Andromeda maintained that it was Sirius's fault that she was in detention.

It was a perfect crime, really. Sirius handed Andromeda a small package. He asked her to place it next to Snape's plate at breakfast. Snape curiously opened it, only to have charmed paint spring out of the box and coat his face in clown makeup.

Being the one to have planted the box, Andromeda was blamed. Not being a snitch, she accepted the blame.

Remind me why I do anything for Sirius, she huffed to herself as she watched Professor Flitwick grade papers and everyone else doze off.

She considered taking a nap herself when she heard a small tap at the window.

She turned her head to see what had made the noise. Oh, it was just her boyfriend, Ted Tonks, waving to her from a broom.

Wait.

She mouthed a "What?" as he eased the window open and beckoned to her.

She had thirty seconds to decide whether she would honor the detention or save Ted from getting caught.

Boy, was she making stupid choices today.

She slipped out of her desk and crept towards the window, one eye trained on Flitwick. Flitwick's brows creased in concentration as he dipped and redipped his pen in ink and scribbled notes. He never once looked up as Andromeda pulled herself up and out of the window, into Ted's waiting arms.

"Have you gone mad? Stark, raving mad?" she whispered.

"Possibly." He helped her sit comfortably behind him.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

They touched down beside the Great Lake, where there was a canoe waiting, with small cakes and candies in a bag inside.

"Surprise." Ted grinned.

"Ted! Where'd you get all this?"

"Sirius knew it was his fault you got landed in detention, so he agreed to help me out a little to make up for it. Turns out, he knows how to sneak into Hogsmeade."

"And the canoe?"

"I transfigured a boulder."

"Where'd the boulder come from?"

"James Potter got me a boulder. I'm not sure where he found it."

If there was anybody you could expect to have a boulder on hand, it was Potter.

Andromeda and Ted boarded the canoe, and Ted began to row to the center of the lake. The night was perfectly still, the only noise being the oars cutting through the water. Andromeda liked to look at the water's glassy surface before it was broken over and over.

"Look up at the sky." Ted set the oars down and pointed up.

Andromeda looked up and gasped. The sky glittered, every star visible, unobscured.

"The sky is so clear." She was transfixed. "It's beautiful. You can see it all tonight."

"The first clear night all month." Ted nodded. "That's why I broke you out. I wanted you to see it."

She studied him under the moonlight, the shine of his eyes as he looked over her.

"That was so sweet." She smiled. "You didn't have to do that."

He was a Gryffindor, but somewhat more cautious than most. A seventh year, he looked after the young and reckless (i.e., the Marauders). He was normally conscientious, and rarely carried out extravagant gestures like this, so when he did…it really meant something.

She reached for his hand. There would be hell to pay for sneaking out of detention, but this moment made it all worth it.