Written for the Quidditch League fanfiction competition round 7
Team Appleby Arrows
Seeker
SEEKER: Write about a Pureblood witch or wizard marrying a Muggle and learning how to use everyday Muggle technology like toasters, telephones or TVs.
Muggle!Ted Tonks
Also written for ASSIGNMENT #2: Performing Arts Led by Professor Liza on Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments).
Task 3: Write a story with a popular trope (see below trope list)
Taken from trope list: "Blackmail" is such an ugly word.
Word count without A/N: 1 018
Blackmail
Andromeda Black, also known as Dromeda and Andy, was a pure-blood witch and the middle daughter of Cygnus and Druella Black. With that, you can see that she was from a very respectable family. Sorted into Slytherin, she was the pride of her parents.
Edward Tonks, also known as Ted, was a Muggle. He had no connections to magic until his little brother Peter got the letter that invited him to attend Hogwarts. When that happened, the two brothers apparently parted ways, but only when it came to education, so when Peter was sorted into Slytherin and became best friends with Andromeda Black, Ted found himself meeting the girl often. He always thought that she was too proper, and he generally didn't like her because she didn't even try to learn about Muggles.
oOoOo
In his brother's seventh and final year, Ted was sent to pick them up as the girl was to stay with them. It sounded fishy to him, but he did as he was told.
When he came there, the girl's face was in its usual strict shape. He rode them home in silence.
One evening into the week, Peter went out with his Muggle friends while Ted was left alone with the girl.
"What?" he asked when she stared at him.
"How do you do it?"
"How do I do what?" he asked grouchily, not wanting to spend even a minute talking to her.
"Well, living without magic."
"Pretty face, not many of us get to use magic. Or have money," the last part he mumbled.
"Yes, because having money is soo easy," Andromeda replied having heard her money.
"Why, isn't it?" Ted started. "You can do whatever you want with your life. You have no responsibility to help your family pay the bills. Do you think that everything we have falls from the tree? We earned it."
With that, Ted exited the room and Andromeda sat on the couch, sighing.
An hour later, Ted entered the room again, ignoring the witch on the couch, or rather, he tried to. He took his food and tried to eat, but she spoke, "I'm sorry."
That single sentence started a discussion in which both of them realized that they weren't that different. Each had their own responsibility and worries. Andromeda told him about her fight with her parents and how she managed to make them postpone any kind of engagement. All in all, it went better than one could expect from them. So well, that Ted let himself say, "Well, you aren't as snotty as I thought."
"Well, you aren't a grouchy bastard," she replied to that.
"Of course I am not; my parents are married."
"My apologies, your grouchiness," Andromeda said with straight face.
Her reply earned her a stare that sent her laughing.
All in all, Ted found himself thinking, it wasn't that bad to be left alone with a witch.
That summer, they were left alone in the house again. It started with light teasing, but then Andromeda said, "You know, you really aren't that bad."
"Oh yeah? If I'm not, then will you go out with me?"
oOoOo
No one believed that the two of them started going out.
Soon a year passed and he took her to a restaurant to celebrate it.
"Ted, my family is nagging me to get married to a pureblood wizard. They do not approve of this and mum said it's enough of my 'fooling' around."
"Go on," he urged. "You always start like that. Spit it out."
"When will you put a ring on my finger? I don't want-" Andromeda was interrupted by Ted's quick response.
"And how do you suppose you will survive being married to me? You don't know a first thing about being a Muggle."
"Well, shouldn't love be enough?" Andromeda tried lamely, but she knew he was right and was actually willing to admit it too, even though she was a Slytherin.
"Yeah, right," Ted said with a snort and then continued, "I'll put it on your finger if you promise to learn how to be a Muggle."
"Are you blackmailing me, Ted?" Andromeda asked with lifted eyebrows, surprised, but secretly pleased.
"Darling, 'Blackmail' is such an ugly word. I prefer to say that I am giving you the proper stimulus to learn how to be a Muggle," Ted answered smugly.
"Fine, you have it." She replied."I want my ring tomorrow night."
They married soon after even though Andromeda's parents disapproved.
oOoOo
"You have to try, Andy. You promised," Ted said reminding her.
"Fine," she said huffing. "What will you have me do first?"
"I think you should first learn how to write with a pencil."
"What is a pencil?" Andromeda asked confused.
"A pencil is an instrument for writing or drawing, consisting of a thin stick of graphite or a similar substance enclosed in a long thin piece of wood or fixed in a cylindrical case."
"A what? How do you do that?"
"Let me show you," Ted said and picked up a pencil and paper.
The learning how to use a pencil passed well. Yes, she did leave few blotches on the table, but she managed once she remembered that she did not need to dip it into an inkwell.
oOoOo
A week passed before Ted cornered Andromeda about muggle things.
"Andy, come on," Ted said for hundreth time trying to make his wife do it. He wanted her to learn how to use the washing machine.
"Fine, what now?" Andromeda asked.
"The washing machine," Ted said confidently.
"The what?"
"A washing machine. It is something we use for washing clothes, bed linen, etc."
"Do you have something I can read about it? It will be easier."
"Yes, I have it right here," he said trying to reach the table to their left. "Here you go."
Three days passed before Andromeda managed to turn the machine on without almost destroying it in the process.
More days passed and Andromeda could move around without using magic. Who said that being without magic is so bad?
The End