"Andi, seriously, what is with you? Just sit down and enjoy the weather for Merlin's sake."
Andi looked down at her blonde sister, who was resting back on her hands and soaking in the rare sun's rays.
"Fine."
She sat down in the grass and pulled her hair back from her face, tying it up in a high ponytail extenuating her sharp features. She reached into her bag and pulled out her red nail polish, sighing when she pulled the brush out and no polish came off.
"You've finished that?"
"It looks it." Andi sarcastically snapped, throwing the bottle violently into the lake. There came a grumble from the water and then it ended up at her feet again. She groaned and lay back against the grass, rubbing her temples repetitively.
"Why have you been in such a foul mood since Friday? I know you hit your head and everything, but it's the weekend, Christmas holidays are in two weeks and it's sunny. Just relax."
"Oh well, because it's sunny the world is automatically a better place. It's Winter for Merlin's sake, I don't want a sunny day, I want snow and cold and other miserable people."
"If you're going to be like this Andromeda, I'm going to go find better company."
"Why don't you then Cissy. Go find pretty boy."
Narcissa groaned in annoyance and lay back next to her sister, playing with a strand of Andromeda's hair that had come loose.
"What's going on sweetie… you're going to get permanent nose wrinkles you've been thinking so much."
"Well thanks." Andi half smiled and moved her fingers from her temple to her nose, rubbing her spot where her nose always furrowed. But that fact didn't help. Ted was the first to notice your thinking face.
"I mean it. I'm not like Bella… you can talk to me."
Andi turned her head to face her sister, who was smiling sweetly at her. It was again a side to Narcissa that never normally left her bedroom. Narcissa was so cool and collected in public. Nothing ever got to her and seemingly because of that everything went perfect for her.
"How do you know what you're like Cissy? How do you know you're not like Bella? Or not like any other person at this school." Or not like any mudblood…
She sighed letting go of Andi's hair before sitting up.
"I don't know."
There was a silence as Andi closed her eyes, momentarily feeling a pang of guilt for back-chatting to her sister, who was just trying to help.
"I guess the people closest to you know you better than you know yourself."
"What?"
Andi sat up, broken from her reverie at Narcissa's words.
"I was chatting with Lu the other day and he was saying something similar, it's like, everyone thinks he's this arrogant bully with fast broomsticks and thousands of galleons. I mean…" She pouted slightly and smiled as if remembering something he said "he is all those things… But he's different when he's around me. Like I am around you. I know who he is, the layers of who he is. He never even used to register that he had that nicer side, until I told him he did."
Andi smiled at her sister.
"For fifteen, you really are smart."
"I'm not just a pretty face."
Narcissa smiled resting her head on her sister's shoulder.
"Now are you going to tell me what's up?"
"Nothing, Cissy. Honestly. Just…"
Ted and his friends suddenly came into view just further down the bank. He was so happy… this obviously wasn't affecting him at all. She hadn't slept the last two nights since the kisses. And when she finally had dozed off from pure exhaustion, either at night or in the middle of writing her History of Magic essay, he was there; kissing her again in her dreams.
She felt her heart ache and tears prickle her eyes as he and another boy threw a friend of his in the lake, and then, as he laughed, wrapped his arms around the waist of this really… pretty… blonde girl.
Jealous. You actually feel jealous.
Why the hell did he do this to her. Ruin her life. If it was this time last week, she would have been sat here, laughing with her sister, bitching about something or other, rolling her eyes at the goofy mudblood Hufflepuffs who were actually stupid enough to throw and push each other in the lake.
"Just?"
"Just… time of the month I guess."
"Well, you know there are potions for that." Narcissa giggled.
"Shut up, Cissy."
She sat there, not able to take her eyes off him. His arms weren't around that slut's waist anymore but he was now on one knee serenading her as they all laughed. She pouted and frowned, her eyes narrowing and her fists clenching. Narcissa starting talking about something, Andi vaguely heard the words "Bella" and "hex" but it was going in one ear and out the other as she scowled at Ted, judging his every move. He is such an idiot. It wasn't even that hot. Yes this much sun in December was a miracle, but there was no need for him to take his shirt off and dive in the lake to join his friend. Let alone that blonde girl dive in after him then them all splash each other laughing and joking around.
He started swimming backstroke towards where they were sat. Andi was fighting every bone in her body to get up and move away from him.
"Andi, you okay, you've really tensed up."
"Uh-huh…"
"Ted! Get your arse back here, I'm not done!"
"Mar, leave off!" He laughed back starting to tread water waiting for the blonde to catch up.
She reached Ted and then jumped on him pushing him under water, before then climbing on his shoulders as another boy with a girl on his shoulders swam over.
"WATER WRESTLING TIME!" The brunette girl with a pixie crop yelled, laughing as she did so.
"It's on Alice!" The blonde called Mar yelled back.
Andi sat there, getting more and more frustrated as she watched them play fight each other. Narcissa seemed to finally notice the game unfolding in front of her after Mar fell into the water and the other team screamed victory. But everything was fuzzy and Andi's stomach knotted itself as Ted held Mar in his arms as she spluttered, regaining her breath.
"So immature." Narcissa rolled her eyes as the victorious girl pulled off her shirt, leaving her in her red bra as she tied her Gryffindor tie around her head.
However the Alice girl saw Narcissa's look of disgust and yelled back at them.
"Oh get over yourself, Black! Just because you don't know how to have fun!"
Narcissa stood and pouted with a snide smile in her eyes.
"Oh I know how to have fun, just with my shirt on. Come on Andi, before I throw up at the sight."
However it was at Alice's mention of "Black" that Ted turned his head and caught eyes with Andromeda.
He immediately pushed Mar out of his arms and almost began to swim towards the bank. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but he could see the damage he had already done as Andi looked away, determined not to cry or even show any sign of emotion. She wouldn't give him- who obviously didn't care and had just been trying to get a reaction from you, probably just to laugh with his precious friends about it- the satisfaction.
The bell chimed two in the background and she stood, taking her sisters arm.
"Yeah, let's go to lunch, I'm hungry."
"I thought you said you were hungry?"
Andi rolled her eyes as she pushed her pasta around her plate.
"If you've got cramps, I've got some potion back in my dorm. It clears them up instantly, Severus is amazing at Potions, you have no idea."
"Nah, it's okay, Cissy. Thanks anyways."
"What do you want to do this afternoon?"
"Mope."
"Seriously?"
"Yep." Andi sighed, finally eating a mouthful. "I'll probably go to the library, I have a ton of work to do."
"I don't envy you at all."
"Just you wait till your OWLs next year." Andi smiled eating one more mouthful before picking up her bag and standing. "See you later."
"See you." But Narcissa had already turned to greet Severus Snape who had sat down beside her, looking as miserable as Andi felt.
She plodded along out of the Great Hall, just turning the corner to head up the stairs when she felt strong hands grab her shoulders and whip her off her feet. Next thing she knew she was up against the left corridor wall, her wand out and in her assailant's face.
"Woah, calm down."
"Calm down? Calm down?! Who the hell are you to tell me to calm down, and get your filthy hands off me-"
"Okay… Okay."
He pulled his arms away from her, raising them in defeat as she stuffed her wand back in her pocket, straightening in her shirt and cloak.
"What do you want, Ted."
"I wanted to explain."
She did her best Narcissa impression as she stared at him completely blank, refusing to show him any sign of hurt or weakness. "Explain what. What do I care if you want to fool around with some blonde."
"We're not fooling around, we're just friends, that's just how me and Mar are."
Andi rolled her eyes, squeezing past him and already striding away down the corridor, her jaw set and fists clenched.
"Andi, Andi come back… look…" he caught up with her and whispered to her as they walked, "you know how much you mean to me…"
"How much I mean to you? Actually, Ted, I don't because you kiss me a few times and then you tell me how 'we haven't been friends for the last four years' I mean, how do you think that made me felt?"
"Look, I'm sorry, I just didn't handle the fact that we can't be together well."
"At least we agree on one thing then."
"What?"
"We can't be together. There I said it. Now run off back to your perfect little friends and leave me alone." She turned to him and glared as she walked, eventually looking away hoping he would stop and turn around. But he didn't. He walked by her side for a good minute before anything further was said.
"I am sorry Andi. And… you do mean a lot to me."
"Why are you doing this to me, Ted? Other than being a bitch to everyone generally, what have I done that is so… horrific that you want to make my life hell?"
That was when he stopped walking, and despite her brain's urgency to continue on, her legs stopped too. He looked her up and down before ducking into a small, deserted corridor to their left. He beckoned her into it as she let out an exasperated sigh. But before she knew what she was doing, she was stood there in front of him, one eyebrow raised her arms crossed tightly across her chest.
"What." She stared at him. "Oh is it a surprise to you that I have been going insane since Friday? You're a lucky guy that can joke with your friends and go swimming in the Black Lake not caring that you could easily be drowned by merpeople or Callumari or-"
"Callumari?"
"It's what we call the squid-"
"Oh my God, that is so cute!" He looked at her through affectionate eyes and smiled at her. She half smiled back before relaxing into her posture a little bit more.
"It's not that cute, I mean, some girl made it up years ago cause he sleeps outside our portholes-" she shook her head and stood up straight again prodding his chest with one of her fingers. "No! That's not the point! We aren't talking about the squid okay? The point is that you are all fun and games and you have no idea what is at stake here! You're muggle-born, I'm from one of the most ruthless pure-blood families there is, my name is dating back to, like, Merlin's time for Christ sake! My parents would literally kill me-"
"And yet you're not going to stop me from doing this."
"Doing what-"
He pushed her up against the wall and captured her lips with his. Every thought in her head vanished as she felt him trace her lower lip with his tongue and her arms wrapped around his neck pulling him closer as he kissed her with such heated ferocity. Every kiss she shared with him was different, it was new, it was exciting, she had never felt more wanted or desired or… turned on as he kissed her. This time their teeth clashed as she moaned and his hands continued moving south from her shoulders to her lower back and then her—
She pushed him off and raised a hand to her mouth her finger once again poking his chest. "See! You're doing it again! This is exactly what I mean, you kiss me like this, then you're going to waltz off back to your pretty blonde friend and have a good old laugh about this while I can't get you out of my head and…"
He was slowly leaning in again, inching closer to face.
"And… I… Ted you're not listening…" His lips were virtually touching hers again.
"Andi… I don't laugh with my friends about you. You're right, you have no idea how much you mean to me because I haven't shown you. And I want to show you, more than anything. I've wanted to show you since we were twelve."
"But we're not twelve anymore, Teddy. You're messing with grown-up feelings and grown up things as if you are still that little boy…"
"Do you have feelings for me Dromeda?"
"I…" She looked into his eyes and closed hers, feeling tears prickle them. "I can't have feelings for you. I'm sorry." She ducked under his arm on the wall and went to walk away, but he grabbed her hand and she felt him place a small package into it.
"Can't doesn't mean you don't."
He kissed her cheek and then was gone, leaving her there bewildered as she looked at the little brown paper covered parcel in her hand. She stuffed it into her robe pocket and momentarily began to head towards the library, before shaking her head deciding an afternoon languishing in front of the fire in the common room was more appealing than attempting to write a Potions essay.