Ted's detention was delayed until 8pm. On the bright side, it meant he got to spend some time with Andromeda beforehand. On the not-so-bright-side it meant he was that much further away from getting this over with.
At 7:45pm Andromeda insisted he head down to Slughorn's office, as it was better to be early than late.
"So what if I am late?" Ted asked. "It's not like they can give me detention again."
"Yes, they can," Andromeda said.
"Not with this face," Ted said, and then Andromeda was smiling too much to retort. It was good to see her smile, especially considering how upset he'd seen her look earlier. He understood how hard Bella's and Rodolphus' engagement must be, for multiple reasons, but there was nothing she could do. Being emotionally invested in either of her siblings would only bring her more heartache. But how was he supposed to say that to her, especially after everything she'd done to bring him and his father back together?
"Ms. Black, how good to see you," Slughorn said as they approached his office. Ted rolled his eyes. Andromeda was about every teacher's favorite student. He never would have thought he'd fall in love with someone who was such a bookworm.
"Good to see this one hasn't rubbed of on you yet," Slughorn said to Ted, and Ted only grinned. Ted was one of those students who managed to weasel his way out of trouble most of the time, though he doubted he'd be so lucky this time.
"Behave yourself," Andromeda said. Then kissed him on the cheek and tore down the hallway. He stared at her in confusion for a moment before realizing what she was doing, and the real reason she'd wanted him to come early. Unfortunately, it didn't work, as Narcissa had come early as well. Unlike Ted she'd come alone. He couldn't recall ever seeing her go anywhere alone before.
Andromeda froze the moment she saw her, but Narcissa walked right by her like she was invisible. Even from behind, Ted could tell from the slump in her shoulders that Narcissa's reaction was just another stab wound. He couldn't do anything to comfort Andromeda, as she disappeared without another word.
He could, however, glare at Narcissa. This she did respond too, but only with a cold smile. Maybe she enjoyed ripping out her older sister's heart.
"Well, now that you're both here let's get started, shall we?" Slughorn said with another polite smile, somehow unaffected by the rippling tension between Narcissa and Ted. Narcissa turned up her nose like Ted was some foul-smelling slug before following after Slughorn. Ted's jaw twitched, and out of habit he reached for his wand, before remembering that was what got him into this mess into the first place. It was going to be a long evening.
"While the circumstances surrounding your detention are unfortunate, I'm thrilled to have you here," Slughorn carried on cheerily. "With everything going on, I've fallen embarrassingly behind on my stores. Today, your job will be to go through all of my supplies. Organize them, and most importantly, dispose of anything that looks or smells fishy." He led them to the back room where the supplies were kept. Narcissa's nose crinkled again, and for once Ted didn't blame her. It definitely smelled like more than a few things had gone— fishy.
"Not only will this give you both a chance to reflect on your actions, but it will make potions class more pleasant for everyone." Slughorn clapped his hands together, like this was somehow a treat. "I've left instructions on how to deal with the more precarious ingredients, and if anything is moving, you're probably best just to leave it alone. Now get to it." And with that he shoved them both inside the storeroom and closed the room.
Ted took a deep breath and then glanced at Narcissa. She met his glare and folded her arms across her chest, a clear sign she wasn't planning on moving. He thought about doing the same, except Andromeda had promised him if he finished in time the two of them could head to the abandoned classroom of the 7th floor with those unused sofas and… well… needless to say he was motivated to finish in time.
The first thing he grabbed was the Bezoars. Those couldn't be too questionable, right? Except the moment he opened the container, several hairy leg spiders made a mad dive for the surface. He immediately closed the container, then glanced behind him. Narcissa was no longer glaring at him, but she hadn't moved, and her hands were still folded tightly across his chest. If she thought she could dance her way through this, she had another thing coming.
"Catch," he said, before ripping off the lid and tossing the container to her. She didn't even try to catch it, instead letting it clatter at her feet. That worked for Ted, as a moment later her shoes were covered in spiders.
She shrieked as she pulled out her wand and blasted all those spiders off her feet. Ted couldn't help but laugh, though it dried up somewhat when she turned her wand on him. Only somewhat.
His eyes flashed as he said, "Ready for round two, princess?"
She was, apparently. "None of your mudblood friends are around to save you this time," she hissed.
"Don't need them," Ted said, "I went easy on you before. I won't make that mistake again." He might have been more confident in that answer if his wand was currently pointed at her as well instead of tucked inside his robe, but he wasn't going to let that show.
She scoffed. "You have no idea what I could do to you, scum. None of you do."
Ted's eyes narrowed. That threat went beyond whatever was happening between them in this room. "You going to use the Cruciatus curse on me? Because your eldest sister already tried that, and it didn't take."
Something like surprise flashed through Narcissa's eyes, but a moment later fire was back in place. "You filthy liar."
Now it was Ted's turn to look surprised. "You mean you didn't know? I knew your head was up your ass I just didn't know it was that far."
Narcissa swelled, as did her nostrils. "How Andromeda could fall for someone so crass and degenerate is beyond me."
He'd just revealed that her sister had tortured him and then lied to her about it, and yet he was the degenerate one. Purebloods.
"That's easy," Ted shot back. "I tell her the truth, which is more than I can say for the people in your life."
She continued to glare at him, and he could see the word, "Liar," posed on the edge of her lips, but doubt crept into her features, and her wand hand began to shake.
His first instinct was to press his advantage, but then he remembered Andromeda's reaction earlier. She'd broken down just thinking about her estranged sisters, so he resisted his instinct.
"Look," he said finally. "Let's just get this over with, and we can promise never to speak to each other again. That's what you want, isn't it?"
But Narcissa didn't lower her wand as she continued to glower. "You have no idea what I want."
"Muggle subjugation. Exclusion of all muggleborns and blood traitors," Ted rattled off, "The Black name plastered on every street corner…"
Her face flushed, but then she replied, "You forgot your head on a pike,"
In another situation, Ted might have laughed. Her timing was perfect, but instead he imagined shoving his wand down her throat and prayed he wouldn't do it for real.
"Getting disowned was the best thing that ever happened to Andromeda," he said instead.
His words hit her like a hex. "Shut up," she hissed.
But now that the ball was rolling Ted couldn't stop. "I have no idea how she survived with you for so long. She told me what it like. Parents who barely tolerated her existence. A sister who's a psychopath. The only good thing she ever had was you, and look what a monster you turned out to be."
"Shut up!" Narcissa screeched, while her wand began to shake. "Just shut up!"
"What's even crazier is that she still cares about you, even after seeing what you really are. She's lucky you abandoned her."
"I didn't abandon her!" The words ripped out Narcissa's throat. "You took her from me!"
Finally, Ted shut up. Mostly because Narcissa was starting to cry. And not the "I just dropped my favorite earring down the drain" kind of cry. The kind of cry that said something was broken inside. She lowered her wand, but the look she gave Ted was like death. "She left me for you."
He felt a guilty lump rise in his throat. Even though that wasn't fair. He hadn't done anything wrong. "That's not what happened," he said, shaking his head.
"How would you know?" she asked. "You weren't there. She knew what would happen if she left. She knew she was leaving me behind. But she turned her back on me and marched right into your arms and never looked back."
Another silence filled the room, broken only by the sound of Narcissa's sniffling and the shuffling sound of whatever living thing had made the top-shelf its home.
"That wasn't her fault," Ted said finally, with a strangled voice that had attempted to sound understanding. Or at least, less like an asshole.
"You're right," Narcissa looked up, her tears drying as hatred spread over her face again. "It's yours. Because she loves you more than she loves me."
Now he did feel guilt. And he wasn't even sure it was undeserved. Andromeda had told him over and over again what she'd be giving up to be with him. He'd never felt guilty about it though. They weren't the ones that had created a divide. But whether it was fair or not he'd taken her away from her family. From Narcissa. If the roles had been reversed he would have hated himself too.
"It's not too late," he said, his voice sounding less strangled.
Narcissa laughed humorously, though it sounded more pained than her sobs. "You've been with Andromeda for how long and you still don't know how this works? You don't know what happened after she left. Neither of you do."
He waited for her to elaborate, but she didn't. Her grimace said something dark was playing in her mind, but he could only guess what it was.
"You two may have gotten your happy ending," Narcissa said, "but you've doomed me and Bella forever."
Ted opened his mouth, but nothing came out. What could he possibly say? Nothing. Nothing he said could change anything. Except maybe one thing.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly. The words felt strange in his mouth, and even stranger still when his mind caught up with who he was saying them too. Narcissa seemed to feel just as strange about it, but far from soften her heart, it only made her eyes look colder.
"Let's just get this over with," she muttered. Ted thought about pointing out that had been his idea to begin with, then decided against it. He didn't want to do any more damage than he already had. He glanced at his watch. 8:15. They still had hours to go. This might turn out to be the longest night of his life.