Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Everything else belongs to someone else and that's that. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy and let me know what you think.

Confrontation Time

It was two days after Andromeda's epiphany and every day since then she'd made the effort to wish good morning to Ted. People noticed of course, but none of them had the guts to ask her outright about it. Some of them asked Ted about it, but he didn't know what to tell them either. His curiosity got the better of him though, and so he asked her about it when they met up for their scheduled tutoring session.

"You don't like me wishing you good morning?"

"No, of course not. I love that you're doing that. I'd be really, really sad if you stopped!" Ted tripped over his words in his haste to reassure her. "I'm just wondering why you've started to…acknowledge the fact that we're not enemies in public."

"You're a Muggleborn. You aren't an enemy, you're a genetic anomaly."

"Oh. Ouch."

Wincing ever so slightly, Andromeda realized how bad that probably sounded. "What I mean is…you and I aren't enemies and we never were. And I'm saying good morning to you because I…I'm not ashamed of the fact that we're…on friendly terms." Saying she was friends with a Muggleborn was still beyond her at the moment.

Ted couldn't help but beam at her words, his smile fading slightly as something else occurred to him. "Your sister isn't going to like us being on…friendly terms, right? And you two haven't made up yet."

A sad look came into Andromeda's eyes for a moment, though she hid her emotions quickly. "It's probably for the best if it stays that way."

"What do you mean?"

Andromeda looked away as she explained. "I'm not planning on becoming the person my parents want me to be. When they realize that I'm not going to behave as they wish my parents will most likely disinherit me. That means my sister won't be allowed to acknowledge or speak to me again. My parents and Lucius won't allow it. That being the case, it's probably for the best that I start to put distance between us now. It will give her time to get used to it before my parents deliver the final, severing blow."

Opening his mouth to protest that assumption Ted closed it again. As much as he wished for her sake that it wasn't true, Ted had a bad feeling that it was. And that was just plain awful. "You think…you think even your little sister will stop talking to you?"

"That's the way it works in my family." A rueful, somewhat sad look came into Andromeda's eyes as she imagined the future ahead of her. "I imagine my cousin Sirius will join me in exile someday. If he weren't so young I think my aunt and uncle would have gotten rid of him already."

"That's dreadful."

"That is the way of true, pureblood families." Was her simple response. They were all taught the rules and consequences from childhood, it came as no shock to her. She had never expected herself to be one of the people who her aunt would be blasting off the family tree, but she knew it was the mostly likely outcome. She had accepted that and refused to let it deter her.

Meanwhile, just thinking about it depressed the Hufflepuff. And Ted couldn't really understand any of it, having come from such a loving family himself. And as much as he liked the idea of Andromeda being his friend and a part of his life, "If we weren't friends…would things be okay between you and your family?"

Andromeda couldn't help but roll her eyes, having no problem seeing his thought process on the subject. "Not even dark wizards are so bad that we kick people out of the family for saying good morning to a Mud-someone like you. What my parents will have a problem with is the fact that I've decided not to be defined by what my parents expect of me. I don't want to just be a wife and mother. I want to be more than that. And I want to be…free to judge people by my own standards."

"So…being around me…has made you realize that we Muggleborns aren't all bad?"

"No." Crossing her arms in front of her Andromeda looked as coldly Slytherin as ever. "I've decided my time would be better spent if I felt distain and disregard for everyone, regardless of their bloodlines and social stature. If they prove to be better individuals than I had previously thought then I will change my opinions accordingly."

Ted had to wince, realizing that she was essentially saying that she planned to dislike everyone equally now. "Couldn't you just believe the best in everyone until you're given a reason not to?"

"My epiphany was not the result of brain damage, Ted. The world would be a much better place without the majority of its sentient beings. Calling them intelligent would be a stretch as it is. I see no reason to believe the best in beings that have thus far done nothing but make the world a more intolerable place to live than it has to be."

"Black thoughts from a Black woman." Ted muttered, shaking his head at her logic. The worst part was that he knew that if he tried to debate the issue with her he'd lose, terribly. She was like a force of nature, his Andromeda. That, and unfortunately she was a student of history. And the history books were full of proof of how uncivilized sentient beings could be, Ted thought with a sigh. War, enslavement, genocide, brother against brother. Yeah, she wouldn't have a problem arguing her point at all.

"It is my nature." Was Andromeda's curt reply to his dark pun, though the tone of her next question hinted at her own insecurities. "Do you mind terribly that I'm…a pessimistic person, Ted?" He was an optimist after all. Frighteningly so.

"Well I would think you'd be happier if you were more optimistic, but no…I like you just the way you are. Especially when you're saying good morning to me." Ted added with the boyish smile that tended to get to her, though he had yet to realize that.

Andromeda studied him with interest, analyzing his words and the look in his beautiful cobalt eyes. A small smile crossed her lips, her dark eyes softening as they looked into his. "You really do like me just the way I am, don't you?"

His bright blush was her answer.

)

Ted knew he was interfering, he wasn't an idiot. Except at math. He sucked at math. To an astounding degree, actually. He was very glad they didn't require him to study the subject here at Hogwarts. The idea of Andromeda tutoring him in that subject was scarier than any horror movie he'd ever seen. Math and keeping his room clean had always been beyond him for some reason.

But he wasn't an idiot about most things and he knew very well that what he was about to do was probably going to royally annoy Andromeda. And Lucius Malfoy. Of course his very existence annoyed the Slytherin boy so Ted didn't see how a little more annoyance could hurt in the grand scheme of things. Either way, what he was about to do was for Andromeda and that made any later backlash worth while. Hopefully.

So he staked out a spot, waited for his chance, and prepared to ambush Narcissa Black as soon as he managed to catch her alone.

The youngest Black sister was not looking her best as she came out of her classroom, having deliberately let everyone else go first so that she wouldn't feel that she had to walk with anyone. She wanted to be alone and that didn't seem possible lately. Lucius was worried about her and was going out of his way to spend more time with her. That would have been sweet if she didn't get the feeling he was doing so in order to supervise any conversations she might have with Dromeda.

Not that she and her sister were talking.

She should have gone to see her sister when Dromeda was in the hospital. She knew that. She'd been a right prat to stay away and now she was paying for. She had never been good at apologizing and Blacks, as a rule, were never supposed to apologize, period. A Black would sooner walk off a cliff than admit they were wrong about anything. Okay, maybe that was a bit of an extreme, she reluctantly admitted to herself, but she hated the idea just the same.

And if anyone deserved to go over a cliff it was that stupid Mudblood Dumbledore had stuck Andromeda with. She'd never liked the Headmaster before but now she actively loathed him. When the Dark Lord finally got ahold of the badly dressed Know-it-all Narcissa could only hope she was there to help facilitate the Headmaster's bad end. It was all his fault, Narcissa told herself, having to believe that. It was all Dumbledore and the Mudblood's fault that she and Andromeda weren't talking.

It wasn't her fault. None of this was her fault.

And why should she have to fix it if it was their fault?

But if she didn't fix it…would she lose Dromeda too?

Lost in those scary, disturbing thoughts, Narcissa was far from pleased to suddenly find a Muggleborn standing in front of her. Especially this one. The enemy, Narcissa thought fiercely, her blood beginning to boil as she was presented with one of the men responsible for her present situation. Her sister had been just fine before she'd been assigned to tutor the Mudblood. There was something seriously wrong with her big sister now and Narcissa was more than ready to lay as much of the blame as she could on the shaggy haired blonde before her. "Out of my way, Mudblood." She hissed, refusing to walk around him on the principle of the point.

"Do you love Andromeda?"

Narcissa's eyes flashed dangerously, her outrage written all over her young face. "How dare you call my sister by her first name, you filthy creature." The pale girl withdrew her wand from her robe pocket and pointed it in Ted's direction threateningly. "You aren't fit to breathe the same air as us, Mudblood."

"If I agree that Andr-that your sister is a goddess in comparison to myself will you put the wand down? Because she is, you'll get no argument from me there." Ted's voice rang with sincerity and the knowledge that he knew she was serious about the threatening thing.

Eyes still narrowed and dangerous Narcissa kept her wand raised and ready. "What do you want with me?"

"I think you do love her. I think that in your own, twisted Black way you love her very much. She says that if she doesn't marry a Pureblood and join Lord Voldemort's army you won't love or speak to her anymore. But I don't think it's so easy to stop loving someone. Especially someone who you share blood with. That's why…that's why I think you should tell her that even if you can't be around her anymore that you'll still love her in your heart. You can do that, can't you? Your boyfriend and parents would never have to know how you really felt. I think that would mean a lot to her, if you did that."

Flinching at his words Narcissa stared at him. That Andromeda was no fan of the Dark Lord was obvious. Her family didn't like it and they were all putting pressure on her sister to conform to the dark wizard's ideals. Andromeda was strong though, even more strong willed than Bella. Their paternal grandfather had once said that Dromeda was like a mountain. No matter what forces beat up against her, she would not bend to their will. She could be shaped here and there, but her core remained solid and untouchable to others.

When the silence had dragged on for several minutes Ted gave her a searching look. "Does your silence mean you'll think about it?"

"Bella will kill her."

Ted stared at her dumbly, sure he must have heard wrong. "Excuse me?"

Narcissa's eyes bored into his like knives as she lashed out at him in her fear and helplessness. "If Andromeda does anything that will diminish our family in the Dark Lord's eyes Bella will kill her. The Dark Lord's opinion is all that matters to our oldest sister now. She'd kill Andromeda as easily as she would a spider underfoot."

The Hufflepuff took a step back, visibly shaken. "But…but they're sisters. You're all each other's sisters."

She sneered at his childish ignorance, even as she fought back the tears she refused to shed in front of the Mudblood. "Do you really think our line has stayed so pure and perfect because we're all just naturally born that way? Like any tree…ours is pruned whenever diseased limbs sprout out. That's exactly how it would seem to Bella, you know. How it would seem to our parents."

"That's horrible!"

"That's life. And if you want to continue to have one I suggest you stay away from my sister and let my family be." The whole hallway seemed to freeze over with her next words, her desperate attempt to free her sister from the boy's influence. "You're already on Bella's hit list simply by being a Muggleborn. You'd be wise not to put yourself on the top of her list by calling her attention to your existence."

)

Depressed beyond belief after his talk with Andromeda's sister, Ted thought it wise to seek out someone who knew more about these sorts of things than he did. His luck took a change for the better when he found that someone in the library. There was no one else around, which was an added bonus. Taking a seat beside her Ted waited until she looked up from the book before speaking. "Got a couple minutes?"

Molly looked him over and winced at what she saw. The Hufflepuff was not looking so good and she was fairly certain she knew where to lay the blame. "What's wrong?"

"I was talking to Narcissa Black about Andromeda and…and would Bellatrix Black…Lestrang really kill one of her sisters if they refused to behave like…good little Blacks is the nicest way I can think to put it, but it sounds really wrong."

"A real oxymoron, you mean." Molly's lips twisted into a wry grin, amused despite herself. "Blacks aren't good by definition. And yes…she really would. Bellatrix is a sociopath, Ted. And that's a nice word for her. Sociopaths aren't known for their emotional depths or attachments to people."

"Which is why they're called sociopaths."

Molly nodded, than got serious since it was a serious thing they were talking about. "Look, Ted, if you're worried that you'll get her killed by being…her friend, than I won't lie to you and say that's not a possibility. But I will say that the youngest Black is either being a typically overdramatic teenager or she just wanted to scare you away from her sister and saw attacking your conscience as the best way to do that."

Ted's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I think the girl's exaggerating. The Blacks might be dark, but they don't randomly kill each other every time a member steps out of line. They have relatives still living who were just thrown out of the family you know. Bellatrix might want to kill her, but she wouldn't risk the wrath of her parents and the Ministry by doing so. And even if she was willing to risk them, I can't see her risking her lord's displeasure. It would be too much of a risk, drawing that sort of attention to them now. And Andromeda is as pureblooded as they come, that's not who they want dead at the moment."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Ted tried to take some comfort from that. But it was hard.

Seeing that, Molly continued her argument for his sake. "And that aside, Ted, Bellatrix is crazy, not stupid. It would be supremely stupid for her to try and take Andromeda on in a battle to the death. If I were betting, my money would be on your girl, not the rabid bitch."

Ted cheeks flushed with pleasure at having Andromeda called his girl. Not that she was of course, but this was the first time anyone had insinuated that she could be and not been really sarcastic about it. Then he thought about the rest of her words. "You think Andromeda would win?"

Molly nodded with another small smile. "I know you see Andromeda as a lady of the manor type, but she was trained just like her sister. She's deadly. And unlike her sister Andromeda Black isn't the type to play with her prey. That means she's the deadlier of the two."

Ted had a feeling his innocence was showing as he asked his next question. "What do you mean, play with her prey?"

"I mean that Bellatrix likes to hurt people." Molly's gaze was grave. "You don't want to know what my brothers told me about her. What I mean is that the longer a battle goes on, the higher the chance is that something goes wrong. Andromeda, she'd take her victim out as quickly and as cleanly as possible. And they'd never find the body. Or bodies as the case might be."

"Oh." Ted didn't know what to say to that.

"Yeah, oh." Reaching out Molly patted the boy on his shoulder, trying to insert some humor into the situation. "So if Hell freezes over and she ever gives you the time of day, don't cheat on her. You would not live to see the next day."