There came a groan from Tom's bed and Andi sat up, scrubbing any remaining tears from her cheeks.

"Black?"

"Hey, Tom."

He groaned again raising his hand to his brow. "I'm gonna get Moody if it's the last thing I do."

"You're stupid, Moody's the fastest of the whole lot."

"Where's that mudblood from the clearing gone?" He sat up and looked around the empty wing.

"Oh... I don't know. Like I care." She spat spitefully, as if trying to convince herself that that was the truth.

Tom darkly laughed.

"Scuttled off back to his hole if he's got any sense."

"Yeah..."

Andi begun to pick off the last of her nail polish, determined not to cry again as Tom talked to himself about how he hated Gryffindors and mudbloods.

"It's cool."

Anger bubbled up inside Andi at his words.

"Cool? Cool Ted? Really? Is that the only response you can give?!"

"What else am I meant to say?" He got up from the bed and began pacing up and down the wing.

"I don't know! You can't just going around kissing people!"

"You kissed me back."

She spluttered. "T-That's beside the point." He laughed. "Do you think this is a joke Ted, do you really think this is funny?!"

"You kissed me back, Andi. If nothing had changed then you should have pushed me off and sent me away with my tail between my legs."

"Don't you dare put this on me! I didn't ask you to kiss me! And even if I had it's not my fault my senses are a little goofed up after your twat of a bodyguard nearly knocked me out!"

"Don't blame Moody, he was only standing up for all of us-"

"Moody's a twat and you know it."

"No he isn't, that just what all you snobs think!"

"Snobs?" She laughed in despair. "So I'm a snob now am I?"

"I didn't mean that-"

"Well then, what did you mean?"

He scoffed and ran a hand through his messy hair.

"I don't know, okay?"

"Oh well, that makes everything alright then doesn't it!"

"Come on Dromeda don't be like that-"

"Don't call me Dromeda!" She threw the pillow at him and it hit him square in the face with a muffled thud.

There was an awkward silence as she scowled at him as he picked up the pillow, throwing it lightly back at her to land on the end of her bed.

"Ted..." She sighed and looked away from him. "Nothing's changed as in I'm still really confused."

He sat back down on the end of the bed and looked at her through sad eyes.

"After four years. You're still confused?"

"Yes. No, I mean, I..." She moaned and shook her head. "No offense Ted, but I've moved on, I'm not a kid anymore."

"Neither am I. Andi... Ever since Tuesday, I just can't get you out of my head. You're just, there. All the time. It's like I'm 12 again. And it's driving me mad!"

"And you're driving me mad! You just don't get it do you?! I can't okay, I just can't!"

Angry tears stung her eyes and as she blinked they fell from her lashes and rolled down her cheek.

He leant forward and stroked her cheek softly. Oh Merlin his hands were soft. His touch was already like a drug.

She had seen in her prefect duties what Pixie Dust did to students, how upon her raids they would beg her to let them keep even the tiniest bit to get them by - she never did- but it was only now she understood the desperation behind it.

Not that she would admit it to herself but she so desperately wanted Ted to keep touching her. To never let her go. But her head, even with its haze, was screaming for her to get out, to jinx the mudblood jerk and tell him to never talk to her again.

"Why can't it happen?"

"Don't make me say it. You know why."

"If I wasn't a mudblood, we wouldn't be having this conversation would we."

"No, but we are, I mean you are a… I've told you, Ted. Don't call yourself that."

"Why no-"

"Because…"

"Because?"

"Because you're so much better than them…"

There was a pause as Andi closed her eyes and sighed.

"Do you remember what I said to you after our first kiss? When you asked me why..."

I feel… I think we're meant to kiss.

She nodded as she opened her eyes. He smiled ever so slightly. "Nothing's changed."

Ted ran his fingers down her cheek and around the back of her neck, pulling her closer. And she didn't resist, letting him kiss her lips again and letting his tongue explore her mouth once more.

This kiss was sweeter than the last, more affectionate, and feelings hit her hard. Butterflies killed her stomach again and she kissed him back, shuffling closer to him, his thumb rubbing gentle circles on her neck. Her whole body felt at ease; it was a strange sensation, one she had never felt during a kiss before, not even in his last one. Everything seemed right for once in her life. She half sighed, wrapping her arms around him as he stroked her lower back. It was as if he was trying to comfort her confused soul- No, not comfort. Convince. She lost track of how long the kiss lasted, and with every second it carried on, he was getting closer and closer to convincing her to do the unspeakable.

She put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him away, just ever so lightly and he moved away, leaving her lips tingling and her heart-beat ringing in her ears.

Andi looked into his eyes, into that gorgeous deep blue in which she could have easily gotten lost, and ran a hand through his hair.

"You... You're my friend, Ted."

He nodded, her hoping that he would somehow grasp how confused she still was and Andi was surprised at how much it was actually hurting herself saying it.

He stood up, prizing himself away from her and he reached the door.

He turned, straightening his tie and doing up his grey cardigan, and pain stabbed through her heart as he smiled sadly back at her.

"We haven't been friends for four years."

And with that, Ted was gone.

She had cried for goodness knows how long afterwards, she couldn't control nor stop it, no matter how hard she tried. Her heart was aching and her lips burning as much as her sore eyes. Sporadic images, feelings and memories where flicking in and out of her mind as swiftly as they had entered. And they were all about Ted. She had admitted it. If it wasn't for his heritage she would have admitted to herself and to him how much she liked him. How horrific was that? Not being with someone because of what they were born...

Pull yourself together.

"What's up, Black?"

"Huh?"

"You've been staring into space for the last half hour. You feeling okay? Want me to get Matron?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Fine?"

"Yes, fine okay Tom, will you get off my back?" She snapped.

He laughed.

"You really are a bitch sometimes, Black." He cocked an eyebrow as he leant back against his pillow.

"Really?" Andi shrunk back into herself, picking the last of her nail polish off.

Tom frowned. "I was joking." He sat up again. "What's eating ya?"

"We're friends aren't we Tom?"

"Yeah…" He looked puzzled as he smiled at her.

"Can I ask a favour?"

"Depends."

She stood up, steady on her feet now the dizziness was fading. She walked over to his bed and sat down next to him.

"I just… I just need to figure something out. To try something."

"Okay. Honestly though Black, how hard did you hit your head-"

Andi leant forward and pressed her lips to his. Her hands shot to his dark, gelled hair, and she ran them through it momentarily pulling herself closer to him in a false passion, but she already had her answer. After that few seconds she pulled away and rubbed her frowning brow.

"Sorry."

"That's alright…" His expression of shock turned into a frown as he watched her pull away from him completely.

Andi stood back up and went back to her bed, curling up and draping her cloak over herself as a blanket.

"Andi, we gonna talk about what just happened?"

"You're right Tom, I just…" He didn't see the tear roll down her face and onto her pillow "I guess I hit my head really hard."

Nothing. She felt nothing. Nothing when kissing Tom. This gorgeous pure-blood that so many of the girls desired, (which her parents would naturally regard as an acceptable suitor), had no effect on her whatsoever. No skip of heartbeat, or butterflies or sweaty palms. No fireworks. It felt so unnatural. His hair was too neat and slick, not scruffy and slightly knotty and oh Merlin absolutely silk soft. His lips were nice, yeah. But was 'nice' a good description? They weren't indulgent like his were…

Why are you doing this to yourself? This can't ever happen.

"Why are you doing this to yourself?" Frank sat there on his bed, his head in his hands as Ted paced up and down in-front of him, eating chocolate frog after chocolate frog. "Ted, it's just not going to happen alright? It was two kisses."

"Yeah but," he swallowed then waved the frog's still half twitching leg at Frank before sticking it in his mouth and mumbling through his chocolate, "technically there's been three and she admitted if I wasn't a muggle-born-"

"You are a muggle-born! And you want a girl that wants you regardless of it, if not for it."

Ted just flopped down onto his yellow duvet, ripping open a packet of Bertie Botts.

"Look. Ted, she's a Black. She from one of the most aristocratic families there is. I don't know how many times I'm going to have to say it, it's just not going to happen."

"What's not going to happen?"

"Nothing, Ed."

Edgar Bones shut the door to the boy's dorms as he chucked his bag at his bed and raised an eyebrow at Frank.

"Ted's suddenly got this thing for Andromeda Black."

"One of the Black sisters, are you crazy?!"

Frank cocked his head to the side and gestured to Ted who just scoffed and crossed his arms tightly around his chest.

"Look, Teddy, if this just 'cause you're the last one out of us to not have a girlfriend, I'm sure Charlie or Alice could set you up with someone-"

"It's not cause you've just got with Charlotte, like I'm really happy for you both. But this isn't just a sudden thing, I've been thinking about it nearly all week. And for the record I've had lots of girlfriends."

Frank and Ed both burst out into fits of laughter as Ed sunk down to sit on the end of Frank's bed. Ted throwing beans at them then laughing with them.

"I have! You just don't know them because they're muggles from back home and they've only ever lasted over summer as I'm not into that long-distance relationship thing.

"Whatever." Ed winked stuffing three of the beans into his mouth and then grimaced. "Urgh, broccoli."

Ted laughed before sitting up and facing his two friends properly.

"Look, there is just this whole history there with her, and this… connection that I can't explain." He stared off into the distance smiling slightly as he remembered the slight strawberry taste to her lips. "We kissed twice today and-"

"Woah, you kissed?"

"Yeah..."

"I wouldn't go shouting about that if I were you mate, do you have any idea what Bitchytrix and Narcisstic would do to you?!"

"I don't care. I just… need to think of a proper way of showing her we can be together, and today that wasn't right. She, I… She needs more time."

"Bloody hell. You're actually being serious aren't you?"

Ted nodded.

"He's completely smitten and won't listen to anything." Frank rolled his eyes and sat back against his headboard as Ted sarcastically smiled before flipping him the finger.

"You need to listen to the fact that you're from two different worlds. It's completely forbidden, and don't go all 'Romeo and Juliet' on us because they kill themselves in the end."