shooting for the stars

“Yes, I am,” Victoire assured with a nod to emphasise this. Did her joints and muscles start to ache quicker than they used to? Yes. But she had been given the all clear and didn’t need any prescribed medications or potions anymore. She smiled, trying not to let it get too wide in her happiness and relief, “Let’s go to the Three Broomsticks. No point in going too far out of our way when there’s a perfectly good bar close by, right?”

Teddy nodded, although he still made a mental note to keep an eye on the blonde in case she was only saying that to not worry him further. “Sure, let’s go,” he agreed. “Have you been up to anything interesting lately?” Teddy asked, wanting to keep the conversation going. 

“I already told you that it was. I don’t see why that’s so hard for your brain to understand,” Lizzie replied.

"I preferred to double-check since you weren’t very clear. There’s no need to be so hostile,” Teddy huffed in response. At that point he was already tired of all that back and forth. 

“You don’t have to do that, Teddy,” James replied, “A lack of sleep is something I would not wish on anyone,” he added, laughing, “I appreciate it though.”

"I don’t have a lot to do these days so I’m quite flexible. Besides, I told you repeatedly you can contact me if you ever need help. Uncle Teddy can take care of the kiddos for a day or two,” he said with a smile.

“Sorry,” James’ brow furrowed and he shook his head, “Alex has entered the terrible twos a little earlier than two, lack of sleep is making my memory fuzzy. When is this meant to happen?”

"Don’t apologise Jamie,” he said with a smile and patted the other’s shoulder. “Let me know if I can help, you should have a break sooner rather than later. And I can move things around if next weekend is not going to work out for you.”

“I don’t know,” Lizzie said, “I don’t own your brain.” She let out a small scoff. “It was mostly meant as a joke, unless you’re like a masochist or something.”

"Sooo... Just to make this clear as I am still unsure what your response is, is this chair free?” Teddy asked once more. He couldn’t quite understand how something so simple as obtaining an answer was taking forever.

Victoire saw him make a step and started to make one of her own but then he stopped and she just stood there awkwardly. It hurt her heart to be like this with him, “Yes, I can. I uh… took some time off for the bruises to heal but I’ve been back into it for a few weeks now,” she explained, “Do you… want to get a drink?” she asked, hesitant to ask but hoping he’d say yes.

"Are you fully healed now?” Teddy asked, looking her up and down. She did look fine but he knew perfectly well how easy was to hide an injury. “A drink?” He repeated. He wasn’t sure why would she want to have one with him, but there wasn’t any harm in doing so. “Yeah, I could go. Do you want to go somewhere nearby or is there any other place you’d rather go to?”

“Hey,” Victoire smiled to see Teddy walking up to the bar in The Three Broomsticks, “It’s good to see you, Teddy. How are you?” she asked, hoping for a regular, non-trauma themed conversation for once. Not that that was anyone’s fault but most of their recent interactions were post-attack.

@edwardtlupin​

"Vic,” Teddy greeted the blonde with a nod. He briefly thought about giving her a hug but he stopped himself after making the first step. Things weren’t as awkward between them, but it still seemed as if they had a long way to go. “It’s been alright I suppose, lots of work, not enough time for other things. But I’m sure you can relate,” he offered her a smile.

“Oh uh, yeah,” Lizzie replied with a nod. “Unless you’d rather it be a no, then no you can’t have the chair.”

Teddy raised an eyebrow, feeling slightly confused by the other’s answer to his simple question. “Why would I want it to be a no? Would I be asking in the first place if that was what I wanted to hear?” He asked.

When she had time to process what she was doing, Victoire pulled away, smiling apologetically and awkwardly, “Sorry,” she said quickly. She knew they were in a better place but she would never want to put him in a situation where he was uncomfortable and she would only blame herself for that. Still, she held onto his arm for a moment longer, wanting to make sure he was real, “Yeah. Just some bruises mostly. Shelves falling on you is not as fun as it sounds,” she tried to joke. She was actually in a lot of pain but she was trying not to let it show because it was just aches from the bruises. She noticed his hair, “That’s not your blood, is it?”

Teddy tensed when the blonde pulled back. On one hand he wanted her to come back to his arms for a bit longer, but on the other he knew how awkward everything was still between the two of them. He nodded briefly, deciding not to comment on it. Teddy brow furred when he heard what happened to Victoire and while it wasn’t as life threatening as what happened to many others, he still felt uncomfortable. “Has someone had a look at you? Better to make sure it’s all good before you start running around,” he muttered. He still worried about her, even though he n longer had the right to do that. “No, no, I’m in one piece, I promise,” he assured.

Lizzie was sitting at one of the tables at the café, writing. She was stressed out about with everything going on, feeling trapped like she often felt after all this stuff. She heard someone approached and shortly there was a shadow casting over her. Lizzie looked up. “Can I help you?”

Teddy sighed loudly when he noticed that the chair he wanted to sit on was sticky with some unidentified substance. Usually he would just vanish it with a flick of his wand but there were too many muggles around and he didn’t want to risk it. He looked around and when he finally noticed an empty chair, he approached the person sitting by the nearby table. “Is this chair free?” He asked, motioning at the one on his left. 

William: I retract my previous text then, you're clearly fine since your sense of humour is as awful as always

Teddy: That's so mean, no backsies

When Victoire had finally gotten out from underneath the shelves, she and Fred were taken out of St Mungo’s. She was now getting checked out by some of her colleagues but she was trying to wave off the fuss, “Honestly, I’m fine. I’m a little sore but I can’t feel any serious damage. I-” she stopped in her small rant when she saw a familiar face. Teddy had been on her mind. He was an auror and she knew he would have been out doing his job just as she had been but whenever something like this happened, one of them always got hurt. For a minute, she didn’t care about where they stood with each other or how he felt about her. She stood and ran to him, powering through any aches she felt and throwing her arms around him, “Thank Merlin, you’re okay.”

@edwardtlupin​

Teddy had no idea how he had managed to walk out it this with only a couple of scratches and an aching hip. It was truly nothing and he was going to let it heal on its own, not wanting to bother the healers. His hair might’ve been bloody too, but at least it wasn’t his blood. All he truly wanted was a shower but it all needed to wait until he made sure everything was taken care of. And that included checking if his family was well. Putting his arms around Victoire and hugging her tightly was an instinct that he wasn’t able to stop. He was glad she was more or less in one piece, at least that was one less person to worry about. “I’m all good, I promise. I heard you faced some issues... But you’re fine, right?”

William: Saw you running around with a bloody head, you better have that treated before you injure yourself further, Lupin