My blood, your blood, our blood (Bill's kiddos)

[Deleted]

Victoire hadn't seen her siblings since Christmas. That wasn't abornomal, though, since they were at Hogwarts now it was the first week of summer which had been moved up two weeks because of the explosions. Vic couldn't let herself dwell on that right away. The world was a dark place. She, of all people, knew that. If she thought about it too much it would consume her, probably causing her to go into some sort of wild rampage to get back in the ministry. And she knew that wasn't a good idea right now.

She asked her brother and sister to meet her at the ice cream shop at 2 today. May 29th. The month was almost over, but summer was just beginning. And Victoire had a feeling this summer wouldn't be a good one. For the Wizarding World, at least. As for her personal life... It had the potential to be the best summer ever. For which she felt a little guilty.

She stood outside the parlor waiting for Dom and Lou to arrive. She was dressed in a loose sweater so it wouldn't show how thin she was at the moment.

@dominique
@louis

[Deleted]

The end of term had come and gone in a blur, literally. The delegates from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang had left, been attacked by terrorists, and school had abruptly ended two days later. Graduation had been a lukewarm affair; Louis was happy for Dominique obviously, but there was a definite somber air around everyone. Victoire hadn’t even come to her graduation, which had surprised Louis. He hadn’t seen his eldest sister since Christmastime, when she had skipped the Yule Ball to “keep the Ministry secure” which Louis knew really meant rediscovering her relationship with Teddy. He had been curious of course why he hadn’t seen or heard much from Victoire over the past few months, but he had been busy with his own love life and the chaos that had been Hogwarts end of term.

Today though that was all about to change; he and Dominique were meeting Vic at the ice cream shop and Louis was as excited as a child. He made his way through the crowds and spotted the blonde head he knew so well. “Vic!” he called, waving excitedly. Leaving Dom in his dust, he hurried through the throngs of people and almost barreled over his big sister with a hug. “I’ve missed you,” he said quietly, and he meant it too. Victoire had always been that pillar of strength for the Gryffindor, and he missed being able to talk to her all the time.

@dominique
@victoire

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Everything felt like a blur. She'd graduated. What? Somehow, Dom always thought that graduating would make her feel different or like something had changed, but it didn't. She was the same as ever, life was the same as ever. The only thing she didn't expect was ... she didn't want to graduate. She wasn't ready. As much as Dom loved messing around and studying and spending time with her friends, she still didn't know what she wanted to do with her life. She didn't want to leave school. She wasn't going to tell anyone that, of course, but it was there. In the back of her mind. 

Then she got an invitation to meet Vic, her sister that she hadn't seen for months. Dom was excited, of course, but was also finding it hard to show her excitement. At the moment everything felt lukewarm. Still ... she could pretend. She and Louis were on their way to meet her when he suddenly took off, racing to hug his big sister. Dom smiled, giving them a moment as she approached. When she got there she laughed, feigning happiness, and shoved at Louis, "Move out of the way, it's my turn." Dom gave her older sister a tight, quick hug before pulling back. "How are you?" she asked, pushing her issues to the back of her mind. Now wasn't the moment for them.

@victoire
@louis

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Vic spotted her siblings just before Lou called her name and she stood, grinning wider than she thought she was able to. He hurried toward her, but she held her ground, not wanting to over exert. He practically tackled her, though, which knocked the wind out of her thin frame for a moment. He said he missed her, softly, and she nodding, stroking the back of his hair and kissing his cheek. ”I missed you, baby Lou,” she said, just as gently. Then Dom approached and Vic released Louis as he was shoved, laughing a little herself at the sight of her sister.

When did these two get so tall?

Dom hugged her, and Vic gave her a tight squeeze before she pulled away. ”Better now,” she answered Dom. ”Let’s sit? I’ll pay, get whatever you want,” she said, leading them into the ice cream shop.

Once they all ordered she would lead them back outside to a table with a cute umbrella over it. ”So, Dom, all grown up and graduated. I’m sorry I didn’t make it,” she frowned. She would explain all soon.

@dominique
@louis

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Louis opened his mouth in mock indignation as Dominique shoved him out of the way to greet their sister. “Oi! You could have knocked me over!” he shouted, though in reality he had only stumbled a little before regaining his balance. Perhaps some of that veela blood came in handy after all. As he surveyed his two elder sisters, he couldn’t help but notice the physical changes Victoire was showing. Her cheeks were more hollowed, her arms had shrunken to twig-like sizes, and she looked like she had aged a few years. In Louis’ imagination, the reason her and Teddy had disappeared was because he had gotten Victoire pregnant, and they were waiting for the right time to announce the news. Seeing Vic now however, it was very clear that that was absolutely not the case.

Vic looked back over to him and he put on a happy face, hoping she didn’t see the worry etched into the crinkles in the sides of his eyes. “Excellent, I’m always ready for ice cream,” he said, rubbing his hands together greedily. Leading the way, he stood at the counter and ordered three scoops: double chocolate fudge, cafe mocha, and caramel swirl, with chocolate sprinkles, cookie crumbles and hot fudge on top. He waited as patiently as possible for his sisters to order before following Vic outside. He sat in his chair and began to eat his ice cream in silence; the talk was turning to Dominiques graduation, and Victoires’ lack of being there. He didn’t need to be involved in that.

@dominique
@victoire

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As Dom hugged her older sister, she heard Louis' teasing annoyance from behind her and rolled her eyes, even though no one could see it. He was fine. As Vic pulled away, Dom found herself nodding. "Thanks Sis," she said thankfully. She didn't expect anything else, since Vic always wanted to treat them in one way or another.

She made her way into the ice cream shop and shook her head as she watched Louis get tons of ice cream, with all the trimmings. Still, he made her smile. Dom wasn't really in the mood for anything fancy though. She wanted chocolate. Dom ordered two scoops, one of plain chocolate, the other chocolate with fudge and brownie bits inside. Once she got hers she stepped back, allowing Vic access to the front. Her sister didn't look well, but Dom wasn't particularly surprised. It would take something pretty serious to make Vic step back from her life.

She sat down at the table, finally relaxing as she started to taste her ice cream. She loved chocolate! Then Vic started the conversation, talking about her graduation. Dom felt her mood darken, but tried desperately not to show it. She didn't want to cause problems right now. Vic was going through enough and Louis already had a heart-to-heart with her not long ago. "I sure am. Yup, grown up and graduated, that's me," she said with a forced smile and fake enthusiasm. She shook her head at her sister's apology. "Don't worry about it Vic. It wasn't a big deal anyway." Graduation seemed pointless after the attacks on the foreign schools. Not many people came and hardly anyone was interested in it.

@victoire
@louis

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Louis protested Dom almost knocking him over and Vic laughed. It felt good just to be with them. Once they were sitting, Lou was happy to agree to ice cream and Dom answered her about graduation. Vic pouted as she said it wasn't a big deal, "it's a big deal to me, Dom. I should have supported you by being by your side," she said firmly. She reached a hand over to give Doms hand a squeeze. Then she turned to Louis, "and how is your girlfriend? I'm hoping we'll see her around this summer," she said, raising an eyebrow at her brother. She wasn't really giving him an option. Vic needed to spend more time with the girl.

"Are you two going to mum and dads right away? Teddy and I are at my apartment, you're welcome any time. Walter would love to see both of you," she said. Walter was her five year old beagle that her siblings would both know very well.

@louis
@dominique

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Louis watched Dominique carefully, as he had all year. He knew Dominique had not been keen on graduating since it meant leaving Ethan behind at Hogwarts, but he also remembered that Ethan was a ghost. He was dead, and there was no spell to resurrect the dead. Dominique had to rejoin the land of the living, and he had hoped graduation would bring it. He knew that if she came to visit him, part of her would be there for Ethan. That was all well and fine, but what about after HE graduated? She would have no reason to come to the school, and by then he would have been dead for over two years, and she would almost be twenty years old. He wanted his sister to live her life to the fullest, and he didn’t think she could do that living in the past.

Louis crossed his arms and tried very hard to look seriously over at Victoire when she offered for them to come to her apartment. “Oh, so we’re allowed to visit now are we?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at her. “When you cut off contact with us for months, not allowing even Teddy to tell us what was going on, and now everything’s just okay again?” His eyes softened, and he reached out to take one of Victoire’s hands in both of his. “I was worried about you Vic. I just want to know what’s going on,” he told her pleadingly, hoping she’d finally reveal her secret.

@dominique
@victoire

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Vic obviously didn't agree when it came to Dom's assertion that graduation wasn't that big of a deal, but honestly it wasn't to her, other than the fact that she still didn't feel ready. Despite the fact that she was graduated and no longer a student at Hogwarts, she didn't feel like she belonged anywhere else. She didn't know what to do with her life, but she reminded herself once again that now was not the time for her to worry about the future. She shrugged as Vic insisted that she should have been there, squeezing her hand. "It's fine, Vic," she answered softly, hoping her sister wouldn't continue to feel bad about this. That was not Dom's goal in coming to talk to her sister. 

At Vic's next comments about visiting her, Dom let Louis take the lead. He was obviously annoyed at Vic disappearing, and Dom was too, but she figured he could get his point across better. After all, he was the baby of the family so it would probably sound better coming from him, after all. She watched, a small smile on her face as he was all tough and then calmed down a bit. "We were both worried about you," Dom chimed in after a moment, hoping that maybe knowing both of them were concerned would help her sister explain herself. Then again, Dom knew that no one could make Vic do anything she didn't want to do.

@victoire
@louis

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Dom said it was fine and Vic was sure she wanted the subject dropped. Vic other hand was taken by Lou, though, so both her hands were occupied as she got rather passionate about the fact that Vic hadn't told them what was going on. She still wrote, but sparingly... Dom repeated that they were worried about her, and Vic sighed, looking down. "I know I've been a coward," she said, her eyes flickering back up to her little lion brother. "But we all have different strengths. Sharing my weaknesses isn't one of mine," she explained slowly. She looked back down again and took a deep breath, squeezing both of her siblings hands.

She had to remember what Hermione told her. That they could handle it. And so could Hugo, once she got around to being brave enough to talk to him. She looked back up at them, "I was sick. The same thing Xanthippe Meagle had," she explained. "We are two of the only survivors of it and... happening so close together, I was worried about being the one who didn't make it," she swallowed, "I didn't know how to tell anyone. And poor Teddy knew we shouldn't keep it secret but I wouldn' let him talk," she looked at Louis, "please don't blame him for that. It was all me."

@dominique
@louis

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Louis shook his head. “Never call yourself a coward Vic. You can’t talk about my big sister like that,” he said, cracking a small smile. That smile however faded immediately as Victoire finally told her younger siblings what was going on with her. He knew Xanthippe very well, being in the same year and him being so close with her brother. He had known that the disease had once been thought as a death sentence when diagnosed; there were so few documented cases of it due to its’ scarcity, and those that were documented had all died. But somehow, amazingly, Xanthippe had pulled through, and now so it seemed had Victoire. “Does Auntie Hermione know?” he asked her. Their aunt was Xan’s godmother and had been there along with Hugo for every step of documenting Xan’s recovery; if anyone knew what it was like to go through it as a loved one, it was her.

“Teddy said as much when we met in Honeydukes right before term ended,” Louis admitted, taking a few bites out of his ice cream to stop it from melting. “He said that it was your tale to tell but that he was sorry.” Louis shrugged. “It makes a lot more sense now of course, but I was pretty mad at you for awhile. I don’t like when I feel secrets are being kept, especially around us. We tell each other everything,” he told her, sticking out his lower lip in a small pout.

@dominique
@victoire

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Like Louis, Dom shook her head when Vic called herself a coward, but she let him speak for both of them. Of course, he made it into a joke, but that was like him and like their family, so it wasn't a surprise to Dom. A part of her could understand the way Vic felt though, even before knowing why she felt like a coward. Holding things in and keeping things to herself was one of Dom's weaknesses, so she couldn't hold a grudge at her older sister for doing the same. Dom didn't say anything, but looked up at her sister's eyes as she spoke and squeezed her hand, trying to show support. 

She listened carefully as Vic explained that she had the same sickness as Xanthippe. Xan was in Ravenclaw with Dom, but they didn't know one another particularly well, especially since the girl had spent quite a good portion of the year in the hospital wing due to her illness. Dom's eyebrows furrowed in concern as she bit her lip and listened. Like Louis, she hated being left out of things and felt like she should have known about this. What if Vic had died? And she never got to say goodbye? Hiding from the world was a selfish thing to do, but at the same time Dom understood doing that and she knew that Vic would never do anything with the intention of hurting her family. 

Louis mentioned how he spoke with Teddy in Hogsmeade and heard about it being Vic's story there. Then he mentioned not keeping secrets and telling one another everything. Dom kept her eyes on her sister, neither confirming or denying Louis' comment about secrets. She would keep secrets for her family. If she thought it was what was best for them or that it was a burden they didn't need to know about, she would keep it from them in a secret. Dom wasn't going to tell Louis that though. "I'm not mad at you," Dom spoke up in a soft voice. "You did what you thought was best and came to us when you could. I missed you over the last few months, but I'm not upset with you."

@victoire
@louis

[Deleted]

Lou said to never call herself a coward, and she shook her head, looking down. He asked about Aunt Hermione and she nodded, "yes, I informed her," she looked back up at them, feeling a little more able to face them now that they were talking about Hermione. That made her feel a little more... stable, that 'work' talk was involved, even if she was her aunt.

Dom said that she wasn't mad, her voice soft, too soft. Dom said she missed her, and Louis said that Teddy had sort of explained, but pouted at the thought of them keeping secrets from each other. "Guys," Victoire started softly, reaching her hands across to take her siblings hands, if they'd let her, "I can't promise that I won't keep secrets again if I think it's what's best. I know myself. You know me. I do what I have to," she explained, "but I am sorry about this situation in particular."

@louis
@dominique

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Louis had a determined look on his face when Victoire began to speak, even though he could understand where she was coming from. “What sort of secret could be so dire that you keep it from your family Vic? Aunt Hermione’s Minister now, so if she keeps secrets from Uncle Ron or Rosie and Hugo that’s her problem. You know you can always tell us anything,” he said, sounding insistent. The three of them had grown up very close; their mother had always had a strong relationship with her sister Aunt Gabrielle - indeed she had been the thing she’d miss the most during the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament. Their mother mentioned that they had never kept secrets from each other, and had instilled this on both sets of children. Or so Louis thought. “Unless someone is trying to kill you, then maybe I’d understand,” Louis added begrudgingly as an afterthought. Vic would likely keep something like that as a secret, as she knew Louis would likely try to go after whoever it was who was threatening her life. “I forgive you,” he finally said, leaning forward and wrapping his arms around his big sister. She was still skinny, too skinny; he’d have to have words with Teddy about making sure she was getting the proper nutrition. “You look like you could use some sunshine Vicky,” he added, sticking his tongue out at her. She was ghostly pale compared to Louis’ tan. Nobody actually knew how Louis could tan so well; he was the only one out of the three Delacour-Weasley siblings who had those genes. “By the way, I told Georgie I loved her over Easter,” he added, trying to sound casually nonchalant.

@dominique
@victoire

Louis is not a very easily forgivng person it seems XD

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Louis was being so insistent about his determination to not keep secrets from family and Dom listened, but didn't say anything. Really, there was nothing to say. If she agreed with him out loud, it might make him feel the need to talk about it more an make Vic feel more guilty. If she disagreed with him it would probably cause some sort of fight. Better to just let him talk and get his opinion out in the open. Then they'd be able to move on. 

Vic promised to do what she thought was best and Dom couldn't help a small smirk from sliding onto her face. That wasn't a surprise at all. It didn't matter how much she got lectured on it, Vic would follow her conscience, which Dom thought was the right thing to do. She shrugged as her sister took her hand, "I already said I'm not angry with you," Dom answered, squeezing Vic's hand lightly. 

She rolled her eyes when Louis started talking about Vic needing some sun. He often said that about her and Vic, but it didn't matter how much sun Dom got, she could never tan like her brother did and he knew it. He was such a tease. Then he mentioned that he told Georgie he loved her and Dom's eyes widened. "And you didn't tell me?" she asked, her voice louder than she intended. "After all that talk just now about not keeping secrets, you didn't tell me that?" She wasn't actually upset, but surprised she didn't know.

@victoire
@louis