Mama Said (After the Flaw: Oligarchy, Chapter 29)
Title: Mama Said (After the Flaw: Oligarchy, Chapter 29)
Author: kanedax
Spoilers: Previous Chapters
Rating: R for language
Summary: Mama, she has taught me well...
Notes: I own these characters. The others belong to JK Rowling.
Today's Headlines / Previous Chapters / Muggle Issues
"There he is."
Teddy Lupin stepped apprehensively into the room. It was mostly empty, with three of the six beds that Teddy could see occupied. In one, a man with a bandaged head was sitting up reading a book. Another bed had a woman whose head was also thickly wound with gauze, and whose leg was elevated by a sling.
And in the third...
"Come here," said Ginny Potter with a smile, her arms open wide. Teddy leaned over the bed, letting her hug him as best she could from her sitting position.
"We were worried about you," she said, squeezing him tight before letting him sit down on the chair beside her bed. There, Teddy got his first good look at his godmother: dressed in a baby blue hospital gown (Ginny Potter would never go for pink), her arms were covered in bright white patches of gauze, as were her fingers. Teddy's stomach flipped when he saw that the ring finger of Ginny's right hand was now shorter than her pinkie. Her face was peppered with tiny butterfly bandages, with a large piece of gauze taped to her forehead. Teddy wondered how many of those wounds would heal clean and how many were magical. Thankfully, she looked like she'd get off easier than her brother Bill in the face department. Even with the various cuts and scratches, she still looked like the same Ginny that he had known his entire life.
"Yeah, I know," said Teddy. "Things have been weird the last few days."
"They have," said Ginny, still smiling as she took Teddy hand with her full one. "I'm so glad you're safe. Harry said that you disappeared after the typhon attack."
Teddy hadn't yet told anyone what had happened between him and Hermione Caroline two days ago. Hadn't spoken to anyone, actually, beyond the one message he sent to Harry via their magic coin. After the typhon attack, he returned to their house in Clapham briefly, now swarming with military personnel. Using a Disillusionment Charm, he was able to slip past them, only to discover that Dean's protective charms were still blaring at full power around their home. It wasn't allowing anyone in, Teddy included.
Thankfully, Teddy overheard a few conversations that mentioned a woman flying from the house on a broomstick. Which meant that Caroline wasn't there. Which meant that she was safe, barring any confrontations between here and wherever she had flown to. Teddy guessed that she had either flown to Oxford or to Danielle's flat.
In either case, he still hadn't built up the courage to go after her, and he hated himself for it.
"Where is he?" asked Teddy, desperate to change the line of conversation. "Harry, I mean."
"At the Ministry, I expect," she said, glancing at the clock hanging on the wall across from them. "James, Al, and Lily came back from Hogwarts to check in on me, but once they knew I was going to pull through, Harry brought them back to school. They left this morning, so he's probably back to work by now."
"Yeah, I suppose the Muggle Liaisons have their hands full."
"Actually," said Ginny with wry amusement, "he's an Auror now."
Teddy's jaw dropped. "What? Really?"
"Mm hmm," Ginny nodded. "Ron, too."
"But I thought he said he wasn't cut out for that kind of life."
"Times change," she said with a shrug. "Situations change. His priorities have... shifted a bit."
"Because of, um," Teddy stammered, looking down at Ginny's legs, covered by her sheets, "because of what happened to you?"
"And because of Percy and Penelope," Ginny corrected, "and because of Charlie and Luna, and because of Hermione. And because of you and Caroline."
At the sound of Caroline's name, Teddy felt a deep surge of guilt. He had to close his eyes, focusing on calming down, getting his heart to stop beating so hard.
"He wants to help," Ginny continued from behind the darkness of his eyelids. "He wants to make things better again."
"Are you okay with that?" Teddy asked hesitantly. "Are the kids okay with that?"
"It's who he is," said Ginny. "It's the man I fell in love with. Yes, I'm scared for him. We all are. But it's not like it was before. They're not alone in their fight anymore. Besides, they'll still be coming home to us at night. I only wish I could be out there with them," she added, absently rubbing her leg.
"How bad is it?" he asked.
"It could be better," she said quietly, still staring at her leg, "but it could be a lot worse. My hands still work, my arms still work. That's more than they were hoping for when they first brought me in. I'll have a scar on my forehead to go with Harry's, but it's not going to be in a cool lightning shape."
"And, um," Teddy said, afraid to ask, knowing he had to, "and are you able to walk?"
Ginny shook her head slowly. "They say there are enchantments," she said, her voice thick. "Spells or enchanted items might let me walk for small amounts of time. Nothing too strenuous, though, and very limited. And they say... if I'm lucky I might be able to work with a cane, just like old Mad Eye. But the chances are..."
"I'm sorry," said Teddy hoarsely, feeling the burning of tears in the back of his throat. "I'm so sorry."
"I'm alive," said Ginny. "I'm still here for you and for my children and for Gideon and Fabian. That's more than I could have asked for."
"Gid and Fab..." Teddy groaned. "How are they?"
"Not great," Ginny said with a shake of her head. "I kicked Mum and Dad out earlier. I insisted that I wasn't getting any better or any worse, and that they needed their grandparents more than I needed my parents right now."
"This is a nightmare," Teddy said, covering his eyes with his hands.
"It really is," Ginny admitted, and Teddy could hear the tears in her own voice. "They're with the Clearwaters now. Dad brought them back from Hogwarts as soon as he could, and I don't know when they're going to go back. They might be home for the rest of the school year. I don't know..."
"When's the... the..."
"Next weekend," said Ginny. "And if these damn Healers don't let me go then I'm going to fight my way out."
"I'm so, so sorry, Ginny," said Teddy. "I should have said something sooner, about the dream, about the Oligarchy, about--"
"Don't," Ginny said firmly, grabbing his hand. "Teddy, none of this is your fault. You told us about the person in your dream, and Seamus and the Ministry did everything they could to track them down. There's nothing more that you could have done."
"But there might have been!" Teddy cried. "If I hadn't kept it hidden, then Percy and Penelope might still be alive!"
"Teddy, these are horrible, horrible people," Ginny pleaded, clasping his hands in her own. "You can't blame yourself for what they did. Even if they did find the person that you had dreamt about, it wouldn't have been enough to stop this. This isn't just one person responsible. This is global."
"I screwed up..."
"No, you didn't!" Ginny insisted. "Teddy, you're a good boy! None of us, none of us, think that you did anything wrong. We love you, and Caroline loves you, and--"
At these words, Teddy broke completely. All of the pain, all of the anguish, of not just the last few days but the last month came rushing forward in one painful surge. He leaned forward, trying to hide his tears of shame from Ginny, and failing completely.
"Teddy!" Ginny said, using her hands to maneuver herself closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Teddy, what's wrong?"
I can't do this anymore, he thought as he cried against Ginny's shoulder. I can't hide, I can't lie, I can't do any of it. This may not be your mother, but this is your Mum, damn it! She raised you like you were her own son, and this is how you repay her?
"I... I'm sorry," he sobbed. "I'm so sorry... I... I..."
"What is it?" Ginny asked.
"I didn't... I left before the typhon attack," he said between breaths. "Hermione... Hermione kicked me out, because..."
"Teddy?"
"I screwed up," he said, clutching for her. "Mum, I screwed up so bad..."
---------
The words were out. Hermione Caroline Lupin thought that telling someone would make her feel better.
It didn't. Now that they had been said aloud, now that her ears heard exactly what her brain had been rumbling for the last few days, the last few months, it just made her feel worse.
Hermione was seated on the couch in her parents' drawing room, tears rolling freely down her cheeks. The television was on, the local news running twenty-four seven since the typhon was killed right in front of her house. Hermione's knees were pulled up protectively against her breasts, tucked under one of Dan Granger's old jumpers, which she had been wearing for pajamas, not feeling the energy to change out of them even though she had woken up six hours ago. She used to sit like this a lot, right here on this couch, when she was a little girl. And, boy, did she feel like one right now. Charlotte Granger sat silently beside her, her cup of tea forgotten on the coffee table.
"So that's what happened," said Hermione, her voice still shaking. "I don't know how often it happened, or for how long, but he's been cheating on me with her."
"Honey, I... I don't know what to say," said Charlotte, pulling a hand on Hermione's knee. "You're... You're sure of this?"
"Mum, he's always been honest with me," Hermione replied, swallowing hard. "I asked him directly if they had... if they had been with each other. And he didn't say anything. Mum, you know Teddy. If nothing was going on with Vic, he would have said so. Profusely. And I would have believed him. But he didn't. Not once from the time that Dean found us and brought us home did he deny any of it!"
Yeah, the words hurt as they came out of her mouth, but they kept coming. She was helpless to stop them. They hurt, but she needed to say them. And her mother remained silent, just rubbing her leg comfortingly, coaxing the words to keep coming, and for her silence Hermione was grateful.
"I should have known something was happening," she continued to vent. "I did know that something was happening. The looks that he's been giving her since she came over during the series premiere and he smelled like her when he came back and I tried calling him from work a few times and even if he doesn't answer he ALWAYS calls me back when I leave a message and he didn't and and there was a hair that I picked off his shoulder once that I thought was mine but it was too short and too straight to be mine and he just got this look every time I said her name and I know there's so much other horrible things going on right now and I have a giant dead monster in front of my house but I can't stop worrying about this! Mum, please tell me I'm just being paranoid. Tell me I'm being stupid. Please tell me..."
"Caroline, dear," Charlotte said, "I want to. I do. I want to say something, anything, that will help you feel better. But I'll be honest, they don't cross-reference 'cheating husband' with 'giant tentacle monster attack' in the How to Be A Successful Mother handbook."
Hermione stared at her mother, struck dumb with confusion. Charlotte looked back at her youngest daughter with a hesitant smile. After a few moments, for the first time since this whole mess began days ago, Hermione started laughing. And crying. And some mixture that was both a pain and a relief.
"It's there," she said through it. "It's just... just in the later edition, between lawn care and monkey training."
"Well, I'm old," said Charlotte, pulling Hermione into a hug. "I thought I was going to be fine with my original copy."
"Shows what you know," said Hermione, wrapping her arms around her mother. "This is such a mess."
"Caroline, I know this is something that's going to be very hard to do," said Charlotte, "but the first thing you need to do is calm down. You've been through an extraordinary amount the last few days, and you've done more than I ever imagined would be asked of you. But now what you have to do is not dwell on what's out of your control, not the things that happened in the past. You can't think about what Teddy and Victoire did, or if you did or didn't know at the time."
"But it was in my control, wasn't it?" Hermione asked. "I mean, if he slept with her then it's obviously because I wasn't doing enough for him--"
"No," Charlotte said firmly. "Caroline, you mustn't say that. You love him, you did everything to show him that. And he loves you. You did plenty. It's just him, Caroline. It's him being an idiot or an immature, unappreciative git or whatever it was that he decided he was doing when he decided to cheat on you. But there was nothing wrong with you, do you hear me?"
"I don't know," Hermione Caroline sighed.
"Caroline..."
"Maybe it is something that's wrong with me," she continued, helpless to stop, "but not because of what I did. I mean, look at Victoire. Look at how much they have in common. They've known each other for almost as long as he's known me. They spent five years together in school. And they have all the spells and wands and dreams that he and I could never have."
"Caroline, no..."
"I mean, what am I, Mum? Really, what am I? I'm just a Muggle. I can't do half of the things that she can do, I can't do half of the things with Teddy that he can do with her. We can't live near his friends and family because of me. I can't even go to Harry and Ginny's without a reworked mobile phone. Why would he want to be with me if he can be with someone that can Apparate and... and do the dishes with a wave of a stick and and and I couldn't even tell him that I was okay after the attack because I left my mobile phone at home and I couldn't cast a damn spell on a damn coin!"
And she was crying again. She hated it, she was doing it so much the last few days, and here she was working herself up again.
"Why would he want to be with me, Mum? What more can I give him?"
"You're a remarkable woman, Caroline," said Charlotte. "And, despite it all, he still loves you. He has a poor way of showing it, but I don't think that he's lost all of his feelings for you. And you still do love him, I can see that."
"I do," Hermione sniffed. "But that makes it worse, you know? I mean, is love enough? Is it?"
"I don't know," Charlotte said with a shake of her head. "Your father and I... We've had our share of battles and trying times. And we thought love was enough to get through. But it was more than that, in the end, even if we didn't recognize it at the time. I don't know what it was. Patience, maybe? Fortitude? Strength? Unfortunately, and I hate to say this to you, Caroline, but Teddy's twenty-one. Patience, Fortitude, and Strength aren't exactly common qualities in a man that age. Maybe he was weak. Or not able to face the adversity that comes when you face a situation that tests your commitment."
"So, um, are you saying I should give him another chance?" Hermione asked, not really convinced. "That this was, I don't know, just a blip on the radar?"
"I don't know, dear," said Charlotte, running his hand along the back of Hermione's head soothingly. "That's something you two have to decide. You have to decide whether you think it's important. Whether you think he's ready to commit himself to you fully and forever. And whether you feel the same way about him. If you can look at him and fully trust that he is for you and you alone, and if you can fully trust in yourself that you're for him and him alone, then you decide from there. You are going to have to speak to him sooner or later, though."
"I know," said Hermione with a shaky sigh. "I'm going to have to talk to him. And to Vic. But right now I don't think I can be around them without taking a cricket bat to their head."
"Now you don't mean that," said Charlotte, even though the look in her eye said she might actually mean it.
"No, I don't," said Hermione, chuckling sadly. "Mostly."
"I have faith in you, Hermione Caroline," said Charlotte. "I know you'll think things through and make the right decision in the end."
---------
"You are leaving?"
"I am," said Victoire, adjusting the straps on Buckbeak's pannier. "There's a... a really good job opportunity in Arizona, studying desert fauna, and--"
"Victoire, you cannot!" said Fleur, walking into the stable tent. Set up in a field near Shell Cottage, the magically-enlarged structure had been housing the hippogryff since Victoire had returned from Poland that autumn. The large flaps of the tent were strapped up, the January winds blowing straight in, fluttering Fleur's hair.
"Maman, I have to," Victoire said as steadily as possible, pulling the strap so tight that Buckbeak flinched.
"Non, you do not 'ave to do anything!" Fleur cried. "What you 'ave to do is stay 'ere!"
"Why?" Victoire yelled suddenly. "Why do I have to stay? Because I'm needed? I'm useless! Because I'm wanted? Because you all love me? That's all going to disappear any day now."
"Victoire, zat is not true at all!" said her mother. "You are talking een madness!"
"Maman, she knows!" Victoire cried. "HC knows!"
"Knows what?"
"She knows that I slept with Ted!"
The silence fell over the tent like a curtain. It felt eternal in Victoire's ears as she felt her mother calculating what she had just heard, what had just been admitted by her eldest daughter. Victoire couldn't even bear to turn around and look at her. Her hands shook as she tried to loosen the strap on Buckbeak's side.
"What?" Fleur breathed.
"That's why she's not at Andromeda's with him," Victoire said, her throat suddenly thick. "That's why he's not at the Grangers with her. Even after they both almost died, they're still not together. Because of me."
"Victoire..."
"We've been seeing each other for about a month," Victoire continued, her back still to Fleur. "Maybe longer. We'd both been having the same dreams, you see. Not just the cat woman. We've been... together in our minds for a long time, even if we didn't know it. But once we did know, it just started... happening in real life."
"I do not understand," Fleur said, stepping forward carefully. "Victoire..."
"I ruin everything I touch, Maman," said Victoire. "I'm this... I'm this lightning rod. Percy and Penelope, Gid and Fab, Ginny, Charlie and Luna, and now Ted and HC. I can't stay..."
"Victoire, do not say such things," said Fleur. "You are... You are emotional right now. Of course you should not leave. For all of zese reasons, you should stay."
"Why?" Victoire spun around. "Why should I? To be one more reminder to everyone about how fucked up things are? 'Hey, they're dead, they're divorced, they're fucking brain dead but, golly gee, at least we still have Victoire, the Weasley family slut!'"
"Ma belle fille, zey would never speak like that!"
"They don't have to," said Victoire. "They'll be thinking it. God, Maman, how am I ever going to look Grandmum and Granddad in the eyes again? They love Teddy and HC, this is going to kill them. And will I even be able to be in the same room as Aunt Jean and Uncle Ron after this? It's better that I leave.
"I still love him," she said, turning back to Buckbeak to adjust his harness. "I know I shouldn't, but I do. Even though we knew what we were doing was wrong, I've been happier than I have been in a long time, because I knew that he felt something for me. And the last thing I want is for him to be hurt any more. If I leave... If I leave, then I can play the villain for him. I can be the guilty one, the one who ran. He can... He can get his life back together, maybe fix things up with HC, and I can be... away..."
"You will not be away," said Fleur. "Victoire, I forbid eet!"
"I'm nineteen!" said Victoire, turning back. "I'm of age, and I can do what I want without you telling me what to--"
Fleur's hand flashed across Victoire's cheek before she even knew it was coming. As the crack of flesh on flesh echoed through the tent, Buckbeak perked up, his eyes narrowing, waiting for some sign, some mental signal from Victoire that he could strike back at this human that had dared to attack her. Victoire, for her part, was too shocked to move. She simply stared at her mother, her mouth agape, her hand touching her quickly reddening cheek.
"Do you theenk what you are doing ees noble?" Fleur yelled, tears flowing from her own eyes. "Do you theenk zat you are ze first girl who would do theengs for a man just because 'e put his bite inside you? Non. I did many things for many men before I met my Bill. Many theengs I thought were noble. But zey weren't. Zey were stupid. I was stupid. But this? This ees ze most stupid of all of zem, you running away."
"It's not stupid!" Victoire cried, ashamed that, to her own ears, she sounded like a petulant toddler.
"Eet ees!" Fleur responded, grabbing Victoire's arms. "Victoire, you say that you will 'elp ze family by leaving. Zat you 'urt zem by staying. But you will 'urt us if you leave! It will kill your father if you leave! And your sister! Victoire, I am dying already knowing zat you would rather run away from us than face your own problems!"
"I've already been gone!" Victoire pleaded. "Maman, I've been in Romania for a year! How is this any different?"
"Eet ees different because you talk as if you will never return!" Fleur said. "Eet ees different because you wish to cut yourself from us forever! Eet ees different because you can do so much good here, Victoire! Because you are my daughter, and you are so strong and you 'ave faced so much and I know zat you have 'eeden yourself away these last few months and you can do so much more than 'ide!"
"Like what?" Victoire said. "What can I do? What do I have to offer beyond poster child for how to not run a life?"
"You do not like 'ow your life 'as 'appened?" Fleur asked. "Zen change eet. Victoire, you are smart. You are so smart. You know so much about ze animals, you can 'elp ze Ministry in their work."
"How would I do that?" Victoire said. "'Hello, Aunt Jean. I know I destroyed your sister's life, but can I have a job?' Yeah, that'll go over well."
"Fine, you are afraid of ze Ministry," Fleur said. "But you can still much you can do. Charles and Luna, zey did their work without the Ministry, and look 'ow far zey come. Zey were searching for these birds zat are made of metal? Zey are controlled by these Oligarchy people, oui?"
"Oui," said Victoire quietly, suddenly thinking back. Why had she been so stupid? The Oligarchy just used a typhon to attack London. A huge typhon, yes, but a typhon nonetheless, a creature just as rare as the Stymphalians. They captured one, or bred one. They raised it. They trained it to attack. Just like the Stymphalians.
But this time they left the creature behind. Why?
Because this time they wanted it to be found. The Stymphalians weren't ready to be seen yet, but the typhon was.
What happens when they are ready?
"God, why didn't I think of it before?" Victoire breathed, leaning against Buckbeak. "Why didn't I make the bloody connection?"
Because your mind's been elsewhere.
"They're going to use the Stymphalians to attack Muggles," said Victoire to herself. "They're going to sic them on a city just like they did with the typhon. It makes sense. Use something so horrible, so... so surreal that Muggles have to believe what we can do to them. Show them the most terrifying creatures at their most... most brutal, and they'll only fear us more. They're going to keep it up until the Muggles start, I don't know, start handing over their power rather be the next target."
"Where?" Fleur asked. "Where would zey attack?"
"I don't know," said Victoire. "They could be anywhere. It's been months since they found us in Poland. Who knows where they would have gone? Or how to stop them if we do find them? Or what other creatures they have at their disposal? I mean, the only person who would even know where to begin would be Luna, and she's not cooperating."
"She might not know where they are," said a voice from the front of the tent, "but she might know where to start looking."
Victoire and Fleur turned around to see Bill Weasley standing in the doorway, his hands in his coat pockets, his gray-streaked ponytail hanging over his shoulder.
"Dad!" Victoire gasped, looking nervously at Fleur.
"I've been in touch with Neville this last month," said Bill as he entered the tent. "Seeing if anything he was getting from Luna would help with Charlie. He said that she's remembering things as recently as right before the attack. He's been focused more on her recovery than trying to get any information on the birds, though. Last-minute holiday?" he added, noticing the loaded hippogryff.
"I... I... um..."
"Our leetle Vickie ees 'aving boy problems," Fleur explained. "She wanted to get away for a few days, but I 'ave talked 'er out of it."
"For now," Victoire corrected under breath. "Maman, I can't promise--"
"I know," said Fleur, putting her hand, gently this time, on her daughter's cheek. "I know, ma fille. But for now?"
"For now," Victoire nodded. "Dad, we have to talk."
"Is it something that I'm going to like hearing?" Bill asked, his eyebrow cocked.
"Probably not."
"Are you pregnant?"
"No."
"Running a drug ring?"
"No!"
"No sex change operations planned?"
"Daddy!"
"I won't be upset," he said with a loving smile, putting his hand on her shoulder. "You can tell me anything, Vickie, you know that."
"Okay," she said, self-consciously tucking her hair behind her ear. "I still can't promise you'll like it, but, um..." she took a deep breath, forcing herself to look into her father's eyes. "Daddy, I've been sleeping with Ted Lupin."
"Oh," said Bill, clearing his throat nervously and tossing a glance at Fleur.
"Are you... Are you mad?" Victoire asked nervously.
"No!" said Bill quickly stammered. "No, I'm just... No. No, I'm not mad. Just... Well..."
"You are taking eet quite well," said Fleur. "When Papa found out I had been with a man, 'e threatened many, many 'orrible spells."
"Daddy, I'm so sorry," said Victoire quickly, stepping forward and hugging him tight. "I didn't think, and... and... and... I might have killed their marriage, and that's why I was leaving and..."
"I know," said Bill, kissing Victoire on the top of the head. "But we'll deal with it, okay? And, no, I'm not mad."
"You're not?"
"Well, I can't say that I'm not a little disappointed," said Bill. "In you and in Teddy both. But I'm not blind. I know how you feel about him, how you've felt about him for a long time. I heard you crying in your bedroom before the wedding. You just let your emotions get the better of you. We'll deal with that when we have to. But if you want anger and hate from me, Vickie, you're not going to get it. You only have my love and my support. Our love and support," he added, nodding to Fleur.
"I'm sorry," Victoire repeated into her father's chest.
"We'll talk more about it later," Bill said. "You have my support, but this still isn't something that I'm going to be able to blow off like it was nothing. But for now, Neville said that Luna has a journal, something that she's been writing in every day to keep whatever memories she has. That might be the place to start. Plus you might be able to ask her questions that Neville wouldn't know to ask. With Charlie and Luna hurt, you know more about the Stymphalians than anyone."
"Eef we find these birds, we weell find ze Oligarchy, oui?"
"Oui," said Victoire. "Or at least people involved with them."
"We will need more people than just us, if zat is true. I know you do not want to deal with 'ermione, Victoire, not yet. But perhaps Finnigan? Or Rolf Scamander?"
"Yeah," Victoire repeated, repeating her mother's words through her head. "Wait, we?"
"You do not theenk zat I would let my little girl go about zis alone, would you?"
"We find the birds, we find the Oligarchy," said Bill. "We find the Oligarchy, we find Charlie's cure. And we're not going to let you put yourself into any danger without us standing beside you. Of course we're going to help you."
Victoire felt a wave of love and appreciation sweep over her as she looked at her parents' determined faces. "Thank you," she whispered, her voice filled with emotion as she took their hands in her own. "Thank you so much."
"What else would you expect us to do?" said Bill, squeezing her hand. "But, look, about Hermione: I'm sorry, I know things are going to be hard between you two because of Caroline, but we can't keep her out of this. She's the Minister of Magic, for God's sake, and there are lives at stake. She'll want to know what we're doing, especially if we have to start crossing borders. She may not be happy with you, Victoire, but she'll want to be in the loop, especially if what we find helps them find the Oligarchy."
"Okay," Victoire said. "Okay, yeah. Yeah, that's fine."
"I will send 'er an owl," said Fleur, giving Victoire's hand its own squeeze before releasing it. "Bill, you will Floo Neville at 'ogwarts?"
"Yeah, I'll set up a meeting," said Bill. "Victoire, you have some unpacking to do, don't you?"
"I do," said Victoire with a nod and a smile, turning back to Buckbeak and beginning to untangle the harnesses that were wrapped around him. As Bill and Fleur Weasley left the tent, however, her smile slipped slightly.
"Sorry to get you all dressed up with no place to go, Beaky," she said, rubbing the hippogryff's flank. "It's only temporary, though. I'm still going to have to leave. You know that, right?"
Buckbeak squawked quietly as Victoire continued her work. She had a lot of work yet to go. And, yes, she could do good.
In the end, though, she knew that she couldn't be here. This cottage, this island, was too close to Teddy. And as long as Teddy was here, she couldn't be.
"It'll be for the best," she whispered, to herself and to her hippogryff. "No matter what happens next, it'll be for the best."
Today's Headlines / Previous Chapters / Muggle Issues
Author: kanedax
Spoilers: Previous Chapters
Rating: R for language
Summary: Mama, she has taught me well...
Notes: I own these characters. The others belong to JK Rowling.
Today's Headlines / Previous Chapters / Muggle Issues
"There he is."
Teddy Lupin stepped apprehensively into the room. It was mostly empty, with three of the six beds that Teddy could see occupied. In one, a man with a bandaged head was sitting up reading a book. Another bed had a woman whose head was also thickly wound with gauze, and whose leg was elevated by a sling.
And in the third...
"Come here," said Ginny Potter with a smile, her arms open wide. Teddy leaned over the bed, letting her hug him as best she could from her sitting position.
"We were worried about you," she said, squeezing him tight before letting him sit down on the chair beside her bed. There, Teddy got his first good look at his godmother: dressed in a baby blue hospital gown (Ginny Potter would never go for pink), her arms were covered in bright white patches of gauze, as were her fingers. Teddy's stomach flipped when he saw that the ring finger of Ginny's right hand was now shorter than her pinkie. Her face was peppered with tiny butterfly bandages, with a large piece of gauze taped to her forehead. Teddy wondered how many of those wounds would heal clean and how many were magical. Thankfully, she looked like she'd get off easier than her brother Bill in the face department. Even with the various cuts and scratches, she still looked like the same Ginny that he had known his entire life.
"Yeah, I know," said Teddy. "Things have been weird the last few days."
"They have," said Ginny, still smiling as she took Teddy hand with her full one. "I'm so glad you're safe. Harry said that you disappeared after the typhon attack."
Teddy hadn't yet told anyone what had happened between him and Hermione Caroline two days ago. Hadn't spoken to anyone, actually, beyond the one message he sent to Harry via their magic coin. After the typhon attack, he returned to their house in Clapham briefly, now swarming with military personnel. Using a Disillusionment Charm, he was able to slip past them, only to discover that Dean's protective charms were still blaring at full power around their home. It wasn't allowing anyone in, Teddy included.
Thankfully, Teddy overheard a few conversations that mentioned a woman flying from the house on a broomstick. Which meant that Caroline wasn't there. Which meant that she was safe, barring any confrontations between here and wherever she had flown to. Teddy guessed that she had either flown to Oxford or to Danielle's flat.
In either case, he still hadn't built up the courage to go after her, and he hated himself for it.
"Where is he?" asked Teddy, desperate to change the line of conversation. "Harry, I mean."
"At the Ministry, I expect," she said, glancing at the clock hanging on the wall across from them. "James, Al, and Lily came back from Hogwarts to check in on me, but once they knew I was going to pull through, Harry brought them back to school. They left this morning, so he's probably back to work by now."
"Yeah, I suppose the Muggle Liaisons have their hands full."
"Actually," said Ginny with wry amusement, "he's an Auror now."
Teddy's jaw dropped. "What? Really?"
"Mm hmm," Ginny nodded. "Ron, too."
"But I thought he said he wasn't cut out for that kind of life."
"Times change," she said with a shrug. "Situations change. His priorities have... shifted a bit."
"Because of, um," Teddy stammered, looking down at Ginny's legs, covered by her sheets, "because of what happened to you?"
"And because of Percy and Penelope," Ginny corrected, "and because of Charlie and Luna, and because of Hermione. And because of you and Caroline."
At the sound of Caroline's name, Teddy felt a deep surge of guilt. He had to close his eyes, focusing on calming down, getting his heart to stop beating so hard.
"He wants to help," Ginny continued from behind the darkness of his eyelids. "He wants to make things better again."
"Are you okay with that?" Teddy asked hesitantly. "Are the kids okay with that?"
"It's who he is," said Ginny. "It's the man I fell in love with. Yes, I'm scared for him. We all are. But it's not like it was before. They're not alone in their fight anymore. Besides, they'll still be coming home to us at night. I only wish I could be out there with them," she added, absently rubbing her leg.
"How bad is it?" he asked.
"It could be better," she said quietly, still staring at her leg, "but it could be a lot worse. My hands still work, my arms still work. That's more than they were hoping for when they first brought me in. I'll have a scar on my forehead to go with Harry's, but it's not going to be in a cool lightning shape."
"And, um," Teddy said, afraid to ask, knowing he had to, "and are you able to walk?"
Ginny shook her head slowly. "They say there are enchantments," she said, her voice thick. "Spells or enchanted items might let me walk for small amounts of time. Nothing too strenuous, though, and very limited. And they say... if I'm lucky I might be able to work with a cane, just like old Mad Eye. But the chances are..."
"I'm sorry," said Teddy hoarsely, feeling the burning of tears in the back of his throat. "I'm so sorry."
"I'm alive," said Ginny. "I'm still here for you and for my children and for Gideon and Fabian. That's more than I could have asked for."
"Gid and Fab..." Teddy groaned. "How are they?"
"Not great," Ginny said with a shake of her head. "I kicked Mum and Dad out earlier. I insisted that I wasn't getting any better or any worse, and that they needed their grandparents more than I needed my parents right now."
"This is a nightmare," Teddy said, covering his eyes with his hands.
"It really is," Ginny admitted, and Teddy could hear the tears in her own voice. "They're with the Clearwaters now. Dad brought them back from Hogwarts as soon as he could, and I don't know when they're going to go back. They might be home for the rest of the school year. I don't know..."
"When's the... the..."
"Next weekend," said Ginny. "And if these damn Healers don't let me go then I'm going to fight my way out."
"I'm so, so sorry, Ginny," said Teddy. "I should have said something sooner, about the dream, about the Oligarchy, about--"
"Don't," Ginny said firmly, grabbing his hand. "Teddy, none of this is your fault. You told us about the person in your dream, and Seamus and the Ministry did everything they could to track them down. There's nothing more that you could have done."
"But there might have been!" Teddy cried. "If I hadn't kept it hidden, then Percy and Penelope might still be alive!"
"Teddy, these are horrible, horrible people," Ginny pleaded, clasping his hands in her own. "You can't blame yourself for what they did. Even if they did find the person that you had dreamt about, it wouldn't have been enough to stop this. This isn't just one person responsible. This is global."
"I screwed up..."
"No, you didn't!" Ginny insisted. "Teddy, you're a good boy! None of us, none of us, think that you did anything wrong. We love you, and Caroline loves you, and--"
At these words, Teddy broke completely. All of the pain, all of the anguish, of not just the last few days but the last month came rushing forward in one painful surge. He leaned forward, trying to hide his tears of shame from Ginny, and failing completely.
"Teddy!" Ginny said, using her hands to maneuver herself closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Teddy, what's wrong?"
I can't do this anymore, he thought as he cried against Ginny's shoulder. I can't hide, I can't lie, I can't do any of it. This may not be your mother, but this is your Mum, damn it! She raised you like you were her own son, and this is how you repay her?
"I... I'm sorry," he sobbed. "I'm so sorry... I... I..."
"What is it?" Ginny asked.
"I didn't... I left before the typhon attack," he said between breaths. "Hermione... Hermione kicked me out, because..."
"Teddy?"
"I screwed up," he said, clutching for her. "Mum, I screwed up so bad..."
---------
The words were out. Hermione Caroline Lupin thought that telling someone would make her feel better.
It didn't. Now that they had been said aloud, now that her ears heard exactly what her brain had been rumbling for the last few days, the last few months, it just made her feel worse.
Hermione was seated on the couch in her parents' drawing room, tears rolling freely down her cheeks. The television was on, the local news running twenty-four seven since the typhon was killed right in front of her house. Hermione's knees were pulled up protectively against her breasts, tucked under one of Dan Granger's old jumpers, which she had been wearing for pajamas, not feeling the energy to change out of them even though she had woken up six hours ago. She used to sit like this a lot, right here on this couch, when she was a little girl. And, boy, did she feel like one right now. Charlotte Granger sat silently beside her, her cup of tea forgotten on the coffee table.
"So that's what happened," said Hermione, her voice still shaking. "I don't know how often it happened, or for how long, but he's been cheating on me with her."
"Honey, I... I don't know what to say," said Charlotte, pulling a hand on Hermione's knee. "You're... You're sure of this?"
"Mum, he's always been honest with me," Hermione replied, swallowing hard. "I asked him directly if they had... if they had been with each other. And he didn't say anything. Mum, you know Teddy. If nothing was going on with Vic, he would have said so. Profusely. And I would have believed him. But he didn't. Not once from the time that Dean found us and brought us home did he deny any of it!"
Yeah, the words hurt as they came out of her mouth, but they kept coming. She was helpless to stop them. They hurt, but she needed to say them. And her mother remained silent, just rubbing her leg comfortingly, coaxing the words to keep coming, and for her silence Hermione was grateful.
"I should have known something was happening," she continued to vent. "I did know that something was happening. The looks that he's been giving her since she came over during the series premiere and he smelled like her when he came back and I tried calling him from work a few times and even if he doesn't answer he ALWAYS calls me back when I leave a message and he didn't and and there was a hair that I picked off his shoulder once that I thought was mine but it was too short and too straight to be mine and he just got this look every time I said her name and I know there's so much other horrible things going on right now and I have a giant dead monster in front of my house but I can't stop worrying about this! Mum, please tell me I'm just being paranoid. Tell me I'm being stupid. Please tell me..."
"Caroline, dear," Charlotte said, "I want to. I do. I want to say something, anything, that will help you feel better. But I'll be honest, they don't cross-reference 'cheating husband' with 'giant tentacle monster attack' in the How to Be A Successful Mother handbook."
Hermione stared at her mother, struck dumb with confusion. Charlotte looked back at her youngest daughter with a hesitant smile. After a few moments, for the first time since this whole mess began days ago, Hermione started laughing. And crying. And some mixture that was both a pain and a relief.
"It's there," she said through it. "It's just... just in the later edition, between lawn care and monkey training."
"Well, I'm old," said Charlotte, pulling Hermione into a hug. "I thought I was going to be fine with my original copy."
"Shows what you know," said Hermione, wrapping her arms around her mother. "This is such a mess."
"Caroline, I know this is something that's going to be very hard to do," said Charlotte, "but the first thing you need to do is calm down. You've been through an extraordinary amount the last few days, and you've done more than I ever imagined would be asked of you. But now what you have to do is not dwell on what's out of your control, not the things that happened in the past. You can't think about what Teddy and Victoire did, or if you did or didn't know at the time."
"But it was in my control, wasn't it?" Hermione asked. "I mean, if he slept with her then it's obviously because I wasn't doing enough for him--"
"No," Charlotte said firmly. "Caroline, you mustn't say that. You love him, you did everything to show him that. And he loves you. You did plenty. It's just him, Caroline. It's him being an idiot or an immature, unappreciative git or whatever it was that he decided he was doing when he decided to cheat on you. But there was nothing wrong with you, do you hear me?"
"I don't know," Hermione Caroline sighed.
"Caroline..."
"Maybe it is something that's wrong with me," she continued, helpless to stop, "but not because of what I did. I mean, look at Victoire. Look at how much they have in common. They've known each other for almost as long as he's known me. They spent five years together in school. And they have all the spells and wands and dreams that he and I could never have."
"Caroline, no..."
"I mean, what am I, Mum? Really, what am I? I'm just a Muggle. I can't do half of the things that she can do, I can't do half of the things with Teddy that he can do with her. We can't live near his friends and family because of me. I can't even go to Harry and Ginny's without a reworked mobile phone. Why would he want to be with me if he can be with someone that can Apparate and... and do the dishes with a wave of a stick and and and I couldn't even tell him that I was okay after the attack because I left my mobile phone at home and I couldn't cast a damn spell on a damn coin!"
And she was crying again. She hated it, she was doing it so much the last few days, and here she was working herself up again.
"Why would he want to be with me, Mum? What more can I give him?"
"You're a remarkable woman, Caroline," said Charlotte. "And, despite it all, he still loves you. He has a poor way of showing it, but I don't think that he's lost all of his feelings for you. And you still do love him, I can see that."
"I do," Hermione sniffed. "But that makes it worse, you know? I mean, is love enough? Is it?"
"I don't know," Charlotte said with a shake of her head. "Your father and I... We've had our share of battles and trying times. And we thought love was enough to get through. But it was more than that, in the end, even if we didn't recognize it at the time. I don't know what it was. Patience, maybe? Fortitude? Strength? Unfortunately, and I hate to say this to you, Caroline, but Teddy's twenty-one. Patience, Fortitude, and Strength aren't exactly common qualities in a man that age. Maybe he was weak. Or not able to face the adversity that comes when you face a situation that tests your commitment."
"So, um, are you saying I should give him another chance?" Hermione asked, not really convinced. "That this was, I don't know, just a blip on the radar?"
"I don't know, dear," said Charlotte, running his hand along the back of Hermione's head soothingly. "That's something you two have to decide. You have to decide whether you think it's important. Whether you think he's ready to commit himself to you fully and forever. And whether you feel the same way about him. If you can look at him and fully trust that he is for you and you alone, and if you can fully trust in yourself that you're for him and him alone, then you decide from there. You are going to have to speak to him sooner or later, though."
"I know," said Hermione with a shaky sigh. "I'm going to have to talk to him. And to Vic. But right now I don't think I can be around them without taking a cricket bat to their head."
"Now you don't mean that," said Charlotte, even though the look in her eye said she might actually mean it.
"No, I don't," said Hermione, chuckling sadly. "Mostly."
"I have faith in you, Hermione Caroline," said Charlotte. "I know you'll think things through and make the right decision in the end."
---------
"You are leaving?"
"I am," said Victoire, adjusting the straps on Buckbeak's pannier. "There's a... a really good job opportunity in Arizona, studying desert fauna, and--"
"Victoire, you cannot!" said Fleur, walking into the stable tent. Set up in a field near Shell Cottage, the magically-enlarged structure had been housing the hippogryff since Victoire had returned from Poland that autumn. The large flaps of the tent were strapped up, the January winds blowing straight in, fluttering Fleur's hair.
"Maman, I have to," Victoire said as steadily as possible, pulling the strap so tight that Buckbeak flinched.
"Non, you do not 'ave to do anything!" Fleur cried. "What you 'ave to do is stay 'ere!"
"Why?" Victoire yelled suddenly. "Why do I have to stay? Because I'm needed? I'm useless! Because I'm wanted? Because you all love me? That's all going to disappear any day now."
"Victoire, zat is not true at all!" said her mother. "You are talking een madness!"
"Maman, she knows!" Victoire cried. "HC knows!"
"Knows what?"
"She knows that I slept with Ted!"
The silence fell over the tent like a curtain. It felt eternal in Victoire's ears as she felt her mother calculating what she had just heard, what had just been admitted by her eldest daughter. Victoire couldn't even bear to turn around and look at her. Her hands shook as she tried to loosen the strap on Buckbeak's side.
"What?" Fleur breathed.
"That's why she's not at Andromeda's with him," Victoire said, her throat suddenly thick. "That's why he's not at the Grangers with her. Even after they both almost died, they're still not together. Because of me."
"Victoire..."
"We've been seeing each other for about a month," Victoire continued, her back still to Fleur. "Maybe longer. We'd both been having the same dreams, you see. Not just the cat woman. We've been... together in our minds for a long time, even if we didn't know it. But once we did know, it just started... happening in real life."
"I do not understand," Fleur said, stepping forward carefully. "Victoire..."
"I ruin everything I touch, Maman," said Victoire. "I'm this... I'm this lightning rod. Percy and Penelope, Gid and Fab, Ginny, Charlie and Luna, and now Ted and HC. I can't stay..."
"Victoire, do not say such things," said Fleur. "You are... You are emotional right now. Of course you should not leave. For all of zese reasons, you should stay."
"Why?" Victoire spun around. "Why should I? To be one more reminder to everyone about how fucked up things are? 'Hey, they're dead, they're divorced, they're fucking brain dead but, golly gee, at least we still have Victoire, the Weasley family slut!'"
"Ma belle fille, zey would never speak like that!"
"They don't have to," said Victoire. "They'll be thinking it. God, Maman, how am I ever going to look Grandmum and Granddad in the eyes again? They love Teddy and HC, this is going to kill them. And will I even be able to be in the same room as Aunt Jean and Uncle Ron after this? It's better that I leave.
"I still love him," she said, turning back to Buckbeak to adjust his harness. "I know I shouldn't, but I do. Even though we knew what we were doing was wrong, I've been happier than I have been in a long time, because I knew that he felt something for me. And the last thing I want is for him to be hurt any more. If I leave... If I leave, then I can play the villain for him. I can be the guilty one, the one who ran. He can... He can get his life back together, maybe fix things up with HC, and I can be... away..."
"You will not be away," said Fleur. "Victoire, I forbid eet!"
"I'm nineteen!" said Victoire, turning back. "I'm of age, and I can do what I want without you telling me what to--"
Fleur's hand flashed across Victoire's cheek before she even knew it was coming. As the crack of flesh on flesh echoed through the tent, Buckbeak perked up, his eyes narrowing, waiting for some sign, some mental signal from Victoire that he could strike back at this human that had dared to attack her. Victoire, for her part, was too shocked to move. She simply stared at her mother, her mouth agape, her hand touching her quickly reddening cheek.
"Do you theenk what you are doing ees noble?" Fleur yelled, tears flowing from her own eyes. "Do you theenk zat you are ze first girl who would do theengs for a man just because 'e put his bite inside you? Non. I did many things for many men before I met my Bill. Many theengs I thought were noble. But zey weren't. Zey were stupid. I was stupid. But this? This ees ze most stupid of all of zem, you running away."
"It's not stupid!" Victoire cried, ashamed that, to her own ears, she sounded like a petulant toddler.
"Eet ees!" Fleur responded, grabbing Victoire's arms. "Victoire, you say that you will 'elp ze family by leaving. Zat you 'urt zem by staying. But you will 'urt us if you leave! It will kill your father if you leave! And your sister! Victoire, I am dying already knowing zat you would rather run away from us than face your own problems!"
"I've already been gone!" Victoire pleaded. "Maman, I've been in Romania for a year! How is this any different?"
"Eet ees different because you talk as if you will never return!" Fleur said. "Eet ees different because you wish to cut yourself from us forever! Eet ees different because you can do so much good here, Victoire! Because you are my daughter, and you are so strong and you 'ave faced so much and I know zat you have 'eeden yourself away these last few months and you can do so much more than 'ide!"
"Like what?" Victoire said. "What can I do? What do I have to offer beyond poster child for how to not run a life?"
"You do not like 'ow your life 'as 'appened?" Fleur asked. "Zen change eet. Victoire, you are smart. You are so smart. You know so much about ze animals, you can 'elp ze Ministry in their work."
"How would I do that?" Victoire said. "'Hello, Aunt Jean. I know I destroyed your sister's life, but can I have a job?' Yeah, that'll go over well."
"Fine, you are afraid of ze Ministry," Fleur said. "But you can still much you can do. Charles and Luna, zey did their work without the Ministry, and look 'ow far zey come. Zey were searching for these birds zat are made of metal? Zey are controlled by these Oligarchy people, oui?"
"Oui," said Victoire quietly, suddenly thinking back. Why had she been so stupid? The Oligarchy just used a typhon to attack London. A huge typhon, yes, but a typhon nonetheless, a creature just as rare as the Stymphalians. They captured one, or bred one. They raised it. They trained it to attack. Just like the Stymphalians.
But this time they left the creature behind. Why?
Because this time they wanted it to be found. The Stymphalians weren't ready to be seen yet, but the typhon was.
What happens when they are ready?
"God, why didn't I think of it before?" Victoire breathed, leaning against Buckbeak. "Why didn't I make the bloody connection?"
Because your mind's been elsewhere.
"They're going to use the Stymphalians to attack Muggles," said Victoire to herself. "They're going to sic them on a city just like they did with the typhon. It makes sense. Use something so horrible, so... so surreal that Muggles have to believe what we can do to them. Show them the most terrifying creatures at their most... most brutal, and they'll only fear us more. They're going to keep it up until the Muggles start, I don't know, start handing over their power rather be the next target."
"Where?" Fleur asked. "Where would zey attack?"
"I don't know," said Victoire. "They could be anywhere. It's been months since they found us in Poland. Who knows where they would have gone? Or how to stop them if we do find them? Or what other creatures they have at their disposal? I mean, the only person who would even know where to begin would be Luna, and she's not cooperating."
"She might not know where they are," said a voice from the front of the tent, "but she might know where to start looking."
Victoire and Fleur turned around to see Bill Weasley standing in the doorway, his hands in his coat pockets, his gray-streaked ponytail hanging over his shoulder.
"Dad!" Victoire gasped, looking nervously at Fleur.
"I've been in touch with Neville this last month," said Bill as he entered the tent. "Seeing if anything he was getting from Luna would help with Charlie. He said that she's remembering things as recently as right before the attack. He's been focused more on her recovery than trying to get any information on the birds, though. Last-minute holiday?" he added, noticing the loaded hippogryff.
"I... I... um..."
"Our leetle Vickie ees 'aving boy problems," Fleur explained. "She wanted to get away for a few days, but I 'ave talked 'er out of it."
"For now," Victoire corrected under breath. "Maman, I can't promise--"
"I know," said Fleur, putting her hand, gently this time, on her daughter's cheek. "I know, ma fille. But for now?"
"For now," Victoire nodded. "Dad, we have to talk."
"Is it something that I'm going to like hearing?" Bill asked, his eyebrow cocked.
"Probably not."
"Are you pregnant?"
"No."
"Running a drug ring?"
"No!"
"No sex change operations planned?"
"Daddy!"
"I won't be upset," he said with a loving smile, putting his hand on her shoulder. "You can tell me anything, Vickie, you know that."
"Okay," she said, self-consciously tucking her hair behind her ear. "I still can't promise you'll like it, but, um..." she took a deep breath, forcing herself to look into her father's eyes. "Daddy, I've been sleeping with Ted Lupin."
"Oh," said Bill, clearing his throat nervously and tossing a glance at Fleur.
"Are you... Are you mad?" Victoire asked nervously.
"No!" said Bill quickly stammered. "No, I'm just... No. No, I'm not mad. Just... Well..."
"You are taking eet quite well," said Fleur. "When Papa found out I had been with a man, 'e threatened many, many 'orrible spells."
"Daddy, I'm so sorry," said Victoire quickly, stepping forward and hugging him tight. "I didn't think, and... and... and... I might have killed their marriage, and that's why I was leaving and..."
"I know," said Bill, kissing Victoire on the top of the head. "But we'll deal with it, okay? And, no, I'm not mad."
"You're not?"
"Well, I can't say that I'm not a little disappointed," said Bill. "In you and in Teddy both. But I'm not blind. I know how you feel about him, how you've felt about him for a long time. I heard you crying in your bedroom before the wedding. You just let your emotions get the better of you. We'll deal with that when we have to. But if you want anger and hate from me, Vickie, you're not going to get it. You only have my love and my support. Our love and support," he added, nodding to Fleur.
"I'm sorry," Victoire repeated into her father's chest.
"We'll talk more about it later," Bill said. "You have my support, but this still isn't something that I'm going to be able to blow off like it was nothing. But for now, Neville said that Luna has a journal, something that she's been writing in every day to keep whatever memories she has. That might be the place to start. Plus you might be able to ask her questions that Neville wouldn't know to ask. With Charlie and Luna hurt, you know more about the Stymphalians than anyone."
"Eef we find these birds, we weell find ze Oligarchy, oui?"
"Oui," said Victoire. "Or at least people involved with them."
"We will need more people than just us, if zat is true. I know you do not want to deal with 'ermione, Victoire, not yet. But perhaps Finnigan? Or Rolf Scamander?"
"Yeah," Victoire repeated, repeating her mother's words through her head. "Wait, we?"
"You do not theenk zat I would let my little girl go about zis alone, would you?"
"We find the birds, we find the Oligarchy," said Bill. "We find the Oligarchy, we find Charlie's cure. And we're not going to let you put yourself into any danger without us standing beside you. Of course we're going to help you."
Victoire felt a wave of love and appreciation sweep over her as she looked at her parents' determined faces. "Thank you," she whispered, her voice filled with emotion as she took their hands in her own. "Thank you so much."
"What else would you expect us to do?" said Bill, squeezing her hand. "But, look, about Hermione: I'm sorry, I know things are going to be hard between you two because of Caroline, but we can't keep her out of this. She's the Minister of Magic, for God's sake, and there are lives at stake. She'll want to know what we're doing, especially if we have to start crossing borders. She may not be happy with you, Victoire, but she'll want to be in the loop, especially if what we find helps them find the Oligarchy."
"Okay," Victoire said. "Okay, yeah. Yeah, that's fine."
"I will send 'er an owl," said Fleur, giving Victoire's hand its own squeeze before releasing it. "Bill, you will Floo Neville at 'ogwarts?"
"Yeah, I'll set up a meeting," said Bill. "Victoire, you have some unpacking to do, don't you?"
"I do," said Victoire with a nod and a smile, turning back to Buckbeak and beginning to untangle the harnesses that were wrapped around him. As Bill and Fleur Weasley left the tent, however, her smile slipped slightly.
"Sorry to get you all dressed up with no place to go, Beaky," she said, rubbing the hippogryff's flank. "It's only temporary, though. I'm still going to have to leave. You know that, right?"
Buckbeak squawked quietly as Victoire continued her work. She had a lot of work yet to go. And, yes, she could do good.
In the end, though, she knew that she couldn't be here. This cottage, this island, was too close to Teddy. And as long as Teddy was here, she couldn't be.
"It'll be for the best," she whispered, to herself and to her hippogryff. "No matter what happens next, it'll be for the best."
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