"I still think this is a bad idea," Ted said, but he might as well be talking to himself for all the attention Andromeda was giving him.
"You're sure about your part?" Andromeda asked. He responded with a sour look. Regulus had gone over his part with him a million times, in the most condescending way possible. It had taken everything Ted had not to smack him. As he stared at Regulus from across the grounds, he thought he still might.
He didn't trust Regulus. Ted had always placed Regulus firmly in the Bellatrix and Narcissa Black camp, and not the Sirius and Andromeda Black camp. He didn't understand why she'd gone to Regulus to fix this problem in the first place. He also didn't really understand what problem they were fixing. Andromeda had insisted this was for Narcissa's own good, but it didn't feel that way. It felt cruel, even petty. Not that Ted had any loyalty toward Narcissa, but he never thought Andromeda would want to hurt her. On purpose.
He'd never told Andromeda about his conversation with Narcissa. Maybe he should, or maybe it would only make things worse. He didn't know why he didn't tell her. Maybe he was ashamed that he'd put a rift between her and her sister. Or maybe he worried Andromeda might one day choose her sister over him.
"Ted," Andromeda said again. "Are you even paying attention? Barty's arrived."
Sure enough, Mr. Bartemius Crouch Jr. had joined Regulus on the other side of the field. It had been Barty's job to lure as many of the Slytherins out onto the grounds as he could. Ted didn't know why, but they wanted an audience. He wasn't particularly thrilled to be working with Barty either. He knew Barty was technically on their side, and from he'd heard from Lily, he'd been invaluable. Part of the reason they'd been so effective at protecting the muggleborns is because Barty was skilled at weaseling information from people.
But something about Barty made him uncomfortable. It wasn't just the way he looked at Andromeda, although that was part of it. It was this look he got in his eye, like he had the winning hand and no one else had a prayer.
"She's here too," Andromeda said, shuffling nervously. "It's time."
Even though Ted had gone over his part a million times, he found himself hesitating. He'd accidentally antagonized Narcissa dozens of times before. But doing it on purpose, with a so many snakes looking on, including her own sister, went against even his limited sensibilities.
"Ted," Andromeda said, "Please."
He didn't understand, but for Andromeda, he'd walk off the edge of a cliff.
"Here goes nothing," he muttered, before sauntering out into the grounds. The other snakes noticed him first, and their eyes narrowed. Ted didn't show it, but his heart pounded. He was about to make himself a target, in a big way. Barty and Regulus had assured him they could keep him safe, but somehow that didn't make him feel better. Still, he'd promised Andromeda, so there was no backing out now.
Narcissa and her friends didn't notice him approach, not until he was practically on top of them. He cleared his throat, and then flopped down next to her. "There's my favorite detention buddy. How ya doin?"
Narcissa screamed as she scrambled up to her feet and backed away from him. Her friends had similar reactions. It would have been funny if he wasn't so damn nervous. He'd seen more than one of the snakes reaching into their pocket, presumably to grab their wands. He was only moments away from being hexed to oblivion.
But since he was already screwed, he might as well have some fun. "Come on. Don't be like that. We're basically family, you and I." He offered her his signature lopsided grin. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Andromeda picking her jaw up off the ground. He grinned for real this time. When she'd asked him to taunt her sister, she'd had no idea what she was getting herself into.
"Shut your mouth," Narcissa hissed, her eyes blazing. "We're nothing, you are I. You mean nothing to me."
"That's not what you said to me in detention," Ted said. Narcissa's eyes bulged. If he hadn't been enjoying himself so much, he might have felt guilty reminding Narcissa of that painful conversation, but getting to torment the girl who'd made his life hell this year was a dream come true, and he wasn't wasting a second.
Narcissa's friends glanced at her with doleful glances. It was working already, apparently. Narcissa sensed this too, and the look she shot Ted was pure malice.
"Shut your mouth, Mudblood," she seethed, while slowly pulling out her wand. "Before I shut it for you."
"Yeah?" Ted said, laughing derisively. "Remember how that turned out for you last time?"
The malice didn't leave Narcissa's eyes, but a cold smile spread across her lips as she glanced around. In the time he'd been conversing with her, the snakes had all finished pulling out their wands and now basically had him surrounded. They outnumbered him ten to one.
He glanced up to where Barty and Regulus had been, but they were nowhere in sight. Hopefully, they were off making sure he didn't end up a smear on the lawn and hadn't abandoned him to his fate. Andromeda had disappeared as well, and he was hoping that was a good sign.
He turned back to Narcissa. "What? You don't think you can take one, lowly mudblood all by yourself?"
She flushed again, and then before he could react she whipped out her wand and screeched, "Incendia!"
Ted didn't have time to defend himself. He barely had time to throw his arms in front of his face and hope her magic flame didn't scorch right through his arms to his face behind them. Except, nothing happened.
"Incendia!" Narcissa said again. But still, Ted felt nothing. Not even the flicker of flame on his arms. He slowly lowered his arms. Narcissa's jaw hung open, as did everyone around her.
Her arms were shaking and her voice quivered as she said one more time, "Incendia!"
Once again, nothing happened. It was as if her magic had simply vanished. She didn't speak this time, she just flicked her wand again and again, but nothing happened.
By now, other students had joined the fray. Ted saw Potter and his gang of friends, as well as Lily Evans and Gideon Prewett. It looked like half the school had come out to see the display. Andromeda had said they needed an audience, and it looks like they'd gotten it.
It felt almost cruel to keep the game going now, but Andromeda had been very specific about what he had to do, and the last thing he wanted was to fail her. Again.
"You call yourself a Witch?" he said, laughing cruelly again. "Are you sure you're even a Black? Maybe your mother got down and dirty with one of my kind."
The surrounding students laughed. It wasn't just the muggleborn defenders either. Some of the snakes around him chuckled as well. The Blacks had lorded over them for years, it must feel good to see one brought so low.
Tears brimmed in Narcissa's eyes, and she thrust her wand forward, muttering every curse and jinx she knew. But it didn't matter. She might as well have been a muggle with a stick.
The laughter became more pronounced. On the plus side, the snakes around him were enjoying the spectacle so much, they seemed to have forgotten their intent to hex Ted. On the downside, Narcissa looked like she wanted to die. Ted may not have liked her, but he hated being the cause of someone else's misery, no matter who they were.
When Narcissa's closest friends joined into the jeering, it became too much for her. She let out a strangled sob and then raced back to the castle. The muggleborn defenders cheered, while the snakes merely shook their heads in disgust and scattered as the muggleborn defenders raced forward to embrace Ted. He felt Potter and Sirius clap him on the back, something they'd never done before. Lily gave him a hug, which earned him a sour look from Potter. Despite himself, Ted couldn't help but grin a little at the adoration. They needed a win. They needed to remember the pureblood elitists were human, just like the rest of them.
He searched the crowd for Andromeda, and found her standing back from the crowd. Tears streamed down her face as well, and she seemed to be choking back sobs. Ted forgot his adoring fans as he practically shoved them out of the way to get to Andromeda. They didn't seem to notice. They seemed to have forgotten him as they celebrated Narcissa's embarrassment like it was their own hard-won victory.
Ted reached Andromeda and immediately placed his hands on her shoulders. "Is that it?" he asked breathlessly. "Is that what you wanted?"
She nodded, but it did nothing to wipe the misery off her face. The cheering behind him was only making things worse. He needed to get her out of here, now.
"Come on," he said, gently tugging her behind him. He could hear her sniffling, but she didn't fight him. He didn't stop until they were safely hidden behind the first trees of the forbidden forest, then he pulled her into his arms. The moment her body pressed against his she shuddered, and broken sob escaped her body.
He held her, tears forming in his eyes as her grief overwhelmed him.
"I don't understand," he said simply. And he didn't. He didn't understand any of what had just happened.
"The way she looked at me," Andromeda heaved. "She knows this was me. She's never going to forgive me."
She might be right. Narcissa may have pretended to hate her sister, but he knew better than anyone that Narcissa loved Andromeda just as much as she always had, maybe more. But despite what the songs claimed, sometimes love was conditional, and Narcissa may have reached her limit.
"Why did you ask me to do that?" he asked. He wasn't accusing, but he needed to understand. He couldn't help Andromeda through her grief if he didn't know what was going on.
She shook her head. "I can't tell you. I'm sorry."
Did Barty and Regulus know? The thought made him uncomfortable, and maybe even a little bit angry. In Barty's case, it may have made him jealous. But rather than speak these things out loud, he just held Andromeda as tight as he could and let her mourn the loss of her sister. Maybe for good this time.