One Black Sheep

Update-tastic!

Disclaimer: All of these wonderful characters and the fantastic settings and the dramatic stories of their lives are the creation of JK Rowling, without whom the world is a much less magical place.

In this chapter I've dropped in my two lovely Ravenclaws, Hestia and Caradoc. Check them out in 'Loved and Lost' if you haven't already. Also, I have the obligatory cameo from our favourite marauding duo, James and Sirius.

Back to Andy/Ted!love. Hooray!

Chapter the second: In which Andromeda talks to her cousin about James Potter, and Ted explains the benefits of Muggle Studies.

The quidditch match was in full swing. Ravenclaw weren't doing particularly well – Gryffindor's new Chaser, young James Potter, seemed to be quite proficient at the art of misdirection. Fabian Prewett was doing his best at being Keeper, but his best simply wasn't good enough.

Andromeda stood in the stands with her sisters and their Slytherin friends, who were all appropriately dressed in Ravenclaw colours for the occasion. They cheered Ravenclaw goals and Bellatrix in particular made a point of booing very loudly whenever young Potter got in possession of the quaffle. Ravenclaw was in very real danger of losing – if their Seeker didn't catch the snitch soon, Gryffindor would be more than 150 points ahead and there would be no hope for victory.

Andromeda was not paying much attention to the game, however. She kept pulling Ted's note out of her pocket and reading it over. She wondered what he meant by 'persistent' – was he implying that he was interested in her in a romantic way? Well, that was just stupid; they'd barely spoken twice in five years and besides, she'd always made her attitudes towards muggle-borns completely clear. But what else could it mean? She pulled the note out of her pocket again and frowned at it. '… we're damn persistent.'

'What's that you keep looking at?' Narcissa asked, trying to catch a look at the note in Andromeda's hands. Andromeda quickly stuffed it back into her pocket.

'Nothing,' she said defensively, as James Potter scored yet another goal. Bellatrix booed loudly on Andromeda's other side. One more goal and even the capture of the snitch wouldn't save Ravenclaw's game.

'I have ten galleons on this game!' Bellatrix whined pitifully. Next to her Rodolphus Lestrange, a tall, dark-haired Slytherin seventh year, patted Bella's shoulder in a comforting way.

'You could never have foreseen that Potter character would turn out to be any good,' he said soothingly as Bella seethed.

'If I have to pay that little upstart ten galleons, I swear I'll …' she made a violent gesture, her dark eyes firmly focussed on the spot far above the pitch where James Potter was soaring by, in hot pursuit of the quaffle again. Gryffindors cheered him on.

Narcissa chuckled at Bella's misfortune. 'If I know Sirius, he'll never let you forget it,' she remarked. Andromeda was horrified.

'You bet against Sirius? He's only twelve, Bella!'

Bella's lip curled. 'He knew what he was doing. I suspect, in fact, that he knew that this would be the outcome – that Potter's a friend of his. I'll get him back, I promise you that!'

'I would rather that you didn't,' Andromeda murmured, but no one heard her. Goldstein, the Ravenclaw beater, caused Potter to drop the quaffle into the hands of the Ravenclaw chasers, and Andromeda's words were drowned out by her sisters' cheers.

'Thank goodness,' Narcissa breathed, as Ravenclaw scored another goal, much to the approval of its supporters. 'That Prewett boy couldn't catch a grindylow in a bucket!'

Andromeda frowned. 'Fabian's a fine Keeper,' she said, feeling that she should stick up for the members of her own house. Narcissa rolled her eyes but didn't reply.

The commentary, by one Benjy Fenwick – a Hufflepuff third-year – floated over the heads of the crowd.

'And Potter's back in possession – this is a brilliant first game for the second-year, and we all look forward to seeing much more of him … as for Ravenclaw's new recruit, Seeker Hestia Jones, we're yet to see much from – aha! That was a nice save from the Ravenclaw Keeper Prewett, and captain Davies is now headed for goal …'

Narcissa yawned and turned to Andromeda. The youngest of the Black sisters had never much cared for sports.

'So … what was that note again?'

'I told you, it was nothing,' Andromeda said testily. Narcissa had always been an incurable busybody. 'It was from a boy in my class, thanking me for some help I gave him in Charms.'

That was … mostly true.

'Oh,' Narcissa grinned. 'Which boy? Is he cute? Was it Prewett?'

'I should hope not,' Bella spoke up, her eyes still on the action out on the pitch. 'He hangs out with that filthy mudblood boy, so he's a traitor to our kind – Andy's got better sense than that, Cissy.'

'Well then, who –'

'It's none of your business, Narcissa,' Andromeda said loftily, hoping against hope that she sounded off-hand enough to deter her sister's questioning. 'It concerns our studies, and not anything you might have been implying.'

Narcissa pouted. 'You're no fun, Andy,' she sighed, turning back to the match. Andromeda breathed a silent sigh of relief, tuning in once more to Fenwick's commentary.

'The Gryffindor and Ravenclaw beaters have been having an all-out war this match! Potter is back in possession again – mark my words, you're looking at the future Gryffindor captain right there, as long as he doesn't get kicked off the team for his off-pitch exploits! You guys know what I'm talking about, especially you Slytherins …' Bellatrix and the others booed loudly, and Fenwick laughed. 'Ah, so you do know what I'm talking about. You've got to admit that he's a fantastic flyer, though … aha! They've spotted the snitch!'

The Ravenclaw seeker, second-year Hestia Jones, had gone into a fantastic dive … but her Gryffindor counterpart, by a sheer stroke of luck, was a lot closer to the tiny flash of gold than she was.

'Jones is straining every muscle to get that snitch! Merlin's beard, that girl can fly! But will she be good enough … Doherty is leaning in, but Jones is right beside her … this one's going to come down to the wire …'

The stands were screaming. The players had stopped passing the quaffle and were watching the two seekers as they chased the snitch … the entire game rested on this moment …

'And … it's Doherty for Gryffindor! Gryffindor have the snitch! Gryffindor wins the first game in the series, and what a close match it was!'

-

'That Potter kid is just … amazing,' Fabian said later in the common room, staring straight ahead as though he still couldn't believe what had just happened.

'Yeah, but we still could've beaten the git if I'd caught the snitch,' Hestia Jones said gloomily, her black hair falling across her face. Her friend, a blond second-year boy named Caradoc Dearborn, put his arm around her shoulders.

'That was just bad luck, Hess. I thought you flew very well.'

'Yeah, he's right,' Ted said bracingly, from his seat next to Fabian. The rest of the quidditch team was gathered around near the fire, staring glumly at their shoes. 'You all flew brilliantly, and I bet when you go up against Slytherin after the holidays you're going to really show what you're made of!'

The captain, Davies, nodded determinedly, offering Ted a grin. 'Yeah, he's right! No more moping, lads … and ladies,' he added, nodding at Hestia and the beater, Schofield. 'We've got Slytherin to beat! The season's not over yet, and the next time we have to go up against the Gryffindors and Potter the wonder-boy, we'll show them what Ravenclaws can do!'

The team cheered, and went back to their own conversations. Fabian turned to Ted.

'Thanks for cheering us up, mate.'

'Don't mention it,' Ted grinned. 'It was a fantastic match, whether we won or not.'

'Good to know someone thought so,' Fabian nodded. 'Who were you sitting with?'

'Oh, that Frank Longbottom chap – you know, the Hufflepuff prefect? He's all right – for a sixth year, and for a Hufflepuff.'

'Yeah, he's all right. So you weren't sitting with Andromeda Black, then?'

Ted rolled his eyes. 'She was with her sisters, like you said. I didn't fancy getting hit with the hexes of five assorted Slytherins, all at once.'

'It might bring you to your senses,' Fabian muttered, raising an eyebrow. 'You're not still hung up on that girl, are you?'

'What? I don't know what you're talking about.'

'You know exactly what I'm talking about,' Fabian accused. But Ted just shrugged.

'I don't reckon that I do. I'm going to go get started on that Transfiguration work for Monday, all right?'

Fabian narrowed his eyes shrewdly, but clearly decided not to press the issue. 'Ok Ted. We'll chat later.'

'Whatever,' Ted said in reply, before leaving the common room with a smile and a wave.

-

By Monday, Andromeda had come to a conclusion about what she was going to do about Ted Tonks.

She was going to avoid him, and hope that he would forget all about her.

All and all, she was rather pleased with this plan. She pushed Ted Tonks and his silly muggle book to the back of her mind, where she wouldn't have to think about them. It just wouldn't do for her to get mixed up with a muggle-born. Imagine what her sisters would say!

Instead, she decided to go and talk to Sirius. She felt sorry for Sirius because Bella was consistently picking on him – and she thought that he might appreciate her congratulations for his team's win over the weekend.

She found Sirius sitting in the corridor outside McGonagall's office. Andromeda could hear raised voices from the room within.

'Hey Andy. James is just getting told off,' he grinned and cocked his head towards the door. 'I'm waiting for my turn.'

Andromeda smiled a long-suffering smile. 'What did you do this time?' she asked amusedly. Sirius had always been a bit of a prankster. She remembered when he had been six and she had been nine, and he had left a toad in her bed. She'd screamed bloody murder. Since arriving at Hogwarts his pranks had only become more complex, and in some cases dangerous.

'Ah, well, dear Bella wouldn't pay up the money she owed me after our little wager on the quidditch match, so she and her slimy Slytherin pals received something slimy for lunch today in place of their usual sandwiches. Didn't you see?'

'I was studying in the library,' Andromeda giggled. 'I'm sorry I missed it.'

'Yeah, you would've appreciated it,' Sirius said, his endearing grin stretching his features. 'I still don't have my ten galleons, though. Your lovely sister seems to think that the deal was null and void since because James is my mate and, according to her, I had inside information. I say; tough biscuit. You can tell her that she either pays up, or finds herself the subject of experimental pranking.'

Andromeda laughed again. 'I'll be sure to mention it,' she said. Bella and Sirius had never gotten along. They were too alike, the pair of them – both incurably headstrong, and both absolutely certain of their opinion. 'But don't you think you're in enough trouble already?'

'Nah, it's all right. It'll only be two or three detentions at the very most. It's a small price to pay for justice.' He shrugged. 'Let's change the subject, shall we?'

Andromeda nodded. 'Ok. I actually came and found you so that I could, on behalf of Ravenclaw house, congratulate you Gryffindors on the victory this past weekend.'

Sirius laughed his usual short, sharp laugh. 'Thanks, Andy, that's awful nice of you. Can't see old Bella stopping by when James smashes Slytherin for all they're worth. He's pretty good, isn't he?'

'He's very good,' Andromeda agreed. 'He's got poor Fabian Prewett shaking in his boots. You and he are still good friends?'

'Yeah, of course!' Sirius laughed again. 'Who else am I going to be friends with in my year? Snape? Narcissa? I don't think so, sorry Andy. I'll tell him what you said about Prewett. He'll be rapt.'

Andromeda smiled at her cousin, thinking that he was a lot braver than she was. She would never go against her family's wishes and be friends with someone like … like Fabian, for instance, or Ted …

Suddenly, she sighed. Sirius frowned.

'You all right, Andy? You look like you've got something on your mind.'

'It's nothing,' she said quickly. Then she sighed again. 'Actually, Sirius, I've just been feeling –'

But at that moment the door to McGonagall's office opened and young James Potter came out, grinning from ear to ear.

'Your turn, mate,' he said. 'Go and get it over and done with – I'll wait for you here.'

'Yeah, thanks. Gotta go, Andy,' he apologised. 'Come find me later if you want to chat.' And with a grin he headed into the office.

'Ah, Mr Black …' Andromeda heard the strict voice of Professor McGonagall say as the door swung shut.

'He'll be all right,' James Potter said knowledgably to Andromeda. 'McGonagall likes him really, because he's so good at Transfiguration.'

Andromeda smiled. 'You were fantastic at quidditch on Saturday,' she said generously. James grinned more broadly still.

'Thanks. Sirius said you were the nicest out of all his cousins.'

'Did he?' Andromeda laughed. 'I've got to go. You boys … well, I would tell you to stay out of trouble, but I know that's not going to happen.'

'He also said you were the smartest,' James smirked. Andromeda laughed again and waved as she headed back to her common room.

-

When she got there, she almost turned around and went the other way. Ted was sitting right by the staircase to the girls' dormitories, where she would have to walk straight past him.

She paused at the entrance to the common room. For Merlin's sake! she found herself thinking. This is so ridiculous! Just walk straight past him, show him that you are every inch a Black, no matter what he thinks! Show him exactly how a Black behaves around a mudblood like him!

She took a deep breath and strode towards the staircase, ready to walk past, no matter how he called out to her, no matter what he said to make her stop and take notice …

He looked up once, but didn't say anything. She stopped with her foot on the first stair. He hadn't even tried to talk to her.

Damn it!

She turned and walked back to where he was sitting. She'd show him! How dare he ignore her?

He looked up from his book with a mild smile.

'Forget something, Andy?'

'My name,' she said, 'is Andromeda. And I forgot … to tell you … that I don't want that book you sent.'

He shrugged, but kept smiling. It was unnerving – Andromeda knew that if she had been Bellatrix he would have stopped smiling a long time ago. Possibly permanently.

'Just hang onto it,' he suggested calmly. 'You never know when it could come in handy.'

'In handy? I don't want it, I'm telling you – what am I supposed to do with a book like that?'

He smirked. 'Read it, perhaps?'

She stared at him. Apparently he found her shocked expression comical, because he laughed.

'Come on, Andromeda,' he said. 'It was only a joke. If you don't want the book, hand it back to Fabian.'

'Fabian?'

'Yeah, it's his,' Ted laughed again. 'You didn't think it was mine, did you? What do I need to take muggle studies for? If anyone doesn't need that book, it's me, and if there's one person in the world who might be able to find something interesting in it, it's you.'

She narrowed her eyes. 'What makes you think that I'm even remotely interested in Muggle Studies?'

Ted shrugged, still smiling. 'I'm not sure. Maybe … maybe I just hoped that you could be interested.'

'Well, you were wrong,' she informed him. 'I'm sorry if you took my apology the wrong way the other day – but that's all it was, an apology. It wasn't an invitation to friendship, or –'

Ted held up his hand to stop her.

'I know,' he said, his blue eyes suddenly serious. 'I know that you don't think you meant anything by it. But it meant something, all the same. And hey, if nothing else, that book got you to talk to me again, didn't it?'

He grinned. Andromeda was speechless for a moment.

'But why?' she said finally. 'Why do you want to talk to me? After all the horrible things my sisters say about you, after the way I treated you on Friday – why on earth would you ever want to talk to me?'

He shrugged again. 'I don't know. One of life's little mysteries, I would say. Why would you want to talk to me in the first place? Why would you ever even bother writing me that note? You could have just ignored me. Who am I to you? I'm just a mudblood, right?'

She gasped.

'What?' he demanded. 'I assume I'm allowed to use the word. Your sister uses it often enough. It's not as though you're not used to hearing it.'

'I suppose it's just … I didn't expect …'

'What? You don't think I hear it every single day?'

She frowned at him. There was some ulterior motive here, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

'Why did you really send me that book?' she asked shrewdly. He smiled.

'So that you could read it, of course. So that you might see where I'm coming from a little bit. I thought that perhaps if you knew a little more about muggles, we could stop worrying about who my parents are and maybe … be friends.' His expression could only be called hopeful. She frowned more deeply still.

'And what's so special about me that you want to be friends all of a sudden?' she wanted to know.

'Call it your proficiency in Charms,' Ted said mischievously. Andromeda's eyebrows shot towards the ceiling. He laughed.

'I'm only kidding,' he assured her. 'Listen, you talk to Fabian, right? He says you're a nice enough girl and I guess I thought, hey, I wouldn't mind having a friend who could actually help me out in Charms, considering as I'm pretty much failing. Besides, you're a Ravenclaw, which means we should stick together; and I thought I might be able to help you out as much as you would be able to help me.'

'What, by teaching me about muggles?' Andromeda asked.

Ted shrugged. 'It could be useful. You never know.'

'I seriously doubt that,' she said harshly, more harshly perhaps than she had intended – but she'd had enough. He couldn't treat her like this. She was not some game to be played. She was not going to stand here and hear the traditions of her family mocked by this … this … this mudblood. Yes, he'd said it himself. That was all he was to her. She was a Black, pure and noble, and he was … he was …

Still smirking at her like he knew something she didn't. She didn't like his look at all. She turned on her heel and swept up to her deserted dormitory, leaving him in the common room. She threw herself onto her bed and yanked the royal blue curtains shut. For a few moments, she sat fuming on her bed, her hands balled into fist and her teeth clenched. Slowly, she calmed herself down.

It was just so infuriating! How dare he treat her like that? Didn't he understand, didn't he know that he couldn't … that they couldn't …

She couldn't. She couldn't be seen talking to a mudblood. She couldn't show the least interest in Muggle Studies. She couldn't care, couldn't show that kind of emotion.

He didn't have such rules, such limitations. He could do whatever he damn well pleased. That was the difference between him and her. She couldn't be friends with him, even if she wanted to. Which she didn't. Of course not. But even if she had, she couldn't. It wasn't right, it wasn't proper, it wasn't the done thing.

He was a mudblood. She desperately tried to think like Bellatrix. Bellatrix was ruthless in regards to people like Ted Tonks. Filthy, dirty mudboods. Not worthy even to look upon her, let alone speak to her. Creatures of grime and muck. The words of Andromeda's mother floated through her mind … 'You are more than them, so much more … you are perfect, pure … the power you possess is carefully passed on from generation like an heirloom, it is precious, sacred … what do they know of this? Nothing! What right do they have to understand our ancient ways, our hallowed traditions? None! They are nothing to you, my child … you are so much more than them …'

Andromeda hugged her knees. She didn't know why, but she was crying. Surely it shouldn't be this difficult to know right from wrong! Parents were supposed to know, and they were supposed to be right. Andromeda had always been obedient to her mother and father's wishes. She'd never questioned what they told her. That was the way the world worked. But now, she couldn't understand why she had to push away someone who'd been nothing but kind to her, someone who was willing to go through any amount of effort to be her friend.

She sniffed. She could only imagine what Bellatrix would say if she could see her sister now. 'Ha, you silly girl, you have better sense than this! Has Ravenclaw made you soft? Are you actually considering speaking to that boy again – he is a mudblood, for Merlin's sake! Our kind does not speak to creatures like that, we do not acknowledge them, we do not even think of them! They are worthless, do you hear me! Would you betray your own family, your own flesh and blood for this boy? Would you go against your nature? You are more than this, Andromeda Black!'

Yes, that would be Bellatrix all right. Bellatrix had it easy. She never questioned anything – she knew what was right. She had always known it. She'd never been asked to consider a muggle-born boy for who he was, she'd never been subjected to the piercing eyes of Theodore Tonks, who always looked like he knew something that you did not …

'What could he have to offer you? You are a Black! He is dirt – less than dirt! What could he possibly know that would enrich your life in any way? What could his filthy muggle heritage teach you? Nothing, that's what! Nothing, because that's all he is! Nothing!'

Pulling herself together, Andromeda went to her trunk and pulled out the Muggle Studies book from underneath her dress robes. She stared at the cover for a moment. She would go and return it to Fabian. Yes. And then she would never think of it again.

Yes.

She didn't move. She stared at the book in her hands. It didn't offer any advice.

It belonged to Fabian. If he wanted to be a blood-traitor, then that was his business. Andromeda Black had no desire to turn her back on her family.

Fabian Prewett was another one of those people who had an easy life. He knew right from wrong. He believed in people, no matter where they came from. He treated everyone with the same respect. So did Ted Tonks. To them, everyone was the same. Innocent until proven guilty. Free to be either.

Her hand paused on the cover of the book.

Andromeda had always loved to learn. That was why she'd been sorted into Ravenclaw in the first place, and not Slytherin. But the thing she most wanted to know right now was the one thing she felt sure she would never find in any book.

Who was right? And how did you decide?

She knew about purebloods. She understood how they thought. But as for muggles … she had no idea.

Her Ravenclaw logic kicked in. In order to settle a debate properly, one should hear both sides of the argument, yes?

Besides, a little reading couldn't hurt.

What do you think? How about a review?