. She was trimming the frayed ends of her broomstick, no doubt in preparation for the upcoming Quidditch season. Louis, seated in an oversized armchair across from his sister, was thumbing through The Standard Book of Spells, Volume One.

"Hey, Ted," Dominique said. "I was wondering when you'd show up."

"You knew I was coming?" he asked, rubbing the soles of his shoes against the mat to rid them of any accumulated sand.

Dominique grinned. "C'mon. It's the night before we head back to Hogwarts."

"And it's all three of us this time!" Louis chimed in.

"You excited?" Teddy asked.

Louis nodded. "Yeah. Sort of. I'm not looking forward to the work, though. Dom keeps saying Professor Flitwick gives loads!"

"No, he doesn't," Teddy scoffed. "Not until third year, anyway."

"Hello, Teddy!" came Fleur's voice suddenly from the adjacent kitchen. She poked her head into the sitting room. "Will you be staying for dinner?"

"Oh, thank you, but no. I don't want to intrude. It's the last night before-"

Fleur hushed him. "Nonsense! You are never an intrusion!"

"Still," Teddy said, "I have to be in early tomorrow morning, so I'm only here for a quick visit. But thank you, Mrs. Weasley."

"Teddy!" exclaimed Bill as he entered the room from upstairs. He strode right over to Teddy and shook his hand before clapping him on the back. "Good to see you! How's Auror training?"

"It's… tiring," Teddy admitted. "There's so much to learn. But, it's going alright, thanks."

"Time consuming as well, I expect. We haven't seen you in ages!" Bill laughed. "Are you staying for dinner?"

Teddy smiled. It always warmed his heart that he was never treated as anything less than family whenever he entered a Weasley home, whether it was Shell Cottage, the Burrow, or one of the others.

"He can't," Louis answered for him. "He's just here to see us all off."

"Afraid he's right," Teddy concurred. "Thanks for the invite, though. I do wish I could stay."

"Well then, don't think you can't drop in once this lot's back at school," Bill said. "You know you're welcome here anytime."

Teddy nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Weasley."

Out of nowhere, there was a clatter in the kitchen, followed by Fleur exclaiming something in French. Despite picking up on bits and pieces of French from Victoire and her family, Teddy wasn't anywhere near fluent. He could, however, infer from the Weasleys' reactions that Fleur had used some colorful language; Dominique and Louis were giggling, and Bill muttered "oh, dear" before departing to the kitchen to help.

"So, uh… is Vic around?" Teddy asked sheepishly. He absentmindedly ran a hand through his hair as he turned to Dominique, who was looking at him with an all-knowing smirk.

"Yeah. She's down at her spot."

Victoire's "spot" was on the beach on the opposite side of the dunes. It was her favorite place to go when she needed some solitude. Most of the time, she went there to draw or read, but sometimes, she went because something was troubling her and she needed some space. Teddy hoped it wasn't for the latter this time around.

"Alright, then. I'll just pop down there for a bit. I'll see you both later, yeah?"

"Mhm," Dominique murmured, grinning again before turning her attention back to her prized Comet 480. Teddy could feel his cheeks pinkening.

"Bye, Teddy!" Louis said, throwing in a wave for good measure.

Teddy was back outside seconds later, and he walked along the pebbled path that led down to the beach. His hair was rustled by the sea breeze as he descended to the shore, and he made a mental note to run his fingers through it again before he reached Victoire.

He looked out at the vast ocean before him, which was tinted orange thanks to the setting sun. It reminded him of a moment earlier that summer when he had a rare weekend away from Auror training. He'd stopped by Shell Cottage just after midday in the hope of spending some time with Victoire. He got his wish. Teddy had only intended on staying for an hour or two, but he wound up staying for an early dinner upon Fleur's insistence. Later, he and Victoire went down to the beach for a swim. They were initially joined by Dominique, Louis, and a couple of the other Weasley cousins who were visiting that day, but they had a good bit of time to themselves afterward. Though they did do some actual swimming, Teddy and Victoire spent about an hour wading in the gently rolling tide, just talking. He couldn't remember the specifics of what they discussed, but he did remember how good it felt to be back in the company of his best friend after months apart.

Teddy could also remember how stunning she looked in her swimsuit, and how said swimsuit matched her eyes perfectly, but he shook that from his head as he approached the dunes.

Victoire was sitting on a large blanket with her legs stretched out before her, sketchbook in her lap as she scribbled away. This was nothing new. Victoire loved to draw, and she was very good at it, too; it was she who drew the werewolf tattoo that was now emblazoned directly over Teddy's heart. She'd known he wanted a tattoo when he came of age, and she sheepishly gave him the sketch for his seventeenth birthday.

Her artwork was always impeccable, and Teddy would have been curious about what she was currently drawing had he not been so enchanted by the artist herself. Victoire was one of those girls who never had to try to look pretty. Even now, as she sat there on the beach with wind-tousled hair, wearing a loose grey sweatshirt and her favorite pair of faded blue jeans, she was still the most beautiful girl he'd ever laid his eyes on. What really did it for him was the fact that she could have allowed her beauty to dictate who she was. She could have been arrogant and snobbish, but Victoire just wasn't one of those girls.

"Hey, Vic." He said this quietly so as not to startle her. Her pencil stopped moving for a moment as she looked up at him.

"Hi, Teddy," she said with a smile. Then she went right back to drawing.

Victoire didn't object when Teddy sat beside her. After years of being friends, they could sit together in comfortable silence for hours without it ever growing awkward. Only today, they didn't have hours; Teddy had to work early the next morning and Victoire would be off to Hogwarts. This was their last moment together for a while. With that in mind, Teddy silently stared out at the ocean for a couple minutes before speaking.

"So… seventh year," he said.

He glanced to his side. Victoire's eyes remained on her sketchbook, but she smiled.

"Seventh year," she repeated.

"You excited?"

"Yes… and no. It's bittersweet."

Teddy nodded. "I remember."

"And I'm nervous. I still can't believe McGonagall chose me as Head Girl. She must be going batty."

"Nonsense! You'll do great!"

"Hope so."

"You will," Teddy affirmed. "Have you heard who's Head Boy yet?"

It didn't really matter to Teddy which boy had been given the honor he'd held himself during his seventh year; he was just annoyingly curious about who Victoire would likely be spending a bit of time with.

"Mickey Thorpe, from Slytherin," Victoire said. "That's what Chelsea heard, anyway. I'll find out for sure tomorrow."

Victoire gently closed her sketchbook and placed it between the two of them. She dropped her pencil on top of it, which then rolled off onto the blanket.

"What were you working on?"

Victoire shrugged. "Just a thing. Nothing special. Doodles, really."

He knew she was lying, but he didn't argue. Victoire rarely doodled, and when she did, she never concentrated all that hard. And she especially didn't waste space in her sketchbook for silly doodles.

"You alright, Vic?"

"Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know," Teddy murmured. "I just wondered."

"It's just the usual start-of-year stuff. I'll be fine."

He knew what she meant. She was talking about the Sorting Ceremony.

Victoire had no qualms about being in Hufflepuff; she was proud of it, really, just as he was. But, in her fourth year, Dominique came to Hogwarts and was sorted into Gryffindor. The next year, James showed up. Gryffindor. Molly and Freddie joined Gryffindor the very next year. Her father had been a Gryffindor, as had all of her aunts and uncles.

"It might be different this year, you know," he said.

"You said that last year. And the year before that."

"Yeah, but… c'mon, what are the chances Louis, Albus, and Rose all get sorted into Gryffindor tomorrow?"

"Pretty damn good, given the track record of my entire family."

"Wasn't your Aunt Audrey in Ravenclaw?"

Victoire rolled her eyes. "Yes, but she wasn't born a Weasley. There's a difference."

"Fair enough."

"And I know it doesn't matter. Really, I do. But… I don't know. I guess I'm just tired of being left out is all."

"Left out? Vic, your family doesn't care what house you're in."

"I know they don't. It just gets tiring after a while. Being different."

Teddy didn't say anything for a moment. He knew Victoire was very insecure, and the thing she hated most was standing out. Being the only Hufflepuff in a family of Gryffindors didn't help matters. Neither did the taunting and rumors aimed at her by girls at school who were envious of her unique radiance and the attention it garnered from a lot of the boys. Teddy wished she could see that her exceptional beauty didn't make her a freak, and that her sorting didn't make her an abnormality.

And most of the time, she did. More often than not, Victoire pushed those feelings aside and focused on what she truly valued: her loved ones, her studies, and her art. But today, apparently, was not one of those days, and Teddy knew what that meant.

There was something else.

"Vic, what's going on?"

"Nothing."

"C'mon, you know you can talk to me. We're best friends."

"I thought Jo was your best friend," she mumbled.

Teddy glared at her disapprovingly, but softened when he saw her disheartened face.

"Johanna and I are close," Teddy admitted, "just like I am with Ray and Shannon. And yes, out of the people from my year, I'm closest to Jo. But, Vic… c'mon, you know you're my best friend. Always have been, always will be."

She glanced at him then. "Really?"

"Really. So what's going on?" Teddy implored once more.

Victoire hung her head. She absentmindedly toyed with a lock of her hair, twisting it around her finger as she lost herself in thought. Teddy used to think this was a nervous habit of hers, but he'd come to learn it was a way for her to cope with unpleasant things.

"Evan broke up with me," she confessed in a voice that was barely audible.

Teddy inhaled deeply, trying not to let on that he already knew. He would've taken her hand had hers not already been busy twirling her hair. He thought about slipping an arm around her shoulder, but he didn't want to cross a line.

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Victoire mumbled. "It happened about a month ago, so… yeah. I'm over it, mostly. It just sucked."

Teddy nodded. "I know the feeling. It's never easy."

"Yeah."

"Do you mind me asking what happened?" Teddy inquired. "I mean, you two were together for quite a while."

Victoire shook her head. "It's stupid."

"Vic-"

"It's embarrassing, Teddy," she mewled, voice quivering slightly.

"Victoire… it's me," Teddy reminded her. "Nothing you say or do would make me think less of you, or laugh at you, or make fun of you. I know break-ups are hard; I've been there, so I know how you're feeling right now."

"No, you don't," Victoire argued. "You wouldn't understand. Not this time."

"Then help me to," Teddy gently implored. "If you don't want to talk, that's okay. I'll leave it alone. But… well, sometimes it helps to talk about things, you know?"

"He broke up with me because I'm a loser, Teddy! There! Are you happy now?"

Teddy's heart sank as Victoire inhaled deeply and closed her eyes for a moment. She wasn't crying, but she was obviously trying to calm her nerves. Even when she opened her eyes, she refused to look at him. Her jaw was stiff as she looked ahead with an unwavering gaze. Teddy, meanwhile, could only stare at her.

"Please don't tell me he actually said that to you," Teddy said. "Because Vic, you-"

"He didn't have say it, Teddy," Victoire cut him off. "You want to know why he broke up with me? It's because I'm still at Hogwarts."

"Because you – what?" Teddy asked, flabbergasted. She wasn't making any sense. "Vic-"

"Evan's starting his life," Victoire said. "He's got his apprenticeship at St. Mungo's, and his flat with a couple of roommates… Teddy, he doesn't have time for some girl in her last year at Hogwarts with-"

She stopped suddenly, her gaze dropping to her lap. Victoire nibbled her lower lip for a moment. Tears were coming, and she was doing her best to fight them. It was why she wouldn't look at him, why her brows were knitted in such a way, why her chin ever-so-slightly trembled.

"A girl with what?" he cautiously pressed on.

Victoire didn't answer him right away, but when she did several moments later, her voice was barely audible over the sound of the waves and the wind.

"A girl with no direction."

The tears Victoire had been trying to hold back began to trickle down her face. She wrapped one arm protectively around herself while using the other to wipe underneath her eyes with her sleeve. He wanted to say how sorry he was for upsetting her and to ask her to please, please don't cry, but words failed him. Instead, Teddy brought a hand up to her shoulder in an attempt to be comforting.

He felt useless as his best friend cried, mostly because he couldn't understand what she was talking about. A girl with no direction? What did that even mean? Fortunately for Teddy, he didn't have to ask; after a minute, Victoire's tears mellowed and she spoke again.

"In his letter," she sniffled, "he said he couldn't be with someone who didn't know what she wanted out of life. Said he had his focus, his ambition… he just knows what he wants, you know? And I… well, I don't. I guess he felt like that was going to hold him back, so he ended it."

"Vic..." Teddy began, though he quickly realized he didn't know what to follow up with.

"And he's not wrong," Victoire continued. "I really don't know what I want out of life. I… I just don't know..."

She hung her head then, silent tears rolling down her cheeks as she stared into her lap.

"I'm not even upset about Evan," she confessed shakily. "I mean, it hurt when it happened, but it's not like I was in love with him or anything. But… Christ, Teddy, he's right. Here I am, about to start my seventh year, and I have no idea what I'm going to do once I'm finished… and I'm running out of time. I have no plan, no goal… I don't know what I want to do with my life, and I'm scared..."

That time, Teddy didn't think twice when he lifted his arm to slip it around her shoulder. She leaned into him as he did so, and he held her tightly, not caring when he felt the moisture from her tears seep into his shirt.

"Listen to me," he gently murmured. "You're not a loser, Victoire. Never think that, okay? You're only seventeen; it's okay for you to not know what you want just yet."

"You did," Victoire countered tearfully. "You always knew you wanted to be an Auror. Dom already knows she wants to be a Healer. Everyone seems to know who they're meant to be. Everyone except me."

"Dom and I are the anomalies, believe me," Teddy said. "And just because someone thinks they know what they want, it could change. Shannon always thought she wanted to work for the Ministry. She ended up hating it, and now she writes for the Prophet. The same could be true for Evan. Even Dom might change her mind."

"But everyone else seems to have some sort of idea, at least. I have nothing."

"Have you ever thought about doing something with your art?" Teddy asked. "Because Vic, you have a gift. You really do."

"People aren't exactly clamoring to hire artists."

"What about the Prophet? You're a good writer."

"You're missing the point, Teddy" Victoire said. She lifted her head from his shoulder then and looked at him for the first time in quite a while. "I'm not worried about getting a job. I know I'll find something when the time comes. What I'm worried about is that I… well, I have no direction, just like Evan said. The fact that I don't feel drawn to anything… what does that say about me?"

"I think it says that you have more talent than you know what to do with," Teddy said. "You can do anything, Vic, absolutely anything. So what if it's taking you some time to figure it all out? Everyone's different, and there's no rule saying we all have to get our shit together at the same time."

When Victoire didn't say anything for a few moments, Teddy continued.

"Is this why you've been so off these last few weeks?" he asked.

"So you noticed," she said. "Have I been that obvious?"

"Vic, you've been my best friend since pretty much forever. I like to think I know you pretty well by now."

To his delight, Victoire grinned.

"I suppose that's fair," she said.

"Try not to worry about it too much, alright?" Teddy said. "The job thing, I mean. You've got time. Just focus on having a great school year and keeping your marks up. You'll figure it out."

Victoire leaned into him then, looping her arms around his torso. He relished in it, trying to ignore how good her hair smelled, how warm she was.

"Thanks, Teddy," she hummed. "I'm gonna miss you."

"Hey, what's one more year?" he asked. "It'll go by in a flash."

Teddy was certain it was true. The previous year had gone by in the blink of an eye; he'd been so busy with Auror training that Victoire was back before he knew it, somehow even more beautiful than ever before.

"I should probably head back up," Victoire said with the slightest hint of a sigh. "Mum'll kill me if I'm late. Are you staying for dinner?"

"I would if I could," Teddy said, "but I have an early start tomorrow."

Victoire nodded in understanding. They stood together in silence, and Teddy helped her gather her things. After organizing her pencils and shoving them into her bag along with the sketchbook, they picked up the large blanket and shook off the sand. With a wave of his wand, Teddy folded it and tucked it under his arm.

When Teddy made to walk back toward the house, he noticed Victoire was rooted on the spot, clearly lost in one of her usual trances as she stared out at the sea. He watched her for a few moments, completely entranced with how the breeze delicately played with her hair.

"Evan's a tosser," Teddy blurted out.

Victoire tore her gaze from the ocean. "What?"

"He's an idiot, Vic. What he said to you was really shitty."

"Like I said, I'm over it."

"Still," Teddy said, shaking his head, "that doesn't make it okay."

Victoire shrugged. "No point in letting it bother you."

"But it does bother me, Vic," Teddy said. "It bothers me that he thought so little of you. You didn't deserve that."

"Teddy-"

He cut her off. After unceremoniously dropping the blanket back to the sand, he slid his arms around her waist and pulled her in. Within seconds, he heard the rattling of Victoire's pencils as she let go of her bag and hugged him back.

Teddy didn't say anything, but he tried to throw everything he felt into that hug. He wanted her to feel how much he cared, how much he'd missed her, how much he was going to miss her. He wanted her to feel that he didn't consider her his best friend simply because he'd known her for so long, but rather because she was the most remarkable person in his life.

But most of all, Teddy wanted her to feel the one thing he could not fathom putting into words: that he felt things for her that he wasn't supposed to feel for his best friend, and had for quite some time.

"Teddy," she murmured. She was so quiet, he almost didn't hear her.

"Yeah?" He pulled back from her then, just enough so he could see her face. Oddly, she wasn't looking at him.

"I-" she began.

It happened so quickly, but for Teddy, time seemed to halt when Victoire kissed him. For the lone second her lips were on his, his mind spun into a delightful haze, which lingered when she pulled away in haste. He was so elated that it took him him a moment to process that Victoire had spiraled into a panicked frenzy.

"Oh god, what did I just do?" She whispered this seemingly to herself as she stared at him with wide eyes. Clearly not registering the grin on his face, Victoire stepped away from him and fetched her bag and blanket.

"I… Teddy… never mind…" she stammered as she began to briskly walk away. "I'll see you at Christmas… maybe… I don't know… bye."

"Vic… wait!" Teddy choked out, snapping out of his stupor.

By this point, Victoire was already a solid twenty paces ahead of him as she hurried down the beach, her hectic steps kicking up sand in their wake. Teddy jogged to catch up, and when he reached her, he gently grabbed her arm. The blanket tumbled from her grasp as she spun to face him. This time, their eyes met, and Victoire looked like she was about to cry.

Why, why did she look so sad, so scared? Teddy's mind was reeling. Couldn't she see that he wasn't mad? That he'd actually dreamed of that happening for far longer than he cared to admit?

"Vic…" he breathed, "you… I…"

Without warning, Teddy brought softly brought his lips to hers, allowing them to linger for a few moments before reluctantly pulling away. He waited for her to say something. In fact, he hoped she'd say something, because he was at a complete loss of words.

What he got was even better. Teddy briefly heard the clatter of Victoire's bag as it hit the sand a second time. She kissed him once more, and this time, he didn't think twice about reciprocating.

Teddy wasn't sure how long they stood there embracing and kissing – it could have been hours for all he knew – but when they broke apart, neither of them spoke. The only sounds were that of their breathing and the cadence of the ocean. They stared at each other for several moments before they could take it no longer and goofy smiles appear on each of their faces.

"I… um…" Teddy spluttered. "Vic… I've, uh… I've been wanting to do that for a long time."

"You… really?"

"Really."

Victoire's cheeks pinkened. "Me, too."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Teddy's grin widened. "Cool."

It was quite literally the only word he could come up with, however lame it was. But what else was he supposed to say when Victoire was still smiling at him? Her eyes were twinkling and her hair was dancing and Merlin, she was beautiful. For the umpteenth time that evening, Teddy was rendered speechless, which would have made him feel like a fool if Victoire wasn't obviously in the same boat.

"I, um…" she muttered after a minute, gesturing back to the dunes. "Mum'll kill me."

"Right, yeah," Teddy agreed. "Yeah. We should go."

Neither of them spoke as they walked back toward Shell Cottage, until Victoire stopped and grabbed his hand. Teddy glanced at her.

"Vic?"

"Just… just one more?" she asked with a coy smile.

Teddy smiled as he leaned in. He couldn't have been happier to oblige.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading!