Her heart stopped beating. This couldn't be happening. For a moment, she thought she should be angry, but wasn't she doing the same thing?

She said a silent prayer to whatever deity was listening that he hadn't seen them. But even if that prayer was answered they weren't out of the woods. They still had to get inside without him noticing, not that he was paying that much attention.

"Shh…" he said, "Shh…sweetheart, don't fight it." She froze. That wasn't Rabastan. It was Roldolphus. Roldolphus Lestrange. She immediately felt relieved, which was odd. It shouldn't matter to her if Rabastan was faithful or not. Caring would make her a hypocrite. Perhaps she would just rather not know about it. Yes, that made sense.

And then her pulse quickened again. Rabastan seeing them was one thing, but Roldolphus was a whole different realm of terrifying. She didn't know why, but there was something about him that seriously frightened her. And then the fear came. For now it was Roldolphus and whoever his new thick-headed toy was who they had to sneak past.

Ted motioned, and the two of them darted forward. They carefully hoisted the door open and slipped inside. Ted was about to close the door behind them when he stopped, staring through the sliver he'd left open.

"Ted," Meda whispered, "Hurry, shut it."

"I'm sorry," he said. "It's just, I think that's…" He looked over at her. She didn't like that look. She pushed him aside and peered through the gap herself. Roldolphus and the girl had moved so that she could see the half of them that wasn't hidden by the stone walls.

The girl had cascading blond hair that seemed horribly familiar. Andromeda didn't want to believe it, but the girl's hand gripped the corner of the wall as Roldolphus pressed harder, and she saw the large, green ring on her finger.

Narcissa.

Andromeda didn't want so see anymore, but stood, transfixed as Roldolphus lips slipped to her sister's neck, his hands grasping her robes as he pressed his hips against her. Her sister moaned, gasping under his touch. There was something about it than seemed— rough. Like he was taking more than her sister was willing to give.

Ted pulled her back and closed the door.

"Come on," he whispered, "we should go."

She turned and fled. If only she could leave what she'd seen behind her just as easily.

...

"Mr. Tonks. Mr. Tonks wake up!"

"I, what?" He sat up, deliriou,s as Professor McGonagall rapped her wand on the edge of his desk. "I predict that the Tornados will win the world cup this year."

Several kids laughed, but Professor McGonagall was not amused.

"Mr. Tonks, I asked you if you could name Sylvester's 7th law of biotic energy transfer." She gave him a stern look. "Not your thoughts on the world cup." Her eyes narrowed "Can you?"

"Can I what?" Ted blinked.

"Name Sylvester's 7th law of biotic energy transfer!" She hissed, her nostrils flaring.

Ted opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He hadn't the faintest clue what she was talking about, so he settled for a sheepish grin.

She was again, not amused.

"Mr. Tonks, your grade in this class is already far lower than acceptable, I would suggest you not waste valuable class time sleeping. That is what the night is for." She took a deep breath. "Please see me after class." Then she stormed off towards the front of the classroom to resume her lecture.

As soon as she was gone Ted put his head back down. Not for him. For him nights were about meeting Andromeda, and then reliving his time with Andromeda. There wasn't a whole lot of sleeping involved.

It was a good thing Andromeda wasn't here though, he mused with a sly grin, if she found out his grades were slipping she'd probably insist they waste valuable time studying, or worse, cancel their meetings altogether.

The rest of the class dragged on, until at last, she dismissed them. Ted waited until they had all gone before coming up to her desk.

"Professor?" he started.

"Mr. Tonks, I'm concerned about you." Her strict voice sounded somewhat softer. "You've never been a top student, but you've always managed to scrape by with passable work."

"Thanks," Ted muttered, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Recently though, your grades have dropped remarkably. Not just in my class but in others as well. Now, I know I'm not the head of your house, but I feel the need to ask regardless." She took a moment to breathe. "Is there anything going on? Anything that has changed in your life recently?"

"I—" Ted started, then pressed his lips together with a grimace. He could hardly tell her what he'd been up to the past month.

Andromeda and he did not meet every day, but they came pretty damn close. After that night though, something had changed. It wasn't just snogging and giggling, they were more open than they'd been before.

At first he'd thought his declaration had scared her off, for their first night after she was quiet. But then, there were other things on her mind.

He'd prompted her to talk to him about what they'd seen that night, but he'd expected her refusal. Even after all their time together, her family was still a subject they didn't broach.

"I just don't understand why she wouldn't tell me," Andromeda said, staring at the ground in front of her as she knotted her hands in her robe.

"Perhaps she just didn't get the chance," Ted said. He still wasn't sure he liked talking about her sisters, but Andromeda was clearly distraught.

"But she wouldn't tell me about it," Andromeda continued, "I gave her ample opportunity. I even prodded her towards it a little bit, but she still wouldn't open up."

"Because she didn't think you would approve? I mean, Isn't that why you haven't told her about us? Maybe she thinks you'll have an issue with her dating the brother of your..." He couldn't bring himself to say boyfriend, if that's even what Rabastan was, technically.

"But she's never kept something like this from me before, and I think it's because she can tell I'm not… with her, like I used to be." She looked up at Ted and shook her head, her cheeks flaming.

"I'm sorry, I know you don't like talking about them," by them, she meant her family. "It's just hard to feel like I'm losing her."

"No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I've dragged you into this. It can't be easy keeping secrets from your family." He was reluctant to say it, but it was true, and truth needed to be said. That was one of the things he loved most about his family, they never kept things from each other.

"You're worth it," she said softly. He looked over at her sharply. She was staring at the ground. He took her hand, pressing his fingers to her palm as he ran his thumb over her wrist. Her eyes returned to him.

"You're wonderful," she said. "You know that, right?"

He allowed himself a small smile. "And you know you can tell me anything, right? Always."

She was silent then she turned to face him, she pressed her palm to his chest as her lips moved up to meet his.

"Though this is an all right, alternative," he murmured into her neck. She chuckled beneath him.

"Mr. Tonks?" Professor McGonagall prompted, jolting him out of his musings. The answer to her question was yes, there was, but it's not like he could tell her.

"Uhh… no, I've just been… unfocused."

Her eyes narrowed, like she could tell he's lying. He did his best to keep a face straight, while crossing his fingers behind his back.

Finally she sighed, "If you rewrite your past three essays and give them to me, I'll consider raising your grade."

Grea. Extra homework was the last thing he needed, but he knew better than to mention this to her.

"Thanks." He forced a smile before slipping past her out the door. He expected his friends to be gone, but to his surprise Liv had waited for him.

"What she want?" Liv asked, peeling herself off the wall as she came up to him.

Ted shrugged. "Just wanted to talk about my work."

Liv raised her eyebrows. "Well, you have been a little off lately."

"Nah," Ted waved his hand good-naturedly, grinning, just as someone came around corner. Andromeda met his eyes for only second before she blushed and looked away, but it was long enough for his heart to stutter.

You'd think he'd be used to Andromeda ignoring him in public, but it felt like someone had smacked his rib cage with a bludger every time.

"You'd better not let Bellatrix catch you staring at her sister like that," Liv said, following his gaze. Their was a joking tone in her voice, but something in her eyes told Ted she was serious.

He quickly shook his head. "I'm not—" The look she gave him told him denial was futile.

"You think I haven't noticed the way you pine after her?" She laughs humorlessly. "You're lucky the rest of them think they're too good to notice a Hufflepuff muggleborn, or you'd be in even bigger trouble."

He knew she was just trying to make a pointm but her words still stung. "Yeah, thanks," he muttered.

His response was enough to make the half-amused smile slip off her face. She sighed. "Ted, I—"

"Did you ever think that they're not all like that?" He stopped walking, whirling on her. He hadn't meant to "That not all of them are stuck up prats?"

"Yes. Of course." She stopped walking as well. Clearly she hadn't expected him to get so defensive about it.

Ed tried to avoid meeting her gaze, but her hazel eyes were just too intensive. It was like trying to avoid contact with a Hippogriff, you just couldn't do it.

"Maybe Andromeda isn't like the rest of them," Liv said, "but it doesn't matter."

"Why not?" he spat. He should let it drop, but Liv was saying everything he'd been thinking over the past few weeks, and he hated her for it.

"Because she's a Black." He hated the way she Meda's last name too, like it was the final, end of of discussion.

"Sirius is a Black, and he's not like them."

"Sirius is an open blood traitor." She folded her arms across her chest. "And he's not Bellatrix Black's little sister."

Ted didn't say anything, hoping Liv would get the message and drop it. Unfortunately, she was even worse about letting things go than he was. It was one of the reasons they broke up.

"Come on Ted, do I really need to tell you what she'll do if she discovers you're sweet on her sister?"

No, she didn't, but he didn't want her to know that.

"Ted. You and Andromeda can never happen."

Somewhere, some part of him knew she right, but he couldn't bring himself to admit it. So instead he whirled on her and spat, "This isn't any of your business."

"Actually," she stepped closer. "it is." He wanted to look away, but he couldn't break her gaze. "You know why? Because I know you. You don't think, you just jump head first and assume everything will turn out all right. But you can't, not this time. Not with her."

And then he did break her gaze, so she wouldn't see the shadow that passed over his face. "All right, I got it."

Of course he didn't, but he clearly wasn't going to win this argument, not when logic was on her side.

"Maybe if things were different." She tentatively placed a hand on his elbow. "If this Lord Voldemort guy wasn't doing all of this stuff, convincing people it's all right too—"

"I said I got it."

She withdrew her hand, some mix of hurt and anger flashing over her features. "All right. I'm sorry. I'm just worried about you."

Ted flushed. "And now I remember why I broke up with you. You always know how to make me feel guilty." But he smiled, which meant she smiled. The fell in step again, walking in silence.

"So, hypothetically speaking…" he kept his voice light. He'd rather not hurt Liv's feelings again. "Do you think I have a shot with Andromeda?"

"Course not. She's way too beautiful for you." He lightly punched her shoulders, and she grinned. "And you deserve someone better."

"She may not be all that bad." He chosen that moment to fix his sleeve so she once again wouldn't see his face. "For all we know, we'd be great together."

"Maybe in a perfect world," she said with a ghost of a smile, "but this world is far from perfect."