Somehow, they made it through their first week at Hogwarts. There were plenty of close calls. A few of the Slytherins tried to jump Ted one time between classes. Their plan seemed to be to hold him down and perform the scourgify jinx on him until he was "clean" or choked to death on soap suds. But they'd barely gotten their arms on him when Kingsley and Remus had seemingly come out of nowhere. When they'd threatened to give them detentions, specifically during their quidditch practice times, they'd backed off in a hurry. The only thing more important than hurting mudbloods was winning at Quidditch.
While Ted appreciated their good intentions, he had a feeling the snakes would try again, when they were sure he was alone. In fact, Andromeda was so worried about that, she refused to meet him at night anymore. They had to settle for lunch hours or finding empty rooms after classes, and even then there was always the chance someone would interrupt them.
And truth be told, he would have rather Andromeda spend her nights alone with him, than locked up with the other snakes. She wouldn't admit this to him, but he knew there had been more incidents since they'd tried to choke her during the welcome feast. Every morning she came in with bags under her eyes, like she hadn't slept. She always sat on the far end of her table, as far away from her classmates as she could get.
She always smiled when she saw him, but there was a sadness behind her eyes, and he had no idea how to fix it.
Except for today, he'd finally had an idea. He'd gotten permission from Kettleburn to spend the day in the forbidden forest. They weren't allowed to go far in, and they needed to be out by sundown, but their love of magical creatures had been what first brought them together, and he could think of no better way to distract Andromeda from all of the chaos around her.
He met her in the entrance hall. She was wearing her outdoor robes, and was fidgeting nervously with the fastenings on her boots. He chuckled. He hadn't told her where they were going, just how to dress. Of course, that would make her nervous. But even with all her fidgeting, she was still the most exquisite creature he'd ever seen.
"Have I told you look beautiful recently?" he asked, coming up behind her.
She turned to smile at him, her nervousness slipping away from her. "Yesterday. Twice."
He moved his lips to brush against hers. "That's still not often enough." And then he gave her a quick peck on the lips. Obviously, he wanted to do more, but it was best to wait until they had a little more privacy. They were already earning themselves more stares than he would have liked, and not all of them friendly. Of course his whole plan would be ruined if anyone followed them, but he was going to have to hope Kettleburn was quick enough to catch anyone who tried. As quick as a man with one wooden leg could be.
"You're still not going to tell me where we're going?" Andromeda asked as he led her outside.
"Of course not, that would ruin the surprise."
She rolled her eyes, "You and your surprises." But once again, she couldn't hide her smile.
When they reached Kettleburn's cabin he waved, but as they walked straight past him into the forest, Andromeda suddenly stiffened. "I can't go in there, Ted," she hissed, suddenly digging her heels in. "I'm a prefect."
"Relax," Ted rolled his eyes. "I got permission."
Andromeda's eyes widened, and she glanced around. "You mean—"
"Surprise," he grinned, before grabbing her hand and running into the forest.
"We should probably stop here," Ted said. They had reached the outdoor pavilion, which was the outer limit Kettleburn had given him. They'd already had a productive visit. Bowtruckles, Puffskien, Fairies, and even a Unicorn. Of course, once the unicorn saw Ted it started to snort, and he was forced to hang back and let Andromeda approach it by herself.
The Unicorn loved Andromeda. It butted its head against her playfully every time she dared to stop stroking it.
"It's good to see you again too, Junior," she said, laughing delightfully.
Ted couldn't help it. "You named it Junior?"
"No," Andromeda said. "That was Sirius and James."
"Figures," Ted muttered, while Andromeda chuckled some more. Apparently even hearing a boy's voice was too much for the unicorn, as it shuffled off after that.
As they stepped inside the pavilion they sat down, enjoying the noon sunlight. Per the house elves, again, he'd packed a lunch. It was just sandwiches, but as he spread out the picnic her eyes glowed.
"Don't you wish every day could be like this," she said suddenly, gazing out into the distance.
"Who knows," he said, "Maybe one day it will be."
"You think so?" she said quietly.
He shrugged. "I think it's worth hoping for." He glanced over at her, and saw that her shoulders sagged, and the happy smile had already slipped off her face, to be replaced by something more pensive.
He groaned. "Andromeda, I love you, but you have got to learn to live in the moment more."
"I can't," she said, her voice tight. "I can't stop thinking about the next dark turn."
Ted sighed. He could tell her that there would always be dark turns, and if she didn't learn live for the now she would never get to enjoy the sunlight in between, but he didn't think that would work. So instead he grabbed a handful of cream and threw it at her. It landed smack dab on her nose, and splashed all over her face.
She gasped, before turning to look at him, her eyes wide with betrayal.
"See?" he said, suddenly sounding serious. "If you had been living in the moment, you would have seen that coming."
She huffed. "Really?" Then she flicked her wand, and the rest of the pie flew into his face.
"Did you see that coming?" she said as he wiped the sticky peaches off his face. She'd been around him too long, and she was using his own tricks against him.
He took out his own wand and flicked it, lifting up what was left of their mashed potatoes.
"No," Andromeda shrieked, and leaped up from her seat. Ted threw them at her back, and she barely managed to duck out of the way.
Andromeda whirled around. Ted could see in the steely set of her eye that war had been declared. Except, they were out of food. But Andromeda flicked her wand again, and a pine cone zoomed at his face. If that was how she wanted to play then fine. He raised his own wand.
She shrieked playfully and took off again as several pine cones zoomed after her.
It was hard to tell how long the game went on. They were pretty evenly matched. Andromeda was a much better Witch, but Ted and the agility years of being a hyperactive kid on a countryside farm had given him.
At some point, their game had led them to a large oak with a base that twisted and bent to form a base, which gave Ted an idea. He let Andromeda continue to throw pine cones at him, gradually leading her closer and closer to that tree. When she closed in he ducked behind it. He could hear her heavy panting as she waited on the other side of the tree, trying to decide which side to attack him on.
In her moment of hesitation, he magicked a nearby stone into bouncing to his left. When she started in that direction he darted around the tree on the right. She barely had time for another playful scream before he grabbed her around the waist, and, as gently as he could, threw her against the tree.
"That's cheating," she said, as he towered over her.
"Face it, Black," Ted said, as he leaned in closer. "You lost to a muggleborn."
"Dear me," she whispered, "How will my reputation ever recover?"
Her playfully flirtatious eyes were drawing him in, making him feel like she had all the power even though he was the one hovering over her. Her breath was still coming in heavy gasps, meaning her chest was still rising and falling dramatically. Before he knew it he was falling into her.
His lips found her right as his hands found her hips as he leaned his body against hers. The adrenaline still pumped through their veins from all the running and chasing, but it quickly started pumping through their veins for a very different reason.
His hands moved around her torso, before catching on the silver fastenings that held the front of her robes in place. He traced his fingers along the fasten, wanting nothing more than to unbuckle it. Before he did his eyes glanced up to hers, waiting for permission.
She nodded, and something inside him soared. Despite his own feelings he took his time undoing the fastenings, not wanting to trigger anything in Andromeda. But she didn't stiffen or tense up like she had the last time he'd gone too far. If anything her body seemed to arch into him, anticipating what was to come.
He stopped undoing the fastenings at her waist, and then gently pulled the robes down over her shoulders. She wore a black, lacey undershirt that hugged her body in all the right places. That should have been enough, but his adrenaline was still pounding, which was why his hands found the hem of undershirt and gently pulled it up. Her breath caught, but she didn't stop him. Once he reached the base of her breasts he stopped, regaining control of himself.
Then he gently pressed his lips to the bottom of her stomach. She gasped again, but when he body arched into him rather than pulling away. He kept going. When he reached the hem of her clothing he stopped, he wanted to go further, but that had been one of the things that had triggered her last time. Still, there was something else he was dying to do.
He pulled his lips away from her body, and began reaching for his own fastenings. His hands were trembling, making it difficult to undo them. Until Andromeda's smooth hands slid over his eyes. His eyes moved to hers, and didn't leave them as she carefully undid each of his fastenings. His undershirt wasn't nearly as… exotic, as hers, which may have been why her hands immediately moved to the hem. This time he helped her pull the shirt over his head. For a moment they just took each other in, then Andromeda slowly pulled Ted down on top of her.
The feeling of her bare skin against his was ecstasy. He pressed his lips against hers again, and then all over her body, whispering her name huskily against her every chance he got, and hearing her whispers his back. It was a beautiful moment, and in the heat of it, he lost himself again. His hand found the hem of her robe, draped around her hips, and his fingers slipped inside her robe.
She gasped again, but not in pleasure, and her body pulled away from his.
Ted mentally cursed his own stupidity, and then immediately pulled his body off of Andromeda's. He was no expert in this sort of thing, but if physical contact was her trigger, then it seemed like removing it was the best way to calm her down.
"Andromeda, I'm sorry," he said, his voice heavy. "I don't know what came over me."
Meda pulled herself up, before pulling all four of her limbs close against her body. "It's not your fault," she rasped. "I wanted you too. I just… I can't…" The tears started to roll down her face.
"Shh…" he said. He grabbed the robes that were draped around her body and then gently pulled them around her shoulders. He had a feeling restoring her clothing would make her feel more secure. Once all her fastenings were in place, he replaced his own clothing as well. There was no need to be shirtless anymore.
He wanted to wrap his arms around her, but he was afraid that would make it worse, so he instead said, "You know you can talk to me? About anything? I just want to be here for you." He prayed that was enough to convince her, convince her she had no reason to feel guilty or be sorry.
She was quiet for a moment, then she said, "I still see him everywhere. In my nightmares, but also when I'm awake. It's like he's this shadow stalking me, and I'm constantly looking over my shoulder, terrified he's going to be there, and he's going too…" She didn't finish the sentence, but her tears flowed more freely.
Ted took her hand in his. He wished he knew what to say, but the only experience he had with the kind of thing was a girl from his hometown a few years back. There were rumors that some local boys had assaulted her, but she'd never come forward, and the rumors about her had turned nasty. The girl had moved away sometime after that, and he had no idea what happened to her. And he doubted any of this would help Andromeda, right now.
He felt a sudden surge of hatred for Rabastan. He'd taken Andromeda away from him, and then he'd let his own brother do this to her. As far as Ted was concerned, it was his fault as much as it was Rodolphus'
"This is so stupid," Andromeda heaved. "He didn't even, he didn't actually… he didn't rape me." Ted was surprised at the ferocity with which she'd said that. As far as he was aware she'd never said that out loud before. "It shouldn't affect me like this."
Ted bit his lip. Once again he had no idea what Andromeda was or wasn't supposed to be feeling, but he was pretty sure berating herself for supposedly over-reacting wasn't healthy.
So he did the only thing he knew how to do. Wrap his arms around her and pull her securely against him. He kissed the top of her forehead for a long moment, wanting to convey all his affection in the most innocent way possible. Then he said, "I can only imagine what you're going through, and I have no idea how to help you." He paused, taking a deep breath. "All I know is that I love you. And that you're the strongest, bravest, most amazing woman I've ever met, and nothing or no one could ever change that."
He had no idea if those words were helpful, but they were true. Andromeda didn't say anything. But she grabbed his forearm, pulling herself close to him, while her other hand interlocked with his. He held her, daring to believe that maybe this would be enough to help her begin to heal from the damage Rodolphus had caused.
He didn't know how long they were like that. Long enough that Andromeda's raspy breathing faded away into something more peaceful. Her hold on him started to feel like less of a lifeline and more like a simple, albeit strong, connection between the two of them. He closed his eyes, content to sit here all afternoon if that was what she wanted.
But the universe had other plans.