Happy Birthday, Victoire by abok1972

On the morning of her eleventh birthday, Victoire awoke with a start.

It would come today.

It could even be on its way right at this moment.

She shivered with excitement. She had been looking forward to getting her Hogwarts letter since the moment Teddy had received his last year.

Victoire stumbled out of bed as thoughts of Teddy’s eleventh birthday last year came to her. A beautiful tawny owl had brought his letter to the window during Teddy’s party at the Burrow. The official looking seal stamped in the wax securing the envelope bore the crests of the four Hogwarts houses.

Teddy had torn his envelope open and read it aloud. His grandmother looked at him proudly and a bit wistfully, and Uncle Harry had ruffled Teddy’s hair and offered to take him to Diagon Alley to get his supplies. Victoire was happy for Teddy of course, but she remembered feeling a new emotion as well…fear. Fear that Teddy was leaving her behind.

Ever since Victoire could remember, Teddy Lupin had been a constant presence in her life. There wasn’t a holiday or family get-together where he wasn’t present. Not only that, but for several years they were the only children there when the family gathered. Throughout her childhood, Victoire had always looked forward to any family events because it meant she would have a playmate in Teddy. There were no children that lived near Shell Cottage, and any neighboring children at the Burrow had long since grown and gone. Her mother had bemoaned the fact that her daughter had no little girls to play with, but Victoire didn’t care. She and Teddy had a fantastic time together, climbing trees, swimming in the pond at the Burrow and in the sea by Shell Cottage, and of course learning to fly.

Their personalities were quite opposite, but somehow they seemed to balance each other out. Where Victoire could be reserved and prissy at times, Teddy was rambunctious and carefree. He made Victoire feel like she could be that way too. He made her laugh, changing his hair color and doing impressions of people in her family. Teddy had a quiet side too, though. Losing his parents before he even knew them had burdened him in a way that few people besides she and Uncle Harry knew. Victoire was the only one who knew that he always slept with their picture under his pillow at night because it made him feel closer to them somehow. In short, they were best friends, as close as two children could be.

*

When Teddy had left last September, Victoire had never felt more alone.

“I’ll write you every week, Victoire. Christmas will be here before you know it!” Teddy said excitedly as he boarded the train. The steam had swirled around him, and Victoire could barely see him, save the bright red hair he was sporting.

“Yeah, you better!” she called back to him, pasting a fake grin on her face while her stomach clenched.

She watched him disappear inside the Hogwarts Express. She wanted to burst into tears right then, but she needed to keep control in front of Uncle Harry, Aunt Ginny, and Andromeda. After all, they were nice enough to let Victoire tag along to see Teddy off. She felt her aunt’s hand on her shoulder.

“It’ll go by fast. You’ll see. And next year, you get to go too.” Aunt Ginny gave Victoire's shoulder a sympathetic squeeze.

Normally, Victoire would have only nodded in acknowledgement, but she knew Aunt Ginny had been in her position when Uncle Ron left her all alone to go to Hogwarts his first year. It seemed to her that Aunt Ginny might know exactly how she felt.

“Really?” Victoire looked at her aunt with a watery smile.

“Yes, really,” said Aunt Ginny, patting her shoulder. “You’ll be getting your letter in no time.”

Victoire nodded and sighed to herself. It was going to be a long year without her best friend.

*

After dressing hastily and running a comb through her blonde hair, Victoire raced downstairs to see her parents and grandparents sitting at the table, along with a pile of gifts.

“There’s our girl!” cried Dad, standing up to give her a brief hug.

“Eleven years old! I can’t believe it,” said Gran, mopping her eyes as a few tears escaped.

Victoire gave her a small smile. She knew that she had been an important part of the healing process for her family after the war. Her birth had been a reminder that life goes on, even after tragedy, and good times were still to be had. It was one of the things she and Teddy had shared as they grew up. They knew that they had given others around them hope for a brighter future, just in their innocence as young children.

“There, there, Molly,” soothed Grandad, coming up behind her. “It’s not as if she’s coming of age this year. She’s still our little girl, right?” He chuckled lightly and turned to Victoire. “So, how about some breakfast for the birthday girl?”

Victoire grinned and said, “Pancakes, please, with lots of peanut butter and maple syrup.”

*

After the dishes were cleared, Victoire sat down with her pile of presents. She had received some lovely things, including a new ink and quill set from her grandparents, and some small hair combs with sterling silver butterflies on them from her Aunt Gabrielle. Victoire was grateful, for everything, but she couldn’t help feeling disappointed. Teddy had never missed one of her birthdays. She knew that once school was out, they would have a large celebration and her whole family plus Teddy and Andromeda would be there.

But today was her actual birthday. The day she was born. Teddy had been there, then, too. Only a baby himself, with his turquoise hair changing to sandy brown and then back again, he had waited with his godfather, Uncle Harry, at St. Mungo’s. She had seen the pictures of a just over one year old Teddy gazing at her newborn self with a grin on his face. The thought made her smile, then frown as she thought of their current situation. He won't be here today. Victoire knew Teddy couldn’t help being away at Hogwarts, and he had kept his promise and written her weekly, so it wasn’t like she hadn’t heard from him. She sighed.

She thought of him there, learning potions and spells, roaming the castle, … and making new friends. He had been so excited when he saw her at Christmas, telling her of all the things he had learned and some of the mischief he had gotten into with his new Gryffindor dorm mates, especially some boy named Danny Donnelly. It wasn’t as if she didn’t want him to have friends, but she felt a little insecure as he told her of his new friendships. What if Teddy didn’t need her anymore? He hadn’t mentioned her birthday in his last letter, and there was nothing from him today, not even a card.

A light tapping at the sitting room window called Victoire’s attention away from her thoughts. It was a beautiful tawny owl holding a large envelope. She raced to the window, her excitement building as she noticed the Hogwarts crest on the seal.

“Maman! Dad! It’s here! “ She flung the window open as the owl dropped the letter and a small parcel on the floor next to her.

“Calm down, darling,” laughed Maman, as she gave the owl a treat and sent him along his way.

“Let’s see it, shall we?” said Dad, as her grandparents joined them in the sitting room.

Victoire grinned as she tore open her letter and read her welcome from Headmistress McGonagall and the list of supplies she would need as a first year. She was passing her letter over to her father when the parcel that the owl had brought caught her eye.

“What’s this?” she asked, looking back and forth between her parents and grandparents. “I don’t remember Teddy receiving a package with his letter last year.” She unwrapped it, and a small scrap of parchment floated to the ground as the paper came off the package. Victoire picked it up and read it silently.

Dear Victoire,

Happy Birthday! I hope you enjoyed your peanut butter pancakes this morning. I know you too well. Ha Ha. I wish I could be there too, I mean, nobody makes peanut butter pancakes like your Gran! But, of course, that’s not the only reason. I’m sorry I can’t be there in person, but know that I’m thinking of you today. Hogwarts will even be better next year when you are here with me and you can meet all of my friends. It’s going to be great fun, I promise! I’ll see you in a few weeks when I get home and we’ll go for a fly. I’m going to stay with Harry and Ginny during July so I can help out with James and Al when Ginny has her baby. Plan on coming over a lot because those two are a mess and I need all the help I can get.

Your friend,

Teddy

P.S. I hope you like your present.

Victoire looked at her parents and grandparents. “It’s from Teddy!” She shook her head in disbelief. “I thought he must have forgotten!”

The adults exchanged knowing glances.

Gran smiled. “Of course Teddy wouldn’t forget your birthday, dear! You two have been best friends since you learned to sit up. It’s only been this last year that you’ve gone more than a few days without seeing each other."

“And,” Dad said with a smile, “he owled us a few weeks ago to help him with his gift.”

“Really?” Victoire looked at the adults in wonder. "He didn't tell me that in any of his letters."

“He wanted to surprise you, darling,” laughed Maman, tucking a strand of hair behind Victoire's ear.

Victoire felt like a huge burden had been lifted. Teddy hadn’t forgotten her. He wanted to see her at Uncle Harry’s and Aunt Ginny’s this summer. And best of all, he had remembered her birthday.

Victoire opened the box and pulled out a package of chocolate frogs. No surprise there. Underneath the candy, though, was a small framed photograph of her and Teddy up in a tree at the Burrow. It was taken by her dad last summer before Teddy left for Hogwarts. In the picture, Teddy had a frog in his hand and was putting it right under Victoire’s nose as she shrieked. She remembered fondly that right after he did that, the frog had peed all over Teddy’s shirt. She laughed at the picture and the memory. There was another note taped to the back of the framed photo.

Know how you feel about real frogs, so I got you some chocolate ones instead.

–Teddy

Victoire's heart soared.

*

As Victoire climbed into bed that night, she thought of Teddy’s words, “Hogwarts will be even better next year when you are here with me.”

She finally felt reassured that Teddy was looking forward to her being at Hogwarts too. She couldn't wait.

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A/N: Thanks to Matilda for her beta on this. I've also been told that they don't have pancakes in Britain. Does that make this story AU? :)