CHAPTER 3
Fateful Encounter

Andromeda Black was easily bored, and it had come to her attention that maybe this inclination towards melancholy stemmed from her soul-sucking lack of passion. Certainly enough, Andromeda had not been gifted at birth with the fiery temper which fuelled her older sister Bellatrix's every waking moment. Nor had she found in herself the unshakable resolve and unflinching stubbornness that had never been better displayed than by her little sister Narcissa. In comparison, Andromeda would have been as boring as she was bored if did not emanate from her a certain aura of aloofness, an air of quiet disdain, a snippet of self-perceived superiority which, to the casual observer, put her on equal footing with her siblings' brand of extravagance.

With that in mind, for all five years Andromeda had attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, never had she enjoyed a class of History of Magic quite as much as she did on the tenth day of term. Naturally, the fun had nothing to do with the class itself, if only that it provided sufficient background noise to make Andromeda and her friend Joycelin Moor feel secretive in their paradoxically loud endeavours. It had started as a bored scribble on a piece of parchment but writing their classmates' names in Gobbledegook — the Goblins' tongue — had soon turned into a surprisingly hilarious game. Though the entertainment it brought them was surely magnified by the utter boredom Professor Binns had a talent of emitting with every word escaping his ethereal lips, the girls were no less distracted, and they revelled in such mischief.

Professor Binns himself seemed unmoved by the loud giggles echoing at the back of the class, too focused on his own lecture about the role of wizards in muggle warfare. The rest of the students, however, was far from being quite as oblivious. Used to the sleepy atmosphere associated to Binns's classroom, the barely contained laughter and loud whispering to which they were now submitted, and the fact that the famously quiet Andromeda Black and her friend were the source of it, was sufficiently unfamiliar to tinkle their curiosity.

The two girls, however, remained unaffected.

Joy, for one, leaned back on her chair to take a better look at the list of names scribbled on the parchment. 'Who are we missing?' she asked.

Andromeda took a look around. They were mixed up with the Hufflepuffs for this class, and although she knew every Slytherin currently at Hogwarts, her knowledge of the Hufflepuff House was, to say the least, minimal.

'That blonde girl, in the front row,' she said at last, almost certain they hadn't yet written her down. 'What's her name?'

She exchanged a look with Joy, and saw it was blank on both parts. A second later, the two were shaking in muffled laughter; there was something funny, indeed, in ignoring the name of a person with whom you had shared a castle for five years. Still smiling, Joy leaned over her desk to poke the back of the blond boy sitting in front of her. Curtis Delaney turned around.

'What again?' he grumbled, though Andromeda knew, if the slight curving of his lips and the twinkle in his eyes was anything to go by, that he wasn't the least bit annoyed.

'What's that girl's name?' she asked, pointing at the lady in question.

Curtis squirmed in his seat to get a better look and frowned. 'Err…' he started. 'Isn't that Deborah Leeswood?'

Joy smirked. 'Don't ask us,' she said. 'I'm not sure I've ever heard her name before.'

'I think she's a mudblood,' announced Curtis as if to put Joy's mind at ease.

Andromeda frowned. Curtis had no business going around, accusing people of being mudbloods when he himself had a muggle parent. Such vanity was, in part, why Andromeda had started to distance herself from him last year. As she frowned, she thought Curtis might have sensed her disapproval, because his gaze swapped to her just then. She met it with unwavering eyes. He sulked and looked away until both were distracted by Joy's voice.

'Deborah it is!' said the girl, oblivious to her friends' silent exchange. 'So how do you write the "de" sound in Gobbledegook?'

Andromeda smiled. Ancient Runes was not one of the classes in which Joy paid attention. 'You've asked five times already,' she complained light-heartedly. 'It's the one you always stumble on.'

Joy bit her lip, a habit Andromeda had adopted after years spent together. 'Is it?'

Andromeda sighed but her smile betrayed her hilarity. 'It has no equivalent. We have to change it to "the".'

The girls looked at each other and lost themselves in a fit of giggles. 'The Borah?' laughed Joy.

Andromeda looked at the parchment and laughed harder still. 'No look,' she said. 'It's "The bore."'

And so they cackled, until class ended.

'Hey!' Curtis called out when Andromeda and Joy seemed not to have realised that Professor Binns had finally set them free. 'Aren't you coming?'

'Did he give homework?' asked Andromeda, hurrying to shove her books and parchments inside her bag.

'Yes.'

'What?'

Curtis hesitated before answering. 'I'll let you copy mine if you help me with Astronomy.'

'No problem,' answered Andromeda. She had always considered Astronomy her class of predilection anyway. 'Cheers, Curtis. Now let's go before he comes out of the wall again'. And with that said, they left.

Or at least, attempted to leave because right before reaching the door, Andromeda collided loudly with a pair of broad shoulders. Stumbling backwards, she would have fallen on her bottom if not for Joy who caught her just in time. Now slightly wobbly, she looked up to find the person to whom belonged the shoulders and was instantly met with a pair of kind, hazel eyes.

'I'm so sorry!' exclaimed the pair's owner. 'My friend pushed me and I lost my balance!'

His apology was met with a frown. Not that Andromeda was angry; she was rather more confused and unfocused (had she hit a bone or was his back that firm?). Standing straighter, she took a second to look at him better. He wasn't much taller than her, but sturdy. His face was square, with strong jaws and short sandy blond hair. He was not drop-dead gorgeous like Liantris but definitely had an attractive boyish charm about him that made Andromeda realise she knew him. He was Ted Tonks.

Ted Tonks's existence had come to her attention in fourth year, when, being the newly appointed beater for the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, he had received a bludger to the arm and proceeded to fall from his broom and onto this same arm, as if to make sure that it would indeed break. And it broke. And it broke again a week after Madam Nightingale had fixed it, this time, rumour had it, from an accident in Defence Against the Dark Arts class. He was advised to never risk Quidditch again and had kept away from it ever since. And ever since, he had become one of maybe five faces outside of the Slytherin House to which Andromeda could assign a name. He could not be aware of it, of course — for Andromeda had neither cause nor want to let him know, but she thought he, muggle-born that he was, should nonetheless consider it an honour.

Point being, when she came to her senses and found herself looking straight into the boy's kind, hazel eyes, she knew exactly who he was and whatever embarrassment she felt turned into mortification. Too shaken to properly turn his guilt against him and squash him down into the deepest pits of humiliation, she could only shake her head, and say 'It's fine,' in a slightly annoyed voice. 'You didn't do it on purpose.'

Tonks froze. Eyebrows raised, he looked at her for one endless second with a mix of surprise and curiosity before giving her a big, honest smile that dug long dimples into his face and brightened his eyes.

'You're not mad at me?' he asked, blushing.

Blushing? Why was he blushing?

'Of course not,' replied Andromeda, confused. 'It was an accident, wasn't it?'

'It was!' he exclaimed.

There was a second of silence during which they stared at each other and Andromeda found herself at a loss for words. Eventually, Tonks's gleeful smile turned into an embarrassed one and he started scratching the back of his neck.

'Sorry,' he repeated.

Andromeda only raised an eyebrow.

'Come on, Ted, let's go,' said another Hufflepuff, grabbing Tonks by the arm and leading him outside the classroom in rushed steps.

Andromeda would not have minded if he had waited for her to leave the room first after having inquired further on her well-being. She felt it was what decency required. However, him being a muggle-born, she decided to forgive his lack of manners and rather blame it on his unfortunate education. Her friends weren't quite so merciful.

'You let him off easy,' growled Curtis. 'He bumps into you, barely apologises and then leaves in a heartbeat. Filthy mudblood. If it was me that he'd thrown to the ground…'

'Curtis,' interrupted Andromeda, not in the mood to listen to his disproportionate anger. 'Let's not make this bigger than it deserves. It's as you said, isn't it? He's muggle-born.'

'He shouldn't even be in this school.'

Andromeda shifted on her feet to glare at him. 'That is not for you to decide, Curtis. And you are in no position to give lectures about blood purity anyway.' On these words, she left.

Curtis had a tendency of getting on her nerves without even trying. She would never have said those words before, not to anyone, but every passing day found him, a half-blood, giving more passionate speeches about blood purity than any pure-blood Andromeda knew. It was ridiculous, frivolous and, in her opinion, somewhat offensive. He had no idea what he was talking about yet enjoyed shouting out on every rooftop his baseless opinions and radical points of view.

She was even angrier that he had made her snap at him in front of a crowd. There were still quite a few students near the door when she'd left and she knew for a fact that everything she and her sisters said toured the school twice before being allowed to fade into oblivion, if it ever was.

Andromeda slowed her pace as the loud echo of hurried footsteps suggested that Joy had caught up with her.

'I think you've offended him', said her friend carefully.

'Who?'

'Oh, don't pretend! Curtis, of course!'

'Merlin's pants, what should I do?' snarled Andromeda before reminding herself that sarcasm never rhymed with appeasement. As she dared a glance towards Joy, she thought the disapproving huff she received only confirmed that such truth was still of actuality.

'Andromeda,' called Joy, clearly unhappy. 'This is not a joke. It's not his fault that he is a half-blood. Not everyone comes from a family as old as the Blacks.'

That had Andromeda come to a stop. Slowly, she turned on her heel to face Joy and plunge her eyes into her friend's. Andromeda knew Joy was not simply defending Curtis, but also herself: the Moor family had, in recent years, gained the reputation of being pure of blood, but families' like the Blacks and the Sacred Twenty-Eight would never consider them their equal. Andromeda could understand her friend's unease, but she had little patience for self-pity.

'He thinks hating on those lesser than him will make him somehow more respectable than what he was born as,' she articulated, 'but he is wrong. It only makes him more pathetic.'

Joy sighed, adverting her gaze. 'You're right,' she said in an almost-whisper. 'As always.'

Andromeda stood straighter and threw her hair back. She walked away once more, Joy on her heel.

That evening, when Joy and Andromeda entered the Slytherin Common Room, Curtis walked up to them.

'Hey, look,' he started, his face red with embarrassment. 'I'm sorry for earlier…'

'Don't worry about it,' interrupted Andromeda. She had said it with a smile that put him at ease because, truth was, she wasn't comfortable with making a big deal out of ridiculous incidents. 'You didn't do anything.' Relief clearly blew the red away from Curtis' cheeks and Andromeda repressed a sigh of her own, glad to have escaped unnecessarily cheesy apologies.

By her shoulder, Joy clapped her hands happily. 'Oh, I'm so happy you two have made up!' she exclaimed. 'I need to go to the bathroom, but let's play Gobstones when I come back!'

Andromeda watched her trot away. Then, ignoring Curtis who was just awkwardly standing there, she trailed lazily to the nearest armchair and fell in it with a groan. She felt exhausted, all of a sudden, but just as she was starting to doze off, a heavy weight befell upon her, squishing her insides.

'Bellatrix!' she growled before even opening her eyes. 'There are so many empty seats in the room right now!'

But Bellatrix was already making herself as comfortable as possible when lying with her sister in an armchair meant for one person to sit. Somehow, she managed to rest by Andromeda's side without falling off or chocking her. Bellatrix had always been good at miracles.

'Why use up more armchairs when we can share one, Andy…'

'Because we can't share?' answered Andromeda.

'We're doing fine right now,' replied Bellatrix with a wolfish grin.

'Are we? Because as much as I love you, I think we're just a little too close and you're definitely encroaching on my personal space.'

'Nah, I'm fine.'

'Oh, then. What a relief.'

'Anyway, how was your day?'

'Hunky-dory…'

'Okay.'

Glancing at her sister, Andromeda sighed. She understood at once where this whole conversation was meant to go and resigned herself to it immediately. 'How was your day, Bella?'

Bellatrix's face illuminated. 'You wouldn't believe! It was exhausting! I had Transfiguration, then I had Defence, then I had Herbology, then I had Divination, then I had Potion and I ended with History of Magic! Andy, if I do not find a way to kill this ghost, I think I will be the one dead before the end of the year because he just has a way of sucking the life out of me!'

'Well that's news…'

'Andromeda. This is no joke.'

Andromeda laughed lightly. 'I don't know what Dumbledore's doing. Binns should have been replaced years ago. Although I had the fun of my life in History of Magic, this morning.'

Bellatrix frowned. 'This sentence makes no sense,' she said matter-of-factly.

'Listen,' chuckled Andromeda. 'Joy and I just wrote the names of all our classmates, in Gobbledegook. It was surprisingly very funny.'

Bellatrix raised an eyebrow and planted her eyes in her sister's. 'I fear Professor Binns has already managed to scramble your brains,' she said gravely.

Andromeda burst into a fit of laughter and Bellatrix gladly joined in. What a strange sight it must have been, thought Andromeda. Those two sisters, usually so cold and distant, flocked against each other on a small armchair with their legs dangling over the arm, talking to each other in low voices and laughing loudly enough to turn all eyes to them. Had she been with anyone else, Andromeda would have been embarrassed. But not with Bellatrix. Such was the strength of the Black sisters. Such was their charm. Individually, they were unattainable. Together, they were a magnet to everyone and anyone with eyes and ears.

They stayed up till late, not leaving their armchair. They were so entranced in their conversation Andromeda did not even notice Joy come back from the bathroom, take one step towards her only to stop at the sight of Bellatrix, and plod towards Curtis instead. Naturally, it took another Black to burst the girls' bubble.

Narcissa arrived much like Bellatrix had, sitting down on her sisters' bellies.

'Cissy!' complained Andromeda.

'Do you want to die?' threatened Bellatrix.

'Make me some space!' ordered Narcissa.

Obviously, there was no more space to be made so the sisters moved over to a couch near the fireplace. There were a couple of students already occupying the location but they left as soon as they saw them approaching. Andromeda would have felt guiltier but she really wanted that couch. Besides, it had been so easy, so no harm done, really!

Bellatrix sunk into the sofa with her legs on the table facing it and both Cissy and Andy laid next to her.

'So, how's third year so far, Cissy?' asked Bellatrix with a yawn.

'Nothing special,' answered the youngest matter-of-factly.

That made Andromeda frown. She was certain that a few months back, Narcissa would have been overly excited to tell them all about her day. Her babbling would have been unstoppable and every incident, no matter how insignificant, would have been told in utmost detail. These days however, Cissy tried to be appear mature and distant. She was not a child anymore, or so she wanted others to believe.

'But I had my first class of Divination today,' she continued, and this time, Andromeda saw like a twinkle in her sister's blue eyes.

'How was it?' she asked.

'Hilarious,' answered Narcissa with a bright smile. 'First day and she had us read teacups! Everyone started inventing the craziest stories and Professor Delph just didn't know how to stop us. You should've seen her face, it was the best!'

The girls chuckled. Ever since Bellatrix had taken Divination in third year, the three of them had had the most fun mocking it.

'So, when are we going to Hogsmeade?' asked Narcissa once they had calmed down.

Andromeda sighed. 'The first outing is either on the last weekend of September, or first weekend of October.'

Narcissa grimaced and cuddled closer to her sister. 'I can't wait for it...' she moaned.

'But you've already been to Hogsmeade,' Bellatrix reminded her.

'Once when I was a baby!'

'You were nine.'

'Same thing! It was a long time ago. I want to go with you, not mother and Aunt Walburga…'

A shiver passed through all of them at the mention of Aunt Walburga. Nobody liked Aunt Walburga. Not even their mother, Druella, who looked considerably younger with her own siblings. Not even their father or Uncle Alphard who could never laugh nor smile in her presence. Not even her sons, Sirius and Regulus who were terrified of her. As of her husband Orion, he seemed not to be right in the head and his feelings were always unclear, but Andromeda suspected he did not care for her either. Andromeda even wondered whether Aunt Walburga liked Aunt Walburga.

'Well, this time, Cissy, you'll go with us and we're going to have the time of our lives,' promised Bellatrix.

Narcissa smiled and so did Andromeda, both trusting their sister.

They fell into comfortable silence until Narcissa spoke again.

'By the way,' she said matter-of-factly, 'I forgot my Astronomy book back home and I absolutely need it for tomorrow morning…'

'Cissy!'

oooOOOooo

The morning was chilly. Autumn had not yet befallen upon Hogwarts, but the swift breeze of dawn slipping through the old castle's windows slid impishly in the openings of Andromeda's summer school robes. Shivering as she turned a corner, she tightened the cotton shawl wrapped around her shoulders and pushed open a door. The fresh Scottish air filled her lungs, tinged with the smell of wet grass and moist earth. Outside, the sky was a light, soft grey. Heavy clouds lazed peacefully above the ground, low, unaware of their menacing stance. Birds chipped and trilled and croaked in the distance. Sometimes not that distant. Up in the trees they hid, invisible if not for the movement of high branches up where no human could bother them. Those in the sky, gliding freely, cared little whether they were seen or not. As they flew, up there, they were unreachable. Even the angry stridulations of the morning crickets left them unfazed.

Andromeda closed her eyes and took a deep breath, filling her all with the peacefulness of the world around her. She had never been one to wake up early — that was Bellatrix — and could only remember so many sunrises. She promised herself not to perpetuate that mistake in the future. How could she when she always complained of how crowded and noisy Hogwarts was? How could she when she had been telling herself that she was tiring of her eyes landing on the same familiar landscapes wherever she looked?

She had been annoyed at first when Narcissa had begged her to retrieve her book from the Owlery the night before. She had been annoyed but now, as she took her time walking across Hogwarts' grounds up to the Owlery, thankful thoughts from her heart went to her little sister. Narcissa could be a real sunshine in her loved ones' lives.

Andromeda reached the Owlery with a peaceful mind and a tired body; she was not used to physical exercise such as the most horrible activity of walking. Cheeks red, legs dragging, she entered panting in the realm of the owls. Soon, countless wide eyes, shining of reds and yellows, had landed on her. She did not squirm under their intensity. She did not mind the stares of those birds. Owls were her favourite animals. Beautiful, intelligent, proud animals, they were, and she had rarely been happier than the day she had acquired her own; Nebula.

Familiar with the little room up the tower, Andromeda was by Nebula's side in a matter of seconds. The long-eared owl welcomed her mistress with a cheerful chirp, but no nudging, no nuzzling and certainly no snuggling. Nebula had grown to become very much like Andromeda, extracting a knowing smile from the witch.

'You're not hunting, I see', she pointed out, letting the tips of her fingers caress lightly the soft plumage of the owl who blinked, tilted her head, and remained silent. 'I also see you've gotten used to a certain lifestyle, Nebula. That's not good. I don't need another Narcissa in my life,' continued Andromeda, smiling fondly. 'You have to learn to take care of yourself.'

Nebula remained unresponsive, besides the occasional flapping and head-tilting, but Andromeda did not mind. She remained tending to her friend for another few minutes before finally finding the strength to let her go and start taking care of the business for which she had come in the first place. Fondling impatiently on another side of the Owlery was a large barn owl. In her sizeable talons, she held a heavy-looking package that could explain her grumpy attitude. The barn owl belonged to Andromeda's mother, Druella.

Druella rarely used her own owl to carry her letters, stopped by some incomprehensible pride as she claimed that other owls, less noble and less beautiful than her Otta, could take care of the deliveries. This particular one, however, had been an emergency and no other animal would have been fast or strong enough to carry Narcissa's Astronomy book over from Black Manor to Hogwarts in a day only.

Andromeda was certain that her mother, much like herself, did not believe Narcissa's claim to have forgotten her book at home. Her sister had always had a unique sense of priorities. The thought brought a smile to Andromeda's lips as she fumbled with the threads securing the package around Otta's talons.

A smile that was soon lost when acute pain from her fingertip sent tremors all along her arm. Subconsciously, she snatched her hand away from the fidgeting barn owl and shot her a shocked glare. A new wave of wincing pain turned her attention back to her fingers and she let a gasp escape her lips. Blood was flowing out of a deep cut on her index. Yet more than the wound, the amount of blood she was seeing cut Andromeda's breath short. The red liquid, warm against her skin, leaked from the open cut, trickling down her creased skin, curling around the curves of her finger with slow, heavy movements… As if it had a mind of its own…

Rattled by the sight of her bloodied flesh, she did not hear the footsteps behind her back. Nor did she hear their sudden stop when she came into sight of the person to whom they belonged. Nor did she hear them start again, more rushed this time, and heading in her direction. And so she jumped when she felt a large but soft hand fall on her shoulder.

Taking several steps back, she bumped against a wall behind her, colliding with a few owls in the process, then pulled out from the wall and, still holding her hand like her life depended on it, shot an icy stare at the stranger who had dared sneak up on her. Her stare, however, melted fast into raw, honest surprise. Andromeda's eye widened.

'Tonks?'

The boy standing before her sure seemed like an apparition. He was still the same bulky, sturdy, square-jawed Hufflepuff she had talked to for the first time a couple of days earlier, and his wearing blue jeans and a mulberry flannel shirt, although offensively muggle, hardly made for a radical change in appearance, and yet… She could simply not process his presence here, as if she had never fathomed encountering him somewhere other than a classroom. Puzzled as she was, she barely noticed him taking a few steps in her direction. By reflex, she stepped back. Tonks seemed unfazed by her reticence.

'Are you hurt?' he asked, his eyebrows frowned in concern and his hazel eyes shining with unhidden worry.

As if a spectator to her own body, Andromeda saw herself shake her head. Tonks gave her a long questioning look before slowly shifting his gaze to her bloodied hand. It took all of Andromeda's willpower to stop herself from hiding it behind her back. Tonks must have confused her tremor of hesitation for a quiver of contained pain. In a second, he was by her side.

'What —?' she exclaimed.

He gently wrapped his fingers around her wrist and with his other hand, started waving a plaster before her flummoxed eyes.

'It's all right,' he said in a soothing voice once certain she was not going to push him away. 'I'm just going to put that on your finger to stop the bleeding and make sure you get nothing dangerous in the cut. You don't want to get it infected. But you must get it cleaned as soon as you find water. Or better, alcohol. Though I don't suppose there is much of it at Hogwarts.'

'Or I could go to Madame Pomfrey…' suggested Andromeda in a thin voice.

'Oh, that too.'

She threw him a look that she meant to be judging but turned out more questioning than anything. Tonks had just finished applying the plaster on her cut and was now looking pensively at his handiwork, not realizing how uncomfortably close to her he was standing. Coughing, she stepped away. Tonks opened wide eyes as he took notice of the unease and started scratching the back of his neck.

'Sorry,' he mumbled.

Andromeda looked away. 'It's okay,' she said. 'Actually… thank you.'

He gifted her with a big, boyish grin which managed to make her even more uneasy than before. He was muggle-born. This was wrong.

Lowering her gaze to the floor, she released a long sigh. The morning had started so perfectly…

'Are you all right?' Tonks's voice suddenly pulled her out of her reverie. 'You look very pale.'

She rolled her eyes. 'I always do, it's my natural skin tone…'

'If you say so…,' he replied dubiously. 'How did you hurt yourself anyway?'

'I'm not sure. One second I was taking a package from that owl,' she said, pointing an accusing finger towards the still fumbling animal, 'and the next I was bleeding the entire River Styx.'

Tonks chuckled. 'Maybe not the entire River Styx…'

'It sure looked like it.'

'But why would the owl want to cut you off a finger?'

'I don't know, it's my mother's,' she replied nonchalantly. 'And here I thought I was her favourite.'

That was a joke, of course. Her mother's favourite was Narcissa.

She did not notice Tonks gulp uneasily and thoughts of her mother and Narcissa reminded her of the package. Andromeda started looking around on the ground.

'What are you…?'

'I'm looking for a package. Rectangular. It's a book.'

Tonks nodded and started looking too. He found it in a matter of seconds and handed it out to her, eyes locked on the wound on her finger as if scared it might explode in a mighty spurt of blood. The idea nearly brought a smile to Andromeda's face, but she refrained.

'Thank you,' she said. 'And you don't have to worry about my finger anymore. I'm fine.'

Tonks gave her an apologetic grin. 'Sorry. It's just… I was surprised earlier.'

'So was I. I panicked, as if I'd never seen blood before. I don't know what came over me,' she added quietly, more to herself than anyone else.

'It happens sometimes. Owls can be unpredictable creatures.'

'But owls aren't usually aggressive. Although this one had every reason to be moody, it's true.'

'You seem to like them. Owls, I mean.'

'Who doesn't?'

'I know a few.'

Andromeda raised an eyebrow. 'Really?'

'Yes, ma'am.'

'I do hope they aren't your friends,' she snarled, smiling cheekily.

It was the new kind of light shining in his eyes that reminded her how wrong this entire situation was. Despite herself she stiffened and froze. Could she talk to this muggle-born like that? What was wrong with her? Smiling at him? He would get all the wrong ideas and people would start talking. She had always been so careful…

'In any case,' she snapped before he could answer. 'I have things to do.'

She had barely taken a step towards the door that Tonks stopped her.

'Wait,' he said.

'Look, I — '

'Are you not going to let the owl out?' he asked, ignoring her annoyed glare.

'What do you mean?' inquired Andromeda turning to look in the direction he was pointing. Her eyes fell upon Otta who seemed very unhappy as she flapped her wings aggressively. 'But she isn't tied…'

'Actually I think the thread is stuck to that hole on the wall there…' said Tonks, moving to free it.

Andromeda took a step in his direction.

'Careful,' she said. 'She's not in her best mood.'

Tonks smiled and nodded but managed to release the owl without hurt. Otta left in a flap of wings and an angry cry, leaving Tonks quite perplexed.

'I have never seen an owl that temperamental.'

'She's not used to flying such long distances with a package so heavy,' intervened Andromeda protectively.

'Looks like you've forgiven her already,' noted Tonks with a smile.

'I never really blamed her in the first place,' she replied, frowning.

Tonks whistled appreciatively. 'I wouldn't be so tolerant.'

Andromeda's mocking snort sounded more like a chuckle. 'And they say Slytherins are the bad guys...'

Tonks's eyes lit again as he opened his mouth for a retort but the sound of distant laughter cut him short.

'Already?' he said. 'What time is it?' he added for himself checking the watch on his wrist.

He looked up to give the hour but stopped himself when he noticed Andromeda. She had frozen, stiffer than ever, and was now throwing panicked glances alternatively at him and at the door from which direction they had heard the future newcomers. What would she do if they found her with him? What would she do if they found them talking?

Tonks took a step in her direction and her mind cleared. She turned away from him and walked across the Owlery to Nebula. When the students came, she appeared busy tending to her owl while Tonks stood aimlessly on the other side. She waited a few seconds before finally leaving in poised strides, her posture impeccable, her face unreadable and her reputation intact.

She only allowed herself a long sigh once she was safely back inside the castle. Her reputation intact, true, but, as her eyes fell on the plaster on her finger, an uneasy sensation gnawed at her throat. Why did she have the feeling her conscience had been pocked? As if she had done something wrong?