Chapter 9

As Christmas and winter break approached quickly, most of the Hogwarts students prepared for the winter holidays. Andromeda wasn't looking forward to going this home year. She was too confused about everything she had ever been told to go home and pretend that everything was fine. So she spent most of her time immersed in schoolwork. One morning in the Great Hall , a few days before term ended for the winter holidays, Andromeda and all of the other Slug Club members got an envelope containing an invitation to Slughorn's famous Christmas party. It was taking place the night before everyone left for Winter break, and it was formal. The most challenging part of it was not the attire, but that they were meant to bring someone. Andromeda's chest constricted as she read that. She had enough going on right now without worrying about who she would go with to Slughorn's party.

She left the Great Hall, walking back to the common room.

Bellatrix and Rodolphus were sitting in the same armchair and Rabastan was sitting in the one next to them. Andromeda sat down across from them.

" So I see you got your invitation to Slughorn's party" Rabastan said pointing to the envelope in her hand.

Andromeda nodded, " Unfortunately"

Rabastan snickered, " Not looking forward to it?"

Andromeda shrugged, " I don't know, It just seems like another thing to worry about"

" Well" Rabastan said, " We could go together, that might make it more fun"

Andromeda looked up at him in disbelief. Rabastan had just asked her to go with him.

" Okay" she said quickly.

Rabastan smiled, " Great"

Bellatrix caught Andromeda's eye and smiled encouragingly.

Andromeda felt a strange feeling in her stomach and she couldn't quite tell what it was.

A few nights later on the night of the Slug Club Christmas party, everyone was talking about it. Those who were going, kept bringing it up to feel special and those who weren't were constantly asking questions to those who were. Andromeda wasn't really looking forward to it all that much. She had been before, and it wasn't very exciting. Everyone just kind of stood around talking to some of Slughorn's more famous ex pupils.

But she was expected to go. So, an hour before it started she went upstairs and took out the makeup Bellatrix had given her. She didn't often wear makeup, so putting it on felt strange.

Andromeda's mother had sent her dress for the party, it was one she always like Andromeda to wear. It was emerald and long sleeved, it was made of a thin satin and flared just above her knees. It screamed Slytherin, which was probably why her mother liked it so much. Andromeda slipped on her small black heels and looked in the mirror near her bed. She looked fine. That was about as good as it was going to get, so she walked out into the common room. Bellatrix was standing with Rodolphus in a very tight black dress. She had all of her hair piled onto the top of her head in an updo.

Rabastan was waiting for her next to them. He was wearing dress robes, with a green tie. He looked nice.

" Were matching" he pointed out.

Andromeda smiled, they were. Thats what happened when you were both patriotic to your house.

The four of them walked out of the common room and towards Slughorn's chambers. The hallway was crowded with students dressed for the occasion. Andromeda noticed Hestia was walking with a Gryffindor boy she didn't notice. Hestia looked like she wanted to wave, but caught Bellatrix's eye and scowled.

Rabastan walked a little ahead and opened the door for Andromeda and her sister. She followed in after him and was amazed at how nice Slughorn's chambers looked. He had bewitched curtains to hang from the ceiling, decorating the room and creating a more cozy environment.

Slughorn was at the far side of the room, talking enthusiastically with some of his former students, so they walked over to the drink cart. Rabastan took two glasses and filled them with champagne, offering one to her. She took it gratefully, and took a sip.

She observed the room, looking at all of the people in it. Seeing as everyone had brought dates, there was double the usual amount of people that were there. Andromeda spotted Ted in the corner standing with his date. A blonde girl with curly hair. Charity Burbage. She was in Hufflepuff with him. Andromeda felt a strange upsurge of anger as she looked at Charity. She caught Ted's eye and he offered her a small smile. She didn't return it. She was angry and she didn't know why, so she turned back to Rabastan.

" Quite the turnout, huh?" Rabastan asked her, looking at all of the people in the room.

" Yup" Andromeda said looking past him to where Ted and Charity were standing.

She shook her head, she had to stop looking at them. She and Rabastan walked around the room, talking with a few of Slughorn's former students and their current classmates.

When they got to where Slughorn was standing he pulled them over right away and introduced them to the woman in front of them. She had long light brown hair, and was tall.

" Winnie Deidren, captain of the Chudley Cannons" Slughorn said, " these are two of my Slytherin Quidditch players, Mr. Lestrange, and Ms. Black. Winnie, you should have seen how Andromeda flew in the last match, she'd have given you a run for your money at your age"

Andromeda beamed at her professor, happy to accept any compliment.

" Is that so?" Winnie asked Andromeda, " well in that case, you give me a call when you graduate and we'll see if we can get you a try out"

" Really?" Andromeda asked in disbelief.

Winnie nodded, " If you're really as great as Professor Slughorn says then definitely, I'd be happy to help out a fellow slug club member"

" Great" Andromeda said happily, as Winnie left to refill her drink. Andromeda had no idea what she wanted to do after Hogwarts, so even having this one prospect was comforting to her.

" I'll be back" Rabastan said to Andromeda, " I'm going to go talk to my brother"

Andromeda nodded and watched as he left.

She turned to go refill her own drink when she saw that Ted and Charity were standing there. Ted looked up and saw her looking. He frowned at her.

Andromeda rolled her eyes, suddenly furious with him, and stomped off. She didn't know why he was making her so angry, but he was. She walked out of Slughorn's chambers and down the hall. One of the unused classrooms was open so she walked in and sat down, leaning against the desk.

She sat stewing angrily for a minute, before the door opened.

" Andromeda? Are you in here?" a voice called from the doorway.

She looked up to see Ted standing in the doorway. His yellow tie was loose around his neck and he had his hands in his dress robes.

" There you are" he said coming down and sitting beside her.

Andromeda looked pointedly away from him and he frowned again.

" Why are you mad at me?" he asked her, " did I do something that I'm not aware of?"

" No" Andromeda said crossing her arms.

Ted stared at her, " Then why do you keep throwing me death stares all night?"

She shrugged. She wished she had an answer for him, but she didn't. Even she didn't know why she was mad at him.

" You're the most confusing person I have ever met" Ted said shaking his head.

" Just add that to the list then" Andromeda snapped at him. She could feel her anger towards him bubbling up and it was starting to spill out.

" What list?" Ted asked her. He looked exceptionally confused. His blue eyes sparkled as he tried to piece together what she was saying.

" The list of things about me that bother you" Andromeda said angrily, " You know my house, my family, my lack of muggle knowledge, the fact that I'm not fun"

She was even more irritated now. She just stared forward, purposefully not looking at Ted.

" I don't have a list, Andromeda" Ted told her, " I don't dislike anything about you"

Andromeda frowned at him, " and you brought Charity. I'm mad about that too"

" You don't like Charity?" Ted asked, " I thought she was nice"

" I don't like her" Andromeda said quickly and she couldn't figure out why. The day before she hadn't thought much about about Charity, but now she felt a strange hatred for her.

" Well you brought Rabastan" Ted pointed out, crossing his arms indignantly.

" Whats wrong with Rabastan" Andromeda demanded. She hadn't known that Ted had an issue with him.

" I don't like him" Ted told her.

They sat eyeing each other angrily for a moment, before Andromeda turned away.

" I didn't know you didn't like Rabastan" she said quietly.

Ted shrugged, " I didn't know you didn't like Charity" he told her, " we're just friends. I only asked her because I couldn't ask who I really wanted too"

Andromeda turned to him about to ask him who he had really wanted to ask, but she was cut off.

Ted had grabbed her face and pulled her lips to his. He wasn't sure why he had done it. He didn't know he was going to. It had just happened, and it felt right.

Andromeda was caught off guard. It took her a moment to realize what was going on, but once she did, she kissed him back with a strange enthusiasm. Ted's hand was holding her face to his.

Then she remembered what she was doing and pulled away instantly, shocked with herself.

Ted started at her with a strange expression, trying to read her face.

" I can't do this" she said quietly.

Ted's eyes widened and his voice cracked slightly, " I'm sorry. I thought you wanted me too. I thought-"

Andromeda's head and heart was racing. She didn't wait for him to finish. She got to her feet quickly and ran from the room, leaving Ted behind her.

She didn't go back to the party. She went straight to the common room. She felt herself start to cry and she didn't know why. Her mind wouldn't stop. She had just kissed Ted. She had just kissed a muggleborn. And she had enjoyed it, she had wanted him to do it.

She shook her head. She didn't like Ted. He was a muggleborn. She liked Rabastan. She had to like Rabastan.

Andromeda took off her shoes and entered the Slytherin common room, feeling emotionally exhausted. The other girls were asleep so she changed her clothes quickly and crawled into bed, feeling extremely sorry for herself.

The next morning Andromeda tried desperately to convince herself that the night before did not happened, but she was unsuccessful. She remembered every detail. Sighing, she got out of bed and changed into her clothes for the day. At least she was leaving for winter holiday today. She could escape the castle for the next few weeks and try to pretend that nothing had happened. She had packet her bag the night before and slung it over her shoulder as she walked into the common room.

Rabastan was talking to Erasmus and he stopped when he saw Andromeda come downstairs.

He walked over to her, " Hey" he said smiling happily, " I lost you last night"

Andromeda frowned, " Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I wasn't feeling well. I shouldn't have left like that"

Rabastan shook his head, " Don't worry about it, do you want me to carry your bag?"

Andromeda was shocked. She was sure he was going to be mad at her for leaving him last night. She didn't understand why he was being so helpful.

" Oh, um. You don't have too" Andromeda told him. Rabastan shook his head and slung it over his shoulder anyway. He and Andromeda walked out of the castle and towards the Hogsmeade station. Most of the other Hogwarts students who were going home for the winter holidays were already all walking down to the Hogsmeade station.

" Are you excited to be going home?" Rabastan asked her.

Andromeda shrugged, " I'm excited to get out of the castle for a little bit, I don't know if I'm ready to go back to the overbearing nature of Druella Black"

Rabastan laughed, "Trust me, I understand. Lydia Lestrange is just as overbearing"

Andromeda smiled as the walked towards the station, " Your mom is nice"

Rabastan laughed, " Well to you, she adores you"

Andromeda felt herself blush. She had always liked the Lestrange's mother, but she never knew she also liked her.

" Are you coming to the famous Lestrange Christmas Eve party?" Rabastan asked.

" Of course, we always go" Andromeda told him.

The Lestranges had a huge Christmas Eve party for all of the Purebloods every year. And every year, the entire Black family went. There wasn't a year since Andromeda was born that she hadn't gone to that party.

Rabastan and Andromeda approached the station and found the rest of their Slytherin friends.

" There you two, are" Bellatrix said eyeing Rabastan and Andromeda as they approached them on the station.

She looked to Rabastan's shoulder and saw the bag he was holding. Andromeda knew Bellatrix recognized it because of the look she gave her. It was a look Andromeda almost never got from Bellatrix. She looked proud of her.

" Let's go find a compartment" Bellatrix said two the rest of them, " I don't want to end up with one of those tiny ones, let's save those for the mudbloods"

Rabastan, Rodolphus and Andromeda followed Bellatrix onto the train and found a large compartment.

As the train filled up, Evan, Emma, Alicia, and Erasmus joined them. The train started to move and Andromeda let herself look out the window. So much had changed since she was on the Hogwarts express the last time. She felt like a different person.

Rabastan was sitting so close to her, it felt like they were pressed against each other.

" You know," Evan said, " I'm still angry that we lost to Hufflepuff"

Rabastan sighed, " It was a tough game"

Evan frowned, " Still, I hate the look on the Hufflepuff's faces"

Rabastan shrugged, " I hated it too, but we did the best we could. and Andromeda here flew like a champ" he said throwing his arm around Andromeda.

Alicia looked at Andromeda and smiled widely. She knew what she was thinking.

" I did okay" Andromeda said quietly.

He rolled his eyes at her, but Rabastan had kept his arm slung over Andromeda. They sat like that for awhile. Andromeda was mostly quiet. There was too much going on in her head for her to be able to chat happily with the rest of them.

About halfway through the train ride, Andromeda was hungry and decided to go find the Honeyduke's cart. She closed the door to the compartment and walked down the train to where the witch was.

" One box of sugar quills, please" someone said to the witch. She bent down to get down them and Andromeda realized it was Ted who asked for them. He looked up and saw her standing there. His expression softened and he opened his mouth to say something to her. Andromeda didn't wait, she just turned on her heels and left, walking back to the compartment.

" You didn't find her?" Rabastan asked.

" It was crowded" Andromeda lied.

Looking at Ted had confused her. She was furious with him again. Furious with him for kissing her and furious with herself for enjoying it. She couldn't like Ted. But when she stood there and looked at his sandy brown hair and his muscular build, she had the desire for him to kiss her again, and that made her even more mad.

She spent the rest of the train ride sitting quietly, stewing angrily. How was a muggleborn affecting her like this. She was a Black.

She was quiet the whole rest of the ride. When the train pulled into the station and stopped, everyone got to their feet. Bellatrix grabbed Andromeda by the arm and pulled her off the train excitedly. Bellatrix loved going home for Christmas. Probably because their parents fawned over her.

Andromeda followed her sister off of the train with the Lestrange brothers at their heels. All of the students were gathering around and looking for their parents.

Andromeda scanned the crowd and noticed her mother standing next to her aunt. She and Bellatrix walked over to them. Narcissa was already standing there proudly.

" Girls" Druella said happily. She ran her hands down Bellatrix's face and pinched Andromeda's cheek.

" Don't you too look lovely as ever" their aunt Walburga told them, hugging them both.

Regulus and Sirius walked over to their mother and she greeted Regulus warmly, and gave Sirius a harsh nod.

Andromeda let her gaze wander and she saw Hestia with her parents, both of which had the same tall figures and blond hair.

She looked past her and saw Ted's family. They were easy to spot. They were dressed in muggle clothes and were looking around the platform with excited glances. He had a little sister too. She was young, about six and she watched as he reached down and hugged her.

" What are you looking at, Andromeda?" Aunt Walburga asked her.

Andromeda focused herself again, " Oh nothing"

Aunt Walburga followed her gaze and scoffed, " Muggles. Actual muggles, I can't believe they let them in here"

Andromeda had to physically hold her mouth shut to keep from commenting.

" Hey, Andromeda" Rabastan said walking over to her, " you forgot your bag"

" Oh right" Andromeda said taking it from him, " thank you"

Rabastan smiled at her widely, " Don't worry about it" he said.

All of the Black's were now watching the two of them. Andromeda could practically feel her Aunt Walburga's eyes burning into her skull.

" Hello Rabastan" Druella said smiling at the young boy.

" Hello Mrs. Black" Rabastan said smiling at her.

" How was your term?" she asked him.

He grinned, " It was great, right Andromeda?"

She nodded, " Yeah it was"

Druella beamed.

" I should go" Rabastan said, " But I'll see you at the party, Andromeda" he said and squeezed her shoulder.

Rabastan disappeared to his family and the moment he was gone, all of then women around Andromeda all began talking very excitedly.

" Andromeda, why didn't you tell us that boy is practically chasing after you!" her mother said excitedly.

" Another Lestrange, you girls sure have taste" Aunt Walburga told her.

" You should have seen them this year, Mother" Narcissa said, " he does everything for her"

" And the bracelet he got her for her birthday" Bellatrix said lifting Andromeda's wrist to show her mother the silver bracelet that hung from it.

Druella beamed at her daughter, " I'm very proud of you, Andromeda."

Andromeda smiled at them but felt the knot in her stomach make itself known. They were all ecstatic at the idea of her and Rabastan. She felt extremely guilty. How would they all react if they knew that 24 hours before, she had been kissing a muggleborn?

" Come on girls, let's go home" Druella said leading her girls out of the platform.

Andromeda cast one last glance at where Ted was standing with his family. He was looking at her too.

She shook her head and looked forward where her family was. And tried to focus on being a Black.