With his copy of Unfogging the Future propped in front of him, Ted glanced over the top of the book toward the Slytherin table for probably the tenth time that morning. The noise and crowd in the Great Hall during breakfast provided the perfect cover to be able to watch the object of his inquiry, Andromeda Black. Lucky for him, she was completely unaware of his attention. At least Ted hoped she wasn't aware. He'd learned enough about Slytherins to know that the self-preservation and cunningness, which a true Slytherin embodied, wouldn't allow him to know whether she was aware he was watching or not. Slytherin qualities aside, he continued to sneak glances at the young woman whose long wavy hair looked enticingly soft. Ted wanted to run his hands through the tresses while caressing her lips with his own.
"You're not as clever as you think you are, you know."
Ted was broken from his enjoyable yet brief fantasy as his best mate, Bernard, sat next to him at the table and reached for a jug of pumpkin juice.
"How's that?" Ted asked, reluctantly bringing his mind away from thoughts of Andromeda's lips as he looked at his friend.
Bernard snatched the textbook from Ted's hands and tossed it on top of the open school bag resting behind their bench. "You're not as clever as you think. Unless you were actually reading that book to find out if your future self has the bollocks to ask her out," Bernard replied with a smirk.
Ted scowled into his bowl of porridge. "You know I can't ask her out."
"Why not?" Bernard asked around a mouthful of bacon he'd nicked from Ted's plate. "You've been mooning over her since the Christmas hols last year."
Ted focused on finishing his porridge rather than reply, knowing that he'd indeed been 'mooning over' Andromeda since Christmas of their sixth year.
"Right," Bernard said, clapping Ted on the back. "First class of the day is History of Magic with the Slytherins. You can continue mooning over her there."
History of Magic turned out to be as dull as Ted expected. Of course, it proved less dull than it could have been since he had a clear view of Andromeda from his seat in the back of the classroom. Previously, the location of his seat was chosen based on the opportunity to nap through the early morning class. Nearly a year ago, he'd noticed how lovely Andromeda Black was and used his position in the classroom to unabashedly stare while Professor Binns droned on about Giant wars.
Merlin, she's beautiful. Ted watched as Andromeda dutifully took notes as the ghost in the front of the classroom delivered that day's lecture on NEWT level Goblin history. He compared her immaculate appearance—school robes spell-ironed to perfection and every lovely lock of hair in place—to his own rumpled robes, and shaggy hair that never seemed to stay out of his eyes. What he wouldn't give to see her hair in disarray after a good snogging.
Ted was continuing his earlier fantasy of running a hand through Andromeda's long hair as he imagined his other hand exploring her body in a far less gentlemanly way when a charmed piece of parchment folded into the shape of a frog hopped onto his desk, startling him from his thoughts. He unfolded the note and rolled his eyes, recognizing Bernard's untidy scrawl.
Stop being a prat and ask her out.
Ted wrote bugger off under Bernard's message and crumpled it into a ball and used his wand to flick it across the aisle to his desk.
As they were exiting the classroom to head toward the steps leading to the dungeons for their next class, Bernard said in a low voice, "I'm serious, mate. Why don't you asked her out?"
"Didn't you see the article in the Prophet last week announcing her sister's engagement to that scary Lestrange bloke?" Ted asked. He'd stared at the picture next to the article for ages, wondering how two people could look so alike at first glance, but once you really looked, it was clear how strikingly different their appearance was. Bellatrix's midnight black hair and haughty expression were similar in a familial way, but also very different from Andromeda's light brown hair and noble yet softer features.
"So? Bellatrix is just as scary as him. Reckon it's a perfect match," Bernard said as they descended into the castle. "Anyway, what's that got to do with Andromeda?"
"The younger one is always with that git, Malfoy," Ted said, lowering his voice to a whisper. "Theirs will be the next announcement. Those are the type her family approves of. Poncy Purebloods, not sloppy Muggleborns."
"You are a right slob," Bernard said, flipping Ted's tie over his shoulder, ostensibly trying to lighten his friend's mood.
"Thanks for that," Ted said with a scowl as he righted his tie.
Bernard grabbed Ted's arm and pulled him aside, letting the other students pass. "Not all of them are like that. Look at that cousin of hers who was sorted into Gryffindor. She seems to get on with him."
Ted considered what Bernard had said, wondering if he had a point.
"Birds like Quidditch players," Bernard said, obviously seeing his friend's resolve crumbling. "Ask her to a match when Hufflepuff isn't playing."
"I think something less public would be better," Ted said wryly as he began walking down the steps once more.
"So pull her behind that statue of Boris the Bewildered by the Prefects' Bathroom," Bernard said. "You can find out if her bits are more like cantaloupes or apples."
Before Ted could follow through with his plan to swat Bernard on the back of the head for his comment about Andromeda's breasts, his friend ducked into the Potion's classroom. Feelings of possessiveness over anybody but him pondering Andromeda's body—along with nagging thoughts of his own over her physical assets—kept him distracted throughout the lesson. Luckily, Ted was ace at Potions and was able to both finish his task and contemplate what was hiding under Andromeda's uniform. Not that the mystery of what was hiding under her school robes and Slytherin tie were new thoughts to Ted. These things had a habit of entering his mind while sneaking glances her way. Did the billowing robes disguise cantaloupes or apples as Bernard had so crassly addressed earlier? What he wouldn't give to see her in something the Muggle girls wore around his neighborhood during the summer holidays; a halter top and bell-bottomed denims would give a much clearer picture of her body than the stuffy Hogwarts uniform.
The next day, Ted and Bernard were leaving their Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson—another class luckily shared with the Slytherins—for lunch in the Great Hall. Ted positioned himself so he could see Andromeda as she sipped her tea and ate daintily from her bowl of beef stew.
"The bloke they got to teach Defense this year actually knows his stuff," Bernard said, heaping stew into his bowl.
"You see her Patronus today?" Ted asked, nodding his head toward the Slytherin table and ignoring his friend's eye roll. "It was a rabbit. What d'ya reckon that means?"
"She shags like one?" Bernard asked with a snort. He shook his head when Ted told him to shut up. "You really have lost the plot, mate."
As Bernard began speaking to one of their Quidditch teammates about the upcoming match against Ravenclaw, Ted picked up his goblet of pumpkin juice and glanced furtively at Andromeda. He froze with his cup halfway to his lips as Andromeda's eyes flicked to his for a split second before returning to the book resting in front of her. Ted was telling himself he'd imagined the whole thing when she looked up once more, this time holding his gaze for a long moment before her lips turned up in a tiny smile.
Ted, who couldn't be less of a Slytherin if he tried and readily put his emotions out for all to see, couldn't help the broad smile that stretched across his face. He didn't care if he was grinning like a fool. The girl he fancied had smiled at him.
The spell of the moment was broken when his teammate next to him shook his shoulder to get his attention. "All right, Tonks?"
Ted smiled at his fellow Beater and apologized before sneaking a glance back to Andromeda. To his disappointment, she was packing up her book as her younger sister spoke rapidly into her ear, a look of indignation on her face as Andromeda stood while she was mid-sentence and walked quickly from the Great Hall. Narcissa turned to the blond-haired wizard sitting next to her who Ted was startled to see was staring at him coldly. Ted met the his eyes, refusing to be intimidated. They glared at each other until Malfoy looked to his girlfriend and pressed a finger to her lips to stop the stream of words she was now inflicting upon him.
Ignoring his friend's protests, Ted stood and hoisted his bag over his shoulder before hastily leaving the Hall to catch up to Andromeda. With most of the students still eating lunch, the corridors were deserted, but he didn't see her. Ted trudged downstairs to the Hufflepuff Common Room, choosing to think about Andromeda's smile rather than Malfoy's icy stare.
.
Over the next few days, Ted and Andromeda shared a number of covert smiles in the corridors. Although he was no closer to asking Andromeda on a date—a fact Bernard had generously pointed out—Ted was happy with the progress. Bernard thought he was dragging his feet and chose an inopportune moment in the full Hufflepuff locker room before Quidditch practice to take the mickey out about how Ted was watching Andromeda from afar rather than " bloody well getting on with it".
"You think I can just walk over to the Slytherin table and ask her out?" Ted asked, reaching for his broom and Beater's bat resting at his feet. "Sit down and join her for dinner?"
Bernard huffed in amusement. "Nah, you have to get her away from the Slytherins."
"Easy as that, is it?"
"You should bump into her in the corridor," Bernard said with a shrug. "Act like it was an accident."
"Along with liking Quidditch players, you're going to tell me birds like that too?" Ted said with a laugh. "Being knocked on their arse in front of a crowd of people?"
"Of course not, idiot. Bump into her so you can get her away from the pack. And maybe grab a feel." Bernard demonstrated his genius plan by striding over to the 6th year Keeper that was turning from his locker and pretended to accidentally collide with him mid-stride. "Oh, bugger, look what happened, my hands are on your tits. Oh, no, I need to stop you from falling, now my hands are on your arse." Ted stared at his friend and couldn't help but laugh as his verbal explanations were aided by his pretending to grab their teammate's corresponding body parts.
"Sod off, Bernard," the burly sixth year said with a laugh, shoving Bernard aside before exiting the locker room.
Although Ted laughed at his friend's antics as they left for practice, he knew he couldn't let his team down by being distracted, especially since they had their first match of the season that Saturday. Letting the cool rush of late October air and the pace of their vigorous practice clear his mind, Ted focused on their drills. In the end, the practice was just what he needed; an hour of time where he could take out his frustrations at not being able to ask the witch of his dreams out on the Bludgers flying about the Practice Pitch.
As Ted was leaving the broom shed for the locker room after returning the locked box that held the Bludgers and the Snitch—his shaggy hair dripping with sweat and his limbs heavy with exhaustion—he caught sight of a mane of wavy brown hair as a figure hurried out of the Pitch toward the castle. Since he had studied her enough in the months that he'd fancied her, Ted knew it was Andromeda. There weren't stands in the Practice Pitch, but had she watched their practice? Was she there to watch him? He debated with himself for a few moments, glancing down at his sweaty robes before he decided to follow her.
He turned quickly and stowed his bat and broom in the shed before jogging toward the castle, frustrated that she was already out of sight. Not even sure what he would say if he caught up to her, Ted decided to go the other way around the castle, thinking if he ran, perhaps he could beat Andromeda to the front doors. Once he reached the front steps, he was disappointed to find she'd obviously beat him back and entered the castle. Admitting defeat, Ted trotted down the steps he'd climbed and rounded the corner for the locker room, colliding instantly with Andromeda. Wrapping his arms around her and holding her close to his body to keep her upright, Ted looked into her surprised grey eyes with only one thought in his head.
Apples.
The surprise in her eyes turned to confusion. "Sorry?"
Bollocks. Ted shook his head slightly, cursing Bernard for his ridiculous analogy and cursing himself for unwittingly speaking his thought out loud.
Ted kept his arms firmly wrapped around her, marveling at the feel of her body against his. "All right?" he asked, still breathless from his jog around the castle.
Andromeda nodded and smiled her tiny smile. Ted couldn't help but smile back.
"You can let me go now," she said.
"Do I have to?"
Andromeda arched one lovely eyebrow at him. "Are you going to hold me here all night?"
The implication of what they could do if Andromeda allowed him to hold her all night caused Ted to close his eyes and take a deep breath to reign in the heat suddenly flooding his body. The images that flashed through his mind when he closed his eyes had him quickly opening them again and loosening his grip so his physical response to thoughts of the two of them starkers would hopefully go unnoticed.
Andromeda stepped back and straightened her cloak, leaving Ted feeling deprived now that her body was no longer pressed against his.
Remembering their encounter had come about because Andromeda had snuck into Quidditch practice, Ted asked, "Were you spying on the competition, or were you there to… see someone?"
"I thought it was obvious," Andromeda said.
Ted smiled. "In my experience, Slytherins are never obvious."
"I'm trying something new," she said loftily. "Otherwise, you'd still be pretending not to watch me months from now."
Ted laughed and shook his head in chagrin, delighted that his laughter earned him a slightly wider smile from Andromeda. Not wanting their lighthearted conversation to end, but desperately wanting to know what she thought, Ted said, "Your sister and her boyfriend don't approve of my pretending not to watch you."
To Ted's disappointment, Andromeda's smile faded and she drew her cloak tighter around herself, crossing her arms over her chest. "Despite what Lucius Malfoy thinks, I don't live my life according to his agenda."
"And your sister?" Ted asked hopefully.
Now that he was finally talking to her, he knew immediately he wanted more than a snog with the beautiful witch standing in front of him. Of course he wanted to kiss her—among other activities—but what he truly wanted was to know her. Really know her. He wanted to know what made a witch from a strict Pureblood family sneak out to watch a Muggleborn practice Quidditch, why it had taken her so long to approach him, why her smile was so restrained. He wanted to know if she would consider knowing him in return and if she would want to meet his Muggle family.
"It doesn't matter to me what Cissy thinks. If she wants to allow a man to dictate her life, that's up to her."
Ted couldn't help but sigh in relief. "Are you coming to the match Saturday?" he asked quickly, hearing footsteps and voices indicating that his teammates were approaching the front of the castle.
"You may see me there," Andromeda said with a coy smile before passing Ted to round the corner.
Ted looked over his shoulder for one last glance before his mates closed in.
"Oi, didn't you shower?" Bernard asked as he drew closer.
Ted convinced Bernard to walk back to the broom shed to ensure their equipment was properly locked up, along the way telling him that Andromeda had watched their practice and was likely coming to see him play that weekend.
"Blimey," Bernard said as he locked the door to the broom shed. "Nearly a year later, and you can finally do more than make eyes at her from across the room."
Ted punched Bernard in the arm under the guise of his latest comment, but in reality it was retaliation for the apples and cantaloupes nonsense. He opted out of explaining his true reason.
.
Two days later, Ted played brilliantly at the Hufflepuff vs Ravenclaw Quidditch match with Andromeda watching from the stands, surrounded by mostly male Slytherins; if their House wasn't competing in the match, most female Slytherins didn't bother attending. Thrilled he hadn't bollocksed-up anything with the girl he fancied in the crowd, Ted—in a moment of inspiration fueled by pure male pride—flew to the Slytherin side of the stands. As he neared where Andromeda was sitting, looking quite pretty with her wavy hair spilling over her green and silver scarf, Ted slowed and hovered in front of her. He grinned before shooting off to join his victorious team.
Soaring high in both spirits and on his broom, Ted thought that to the Slytherins, he might as well have just confessed his love for the young woman over the loudspeaker. But, really, he didn't care, because before he'd flown away, Andromeda had returned his smile.
A/N: This is for round 3 of the Quidditch League Fanfiction competition
Challange: Chaser 3-Write about a truth that is a love confession OR write about someone being Dared to confess their love
Prompts: Prompts: 6 (colour) midnight black, 14 (animal) rabbit, 15 (food) cantaloupe
Word count: 3021