A/N - This is for the Innuendo/Quote Competition and the Diagon Alley Challenge in the HPFC forum, and it actually got first place!


Dear Ted

By Montley


At Hogwarts, Ted Tonks and Andromeda Black were what one would call unlikely friends. Her sister Narcissa disapproved of the relationship while her other sister, Bellatrix thought that he was only tutoring Andromeda, but they were so much more than that.

Their relationship started out as tutoring, but through it they developed innocent crushes on one another. Andromeda was in fear because he was a muggle-born, and she was part of a Pureblood Supremacist family. Already, it was fated to end terribly.

Then one day they were sitting in an isolated corner of the library studying for a Herbology examination. Ted was staring right at her eyes as they glowed with enthusiasm, and he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, which immediately blushed a bright red. Ted began apologizing profusely, but then she leaned over quickly and pecked his lips, turning a scarlet red and creating some blush onto Ted's cheeks.

From there, their relationship picked up with more stolen kisses and secret notes inside their school notebooks. Andromeda's conscience bit at her every day for feeling like she was betraying her family, so she had to confess it to her younger sister, Narcissa, who then showed her dislike, but warned her not to tell their parents or Bellatrix.

Soon seventh year came to a halt, and Andromeda's heart was already broken. She and Ted had been going strong since fifth year, but with no more school, it seemed as though they were forced to end.

They wrote to each other every day, expressing their love to each other, when one day her parents told them they were leaving for a month, no doubt to work for their master. Bellatrix was in charge as she was the oldest. She still lived at home since she was still unmarried. Bellatrix tended to sneak out to meet with her betrothed, but Andromeda knew they were not doing anything romantic, for Bellatrix seemed to always come home very late with bloodstained clothes.

One day Andromeda sparked an idea:

Dear Ted,

My parents are going to be gone for a month, and Bella is rarely home, and I need your help. Our plumbing is not working well, and I need your special fluid to fix it. I know that muggles are very proficient with this stuff, and I just don't know what spell to use.

Please floo over to my manor at noon, I miss you.

Always,

Andromeda.

Andromeda tied the note to her black owl and sent it off, hoping she would be able to see her beloved's face once again.

The owl had arrived soon after and soared straight through Ted's open window, gracefully settling onto his leg. He untied the note, and the owl flew off. He read it and smiled. He checked the time quickly, and seeing that it was already noon he threw on some better clothes, snatched his special plumbing fluid and ran to his fireplace, which had been recently connected to the floo network.

"Where are you going Ted?" his mother called from the kitchen, hearing her son running off.

"Oh! Now Andromeda is pressuring me to fix it today, by pumping some of my special fluid into her pipes," Ted answered, then slapped himself in the face, but his mother laughed gaily, knowing that he really meant different, judging by the fluid he was holding in his hands.

"Have fun, dear!" she laughed and returned to her business while Ted flooed to Andromeda's. As he left the fireplace he was retching and coughing, for he could never get used to the Floo Network and soot. Andromeda was perched on a loveseat reading one of her favorite books in front of it, a book that Ted had bought for her. Their eyes connected at the same time, and Andromeda threw her book to the side and hugged him tightly, kissing his cheeks. She grabbed his hands, and they smiled at each other.

"I've missed you," Andromeda said close to a whisper.

"I've missed you too, Andy," Ted said, giving her a peck on the lips. "Now where's the pipe."

"I lied," Andromeda muttered with a smile. "Best way to get you here in case someone intercepts my mail."

"I love you," Ted said with a wide grin, his heart thudding in fear that she did not feel the same way about him. She grabbed his collar and pulled him down to her face, seizing his lips in a deep kiss.

As his tongue grazed over her lips, she pulled her away, and she whispered over his needy lips, "I love you, too."

All they could do was laugh, smile and kiss as she led him off to her bedroom, where no mistakes or regrets were made.

XXX

Throughout that month Andromeda wrote to him practically every day, asking him to come over a fix an object or objects, but they would end up similarly to the first time. Each time he would receive a letter, he would grin every time he would read, Dear Ted. Ted began bringing flowers to Andromeda; they were always tulips, his favorite because they reminded him of her eyes and her flowery scented hair. He knew that even though they were still young, he wanted to spend the remainder of his life with her.

Andromeda was dancing around the house one morning with a tulip, pausing occasionally to rub her belly. Her sister, Narcissa was lurking around the corner, staring at her sister, the one who deliberately disobeyed their parents. She had a letter gripped in her hand, slightly crumbling it. She was tired of hiding her face every time that boy came; she was simply tired of that mudblood. She called an owl over and tied the letter to its leg, but still gripped it in her hands.

"Andy," Narcissa said in a loud, stone-cold voice. Andromeda paused and swept around, facing her younger sister, who was still petite but graceful, already a lady of the house.

"Yes, Cissy?" Andromeda said in a questioning tone, sniffing her tulip.

"Are you going to stop seeing that mudblood?" Narcissa asked spitefully.

"Don't call him that! And no I am not!" she yelled, her eyes glaring with hatred.

"Don't you want to be with a nice, pureblood boy," Narcissa pleaded.

"No! Because I don't love them, I love Ted!" Andromeda wept.

"Then I'm afraid I have to send this letter to mum and dad, it's for the best Andy," Narcissa said with her nose pointed to the air. She pushed the owl away from her and towards the window, allowing it to start its journey.

"You're not my sister," Andromeda snapped, tears already billowing in her eyes. She stormed out of the room and into her bedroom. She swiped up her clothes and other important belongings. She immediately whipped out a piece of paper and wrote a note to her beloved.

Dear Ted,

Come here right after you read this.

Love always,

Andromeda

When Ted read it he could not help but feel worried. Immediately he darted towards his fireplace and the floo powder flew in the air just before his mother had a chance to ask him where he was going. He arrived to the Black's living room to see a sobbing Andromeda on the loveseat couch, with a packed suitcase next to her.

"What's going on?" Ted asked urgently as he approached her and held her hand in his. He wiped a few tears off of her face.

"Narcissa wrote to my parents, they'll know soon or they already know," Andromeda wept. "We have to leave."

"We can go back to my house, my mother, she won't mind," Ted answered, holding her up and bringing her to the fireplace, ready to grab some floo powder.

"That's not all, Ted," Andromeda said, close to a whisper.

"What is it?"

"I'm pregnant," she cried, tears soaring out of hers already wet eyes. Ted's heart leapt the moment she said it. Shock flooded his system, and at first he did not know what to say to her. Her face gleamed of hopefulness as he stared blankly at her stomach.

He shook his head and stared at the ground, attempting to clear his thoughts. In a way, he knew that he was ready for this next step in life. He already felt that their relationship surpassed many of those who were part of a married couple. It was like that they were already married, aside from the fact that they did not already live together. He would drop down any second and propose, if he only had a ring.

"Andy, I've loved you for Merlin knows how long, and I will love this baby just as much. I've been ready for you, to marry you, I mean if only I had a ring with me," Ted said, gripping her hands comfortingly in his, and she let out a sigh of relief. "I suppose that life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans, but you are my future and so is this baby."

Andromeda wrapped her arms around her shoulders and seized him in a kiss, but this one was formed out of more love than either had expressed before. For the first time, Andromeda knew she was going to be happy.

"I love you so much, Ted," Andromeda murmured against his shoulder.

Ted then lifted her up wedding style and carried her to the fireplace with her luggage. She laughed at his antics, and together they flooed to their bright and happy future. But before they left Andromeda stared at the note she had previously written to her family.

Dear Father, Mother, Bellatrix and Narcissa,

I am leaving today knowing that you will never accept the man that I love, Ted Tonks. I will marry him if it is the last thing I do, and I am already pregnant with his child, another reason you would throw me out of the house. Yes, he is muggle-born, not a mudblood, because in his heart he is pure. I love him and he loves me, so I would never marry a "nice" pureblood boy.

Even though I am leaving, I know you will erase me off the Black family tree, and possibly burn this letter, know that I still love you no matter what.

Love always,

Andromeda


A/N the quotes that I had to use for this were:

INNUENDO: Now {name} is preassuring {name} to fix it today, by pumping some of his special fluid into her pipes - unknown (talking about plumbing)

QUOTE: life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans - John Lennon, Beautiful Boy.

I hope that you liked it and please leave a review!