A Year in the Life

Victoire plopped back down onto the towel that she had placed on her aunt and uncle's sofa. Risking a glance at her clothes, she groaned a little as she saw just how much dried sauce there was. Why, it was caking the entire left side of her body! It was a frustrating feeling knowing the spell that would clean this up in an instant, but not being allowed to use it.

She looked at the clock that hung on the wall nearby. It was a quarter after ten and she had managed to get all three of the kids upstairs and to their rooms without a struggle. The sauce was a small price to pay for that alone.

She had no intention of telling Harry and Ginny about the food fight, but instead would insist that she just had had an accident. The kids had been so good, almost scarily good, for the rest of the night; the boys had even apologized to Lily. It was only fair for her to keep her end of the bargain. After all, in a sense, the entire night could have ended up being one big food fight.

She reached into her bag and pulled out a book she had been reading for a Potions essay that was due once school was back in session. She thumbed through it for the chapter she needed to finish, and she began reading when a sudden fumbling at the front door made her stop. She looked up and wondered if Harry and Ginny had managed to escape their Ministry banquet as early as they had hoped. Suddenly, the fumbling turned into a knocking.

She sat up straight. Her aunt and uncle obviously wouldn't be knocking on the door of their own home. Who else would be calling this late a night?

The person knocked again, and this time, the sound of a latch unlocking followed.

Victoire's stomach jumped as she stood up. She immediately reached for her wand; reminding herself than in instances of needing to protect oneself, it was perfectly acceptable to perform underage magic. She stared at the door, wondering if the person would give up and turn away. What if it was a prowler? She thought about that as she pointed her wand at the door, but then she realized that prowlers don't usually knock. Then again, strangers who knock don't usually try to unlock the door on their own accord either.

It was quiet for a long moment. She stood there wondering if the person who had been there had left and made a movement to relock the original lock. As she did, the second lock clicked open and the door cracked open.

She yelped as she took several steps back and tripped on the stairway that had been behind her. She felt herself fall into a sitting position on the stairs grabbed her wand with two hands and pointed it at the door. She was second away from yelling a stunning spell the intruder said, "Hello?" and edged his way inside. He jumped back when he noticed Victoire pointing her wand directly at him.

"What are you doing?"

She lowered her wand at the familiar sounding voice. It took her almost an entire ten seconds to realize that the stranger she had nearly hexed was Ted Lupin.

"What are you doing!?" she asked. "You just came barging in and what was I supposed to think? I thought you were a prowler or something."

"Do prowlers knock now?" he asked as he walked towards her. "Why are you on the stairs?"

"I fell," she said grumpily as he reached down to help her up. She grabbed his hand and let him pull her up before she started rubbing her backside.

"Right," he said with a nod. "Well, hi by the way. Good to see you."

Victoire stopped rubbing her backside and looked at him. She suddenly laughed as she realized how stupid this all looked.

"Hi Ted." She smiled. "I'd give you a hug, but..." She gestured to her stained clothes.

"What the hell happened to you?" he asked as he began to inspect her.

"Pasta fight."

"It looks like a pasta war."

"Casualties on both sides," she joked as he pulled his wand out.

"Here, hold still," he said as he pointed it at her and muttered, "Tergeo." Seconds later, the stain was lifted and she stood there in a clean pair clothes.

She let out a relieved sigh. "Thank you. I've been sitting in marinara sauce for hours now."

"I do what I can," he said as he took a few steps into the house and looked around. "So what happened exactly?"

"James and Albus ganged up on Lily and started teasing her," she said as she watched him. "Lily got mad and threw her dinner. They threw theirs back and I managed to get caught in the crossfire."

He laughed. "Lily's a spitfire. I've told the both of them they'd better watch out for her once she's got a wand in her hand." He grinned. "You're sitting for Harry and Ginny then, I take it?"

"They're at a Ministry banquet."

"And the kids?"

"Upstairs," she said nodding up towards the second story.

"In bed?" he said in a surprised tone. "You got them all in bed before-" He checked his watch. "Ten-thirty?"

She nodded.

"Wow," he said. "That is quite the feat."

"Is it supposed to be hard?" she asked with a smug smile. He grinned and Victoire couldn't help but observe the obvious change in his appearance. In the months it had been since they had last seen each other, his long shaggy hair was gone. Instead, he was now sporting neatly kept, short brown hair. It was the first time in a long time that Victoire could remember seeing his eyes without his hair falling in front of them.

"What?" he asked in a self conscious way as he noticed her staring at him.

"Your hair," she said. "It's just been awhile since I've seen it that short."

"Oh," he said as he ran his hand over his head. "Yeah, it's easier for work what with all the potions and explosions I deal with. The longer hair just caught on fire easier." He made a face. "I learned that the hard way."

She laughed. "And the brown?"

"The brown?" he asked as he tried to figure out what she meant. "Oh you mean the color?"

She nodded.

"My boss is weird. He yells at me if I do anything with it and says it's distracting." He walked further into the living room. "I've just gotten used to keeping it like this when I'm working and since I just got off of work..." He trailed off and Victoire watched as his hair suddenly turned blue and back to brown again. "So yeah."

"It's not a bad look. It makes you look older and more sophisticated you could say."

"Does it?"

She grinned and leaned against the doorframe. "So what are you doing here breaking into the house at this hour?"

"I wasn't..." he began as he caught her playful expression and lowered his defensives. "My key jammed."

"Excuses, excuses, Lupin."

"I just got back into town last night," he said. "I wasn't around for Christmas and Harry had asked me to stop by when I got home."

"At ten o'clock at night?"

"It's a pretty common actually," he said. "With the hours I've been working lately, it's about the only time I do get a chance to swing by."

"How's work going?" she asked she took several steps into the living room and sat down on the sofa.

"Good," he said as he watched her, "busy, but good. I just got back from Russia yesterday."

"What were you doing in Russia?" she asked. She knew Ted was busy, but she had never expected him to be traveling around the world.

"Meeting with one of the leading experts on dragon pox. It's all part of this presentation I have to give on Sunday at the hospital, which if I really got into it I'd bore you to tears. So I won't. But I've been working on it for the last few months with some other researchers and some prominent healers who figure that we could be heading towards a revolutionary new vaccine that could eliminate the harsher stages of dragon pox."

"Wow..." she said with an impressed smile. "Look at you, Ted."

"It's sort of exciting. Most people think it's rather dull."

"I think it's great," she said as she shared in his enthusiasm. "I suppose it would have to have been pretty great to keep you locked away for the last few months with no word."

He made a face. "Yeah, I'm sorry I haven't written or anything. It really has just been crazy." He sat on the sofa opposite of her. "But how's school going? How'd you do on your O.W.L.s?"

"All ten," she smiled, "including five O's"

"Damn, that's impressive. So what are you taking this year?"

"Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Ancient Runes," she said in one quick breath.

He let out a low whistle. "Keeping busy."

"It's what I do." She laughed. "But I've managed so far."

"And how are those stupid slags?" He deliberately coughed. "I mean delightful young ladies you call your friends?"

She sighed. "I don't know or care. I'm trying to distance myself from them to be honest."

"Really?"

She nodded. "I'm just tired of it all."

"I've been telling you that for years."

"Would you like a prize?" she asked as thoughts of Ted's lectures about her friends over the years suddenly rung in her memory.

"Yes, actually," he joked. "Honestly though, good for you. You're much better than those girls."

She smiled because she knew he meant that. Granted, he'd been saying it for years, but given her recent opinions of them it was always nice to hear someone agree with her. "I've started hanging out with some new people. One girl in particular is really great."

"Who is it?"

"Jane Whitters. She in my year in Gryffindor."

"Sounds familiar," he said as propped his feet up on the coffee table.

"She was in Gobstones Club for a while," she said as she watched his face.

"Oh yeah..." he said as if remembering her. "She was a nice girl. Really quiet."

"She's really sweet. We were actually talking about you just earlier today for some reason. She told me she remembers you from back in the day." She laughed. "Oh and you'll appreciate this. She also said she thought you were cute."

"That's because I am," he joked.

"And obviously so modest," she said. "I almost wanted her to go and get her head checked after I heard that."

"Oh gee, thanks, Vic."

"I suppose someone has to find you attractive," she teased.

"You're going to give me a complex."

"Oh as if you actually believe me," she said as she shook her head. "Plus, you've always got Celia to stroke your ego for you. You don't need me doing it."

"Yeah, about that..." he said as he began to rub the back of his neck absently. Victoire watched him as he gave her a very particular look, as if he expected her to know the next words out of his mouth. She shook her head; confused.

"No idea, huh?" he asked as he watched her. "Not even a guess?"

"What are you on about?" she asked.

"Celia and I split up."

Victoire's jaw dropped for a few seconds, but quickly turned it into a smile that she couldn't control on her face.

"I knew you'd be upset." He smirked.

She tried to wipe the smile off her face, but couldn't seem to do it. This meant no more having to deal with Celia's dirty looks or attempts to keep her and Ted from being friends. No more having to worry whether or not Celia was trying to make her look bad. No more Celia! She was seconds away from doing a little dance around the living room when a sudden concern crossed her mind.

"Wait, tell me you chucked her and it wasn't the other way around?"

"It was sort of mutual," he said. "But I'm the one who suggested it, if that's what you meant-"

"Ted!" she said as she jumped up. "It's about time!"

"So does this mean you're happy?" he joked.

"Of course I am!" she said still smiling. "I wish I could offer you some sort of condolences, but I'm really not sorry."

He rolled his eyes but kept smiling. He seemed more amused by her behavior rather than anything else. "Tell me how you really feel?"

She stopped and stared at him. "Am I being a brat? This isn't still a fresh wound or anything, is it?"

"It happened months ago. I don't think about it much."

"Really?"

"The relationship was dead in the water for the last few months," he said. "It got to the point where work demanded more of my time and I barely had any time for her. We were fighting all the time and it just wasn't working anymore."

She nodded.

"I don't know," he continued. "We ended it on decent terms. I mean, we don't talk, but that's not to say we wouldn't."

"Here's hoping you don't," she said as she sat back down on the couch.

He sighed. "At least I can always count on you to be honest."

"That's my job!" she said happily. "Oh this is a really good thing, Teddy."

"I'm glad you think so," he said as he leaned back onto the sofa and started staring absently up at the ceiling. "I've wondered a few times if I did the right thing."

"You did the right thing," she encouraged. "There's bound to be plenty of girls out there that will have you."

"Well, when you put it that way..."

"I didn't mean it like that," she said shaking her head. "I mean that you can really explore your options now and find all sorts of girls. You're not just limited to the girls at school."

"At the rate I'm going, unless she's in a lab or a hospital, it's going to be hard getting out there to find..." He trailed off and switched his train of thought abruptly. "Actually, I did meet this really pretty girl in Russia. That dragon pox guy that I was telling you about, she was his assistant. She was blonde with a really sweet face." He paused. "Great legs, but she didn't speak a word of English. That would have made things a little difficult."

"Perhaps we should try a little closer to home," she said with a smile.

He grinned. "I'm so busy with work that it's not really a huge priority. I do miss the-" He smiled and stared up ceiling once more. "Nevermind."

"Sex?"

"We're not talking about this," he said looking at her in a way that Louis had a tendency to do when she would ask him about girls or his personal life.

"You've still got hang ups talking about your sex life with me?" she asked.

"You mean lack there of," he corrected. "And you know I feel weird talking about that with you. We just don't talk about it."

"No," she said. "It's not that we never talked about it. It's that we never really talked about Celia. See the difference?"

"This is not an invitation for you to start telling me about all the sex you've been having," he said as he made a face and laughed.

It was Victoire's turn to look put off by his comment. "Well, there's nothing to worry about there." She scoffed. "And wait, you don't really think I go sleeping around-?"

Ted shrugged his shoulders. He had a smirk playing at the corner of his lips as if he was amused about something.

"Honestly?" she asked as her face grew more serious.

The smirk started to disappear as he realized how serious Victoire was all of the sudden. "I was kidding. Of course I don't think that."

"You mean that?" she asked, her voice full of concern.

He stared at her. "Yes. I know you're not like that. I was just trying to get a rise out of you, Vic."

She turned away. "I'm just...I didn't know if perhaps you'd heard something at school last year since people like to start-" She hesitated. "Colleen started a rumor like that about me last year after Tom Haines and I spent a lot of time studying for O.W.L.s together. Apparently she was a bit jealous, but he and I honestly did nothing but study-"

"I never heard a rumor like that about you," Ted interrupted. "And if I had, I would have never believed it. I would have also thrown all of my reservations about hitting a girl out the window and smacked Colleen Lynch upside the head." He rolled his eyes. "I don't think she's really a girl anyway. More like a destroyer of people's souls. So I may not have had to compromise my integrity."

She forced a smile. She couldn't help that the matter was still sensitive for her after all of the damage control she had done last year. It had been a job in itself to keep the whole school from hearing a rumor she considered to be reputation damaging.

"And is she really one to talk?" he asked sitting up straight. "I mean she's shagged half the castle last time I checked."

"I'm not going to stoop to her level," Victoire said as she started chewing on her thumb nail.

"It's why you're a better person."

She smiled at him again; thankful that she had him back in her corner. It was comments like that that made her wish Ted was around more often.

"People like Colleen are the reason the expression, 'If you want a whore, go with Gryffindor' exist," he said as he shook his head.

Victoire looked slightly affronted. "Hey now..."

"I didn't make it up!" He laughed

"Well, I suppose that's better than 'If you want a D.U.F.F go with Hufflepuff," she said as she threw Ted a smug look.

"What's a D.U.F.F again?"

"Designated ugly, fat friend."

"Clever," he said dryly.

"I didn't make it up." She smiled.

"You just need to suck up dealing with those girls for the rest of this year," he continued. "Then they'll be gone."

"I know," she said. "But there's still a lot of school and a lot of dealing with Colleen left in the year." It was in that instant that Stuart Reynolds popped in her head and the inevitable struggle between her and Colleen that she knew to be ahead of her poked at her thoughts.

"It goes by faster than you think."

"Somehow I don't think that's the case for me," she said as she made a face and thought about the rumors that were bound to surface about her this go around once Colleen got wind of her trying to go after Stuart.

"Well, come the new year," Ted continued. "I'll actually have free time again. So you can always write me if you need someone to bitch about them to."

"Will I actually get a response this time, then?" She thought about the two unanswered letters that she had written to him over the last few months.

"It's a good possibility," he joked. "I swear after Sunday my life goes somewhat back to normal again. I can go out more, I can sleep more than five hours a day, I can eat normally again..."

"Sunday," she asked as her face fell. "You can't come over on Saturday then?"

"What's happening on Saturday?"

"My birthday."

"Shit, your birthday," he said as the realization suddenly hit him. "That's this Saturday, isn't it?"

She nodded. "Remember, my parents are throwing me a party since it's my seventeenth? I wrote about in my last letter thinking that if I warned you with enough time you could come?"

"No, I know you did," he said as he rubbed his face. "And it's your seventeenth..."

"And your presentation is the very next day."

Ted looked at her; his face already apologizing for the words she knew were seconds away from following. "I'm sorry, I can't. I would, but I've just been working on this for months."

"I figured," she said as she forced a smile. She'd be lying to herself if she had said it didn't matter if Ted came or not. Sure, all of her other friends were going to be there and she knew she'd have fun regardless, but she so rarely got to see him these days.

"I'll make it up to you," he said. "Now that you'll be legal, we can go out to really cool places and have a good time when you're home from school."

"Since when have you been cool enough to get into really cool places?"

Ted laughed. "Maybe if I say it enough it'll come true."

"That just proves you're not cool," she said with a smile. "You know, it's probably better that you don't come. You'd probably get annoyed with Colleen and Aspeth and Penelope being there and-"

"You invited them!?" he asked. "You hate them, but you invited them?"

"I had to," she said. "I invited loads of people and if they hadn't been-" She made an angry gesture with her hands. "Let's just say things would have been a lot worse had they not been invited."

"Now I'm actually glad I can't come," he joked as he checked his watch.

"Do you have to go?" she asked as she watched him.

"I just have to get up early" he said. "I was trying to figure out how much sleep I really needed if I wanted to hang out here a little more."

"You should go then," she said checking the clock and seeing it was almost thirty. "You're at the end of this project and soon enough you'll be done with it all and you and I can hang out any old time."

He stood up. "Still, I feel bad about your birthday."

"Don't," she said as she stood as well and started walking towards the door. "I have one of those every year. You've only got so many chances to revolutionize medicine."

"You're making it sound far more worthwhile than it really is." He smiled. "I appreciate that."

"I'll see you later," she said as she reached up and wrapped both arms around him to hug him. He seemed taller than she remembered.

"Maybe we can hang out and do something fun before you head back to school," he suggested as he pulled away. "You've never even seen my new place."

"You have your own place?"

"Oh yes," he said faking pompous. "I'm very special."

"You're special all right," she joked as she watched him head out into the icy night.

"Tell Harry I stopped by," he said as he tightened his cloak.

"Good luck on your presentation," she said as she leaned against the door. "Let me know how it goes."

"Will do," he said with a quick wave, "oh and happy birthday."

"Thanks, Ted," she said with a smile as she watched him take a few steps into the night before disappearing with a pop. She shut the door behind her and made her way back towards the couch thinking about just how much Ted seemed to have grown up in the last few months.