Prompts:
A Fairytale Story (Mythological or Disney)
[word] Adorable
[colour] Bright Yellow
[action] Kissing someone's knuckles
A/N:
Warnings:
–—————————————————————————————————————————
Most witches and wizards would fight to be in the same room as a member of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. As if simply breathing the same air as them brought up one's social status.
Just being associated with a family as prestigious as the Blacks was a privilege. Marrying one of their children? You'd have better luck training a Chimera to be your pet. But, of course, people never stopped trying.
Every time a child from the House of Black held a ball in celebration of their coming of age, wizards from all over Britain and France flooded them in hopes of winning the heart of the child, and securing their place within the family.
Today was such a ball for one Andromeda Black, and every young witch and wizard was to be in attendance.
Sure, rumours were going around that Andromeda's betrothed was to be Rabastan Lestrange, but she had not accepted his hand yet. That meant everyone else still had a chance.
Of course, Andromeda knew what was expected of her and, just in case she didn't, her mother and father had taken to kindly reminding her all week.
And so, on the night of the ball, Andromeda didn't have to think as she mindlessly went through the process.
Wait for all the guests to arrive, let them mingle for a few minutes, and enter.
As she walked in, she heard gasps and sighs. Ladies whispered to one another about her dress; whether complimentary or insulting, Andromeda did not care.
Men nudged each other and snickered as though they knew something Andromeda didn't. But she paid them no mind as she made her way to where her father was standing. With a smile on his face, he embraced her before turning to face the audience to make the long speech he had been preparing all week.
While the crowd was distracted, Andromeda scanned it for her possible first dance.
Of course, rumours had gotten out that she was considering Rabastan, but as her father had put it; 'We must give them the illusion of choice, we must make them think there is still a chance for victory.'
And so Andromeda was here. She was to dance with at least six strangers before finally making her way to Rabastan, and she was to spend the rest of the night with him.
She hated these shows her father chose to put on but she kept her mouth shut, as she always did.
As she scanned the faces, she started to make a list of people to avoid; too old, too poor, had a recent scandal, half-blood, muggle-born, ugly…until a brightness caught her eye. A boy clad in bright yellow dress robes, most likely her own age, sitting in the back talking to her baby cousin.
She had never seen Sirius so openly chat with anyone at these parties, usually opting to sit somewhere where everyone could see how much he didn't want to be there.
To see Sirius actually smiling made the blond boy very appealing to Andromeda, so she decided to approach him first.
Once her father's speech was over, she politely applauded with everyone else, then exchanged a few pleasantries with a few of the notable people she passed as she slowly made her way through the crowd to Sirius and the boy.
When she got there, Sirius was excitedly recounting a Quidditch game he had attended while the boy listened and nodded with a soft smile on his face.
"My my, Sirius isn't pouting for once, you must be a god."
The blond boy laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. He clearly had not been expecting Andromeda to approach.
"He looked like he could use the company. And he had some interesting stories to tell so it was worth my while." He ruffled Sirius' hair and Sirius grinned at him.
Andromeda gave the boy a once-over. His clothes looked new, but they were clearly inexpensive. She was sure she had never seen him before, he didn't seem like someone you just didn't notice.
He clearly wasn't rich, but so what? It wasn't like she was going to marry him; it was only the first dance of the night. So she held her hand towards him.
The boy gave her a confused look as Andromeda raised an eyebrow.
"Well come on, I'm not going to stand here all night."
The boy blinked, seeming to realise what was happening before he took Andromeda's hand and let himself be dragged onto the dance floor.
As Andromeda reached the centre, the band finally started to play a slow song as she and the mystery boy began to dance.
Andromeda thought it funny how he was allowing her to take the lead. Something told her these kinds of balls didn't seem to be his scene, so she didn't complain.
"So, is there a name that comes with the face?"
The boy, who had been looking down at his feet, lifted his head and gave Andromeda a small smile. She noted the dimples on his cheek that somehow made him ten times more adorable than he already was.
"Theodore, uh, Ted. My friends call me Ted."
"Nice to meet you, Ted. My friends call me Andy."
"Nice to meet you, Andy," Ted said before looking around. "So, um, I'm guessing it's your birthday?"
Andromeda laughed. "What gave it away? Was it the banners?"
"No, the giant tiara on your head. I'm assuming you don't pull that out for every occasion."
Andromeda let out an ungraceful snort that would have earned her a glare from her mother had she heard. "Well, you guessed right."
"Happy birthday then."
She smiled. "Thank you."
Ted seemed to start gaining confidence. She could feel it in the way he held her. Andromeda slowly transferred the lead to him.
"So, Ted, how did you get here?"
"A friend of your family invited me. She said I needed a break from studying."
"Oh…" Andromeda felt her heart sink. He had come here with a woman, she was probably glaring at Andromeda as they spoke.
Not that it mattered of course. After all, it was only her first dance. It wasn't as though she was planning on spending the whole night with Ted. Any lady worth his time would surely tolerate one dance.
"Andy?" Andromeda's head snapped back up to Ted who had tilted his head to the side and was giving her a questioning look. "You're frowning? Did I say something to upset you?"
"Oh, of course not. Sorry. I was simply thinking." She put on a sweet smile which she noticed didn't convince Ted at all. Instead, it felt as though he was reading her mind.
"She's just a friend. More like a sister really, we grew up on the same street."
"I wasn't thinking —" Andromeda cut herself off when she saw the look Ted gave her. This boy could see right through her and she didn't know if this scared her or excited her.
Ted twirled her once more before the song ended and the participants clapped politely. Ted looked once around the room before bowing and placing a kiss on the back of Andromeda's hand. Her knuckles tingled where his lips had touched but she opted to ignore that.
Andromeda was about to say her goodbyes and move on to the next candidate (though her heart did not want to) when Ted started speaking. "Would you like to go get a drink?"
Andromeda found herself nodding and allowing herself to be dragged to the refreshments.
He got them each a glass of champagne before he pulled Andromeda towards the chairs.
Some part of Andromeda was telling her to get up and go find another person to dance with before her father noticed, but her legs refused to take her and the words would not form in her mouth as she sipped her drink.
Instead, she said, "You said you lived near friends of the family?"
Ted nodded. "We live in Sheffield. When I was small I somehow wandered into the Parkinsons' wards. Don't know why the wards let me through, or how, but Jasmine was playing in the backyard and I joined her in her game. You can imagine Uncle Odysseus's surprise when they found me playing with their daughter and of course, my parents had no idea where I had run off to. When the Parkinsons went to hand me off my father and uncle Odysseus found out they had basically the same job and before anyone knew it they became family friends." Ted laughed at his own story as if he knew how outrageous it sounded.
Andromeda lagged in shock "You wandered into the Parkinson's wards?!"
"I know it sounds insane! But it happened! You can ask Uncle Odysseus!"
"I believe I will! That story needs to be confirmed!"
Andromeda couldn't help but laugh which caused Ted to laugh.
He laughed probably the most melodic laugh Andromeda had ever heard in her life, better than a thousand symphonies.
Why is my heart beating so fast?
Why is Ted so cute?
Cute? He wasn't cute! He was… sweet… and adorable…
"What are you thinking about this time?"
Andromeda's head snapped back to Ted who was grinning at her with his head tilted to the side, something he seemed to do when he had a question.
" Oh, nothing."
Ted raised an eyebrow before nudging her, "Come on, what are you thinking about?"
His eyes stared into Andromeda's and she once again got the feeling that he was looking right into her soul. No one had ever looked at her with such intensity — Andromeda couldn't place a finger on how it made her feel.
He had freckles… Why was she just now noticing that he had freckles?
"You zone out a lot, don't you?"
She looked into those blue eyes that were twinkling with laughter.
"I don't."
"Wow, then I must be special."
Andromeda laughed and was about to respond when the music for the second dance started. She was supposed to be dancing with someone right now. She stood up in a panic causing Ted to follow her.
She turned to Ted to speak when he cut her off. "You're supposed to be dancing right now, aren't you?"
"Are you a Legilimens or something?"
Ted threw his head back and laughed before responding, "If only I were, at least I'd know what you've been thinking about all night." Then he gave Andromeda a wide grin.
"Well, I must return to the dance floor." Andromeda extended her hand to say her goodbyes, but the 'enjoy the rest of your night' got caught in the back of her throat as Ted started leading her back onto the dance floor, her feet following their own accord.
This time a faster-paced waltz was playing and Ted was leading Andromeda through the steps.
Andromeda could feel eyes on her, which wasn't surprising as she was dancing with the same person twice. That wasn't a good sign for the other candidates.
But of course, it was rude to stop dancing while in the middle, so one more dance with Ted couldn't hurt.
"So Ted, tell me about yourself a bit."
"What would you like to know?"
"Favourite colour?"
"Yellow."
"I can see that." Andromeda smirked as she looked down at the bright robes once again
"You don't like my robes?"
"No, they're fine! They just make you…stand out."
"Be careful, Lady Black, that was almost rude."
Andromeda's eyes widened and she went to apologise or defend herself when Ted threw his head back and laughed, causing Andromeda to blush. After his laughter died down to little giggles he finally asked, "Yours?"
"Purple."
"The colour of royalty." Ted smirked.
"Are you mocking me?"
"No, Your Highness."
"Wow, and here you were calling me rude."
"Alright, I'm sorry." He sounded more amused than apologetic but Andromeda decided to let it slide. "Favourite food?" He asked.
"I thought I was asking the questions?"
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, ask away."
"Just because I said my favourite colour is purple?!"
"Yes."
"You are insufferable."
"I've been told."
"Fine, favourite food?"
"My mum makes amazing quiches! We have them once a week for breakfast but honestly, I could have them every day. What fancy dishes do you enjoy, Your Grace?"
Andromeda shook her head and laughed; the titles should be annoying but she somehow didn't mind when he was doing it.
"My father goes hunting sometimes during the fall. He usually brings back a deer or two with him, and he always insists on cooking the meat himself on an open flame — he says it's the only way venison should be enjoyed. It doesn't sound special, but I promise you he somehow makes them taste like Elysium."
"I think it sounds sweet," Ted grinned "food just tastes better when you've got it yourself. I mean my dad doesn't hunt, but Mum likes to grow her own vegetables and somehow they taste richer than the store-bought stuff."
"I suppose I'll have to try your mother's vegetables to confirm that."
Why did I say that?
Andromeda was about to apologise when Ted beamed. "I'm sure Mum would love that! She loves having guests over. And I'm sure she'll figure out some dish for your royal palate."
"I must say I've never been mocked so relentlessly for liking a colour before."
"You started it."
"I did n—" Andromeda took a deep breath before speaking again "You sound like a child."
"A child?!"
"Yes, a child!"
Ted laughed once again "Fine, then as the adult in this conversation, would you like me to stop?"
"I would!"
"Is that an official decree?"
Andromeda scoffed before slapping his shoulder, which caused Ted to throw his head back and laugh.
She was about to say more when the song stopped and once again the dancers clapped politely.
Ted took her hand once again and pressed a kiss onto the back of it, and Andromeda once again chose to ignore the tingling.
Andromeda's heart felt like a ton of lead as she opened her mouth to finally say goodbye. But, as it seemed to be the theme of the night, before she could open her mouth to speak, Ted proclaimed — loudly enough for a few people to turn — "Are those rabbits?!" before dashing out of the ballroom and into the backyard.
And once again, as the theme of the night seemed to be, Andromeda went after him.
She found him lying on the grass outside, laughing as her father's rabbits playfully hopped over his body. She couldn't help but grin at Ted's enthusiasm as he petted the fluffy little creatures.
"Would you like to give them a treat?"
Ted nodded as he was laughing too hard to speak and so Andromeda walked to the rabbits' pen and took out a bit of lettuce, handing it over to Ted, who was immediately attacked by another wave of excited rabbits. She could not tell if Ted was still laughing or getting crushed, and she would apologise if she could stop herself from practically howling at the sight in front of her.
It took her over a minute to regain enough of her composure before she finally started to push the bunnies off of Ted so he could sit up and she was glad to see he clearly had not minded the swarm of fur.
"I'm sorry," she said through a fit of giggles. "I should've known they'd do that."
Ted shook his head as he continued to snicker before capturing one of the bunnies that was still nestled in his lap and cradling it to his chest.
"They're my father's." Andromeda answered the unspoken question "His father bought him two for his eleventh birthday not knowing that they were male and female, and, well, the rest is history."
"I'm guessing there's no way of restraining them now?"
Andromeda laughed. "No, and not from a lack of trying, mind you."
Ted snickered a bit as he softly petted the rabbit snuggling up against his chest. Andromeda sat down next to him and picked another one up.
The two fell into a comfortable silence as they played with the rabbits before Andromeda offered him a tour of the gardens.
They walked around for a bit as Ted excitedly reacted to the different areas, from the large swimming pool to the stables where he spent a good chunk of time admiring and feeding the horses.
Finally, they were walking past a quiet garden when a question popped into Andromeda's mind.
"How did Lord Parkinson not know your father was one of his coworkers?"
"Hmm?"
"You said they work the same job, so how could he not know your dad?"
"No, my dad does—" Suddenly Ted cut himself off and took a step back Andromeda saw something change in his eyes as his shoulders tensed. Andromeda wondered what she said wrong to make him react in such a way.
Suddenly a voice from behind startled them both "There you are! Father's been looking all over for you, we're going home."
Jasmine Parkinson grabbed Ted's hand before turning to Andromeda to smile. "Happy birthday, Lady Black."
Ted looked at her, something soft and sad playing around in his eyes. "Good night, Andromeda."
"Ted."
And then he was gone.
Andromeda walked back into the ballroom to find it almost completely empty. Only her family and a few close friends remained.
She saw her father stomping towards her angrily and braced herself for the argument to come… After all, she wasn't sure she wanted to marry Rabastan anymore. Not after meeting the enigma known as Ted. Come to think of it she never found out his last name. She would have to — after tonight, she was more than a little curious about him.