Sorry it this took a little while! Thanks for your patience.
~ Living4Fantasy
I Won't Give Up: Chapter 3
"Come in, come in," said Professor Binns as the Slytherin and Hufflepuff students entered into his classroom.
Andromeda walked with Athena and Serena and made her way to a middle table where they dragged an extra chair over so the three could sit together.
"Now," Binns droned on, once his class had all sat down in their seats. "Up here I have for you, a box of small slips of paper. On each slip of paper there is a topic written on it. A topic that we studied at some point before your holiday break. Each topic is written twice, on two separate papers. You will come forward, draw out a piece of paper and then find your other classmate with that same topic and the two of you will write an 18 inch essay on it. Questions? Alright then come forward and draw a topic."
Andromeda looked at her friends, shrugged, and walked down to the front of the class where she joined the queue that was forming.
When she got to the front of the line and dug into the box and produce a small folded up piece of parchment. She unfolded it and saw "The Goblin Rebellion of 1612" written on it.
She went back up to her desk and saw Serena sitting there.
"What did you get?" She asked her.
She looked at Andromeda's parchment.
"Not that," she said glumly.
Athena approached them and read aloud,"The 1637 Werewolf Code of Conduct."
"Yes!" Serena bounced out of her seat. "That's what I got too!"
Athena looked at Andromeda.
"Sorry, Andy."
"Nah, it's okay. So long as I don't have an idiot for a partner."
But as Andromeda looked and looked she could not find who her partner was.
"Come on," she muttered anxiously.
Then she realized, with a knot in her stomach, that she had only been asking her fellow Slytherins.
"Please, Merlin, no."
When everyone seemed to have a partner Professor Binns called out, "Mr. Tonks cannot seem to find his partner."
Andromeda froze and dropped into a seat next to Serena.
"Don't be me, please don't be me," she was saying under her breath.
"Who else has the Goblin Rebellion of 1612?"
"Tough luck," Serena muttered to her.
All eyes were on Andromeda when the words escaped her lips, "I do."
Athena was looking at her with eyes full of horror as she walked over to Ted Tonks.
"I'm your partner," she told him.
She refused to meet his eyes and glared moodily at the floor with her arms crossed and her hip cocked.
"Now that everyone knows who they're working with," Professor Binns said. "I will dismiss you all to begin your work."
Andromeda said not one word to Tonks before she walked away and found Athena leaving the classroom. She whispered to her best friend, "I've got a plan."
"Professor," she said, smoothing out her blouse and heading over to Binns' desk. "May I ask you a question?" She said politely.
"No, you may not work in a group of three." The ghost did not even look up.
"How did you–"
"I've been teaching for a long time, Miss Black."
"But Professor, I do not particularly work well with Tonks, I mean, Ted."
"My answer was "no" two seconds ago and it has not changed. You ought to get to the library, Miss Black." Without even using the door, Professor Binns left the classroom, drifting through the chalkboard.
"Well this is just great." Andromeda plopped down next to Serena and Athena at a table in the middle of the library.
"What I am going to do?"
"Transfer schools," Serena said as she opened, "the Wizarding World of the 17th Century."
"This isn't funny!" She cried.
"Oh relax," Athena said. "Just let him do all the work."
"But what if he doesn't?"
"Then just fail this assignment," Serena suggested.
"That's funny," Athena said. "Andy would sooner cut all her hair off than fail an assignment."
Andromeda made an exasperated noise.
"This is serious!"
"Well I think you'll just have to spend a little time with the Mudblood."
•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•
"This is outrageous!" Bellatrix screeched as she exited Professor Binns office.
"You can't convince him either?" Andromeda asked
Serena, who had come for support, put a hand on Andromeda's shoulder.
"It'll be okay–"
"No it won't be!" Bellatrix interrupted.
The door to Binns office opened again.
"Speak of the devil," Serena mumbled.
"What are you doing here Tonks?" Andromeda demanded.
"Trying to convince Binns to give me a new partner," He said calmly. "Or to at least let me do a paper on my own."
Andromeda looked taken back.
"Why would you want a new partner?" Bellatrix glared down at him.
"Well obviously us being partners," he glanced at Andromeda, "is causing some kind of problem. It's probably just better for everyone if we didn't work together."
"Listen here, Mudblood," Bellatrix spat. "The only interaction you will be having with my sister is for this damned paper, understand?"
Her eyes were wide and filled with hate.
"Nothing more! Certainly nothing social."
Ted did not break her gaze.
Bellatrix huffed, grabbed her sister's wrist, and stalked back towards the dungeon.
Serena glared at Ted and followed after them.