Hey everyone. I wrote this story for both the Return of the Chocolate Frog Cards and Build a Monster Workshop on Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I choose to write for the monster's heart in Build a Monster Workshop. The task for that was to write for the pairing of Ted/Andromeda. I choose to write for (Gold) Eargit the Ugly for The Return of the Chocolate Frog Card. The task was to write about any known Goblin. I think I did both of these prompts pretty well. Warnings for character death near the end. I hope you all enjoy Campfire Stories.
He had loved her from the first time he saw her. There had never any other girl that caught his fancy and he would tell anyone at work this fact. He was always bragging about his beautiful wife and their gorgeous daughter. Even out here in the woods Ted Tonks couldn't help but tell stories about them.
"Why don't we tell stories?" asked Dean one night after dinner. "Might help us forget why we're out here."
Ted nodded as he held his hands out towards their small cook fire. He knew they'd have to either put it out soon or think about putting up protections around their campsite.
"All right," he told the younger man.
"You have tons of stories, Ted. Tell us one of them."
"How about the one of my favorite memories?"
He watched as Dean nodded encouragingly and Griphook sat their motionless. The goblin was always motionless unless he was forced to help around the camp. Dean elbowed Griphook who began to nod also.
"Alright," he looked around the small circle, "this happened in my sixth year of Hogwarts. It's when I first met my dear Andromeda. It had been a normal day. What with classes and all. We'd just finished Potions class."
He allowed himself to get lost in both memory and his own voice telling the story of how he had met his wife. Closing his eyes and going into the very memory of it all. He could see it like it was yesterday. He had just finished putting his potion books away when the Potions Professor walked over to him.
"Mr. Tonks," said the woman in that insufferable voice she had, "you don't seem to be catching on as well as anyone would have hoped for."
He had looked up at the teacher in shock. He had thought he was coming along quite nicely. Thank you very much. But then he looked at his potion in front of him. It was supposed to an opaque color but was in actuality a grayish brown mess.
"I can't fail this class," he told the professor. "I need this class for my future job." He had at that point been planning on going into Ministry work of some kind. Maybe he'd be an Auror.
"I have talked to one of the better student in my class," he was then told. "She has kindly agreed to help tutor you in Potions." The teacher had motioned over someone else and Ted knew then and there his life was about to change forever.
She was the most beautiful person had ever seen in his whole entire life. She was tall almost statuesque with hair so dark it was almost black but you could tell it was brown. Her eyes were the most gorgeous he had ever seen. She looked almost impatient though which almost changed the prettiness to her face. Almost though. He could feel himself staring at the girl who seemed somewhat annoyed by this fact.
"I'll leave you two to it then," said the Professor walking back towards the front of the class to rush along the stragglers.
"I'm Ted," he said sticking his hand out for her to shake. "Ted Tonks. And you are?"
She looked at his hand as though it was bug but shook it none the less. "My name is Andromeda Black," she told him voice dripping disdain. "I'm going to be tutoring you in Potions."
"Thank you," he had told her quickly. "I can't afford to fail. It might hold great benefit in my future career if I was to know a little bit about Potions. And as you can see I'm pretty terrible at it."
She sneered into the cauldron that I had pointed her towards.
"What were you trying to burn something in here?" she asked causing him to break into a fit of laughter. She raised her eyebrow.
"Oh," he said quite disappointed, "you weren't joking about that?" He sighed. "No. I thought I had followed all the directions but that was the result for the Potion of the day."
"Let's try again. Shall we?"
He had nodded and gathered all the ingredients. She nodded as he got the first few ingredients down in the right way. Then it came time crush the beetles. He saw her look of horror as he began mashing them to bit.
"No," she told him patiently putting her hand on top of his. "You don't mash them. That's probably how you got it wrong." She walked over and grabbed a new bunch of the beetles and split them in half. She put half in front of her and then started smash. "See you do it like this. So their not as small bits. That way it won't look like burned yuck."
He did exactly what she had done. And it turned out just fine. The final ingredients of the potions went into the cauldron and the Potion turned a nice opaque color. He looked at the Potion in the cauldron excitedly and in his hasted and excitement he pulled Andromeda into a tight hug.
"Thank you," he cried happily kissing her cheek. "Thank you very much."
She was very pretty when she blushed he remembered. "You're welcome," she'd said putting her hand on the cheek he'd kissed. He could tell that she was a little flustered. "Maybe you could continue to tutor me in Potions?"
"Of course. I don't think you need much help once you think things through though. But I"m more than willing to help."
"Maybe you'd like to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?"
She started walk off.
"Is that no?" he asked.
"No," she called over her shoulder.
"Is that yes?"
"No," she called yet again stopping at the door.
"A maybe then?"
She nodded as she left. They had ended up going to Hogsmead that weekend and having a very good time. He'd asked her to be his girlfriend that weekend. She said no. But he didn't give up. He kept asking as he remembered and she'd finally said yes.
"Ted," came Dean's voice cutting across his memory, "did you hear that?"
He shook his head looking around him after pulling his wand from pocket of his over-sized jacket. He watched as Dean followed suit and Griphook looked around uneasily. He turned to Dean.
"Take Griphook and run for it," Ted Tonks told the younger man. "Griphook can't fall into their hands. It's important that he stays away from the Death Eaters." He heard the footsteps getting closer to their camp. "Go. Now."
He watched as Dean grabbed Griphook, who began to bark out complaints, and raced away with the goblin under his arm. He closed his eyes going into his memories as they approached.
"What have we here?" sneered a voice.
"My Ted Tonks," he said standing his ground, "and I"m a Muggle-born wizard."
He hadn't heard the answer that was spat at him in reply. Or the breaking of his wand. Or the shouting of the curse that would kill him. The last thing he would allow his mind to see was his wife and daughter. His Andromeda and Nymphadora.
And then there was nothing.
I hope you all enjoyed Campfire Stories.
