Andromeda was going to kill peeves. She'd even planned how to do it. There was this spot up in the astronomy tower that was supported only by a beam with a very thin connection. A simple spell would be able to break it easily, and then all she would need to do was get Peeves in the perfect spot at the perfect time and wham! It was the perfect plan.

Except that Peeves was a poltergeist, so he couldn't actually be killed. And that ruined the perfection.

She sighed, pressing her hand to her forehead as she made her way to the sixth floor. She was a little stressed out. Okay, she was extremely stressed, and distracted, which was why she hadn't been paying attention until Peeves dropped a suit of armor at her feet. She'd screamed and fallen into the vanishing step on the fourth floor, and she'd only just managed to avoid the caretaker while Peeves stood their cackling the whole time. She'd almost run back to her dorm room instead of continuing to the seventh floor, but she hadn't seen him since last night. And it was killing her.

Ted had met her at their spot by the lake last night, and she'd explained their plan. There was a knot in the tree by the lake, behind which there was a sliver of a gap, just big enough for a piece of paper. They would take turns placing a piece of paper there with the room they would meet in that night.

"That way no one can catch onto what we're doing or walk in on us," she'd explained to him, trying not to get distracted by, well, him. He was leaning against the tree like it was the most normal thing in the world for him to be meeting a girl in secret, at midnight, under a tree. And who knew, maybe for him it was. It occurred to her that she still didn't know that much about him, not really.

"And we can also communicate better this way. For example if I have a lot of homework and I won't be able to meet you I don't have to tell you in person…" She trailed off, noticing his raised eyebrows, and she could tell he was fighting back a smirk.

"You think it's a rubbish idea, don't you?"

He chuckled, straightening as he took a step toward her.

"No, I just think you're way overthinking this. It's like we're, secretly plotting to take down the whole world."

We are, she wanted to say. "If you think it's not necessary then I suppose we could find another way. I just don't think…"

But Ted grabbed her arm and kissed her, cutting her off. She gasped for a moment, and then let herself melt into it.

"It's fine, Meda." He grinned. "Though actually, I really just want to snog you too much to fight you on it."

She probably should've been mad at him about that. The only problem was, she really wanted to snog him too.

It'd been sweet. Short, but sweet. Kissing Ted was like breathing after being underwater for an eternity. It was like her whole body was singing. It was living. And leaving was like dying, not because she wasn't with him anymore, although she hated that part too. The worst part was remembering everything she forgot when she was with him. Remembering the weight, the lies and secrets that were threatening to crush her, which sometimes felt so realistic she had trouble breathing. Remembering that there wouldn't be a happily ever after. Being with Ted was killing her, but she couldn't bear not seeing him again. She was running in circles. And eventually it was going to break her.

Which was why when she finally reached the classroom, her nerves felt like a rope that been run over with a reduction spell.

Ted was already there.

She closed the door behind her, blinking. She always beat him here, as he was always running late. Apparently her delay had cost her more time than she thought. He straightened immediately upon seeing her, his eyes taking in her dark, sheer nightrobe. She blushed, immediately feeling self-conscious. It wasn't exactly the most flattering robe, but Ted didn't seem to notice. His gaze made her feel like it always did. Hot under the skin, open, and entirely more beautiful than she deserved.

"I was starting to think you weren't coming," he said, and she could hear the raw edge in his voice. "I mean, I did beat you here, right?" He smiled weakly, but his heart wasn't in it. His fingers were twisting by his side and he was rocking unsteadily on his feet. They seemed to gravitating toward each other, but neither was willing to close the gap themselves.

She cleared her throat, which sounded far too loud in the silence. What was she supposed to do now? They'd never really done this before. Well, never quite like this. They'd met each other in secret before but that had been different, somehow…

"Oh, what the hell," Ted said, and then he rushed forward, slipped his hand around her waist and kissed her.

Andromeda couldn't help it, she giggled. She hoped he never outgrew his habit of grabbing her and kissing her in the most awkward of moments.

"Wish you would've thought of that sooner," she murmured, "We've already lost time."

"Then shut up," he said, his hands sliding up her back.

She would, in a moment.

"I missed you," she said, her voice sounding cute and girly.

"Seriously Meda," he groaned between kisses, "shut up." Then his lips came down harder, and she did. Her hands reached up around his neck, pulling him down into her. He responded by tightening his grip on her shoulder blades while the other hand grabbed her hip and led her backward. She felt a sharp stab as her back smacked against the desk, but she didn't stop. Ted's hand slipped gently under her hip and lifted her up so she was sitting on the desk. Her legs seemed to naturally part around him and before she realized what had happened she'd wrapped them around him, forcing him to her. She gasped, shuddering under the feeling of this new level of closeness. She arched up into him, wanting to savor him, savor his touch. He moaned underneath her, his hands finding her thighs.

The door burst open.

Her lips fell away from Ted's and her hands slipped clumsily around his neck to keep from falling. A moment later she pushed him away. She had a half-second to remember what was going on, and the other to be completely terrified. This was her worst nightmare, this was... never mind, it was just bizarre, and awkward.

Of all the people to walk in on them, it had to be the Gryffindor prefects. The fifth year Gryffindor prefects. As in Remus Lupin, and... what was her name? Oh yeah, Lily Evans.

Lupin raised his eyebrows, and there was a light in his eye, like something had clicked. But otherwise he gave no sign that there was anything… off about what he'd walked in on.

Lily, on the other hand, looked like she'd just walked in on a bunch of trolls doing the can-can, or something. Her jaw dropped lower than her collar and her bright greens eyes widened until they represented oversized green opals, at least, that was how Ted described them later.

If only she could command her cheeks not to blush, but they were positively scalding. She glanced over at Ted and he returned her look with eyebrows raised. Clearly he didn't know what to do any better than she did.

"Students aren't supposed to..." Lily leaned back, her eyes pinching at a crooked angle and her upper lip quirking. She was clearly trying to avoid something, but Andromeda could see her caving.

"Aren't you Andromeda Black?" she finally blurted out. "As in Bellatrix Black's little sister?"

It was kind of funny, Lily said Bellatrix Black the same way Bellatrix often said mudblood or slug.

"I—I well, yes." Andromeda stammered, glad her mother couldn't hear her talk that way. But then, given the circumstances, it was probably a good thing her mother was miles away, out of hearing and seeing range.

"But, but he's, but you're..." Andromeda didn't think she'd ever seen the fiery Gryffindor girl at a loss for words. The retorts were usually at the tip of her tongue. It was refreshing.

Lily Evans was everything pureblood's worst nightmare. A Gryffindor, a girl, a muggleborn, and brilliant to boot. She was every professor's favorite student, including Professor Slughorn. And she was a firecracker. She never broke the rules, but neither would she back down from a fight. She wielded her Prefect badge like a badge of honor, and acted like she were the general of a grand army crusading against elitism, and she handed out detentions the way Professor McGonagall handed out homework. You couldn't so much as slip the word mud— and she was in your face snarling and threatening all kinds of punishments. So Andromeda wasn't about to cry over her sudden speechless...

"Are you trying to get him killed, Black?"

Apparently she'd spoken to soon.

"Or are you so much of a slut that—"

"Hey!" Ted cut her off. "That's my girlfriend you're talking to."

"Girlfriend?" Lily spat like it was a disgusting swear word. "What are you guys like, a couple now or something?"

Clearly, she didn't really believe it, but when neither of them said anything...

Her eyes narrowed and her pupils dilated. For a second she reminded Meda of a tigress. A really hungry, really angry tigress.

"Oh come off it Tonks, don't you know who she is?" she asked, like he somehow didn't. "She doesn't care about you."

"Lily," Remus said, stepping out of the shadows. "That's enough."

She whirled on him. "What did you say?"

"I said that's enough." He repeated, his voice polite, but with an edge to it.

"What, are you on her side or something?"

"I just think you're being a tad bit thick." Only he could say that without it being an insult. Well, sort of.

Lily's skin went from red to white in half a second. "I'm thick? I'm thick?" Her voice rose about three octaves. "How about the prat who's become the...bagboy for the queen of—"

"Prat?" Ted interrupted, chuckling darkly, but his flared nostrils showed the humorlessness of it.

"Well you are!" she practically shouted. "You deserve better, you know that."

"Maybe I don't want better," he said, or snarled. "Or maybe what I have is damn good enough.

"She doesn't care about you!" Lily took a step forward, forcing Ted to look at her. "And she never will."

"And you wonder why we don't like you." Andromeda said. All eyes swiveled to her.

"What?" Lily said, or more spat.

Andromeda swallowed. She'd never spoken to Lily Evans before, for good reason, but there no going back now.

"This is why… this is why we don't like you. The Slytherins. You never give us a chance."

Lily's eyebrows rose toward her hairline. "I never give you a chance?" She laughed humorlessly.

"No, listen." Ted said in a soft, husky voice as he looked at Meda over his long-eyelashes, "Tell her how you really feel."

"Yeah, Andromeda," Lily mocked, her eyes flashing. "Tell me."

She forced her voice to remain steady. "I'm not my sister."

"Sure look like her." Lily said.

"But I'm not," Meda repeated, her force stronger. "Have you ever seen me do anything she does?"

"No, but I might as well had." She stalked forward, glancing over Andromeda's all too revealing nightgown, Andromeda subconsciously folded her arms tightly over her breasts and squeezed her legs together. "How many times have you see her 'do things' and told her to stop?" She paused, cocking her head as she pretended to mull over the question, then she held up her finger. "Oh, I know. Never." And suddenly the snarling tiger was back. "You've been there right by her side. You could have told her to stop but you didn't."

"I know," Meda said. "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" Lily repeated, "Tell that to Mary Macdonald...

"Lily!" Ted shouted, raising his hands like a conductor silencing his orchestra. "Seriously, enough of this. I appreciate your concern but it's not really any of your freaking business."

Only he didn't say freaking. Meda blushed and looked away, and that's when she noticed Remus wasn't paying attention to what Lily and Ted were saying, he was watching her.

She had never really noticed this before, but Remus was quite handsome. His pale skin had once made him look sallow, but now, combined with his tall frame it gave him a sophisticated, almost regal look. But what really caught her attention was his warm brown eyes. There were staring at her with a sort of detached interest, the way one might study a bird outside their kitchen window or a bowtruckle twittering as it busied itself around an old oak tree. But there was concern there too, he was waiting for something, and he was worried that it wasn't happening.

But Lily wasn't done. She whirled on Andromeda. "Do you have any idea what they'll do to him?"

"I don't care," Ted said before she could reply.

Lily stared between them, looking like she desperately wanted to say something else, but instead she sighed. "Fine, but you know if you get caught, she's not the one who's going to have to pay for it." She glanced at Ted again, almost pleading. "If she really cared about you, she wouldn't put you in this position." She started out the door, then stopped, turning around.

"And you are breaking school rules by being here. I won't write you up, for obvious reasons." Andromeda let out a sigh of relief, even though she'd never really been worried that Lily would spill their secret. "Just don't let me catch you again."

She gave them all one last disgusted look before heading toward the door, mumbling under her breath as she left.

"Have a lovely night, you two." Remus gave them a smile before following after her.

She and Ted stood there in silence for a while. Meda had no idea what to say to him, not after... that.

"I need to go," Meda said, partly because someone needed to say something, and partly because she did. She needed to get out of here, now. "It's getting late and I've still got studying..."

"I know it's not true." Ted said softly.

"What?" she said.

"What Lily said." His voice was barely more than a whisper and he was staring at the ground, but then he looked up. "I know it's not true. I know you're not like the rest of them." He ran his hand through his hair again and looked at the wall, his jaw clenching.

"What I mean is..." His hand dropped as he looked back toward her, then it all came rushing out. "You're not who she says you are, not anymore, I know that now and I, and I just… Can I just kiss you goodbye or something, 'cause I'm not really good with all this, gross romantic stuff."

"Gross romantic stuff?" Meda couldn't help but chuckle. "That's charming."

He grinned. "That's me."

"You're ridiculous."

"You think I'm cute."

"Yeah." She smiled softly. "Guess I'm the stupid one."

She hadn't realized it, but she had Ted had been slowly walking towards each other. He stood over her, his hand finding hers and then slowing crawling up to her elbow. He caressed it with his fingers, then looked up.

"Guess so," he murmured and the next thing she knew he was kissing her, a soft, beautiful kiss that left her giggling and sighing.

Until he left. Then she couldn't stop Lily's words from spinning around in her mind. If she really cared about you, she wouldn't do this to you. Of course, she'd tried to push Ted away, warned him, but he wouldn't listen. But Lily was right. If something happened to him, it would be her fault. And her other question, do you know what they'll do to him? The thing was, she did know, or at least, she knew enough to know she didn't want to know. Lily may have been wildly off base about some things, but about others... she was Cassandra the prophetess right before the Trojan War, knowing with certainty that her friends and family marched to their doom, yet unable to stop them.