TRAITOR

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Chapter 9:

It was Saturday afternoon and Ted hovered high above the Quidditch pitch with his friends, watching as the new applicants for the Hufflepuff Team were put through a rigorous test by Bea. At this altitude, the wind was brisk and ruffled his hair, pushing against his frame as he was buffeted around. In response, the Prefect simply re-orientated his balance and held broom steady between gloved fingers.

Far below him, he could see their Captain's tiny figure pace up and down, lecturing the remaining badgers who stood, eagerly waiting to prove themselves worthy. So far, Ted and the others hadn't come up against any real talent, which was somewhat of a relief. Bea was tough and wouldn't hesitate to replace any of them if she believed it necessary.

"I thought we'd have a challenge this year Teddy Bear!" Nick shouted from near the goal hoops.

"You should be happy about the lack of challenge, Kettlewell! You'd be the first one to be replaced!" The team Seeker, Charlie Goodwin called from above the Beater.

"Bea would never replace me. She knows you'd miss me too much!" Nick shot back with a flirtatious wink, earning him a crude, very Muggle gesture as Charlie gave him the finger. Nick's laugh echoed, a warm sound full of amusement across the pitch.

Ted rolled his eyes but really, he loved days like this. Though the summer sun had been shadowed by a curtain of thick clouds, it was a mild day, and the atmosphere within the team was relaxed and content. Ted wished there was some sort of spell so that he could to prolong his enjoyment of the lazy afternoon hours.

"Tonks! MacMillan!" Bea shouted, calling the two other Chasers down to ground level. They both flew down and landed gracefully, hopping off their broomsticks. Ted towering over the other students. Their Captain turned to her two team mates. "I want you two to race these three students around the pitch, whilst trying to re-capture the Quaffle."

What she didn't add was that the fastest and most competent would be on the team, but then again, she didn't need to.

Ted nodded, turning serious and mounting his broom, before shooting up into the air.

Game on.

The three younger students followed him up, trying to appear confident as they soared unsteadily up and up. Once everyone was in position, Bea chucked the red ball between them and immediately the Prefect darted forward, claiming it. Ted urged the broom forward and it responded, picking up the pace as the applicants scrambled to keep up. He darted around them expertly, passing the Quaffle to Bradley who caught it with practised fingers before tucking it neatly under his arm for safe-keeping.

A second year caught up to Ted, coming alongside him, dark hair slicked back as the wind whipped around him. Tonks grinned and dipped down, going underneath the boy, ultimately forcing him to slow as he looked around for his opponent. Ted then dashed forward, leaving the confused boy behind as he spotted Brad. Making eye contact, the other Chaser proceeded to throw the Quaffle to his friend.

But a streak of yellow intercepted, rolling as they caught the ball in transit.

"Shit." Ted growled to himself, before gripping his broom more tightly and flew forward.

Both he and his fellow Chaser flanked the female third year who had stolen the Quaffle. Brad mirrored Ted's movements and the two sixth years closed in on the girl, each taking a side position, blocking her in. There was a loud crack to Ted's left, the sound of a wooden bat hitting a very aggressive enchanted ball. Knowing what was coming, he carefully kicked the ball out of the witchs' grasp, before zooming back down. The Prefect felt his hair move as the Bludger skimmed the top of his head. Bradley copied Ted perfectly, sinking safely below the third year and away from Nick's Bludger. Above them there was a terrified scream as she girl pulled to a sudden stop, yanking on the handle of her broomstick to halt in a way that made her lurch forward.

Ted shot down again, catching the Quaffle as it hurtled towards the ground. Darting ahead, he managed to turn in time to catch the object in his arms.

A whistle blew.

With a triumphant grin, Ted eased back to the firm ground of the pitch and walked to his Captain.

As he approached, the Prefect chucked the Quaffle to a beaming Bea, who put it into the Quidditch chest, nestling it into the secure waved all of the players back to the broad expanse of grass, waiting as they lined up before speaking.

"Well done everyone, I am seriously impressed by your skills. Tonks, MacMillan, you've secured your places for the next year." The two team mates high-fived one another. "However, this one gave you a run for your money." All three of them turned to face the third year. She was a tiny girl, with messy, mousy brown hair and large almond eyes. Her Quidditch robes were far too big, almost hanging off her small frame and Ted wondered if she had borrowed them from someone for today's tryouts. They obviously didn't belong to her.

"It's Melissa, right?" Bea questioned and the girl nodded in confirmation. "It's not often we see Ted worried on the pitch." Bea commented fondly, giving the third year a brilliant smile. "Perhaps next year, after some more practice you will make the team."

Melissa grinned and her cheeks turned pink. "Thank you Bea."

"No need to thank me." The Captain said simply and looked to the other players.

"You were really good." Ted affirmed, trying to ignore the faint knot of worry in his gut. Melissa had taken him completely by surprise, and without Nick's intervention, he wasn't sure if he would have caught up to her.

"Make sure you watch out for Bludgers though." Nick chuckled, tucking his bat into the Quidditch chest. "They're nasty little buggers and the other teams will be aiming for you."

"Duly noted." The girl smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Behind him, Ted could hear footsteps coming onto the field, and over his shoulder he saw a flash of blue and bronze. It was time for Ravenclaw tryouts.

"Let's go everyone!" Bea shouted, declaring their session over.

Ted couldn't help but feel relieved and let out a sigh as he and his friends made their way back to the changing rooms.

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After changing into clean clothes that consisted of dark blue jeans and a comfortable grey t-shirt and trainers, Ted, accompanied by Nick and Brad, made his way to the shores of the Black Lake. Under a patch of willow trees, Ted laid back on a grassy patch, listening as his friends skipped stones across the glassy surface of the lake. The Prefect was pleased to note that the sun had reappeared after their time on the Quidditch pitch, and in between the swaying branches, the glorious summer rays danced across his bare arms and face. The sixth year enjoyed the warmth and the gentle breeze that teased his hair. Smiling, Ted relaxed and closed his eyes, though sleep was far from his grasp.

His mind was a mess of thoughts that he had trouble sifting through.

All of his time recently had been spent with arduous classes and in his free time, Ted had found himself being drawn more and more to the library. He'd spent countless hours studying amongst the rows of shuffling bookshelves, reading dusty texts, all the while being monitored by a sharp-eyed Slytherin. The badger had experienced many long mentoring sessions with Andromeda now, due to their gruelling tasks given by merry teachers. Yet, somehow, his partner made their complex assignments appear annoyingly easy. He didn't know how she did it, but everything she did was effortless. Every wave of her wand, every silent incantation, every bloody potion she brewed... everything about her was precise and controlled, something that had begun to intrigue and irritate him.

Part of him wondered whether it was normal to be so sure of ones abilities as (except for brand new magic when she was occasionally unsure), Andromeda didn't hesitate to do what needed to be done. He often stumbled, questioned what the hell was going on or even joked around, just to ease the tense atmosphere, but she didn't. Why was she so serious all of the time? Did she ever unwind or relax? The only time he had ever seen a different side to her was in Potions. Though it had only been on show for a matter of minutes, he had a seen her composure crack. She had sat, unaware of the amused expression that had graced her pretty features. She looked so different when she grinned, younger, if that was possible. Her lips had turned upwards and her frown had dissipated as she had watched him and others chase their stupid sopophorous beans around the classroom.

Perhaps in that case, it wasn't just her. All of the Slytherin students were...distant. Ted had no idea what the Slytherin Common Room was like but the Hufflepuff imagined it to be a cold, unwelcoming place full of awkward silences and bitter prejudices. The badger wondered if the snakes den was ever filled with warm fires or carefree laughter. He doubted it very much, and if that was the case, he wasn't surprised that she was aloof.

Ted sighed heavily and opened his eyes.

"You alright over there Teddy Bear?" Nick called, splashing his way through the shallow waters in his search of a flat stone to skip.

"Yeah, you're awfully quiet mate." Brad added, coming up the slight incline and dumping himself next to his friend.

"He's probably missing the Pureblood Princess." Nick shrugged, trying to appear casual.

"Piss off Kettlewell." Ted mumbled, not willing to admit that he thought about Andromeda more than he liked.

Nick laughed heartily.

A moment passed as the Prefect considered expressing his thoughts aloud. Curiosity won. He wanted their opinions.

"What do you think the Slytherin Common Room is like?"

Brad considered before answering. "I bet it's really cold. I mean, they are near the dungeons, so they don't get any sunlight down there."

"That's true." Ted admitted.

"I don't care about that." Nick suddenly declared, throwing his last stone before coming to sit beside the others.

"What do you care about?" Brad inquired with a frown.

Nick gave a lopsided smirk and his silver eyes sparkled with mischief as he dumped himself gracelessly on the ground. "I want to know what you think of your mentor, Teddy Bear. Ever since you were paired with her you have never said what you think about her. What's she like? Has your opinion changed? Is she a raving bitch?"

Brad chuckled. "I agree with Kettlewell, you haven't said a word about her Ted, and let's face it, she isn't exactly..."

"Normal." Nick finished, sounding completely unapologetic about his choice of word.

Ted frowned but Brad continued. "Exactly, and well, let's face it, it's not healthy to bottle up how you feel. Especially around friends."

"Well-"

"JAMES POTTER, PUT HIM DOWN NOW!"

The voice was familiar but it was filled with such anger that Ted immediately jumped to his feet. Frowning, he pushed through the low, swaying branches of the weeping willow until he came to a clearing. The male Prefect immediately withdrew his wand from his back pocket as he observed the scene before him. Hanging upside down in mid-air was a young Slytherin boy, his trousers around his ankles in a painfully embarrassing show. As the boy hovered in the air under a Levicorpus, Andromeda had her wand pointed dangerously at a group of Gryffindors.

Ted sighed in disappointment as he spotted and instantly recognised the four boys.

The infamous bully James Potter looked surprised, Sirius Black appeared amused, Peter Pettigrew was terrified and Remus Lupin looked abashed.

"Put him down Potter." Andromeda commanded in a snarl, not taking her dark chocolate eyes off the leader of the small group. When Potter didn't do as he was told, the older witch marched forward, disarming him with a silent wave of her wand.

The Slytherin boy slammed to the earth and with red face began to put himself back in order. Ted exited his place from under the sweeping bough and made his way to the crumpled boy on the ground.

"Are you alright?" The Hufflepuff asked, helping the skinny, dark haired boy to his feet. As soon as he was upright and properly dressed, he dusted off blades of grass and specks of dried mud from his knees and elbows.

"Y-yes." He stammered and grasped his wand from the base of a tree.

"What's your name?"

"Severus." The boy replied, smoothing out the lines of his clothes and giving the Gryffindor's a glance that was filled with pure hate.

Satisfied that the Slytherin was decent and uninjured, Ted turned his attention to the cluster of boys who had shuffled onto the shingle shore of the lake, backing away from a furious Andromeda.

The witch pressed forward, gripping her wand tightly.

"If you ever hurt, intimidate or bully this boy, or any Slytherin again, you will deal with me." She threatened silkily as spirals of hair blew gently in the cool breeze. From his position, Ted could see how her cocoa tinted eyes were trained on every twitch and glance between James and Sirius.

"I'm not scared of-" The former tried to speak, but he was instantly cut off by the sixth-year snake.

"Not only me of course, you will deal my sister. Or rather, she'll deal with you." The words were said so sweetly that it took a moment for their impact to sink in. But Ted saw the intended choice of words had their intended effect. James's tan complexion seemed to pale and even the permanent mischievous glint in Sirius's eyes dimmed. No-one in the entire school scoffed at the threat of Bellatrix Black.

The four friends all but ran away with their tails in between their legs.

When they were no longer visible, Andromeda turned back to Severus and put her wand away in the bag that hung from her lace covered shoulder.

Ted cleared his throat and followed her lead, also putting his wand back into his pocket.

"Are you alright?" The witch asked, eyes scanning the younger boy for any signs of physical harm. Ted wasn't sure if she had even noticed his presence as all of her attention was on her house mate.

"I'm fine." The boy said, sounding no-more confident than he had before. "Thank you Andromeda."

"You don't have to thank me Severus. Come on, I'll walk you back to the Common Room." The older witch said softly, eyes briefly flicking to the Hufflepuff.

Ted met her gaze, noticing how dark and rich the colour actually was, even in the bright afternoon.

"Is there a problem Tonks?" She snapped, breaking his trance. Not knowing what to say or how to react, Ted simply moved out of the way and watched the two figures as they retreated through the trees.

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a/n: Hi everyone! I am so sorry for the very late update. I've been really busy lately, with so much coursework needing to be done as well as personal problems. But enough of that, I can't believe we're up to chapter 9 already! Thank you so much Looneyluvgood55 for your review - I can't express how helpful it was! :)
Hope you all enjoyed! As always, stay safe and please leave me a review letting me know your thoughts, ideas and opinions on the story so far!
- DQ92