An: So a slightly shorter chapter than usual, and yet a longer time betwixt updates. I offer my apologies, but you know what school's like. I would encourage all of you to youtube Tom Lehrer, because as Ted rightly says, he's amazing. Thankyou to everyone who has reviewed/favourited/alerted. I love to hear your thoughts on the story, so don't be shy about leaving a review. Enjoy.

Chapter Thirteen- Chaos Inside.

Andy-

I must say, that Mr Dolohov was an inspired choice. Respectable enough for mother and father to be satisfied for now, controversial enough to ensure you will not have to marry him.

Mother has been making a concerted effort to talk to Dolohov senior, inviting him to dinner parties etcetera, but I think she has come to the conclusion that the fact that his son's formative years were spent in Russia is an insurmountable barrier. I would suggest that you enjoy this relationship and extend it for as long as possible. The Russians do have impeccable taste when it comes to jewellery, and they seem to have mastered being romantic without being tacky, which is more than one can say about most English men.

Your loving sister,

Bellatrix.

][[][][][][][][][

It wasn't that she didn't like Dolohov; she did, honestly, but to be perfectly frank, she got a pang in her chest every time she saw Ted and Melanie holding hands in the corridor or poring over books together in the library. Dolohov was lovely. He was attentive and he bought her flowers. It was a perfect romance; just like all the ones she had dreamt up when she was child. But it felt like something was missing. She just didn't know what.

Increasingly she found herself day dreaming, even when Dolohov wasn't talking about Quidditch, her eyes following other couples, non-Slytherin couples, who seemed effortlessly happy. What was it that made them smile all the time? What made them walk so close? What made them chatter away, nine to the dozen, about anything and everything? What was it that let that Gryffindor girl turn up for a date without any make up and her boyfriend still beamed to see her? Her lack of answers was infuriating her. It made her feel like she was wading through treacle.

][[][][][][][][][

Ted was singing under his breath and off key. "All the world seems in tune, on a spring afternoon, when we're poisoning pigeons in the park."

"What?" Andromeda turned away from the essay that she was rereading to face the boy who was now blushing slightly.

"Was I singing out loud?" he asked sheepishly, looking down at the table.

"Yes." She told him with a smile, resisting the urge to pat his hand.

"Really need to stop that," he muttered, meeting her eyes. "It's Tom Lehrer," he told her, raising his voice to a normal level. "He sings these songs, and they're good. Funny as well. That one's about spring. You should check him out." He paused for a second, frowning slightly. "Do you have a record player?"

"Well, not personally," she began, "there's a family one."

"Maybe you should wait until you've got your own then," he said with a grin. "I'm not sure it's parent friendly listening."

Andromeda smiled. "Ah. One of those records."

He punched her lightly on the arm. "Don't make it sound dirty."

"Me?" She asked, laughing slightly. "I didn't do anything."

"Yeah." Ted sounded disbelieving and shot her a grin. "I thought you had an essay to write."

][[][][][][][][][

"So do I have to talk to her father?"

"What?" Titus' question had shaken Andromeda from her daydream. It was March, and their homework had begun to mount up, in preparation for their NEWTs. "Whose father?"

"Holly's." He allowed a little bit of exasperation to lace his voice. He'd been talking for at least twenty minutes on this topic and if Andromeda didn't know whom he was talking about, then she couldn't have been listening to him at all. It wasn't even as if she had written anything more on her parchment, so she had simply been gazing into space.

"About what?" She looked like she'd just woken up; slightly bewildered and very lost.

"Marriage." His answer was short, and he was beginning to turn back to his textbooks. Increasingly he was getting the impression that Andromeda was distracted. It wasn't Dolohov; he knew they weren't in love, which meant it wasn't the Russian who was changing his friend. He also he knew that there was no-one who could catch her eye, because, like most pureblood girls, she expected an arranged marriage and her opinion would probably not be taken into account. So what the hell was so important that she couldn't be bothered to listen to him, when he was trying to make one of the most important decisions of his life?

"Well, they're new money, but Mr Gamp does like to pretend that they're old money," Andromeda mused slowly, pausing to think. "So it's probably a good idea to speak to him first, though you may want a helpful girl to tell Holly that you're thinking of proposing, so that she isn't completely caught off guard."

He nodded, almost brusquely. "Thanks." He stood up, shoving his books into his bag. "See you later."

"Titus!" She called after him as he strode down the aisle of books, turning at the corner. He didn't look back. She sighed, her quill finally dropping out of her fingers onto the desk. She stretched tiredly. She didn't want Titus to be mad at her. She didn't know what was wrong with her.

][[][][][][][][][

She wished she hadn't seen what she had seen. She wished that it was an April Fool's joke, but when she saw the same thing on the second, she had to concede that this was happening. It took her until the tenth to decide what to do with her new found information.

What it was, was that Andromeda had seen Holly Gamp leaving a cupboard followed seconds later by a sixth year Ravenclaw. After some subtle questioning, Andromeda had discovered that his name was Leo Gallagher, a pure blood from Somerset. Her problem was that if Holly was cheating on Titus, was what to do about it? Normally she would spread the gossip, ruining the girl's reputation. However, she couldn't do that to Titus. Even though they were having some issues at the moment, he was her best friend. Maybe he didn't know everything about her, like how she wanted to work for the National Wizarding Library when she was older or that she was worried her parents would suggest Malfoy as a suitable husband. Though now she came to think of it, she'd told Ted these things. Did that mean she was better friends with Ted than Titus? No. There was no way that was possible. She had not allowed a Muggleborn to supplant her best friend. Even if she always looked forward to seeing Ted, which was something she couldn't always say about Titus. Anyway, her point was that Titus – definitely Titus, not Ted – was her best friend and you couldn't just blurt out to your best friend that his girlfriend was cheating on him. It wasn't the done thing. He did need to know, but she had to plan out how to tackle it. And by the last day of the term, she had mapped the conversation out in her head, in exquisite detail.

][[][][][][][][][

Mel had been fretting all week about it. She had to do it. She had to tell Ted. She figured that the last day of term, in the evening, was the best, because then she wouldn't have to see him for two weeks if he didn't feel the same. Yes, she would say it. It needed to be said. She wished she could stop feeling sick.