When Are We?

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, I wouldn't need to go to work.

Thank you for all your wonderful reviews. I am sorry for the long delay, but I've been busy with other things and I didn't have the time that this story deserved. But the new chapter is finally here. Am I forgiven?

Getting Used to One Another

Four days later...

"Teddy? Teddy!"

The young Metamorphmagus, who had been looking through the window at the rose garden, tossed his head back and turned to Victoire. "I haven't realized that you've come, Vickie," he said.

"Yeah, I noticed...What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Victoire shook her head. Sometimes, Teddy really irritated her - did he really think that he could fool her? His brown hair was the best indication for her that his spirits were quite low. "Hey, Morph-boy, how do you expect of our marriage to work, when you are lying to me, before we are even married?"

Teddy smirked - Vickie's ability to benefit from every situation was something that had always intrigued him, amused him, and drove him mad. "Well, let's see," he started, his hair changing from miserable brown to not so miserable dark-violet. "We are here, trapped in a time that is not ours, and in the middle of a war against the Big Bad Guy. We can't find a way to get back, we have to be careful about each word we say and I have to meet on a daily basis with my parents, pretending to know at least something about them. Yes, Victoire, I'd say that this situation counts as 'wrong'."

Victoire's eyes filled with concern. "I am sorry," she said contritely, "I should have realized that it is harder for you than the rest of us."

"Sweet Merlin, no!" Teddy exclaimed, horrified that he had been understood this way. An angry Victoire was not his favourite sort of Victoire, but it was a Victoire that he was used to. A concerned Victoire, who had decided that someone needed her help, compassion and care, was a forceful Victoire, who was too much like her grandmother for Teddy's liking. If he was not careful enough, he might find himself sitting docilely at the table and drinking liters of hot tea! Victoire seemed to think that tea was a universal medicine for everything. "No, I am fine, I really am! It's just... strange, that's all."

Victoire would gladly push him further to share how he truly felt, but suddenly, as often happened lately, she felt weak and the world around her swirled like a spiral blizzard. She closed her eyes and exerted all her strength to suppress the nausea that was gripping her stomach. A few moments later, the revolting wave had withdrawn. Thank Merlin, Teddy had not noticed anything - he had resumed his staring though the window. Victoire curiously peeked out, but all she saw were dead roses and two heads - one dark, the other red-haired.

------------------------------------

A few hours later...

The explosion happened during dinner. Molly's chicken soup had already vanished into the many hungry mouths around the kitchen table and the potatoes and meat balls would obviously face the same fate. Her grandchildren - plus Teddy - enjoyed her cooking in this time as much as they did in their own. Rose and Remus talked about lessons - the two of them seemed to get along really fine, - Hugo and Al were talking in hushed voices, Louis seemed to be in one of his worst moods, Victoire and Lily were giggling along with Tonks and James heatedly described to Sirius all sides of the misfortune to be a classmate of the female demon named Jillian Hart.

"I mean, really! Always studying, already staying in the common room until the tiny hours in the morning, engrossed in books!" There was indignation in James' voice. "And to think that I considered Aunt Hermione bookish!"

"James!" Victoire snapped and his face fell immediately. Teddy sighed. It was always like that, but then, well, they'd have a better chance at teaching Voldemort to sing Christmas carols than making of James something more than James.

"I'm sorry!"

"Of course you are."

"I am!"

"Leave him be, Vickie," Teddy told her. To James, he added, "I swear, James, you are a real fountain of information. What wouldn't Death Eaters give to lay their hands on you."

There was no malice in Teddy's voice, though, and James immediately felt it - he had a radar that was working flawlessly, detecting when people were angry with him and when they were simply pretending to be.

"It's true, though," he stubbornly insisted. "This stupid Hart, I wonder what other interests she has. I think she has none at all. Books are everything she has."

"Shut up, James!" Rose interrupted, and her cousin swallowed uncomfortably, before actually shutting up - after Lily, Rose was the last person that he wanted to get embroiled with. She was not a prank lover, but when she decided that her brother and/or her cousins had gone too far, she could be quite malicious and very, very dangerous.

"Is this Jillian Hart a red-head?" Sirius asked.

James looked at him, surprised. "No, she's a blonde," he said. "Why?"

Sirius avoided the teen's gaze. "Nothing," he said, and Teddy clenched his jaw.

"Although, I am not sure whether she's a real blonde," James continued. "I mean, her hair is almost white, like..." He was going to say 'like an albino's," but then he met Victoire's warning look and suddenly remembered that his pale-blond oldest cousin would not appreciate that comparison. "Like Malfoy's."

Al rolled his eyes. "How did Scorpius appear in this conversation?"

"Who is Scorpius?" Hestia Jones asked.

"Scorpius Malfoy," Louis said. "Al's best friend. Ouch!"

"Oh, shut up!" his sister hissed. "It doesn't hurt, so stop pretending!"

"It does!" Louis hissed back, rubbing the spot on his head where Victoire had hit him.

"Malfoy!" Sirius burst out. "You're best friends with Malfoy?" he roared at Al.

"Don't yell at him!" Teddy snapped. While they were stuck in this time, he was responsible for the kids and even if he weren't, he had never appreciated anyone yelling at them. Anyone out of the family, anyway.

Two identical icy glances shot daggers at him.

"What, you think I'm going to do something to him or what?" Sirius asked aggressively.

"Thanks for your concern, Teddy, but I can keep my own ground." That was Al.

"Of course you can, but until I return all of you safely to your parents, I am responsible for you."

"Teddy..."

"You're best friends with Malfoy?" Sirius decided to turn the conversation back to the really important matter. "Is Harry mad? Malfoy can..."

"Kill me?" Al sounded amused. "He doesn't know any lethal curses yet."

James decided to lighten the conversation. "Hey, I had my reservations, too, but now I know that everything is all right. Scorpius Malfoy is an okay guy, he is. I mean, he's always helpful, he's best friends with Al and Rosie fancies him..."

"Rotate!" Rose yelled and James immediately started whirling in quick circles, along with his chair that was now standing on two legs.

"Dear God!" Molly gasped. Remus hurriedly stopped the incantation and James' chair collided with a loud thunder with the floor. James immediately pointed his wand at Rose, but with a quick spell, Victoire Disarmed both of them.

"Ah, sweet memories!" Sirius sighed, laughing. This kid was so much like his James that it hurt. And if only Rose Weasley were red-haired, he could almost imagine that he was back at Hogwarts, in the common room, where Lily and James were fighting.

"Are they almost like that?" Arthur Weasley asked.

"Probably," Bill said. "I mean, they are not unlike the twins and Ginny..."

The rest of the phrase remained unsaid, because one look at his mother's face told the young man that it was not the best time to bring the twins into the conversation.

"He deserved it," Lily said nastily, because she did not particularly fancy the idea of Rose fancying Scorpius.

"Oh yes," Rose agreed. "I do not like Scorpius!" she said aloud, very firmly.

"Ah, you surely don't," Al muttered under his nose. "I just wonder..."

"You'd better not!" Hugo might be only a younger brother to Rose, but his brotherly instincts were quite developed. The idea of Rose liking - fancying - a guy was something that he could never imagine.

"Get used to it," Louis advised him, through mouthfuls of salad. "Believe me, I've experienced it."

"Exchanging cousinly advices?" Victoire asked sweetly, but both boys looked startled, before shaking their heads in perfect unison.

Emmeline Vance caught Teddy's glance and asked quietly, "Is it always like that in your time?" She looked pointedly and amusedly at the agitated cousins.

"No," Teddy answered, smiling. "Sometimes, it can be really noisy and messy."

---------------------------------------

Later this night...

By now, Rose and Lily were deeply asleep. Victoire couldn't bring herself to sleep, though. Everything was too confusing, too frightening. She and Teddy, along with the members of the Order and Dumbledore himself, were trying to find a way to create a Time-Turner with a backward effect - one that would send them back home, but until now, they had had no success. Just like she knew they wouldn't have. The effect of Time-Turners was one-sided even in her own time, so what chance did they have to create the one they needed here, twenty-four years earlier? But they needed to keep trying, even if it was only for keeping their hope high.

Then, there was that other thing that kept pestering her: she could not keep her secret for longer. Sooner or later, everyone would get to know it. And what if they didn't return to their own time the exact moment when they had been transported here? She did not dare to think about that possibility.

Suddenly, she felt a strong need to see Teddy. He would know what to do. He would hug her and comfort her, and say that everything would be all right, and she would believe him, even if it was only for a short time.

Victoire opened her eyes and slipped out of bed very carefully - she did not want to wake her cousins. Slowly, she opened the door and stepped out in the corridor, illuminating her way with her wand.

She had almost reached the room where Teddy, James and Al were sleeping, when she heard the noise - the unmistakable sound of sobbing. Frowning, she hurried downstairs and entered the living room.

"Grandma?"

Seeing the girl, who had just entered the room, Molly Weasley quickly stood up from the sofa and wiped her eyes. Victoire felt a little pang in her heart - although she knew that she and the others were practically strangers to everybody here, it still hurt that her grandmother had no feelings for her.

"Did I wake you?" Molly asked. "I'm sorry..."

"No, I was awake. I just wanted... never mind that, how are you?"

"Me? I'm all right." Molly smiled bravely. "Just a bad moment, that's all."

Victoire hesitated, but then she Levitated a stool opposite her grandmother and sat on it. "Were you thinking of Uncle Percy?" she asked.

Molly looked at her, bemused. "How... how do you...?"

Victoire smiled. "Don't forget where I grew up," she said. "I know many things."

"Will he come back to us?" Molly asked eagerly, her face brightening with hope.

Victoire hesitated for a second time, but finally, she decided that this information was not important for the Order, while for her grandmother it would be crucial. "Let's say that up to the moment I was extracted from my time," she said, "Uncle Percy was a frequent guest at my parents' house."

At any other moment, Molly would be disgruntled at the involuntary reminder that Bill would marry that awful French girl, but now, she was too taken with the news about Percy and too happy to even notice that. "Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you so much."

Victoire smiled. "I am glad I could help," she said.

Slowly, hesitantly, Molly looked up and met Victoire's gaze. The girl's blue eyes seemed darker at the light of her wand.

"I dream of that every night," Molly said slowly, reluctantly. "About Percy, about all of them, about that awful war. I see them dead every night. I can't sleep. I can't believe that all of us are going to make it unharmed. What if something awful happens? What if..." Her eyes, set on Victoire's, became intent. "You come from the future, so you must know... What's going to happen?"

Victoire stood like paralyzed, not able to think of something to say.

"Please, tell me."

"You know that I can't," Victoire finally whispered.

Molly seemed resolute. "Tell me..."

In Victoire's mind, thoughts were chasing each other and clashing with loud thundering. What should I do? How can I tell her? How can I not tell her? But then, what could she say? The knowledge that Fred would die would certainly not sound reassuring. And her grandmother needed reassuring. Victoire had to give it to her without revealing anything tangible. But how could she do that?

"Listen," she finally said, "I want to help you, Grandma, I really do. But I can't tell you what you're asking me. I can't reveal any specific information."

Molly's face fell.

"You know that such a revelation could change the future," Victoire went on. "So I can't. But I am going to tell you something."

"Yes?"

"Do you know what my name means? I mean, in French."

"No, I..." And then Molly got it. "Victory," she whispered, amazed. "Victoire - Victory."

The girl nodded.

For a few moments, Molly just stared at her and then Victoire suddenly felt her arms around her and it was almost as if she was at the Burrow and running over to her Granny for a hug and a cookie. She hugged her back fiercely.

"Thank you," Molly whispered.

-----------------------------

A. N. So? Does this chapter exonerate me?

5