Somehow, Teddy got the impression from Victoire's tone and choice of words that she wasn't exactly supportive of his career choices. Over the years, he had had his fair share of qualms with the Daily Prophet, hardly appreciating the articles that had been written about him and the rest of his family. It was Rita Skeeter's doing, always so obsessed and interested in what the children and relatives of Harry Potter were up to. When he had been younger, Teddy hadn't been able to sneeze wrong without it ended up in the paper. Rita was older now, though, and most people actually cared about the news rather than the unnecessary gossip column. If Teddy had thought that the paper was out to do he and his family harm, he wouldn't have worked for them as long as he had.

Had Teddy been thinking a little more clearly, he would have made an attempt to understand Victoire's indignation. It was true that Rita had always been harder on the girls of the family, and that expose` written about the both of them during the World Cup had been particularly upsetting. However, the metamorphagus was in no mood to defend himself or his career choices to her. As it stood, he had praised the blond girl for her achievements in healing, and he didn't understand why she couldn't at least pretend to be a little more happy for him.

“Are you sure you meant that?” he asked blandly, turning her one last time before the song ended and faded into something new. He pulled away from her after, not bothering to linger when he was angry. “Because it doesn't sound like you think it's exciting.” 

Asking her to dance really had been a mistake, Teddy was sure of it now. He found himself annoyed with their conversation, unsure of why he had expected it to be normal. How he ever thought that things would pick up where they left off was beyond him, because at this point, Teddy didn't even think they could be friends. With the years between them, it was clear that they were now different people, and it should have been left at that. He was beginning to think that even showing up to the night's party was a bad choice. After all, the Weasley's and the Potter's were her family; he was just some mutt that had gotten dumped on a Harry and Ginny after the fact.

They were looking now, [i]her[/i] family, probably wary of what was going to happen. Teddy hadn't wanted to cause a scene—he was far too old for that—too mature, and too male. It was unfortunate that Teddy could only take so much, and after years of pushing away and shoving down his feelings, they were at risk of coming out in front of a whole room over one polite line of praise.

Shaking his head, Teddy got a hold of himself. “Never mind. Forget it.” He was just going to leave, it would be easier that way. “Nice seeing you. Good luck with the hospital.” Walking away from her, Teddy hoped to slip away unnoticed. This would be the last family party, or anything that he would be attending.