A/N: To IloveLuna/guest. Thanks so much for everything!
To anyone who followed the story, thanks, and don't forget to leave a review.
Ted Tonks rolled out of his bed and stared at his clock…
It was 7:40…
He sat up straight. 7:40? He told Professor. Kettleburn he'd be down to help him at 7:30. Ten minutes ago.
He leapt out of bed, smacking his head on the frame as he did so. Cursing both his oversleeping and his sore head, he whipped off his night clothes and shrugged on an old ragged pair of jeans and a button up flannel shirt and whipped out the door toward the entrance hall. The hallways were practically deserted. It was a Saturday morning after all, which meant there were no awkward stares to follow him as he raced down the hallways, running like a horde of Inferi were after him.
Professor Kettleburn had recently suffered from a serious accident when he'd been helping some colleagues transport a manticore, and was having a difficult time getting everything ready for his classes. Of course Ted had said yes when Professor Kettleburn had asked him to help, even when the Professor had asked him to be there at 7:30. In the morning. On a Saturday.
He made his way outside, barely getting to enjoy the feeling of cool morning air on his skin as he raced toward the outdoor pavilion where Professor Kettleburn was standing.
"Sorry Professor," he said, bending over and placing his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. "I overslept."
"It's all right, Mr. Tonks," the professor said kindly, his eyes twinkling. Several parts of his arms were still wrapped in bandages, as was his entire left leg, a couple of sticks that seemed to be serving as crutches were propped under his arms.
"Thank you for coming, I appreciate it." To be honest, he probably could have arrived at noon and the Professor would have been just as forgiving. Not that he would abuse the Professor's kindness like that; he'd just been so distracted lately. And he knew exactly why.
Andromeda Black. He shouldn't be thinking about her. He had no business thinking about her, but he couldn't help it. Ever since that day in charms, it was like her name and face had been plastered to the inside of his eyelids, and every time he closed them there she was. He didn't know what to make of her. Sometimes she made him so angry, like when she blanched at his skin touching hers, or the way she refused to meet his eye or respond to him talking to her. But then he'd remember the fire that would spring up in her eyes when he'd called her a bigot and the way she seemed to cringe when he'd used the word mudblood.
He'd known it was a bad idea to tell Jake to sit in Andromeda's spot, or partner with Susannah so Andromeda would be forced to partner with him, but he hadn't thought anything would come of it. And at first he'd thought nothing had, but she'd talked to him. All the way towards the Great Hall, where most of her pureblood friends wouldn't have said a word to him because they'd be afraid he'd somehow pollute them with his muggleness. And yeah, it been more of a bicker, but he'd still found himself lying awake in his bed for days after, thinking about their conversation, mulling her words over in his head, remembering her eyes, the shape of her mouth…
"Professor. Kettleburn, where would you like me to set these?"
Oh no. He whirled around.
Andromeda stood behind him, a large crate in her hands, based on the way she froze, her mouth opening, she hadn't known he would be here either. She glanced over him, taking in his disheveled appearance. Ted wasn't one to be self-conscious, but something about those eyes made him distinctly uncomfortable. He probably looked pretty crappy, with his worn out jeans, crumpled unbuttoned flannel shirt thrown over a white tank top, and wild hair that was probably sticking up in all directions. She, on the other hand, looked fantastic. She wasn't wearing her school robes, but robes that looked like they were made out of a dark brown, almost leather-like material. Made for the outdoors, but still impeccably expensive. Her skin didn't look quite so pale in the sun, but maybe that was because her long hair wasn't black, but rather a dark brown like rain-drenched wood, glistening in the sunlight, catching beautiful shadows of red and purple across her face.
"Oh, Ms. Black, I did mention I invited Mr. Tonks as well, did I not? Mr. Tonks, you know Ms. Black, yes?"
Not as well as you'd like to. "Yeah," Ted replied, telling the voice in his head to shut up, "we've met. She likes to drop things at my feet and steal my voice." Andromeda blushed furiously and busied herself with straightening the sticks in her arms.
If the professor noticed anything odd about their exchange he didn't let on. "Go ahead and set them down by those benches, my dear." He turned to Ted. "I've already explained everything I need to Ms. Black, so she'll be able to direct you." He gave Ted another soft smile before limping over to sit down in the shade of a nice tree.
Ted turned toward Andromeda. Well, here goes nothing. He walked up behind her.
"Do my eyes deceive me, or am I witnessing a historic event?"
Andromeda let out a tiny gasp, dropping the sticks. She turned around to look at him, breathing heavily.
"Not this though, dropping things in my presence does seem to be your defining feature."
She glared at him, before seeming to realize what she was doing and hastily looking away as she bent down to pick up the fallen sticks. Without thinking Ted bent down to help her. He couldn't help it, his mother had raised him to be a perfect gentleman, and he didn't want to even imagine the fit she'd have if she saw him stand there while a lady picked things up off the ground. Not that Andromeda was appreciative of his chivalry, she kept casting him side-long glances, like she expected him to pull out his wand and jinx her. He sighed.
They worked in silence for a while, until finally she said, "Mr. Tonks, what did you mean?"
"What?" Ted said, surprised that she speaking to him.
"I'm referring to your comment about the historic event." She was always so formal, even when no formality was called for. "What was your meaning?"
"Oh." He chuckled, remembering the brilliant comment he'd planned to say before she'd dropped the sticks. It seemed a little out of place now, but she had asked. "I was referring to the fact that a Black was actually doing manual labor. Outdoors. In the dirt." He glanced sharply over at her to see that she was glaring at him, her eyes were narrowed and her cheeks inflamed. She opened her mouth, probably to give him haughty reply, but then snapped it shut, apparently thinking better. But Ted's curiosity was peaked.
"Now, now, they'll be none of that." He sat down, his back leaning against one of the benches. "Go on then, what were you going to say?" Her mouth twitched, but other than that she gave no sign she'd heard him. His eyes narrowed. She'd played the silent trick with him far too many times, and he wasn't going tolerate it any more.
"So, I always imagined you Black girls as being perfectly balanced and coordinated. But based on the number of occasions I've observed you dropping things, I'm guessing you missed that boat. Or maybe you're finally touching back down on earth after years of walking above the rest of us." He grinned again, somehow enjoying himself. "Tell me, how does it feel to be back among your fellow mortals—."
"Ahh!"She made some sort of high-pitched grunt of frustration. Her hair whipped in front of her eyes as she turned to glare at him. "You are so—." She closed her eyes, clamping her mouth shut and looked away.
"So what?" he prompted. She didn't answer, just stood up and stormed over to the other side of the pavilion. After a moment he followed.
"Andromeda wait," he said, catching up to her. She turned and looked him. For a moment he considered apologizing, but the words wouldn't come. "You're supposed to tell me what we're doing."
She stared at him for a moment, then sighed, giving in. "Come here."
Andromeda explained their tasks as concisely and tersely as was humanly possible, scarcely ever looking at him as she did so, but he supposed he should have expected that. They were mostly just moving things around, though there were a few animals they needed to relocate or feed. Some things they could move with magic, but others, such as the animals themselves, Professor Kettleburn had requested they not trust to the fate of a hovering spell. Some of these animals were quite large, So Ted offered to move them by himself. Even though it was early morning he soon broke into a sweat. Without thinking he slipped off the button up and shirt and let it fall beside him, so that he was just in his tank top.
Andromeda breathed in sharply behind him. He glanced over at her to see that she was staring at him, or rather, the part of him below his head and above his legs. He blushed, feeling suddenly exposed. He was a slim person, but years of working summers on his grandparents farm had given him a fair amount of muscle, he supposed.
"Umm…" he said, trying to regain Andromeda's attention, at least to his voice, "Is there anything else?" He tried not to let his mind dwell on her lingering stare, it was taking him to a place he really didn't want to go to, or rather he did, it was just...
"Ye-yes," she stammered, tearing her eyes away and blushing furiously again. She looked so cute when she did that, not that he was noticing. "I mean, of course there is, Mr. Tonks, follow me." He rolled his eyes at her return to formality. Or at least, he meant too, but he was still trying to puzzle through her reaction to him… taking his shirt off.
She reached the last of the crates. "We just have to feed to Bowtruckles." She grabbed a handful of woodlice and then knelt down beside them, after a moment, he followed suit. He was very aware of the proximity of their arms. Her sleeves covered down to her elbows, leaving her lower arm exposed. He lifted his hand to scatter some as well, and his wrist brushed against hers. He expected her to react as she had before. She did let out a tiny gasp, but her hand didn't jerk or convulse, instead remaining in place. He could tell she was fighting her impulse to do so, but at least she was making an effort.
"Andromeda?" he said before he lost his nerve. "Can I ask you something?"
She sighed. "I don't suppose there's anything I can do to stop you."
His mouth twitched. "Why are you here? I mean, why are you doing this?"
She was silent, then, "because Professor Kettleburn asked me too, and I enjoy Care of Magical creatures."
"Really?"
"Ah yes, is it a historic event that a Black actually enjoys the outdoors?" There was a certain bitter note in her voice, and her lips were pursed, but she seemed to hiding a smile.
Ted just shook his head, smirking slightly. "No, I mean yes, it's just, you don't really seem like the outdoors type."
"Well, things are not always what they seem, but yes, I do, I mean, when I first took Care of Magical creatures I was a little apprehensive, I'll admit, but there was something just so— breathtaking about them. Like you could understand exactly why they did the things they did, and yet they were still unpredictable…" she trail off as her gaze drifted into the forbidden forest, eyes shining, but when she noticed him staring the light quickly faded from her eyes. "And what about you, Mr. Tonks?"
"Ted," he said, "no more of this, Mr. Tonks, you're making me feel old. And, uh, same, I suppose." There was no way he could top her description. He gave her a small, appreciative smile before returning to the Bowtruckles, but they had fed them all the wood lice.
"So, that's it then?" Ted said, standing up, she nodded, rising as well.
"Right then." He fiddled with his fingers. This was his cue to leave, but he didn't want to listen to that cue. Andromeda, however, was already striding towards the castle, so fast that he had to run to catch up to her.
"Hey, Andromeda?"
She stopped, looking. "Yes?"
The question was there, on the tip of his tongue, he just needed to talk a deep breath and say it. "What were you going to say, really?"
She was silent again, and this time he thought for sure she wasn't going to answer. But her voice came, so soft he had to strain to hear it even though he was right next to her. "I was going to say, for someone who knows me so little you seem to know a lot about me." And then she turned away and continued walking.
Ted stared after her. He remembered all those things she done, or all the things she hadn't done, watching the Slytherins torment him and his classmates without lifting a finger. He'd assumed she was just like the rest of them, but had he ever given her a chance to be something else? And he thought about what she had just told him, about her love for Care of Magical Creatures, the wistful look in her eyes as she stared out across the pavilion to the forest, as though she could see something he couldn't.
"Wait."
She stopped again, looking back over at him, her eyes wary.
He shoved his hands into his pockets. "You're right. I don't know a lot about you but I... but I'd like too." The voice in his head was gleefully reminded him that he'd had that same though earlier, only with a more perverse connotation, he did his best to ignore that voice. "May I walk you up to the castle?"
He expected the same answer he'd been given a week ago, but instead she said, "I suppose."
Ted stared at her in shock, not quite comprehending, but then her words sank in.
He ran to catch up with her again, before she could change her mind.