A/N: Just wanted to thank you guys again for your comments! I love taking you all on this writing journey with me and I'm always excited to hear from you xD
Andromeda spent the last couple of classes in complete isolation. Friday was another day she didn't have any classes with Ted. She had a few with the Gryffindors, but she remained completely stone-faced when they talked to her. She could sense their confusion, hurt, and even anger, and that only made her feel worse. She just couldn't help it. Her whole body was on edge, waiting for Rita's gossip to spread through the school like wildfire. So far though, everyone in class seemed to ignore her.
She spent the couple hours in between classes in the library, trying to avoid everyone and anyone. She wanted to be with Ted, but things had been a little… awkward, since the moment in the woods. This was the third time they'd come close to… to taking the next step. She could tell he wanted too, and a part of her wanted to as well, but there was this big block in her brain that wouldn't let her.
Ted had been so incredibly sweet and understanding, and he'd looked so broken, like what happened was someone his fault. It wasn't, but she had no idea how to convince him of that, not when he was so determined to help her. He kept telling her he was willing to wait, but she was starting to wonder if she'd ever be really ready.
"Am I interrupting?" A cool, albeit polite voice cut into her thoughts. She glanced up to see Barty Crouch Jr. standing across from her. He leaned against the bookshelf, like he'd been there for a while. How long had he been watching her then?
Andromeda glanced down at her transfiguration homework, which she hadn't made any progress on in the last fifteen minutes, and sighed. "No."
"I wanted to thank you properly, for what you did last week." He slid into the seat across from her. "I'm still new to being a Prefect, and I appreciate having your example to follow. Especially as a fellow Slytherin."
Andromeda raised an eyebrow. None of her housemates had ever considered her an example, even before she'd gone full blood traitor. But then, with a father like his, Barty couldn't be like most Slytherins.
"You're the one who saved them," she said.
He grinned. "I've had a few run ins with the Whomping Willow before. Learned how to defeat it the hard way."
Andromeda's smile almost met her eyes. It was… nice, to have a conversation with one of her own housemates in which they weren't pumping her for information, or glaring at her in disgust, but she wasn't sure she was in the mood to converse with anyone.
"Either way, I owe you, which is why I've come to warn you." Andromeda glanced up, suddenly giving Barty her full attention, though he must have known that would happen.
"Warn me about what?" she asked, her heart skipping a beat.
He sighed. His warm demeanor had been replaced with something much more somber. "Skeeter. She's been telling an interesting story."
Andromeda's chest clenched, but she sighed. "I know."
Barty's eyes widened. "So it's true?"
Andromeda clenched her teeth, before looking at him defiantly. "Is it really so wrong to be a virgin at seventeen?" She was proud of how defiant she'd sounded, considering how embarrassed she'd been to admit it earlier, but it was true, wasn't it? She was still far too young for this to be a source of embarrassment.
Barty's eyes widened even further. "You're still a virgin?"
And then it was Andromeda's turn to be confused, and annoyed. She'd assumed he already knew, otherwise she wouldn't have told him. "Isn't that what Skeeter's telling everyone?"
He shook his head, still eying her curiously. "She said that you and Rabastan slept together, but that you hadn't slept with Ted yet because…" he paused, like the next words were difficult to say, "because you're afraid he'll contaminate you."
Andromeda's jaw dropped. That was a lie, and Rita knew it. Andromeda knew she'd embellished stories before, but to flat out lie? That was a new one.
"I've got to go," Andromeda said, refusing to look at Barty. As she passed he grabbed her hand.
"Wait," he said. She did, though she still refused to meet his eye. "The other Slytherins, they think you can be 'saved.' That's what I came to warn you about." His grip on her arm softened, but he didn't actually let her go. "I didn't want you to be blindsided."
It took her a moment to process what he told her, and what that would mean for her the next time she ran into one of her classmates. Hell was what it meant, but she couldn't worry about that now. She had to find Ted.
"Thank you," she said, and Barty released her arm. Before she left he said, "I'm glad it's not true. I can't be the only sane person in our house, or I'm going to go mad." She paused, looking back at him. She'd always felt the same way. Maybe she wasn't as alone as she thought.
When Andromeda made it out the library, she practically slammed into Ted. Apparently he'd been looking for her.
"It's not true," she gasped, before he could say anything. "What Rita's saying, it's not—"
"I know," Ted placed his hands on either side of her, steadying her shaking body. "I never thought it was."
She looked at him, letting herself be swept away in his warm blue eyes, the concern that lined his features as he held her steady.
She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. Ted had been her main concern, but not her only one. "My housemates. They think… they think this is proof they can '"save me.'"
"If only they knew you were already beyond saving," Ted said solemnly, and Andromeda couldn't stop herself from snorting in laughter.
"We could skip dinner if you want," he said, "head out the lake."
His offer was tempting, but she sighed. "No… that'll just delay the inevitable. I need to show them…. Show them I'm not afraid to be with you."
Ted sucked in a breath. They'd danced around this topic so long, and Lily's declaration had thrown them into more chaos. And yet for all that chaos and pain Andromeda felt surprisingly calm and sure of her decision, for the first time in a long time.
Ted's shock gradually faded away into something warm, and he took her hand in his as they made their way to the Great Hall.
Ted's hand remained in hers as they entered the Great Hall. Several students had turned to stare at them. She expected as much from her classmates, and she could imagine the Hufflepuffs had a vested interest as well, but even the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors turned to stare at them. Some looked shocked, others shrewd, and others faces brightened with this fresh piece of gossip, and they turned to greedily discuss it with their friends.
Her housemates, however, looked almost murderous at the sight of them, and she felt her resolve weaken. Ted gave her hand a comforting squeeze, and then reluctantly turned to join his table. She was sure his housemates would make the experience uncomfortable for him with their questions, but that was nothing compared to what faced her.
Ted knew it to, for no matter how much his housemates clamored for his attention, he remained fixed on her.
Andromeda did her best to keep her head high as she joined her table. Barty was sitting next to Regulus. Considering her only other ally in Slytherin, Magdalena, was surrounded by their fellow seventh years, she chose the seat next to Barty. He gave her a bracing smile, and to her surprise, she returned it. Her brief moment of solitude was cut short by a drawling voice.
"You are a confusing one, Andromeda Black," Claire Zabini said. She had gotten up from her seat and moved so that she stood behind Andromeda. "You parade around with a man you're too embarrassed to shag? What's the point of parading around with him then?"
Andromeda's face turned crimson, but she didn't say anything, instead tried to drum up some sort of appetite for the food in front of her.
"I suppose I can't blame you. After Rabastan, any man must fall flat," Claire shoved the first year on Andromeda's other side out of the way so she could sit next to her. "But then why give up Rabastan at all?"
"If word got back to him that you were still unspoiled," Andromeda stiffened as Narcissa swept in on her other side, "He might just take you back."
Andromeda swallowed. This would have been so much easier if they weren't so fixated on Rabastan, the one who'd been hurt almost as much as her and Ted in all this.
"I hear Rabastan's moved on, to someone not quite so airheaded," Amycus' greasy voice cut in. "But if you need help finding your way back to the light, I'd be more than happy to oblige." He leaned over and whispered in her ear. "One night with me and you'd drop that disgusting slug for good."
His words sent a disgusted shiver down her spine, and she could tell he wasn't the only Slytherin boy with that thought. Others eyed her almost hungrily, like she'd broadcasted that she wanted to sleep with a pureblood to cure herself of her taste for muggleborns.
She glanced over at Rita, who smiled coolly. She knew this was false, but she was enjoying the show. No matter what Andromeda said or didn't say, Rita would spin it for her own purpose. Andromeda was sure a story about her "night with Amycus" would soon circle the school. The truth no longer mattered, her life would be a sordid tell spun by Rita for her own amusement.
Andromeda felt tears suddenly spring to her eyes, but she pushed them away. She would not let Rita see her cry. Besides, there was a way to take back her story. To prove that she loved Ted, in front of everyone, so that not even Rita's lies could deny it anymore.
She swung her legs off the bench, almost knocking into Claire and Amycus, who still huddled around her. The two of them huffed, but she took no notice. She felt her classmates eyes on her, especially Narcissa's, but she still didn't stop. As she made her way to the Hufflepuff table, more eyes trained on her, but she only had eyes for Ted.
His own widened as she slid into the seat next to him, but then he smiled. The rest of them stared at her shock. Lorie and Jake recovered quickly, and Lorie gave her a small hug. Even Olivia gave her brief, shrewd smile.
"You're not," Edgar Bones began, though he seemed to be struggling to get the words out, "Allowed to… sit here."
Andromda gave him a polite, but intense stare. "Are you going to make me leave?"
He blushed, and his mouth opened, but it was Teresa who replied, "Of course not." Since she was Head Girl, her words seem to count for more than a Prefect's, and neither Edgar nor anyone else said anything.
Andromeda could feel the stares of everyone. The mutinous faces of her housemates, the gasps and whispers of the other houses. She could even see Lily trying to get her attention out the corner of her eye. She was sure Lily took this as a sign Ted and Meda were willing to do what she asked of them, and Andromeda supposed she was right. Whether they meant to or not, they'd thrust themselves into the spotlight, and there was no going back now. But she wasn't going to worry about that now. For now, she was just going to enjoy the feeling of Ted sitting beside her, their hands intwined for all the world to see.