For the Most in a Month Competition and the Alphabet Competition ("Can you please just stop?")
Andromeda stares at the ring in Ted's hand. For a moment, her lungs don't want to work. She feels her body grow numb.
A ring. An engagement ring. An engagement ring in her boyfriend's hand.
She rests her palm against the wall to steady herself. Slowly, she manages to suck in air. "Ted, what are you doing?" she whispers.
"I love you, Andi. More than I've ever loved anyone or anything in this world," he insists. "This ring was my mother's. Before that, it was my grandmother's. When I told her I wanted to save up to buy you a ring, Mum handed me hers. She said that she has never seen me so happy, that she approves of you, even if she's never met you."
His last sentence makes her heart ache. His family can accept her without even meeting her. But her family would never approve of this. Her family would never allow such a union.
"Ted, we're still young," she says, grasping at the first excuse she can find.
"Age doesn't change how I feel about you. I've known from the moment we met that you would be the girl I wanted to marry."
God, she felt it, too. Maybe not upon their first meeting, but early on. She knew that she wanted Ted and no one else, no matter how impossible it was.
And it is impossible. If she accepts, she will lose everything. But what will she gain?
"I- My family would disown me," she whispers. "They aren't like your family, Ted. It doesn't matter how amazing you are, they would never allow me to marry you."
"Can you please just stop?" he sighs, taking her hand. "I know what you're risking if you say yes. I've thought about this over and over. I'm not going to force you. I won't be angry if you reject my proposal. I just want you to he happy."
Happy. That word makes her take a step back. Would she really be happy if she walked away? Could marrying someone her family approved of bring her the kind of happiness that Ted has?
She doesn't think so. No matter her choice, there's a great risk. If she marries him, she loses her family. If she denies him, she loses her chance for a happy, loving marriage.
Her eyes find his. She presses her thumb to his cheek, gently caressing his skin. Is her own happiness worth turning her back on her family? Maybe not.
But Ted is.
Ted, the sweet Hufflepuff boy who never gave up on her. Ted, the boy who always has a smile on his lips and kind words on his tongue. Ted, the brilliant boy who never cared about blood purity or ridiculous traditions.
She wraps her arms around him, kissing him, smiling against his lips.
"Is that a yes?" he whispers.
"Yes," she confirms.
And she knows what she is giving up. Her parents will blast her portrait from the tapestry. All their wealth and influence will be gone. Her sisters will never speak to her again.
But it doesn't matter. As Ted slides the ring onto her finger, Andromeda realizes that she would gladly trade all of that for a happily ever after.
