Angel
by Darke Wispers
D: Not mine. I wish it was, but it's not.
A/N: This is for the "Your Favourite Character Competition" by a-trip-to-honeydukes. My favorite character is obviously Andromeda, my prompt is angel, and my event is birthday. It's a little slow at first, but I had fun with it. Hope you like it! R&R!
Andromeda Black was always told that she was the most comely of her sisters. Between Bellatrix's dark and mysterious air and Narcissa's fair and delicate beauty, Andromeda never hoped to be pretty. She continued with this idea until her seventeenth birthday, coincidentally her last birthday as a Black sister.
Her day began with a house elf waking her from a rather terrible nightmare. Andromeda couldn't remember what had happened, but she woke in terror. Her heartbeat rapidly and sweat dampened her brown hair. She felt as though she had been left in a free fall, staring eternally at the jagged rocks below her and imagining the fate that would never meet her. The house elf, Blinky, informed her that while her hair was in a dire state, she was required to meet her father for breakfast in his office in precisely ten and a half minutes. Andromeda was forced to scramble to dress in clean robes, fix her disastrous nest called hair, and all without trampling the poor elf trying to make her bed.
By some miracle, she was ready with two minutes to spare. She ran across the house, ignoring the echo of her heels on the hard wood floor that was sure to wake Druella. She slid into her father's office gracefully, taking in the dark walls and mahogany desks with indifference. She wasn't invited into Cygnus's office often, but it's décor matched the remainder of the house and did nothing to shock the composed girl. There was a thin man with a gaunt face studying an untouched plate of kippers with a small frown.
"Hello, Father," Andromeda greeted the man sitting at the desk politely. The man snapped his head up, grey eyes suddenly piercing the young girl's vision.
"Andromeda," Cygnus nodded, acknowledging her appearance. "Sit," he commanded.
"Yes, father." she consented, sitting in a straight-backed chair slowly. She watched her father silently, wondering what she was here for. The quiet continued for a moment before Andromeda broke it, unable to wait for her father to understand the reason his breakfast was in front of him.
"Is there something wrong, Father?" she asked in a monotonous vocie.
"There's not enough pepper." Cygnus grunted, still watching his food. Andromeda stifled a laugh with a delicate cough.
"Pardon me, Father. I should have been more specific. Is there something wrong, that you have invited me to eat with you?" she asked politely, hoping he hadn't caught her cover-up.
"You are seventeen today." he stated. It wasn't a question, but Andromeda nodded anyway. "You are now an adult. I expect you to act as such, and to find yourself a suitable husband once you graduate." he stated with such authority Andromeda could only nod. "You are dismissed." he grunted, shooing his daughter away. Andromeda slipped out the door with a heavy heart.
The rest of the day continued in this fashion, after of course, her mother commented on her messy hair, unshapely form, and ragged nails. She accepted a birthday congratulations from several passing family members and talked with Narcissa until she was forced to go sew with Druella. Andromeda happily retreated to her room to read, but just after she had picked up her book, a house elf, Pinky, interrupted her.
"There is a man her for Miss Meda, ma'am." it squeaked, retreating to the kitchens once more. Andromeda sighed and set her book down sadly.
"Probably some git Father bribed into visiting," she muttered as she descended the stairs quietly.
At the bottom of the stairs she found a young man who she did not expect to see at all. A tall, sturdy man with fair hair and a wide smile greeted her.
"Meda!" he smiled. "Happy birthday!"
"Theodore Tonks?" Andromeda asked, shocked. The man nodded.
"W-What're you doing her?" she stuttered.
"Saying Happy Birthday obviously! Oh! And I have to give you your birthday present, yeah?" he announced happily. Andromeda nodded dumbly. Here, a muggleborn she only knew from prefect duty was standing on her doorstep wishing her a happy birthday. She watched as he'd stepped forward, stumbling over the hat rack (no doubt informing Druella of his presence) and kissed her. She stood stunned for a moment before kissing him back.
The kiss ended quickly, but left them both breathless anyway. Ted's smirk grew impossibly wider and Andromeda's usually polite smile became full-blown and cheesy.
"Wow." Ted whispered. Andromeda nodded furiously. "You look like an angel you know, just standing there. You're hair looks all wind-blown and you're... I dunno. Beautiful." he said as though it were a perfectly normal thing to say. Tears filled Andromeda's eyes. No one had ever called her beautiful. No one ever complimented her hair. No one said she was an angel. She'd been called a devil once. Never an angel. Ted looked at her in fear.
"Oh, Merlin. Listen, I didn't mean to hurt you're feelings. I just-" he apologized, but Andromeda cut him off with a kiss.
"No one's ever called me an angel before." she whispered. Ted pulled back from her.
"Be my girl?" he asked. Andromeda thought for a moment, just a moment. Any normal wizard would court her, tell her he wished to win her affections, buy her jewels, speak with her father. Her father. He would never approve. Ted was a muggleborn. Scum. The lowest of the low. But, no one else had ever called her an angel. No one else gave her butterflies. No one else really cared. Ted did. So Andromeda did the most ridiculous thing she would ever do. She did something that would lose her her family, money, home, and friends. She said "yes".
Ted swooped her into a tender hug and kissed her forehead lovingly.
"Look at me," he smiled. "I caught myself an angel." Andromeda smiled at Ted and walked out the door, not coming back until late into the night, grinning madly all the while.