A/N: Andromeda gets a detention for Professor Sprout in the Greenhouses. Andromeda/Ted. They are both in Fifth Year, Bellatrix is in Seventh.

Submission for:

The Marauder's Era Competition: Your character gets detention - Andromeda Black. Prompts: shiny, controlling, before, speciality, memorised

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Andromeda said goodbye to her friends who were going to dinner and headed outside towards the Greenhouses. Unfortunately, the middle Black sister had gotten detention for not having her textbook for class earlier that day and was required to come back after classes to the do the lesson alone.

She wasn't even sure how her textbook didn't make it into her bag this morning. She was usually so careful about her studies, but her mind had been occupied with many things this morning.

Druella Black had given Andromeda's older sister an urgent letter to be delivered personally. Bella had hastily opened the letter, disregarding Andromeda's privacy, and told her exactly what it was about: betrothal. Andromeda was to meet her future husband as soon as school let out for the summer, Rodolphus' brother, Rabastan. Rabastan had already left school, as he was a year older than Bellatrix, but Andromeda could remember him clearly - cruel, controlling and unattractive. But her mother's letter made it very clear that, regardless of Andromeda's feelings towards the matter, a shiny engagement ring would be on her finger by the end of the summer.

Andromeda's feet led her blindly towards the Greenhouse as she pondered her future. Was that all she was to be: a wife to a mean man, to be seen not heard? That's what her mother always told her and Andromeda had always listened, but now that the time was drawing near, Andromeda was having second thoughts. She wanted to travel, she wanted to be someone, she didn't want to be a housewife.

Andromeda was so lost in thought, she almost walked straight into the glass door of Greenhouse 2. Professor Sprout, who was inside tending to her plants, turned suddenly at the soft cursing beyond the transparent barrier and gestured for the young girl to come inside.

Andromeda put on a pleasant face, not one to be caught at her worst, before entering and walking up to the old woman. "Good evening, Professor."

The woman smiled, her eyes crinkling at the edges. Andromeda always felt that Professor Sprout actually liked her. She was very different from her sisters: Bella, who would rather set the Greenhouse on fire than learn when she had done the class, and Narcissa, who hated getting her hands dirty. She said, "Now I know you didn't mean to leave your book, you're always so well prepared, so as soon as you finish the assignment, you can run along and I won't even write you up."

Andromeda smiled as she put her bags on one of the workbenches. This wouldn't be too hard. She had memorised what she had to do so she could actually get out of here in about thirty minutes.

"And I can even let Ted help you," Professor Sprout added, gesturing to the other person in the glass building.

Andromeda looked up in surprise. She hadn't even realized that someone else was in here. It was Ted Tonks, a Hufflepuff in her year that everyone called the 'Teacher's Pet'. He was always helping Professor Sprout with her plants and some of her friends found his kindness nauseating. Andromeda had no opinion of the boy really. But now he was coming over to her with a smile. He held out his hands to her, tinged brown from working in the dirt and said, "Good evening, Ms Black."

She eyed his hand carefully and he chuckled. "Yes, sorry about that," he said, rubbing them on the front of his apron before pulling it back. He took his place beside her on the workbench as she took of her textbook and said, "Let's begin. I know how much you'd like to get back to the Great Hall."

Andromeda just nodded, not sure what to say to him. He was a muggleborn, someone her parents told her never to associate with for anything, but now she was working with him. As they worked, she found out he was very brilliant. Herbology was his speciality, but he was also good at Charms and Care of Magical Creatures, subjects her parents would also say were 'unnecessary' and 'ridiculous'. He made her laugh and he took her odd jabbing humour in stride, throwing some of her usual Slytherin insults back at her. Soon, they were just talking, her assignment completed but dinner forgotten.

"Come children, I need to close up the Greenhouse," Professor Sprout said when she walked up to them. Andromeda looked outside the windows and realized the sun had disappeared behind the trees of the Forbidden Forest, the only light coming from the glowing orbs Professor Sprout had put into the greenhouse ceiling. How could so much time have passed by?

Andromeda handed Professor Sprout her assignment, received her O, and the pair helped the woman tidy up her work-area.

When they were finished, Andromeda said goodbye to the two Hufflepuffs and made her way towards the castle alone.

That had been an interesting moment. Andromeda couldn't remember having such an engaging conversation with someone in her life. All her friends were such airheads and all the boys she spoke to only talked about their families and their money. But Ted was different. Ted read and was learned and spoke about his fun times with his family, not his family's money.

"Andromeda!" someone called out from behind her. She stopped as she waited for the running boy to catch up to her. "I know you don't need the help, but any time you're doing Herbology, you can ask me."

Andromeda looked at his innocent face in the faint light from the castle. This boy was something her parents would never understand but someone Andromeda was already enamored with. He was everything Rabastan would never be.

She smiled at him and said softly, "That sounds lovely."