A/N: Written for the amazing Kyota's challenge—Aboard the Love Boat! So I officially dedicate this to her!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Not even the prompt.

Pure blood

An Andromeda/Ted fiction

Prompts 31 and 50: Firefly and Breathe

Mummy took me to the Muggle park one day. She wasn't so busy, and Father refused to let her stay in the house. He was 'being serious'. Bella and I begged Mummy, and she never could refuse her favorite—Bella—anything.

When we got there, Mummy sniffed in her disdainful way and flounced off to sit on a bench and watch us.

I looked in wonder at the sights around me. I was only five, and I never been there before. But soon, after Bella went to play on the slide—alone—I ventured over to the box full of white powder. A little boy with blonde hair sat there, making what looked like a miniature castle.

"H—hello," I whispered nervously. I wasn't painfully shy, like Cissy (only she was just three), or outgoing, like Bella, so this type of thing was rather normal for me.

"Hi!" he said with a grin. "I'm Ted. Who're you?"

"I'm Andromeda Black. Nice to meet you." And I stuck out my hand. He grinned, and dimples appeared on his cheeks.

"Mademoiselle Black," he said, and kissed my hand.

I giggled and sat down next to him. "How old are you?" I asked.

"Me? I'm only five."

"So am I!" I said, smiling. "Are you a Muggle?"

"A what?" he asked, his brow furrowed.

"Oh, I guess you are. See over there?" I pointed to the slide. "That's my sister, Bellatrix. I call her Bella, though. She's seven!"

He smiled at me again, though he still looked confused. "I don't have siblings. Wish I did though. You're lucky."

"I'll share. I've got a baby sister too. You can have Bella, though. I love Cissy. Even though she's smelly and she cries a lot, I love little babies. And I'm the only one who can calm her down after Auntie Walburga comes over—Cissy hates Auntie Walburga. So do I, but Mummy would punish me if I told her. Mummy isn't even Auntie's sister. And Auntie's so mean…"

He patted my back sympathetically. "I know how you feel. I've got a mean relative. We've got to call her Miss Priss, only not to her face. She's my dad's uncle's wife's kid from her first marriage! I don't know why we have to be so nice to them!"

I stared at him. Now this was a boy I'd like to get to know!

He looked at me and I looked at him, and we were quiet. I saw his chest rising and falling peacefully, rhythmically, almost as though he was asleep. Just breathe, I thought, and I realized how easy it was to do so.

For me, I had to always be careful. If Father got angry and began shouting, and I was the cause, I'd be sent to my room with no dinner, at best. If I interrupted him, he'd go into one of his shouting fits. If I showed too much interest in Muggles, Mummy would slap me soundly. If I spent too long staring into space, Bella would laugh at me. If I didn't take good care of Cissy, she'd start bawling…and probably set Father off in the process. Whatever I did, I needed to think and then act—only if I thought wrong…

But Ted looked calm—like a five-year-old should be. And as I sat next to him, I felt calm too.

"Look!" he said suddenly. "Fireflies!"

And I jumped up, not a care in the world, and worked on catching one.

Ted was a lot better at it then I was. "Look," he said, showing me in his cupped hand three of the little bugs.

I nodded and decided then and there that I would succeed. I would!

In the next moment I'd caught two in one hand. I giggled as I let them go. I'd proven myself, I could tell, because Ted was grinning at me and showing me roundabout ways to catch them—harder ways, that he himself had invented. I smiled too, and worked at it, and Ted proclaimed me, "a natural."

"Andromeda! Andromeda Black!" Mummy called shrilly, breaking through my own little piece of heaven.

"I have to go," I said, and I ran to a bunch of bars, parallel to each other.

Mummy would have killed me if she'd seen me with Ted. I was supposed to hate Muggles too…wasn't I? But why? Ted was really nice! Mummy would like him if only he was a Pureblood wizard…

She called again and I realized that I'd better go to her if I was to save myself from punishment.

"Right here, Mummy!" I shouted. I jumped down and raced to her side.

She smiled thinly at me and turned to Bella, who was on her other side.

"Bellatrix, what were you doing?"

"I was all by my lonesome, Mother. I played mostly on the slide and by those bars." She pointed to where I had been moments ago.

"Yes, yes. Quite right. And Andromeda?"

I smiled angelically at her and said, "I was in that powder-box—only not by that boy—and on the bars, too."

She seemed to believe my little fib, because she grabbed our hands and Apparated us home.

My first lie.

It was the first of many lies I'd tell between that moment and the day I graduated Hogwarts…