Schoolwork Can Kill You || Andromeda and Ted
A short burst of laughter escaped his mouth. “Yes, Andromeda, I think we all know Regulus is the same, not to mention your cousin.” He said a tad patronizingly. Regulus Black ended up getting regularly beat up on the Quidditch Pitch. As one of the smaller guys on the Slytherin team, many of the other houses targeted him because he was the easiest to take out first. The Slytherin sixth year more than deserved it, in Ted’s opinion; if not targeted first, and left completely unharmed, he was a bloody menace on the field. His way of playing Quidditch was barbaric and nasty, and more often than not Ted even wondered how he was allowed to stay on the team. “Study time? More like cutting into the time I’d rather be spending with you.” He gave her a shy smile, slightly embarrassed by his words and how cheesy he sounded.
Ted nearly asked her if she was sure, she sounded so flippant about it. He rather hated the fact that they couldn’t speak openly. Watching what one said and being on the look out for people spying on you really did something to how you behaved. It made things awkward, to say the least.
Whatever was bothering Andromeda was nearly killing him. He wanted nothing more than to take the hand she had begun to offer him, wrap his arm around her waist and squeeze her tight. The need to reassure her and comfort her was nearly too strong to ignore. Since he decided that doing those things where anyone could see them would be counteractive to his intentions, Ted just gave her a huge smile instead. “Round that corner sounds smashing.” Despite her awkwardness, he was reassured by her telling him there would always be time for them. He wasn’t sure if that was one hundred percent true, but the idea warmed him none-the-less.
Ted stet off at a quick pace, turning every so often to check that she was following and that they weren’t being followed. So far, so clear. As they rounded the previously discussed corner -not even ten feet from where they’d been- he answered her. “Private matters, my love. You’re probably not going to like them, which is why I wanted to make sure you had the time to discuss them. But no worries,” Ted added hastily when he saw the look on her face, “I can take care of it. I can take care of us.”
His hand lifted on its own accord and he cupped her cheek in his hand briefly. His desired to kiss away the worry etched on her face gnawed at him, so much so he decided it was time to find a deserted room. At this point, a broom closet would suffice. He turned away from her and scanned the deserted hall, his eyes narrowing at a small door to their left. “Wait here,” Ted ordered quietly before trotting off to investigate. As it happened, it was a ridiculously large storage closet and he couldn’t help but giggle. It was three and a half metres by two and a half metres at least. He turned back towards Andromeda and motioned for her to follow him in.
Once she was inside, he locked the door and cast a privacy charm around the room and ward on the door. He then created floating balls of light so the room was pleasantly lit. Much nicer than a torch, in his opinion. As they lit the room, floating near them but never touching either him or Andromeda, Ted couldn’t help but grin at the magic he had created. “Now we can talk, yeah? I could, um, transfigure us something to sit on, if you like.” Ted was suddenly nervous again and he fidgeted with his wand.
Though she offered him a rueful smile, she couldn't help but feel the need to defend her cousin. He was young and impressionable. When he was younger, she'd always acted as a sort of mother to him, as she did for most of her family. "I know you probably dislike my cousin, but Regulus is a good person. He keeps a bad company but he was always quite sweet when he was younger."
Andromeda stared at him at that statement, wanting to hold onto those sweet words for just another second longer. It was like being in a shower and knowing you have to switch off the hot water at some point and stepping out into the cold, but not yet.
Her eyes grew wide in alarm. Something she wasn't going to like? Any hopes of spending a few blissful snatched moments away from everyone else were dispelled. As much as she appreciated the sentiment, she thought of her parents - her father's cold eyes. They flashed in her mind as she looked into Ted's which her a world away from cold. "Maybe. Maybe we can take care of us. Together."
She had a hard time not demanding to know what it was right then, but he'd stepped away and she obediently stayed where she was, trying to figure out what he could be talking about.
Did he just giggle? Despite still feeling the horrible premonition that he wasn't going to have anything good to say, Andy still found herself almost smiling herself.
Barely glancing around - because if Ted had checked, she trusted him to be right - she slipped in through the door, feeling the dim gloom and dust settle once the door was locked.
The pride of his own handiwork was evident on his face. Suddenly free of worrying about someone behind her, Andromeda stepped up to be toe to toe with him; she closed her hands over his, holding them and his wand still. "It's almost like a date. Very pretty. Don't worry, I don't mind standing." Taking a steadying breath, she planted a quick kiss on his lips. "Okay. What do you need to tell me?"
