Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters are put in. Everything else belongs to people with very scary lawyers. Thanks for reading, hope that you enjoy and let me know what you think.

Hard To Deal With

Sitting in the Hufflepuff common room Ted looked up when someone said his name. Putting down the book he'd been reading Ted gave the prefect from Andromeda's year a questioning look. They'd all just got back from Easter holidays that afternoon and he hadn't had time to get into any trouble yet.

"Her royal highness asked me to tell you that she expects your presence at the Potion's Lab after dinner." Rolling his eyes the prefect's dislike of Andromeda Black was plain in every syllable. His pity for Ted was just as obvious.

"Thanks."

"Just a heads up, she looked to be in a pretty bad mood. I saw her family at the station when they came to drop her and her sister off and they did not look like they'd had an enjoyable family holiday together. Not that I can recall ever seeing a Black look happy." The prefect amended with a thoughtful look on his face.

Ted spoke without thinking. "She's beautiful when she is."

Raising an eyebrow the prefect knew better than to ask. The poor kid's crush on the Black princess was well known throughout the school. But as someone older and in charge of the Hufflepuffs younger than him, the prefect felt obligated to warn the kid. "You do realize that she's out of your reach right? And that that's actually a good thing. You don't want to get involved with her, trust me. We've been classmates for seven years, prefects together since fifth year. She couldn't even remember my first name, kid. She probably had to ask someone for my last, come to that. Even if you were a pure blood…you still wouldn't stand a chance."

This was nothing new, EVERYONE told him that.

But what could he say; he was a glutton for punishment. But he understood where the man was coming from, and honestly thanked him for the advice.

He just hoped he wasn't in for some punishment ASAP.

)

Arriving at the dungeon as ordered after dinner Ted took one look at Andromeda and knew he was in big trouble. Her back was to him, but she was giving off an aura that suggested she was ready to go off at any moment. There would be very little of him left if that should happened.

Approaching her as cautiously as possible Ted very slowly slid into a seat beside her, looking straight ahead instead of at her. He wouldn't acknowledge her until she acknowledged him. It seemed like the safest thing to do.

Slowly turning her head Andromeda looked at him until he finally turned his head, the fear plain in his bright blue eyes. Ironically enough, it was the fear that made her feel more inclined to cut him a break. As long as he knew to fear her she didn't have anything to worry about, Andromeda decided. Reaching over to her right Andromeda grabbed the plastic bag she'd set there and slid it down the length of the desk to rest front of him. "We will never speak of this again." She announced, her eyes making it clear that her edict was not to be questioned.

Eyebrows raised Ted looked down at the bag like he expected something to jump out and bite him. It was pretty flat and it wasn't moving though. That was encouraging. Looking from the bag to her Ted's eyebrows went even higher when he saw that she was making a big production of not looking at him. Eyes going back to the bag Ted took a deep breath and then reached out and opened the bag, tilting his head to the side so that he could see the contents.

A confused look coming over his face Ted reached in and pulled out what to him looked like a simple, blue, dress shirt. Holding it up Ted studied it for a moment then looked over at her again.

"Is it bewitched to do something horrible?"

A definite twitch appeared under Andromeda's left eye. "No."

Okay…he had no idea what was going on. Because if it was a normal shirt, and there was nothing wrong with it, and she was giving it to him…well then that would make the shirt a gift, wouldn't it? A present for him? From her? Was such a thing even possible?

"This…is for me…from you…to keep?" He asked slowly, when it became clear from her silence that she wasn't going to enlighten him on her own.

"Yes. And if you want to live you'll shut up now and mention this to no one, especially me."

Turning his attention back to the shirt Ted didn't know what to say exactly. He got the distinct impression she didn't want a thank you, which was his first instinct. There was probably a way to thank her without making her mad, but he just wasn't smart enough to think of it. That and his brain was currently functioning even less than normal.

She'd given him a gift.

Wow.

Sneaking a peek in his direction Andromeda felt her ire rising at the stupid grin on his face as he stared at the shirt like it held the secret to eternal life. She'd been hoping that he'd hate it, especially since he'd never struck her as the type that would wear dressy clothes unless he had to. But didn't he just look delighted, she thought bad-temperedly.

In some part of her mind Andromeda knew she was being ridiculous, that the whole point in buying a gift was to make the receiver happy, but she'd never been one to think something just because everyone else thought so and she wasn't about to start now. If she was she would have had an enjoyable holiday, instead of spending it on eggshells because of her family and their new best friend, the Dark Lord.

She alone would never trust or respect him, it seemed. How the others couldn't see through him was a mystery to her. And the difference in opinion about him was getting her into trouble.

Deep, deep trouble.

Carefully folding up the shirt like it was a delicate treasure once he'd looked his fill, Ted transferred it back into the bag and then put the bag in his school satchel, which he'd brought along just in case. When that was done he decided to at least try a somewhat convoluted thank you, praying she wouldn't jinx him silly.

"You know, I don't have many dress shirts, and one of my cousins is getting married this spring. I'll tell everyone I bought that very handsome shirt for that special occasion and wear it proudly."

Turning her head to look at him Andromeda's eyes clearly announced what an idiot she thought he was. "Just get out your Potions textbook already."

"Getting out the Potions textbook."

)

Fishing the textbook out from his satchel Ted was just about to pass it over to her when the dungeon door crashed open, Andromeda automatically turning around with wand drawn, while Ted just turned in his seat, being curious as opposed to worried.

The two individuals who'd caused the disruption weren't even aware of their audience owing to the fact that they were too busy snogging each other's brains out. The man was Ren Bromwell, a well known womanizer who had been chasing after every good looking girl in a skirt since his arrival at Hogwarts. Neither Ted nor Andromeda recognized the girl, but whoever she was she certainly was noisy.

Feeling her temper boiling up to the surface once more Andromeda stowed her wand in her robes and marched over to the two, thinking they looked like two landed fish trying to suck the air out of each other's bodies to save themselves. Judging from the disarray of their clothing she didn't have to wonder just why they'd come into the dungeon so late at night and were so oblivious to their company.

When clearing her throat loudly in front of them didn't work Andromeda reached out, grabbed the man's ear, and twisted it painfully.

That worked.

Breaking off the kiss Ren looked over, a slow grin sliding over his face as he saw who stood before him, not even noticing Ted in the background. He was half drunk, he and some of his mates had managed to get their hands on some whiskey earlier in the day, and he was feeling good. Too good to use what brains he'd been given to realize the severity of the situation, and how stupid it would be to make another pass at the luscious ice queen before him.

"Well ello, Black. Care to join us?" Reaching out Ren grabbed her by the waist and attempted to pull her in for a kiss, getting a resounding slap across the face for his troubles as she all but hissed at him in fury.

While both women watched the Gryffindor clutch his face and swear profusely Ted appeared at Andromeda's side, looking almost as mad as Ren did as he moved to stand in front of Andromeda. "Don't you talk like that in front of either of them, Bromwell. Apologize to them both at once." He was so mad, his hands were shaking.

"And who's going to make me, Hufflepuff?" The Gryffindor sneered, not the least worried as he tried to hide how much the slap had hurt. After all, he was just as tough as Dolohov, or at least he was in his own mind. And if the Slytherin could kick the kid's ass then he certainly could, Ren thought as he deliberately looked down his nose at the kid.

Ignoring both men Andromeda turned her attention to the girl who was frantically re-buttoning her shirt up now that she'd realized her gross stupidity. A Gryffindor from the uniform, Andromeda noted as she watched the girl focus on her with blant terror. "You're a stupid twit if you think an ill bred piece of slime like Bromwell is worth giving up your honor and self respect for." Andromeda informed her, not mincing words. "If you have even an ounce of intelligence you'll go back to your tower this instant and stay there until you know how to conduct yourself in public."

Bursting into tears the girl whirled around and was out the door before the two men facing off could comment or even realize what had happened.

Realizing the girl was gone only when the door slammed shut Bromwell turned his attention from the Hufflepuff to the Slytherin who sneered at him so superiorly. "Dammit, you Slytherin bitch! No wonder not even a Slytherin would have you, you frigid-."

What he would have said was unknown, due to Ted's fist connecting with his face.

Ren hitting the floor with a thud Andromeda and Ted moved to stand over him, looking down at the unconscious Gryffindor with interest.

"I finally won a fight." Ted announced proudly, even as he rubbed his now aching hand.

Andromeda thought about pointing out that beating up someone like Bromwell wasn't exactly difficult, but decided instead to let him have his moment in the spot light. He'd probably never be in his current situation ever again, she thought cynically.

He did seem to be making it a habit of coming to her defense though. Hurting himself every time doing it too, Andromeda noted as she watched him carefully flex his hand. But at least he hadn't broken anything; that was a welcome change of pace.

"Uhm…what do we do with him now?" Ted asked, suddenly realizing that there might be bigger consequences than an aching hand to be paid. This was also sure to get the gossipers riled up again too, he thought with a wince. And here the rumors about him and Andromeda had just started to die down. Of all the rotten luck.

"Leave him there."

Ted looked from her back to the man lying on the floor. "But…wouldn't it get really cold down here at night, seeing as its underground and all? And he is lying on the floor…what if he gets sick with pneumonia or something and dies?"

"Then the world will be a better place."

"You don't mean that." Then seeing the look in her eye Ted changed that thought. "Okay, you do mean that. He's not a Muggleborn, you know."

Raising an eyebrow Andromeda looked over at the Hufflepuff with a questioning look in her dark eyes. "You think that the only people I would wish dead in this world are people like you?"

Ted knew better than to lie, she'd see right through him. "Well no. I'm sure you like actual Muggles and non magical creatures even less."

Perhaps he wasn't nearly as stupid as he looked, Andromeda thought, but did not say. Any compliments from her tended to go straight to his mostly empty head. "You're not wrong…but there is plenty of my own kind or the half bloods who I wouldn't mind seeing dead either. I suppose you could just say I'm not a people person in general."

"We get along okay. Sort of. Maybe. Never mind. Forget I said that."

Lips threatening to twitch into a smile Andromeda gave him her back, just in case she wasn't able to hide it. "We'll leave him there for now. If he isn't conscious by the time your lesson is over we'll bring him above ground and dump him outside the Great Hall. Now back to work, we're wasting valuable time."

"Yes, ma'am!"

)

Bromwell still hadn't regain consciousness by the time the lesson was over and so Ted had to use magic to transport the Gryffindor out of the dungeon and up the staircases. Andromeda had to teach him the spell first, and she was getting quite a bit of amusement watching the foolish boy accidentally causing various parts of Bromwell to hit walls and the stairs. The Muggleborn really was worth keeping around, she thought with the smallest of smirks, if only for his entertainment value.

Wincing and calling out sorries every time Bromwell hit something Ted had a feeling the Gryffindor was going to be black and blue shortly.

"You do know he's unconscious and can't hear you."

"Yeah, but still, subconsciously he might be able to hear me."

"Thinking that makes you almost as stupid as that Gryffindor girl he was with." Was Andromeda's opinion, not bothering to warn him that he was about to send Bromwell's head into a piece of armor.

The git's head hit it with a nice, loud thunk.

"Sorry, sorry. Damn, I'm libel to kill him this way. Pardon my language." Ted added with more wincing. At the very least he'd just insured that the man would have one hell of a bump come morning. Maybe even a concussion. Turning to look in Andromeda's direction Ted didn't have to guess that if he'd been about to accidentally skewered the man on a sword she wouldn't say a word.

"You wish to say something to me?" She asked, silently challenging him to call her on what he probably saw as bad behavior on her part.

"Uhm." He just didn't have the balls. "I was thinking about that poor girl. She must be so mortified right now."

"As she should be. Any woman who would go around snogging the likes of Ren Bromwell should be mortified. They give the rest of us a bad name and deserve what they get. How there are so many of them is beyond me."

Ted couldn't be more pleased that she distained someone like Bromwell. A lot of girls went gooey over the man because he was so good looking. But as far as he was concerned the man didn't deserve to breathe the same air as his angel.

"And what do they get out of it really." Andromeda continued, crossing her arms in front of her as she continued to speak. "As if snogging is so wonderful that it's worth your reputation and honor. Anyone who thinks so needs a good round of shock spells from St. Mungo's."

Ted spoke without thinking. "Well I wouldn't go that far."

"Is that so?" Her gaze was piercing as she stared at the Muggleborn who'd dared to contradict her to her face.

"Well what I mean is…snogging can be a wonderful thing, and worth risking getting into trouble."

"And you've snogged a lot of girls?" Andromeda's skepticism was written all over her face.

Ted went red all the way to the tips of his ears. "Well I…I wouldn't say…I mean… a gentleman never…I've…I've never had any complaints." He finally managed to stammer out, going even redder under her gaze.

"And you just assume that women tell you men when you're lousy kissers?"

"I dated a girl named Claire once, and she never stopped finding things about me to complain about. If I'd been a bad kisser on top of everything else she would have said so. Often. Believe me."

Raising an eyebrow Andromeda had to ask. "If she was such a complainer than why did you go around snogging her in the first place?"

Because she'd looked a little like Andromeda and he'd thought she was the closest he'd ever get to dating his dream girl. She'd even reamed him out constantly the way he'd always figured Andromeda would do if she were ever to speak to him. But he certainly couldn't tell her that.

"People do some strange things." Was the best excuse he could come up with, deciding to distract her with something else to think about. "You shouldn't write snogging off, you know. I think it was Robert Burns who said,

Humid seal of soft affections,
Tend'rest pledge of future bliss,
Dearest tie of young connections,
Love's first snow-drop, virgin kiss."

Shaking her head Andromeda only had one thing to say to that.

"Only a Muggle would be stupid enough to think that about snogging."