A/N: I'm sorry that this chapter is rather short, but its basically just finishing up the last chapter. Regarding the conversation between Teddy and Victoire (the first one) I think this is something Teddy would be really insecure about. I've always pictured Teddy as quite confident, but even confident people have concerns. Please review and tell me what you think! :D

I spent the next day avoiding Teddy. I couldn't stand to look at his angry expression, even though I didn't regret my actions. I didn't linger in the common room, instead rushing to breakfast in the morning and hurrying to my dormitory whenever I needed to get my books or something. During breaks, I hid out in a secluded section of the library.

I had never been in that particular section before, which was a shame, because it turned out to be quite interesting. It was full of Muggle books. There were non-fiction books, which explained things like how motors work and how to cure different diseases without magic. There were also Muggle fiction books, some of which were just rather ridiculous. It was crazy how little Muggles understood what they were writing about, yet tried to insist it was true.

After half an hour going through the shelves, I found a book of fairytales. Some of them I recognized as stories Aunt Hermione and sometimes Uncle Harry had told me when I was younger. I became so engrossed in the tales the book held, I didn't even notice the time until seven minutes before Charms. I bolted up from the floor (I was sitting in the corner by the window, and the chair hadn't fit) and shoved the book into my schoolbag while racing out of the library. I was two floors and three corridors away from the Charms classroom, so I had to run if I wanted to get there on time.

Though I did in fact run all the way to the classroom, I was still a few minutes late, and arrived red-faced and panting just as Professor Maldrey was explaining the answers to the homework from last night. He gave me a disapproving look, but didn't say anything as I made my way over to Ian and Meghan, who had saved me a seat. Some other people glared at me, but probably more because Maldrey hadn't punished me than because I was late. Charms was my best subject, and I think I was one of Maldrey's favorite students.

I settled into my seat, pulling out my wand and the homework. We were reviewing for the exams, even though they were a couple months away. Today's lesson was Wingardium Leviosa. I didn't have much trouble with it, so I helped Ian, who was much better at Potions than Charms.

"Where've you been all day?" questioned Meghan, carefully going through the wand movements. "You just disappeared after breakfast, and you're gone after every class."

"No – not like that," I instructed Ian, who was doing the swish and flick backwards. "Oh, I was in the library."

"A likely story." Meghan said, shaking her head.

"It's true!" I insisted. "I even have a book to prove it." I pulled out the book defiantly, placing it on the table.

Ian finally got the spell he was practicing to work, and the book floated high above our heads. "Hey! Give it back!" I pouted, while the other two just laughed.

0...V...0

When I got back to the common room after dinner, I literally ran into Teddy, who was leaning by the portrait hole. I tried to turn around and leave, but he stopped me. "Vicki!" he cried. "I've been looking for you everywhere!"

My head snapped up to look at him. "What? I thought you were mad at me!"

Teddy shook his head sadly. "No. I tried to be, but I'm more mad at myself. I'm really sorry I yelled at you. Forgive me?"

He smiled sheepishly at me and held out his arms. I nodded and gave him a hug. "You don't have to be mad at yourself. I mean, cursing that Slytherin wasn't the best thing to do, but you've been punished enough. And Uncle Harry will calm down and forgive you soon, if he hasn't already. He always does."

By this time we had made our way over to sit on a couch. Teddy looked at me with a miserable expression on his face, his hair its natural sandy brown. "But what if he doesn't?" he whispered, looking terribly vulnerable. "What if this time, he decides he can't possibly forgive me, and that he should focus entirely on his own children and just forget about me?"

This wasn't the first time I'd noticed Teddy's insecurities, but it was the first time he'd acknowledged them out loud. The look on his face was heartbreaking, and I wanted nothing more than to make it go away. I grabbed Teddy's hand and he glanced at me. "You are one of his children."

Teddy shook his head. "No, I'm not."

"Not by blood, but that's not what really matters." Teddy glanced away, still shaking his head. I reached out and forced him to look at me. "He's pretty much raised you. You're as much his son as James or Albus."

He sighed and leaned back into the couch. He squeezed my hand and said, with the utmost sincerity, "Thank you."

"It's true, you know," I said, giving him a small smile. He hesitantly returned it.

0...T...0

"Vicki!" I looked up to see Teddy running toward me. I smiled, seeing the huge grin on his face. His hair was pink today, and I was reminded of pictures I'd seen of his mother.

"What is it?" I asked, before noticing the letter in his hand.

"I got a letter from Harry. You were right – he's not mad anymore. Oh, and he sent a photo of Lily on her birthday. Here." He handed me a small picture and my smile grew. Lily was almost a perfect miniature of her mother, even at three years old. She was waving up at the camera, her bright red hair in adorably lop-sided pigtails.

"That's adorable!" I squealed, handing the picture back to Teddy. "And I'm glad Uncle Harry's not mad at you."

"Well," he said, pulling out an envelope from his pocket. "I'm going to go up to the owlery and send my reply."

"Oh, tell them I say 'Hi' and that the picture of Lily is really cute."

Teddy shook his head. "I will not write the word 'cute'."

"Oh come on, how much more immature can you get?" Teddy just stood there shaking his head at me. "Fine then." I snatched the letter out of his hand and grabbed a quill from the table I was sitting in front of.

"Hey!" he protested, trying to get it back. I pushed him away with one hand while hurriedly scrawling:

Hi Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny (and James, Albus, and Lily)! This is Victoire. I just wanted to say hi and that the picture of Lily is really cute. Tell her happy birthday from me! (Teddy refused to write the word cute, so I stole his letter to make sure you got the message.) Love, Victoire.

"There," I said, handing the letter back to Teddy. He pretended to glare at me.

"That was very rude. The letter could have been private!"

I rolled my eyes at him. "Yeah right. You steal my letters all the time. And besides, I didn't even read it!"

"On a related note, I do believe it's my turn to receive candy next; maybe I won't give you any." Our family sent candy and treats to Teddy and I in turn, knowing we'd share them. As I had received a package the day before, Teddy would be the next to get the candy.

"Well, if it's Red Vines from Uncle Ron again, you can keep it." We both laughed.