Finished this while on vacation!


Delwy Selwynn had two friends before entering into fifth year: Oz Sherman and Bear Lanca. He had met Oz on the train to Hogwarts in first year. Lanca was more of Oz's friend than his. He always felt like a third wheel around them. Oz treated Lanca like his prodigy.

He had a new friend now, anyhow. A friend he'd made himself. She seemed so willing to talk to him, and Oz even supported the relationship. Delwy thought that he would be jealous when he told him, but Oz had just continued petting Wally, his chameleon that he'd somehow managed to sneak in. Something had flashed in his eyes, but it wasn't hurt or jealousy. It was interest.

A routine had placed itself over Delwy, mostly because of Andromeda, in the past few weeks. They would always meet each other after class in the library at the same time, at the same table, each day, to reorganise the notes of the day and study. Though, these academic meetings had started becoming something else: meetings where Andromeda would tell Delwy her secrets, confessions almost.

These secrets of hers would always fall into two camps: mundane or absurde. She'd move her seat closer to him, and then whisper them into his ear. It would either be how she discreetly fixed an antique vase her cat broke without anyone knowing when she was 9 with the help of her house elf or how Bellatrix had killed Narcissa's pet toad and then left pieces of its body on Narcissa's pillow for weeks without anyone in the family ever mentioning it. Why Narcissa had a toad was never explained. These little strange pieces of Black family life never were.

"Thank you, Delwy , for listening to me yet again," she said, with that smile she had after she told him her secrets, "I really do appreciate us being such great friends. I will see you at dinner.

"See you," he said, breathlessly.

She left then, as per the routine, and he didn't know where she'd go off until dinner. Her hair swayed as she walked away, neither her or dreamy-eyed Delwy noticed the book she had left on the table.


"Hello everyone!" Andromeda said when she arrived, underneath the willow tree, that was their regular hangout spot.

"Hi," Gwen said, sweetly, and the rest of the group followed with similar greetings.

"What is the topic of discussion?"

Ted made a face at her formalness, but schooled his features when Mason caught him.

"We were talking about the Hufflepuff Quidditch team mystery!" Edith said.

"Oh, I know nothing of Quidditch…"

"That's alright it's more gossip than anything." Inaya said.

"So, why would Lufkin not want to stay on the team?" Gwen asked.

"We don't know," Inaya said, disinterested.

The conversation continued much the same, as they talked about nothing. Andromeda quite enjoyed this new normal; routine and lovely people to talk the day away with, first Delwy then the group of Inaya and Gwen's friends. The sky soon grew darker.

"Well, I think we should be heading back," Inaya said.

"Yes, yes, oh Prefect Inaya," Edith teased.

"Gwen and Andy are prefects too! They are just as or maybe even more responsible and rule-abiding than me!"

Andromeda's palm hit her forehead.

"Oh, Merlin and Agrippa!" Andromeda exclaimed, "I forgot my History of Magic book back in the library!"

"Even more responsible," Edith chuckled until Mason and Inaya gave her a look.

"Well, you could go get it?" Gwen said.

"Yes, Ted, could you accompany her?" Inaya asked quietly, in a way that even though Ted didn't have a "mind-reading bond" like Gwen and her, he knew it wasn't really a question.

"Inaya-" he whispered back.

She shut it down with a look that he'd been already at the receiving end of. Inaya had sensed that out of everyone in the group Andromeda was the most uncomfortable around Ted, and now, she thought, was a perfect opportunity to at least start resolving this.

"Andromeda, could I… escort you to the library?" Inaya seemed disappointed by this attempt

She paused the futile search of her History of Magic book.

"Oh, thank you, Tonks-if we want to get there before curfew we should start going there now! Goodnight everyone," she waved to the rest of the group. He stood and waved at the rest of the group as well.

"Tonks, stop dawdling!" she yelled.

When did she have the time to get there? He thought then ran after her.

"Good move, Inaya," Mason said.

"Well, I try my best," she grinned.

Ted ran up to where Andromeda was waiting for him.

"Thanks for waiting for me."

"Well, you offered to escort me."

"So—What does it take for an incredibly serious Slytherin prefect, such as yourself, to forget her textbook?"

"It takes having an incredible day," she stated simply.

"Ah, well, now I know how to get you to forget things."

"How?"

"All I have to do is make you feel incredible," he said.

"I have no idea what you could be insinuating, but I refuse."

"What I could be insinuating…" he said confusedly, then he understood what she was insinuating and smiled cheekily, "That didn't even cross my mind! Woah, Andromeda didn't know you thought such things!"

"I—no!—you—not I, you!" She sputtered.

"Oh, but you do," he grinned.

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes!" He laughed that blasted laugh.

"Oh, this is all terribly undignified—and we better quiet down now as we are entering the library."

They'd made it to the library, Ted hadn't even noticed.

"You can wait out here—or go to bed, I will not force you to wait for me to get my book back."

"I'll wait, I have nothing better to do," he shrugged, and with one nod she was off into the library.

He rocked on his feet, but then he heard voices in the hallway. He knew that it wasn't good to eavesdrop,(his mother would have his head!), but what else can you do when you're the curious type? (His mother would really kill him if she heard that reasoning.)

He walked toward the corridor, careful to keep himself out of sight.

"Oz, isn't it incredible we've been talking everyday, that has to mean something! Surely, she could like me." One of the voices said.

"Maybe…" the other voice, whom Ted recognised as Oz Sherman, said, "What sort of things has she been telling you, Delwy?"

Ted didn't know why he found that name so familiar.

"She's recently started telling me secrets, and I swear she said it was 'to make our relationship more profound!' It's truly what she said!"

"Really? What kind of secrets? Any secrets about her family's magic or parentage?" Ted didn't the way he said this, low and conspiratorial.

"Not really, really just whatever seems to come to her mind… Why are you asking?"

Ted could feel the silence around him.

"No reason really, just want to know how your relationship with the Andromeda Black is going! Really proud of you, mate!" Oz said.

Then the other voice, that Ted now realised was probably Delwy Selwyn, Andromeda's Slytherin friend, started asking if Oz really thought that she liked him.

The boys left, leaving Ted with information he had no idea what to do with. Poor Andromeda, it seemed that Selwyn thought that their relationship would develop into something… And why was Oz Sherman so interested in her secrets? He usually just seemed like an annoying pompous idiot,(there were really too many at Hogwarts), but in that moment he seemed downwrite slimy. Should he tell her? Was it his place? He really should… but they didn't know each other that well, and maybe that conversation was just out of context… it sure seemed in context.

"Tonks, what are you doing over there?" Andromeda asked from the library entrance.

"Er… you know…" he trailed off lamely.

"No, I do not," she said.

When he looked up from the floor instead of the serious expression he'd been expecting, he saw that her face was graced with a cheeky smile. She was the one who was teasing.

"Well.." he blushed, who would've thought that he'd care what she thought, maybe he was just sympathetic because he felt sorry for her after overhearing that information.

That information that he didn't know what to do with. Would she tell him if she heard something about him that was bad? Considering her house she probably heard it all the time… that's right, she was still a sympathiser. What was he thinking? She presumably agreed somewhat with their views. Not the execution, but the core idea behind it.

"Tonks, are you going to accompany me or what?" She said, sweet smile on her face, waving her hand in front of his face, "You should be glad that I am in such a good mood thatI can deal with your nonsense."

He could probably find some way to tell her one the way there…

"It's pretty late…"

What?! Why did—

"You are doubtlessly right," she sighed.

No!

"See you tomorrow," he breathed out.

Why am I like this?! He thought.

"Have a good rest," she said.

"You too.." he said, she nodded once then walked to her dorm.

When he stopped hearing her footsteps he hit the wall hard.

Just another idiotic thing to add to the list.


This is a pretty fun chapter, cos we get Andy and Ted talking to each other nicely. I think that they have good conversations while alone, because when Andromeda's in a group she remembers that Ted's the one she accidently revealed herself to and Ted just keeps getting mixed signals (not romantic yet).

Idk... I hoped you liked it and PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! (it'll make me write faster!)

Only 2 chapters left! (of the LUS not Pot of Gold as a whole, obvs)

Have a nice day! :)