Matters Of Circumstance

Disclaimer: (Insert standard Harry Potter disclaimer here)

(A/N: Many, many thanks to my wonderful beta: TheBooyahEffect )

Story Info:

House: Slytherin
Prompt: View
Challenge: One (June 1st to June 7th)

STEALING HEAVEN

Teddy takes her hand and pulls her into the small apartment in London that he's apparently in love with. He's been describing the place the whole day - how it's great for them because it's small and just a few blocks away from their work…

The first thing she notices, when she enters, is the color of the walls - a warm yellow color she instantly falls in love with. Teddy is nervous. This she knows because he turns to look back at her every time he leads her into a new room, his half-smile almost making her giddy.

Finally, as he leads her into the last room, he spins her around and gives her a smile – a mischievous one – that makes her knees weak and her stomach jump.

"This is the best part," he whispers.

"The view." It's not really a question; it's all he seemed to be able to talk about for hours. But he nods anyway and turns her around - after making her promise she'll close her eyes.

Victoire hears him open the door, a bit of mild cursing follows as he apparently trips over something. And then, he takes her hand again and pulls her towards him, warning her to be careful as she steps outside.

"Now," he says. And the anticipation in his voice reminds her of a little kid who's viewing a circus performance for the first time in his life. She opens her eyes and is immediately stunned by the view. It's not that she wasn't expecting a nice view, but she was pretty sure he'd been exaggerating. Teddy tends to do that.

But not this time, she thinks. No, this time he barely even began to give it justice - because the sight in front of her is more than can be described in words. The water – a soft pink color - when intertwined with twilight's purple, mirrors the sky perfectly. It has to be the most beautiful thing she's ever seen.

"It's like a little piece of heaven," Victoire whispers finally. She looks up at him and smiles when she notices his hair is darkening along with the sky. And suddenly, she realizes that not even the most beautiful sunset could ever compare to this. To him

Teddy chuckles lightly. "Are we stealing it?" he asks, just as his eyes change from a soft golden to a deep blue, and all she can do is stare.

"What?" Ah, the intelligence of the sentence. No one would ever guess it's me who has veela blood, she thinks, rolling her eyes to herself. She can't help but blush as he gives her a smile again, his eyes twinkling in a way that reminds her so much of him she is tempted to shout his name every time someone repeats the gesture.

"Are you, Victoire Weasley, willing to steal heaven with me?" he asks softly before leaning down to kiss her cheek, but she turns and his lips find hers instead. For a second neither moves, and when he finally does it's only to deepen the kiss. There are butterflies in her stomach, and a part of her mind is telling her she shouldn't be kissing him – not now, not when they're both in full view. But the feel of his lips on hers is enough to erase any coherent thought she may have had. After a moment he pulls away and smiles at her expression.

"It's a beautiful apartment," she says - after they've both been staring at the river for a while. He chuckles.

"It's all in the view, you see," he states, repeating one of his favorite lines; but when she turns to look at him, he's not looking at the Thames anymore. She smiles, running a hand through his hair, which is now a beautiful midnight blue – her favorite color.

"You keep saying that like it's supposed to make sense," she says, sticking her tongue out at him. Teddy gives a half smile, tapping her nose lightly and reaching out to tuck a stray strand of golden hair behind her ear.

"Well, to me, it does," he answers winking. Then he kisses her, and this time she's too stunned to remember they're in the middle of the balcony in full view. By the time she does, she has no desire to stop him anyway.