A/N: Andromeda meets with Ted. sad!Tedromeda.

Submission for:

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments): Fairytales Assignment #7 - Write a story that includes someone who has to do something against their will. Prompts: (Character) Bellatrix Black, (word) broken

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.


Andromeda bit her lip as she leaned against the stone cold wall of the dungeon. The warmth of the flickering torch a few feet away did nothing to help the chill running along her skin. She looked up and down the corridor, her eyes peering through the darkness and gloom beyond the torch's light, wondering where he could be. He wasn't usually late to any of their meetings, though they usually met further away from her common room.

"Dromeda!" she heard before he stepped into the light, his hair slightly messed and his breath short. "Sorry I'm late. Professor Sprout needed me for a moment."

She gave him an uneasy smile as he stepped closer to her. He leaned forward to place a kiss on her lips but she turned her head away.

His eyes moved to the torchlight. "Is someone here? Do you think they'll see us?"

She shook her head, her eyes looking into the darkness before she said, "It's not that."

"Then what, Dromeda?" he asked. "Why have you asked me to come down here? Why do you not want me to kiss you?"

She took a step away and said, "Ted, I do not love you anymore."

"What!" Ted cried. "What are you talking about, Dromeda?" He reached out for her hands while saying, "I thought what we shared last night was..."

"Last night shouldn't have happened!" she cried, pulling her hands away. "I shouldn't have let you touch me! I shouldn't have let you ever even speak to me! You are beneath me! You are scum!"

His mouth fell open as he tried to think of something to say. She could see the torchlight reflecting in his eyes, and she turned away unable to hold his gaze.

Eventually, he whispered, "You don't mean that."

"I do," she said, just a quietly. "Please, go away and never talk to me again."

She heard his footsteps approach her before he wrapped his arms around her from behind. She struggled out of his embrace and with angry tears in her eyes, she screamed, "Get away from me, mudblood!"

His hands fell to his sides and he scowled. "I see how it is," he said bitterly. Then he sighed and shook his head before saying, "I will leave you alone but only because you have asked me."

He began walking back in the direction of his common room, but turned back once. Their eyes locked, both pairs filled with sadness and regret, and she almost ran to him. But he said, "Goodbye, my love," and continued on through the dark.

She fell to her knees, her face hidden in her hands and her tears wetting her palm. What had she just done? She loved him and he loved her, and she just ended it, leaving his and her heart broken into tiny shards.

She jumped when a cold hand moved along her back in small circles. In her state, she had completely forgotten that her older sister had been watching from the opposite direction. "You did the right thing, Andy," her sister said, "Now you've guaranteed his safety and I won't have to tell Mum about your little... indiscretion last night." She leaned into her ear and added, "It'll be our little secret."