TRAITOR
~.~
Chapter 8:
Andromeda tiredly made her way to her favourite elective with a churning stomach. She really didn't want to spend time with the Hufflepuff's golden boy today. She was fed up of hearing about him. All morning she was made to listen to the Lestrange brothers and Bellatrix gripe about his 'unfair win'. Then during her classes, his friends had constantly sung his praise. Marvellous Tonks this, amazing Tonks that.
In the end, Andromeda had resorted to casting several Muffliato charms, just to dull the incessant buzz of the boasting badgers.
The fact that her Head of House wanted her to mentor Tonks with a smile on her face, as he had reminded her that morning during breakfast, was further insult to injury. The witch had complained loudly when she realised that she was scheduled to spend an entire afternoon teaching the incompetent idiot how to create Draught of Living Death. Andromeda doubted that he would be any more prepared than he was in the last lesson.
The sixth year rolled her weary eyes, knowing that it was going to be a long couple of hours.
He would most likely be late too. Great.
Her unsettled stomach roiled again and the witch noticed a bitter taste in her mouth as she descended deeper into the dungeons.
"Andromeda!" The friendly voice echoed off the cold stones and the female Slytherin gritted her teeth, trying to ignore the affable tone.
Looking up, she immediately met Tonks's happy hazel gaze. He stood, waiting to be allowed into the Potions chamber with a warm, slightly smug expression on his face. Although he had every right to look satisfied with himself, it still irritated her. Any worthy student of Hogwarts who donned the silver snake would never happily congratulate the success of another House, even if they did deserve it.
"Tonks." Andromeda acknowledged briefly, standing opposite him.
"How are you today?" He asked, shifting his noticeably heavy bag over his robed shoulder.
"Peachy." Andromeda replied sarcastically, folding her arms across her chest and Tonks's amber eyes flickered to the dark smudges under Andromeda's stare and regarded her defensive pose.
"Really?" Tonks pressed, eyebrow twitching upwards as a playful grin took over his face. "You look like you didn't get much sleep last night."
"Well, I suppose I have you to thank for that." She hissed.
Thanks to his win, she had missed out on valued sleep due to the heated words that had radiated from the Common Room to the dorms. Angry rants had seeped through the walls, despite 'Lia mercifully casting a silencing charm to drown out Bellatrix's poisonous words. It was early hours before Andromeda had succumbed to slumber.
Even this morning, the mood at the Slytherin table had been subdued. When Rabastan was released by Madam Pomfrey, Andromeda was the first to deal with his fuming rant. For some reason that eluded the witch, Rabastan always gravitated towards her whenever he was irate or needed consoling. She liked the Slytherin Prefect; he was charming but his anger was absolutely draining.
"I guess so." The Hufflepuff winked. "It was worth it though, wasn't it?"
Andromeda's lower jaw dropped. Did he just suggest that she enjoyed seeing her friend get beaten in a duel, against a Mudblood? Absolutely not! Even though she disagreed wholeheartedly with her fellow snakes about the fairness of the duel, that didn't mean she had wanted Tonks to win.
"Cat got your tongue?" Tonks chuckled, glancing over at his the silent Slytherin. The Pureblood Prefect snapped her mouth shut with an audible clap.
Git.
Andromeda glowered at him, feeling the bitter taste on her tongue dissipate as aggravated insults took it's place, demanding to be spoken.
"Good afternoon students! Please, come in!" Professor Slughorn yelled happily, smiling at all of his sixth years in turn.
The Hufflepuff Prefect gestured to Andromeda, allowing her to go into the room before him. He probably thought he was being a gallant gentleman, in letting a lady go first. The seething remarks in her mouth faded as she stepped past him, feeling the coolness of the chamber wrap around her like a comforting blanket.
As usual, Slughorn let his students take their seats before he began his lecture on Draught of Living Death. However, unlike his other lessons, this time he was very brief, not testing the sixth years on their knowledge about the colourless concoction. Instead, he introduced the subject and quickly dismissed them, wanting his students to try and create the potion on their own.
Andromeda frowned and wondered why her Head of House was breaking his routine. Normally he would talk to them, insisting on asking questions and rewarding those with answers.
Not today though, apparently.
"Do you want to get the ingredients?" Tonks asked, already pouring standard potion water into their cauldron.
Silently Andromeda rose and made her way to the back of the room, passing Burbage, who was almost drooling with admiration as she watched Tonks work. The Slytherin rolled her eyes in frustration.
For Salazar's sake.
Charity's crush on Tonks had begun in their second year and it hadn't diminished slightly in the last four years. Andromeda wanted to bet that his recent popularity had only elevated him in his fellow Hufflepuff's opinion. But why Burbage didn't hadn't acted on her desire, was beyond the comprehension of the Slytherin Prefect. Surely if you harboured such strong feelings, you should express them? Andromeda's gaze flitted back to the female badger. The girl looked ready to explode.
Merlin help some people.
Andromeda finished gathering up the necessary ingredients, carefully using her wand to levitate the various bottles and pouches of ground powders, passing Burbage who and walked through the bustling crowd back to her workbench.
Tonks was waiting patiently for his partner and began to reach for a small phial of wormwood as soon as Andromeda put it down. Anxiety made her stomach flutter and without thinking, she stopped his hand from grasping the tiny bottle, by covering his hand with her own.
"Do you know what you're doing?" She asked, staring into his suddenly wide amber eyes. A moment passed. Then two. Then three.
Realising what she had done, the witch snatched her hand away. Why had she touched him? What was she thinking? He was a filthy Mudblood, why did she voluntarily touch him?! How-
Stop!
Taking a deep breath, Andromeda mentally put the blame where it belonged - with him. Was it surprising that she had acted, based on previous experience of working with him? He wasn't the most capable student to work with. She had merely intervened in order to prevent their cauldron melting or erupting with a noxious gas.
Oblivious to her inner turmoil, Tonks smiled and reached for the small green-tinted bottle. Andromeda immediately slunk back as he came in close proximity.
"Trust me." Tonks said confidently as he grasped the phial and uncorked it. "I've done my research."
She watched the Hufflepuff nervously as he tipped the glass phial and carefully pour a quarter of the infusion into the simmering cauldron. He then set it down and took told of another rounded bottle filled with the powdered root of asphodel flower. The coffee coloured grains then followed the wormwood as Tonks sprinkled a handful into the bubbling potion. Unsheathing his wand, he slowly stirred the mixture, giving a satisfied smirk when the liquid began to turn a light pinkish hue.
Andromeda couldn't help but stare at her partner. He seemed completely different to the Tonks she had worked with the other day and a small part of her preferred this version of the male Prefect. He clearly had been telling the truth when he mentioned studying, but the snake was curious to know just how much time he had spent in the library over the last few days. She assumed it had been a fair few, with the sixth year's mounting homework.
Perhaps her scolding glances and curt instructions had found a way into that thick head of his.
As if to affirm her theory, Tonks carefully started dissecting a portion of a sloth brain which was a sickly grey tint. Though not particularly large, the squishy organ was incredibly pungent.
"Don't you love the scent of brain mucus?" Tonks joked, pulling a disgusted face when a trickle of the thick substance oozed out of the cut he made.
"It's delightful." The witch said sarcastically. She couldn't help but cover her nose and realised that she wasn't the only student who flinched at the putrid smell. Most of the others were groaning and complaining about the vile ingredient.
"Come now everyone, not all potions ingredients are nice smelling flowers!" Slughorn smiled, unperturbed as the air became thick with a revolting odour.
Tonks slid slices of brain into their lavender coloured brew and sat back, cleaning the remnants of slick matter from the workbench. As he inaudibly used the spell Scourgify, Andromeda looked back to her textbook and noticed that the potion needed to stew for thirty minutes before any more ingredients could be added. That meant half an hour of awkward conversation as the Hufflepuff was incapable of remaining silent for long.
Minutes later, when Tonks became bored and twitched with the need to speak, the witch felt him turn in his seat towards her. She braced herself for pointless small talk.
"What other electives did you pick, apart from Potions and Charms?" He asked, flecked golden eyes trained on her face.
Andromeda responded automatically, looking up at him. "Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes."
Tonks rested his chin on his palm, elbow taking his weight as he leaned against the table. His tawny gaze searched her own and the witch wondered what he was looking for.
"I take it you want to be a Healer when you leave Hogwarts?"
The question was uttered more like a statement which startled her. Sometimes the witch forgot how annoyingly perceptive Tonks could be.
"Yes." Andromeda confirmed quietly, twisting away from him. She didn't like how focused and analytical he could look. In her mind, only a Slytherin could pin someone and their motives so succinctly. For anyone else to do it, was... unnerving.
"That's interesting." He mused aloud and the witch couldn't decide whether her partner was being genuine or not. "Why did you pick Runes though? I heard it was really dull."
"Decoding old scripture can be mundane at times, but learning from the earliest forms of magic is incredibly useful. Ancient Runes holds some of the most powerful spell-work, which most people have forgotten. If I can learn from it, then surely it's to my advantage?" Andromeda declared in a tone that was matter-of-fact.
Whilst Tonks considered her words, she tucked a curl of chestnut hair behind her ear, looking away from his relentless gaze. Why did he have to stare at her like that?
"Don't you want to know what I chose?" He asked and Andromeda raised an eyebrow.
She honestly didn't give a shit what he had chosen and was about to say as such, but refrained, after catching a warning glance from her Head of House.
Andromeda wished she could tell Slughorn to shove his extra house points up his arse but, fine. She could play nice, for now.
"What did you pick, except for Potions, Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology and Apparition?" She asked, ticking them off on her fingers as she spoke.
Tonks looked mildly surprised. "I opted for Transfiguration too."
The female snake was not stunned by this information, as all of his chosen subjects opened up one particular career; especially when combined with Tonks's tendency to act impulsively, his incredibly quick reflexes and a natural flair for offensive magic. It all led to one option.
"You want to be an Auror." She muttered, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.
He nodded, blonde hair flicking with the movement.
"Figures." The witch muttered, before pushing back the arm of her robes to glance down at her watch. Reading the time she said, "You can get back to your potion now."
Without another word, he did, and Andromeda turned away from the wizard, letting him work.
Not knowing what else to do, the witch scribbled down notes in her textbook with her quill, making little observations about the potion as it was brewing; scrawling crush sopophorous beans not cut when the milk coloured bean shot out of Tonks's hands when he tried to cut it. As he bent to collect the pod from the floor, it bounced away, and Tonks quickly scampered after it. Several students made the same mistake, amusingly chasing their beans when they ricocheted off table tops.
Andromeda released a low chuckle as she watched them run around after leaping opals.
When Tonks finally stood, holding the pearl-white beans in a tight grip, his robes had become dishevelled, his tie had escaped from under his jumper and his hair was... a blonde disarray.
Next to their work station, Andromeda heard Charity sigh in delight as she contemplated Tonks's ruffled appearance. He certainly wasn't the most composed, but to some she supposed they found it appealing. As the Hufflepuff came back to the workbench, Andromeda realised that his skin had a faint blush which deepened as he spotted the Slytherin's entertained expression.
"You can't cut the beans, you need to crush them." She mentioned in a casual tone, pushing a mortar and pestle across the bench to him.
Picking it up, Tonks began to grind the beans until their slick silver juice pooled in the marble bowl.
"When you've got enough juice, make sure you add it slowly counter-clockwise." The witch directed, ensuring the Hufflepuff did as he was bid. Tonks carefully held the bowl and dripped the liquid into the bubbling cauldron in the right direction.
Pleased, Andromeda made a quick glance around the room, noticing that in fact she, and her partner were the only ones who seemed to be excelling.
"Do you want to check it?" Tonks asked, pulling back from the concoction.
With a sigh, Andromeda hopping down from the stool she was perched on and looked into the cauldron as Tonks gave the potion it's final, seventh stir. He carefully removed his red grained wand and wiped it on his robes.
The Slytherin leaned forwards, holding the tresses of her curls and watching as the swirling purple hues began to fade, the concoction turning as clear as water.
"Well?" Tonks probed as she inspected his handiwork.
The potion was perfect.
"It's good." The witch stated calmly. Ignoring his grin and made her way back over to her notes. Tonks had clearly put in a lot of effort and the itch to say something positive made her shift in discomfort. If it were a Slytherin student, she would have no qualms in congratulating them. But telling a Mudblood that he was as good as a Pureblood wizard was... downright painful. It was also completely untrue! Besides his ego was inflated enough from his battle with Rabastan that Andromeda refused to bolster it anymore.
Her thought process was cut as their teacher carefully bent over their transparent potion and dipped in an empty glass phial, scooping up a portion of the liquid. Once corked and safe in his pocket, he laughed gleefully.
"Well done Mr Tonks!" Slughorn commented, giving his famous crinkled grin and patting the Hufflepuff on the shoulder. "I am very impressed! Keep up the good work!"
"It wasn't just me, professor." Tonks replied gallantly, indicating his head to his tutor. "If it weren't for Andromeda, I would still be chasing after my sopophorous beans."
That was true.
"Oh well in that case, fifteen points to both Houses!" The Potion's Master declared before walking off to aid his less capable students.
"How did you know to crush the beans and not cut them?" Tonks asked, as their teacher walked away.
"Experimenting." She replied, closing her textbook. The more a potioneer experimented with their ingredients and examined them, the more they would learn. Surely that was obvious?
Tonks laughed, amusement lighting his eyes with a mischievous glint. "That's good advice."
Not wholly understanding his meaning, Andromeda decided to ignore him.
.
.
Andromeda walked along the dim corridors with the badger at her side. As determined by the two Heads, both she and Tonks were on Prefect patrol for the second time, though unlike the other, he had been relentlessly talking despite her less than enthusiastic replies.
He really couldn't take a hint.
"So what made you want to become a Healer?" Tonks asked, actually sounding interested. Andromeda sighed as they travelled though the high towers of Hogwarts, nearing the Ravenclaw Common Room.
"There was an incident one summer and I... I decided then, that's what I wanted to do." She answered, trying to be vague as possible. Like all Slytherin's Andromeda had a reason for what she did and how she acted. As the day had progressed, his harmless question into careers this afternoon had begun to tread onto dangerous territory as evening fell. Andromeda did not want to relive that painful memory.
"An incident?" Tonks pried, raising his wand as they opened a door to a dark and empty classroom. "That sounds intriguing."
Andromeda remained silent, letting him take the lead as they meandered up another spiralling staircase.
"Oh come on, don't leave me hanging." The Hufflepuff nudged, a grin on his tanned face.
"I don't want to talk about it." The witch said in a detached tone as she tried to push away the images that flitted in her mind. Blistered skin. Singed fur. Whimpers of suffering. The stuttering of wheezing breaths as a creature struggled to survive.
Her serious voice made Tonks stop and turn, and even in the low light, Andromeda could feel the intensity of his golden gaze. "Are you alright?"
She didn't know if to forge a deceit or tell the truth, but every Slytherin fibre in her body screamed to be cautious. Andromeda knew that if you showed any sign of weakness or distress, others would pounce, using it in the future for their own benefit.
"I'm fine." The Slytherin Prefect lied.
.
.
a/n: I'm sorry it's taken a while to upload this chapter. I've had a lot to do this last week.
But I hope everyone enjoys the little changes in Andromeda and Tonks's relationship. As always please read and leave me a review. I'd love to know your thoughts on this chapter. Asking for advice, do you think I should elaborate on this 'incident' in the next chapter from Ted's P.O.V? Please let me know what you think!
- DQ92
