She angrily poked at the fireplace's coals. No one had bothered to keep the flames going this morning with the weather. Despite that fact though, the marble common room was still chilly even after chucking a spell into the fire. Andi threw her bag and cloak onto the sofa, not that she needed to save her seat; there wasn't a single soul in the common room. She assumed this was either because of the sun or lunch, but either way she had the expansive room to herself. The brunette walked out of the common room and down the steps into the corridor of girls' dorms before entering the third door on the left. She pulled off her robes (for despite the fact it was Sunday, the 6th and 7th years often had either extra classes or Prefect duties which uniform was required for) and stepped into a loose floor length dress, taking down her hair before re-doing it in a high loose bun. She sighed, grabbing her favourite book from under her pillow and tucking it under her arm as she left the room, touching her lips still feeling him upon them.

She reached the top step and frowned as she heard a wimpy sob coming from the fireplace's direction.

"Hello?"

There was a sudden scramble of feet as a mop of greasy black hair popped up from the sofa.

"Severus?"

The teen wiped his nose on his black hankie before stuffing it in his pocket. He stood, straightening his black shirt and he began to hastily walk towards Andi, obviously aiming for the staircase to the boy's dorm just behind her. As he got closer, she noticed he was covered in tomato sauce, and even had the odd bit of pasta in his hair.

Andi caught his arm as he went to push past her, and held it tight.

"Severus, who did this to you?"

He just bit his lip and looked down as she pulled the spaghetti from his hair. She guided him back over to the emerald green leather sofa and sat down with him in front of the green and blue flames which were now dancing over the black coals.

"Was this Sirius? Because you know Cissy and I are at breaking point with him when it comes to this. Does she know? Narcissa I mean."

He shrugged. "It's got worst in the last two weeks as she's been hanging around with Lucius more and more. Because they never used to touch me when I was with him or her, and now they won't even stop in-front of Lily. Bloody Potter trying to impress her."

"Oh Severus…" She got out her wand. "Scourgify."

He mumbled a thank you before pulling out his hankie again.

"By Lily you mean…?"

"The ginger girl in mine and Narcissa's year."

"Oh you mean the mud—" Andi cut herself off. "Sorry that was rude."

"You… you're apologising for calling Lily a mudblood?"

"Why, would you rather me call her one?"

Severus looked as baffled as anything before his eyes narrowed. "No… I just. It's odd. Not even Cissy holds back when it comes to me hanging around with her."

Andi bit her own lip. She couldn't deny that her attitude towards even using the word had changed. Especially in the last few days. Her mind began to wander as the silence continued, and her lips burned to ask him the question that she had been asking herself so frequently about Ted.

"Why do you hang around with her if she's a mudblood? Doesn't it just make life complicated and… messy?"

"She's no different. She's top in half of her classes-"

"No I mean, like for you. Ignoring the Gryffindors, I know Narcissa says Avery particularly gives you hell for it."

"She means more to me than they do."

"But if it came down to it, would you choose her over everyone else?"

"Yes, because I lov-" he cut himself off and swallowed. "She is better than her blood. She outshines that fact a hundred times over. And she is just as much like you or me."

There was another silence as Andi pushed a loose strand of hair from her face.

"What if… what if you weren't sure of how you felt Severus? What if you weren't sure?"

"Then I would give myself the chance to become sure. If you don't give the person the chance, how do you know whether they are worth more than their blood status?"

Andi nodded slowly, rubbing the wrinkled spot on the bridge of her nose. Severus stood, grabbing his bag and heading back towards the dorms.

"Severus?"

"Yes?"

"Would you mind if… If Narcissa, or anyone for that matter, didn't hear of this?"

"Sure, it's forgotten. But thank you, Andromeda."

He turned and descended the stairs as Andi turned back to the fireplace.

"No… thank you." She mumbled to herself.

Andi pulled her knees up to her chest, re-draping the deep blue dress over her knees and bare toes. The flames seem to hypnotise her as they flickered and licked teasingly against the iron grate and marble tiles. She picked up her book and it automatically fell open to her favourite chapter. The one where Morgana realised Merlin had loved her all along but she had gone too far and become too cruel. All fiction of course, it was historically unlikely that Merlin and the dark Morgan Le Fey had ever had any feelings for each other. Both known members of Slytherin, like herself, she had always admired both characters. Merlin's heart and Morgana's determination to avenge Morgause, no matter the pain it caused her lover.

They knew what they wanted, whether it was right or not.

I wish I knew what I wanted…

Her eyes darted over the ink words on the paper, and for once not a single word went in. She got to the end of the chapter and, if she didn't know the book so well, she would have had no recollection of what happened. She closed the book with a sigh and lay back against the leather, closing her eyes.

"Every lover is just a stranger until given the chance to woo, Merlin. And for that chance to arise, a door in one's soul must open."

She didn't know what made Gwaine's quote from chapter eight pop into her mind, but she suddenly snapped out of her trance and lunged for her cloak, her fingers shaking as they fumbled to find the pocket. She yanked the small brown parcel out of the fabric and her nails ripped at the paper.

A gasp escaped her lips as she held the bottle in her hand, the deep crimson of her nail polish that she had completely used up in the last week since their reunion. Apart from the bottle was now full.

She slouched back into the cushions with a sigh, a small smile spreading across her lips. She opened the bottle and dragged the brush across her thumbnail, the colour staining the peach nail to red.

When she had finished, she sat forward gazing at them momentarily before looking up to the flames.

"Ah but to open that door, Sir Gwaine, tis but a gamble."

"A gamble?" The knight swallowed the crimson wine from his goblet before he moved from his chair and stood, circling his friend like a hawk, his smug smile humouring Merlin's wit and failure to accept the basest of feelings.

"A gamble, for one does not know what awaits on the other side. Be it love… or desolation."

A gamble; that's what Ted was. A gamble.

She couldn't deny the feelings that overwhelmed her being when she saw him. Yearning. Desire. Jealousy when he was with that blonde. Security… She remembered the security and comfort she had felt during their second kiss in the hospital wing. Her fingers found her lips, and she ran her index finger over her lower one, now remembering how his tongue had moved over it just an hour or so ago…

She shook her head, pushing the loose strands of hair up and out of her face. Should she do what Severus said? Give both herself and Ted the chance to discover and become sure of their feelings?

He is a fourteen year old boy. What does he know?

She let out a groan of desperation as she stood, throwing the brown paper wrapping into the fire, watching the flames devour the paper as it writhed and turned to ash.

What if she became sure? The problem was, her heart honestly didn't know what she wanted the outcome to be. To be sure that Ted was just some mudblood and her family, dignity and morals where worth so much more… Or that he was the…

"No. Stop it."

She said that to herself more than anything else these days. It was the only thing that seemed to momentarily push him to the dark unreachable corners of her mind.

Ted sat there at dinner, eating more food than he had been recently, but he still wasn't eating his normal mound of mash and meat.

Mar sat there opposite him, her eyes narrowed as she tried to figure out what was wrong with her best friend. He was acting so strange. Like in the lake earlier when he had pushed her away…

She didn't have romantic feelings for Ted, don't get her wrong. Not at all- everyone always asked about it, but honestly, it was as if he was a gay best friend. But she didn't like being out of the loop. Marlene McKinnon always knew everything about everyone – rarely used it as gossip mind you- but the fact there was obviously something going on, and additionally that Frank and Ed both knew about it, was really bugging her.

"Teddy."

"Huh?"

"Alice just asked if you were okay."

"Yeah, um, never better."

"Really? You've barely spoken to any of us in the last few days." Mar murmured as she took a bite.

"I'm sorry, honestly, you've done nothing babe, I promise."

"Okay."

He grinned, downed the pumpkin juice and stood hastily, leaving the table without another word.

"Ted!" She yelled after him, but he was already at the end of the table and about to leave through the Great Hall door.

Andi was alone as she walked up the staircase from the Common Room towards the Great Hall. As she reached the top step, she saw him walk by and, she had no idea why she did it, or how her brain didn't even register it, but she called his name, a little too loudly.

Ted spun on his heel and turned to see her there, already rubbing her brow as blush flooded her cheeks and she swore under her breath. As he replied her name, she looked up and half smiled, but he could see the uncertainty in her eyes.

"I've been thinking, Ted."

"Okay."

She looked around to check they were alone, and after she saw some other Slytherins begin ascending the stairs, she walked out and over to a little corridor, with stone seats and archways just west of where they were.

She sat down and looked at him, crossing her left leg over her right.

"It's like what you said earlier, can't doesn't mean I don't… you know… I…" she groaned.

"So you do have feelings for me?" He grinned his cheeky smile as his hands reached his pockets and he hunched over slightly as he approached her further.

"I… I don't know Ted. I just don't know how I feel right now."

"I see you got the nail polish."

She looked down to see she had already begun to pick it off, and then half smiled up at him.

"Thank you."

"Welcome."

There was a momentary silence as he sat down opposite her. He watched her as she contemplated something, then was dragged out of this thought by a strand of hair tickling her face. She pulled it, twisted it and then tucked it into the bun atop her head. After this, she rubbed her thinking spot once more and then raised her head with pride and stared into his eyes.

"One date."

"What?" He looked perplexed.

"One date, that's what you'll get. It will give me the chance to… figure things out."

He grinned again, licking his lip slowly before running a hand through his hair.

"Are you asking me out, Miss Black?"

"Shut up Ted or the offer is off the table."

Andi stood now crossing her arms across her chest as she frowned and pouted at him.

"What exactly would this date entail?"

She rolled her eyes before she murmured her reply. "Dinner. At the Hog's Head. Tuesday at nine."

"Okay."

"But it's purely dinner. No kissing, hugging, handholding or anything of the frivolous sort."

"Then how is that a date?"

She cocked an eyebrow and he pouted raising his hands in defeat.

"Okay, fine. Who's paying?"

"That's it. It was a stupid idea anyway."

She went to storm off but Ted stood and caught her arm in his hand.

"I accept your offer."

She wrenched her arm from his grip and straightened her dress.

"Good. Well. See you Tuesday."

"See you Tuesday."

She had a slight click to her court shoes as she walked off, not looking back once. He bit his fist and span on the spot, laughing in victory once she turned the corner. Now, he had been telling Mar the truth at the dinner table, he had honestly never been better.