Disclaimer: Everything in this story belongs to J.K. Rowling. Anything that sounds familiar is hers. I just enjoy playing with the world she created.
Rain pattered against the glass windows of Andromeda's dormitory, making incredibly loud splashes that completely rendered it impossible for her to fall asleep. Many years ago, when Andromeda was a child, her aunt Walburga had often told her that rain was made when the heavens were crying with grief at a bad decision that Andromeda had made. Though she had cast that belief off when she became old enough to recognize it as a scolding, Andromeda felt that tonight's heavy and unexpected rain was telling her not to defy the rules.
She rolled over and climbed out of bed, pulling aside the green curtains to do so and wandered over to the green velvet window seat. The Slytherin dormitories and common room were in the dungeons of the old castle, just underneath the lake. Andromeda's dormitory, however, was right below the surface of the water, making the loud splashes of the rain magnified in audibility by about twelve times, or at least it seemed so in her head.
The window gave Andromeda a view of water. Green, murky, water. She had always hated that about the quarters of her House. Just the location itself was about as sinister as most of it's occupants were already or were going to be in the future.
The sight of the green lake and the furnishing of the dormitory were avid reminders of how much Andromeda didn't belong in Slytherin House. Everything was green, black, and silver, and the furniture was heavy and antique-looking, very similar to Andromeda's own home. She longed for more color, more cheerfulness. What she had now felt much like a depressing motivator to branch out like Sirius had.
Andromeda sighed and tiptoed out of the dormitory, edging her way down the long flight of stairs to the common room. She sank into a black armchair by the blazing fireplace, completely alone. As the night wore on she fell into a fast slumber, her dreams consisting of Bellatrix turning into a giant, green and black serpent and biting her on the ankle.
"Andromeda!"
She woke to the sound of her name being pronounced quite loudly by Lucretia, who was already dressed and ready for the first day of lessons. She looked shocked to find her friend sleeping in an armchair in the common room. It was so unlike the proper Andromeda she knew.
Andromeda jolted up with a start. The next thing she noticed was the snickering of the other students. She glowered at them and hurried towards the stairs, preparing herself for the long climb she would have to make just to find her robes.
When she was dressed, her hair was decent and her teeth were clean, Andromeda raced back down the spiraling stairwell, book bag flying behind her. The common room was now empty except for the few stragglers, who, like herself, had gotten quite a late start that morning.
She rushed to the Great Hall, abandoning her usual slow and proper walk for a fast pace that she knew would make her mother cringe with embarrassment. The halls were filled with students already going to their first classes, and Andromeda had yet to get a schedule!
The panic that this realization brought caused the brisk walk to turn into flat-out running. In her haste, Andromeda didn't pay much attention to avoiding people, and, before she knew it, she had tackled Ted Tonks to the ground and landed right on top of him, her books and his spilling everywhere.
Embarrassment replaced panic as Andromeda blushed and pulled herself off of him, kneeling on the ground to pick up her books as a familiar laugh reached her ears.
Sirius could hardly contain himself as he, James, and their friend Remus stooped to help Andromeda gather her possessions. She let her hair fall over her face to hide her flush and tried not to look at any of them, not noticing whose hand she brushed in the process.
"Here," said Ted, smiling kindly at her and handing her some of her books, Sirius handing her the ones that he and his friends had gathered at the same time. Andromeda tried unsuccessfully to balance both piles in her arms at once, but before they could slip, a strong arm stopped them while a gentle hand steadied her arm.
"Are you good now?" Ted asked, his eyes twinkling.
Andromeda nodded, too embarrassed to say anything other than, "Sorry."
Ted chuckled. "Don't worry about it. You can run into me anytime." And with a smile at her and a nod to Sirius, whose friends had abandoned him, Ted headed in the direction of his first block.
Sirius blew up the second he was gone. "You-can-run-into-me-any-time?" he choked out between laughs.
Andromeda rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut up," she mumbled, and pushing past him, she marched off towards the Great Hall once more, this time without injuring herself, her books, or any other student in the hallways.
The Great Hall was almost empty, the biggest group remaining consisting of Bellatrix and her friends at Slytherin table. When she saw her sister entering the Great Hall, Bellatrix yelled loudly for her to join them.
Though it went against her better judgment, Andromeda accepted her sister's offer and took a seat beside Antonin Dolohov, whose permanent twisted leer made her want to shield her face.
Bellatrix finished her breakfast and looked expectantly at Andromeda, who stared back, confused.
"What?" she asked.
Bellatrix examined her as if looking for signs of damage. "I heard you ran into a Mudblood earlier, and I wanted to make sure you were alright." Her remark earned her several deep laughs from the male students at the table.
Andromeda tried to keep herself from glaring at her older sister. Instead, she forced a smile and mumbled something under her breath.
Her soot colored owl, Seftin, came swooping towards her, a paper clutched in his beak. He dropped it on her as he flew past, on his way back to the Owlry.
Andromeda surveyed her schedule with raised eyebrows. This morning started with Transfiguration, then Potions, and last, Charms, her favorite class. Tommorrow's classes, however, did not look half as interesting. She sighed.
Dolohov read her schedule over her shoulder. He smiled, a rather terrible sight.
"We have Charms together," he said, pleased.
Andromeda had to fight to prevent herself from grimacing. "That's great," she said in a strained voice, mentally cursing Charms.
The creepy way he looked at her made Andromeda lose her appetite. She was making to leave when Bellatrix reminded her that she was skipping breakfast.
"I'm just not hungry," she answered absent-mindedly, in a hurry to get away from all of them.
Bellatrix didn't catch on. "Oh. Alright then, I'll see you at lunch!" she called cheerfully at her sister's retreating back, unaware of Andromeda's instinctual shudder at the ghastly thought as she hurried to Transfiguration.
Author's Note:
Just a reminder that this story is about Andromeda's years as a teenager, not her daughter Nymphadora's. Remus Lupin, in J.K. Rowling's tale, is actually much younger than Andromeda, not the same age, so no worries about him being old enough to be Nymphadora Tonks's father(:
Please review!
-MQ