Ted Tonks was worried about his girlfriend.
He had not heard from her at all this summer. He didn’t know whether she was busy or if she had been hurt. He really hoped that she wasn’t hurt. He loved her too much to have that happen to her. Maybe she was away, visiting her sister. She mentioned something about her older sister, Bellatrix, living in Germany to study some dark magic theory.
Ted knew her family and their reputation. The Black family was very prejudiced, with their pureblood mania. They wouldn’t be fond of the idea that their daughter was dating a person of dirty blood “ a Mudblood.
Ted cringed at the use of the word. It was such a horrible thing to call someone, so degrading and harsh. He could remember when he first met Andromeda. She had told him to go away in a very nasty way and she had called him a Mudblood.
“Hi, can I sit next to you?” asked an eager second year boy with mousy brown hair.
The girl replied, “Go to hell, you filthy Mudblood. No one wants to be with you.”
That was during his second year. She had hated him and his Muggle heritage. It took a good part of his fifth and sixth years to get her to become friends with him. Last April they began to date, snogging in broom cupboards late at night, and having secret meetings in abandoned alleys in the far reaches of Hogsmeade.
Their relationship had been going well. They loved each other or at least Ted thought so. Ted loved Andromeda, more than he had ever loved a girl before. He liked his other girlfriends, but none of them were like Andromeda. She was the most beautiful of them all. Her long black hair reflected the sunlight beautifully, her eyes reminded him of dark pools of flowing water, and her smile was enough to make Ted’s heart break into tiny pieces.
Ted wondered what had changed about Andromeda. She had agreed to write to him every week this summer. Ted had written to her several times, but she hadn’t responded yet. They even took the time to create a certain time of day when Ted could send the letters without her parents knowing. Everything had been so perfect with their relationship. They tried to meet at least twice a week during the school year, and now Ted couldn’t even get a letter from her.
Maybe Andromeda was just playing with him, toying with his emotions for her own pleasure. She was probably laughing with her sisters right now, talking about what a fool he was for actually believing that they had something together. No, that couldn’t be true. Andromeda had seemed so genuine about their relationship; she seemed truly happy to be with him.
Maybe Andromeda was in trouble. Her parents could have locked her up in her room, punishing her for dating a Muggle-born. Ted hoped this wasn’t true. He didn’t want to cause Andromeda trouble like that. She didn’t deserve that just for him.
Or maybe she had just decided to break things off with him. She might have wanted to be with someone better than him “ someone who was a pureblood. Maybe she thought he was stupid for going out with her, for risking his life just to be in her presence.
He knew what he was getting into when he asked her out. He knew what a huge risk he was taking. If her family found out, he would not only have to break up with her, but manage to save his own skin. He could only imagine what Bellatrix Black would say to him if she found out he was going out with her precious little sister. He knew that Andromeda was close to Bellatrix, and he knew that Bellatrix would do anything to keep her little sister safe. She would assume that Ted had somehow tricked her sister into doing this and set out kill him. No, she wouldn’t kill him “ she would rip him limb from limb and torture him until he went crazy.
Ted wasn’t afraid of Bellatrix Black. He didn’t care what she did to him as long as he could have Andromeda. Ted hoped that everything was good between him and Andromeda, and that this was only a fluke.
~ * ~
It was September first at last. Ted woke up that morning feeling both nervous and excited. At last, he would be able to see Andromeda and talk to her. He needed to figure out what was going on between them. He really hoped that everything that happened over the summer was just a huge misunderstanding.
As he boarded the Hogwarts Express for the last time in his life, he wondered where Andromeda was. He desperately hoped that everything between them was fine. He quickly made his way to the front of the train in the special compartment where all the prefects would meet to discuss the beginning of term notices. He was the Ravenclaw prefect, and Andromeda was the Slytherin prefect. He wondered who had been made Head Boy and Girl. He figured that Andromeda was Head Girl, considering that she was one of the most intelligent witches in their year. In addition Slughorn liked her, and that man could get anything he wanted from Dumbledore.
Just as Ted expected, Andromeda had been made Head Girl. She was wearing a badge engraved with the words “Head Girl.” Ted’s heart lifted in his chest at the sight of his girlfriend. No one else had arrived in the compartment so he figured it was safe to talk to her.
“Hi Andromeda,” he exclaimed. “How was your summer? I haven’t heard from you lately.”
“Everything’s fine,” said Andromeda in a voice that clearly told him everything was not fine.
Ted reached out to grab her hand, but she quickly pulled away. He noticed something glittering on her ring finger.
“Where did you get that ring? Was it a gift from your sister or something?” Ted asked curiously.
“Oh, it’s nothing,” mumbled Andromeda.
“What’s going on? Why didn’t you send a letter this summer? I sent you a letter every week and you never answered.”
“Oh, it’s just I had a lot of family stuff going on,” she muttered.
Ted tried to move closer to her, but Andromeda just kept pulling away. Ted was getting extremely flustered.
“What’s really going on, Andromeda? Why have you been avoiding me this entire summer?” Ted said exclaimed.
“It’s my family, Ted,” she mumbled.
“I know about your family. I know they hate my type. But just a few months ago, you were more than willing to forget about them,” Ted yelled.
“You don’t understand.”
“What don’t I understand? I have been trying to talk to my girlfriend for two months, and she hasn’t responded to me. I love you, Andromeda Black. Don’t you love me?” Ted screamed.
“I can’t love you. I just can’t.”
“What?” spluttered Ted.
“I’m engaged,” she cried.
“You’re what?”
“I’m engaged. My parents arranged for me to marry Augustus Rookwood at the end of this year. I can’t be with you anymore. I can’t do anything I want any longer. My freedom is gone.”
Ted looked at Andromeda with shock.
“Andromeda,” he said calmly, “why don’t you just forget about what they said? Do what you want, become a Healer and date me. You can’t let them control your life. You’re too good for that.”
“I can’t disobey their orders,” she sobbed. “If I don’t marry Augustus, I’ll be disowned. My sisters need me.”
“But, Andromeda. I can’t live without you either. I need you. I love you.”
“I’m putting you in danger just talking to you this very moment. You deserve someone safe.”
“But I want you,” said Ted.
“You can’t have me. We have to break up. We can’t be together; we can’t talk to each other ever again,” sobbed Andromeda, the tears pouring out of her eyes at an even faster rate.
Ted quickly ran over to the other side of the compartment as he heard voices coming from outside the room. The door opened and the other prefects came walking in. He looked over at Andromeda, who was wiping away her tears before standing up to address the crowd. Ted looked down at his knees, and tried not to look like he felt.
~ * ~
It had been three weeks since term had begun. He hadn’t spoken to Andromeda since that day in the prefect compartment. He couldn’t stand being away from her any longer. He needed to speak to her, and try to put some sense back in her head. There was a prefect meeting that night, and Ted figured he would talk to Andromeda once the meeting was over.
Throughout the entire meeting, Andromeda refused to even look at him. Ted tried several times to catch her glance, but each time she looked away. When he asked a question about patrolling the corridors at night, she looked down at her feet when she answered him. At last, the meeting was over, and the other prefects rushed out the door. Ted, Andromeda, and Gideon Prewett, the Head Boy were left. Gideon said a quick good-bye to Andromeda before exiting the room.
Ted walked up to Andromeda. When she noticed him coming her way, she quickly grabbed her books and sprinted towards the door. But Ted stepped in front of her, forcing her to stop.
“What do you want, Ted?” yelled Andromeda exasperatedly. “I already told you. I am engaged to another man. You are a Mudblood. I can’t talk to you and I most certainly can’t be with you.”
Ted’s blood boiled at the sound of the word. What was happening to the Andromeda he knew and loved?
“What happened to you, Andromeda? What’s changed about you? How can sit here and call me a Mudblood when only months ago we were secretly snogging in here?” he demanded furiously.
“That Andromeda is gone,” she snapped. “Don’t you understand, Ted? Don’t you get what danger you’re putting yourself in? I’m not worth it. I’m going to be Mrs. Augustus Rookwood in less than a year and you can’t change that. Get over it.”
“Get over it!” Ted screamed. “I tried that, Andromeda, I really did. These last few weeks, all I have been able to think about is you. I love Andromeda Black more than life itself. I want you more than anything in the world.”
Andromeda looked at him in shock.
“You can’t have me, Ted. I can’t have you. It will never work. I am going to be married to another man. I can’t change that,” she cried.
“So what?” yelled Ted. “ I don’t care. You can have an affair with me. Merlin knows that most pureblood women do that.”
“I don’t want to do that,” cried Andromeda. “I can’t be myself when I am married to him. I won’t have any freedom, absolutely no choice. I can’t do what I want anymore.”
“Then forget about Rookwood, forget about your stupid family obligations! We can elope, move to another country to be together. All we need is each other.”
“I can’t leave my family. It’s not my parents, it’s my sisters.”
“What Bellatrix and Narcissa? The ones who have made my life a living hell these past seven years?”
“Yes!” screamed Andromeda. “I love them. They are best friends. And then there’s Sirius.”
“Who the hell is Sirius? Your other boyfriend? Or Rookwood’s brother that you want to have an affair with?” yelled Ted.
“No, you git! He’s my ten-year-old cousin. His parents hate him, and he causes a lot of trouble. He’s the Black family heir."
“So you want to protect the heir to your bloody family. That’s great. You want more bias big heads.”
“No, Ted,” cried Andromeda. “He’s a bit of a rebel. If he goes the wrong way, then he’ll be in huge trouble. He’s the type who might end up in Gryffindor or do something stupid like that.”
“So you want to keep your cousin on the right track then? You don’t want him to make a stupid mistake like you made. That’s what you must think of our relationship “ a stupid mistake.”
“Ted, don’t say that,” she sobbed. “I love you, Ted. I just can’t be with you. I can’t make the sacrifice.”
“So I’m a sacrifice then?” said Ted sarcastically. “How bloody brilliant.”
“No, Ted. I’m just confused right now. I don’t know what to do,” she sobbed.
Andromeda collapsed onto the nearest chair, her head in her hands. Ted immediately rushed over to her side, putting his arm around her.
“Shush, Andromeda. Everything will be all right. I love you, and that’s all matters,” he said soothingly. “We can work things out in the end.”
“Nothing’s going to be fine. I want so many things. I want my family, a job as a Healer, and you,” she cried.
“We’ll work it out. We can be together, and you can still have your dream job. I don’t know what to do about you sisters, but I have a feeling that your cousin Sirius is the type who will support you. We can be together forever, whatever you want.”
Andromeda looked up at him. She gave a weak smile. “I don’t know. I really want to be with you, but I’m not ready quite yet to give up my sisters.”
Ted looked at her sympathetically. “We don’t have to let the others know quite yet. We can hide our love from the world. We can be together without anyone knowing. We did that most of last year. You can still have your sisters. Then right before you marry Rookwood, you can reveal to them the truth. Everything can work out in the end. It will. I promise.”
“That sounds great,” said Andromeda, her eyes see filled with tears.
Ted gave Andromeda his hand and helped her up. Before they turned to leave the room, Ted looked into her eyes. “I love you, Andromeda. I always have and I always will. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever met and the most intelligent.”
Andromeda blushed. “I love you too, Ted Tonks. You are the most persistent, loving, and caring person I will ever have the privilege to meet.”
Ted smiled and leaned in to kiss her. Everything might not be perfect, but it was getting there. As long as they were together, the world seemed a little brighter.