First year
Ted
The first time Edward 'Ted' Tonks saw Andromeda Black, she was being sorted into Slytherin, his new friend Hugh Bronson had said she was some kind of wizarding royalty and to stay away, her family was known to hate people with muggle heritage. Of course, being Ted, he didn't listen. When she displayed a magnificent capability in charms on their first class he was too intrigued to stay away.
"Wow! That was impressive. How did you do that in the first class?" She turned to look at him with an air of superiority, but he could see her eyes gleaming proudly at what she'd done, and about having someone recognized it.
"I just did what the professor asked."
"Yeah, yeah, I know, but I have trouble getting used to the idea of magic and here you are being perfect at it on the first day, how did you even know how to say those words!" She raised an eyebrow then and looked him up and down with a little scowl marring her delicate features.
"Just because you are not allowed to use a wand does not mean you can't learn magic." She said, all high airs and superiority, and yet he couldn't feel offended, she was funny in her silly aristocratic ways. He smiled at her and her eyes opened for just a tiny fraction.
"That's cheating". She scoffed and grabbed her bag and turned to walk to their next class, right at the door she turned around, eyes narrowed.
"That's called being a real witch."
That did hurt, much more than when her fellow housemates started calling him a mudblood or shoving him when walking down the halls, those were idiots, she wasn't, and yet she thought of him just like the rest. He would prove her wrong.
So after days of hard work and endless study lessons he couldn't suppress his cry of joy when Slughorn announced his potion had been the best he'd seen since 1935. And he'd never felt prouder of himself than at the moment his eyes turned to Andromeda Black to see that little surprised smile appear on her face.
First year
Andromeda
Cheating! He called her a cheater. Ha! the audacity of that common muggleborn. And yet he had smiled at her in such a sassy way, not like all those boys and some girls always smiled at her, like wanting something, or afraid they'll offend her, treating her like some untouchable creature. He definitely wasn't afraid of aggravating her, and didn't treat her with any reverence either.
When she saw the hurt in his eyes it felt so wrong she resorted to ignore him. It wasn't hard, well it shouldn't had been that hard, seeing as they both were in different houses and had only two classes together, but he turned out to be an obnoxious clown, always joking around with his friend, making all his housemates laugh and forcing her to implement all the mental exercises her institutrice had taught her, to appear as unaffected as possible by his wit.
But when his ridiculous cry of joy broke the silence in class after Slughorn's compliment, she couldn't resist the little smile that crept through her lips for the bizarre creature that was Edward Tonks.
Second year
Ted
When Caldwell Yaxley made a ridiculous reverence that looked more like he was trying to pick something from the floor than anything else, he couldn't help but burst into a fit of laughter. Naturally, it didn't sit well with the boy, who turned around and stared at him with disdain. A miniature (well not really miniature, a year younger) version of Andromeda Black was looking at him like he was a dead rat on the road or something, but not Andromeda. She just looked at him like he was an idiot, and he probably was, I mean, Yaxley had more friends than he did, more powerful, crueller, and let's face it, uglier friends.
"Laugh all you want, it is obvious you know nothing of courtesy, you little, medieval, good for nothing mudblood." The troll, sorry, the boy said. The smaller, meaner, version of Andromeda just laughed in a high pitched way that made him grimace.
"Well, technically, that is how a medieval muggle would behave." Ted pointed out, referring to the silly curtsy.
"Who cares about muggles" The Slytherin said, the little one just nodded with a wicked smirk and Andromeda looked away. He turned sharply on his feet and left the hall to retreat to his dorm. Bloody purebloods.
When he saw her again reading alone at the library, he decided to show her how a muggle could be chivalrous. He stood up walked right to her, she saw him approach and left the book on the table, sitting straight on the chair like a statue. He tried to choose one of his mother's favorite writers, philosophers, thinkers or whatever to quote, hands shaking at his sides. He made as elegant a bow as he could manage and offered her his hand. She stared at it for a few seconds before taking it with apprehension. He gave her a feather like kiss and then recited.
"There is another side to chivalry. If it dispenses leniency, it may with equal justification invoke control."
He let go of her hand and turned to leave.
"Who said that?" She asked quietly. He didn't look at her, the redness of his face would ruin his actions, but answered her anyway.
"Alfred Adler. Just some worthless muggle."
Second year
Andromeda
She thought Yaxley looked ridiculous, but Bella was right next to her, and it wasn't like with Cissa who knew how to keep her secrets, Bella would go right to their mother and tell her all about how unladylike she had behaved if she were to laugh about this, and then she heard Tonks laughing and she wanted to hit him right on the face. It just wasn't fair, the freedom others had. But as expected, Yaxley didn't take the mockery well and started insulting him, bringing up his blood as always.
Her sister just laughed, a perfect imitation of their mother, and Tonks made some know-it-all replay that was answered by another pointless blood insult. Merlin, if her mother could read her mind...
She was working on her transfiguration essay when he walked into the library and marched to her table, bowed like any Pureblood gentleman would and offered her his hand. Every word her mother embroidered in her brain always went out the window with Edward Tonks and she hated it. She knew what happened to the people in the family that dared adopt different views about blood. Her aunt Walburga was known to be relentless about it. Then he was saying something about chivalry being a way of control and leaving.
"Who said that?"
And sure enough, it had been a muggle. He left then without looking back, which was good because she didn't want him to see her writing the muggle's name on her notebook.
Third year
Ted
He had finally saved enough money to buy himself a broom, God knew his mother would have never allowed it. He was helping Mike practice for the Quidditch tryouts, he was relatively good at flying but had no interest on the game, just being able to defy gravity gave him a rush worth every galleon. They had been doing some dives when he saw her near the lake looking at the water while her friends probably gossiped about everyone that was anyone. He didn't get that girl, or the inexplicable need he had to actually get to know her. She turned to look at him, like she had heard his thoughts and he had to pull some skills not to crash and break his skull on the ground. She was trying not to laugh when he finally stabilized his broom. Some girl pointed at him and the others laughed and her smile vanished.
"Why do you even like her. She's just like all the other snakes." Mike said standing next to him up in the air.
"No she's not. She's...kind". His friend snorted.
"Kind? The girl is colder than an ice cube."
"I know she's...distant, but I tell you she's kind. I can prove it."
"I think we should put some money into this." He felt bad about betting on her, but he was betting on her being a good person so it couldn't be that bad. Could it?
They had it all planed. They went to the kitchens and convinced the elves to bring her tea and some crackers while she was studying at the library. It wasn't hard to convince them because they loved him, really.
She always studied alone for two hours after lunch. Not that he was stalking her or anything like that.
They hid behind some shelves near the table she seemed to prefer and waited for the action to take place.
She entered on time, sat with an unnatural grace, pulled out her books and started reading, her poise never relenting, even when she thought no one else was there.
The little elf appeared then carrying a tray with a little teapot, a single cup and a plate with delicious looking treats, and put it right next to her books. She looked at it confused.
"Why are you bringing me this?" It didn't sound necessarily rude, but her voice was lacking the surprise that was so obvious in her eyes.
"It's a treat from the kitchens, miss Black." She stared at the tray again and he was starting to believe he would have to pay Micke when the straight line of her lips shifted slowly into a soft smile.
"Thank you, that was very kind of you, please send my gratitude back to the kitchens." The elf bowed bashfully and nodded. "Would you like one?" Andromeda offered the plate to the little creature for him to chose from. His eyes were as huge as an apple but he took one with shaking fingers and bowed profoundly while thanking her over and over before disappearing. She let an amused laugh escape her lips then clapped a hand over her mouth and turned to look around. When she was sure no one had seen her she poured herself some tea and continued reading. He turned to his friend ready to tell him "I told you so" but he was still staring at the girl, mouth completely open. He put his hands in his trousers' pockets, pulled two galleons, and offered them to him without taking his eyes from the scene.
Third year
Andromeda
"Can you believe her? I mean, at least he's not a Gryffindor, but who dates a Ravenclaw. They must be so boring..." Bla bla bla bla...boring was this conversation, they didn't even know the girl. What gave them the impression they could criticize her decision. By Salazar, she hated this. She was good though. Good at nodding in the right time, humming when needed, and giving the short retort from time to time. Her mother would be proud.
She turned to look around the grounds just to see Tonks diving like a maniac into the ground. He barely pulled a move that saved him from dying and it took every ounce of restraint she had not to laugh. Wouldn't want her 'friends' to question her. She hated him so much, he always made her day better, and that just meant trouble.
She went to the library to get away from her peers for a while like any other day and was very surprised when a shaky house elf showed up at her table with tea and biscuits. She smiled, remembering her darling little friend back at home, always ready to make her feel a little better after a long scolding courtesy of her mother. At least her father was only around to see her act like the perfect little lady she was supposed to be.
She thanked the elf and offered him some of the treats he had brought her, then started reading potions. This year she wouldn't let Tonks get all the praises.
Fourth year
Ted
He had decided Andromeda Black was never going to be his friend, so he would become like the 90% of the male population at Hogwarts and would admire her from a distance like the unreachable ice queen she was. With that in mind he started to finally notice other girls as, well, girls and it was Samantha Hegel that caught his attention. She was smart, and funny, and pretty, and she wasn't part of a blood supremacist family, which was good. They started dating a month after his realization. Apparently normal girls liked his sense of humor and thought his looks were appealing, unlike some weirdo.
And for the monumental amount of eight months everything was great. He got to kiss a girl, and take her to dates, and get anniversary presents, and all the typical things boys his age do with a girl, he even got to feel her up one time. And then Stephane Rosier had to appear in the picture and be all rich, and charming, and the huge dimwit that stole his girlfriend. Maybe that made him the idiot, and that was what got him more than anything. He spent two weeks sulking because a Slytherin, of all people, stole his girl.
Then one night, walking back to his dorm he heard the kitchen portrait opening and no other than the elusive miss Black came out of it with a bunch of grapes in one hand. They both stopped short, waiting for the other to speak. He, being a true gentleman, not like all those green phonies, was the first to talk.
"Hey" very eloquent.
"What has gotten into you?" huh? She was frowning, waiting for an answer.
"What are you talking about?" She pointed at him with her free hand in an exasperated move.
"You! I haven't hear one single bad joke come out of your mouth for weeks. It's weird." He gave her a cocky smile.
"I thought you didn't like my jokes." She huffed and rolled her eyes.
"I have no regards for your crass tomfoolery, I just find it strange." He felt a little something growing in his heart for she had to care, at least a little to have noticed his change in mood.
"If you must know my girlfriend dumped me for one of you fellow housemates. Happy now?" For a split second he thought she did look happy, then the frown was back and she was shaking her head.
"Hegel broke up with you? For whom?" Girls and their gossip...Well, everyone already knew by now, she must have spent her days under a rock for her not to know about it. Yet she had noticed him... hmmm.
"Rosier." She made a disbelieving face and he gritted his teeth, he would kill her if she started talking about blood.
"He could never.."
"Date a halfblood, well he is. Apparently a mudblood is sin, but halfblood are fine, to pass the time probably." oh-ouh she looked furious. She kept quiet and resumed her walk back to the dungeons and he felt like an idiot for cutting her out because now he really wanted to know what she was going to say. He didn't have to chase her though, she stopped a few feet away from him and turned to stare at him, eyes still blasting.
"Just so you know, you big nincompoop, that was not at all what I wanted to say." Nincompoop. Did that word still exist? Seriously, that girl. He took a deep breath and asked as calmly as possible.
"What did you want to say?" She looked down at him, and he could see why everyone thought her haughty.
"I wanted to say he could never compare to you, but I certainly retract my statement." She made an offended sound, made a sharp turn and kept walking towards the dungeons.
"Gaaaahhh!" That woman would drive him crazy with her mixed signals, and her aloofness and her bloody charm!
Fourth year
Andromeda
She had to be losing her mind. What other explanation could there be to the gruesome feelings that surged through her body when she saw Tonks with his new girlfriend. They had every right to hold hands in public, just like any other couple in school, and yet it was only them, doing something as innocent as that, that made her want to curse them into oblivion and maybe throw some nasty disfiguration charm at the poor girl.
She had spent the whole wretched year running away from them, trying to sit as far away from them in class, sitting with her back to their table, and doing anything in her power to ignore the hyena like laugh Hegel did every time Tonks said one of his foolish jokes. Which was all. the. bloody. time. But when he finally stopped with the jokes it didn't make her feel any better. Now she was worrying about him, and how she hated him for that. Blasted kid, he couldn't just stop being his usual annoyingly cheery self without any explanation. So when she bumped into him outside the kitchens she couldn't stop herself from questioning him.
The moment he said he wasn't with Samantha Hegel anymore she wanted to cry out with joy. No more sitting arrangement or scape roots! But then of course she realized he wasn't happy about it. Then he said she had left him for Stephane. Stephane! The self absorbed prat that walked around school like he was some kind of god because he was good at catching balls. The girl was mental. She was about to tell him that when he interrupted her to spit all that nonsense (well okay, according to all her ancestors it was not nonsense) about blood. And she was livid. She decided to walk back to her dorms before she murdered him but changed her mind. As incensed as she was, that ninny had to hear what she wanted to say because she was not the blood supremacist fanatic he made her out to be.
"I wanted to say he could never compare to you, but I certainly retract my statement." There, all said.
The next day, when Samantha Hegel was hanging from Stephane's arm she couldn't suppress her disdain. And then the girl had the gall to address her like old time friends.
"Good morning Margot, Andromeda." Margot nodded her head in acknowledgement.
"Excuse me, but I don't remember allowing you to address me like that. It's miss Black to you." The silence was palpable. Who cares? Everyone thought her a bitch anyway.
"Do you have a problem with my blood?" How on earth did Edward Tonks ended up with such a silly goose? She'd never know.
"I have no problem whatsoever with your blood, it's your pliable personality that I find so distasteful." She could hear Michael Galler laughing from the Hufflepuff table, but didn't dare look in case Tonks was there. She cleaned the corner of her mouth with her napkin and stood up with all the regal she had to acquire as a dignified lady from the most ancient and noble House of Black and left the Great Hall.
Hours later, when Edward Tonks had half the class doubled over with laughter she didn't even try to suppress her smile.
