Track: Save Me - Nicki Minaj

Weeks later:

Life is back to normal.

That's what I tell myself.

Life has reverted back to the way it was before a certain good-looking mudblood crashed into it and messed everything up.

But now he's gone, and things are exactly as they were.

That's a lie.

Because things can never be as they were.

Ted Tonks changed me. He changed they way I see the world, and the way I react to it. He brought out my curious, questioning nature that had long been buried under a mountain of obedience. Now, it's trying to break through again. I don't know what to believe anymore. I don't know what to feel.

Before, I believed what I was told by my family and my house. If a pure-blood says it, it's law. Now, I don't know.
Before, I was okay with being alone in my troubles. Now, I've tasted how it feels to have someone who cares about you. Someone who cares about you more than their social standing. Before, I never knew what it was like, so I never knew what I was missing.
But now I do.
And it kills me.

When there are no muggleborns around, I don't like them. I nod in agreement when Rabastan says the lot of them should go die.
But when I see a muggleborn, I don't hate them. I worry whether they hate me. I wonder what they're like, if their family has been destroyed by one of my kind. I don't understand why I care so much, and I hate that I do.

I've never questioned the pure-blood views before, and now I am.

And now, I don't know whether I'm becoming a better person or a worse one. Are muggles evil? Or are we the bad ones?

I haven't looked at Ted Tonks in weeks. And that suits me just fine. I'd probably punch him if I did.
I'm still a liar.

I would punch him,
but it doesn't suit me just fine.

He seems equally set on avoiding me too, so we're very successful in this endeavor.

Life is pretty much a blur of pointless days mended together right now.

Until Dolohov tracks me down.

I'm out on the quidditch pitch, practicing. I'm really just flying around as fast as I can. Since Tonks and Rowle, I've needed to find some way to relieve stress. So, flying as fast as I can is all I've come up with. It helps, but I still want something more.

I'm flying around, throwing in the odd wronksi feint, when suddenly, my broom lurches.
My trusty broom has never failed me before, it always works. So why is my broom zooming to the left of the field when I'm trying to go right?
I'm screaming across the pitch, towards the ground, when I hear someone holler: "Immobulus!"
Suddenly, the world is in slow motion. No, that's not right. Because my broom fell to the ground at a perfectly normal speed. It's me-still airborne-that's falling in slow motion. I'm starting to panic when I see Thorfinn Rowle and Antonin Dolohov, wands out, staring at my immobilized state.
Shit!
Freezing charm still in affect, I slowly drift to the hard earth. Thorfinn and Dolohov are upon me in seconds.

Track: Fly Nicki Minaj ft. Rihanna

"Pleasant day, Andromeda." Antonin says with a sick grin.
"She's frozen, you idiot! She can't answer us under the effects of a freezing charm!" Thorfinn says, slapping his forehead with his palm.
"Well, how are we going to keep her around while you talk to her then!" Dolohov snaps back.
"I'll pin her down! You just shut up!" Rowle replies, exasperated.
Rowle has me pinned before I feel the effects of the freezing spell lifting from my body. Satisfied, Rowle looks down from on top of me.
"So, ready to give in to the inevitable?" He says seductively. He's on top of me the same way he was that night he tried to... yeah. And I don't like it, at all. I kick and scream and struggle with all my might. Dolohov is frozen is disbelief. Between breaths, I manage:
"I will...never...like..you! I...hate you! You..sicken..me!" Rowle doesn't like this at all. He clamps down harder on my arms and legs. Pain. I'm so angry, I'm practically spitting fire. And I do spit. I spit in Thorfinn's face.
Livid, he pushes down harder and lowers his face right behind my left ear. Then he bites down, hard.
The pain is almost unbearable. I kick harder and scream. I'm flailing all my limbs, trying to reduce the pain in my head. Satisfied, Rowle stops biting me.
"You never learn, bitch. One day you will." He points his wand at my face, between my eyes. I'm frozen in fear. A flash of light. Then, blackness.

Where am I?

My neck hurts like hell!

I look around. I'm in some sort of broom cupboard. Why am I in a broom cupboard?

Oh my God.

Am I naked!

Nope. Every garment of my quidditch robes is intact and as I left them.

Take a deep breath, Andromeda.

I realize now what he could've done.

And I cry.

I've cleaned myself up and conjured some clothes. I'm wearing my black jeans, emerald silk top, and my adorable black leather jacket. On any other day, I'd be pleased with how cute my outfit is. Today, however, I can't quite manage it.
My eyes still red and puffy, I open the door to my broom cupboard and peek through.
I'm in the quidditch stadium change rooms.
No one's around, so I exit the cupboard I've been in for who-knows-how-long. I then strut out like I own the place. If I act intimidating enough, no one will question me. I'll be just fine.

My brilliant plans never work anymore.

Because the first person I see is one of very few people who'd see through the bitch act.

Hello Tonks! Long time no see!

Shit.

All in all, I'm rather pleased with this chapter. Thanks to my lovely reviewers! There's still twice as many favs as reviews though. Come on guys! Step it up! You can do it! I believe in you! ;)

-xoxo IWishIWasAWeasley