Finders Keepers

She had been waiting outside the bathroom for over an hour, and her patience was wearing thin. Her sister was excited, she knew. It was Narcissa's first day of school. Her first day of learning magic properly, learning that which made you special, which made you superior to every other creature on Earth, human or otherwise.

Andromeda felt that she was being fairly understanding about this, but did an eleven year old girl really need an hour long bath? Did anyone? She would only have taken fifteen minutes if Narcissa hadn't fought tooth and nail to get in there first.

Their home had several bathrooms, each large and elegant and filled with expensive soaps and scents. But the one between her room and her younger sister's was the one she had to use. Bellatrix, who always spent only a minimum amount of time on her appearance, seemed to dislike anyone intruding on what she regarded as her bathroom. And 'dislike' was quite the understatement.

The sickly sweet scent of flowers seeped under the door as Narcissa lathered, rinsed and repeated. Andromeda wrinkled her nose in distaste. Almost every shampoo in the entire house smelled something like that. Once, when she was slightly younger, she had learned a word which described the smell perfectly. The word pungent, the dictionary had told her, meant something that affects the organs of taste or smell with a sharp, acrid sensation. The soap certainly did that. Which is why, as soon as she got her letter for Hogwarts over two years ago, she'd left the house without her mother knowing. Using some muggle money once given to her by her uncle Alphard – before he was disowned for consorting with those lesser peoples, of course – she bought a large bottle of orange-scented shampoo and another one of ordinary soap at a muggle supermarket. When she returned home, she hid them under her bed.

Her mother would have been horrified by this little escapade, which is why Andromeda made sure never to tell her about it. She decided it was best not to tell her about any of the subsequent visits either. There were always things that muggles made better, and Andromeda had discovered on that first visit that, though muggles were of course to be avoided at all costs, because they were filthy, inside and out, they generally smelled no worse than her family, thanks to that horrendous soap.

When Andromeda heard Narcissa rummaging for the conditioner, she decided she'd had enough.

"Narcissa!" she said sharply, approaching the door. "Hurry up in there!"

"Andromeda!" she heard a voice whine from within. "It's my first day!"

"Yes, your first day, but most of it will be spent on a train. I'm sure you look fine," she assured wearily.

"I'll only be a little while longer," Narcissa insisted.

She took another half an hour.

When Andromeda finally made it out of the bathroom, and only having been in there for twenty minutes herself, she realised that she had five minutes to dress.

Normally Andromeda preferred not to ask for assistance from house elves – their servile and adoring attitude put her off, somewhat – but in this case it was necessary.

When she rushed downstairs with her hair clean, but incredibly dishevelled, and her robes needing to be adjusted, she met the gaze of her older sister, Bellatrix.

Bella sniffed in disapproval.

"Did you climb out of bed two minutes ago, Andromeda?" she asked scornfully. Narcissa giggled, somewhat nervously, but quieted instantly when Andromeda looked at her in exasperation.

"No, Bella," Andromeda answered. "The bathroom was occupied for quite a while this morning. It delayed me."

"'Occupied'?"

"Narcissa was using it."

"Well? Why not make her get out? You have magic, don't you?" Narcissa looked in horror at he oldest sister.

"I do," said Andromeda evenly. "But Cissy doesn't know any spells yet."

"That's rather the point," said Bella, raising an eyebrow.

"For you, maybe. Anyway, it's her first day. She's excited."

Bella wrinkled her nose in distaste, while Narcissa smiled gratefully at Andromeda.

"Make sure to groom yourself before we get to King's Cross," Bella demanded, eyeing Andromeda's thick, wavy, and currently un-brushed hair.

Andromeda had put her hairbrush in her truck at the very top, and had been planning to quickly use it before they left. But Bella had no authority over her. Andromeda was rarely rebellious, and sometimes her sister honestly frightened her, but this morning she felt unaccountably irritated by her sister's superior attitude.

"Actually," she said airily, "I was planning on leaving it like this. After all, if we are so much better than everyone else – as you constantly remind me – then I should be able to get away with it."

"There are such things as standards," hissed Bellatrix, after mastering her surprise at anyone – especially anyone younger, and therefore inferior to her – disobeying her 'requests'. They weren't really requests. "Do you want to look like a common muggle?"

Andromeda flinched automatically. That was always the worst insult that could be used in the Black family. But, she realised, the insult didn't carry as much weight as it once had. Hadn't she seen muggles up close? Didn't they look and act oddly like wizards?

She quickly shook the thought out of her head and avoided her sister's gaze on the way to the station, ignoring her barbed comments. As soon as they passed through the barrier, Bella strutted away, towards those more worthy of her time, leaving Andromeda with Narcissa, who was almost quivering on the spot with glee.

It was odd that, at fifteen (and short for her age), Bellatrix still had so much control, so much confidence. She didn't walk; she strode. She acted as though everyone in the crowded station should move out of her way and, miraculously, they did. Bellatrix had power.

As Andromeda led her younger sister towards the scarlet train, she noticed that Narcissa was standing taller, and attempting to stride through the crowd. This didn't work for a nervous eleven year old. After she almost fell over upon collision with a heavy set man, Andromeda took her gently by the hand and helped her edge her way through the crowd.

Andromeda had, for the past two years, sat with Bella in her compartment with all her friends and admirers. She led Narcissa there but, looking in through the window and seeing her sister sneering at a young girl – while Rodolphus Lestrange fawned over her – made her feel slightly ill at the thought of spending the entire train journey in there. Narcissa, however, went right in to the compartment. Bella looked up and smiled a large – and entirely fake – smile of welcome.

"Cissy, Dromeda! There you are! Come sit, won't you?" Bellatrix said, but the eyes that fell upon Andromeda were far from friendly. Nothing had been forgotten, and Bella was sure to make this trip very unpleasant, however keen she was on keeping up appearances.

Narcissa happily skipped to her sister's side, delighted at being shown such favour. Andromeda, however, remained at the door.

"Thank you, Bella," she answered, plastering a fake smile of her own on her face. She suspected it looked more like a grimace – she had never been as adept at this game as her sister. "But I think I'll find another compartment. I need to study. I fell behind slightly at the end of last year. In Defence." Everyone knew that was her worst subject, and her grade had been far from praise-worthy.

A flicker of annoyance passed across Bella's features, gone in an instant as the smile widened. "Of course, we don't want you to be left behind, do we?" There was a threat there, somewhere, but Andromeda couldn't quite figure out what it was. "But are you sure you couldn't study here?" Bella's eyes narrowed. She was offering Andromeda a way out, to take back everything, to go back to the way things were. In a flash of unfamiliar spirit, Andromeda suddenly grinned in genuine amusement.

"No, thank you," she said. "I think I'd be happier staying out of this." She glanced meaningfully around the compartment, but quickly added, just refraining from winking cheekily at her sister, "I think I study better alone."

Bella's smile seemed more than strained, as she withheld a sneer. "If that's what you want, darling."

"It is," said Andromeda with certainty. She left without another word, leaving the compartment highly confused about the bizarre conversation and semi-understood meaning of it.

She wandered down the train, not knowing where she would actually go. Most of her friends were Slytherins who revered fifth year Bellatrix Lestrange. They would not understand this. She decided to try and find an empty compartment and actually study. You could never be too prepared, after all.

She eventually found a compartment near the end of the train just as the whistle blew and they began pulling away from the station. Through the window she could see a boy running with his trolley towards the train. He was late. As he caught up to the slowly accelerating steam engine he caught hold of a railing at an entrance and hauled his trunk on board with him, abandoning the trolley.

As he clambered on board she lost interest and pulled her Charms book from her bag and settled down to read it. She supposed she should study something she was bad at, but it was always more satisfying (and a lot easier) to study Charms.

Her studying was interrupted, however, when someone noisily rattled their way down the corridor outside before entering her compartment, dragging a large trunk after them. It was the boy who she had watched running a moment ago. While entering the compartment, he succeeded in crashing his trunk into the half-open door and nearly falling over.

She watched this display with some disdain. She thought she recognised him from her year. A Hufflepuff, perhaps. But what was he doing in her compartment?

As he righted himself, he looked up at her and grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry for the noise," he said. "This sort of thing happens to me. Do you mind if I sit here? Most places seem full and I think I'll definitely fall over if I try and drag this thing," he kicked his trunk ruefully, "any further."

"I wouldn't be surprised," she said. She had meant to say it with rather more scorn, but she almost couldn't help the smile forming on her face.

The boy seemed to take it as an invitation, however, and immediately began shoving his trunk on the shelf above the seat across from her. After almost dropping it on his own head several times, he eventually succeeded and sat down.

Andromeda sighed and tried to return to her Charms textbook. But after just a moment of settling down in his seat, the boy seemed to decide to actually talk to her. Was he serious? She didn't even know his name...

"What are you reading?" he asked her.

"I'm studying," she said, avoiding looking up at his smiling face. "Charms."

She heard him chuckle. "You're a lot more dedicated than me," he told her. "I'm awful at Charms. And Potions, actually... you can probably guess why."

She couldn't help it, she glanced up. She was curious. He was still looking at her with that same sheepish grin. "No, why?" she asked.

"Seriously? I am possibly the clumsiest person in the school," he laughed. "In all England! I almost fell over my own feet on the way to this compartment, and I was late onto the train today because I managed to break my alarm clock last night."

"Your alarm clock?" she asked. "What's that?"

He looked at her in surprise. "It's a clock that... tells you when to wake up in the morning. You don't use one?"

"No," she said honestly, deciding to refrain from mentioning that that's what House Elves were for. She wasn't sure why; she knew that Bella would have wasted no time in informing this boy of their superior status. Maybe that was why. "So do you spill ingredients a lot in Potions?" she asked, back on topic.

"Oh, yes. Often into the cauldron. Which then explodes."

She laughed at that, and put down her book.

"So what subjects do you like?" she asked him.

He thought for a while before saying, "Transfiguration and Defence Against the Dark Arts. They're so much more interesting..."

"Charms is interesting!" she protested.

"No, not really."

"Well, what about Defence Against the Dark Arts? It's a waste of time."

"What do you mean? It's learning to defend yourself against Dark Magic! How is that a waste of time?" He seemed to find her attitude somewhat unbelievable, yet amusing. It irritated her.

"Well," she began, and floundered somewhat, before moving onto familiar territory and repeating Bella's opinions. "They teach such passive, useless spells, none of which would really save you or defeat your opponent in a duel."

He looked at her oddly for a moment. "Are you sure you just don't like it because you aren't good at it?" he asked.

She wasn't good at it. But it was also hard to take it seriously when everyone in her household (and most of Slytherin) scorned it as a subject.

"Wait, how do you know I'm not good at it?" she asked suspiciously.

He smiled. "I presumed. Mostly people don't like what they aren't any good at."

"But that's not the only reason to dislike something," she said haughtily. "My sister is great at Defence, and she's always talking about how stupid it is!"

"Who's your sister?"

She stopped and stared at him. How did this boy not know who they were? They were Blacks!

"What?" he said, when she was silent for a moment.

"You don't know who my sister is?"

"Should I? I mean, I know we've been in the same year for the past two years, but this is the first time we've actually spoken, so..."

"You know what?" she said, suddenly feeling like a weight had lifted off her chest. "Forget it. Forget I mentioned her."

"OK..." he said uncertainly, and changed the subject.

When the food trolley arrived, her companion bought a large bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. She didn't get up, and he looked at her oddly.

"Aren't you getting anything?" he asked.

"My sister says -" she began, but then stopped. "You know, I just might get something." She bought one cauldron cake, and saw him roll his eyes. He bought some more food, and once the lady pushing the food trolley left he handed Andromeda one of his chocolate frogs.

"You'll never last until the feast tonight with just that," he told her.

"I have in the past," she sniffed, but took the offered treat. She remembered that she hadn't eaten a breakfast that morning, such had been her haste. She probably should have just eaten while Narcissa was in the shower...

She had never bought anything off the food trolley before. Bellatrix said that it was low quality rubbish. She hadn't disagreed. But Bella wasn't with her now. She took a large bite out of her cauldron cake. She chewed slowly, and decided it wasn't too bad, at least not while she was this hungry.

Opposite her, her companion was struggling with his bag of beans. They plastic wasn't tearing, no matter how much he pulled. When he saw her staring at him in amusement he blushed.

"It's tricky," he said defensively. "Do you have a scissors at all?"

"A scissors?" she asked. "Are you a wizard or not?" He laughed at that, and took out his wand.

"I forget, sometimes, that I am," he told her, as he used a cutting charm to open the bag – causing half the bag to empty on to floor. He swore quietly.

"Sorry," he said quickly when he saw her expression, before continuing. "But it's weird coming back each September, after not being allowed use magic all summer."

She smiled at him, and thought guiltily of how much she had been using magic. The Ministry certainly couldn't tell if under-age wizardry was taking place in a house as filled with magic as a home of Blacks. And her parents had always held that such rules did not apply to them. Andromeda had felt worried about it the first summer, when she had read the letter for her parents telling them that she wasn't allowed to perform magic when not at school. But her hesitation to break the rules did not extend to letting Bella hex her when angry without even trying to defend herself. It was hard to imagine, now, ever not being allowed or capable of doing magic.

He grinned at her, and offered her an Every Flavour Bean. She took one graciously.

"Thank you..." she said, and suddenly realised in embarrassment that she still couldn't remember his name, if she had ever known it.

He raised an eyebrow questioningly at her, but remained smiling. "I'm Ted. Ted Tonks."

She smiled back slightly nervously. "Hi, I'm Andromeda."

"Yeah, I know." He looked amused. "We've been in the same school for two years."

She quickly ate the bean she'd been given to stave off the awkwardness – only to choke a second later.

"What is that?" she exclaimed, coughing.

He laughed. He actually laughed at her. She scowled.

"You've never had these?" he asked. "You've been going to this school as long as I have! Even if you were muggle born you should have had these before now!"

She gave him a sharp look. Had he really never heard of her family? "Some wizarding families," she told him haughtily, "have higher standards than others."

He just grinned wider. "Or 'some wizarding families'," he looked at her pointedly, "lack the courage required to enjoy a packet of Every Flavour Beans."

"And what do I look like, a Gryffindor?" But she didn't like the implication that she was in any way weaker than him.

He smiled and reached into the packet. He chucked a bean into his mouth, without looking at it. She watched as his mouth contorted slightly as the quickly swallowed.

"Salt," he told her, when she gave him an enquiring look. "Your turn."

She took one warily. It was pink. An awful, fleshy pink. She met Ted's gaze, which was slightly challenging. She closed her eyes and ate it.

"Well?" he asked her as she chewed thoughtfully.

"Grapefruit," she said. "A little sour." She grinned in triumph. He rolled his eyes.

What followed was without a doubt the best fun she had ever had on the Hogwarts Express. They went through two packets of Bertie Bott's (well, a packet and a half. A great deal of the first packet remained on the floor. Andromeda had offered to open the second, to Ted's obvious relief). Andromeda smiled smugly when Ted finally refused to eat one.

"Coward," she said.

"It's not cowardice," he told her, smiling that sheepish smile. "It's common sense. It looks radioactive!" The neon green bean lay between them.

"Right," she said, condescendingly, pretending she knew what radioactive meant. His smile changed to a look of some concern when she took the bean and popped it into her mouth.

She chewed thoughtfully, and then grinned at him. He seemed to relax.

"It's just lime, you baby."

"Good thing, too," he said. "I really didn't want to have to call for help."

There was a slightly sticky moment when Ted tried one, and made a face.

"What? What is it?" Andromeda asked curiously.

"Ugh, zucchini," he told her. "I hate zucchini..."

"What's a zucchini?" she asked. She had never heard of it before.

"Oh, sorry," said Ted. "It's just what they call a courgette in America."

"Are you American?" she asked him, surprised. He didn't have an American accent at all.

"Oh, no. My grandmother is. She cooks a lot for us, and is always telling me to eat the zucchini." He made a face.

"I've never met an American," Andromeda told him. "What school did she go to? I've only heard of a wizarding school in Salem, but it's such a large country..."

"Oh, she didn't go to a wizarding school," he answered. "She's a muggle."

Andromeda didn't know why that surprised her as much as it did. Hadn't he given her several clues that he had at least some muggle background? She had known he wasn't a Pureblood, hadn't she? She decided that she didn't want to know just how diluted his blood was. It could only make things awkward. So, in true Black fashion, she ignored that which displeased her and changed the subject.

Ted quickly pulled on his robes before they stopped in Hogsmeade station. She had been right, she saw, when he donned his black and yellow tie. He was a Hufflepuff.

As she got off the train she wondered what she could say to him. Nice talking to you? It had been, but then he might try and talk to her again. And as she saw her sister's brown hair – so like her own – in the crowd she felt a great deal of rebellion drain out of her.

"I have to go," she told Ted, hiding her reluctance and staring him straight in the eye. They were blue, she noticed. So different from her dark ones. "My sister will be wondering where I am." She flounced off.

She didn't look back until she was already in a carriage with Bellatrix, who was coldly ignoring her. Andromeda was sure, from her sister's demeanour, that if she attempted to speak she would be talked over. Ted was talking to a group of Hufflepuffs, yet to get into a carriage, but glanced over at her with a puzzled expression. She quickly turned her gaze to the castle in front of her.

She found herself feeling oddly bereft at the thought that she would probably never speak to Ted Tonks again.

A/N: This was written for the Random Word Challenge on the Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges forum. My words were chocolate, zucchini, orange, scissors, shampoo, train, glee, dictionary. My pairing was, of course, Andromeda/Tonks.

I quite like this story, writing the Black sisters is very interesting. I might continue on with this after the challenge, would anyone be interested in reading that? Please review and tell me what you thought, positive or negative. I aim to learn ^_^