By the time Ted reached the room, it was almost seven. He stripped off his hat and outer coat as a sound like very fast gusts of wind were heard from the bathroom. The noises stopped and Andromeda stepped out of the bathroom, mumbling something. She was wearing a large t-shirt and a pair of casual slacks, her hair was drying spedily before his eyes.

"Er," he said, finding his nice clothing from the closet, "I'll just get ready in the bathroom, then."

"Okay," she said, and he closed the door behind her.

After he was showered and freshly shaven, put on his clothes and brushed his teeth, he stepped outside the bathroom door to find Andromeda with her back to him. She turned around, and Tonks's breath caught in his throat. She was wearing the green-silk dress he'd seen her put up in the drawers earlier, it was sleeveless and hit her at her knees, the skirt like a bell from the sash encircling her tiny waist to a flare at the bottom.

"You clean up nicely," she said softly, eyeing him in a nice white oxford with a red tie and a pair of navy dress slacks.

"Why, thank you," he said, smirking, "Are you ready to commence acting, Miss Fiance?"

She eyed him crossly before opening the door of their room to descend the steps, "As ready as I'll ever be," she sighed.

- -

Ted pressed the doorbell beside Tom's door, and a rendition of Silent Night echoed through the door.

"How cheesy," Andromeda snorted at the charmed sound.

"I think it's quite cute!" Ted replied, and she rolled her eyes.

Tom opened the door and ushered the two into the foyer of the small house. Andromeda gasped as she took in the scene, as Tom headed of back toward the living room to leave the two to take off their coats.

Ted smiled at her, "They're festive," he supplied. And there was no exaggerating, wreaths hung from the corners of the two doorways, one headed to a living room and the other to what appeared to be a hall. Red and green lights twinkled down one wall and two planets were decked with jingle bells. A fountain had a Santa hat tipped over one of it's ears.

Andromeda and Ted made their way to the living room and sat down with Tom on a cream-coloured sofa, digging into a small bowl of mixed nuts on the coffee table in front them and commenting on the glowing Christmas tree in front of the window. Andromeda stood awkwardly in the threshold, not quite sure what to do, when a short woman showed herself in the doorway on another wall of the small living room, smiling brightly.

"Come help me in the kitchen, would you, Adriana, was it?" She called warmly, and Andromeda made her way to the door.

The smells from the kitchen were amazing the closer she got, but before she stepped into the small room, Tom's wife enveloped her in a warm hug. Andromeda wasn't used to this type of affection, so she patted the woman's back and was then ushered into the kitchen.

The room was about the same size as the living room. There were counters and cabinets on both walls, a sink on one side and an oven and stove on the other. Then when the cabinets stopped, there was the space where a round table covered with a cream table cloth with red and green Christmas trees stitched on the edges and four mismatched, cushioned chairs beside it.

"I'm Tom's wife, but you'll call me Helen."

"I'm Andromeda," she smiled, liking the warm, almost motherlike vibe she potrayed.

Then Helen began flicking her wand, flitting about the kitchen to deal with various items of food aorund the kitchen. There were a couple of pots boiling on the stove and a cassarole and rolls in the oven and a chicken marianating on the countertop. Helen instructed Andromeda to set the table, indicating to silverware and red napkins and dishes on the counter.

Andromeda began setting the mismatched table settings to their respective places as Helen appeared in front her, placing various items that were ready on the table.

"I'm so happy you're here," Helen said, and Andromeda smiled. "Such a pretty girl for Theodore, such a kind girl, the boy deserves so much more than what horrid deals he's been through."

Andromeda suppressed a confused look as Helen continued, "First his parent's, dying, when he was only thirteen. The type damage that does to a bloke, but Tom and I, we told him he'd always have a place here. Our kids moved out long ago, raising grandkids, and he's been a joy,"

Andromeda looked out into the living room to find Ted re-adjusting the tree to Tom's directions, as if seeing him in a new light, as Helen continued on, "Helping out, fixing things Tom just can't do anymore, not asking for nothing in return. Fixin' with Molly and Arthur back when they were having some troubles, sending gifts to their kids and to our grandkids. Such a good boy, Theodore, and it's good to see someone who makes him happy."

Andromeda smiled lightly, breaking her eye contact with Helen to study a chipped part of the plate. She felt awkward, lying to such good people, and even worse for how poorly she'd treated Ted. But he's just a Muggle-born, she tried to convince herself, but somehow it didn't feel right.

Helen ushered the men into the room and Tom and Helen pecked as they were caught under the miseltoe, blushing like two teenagers. Ted walked up beside her and caught her gaze and they smiled at the couple as they sat across from them at the table.

Andromeda placed her hands in her lap and kept her posture ramrod straight as Tom and Helen and Ted all grabbed cassaroles.

"Are you okay," Ted said lightly so that Tom and Helen couldn't hear him, handing Andromeda the cassarole, "You look like you're recieving a lecture."

She noticed she was the only one acting proper, and suddenly felt very out of place. She took the dish and spooned some onto her plate, much more than she would have if she was at home.

--

"So," Tom said, biting off a piece of broccoli and addressing Ted, "I've already asked Miss Black here all about her thoughts on your engagement. How about you, Teddy?"

Ted coughed on his potatoes as Andromeda looked at him, a grimace hidden in her sideways glance.

"Well," he said, coughing before swallowing, "Don't you think that's, um, personal?"

"Poppycock!" Helen said goodnaturedly, "It's not as if she doesn't know you love her. Just tell us when you realized it!"

"Well," Ted sighed, and Andromeda pursed her lips, preparing herself, "I first realized I was in love with Andromeda Black two years ago," Andromeda took a quick bite of carrot, listening while Tonks continued to talk, "at the end of the year, when she was sitting all alone underneath a large tree by the lake. We weren't friends, well, we were more like enemies at the time, but it was a while ago. She never wears her hair down, you see, it's always in this ponytail at the nape of her neck, but then, it was long and kindof went with the wind."

Tom was smiling and Helen had tears in her eyes as Ted continued, "And I just thought, 'I've got to make her see me as more than that Ravenclaw!' and the rest, they say, is history."

Andromeda didn't quite know why, but she had slightly been shaking throughout Ted's speech. Her stomach hurt now, in this raw way, and as she took a bite of her broccoli, she realized maybe food wasn't what she needed to fill it up.

Author's note: I updated! Squee! And this chapter was long to make up for the abscence. Not embarrasing, I know, eep! I'm not in the comedy jive... but introspective on Teddy being such a good guy! Sigh! For the record, Tom in this story is NOT how he's portrayed in the POA movie, because he's freaky there. He's more a nice old man with a nice old wife named Helen. And they're last-name-less. Well, Eraserhead, I put the answer to your question in the previous chapter (in the author's note) and the dates are weird because I can't read a calander, I really went out of town LAST weekend and will be home for a while. So, anyway, I heart Anna Ierse and Eraserhead, my reviewers, and next chapter will have some long-awaited 'Ted and Meda talk about their feelings type thing.' But don't expect it to go off without a hitch...

Review, please?