Andromeda never thought she could ever become one of those girls. Every school had girls like that; the girls who know the location of every secluded spot, every curtained alcove, and every disused classroom within the castle. Andromeda had never believed she could be one of those girls. But within hours of that kiss, the kiss to end all else, it was as if her mental map of the school was being redrawn, adjusted to fit this new reality. As frost held the ground outside Hogwarts in a grip of iron, Andromeda was discovering new worlds, within the castle, and within herself.
They developed codes, signals, signs so complex that anybody walking by could never have grasped what they truly were. Andromeda dropping her quill in a corridor, then rubbing the end of her nose as she stood up again (half past six in the old Charms classroom on the fifth floor); Ted coughing twice and then sniffing (quarter past eight in the alcove behind the tapestry of the Blue Lady).
Ted hated lying to his friends about where he was disappearing off to. But there was nothing else to be done; and the new feelings flooding him day by day were more than enough to make him feed them the same old stories about being in the library, or in detention, or practising his flying.
The tapestry of the Blue Lady had ended up being their favourite spot. It was just big enough to take them both and the couple of cushions Ted would conjure from nowhere. He would sit against the wall, and Andromeda would lie against him, her head on his chest. Some days they would talk, but mostly they just sat there in silence. Being in each other's company, the one thing they were denied in the world outside, was more than enough.
Once, Andromeda turned to Ted, her eyes full of worry. "What are we doing?" she whispered. "What are we really doing?" Ted hadn't known what to say, so he said the first thing which came into his head.
"Killing time. Killing time until we're free to do what we want. And I quite enjoy killing it with you."
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For the first time since Andromeda had started at Hogwarts, she didn't want the autumn term to end. The end of term would bring the journey back to Kings' Cross, and then to the cold gloom of her parents' house in Wiltshire. It would bring a certain, definite interlude to this blissful feeling she'd had for almost two weeks, the feeling that was currently keeping her going. It was the thought which filled her head; would being separated for Christmas bring an end to their relationship? Every time she opened her mouth to say something to Ted, she realised that she didn't know what it was she was trying to put her finger on.
The end of term came far too quickly. In the middle of packing, Andromeda claimed she had left something in the library, and so hurried off to the usual tapestry to meet Ted. He was already there when she arrived, and for what she knew would be the final time that term, she curled up against him.
"Romy?" Ted said quietly, stroking her hair.
"Hmm?" Andromeda replied, her heart beating a little faster.
"How would you like to come and stay for a few days with me over the holidays? I mean, at my place?" There was a pause, and obviously Ted interpreted it the wrong way, because he said swiftly, "I understand if it's too soon, or if you don't want to leave your family at Christmas…"
"Believe me, nothing would give me more pleasure," Andromeda said sadly. "Ted, I'd love to, but I don't think… I don't think I could. Not this year." She could sense his disappointment, so said quickly, turning round as she did, "But that doesn't mean I don't want to see you. Perhaps we could meet in a Muggle part of London; I'm sure I can sneak off. My aunt Walburga lives just north of the centre, and I could pretend I'm visiting her and my cousins."
"That sounds perfect," Ted said, smiling. "You let me know, and I'll be there. I'd love to show you the Christmas lights, and the tree in Trafalgar Square."
"I've never seen any of the Muggle areas of London at Christmas," Andromeda said quietly. "Mother always Floos us straight to the Leaky Cauldron, or if we're going there first, to Aunt Walburga's house; and even when we get there, we finish off by Floo."
"You've never been on the Tube?" Ted said in disbelief. "Or on a bus?"
"No," Andromeda replied. "Never."
"Well, I'll take you down there this year," Ted grinned. "That is, if you want to."
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As the Hogwarts Express arrived at Kings Cross and the students on board poured out onto Platform 9¾, dragging suitcases, owls and brooms, shouting and shrieking goodbyes to their friends, Andromeda took her last chance to look for Ted. She finally spotted him, standing talking with Gideon and Sam. When he glanced briefly her way, she tried to smile, but a lump was rising in her throat. Ted gave her the slightest of nods, almost imperceptible, and then she had to walk on, follow Narcissa through the throngs to where her mother was waiting, tall and grim, on the other side of the ticket barrier.
It was almost a surprise to find her home unchanged. As Andromeda unpacked, slowly, she wondered why everything was still the same. And then, as she pulled out the now tattered copy of Vogue, the very magazine which had marked the start of the journey she had been on for the last three and a half months, she realised that perhaps she was the one who had changed.
"Cissa tells me you've improved vastly since that whole Mudblood episode in September," came a voice from the doorway. Andromeda turned around and saw her elder sister standing there, her hair wild, her eyes slightly madder than she remembered them. "We all have our moments of stupidity," Bella said, casually. "It's what we do afterwards that counts, and it seems you've pulled yourself together…"
"Unless you have something else to talk about," Andromeda said icily, "please get out of my room."
"Oooh, touchy," Bella mocked. "Does poor little Romy have a crush on a Mudblood?"
"Don't use that word!"
"Why not? It's the truth," Bella sneered. "Muggleborn scum. One day, Romy, you'll see the truth, and then you'll come crawling to me like the pitiful wretch that you are…"
Andromeda pulled her wand out from the waistband of her skirt and pointed it straight at her sister. "Get out! One more word, and I swear…"
"You'll do what?" Bella said scorningly. "Hex me? Curse me? I'd like to see you try. You'll be kicked out of school without a moment's notice…"
"In six weeks time, I'm eighteen, and I'll do whatever I damn well want," Andromeda snapped, and stormed past Bellatrix out of her bedroom, striding down the stairs and out through the front door.
For about ten minutes, Andromeda hardly knew where she was heading. She strode blindly into the woods behind the house, still with her wand out. Rage was boiling up and down inside her. Initially it was merely about what her sister had said, but as she walked on, Andromeda became angry at herself for losing her temper in quite such a spectacular fashion. She loathed letting her emotions control her argument; she considered herself a rational person, and the fight with Bella had been anything but.
In the middle of the wood, Andromeda finally stopped. She sucked in a lungful of cold winter air, and sat down on a fallen tree trunk, drawing her cardigan closer around her. She pulled a crumpled piece of paper from one of its pocket, looked at it for the hundredth time and took a deep breath. Covent Garden tube station, 2pm, December 21st. That was all it said, and all it needed to say. "Four days," Andromeda breathed. "Four days."
