QLFC Round 7 — Pairing Palooza

CHASER 3: Write about one of the eight nautical Harry Potter ship names chosen by the team's Seeker. I chose H.M.S. Blood Traitor, also known as Ted/Andromeda.

OPTIONAL PROMPTS: 9. (dialogue) "You're crazy!"/ / "Were you ever under the impression that I was normal?" / 12. (word) mist / 15. (word) scarf

A/N: Ted and Andromeda, as minor as they are, have been one of my favourite canon ships since I read the books for the first time. I had lots of help from my sister during this round (she was a wonderful plot bunny) and I don't think I would've made it without her. Special thanks to Jordi and Sam for proofreading.

Hasty footsteps echoed in the corridors of Hogwarts when two students sneaked out of the castle in the middle of the night...

"Lumos," Ted whispered. In the light of the wand he was able to see Andromeda more clearly. Her features were tense, but her eyes twinkled with a hint of a smile.

"What if we get caught?" she asked in a barely audible whisper.

Ted pulled her into an embrace, smiling into Andromeda's hair. "If we get caught, then we're in trouble," he chuckled playfully. "Exciting, isn't it?" he asked.

"Come on, Ted," Andromeda whined, pulling away, but let Ted keep holding her hand. "Be serious for once."

She pouted a little—a truly adorable sight, Ted thought. The water's surface reflected the light of his wand, but otherwise the Black Lake was living up to its name. It seemed even darker when there were no stars lighting up the night sky. The pale veil of mist shrouded the lake and not even the Giant Squid bothered the night's peace. Ted didn't let go of Andromeda when he sat down.

Andromeda followed his example, sitting down next to the water's edge. She looked up at the sky. "It's so dreary out here," she whispered.

Ted watched Andromeda with admiration. Her full lips were slightly open and her warm brown eyes observed the world around underneath thick eyelashes, dark brown hair falling down her back in soft curls. Ted brushed a tress of her hair away from Andromeda's face; she leaned to his touch, a little unsure at first, but seemed to relax after a while.

"Yeah," Ted swallowed, his heart fluttering. Andromeda looked at him with a sweet, innocent smile playing on her lips. Ted grinned widely, revealing a line of white teeth, straightened with Muggle methods. Andromeda, shy at heart, very rarely made the first move herself, so Ted, knowing that very well, always approached her first. Andromeda knew she would lose her entire family if they ever found out about her and Ted Tonks. Ted didn't need to worry about such things.

"Ted, isn't the light a little risky?" Andromeda asked quietly, glancing at the castle.

"I just wanted to see your face," Ted said honestly, dipping the tip of the wand in the water in a whim. The lakeside became darker once more, the wand's light being barely visible underneath the rippling surface.

Ted didn't see how Andromeda's cheeks turned pink. "What on earth are you doing, Ted?" she asked with laughter in her voice as she watched the wand in amusement.

"I have no idea," Ted said, moving the wand in the water and making the water glow with bright light.

"You're crazy," Andromeda whispered fondly, her smile radiating happiness.

Ted chuckled. "Were you ever under the impression that I was normal?"

"No, I wasn't," Andromeda said with a smile. Ted's craziness was one of the things Andromeda loved the most about him. "It's so beautiful," she said, looking at the twirls of light in the water.

Ted kept his eyes on the wand for a moment longer than necessary before he turned to Andromeda. He was about to say something but his train of thought was cut short when Andromeda pressed her soft lips against Ted's own, chapped ones. Ted responded to the sweet kiss, whatever he was about to say long forgotten. He let go of his wand and it slowly started to sink towards the bottom of the lake. Ted raised his wand hand to Andromeda's cheek; Andromeda's hands instead were both on Ted's hair, running her thin fingers through the short locks of the boy. When the kiss finally ended, neither of them wanted to part. Their foreheads almost touched, breaths mingling together.

"Andricy?" Ted said, using the nickname he had given to Andromeda.

"What is it?" Andromeda asked.

"Do you have your wand with you?"

Andromeda pushed her into her pocket of her robe. "I don't think I do? Why?"

"Well, it looks like mine just fell into the lake," Ted said calmly.

Andromeda's eyes widened in horror and she began searching the insides of her pocket again, even though she had already claimed it empty. "Oh no," she squeaked in panic. "Oh no, oh no, oh no," she repeated.

"It's all right," Ted said, rubbing Andromeda's shoulder reassuringly. "I have time to fetch it before the first class tomorrow. I'll just borrow Lebron's and—" Andromeda interrupted him with a relieved sigh.

"No need to, I had just put it in a different pocket than usual," Andromeda said, pulling the maple wand out of her pocket. "Accio wand!" she said firmly, pointing her wand towards the lake. In a moment, Ted's wand flew from the bottom of the lake. Ted caught it easily—the light had turned off a long ago—and put it in his pocket.

"Thank you," he said to Andromeda, straightening her green and silver Slytherin scarf. "What would I ever do without you?" Andromeda said nothing to that. "Should we go back?" Ted asked, taking Andromeda's hand and lacing their fingers together.

"I guess so," Andromeda whispered wistfully.

"He's looking at you again," Bellatrix hissed in the morning, stabbing her sunny side up eggs with a fork. "The Mudblood," she continued when Andromeda ignored her. "I don't like the way he's looking at you."

"Just pay him no attention, Bella," Andromeda said nonchalantly, trying to keep her eyes on her plate but not succeeding at it. She glanced at Ted who was sitting a table away. He was indeed looking at where the Black sisters were sitting.

"I don't like him looking at you like that," Bellatrix repeated with more determination.

"Well, maybe you should stop staring at him or else people will start thinking you like him," Andromeda said, raising a brow and sneering at her sister. Bellatrix tsked, returning to her eggs and bacon and muttering something about filthy Mudbloods.

Andromeda smiled at Ted, the other returning her smile. Maybe someday they could be together in public without people like her family looking down at them, but until then they would have all the nights at the Black Lake to themselves.