Andromeda stepped foot onto the Hogwarts Express. This was going to be her last trip on the train and yet she was excited. She would put in an appearance with the Head Boy and the Prefects before she would depart, unannounced. Narcissa couldn't know of her plans. Owls flew fast as trains and she didn't want her mother interrupting her plans.
She walked the corridor and looked in the various compartments. In the next to last compartment she saw the four little boys from Gryffindor. They were troublemakers, mostly for running in the hallways and such. Her cousin was among them but she wasn't going to embarrass him with his friends. In the next one she glanced in one and saw the Prewett twins laughing about something. She caught their eye and they nodded in her direction. But in the next compartment was her sister. Narcissa was sitting next to Lucius Malfoy. She didn't appear to notice his conversation with him, yet Andromeda knew that she was hanging on every world. From her place in the corridor she saw how Cissy adored him, and he was smitten with her.
I hope he treats her right. She doesn't deserve to endure anything less.
In the next to last compartment were a boy and a girl – the Gryffindor girl with gorgeous green eyes and auburn hair. Across from her was a sallow, dark-haired boy. They were sorted into different Houses yet the best of friends. He was talking away while she hung onto every word.
She hoped that their friendship could continue even though they were in different Houses.
Andromeda finally came to the Prefect's car and walked to where Alfonzo Zabini was sitting. He was Head Boy this year – and was studious like her Ted. "I've made the rounds and everyone is settled in. I'll check on the Prewett brothers shortly."
"Excellent. I intended to find Amelia and spend some time in her company."
"Have at it. I'm going to find a seat and get lost in a book for a while."
Andromeda turned and made her way to the next carriage where Ted was sitting. Sure enough he was sitting with the other non-Slytherin Prefects, talking about their NEWTS and how they performed. "Ah, Black. It's nice of you to grace us with your presence."
She smiled back at his attempt at humor. "I reckon you of all people could bask in my radiance before we returned home one last time."
Andromeda took the seat across from Ted. His eyes sparkled with anticipation. She kept her eyes focused on the book she pulled from her satchel, fighting desperately to keep from snogging him in front of the other Prefects. Just a little while longer.
Ten pages into her book Ted stood up. Andromeda looked up. "Just stepping out to make a round. I'll be back."
Andromeda nodded once and went back to her book. She only had to wait about half an hour before they'd stop off to let the ones who lived in Northumbria off. She'd run over this part of her performance for days, struggling to keep her emotions in check. Cissy had to see her get back on the train before she could disappear for the time she needed.
Andromeda watched the last Muggleborn collect their trunks with stoic disdain. The last Muggleborn to depart was Ted Tonks – and she had to give a performance for everyone's benefit. She hoped that her demeanor didn't belay the anxiousness she felt inside.
"Is that the last of them, Tonks?"
"It is, Head Girl Black."
"Goodbye, Tonks."
"Goodbye, Black."
Andromeda turned on her heel and walked up the steps to the top of the carriage, alerting the porter that they were ready to depart. She watched from the corner of her eye that he walked to the portal of Platform 7 7/8 and flashed a smile just for her. She blushed and turned to enter the toilet at the back of the carriage she was standing in.
The train lurched and she apparated from her location to behind the support post.
Ted stood there finishing the last of the scones he nicked from his plate in the dining car. "Anyone see you leave?"
"No. I was in the train's loo when I apparated."
"Have your things?"
"They're in my travel bag. I used practical magic to hide my escape. No one would be wiser."
"And your sister?"
"Our parents are meeting her at the station in London. Lucius will keep her company until they arrive. I won't be missed until tomorrow evening at the earliest. The note I sent before we left school will give us time before our necessary trip to Hertford."
Ted pulled her close and enveloped her in a hug. His warmth melted the cold she kept as her personal armour. "They won't assume anything remiss until we arrive at the manor. That should give us a day or two before we're missed."
"Would they send an elf to find you?"
"Hardly. Before we left school I sent an owl telling them I was staying with a cousin tonight up in Lancashire for a couple of nights before returning home. That should placate my father until we return."
"You sure you want to do this? I'm perfectly content to wait on you."
Andromeda turned her head up to her paramour and offered a promising kiss upon his lips. "Time is a luxury that I don't have more of. If I'm not back home when I said I was intending to return, there would be Fiendfyre to pay – mainly me being kept confined at home until the wedding to their chosen intended."
"But that's not right." Ted pulled her closer and hugged Andromeda tighter. "You're not property. You're their daughter."
Andromeda laughed contemptuously. "My parents would have no qualms sending the house elf to collect me and bring me home. They would have no qualms using magic on me to keep me docile until the wedding – or letting him using binding magic upon me to keep me in a marriage not of my choosing."
She ran her hands up the back of his robes and under his jumper. Nailscrapes down the fabric of his dress shirt conveyed her thoughts on that matter.
Ted pulled her back from his embrace and gave her the look that made most of the other students melt under his stern features. "Tell me now, Andromeda Black. Tell me that you have feelings for me, and I am more than just an opportunity, absconding from your parent's machinations. If I am nothing more than an avenue of liberation, I will walk away and leave you here, never to see you again."
Andromeda slowly smiled at the unvarnished words her paramour offered.
"How long have you known me, Edward Tonks?"
"Three years now."
Andromeda laid a delicate hand on his chest. The heartbeat she felt under the palm, through the wool robes, beat strong and steady.
"How many nights have we gone out on rounds, and I've given punishment to students deserving it?"
"Only one I recall who you punished harshly was Rabastan Lestrange that evening for being out of bounds with the Prewett twins."
"And I did that because he was a Seventh year and fell for a stupid gaff from those pranksters. Instead of laughing it off, he tried to hurt them. He deserved his public admonition."
"I thought he was going to hex you for it."
Andromeda gave a hard look back. "That effeminate fool, he can't beat me in a duel to save his life."
Ted chuckled at the harshness of her voice. "I seem to recall some pleasant moments after he stalked off, and you sent the Prewetts scurrying to McGonagall."
"And how many days did we spend studying in the library, or quiet moments away from everyone?"
Ted smiled softly at their shared memories.
"Do you honestly think I would agree to a binding if I was only using you?"
Ted leaned over further to capture his finacee's lips in his. "You know me. I had to ask and make sure you'd have no regrets."
"There will be consequences, I'm sure of it, but no regrets for accepting your offer of marriage."