Blackbird

Chapter 34

Ted found himself almost looking forward to Valentine’s day, which is something he never thought possible. He’d worried his upcoming date with Teresa would have made things awkward between them, but ever since their moment in the hallway they had gotten along quite splendidly. It was nice to have someone who laughed at his jokes again, since all his other friends just rolled their eyes. Teresa and Ted’s interaction hadn’t gone unnoticed by Olivia and Lorie either, based on the increased ammount of stifled giggles he heard coming from their direction every time he and Teresa spoke to one another. Olivia especially seemed to give them special attention, and she looked positively gleeful. Ted didn’t mind though, it was nice not to have to keep things from his friends anymore.

But no matter how comfortable things had gotten for him, none of it made the sight of the two of them any easier.

If he and Andromeda had broken up for a different reason it wouldn’t have been so hard, or if she had left him for anyone else he could have handled it, he thought. But Rabastan was the one thing he couldn’t handle.

He’d taken to running in the opposite direction whenever he saw them. It was safer, because the last few times he’d been around Rabastan he’d barely been able to keep himself from hexing the bastard into oblivion. And he hadn’t forgotten the way Andromeda had freaked out the last time he’d stepped on Rabastan’s toes. Regardless of what was going on between them Ted didn’t want to hurt her, not anymore than he already had.

Which was why, when his bag chose to split open and spill all over the corridor right as they came around the corner, he was still tempted to book it and leave all his belongings there in a mess of the floor. Except, he still had some of the notes he and Andromeda had written to each other in his bag, and considering Andromeda and Rabastan were surrounded by a whole gang of Slytherin—including Rodolphus Lestrange—he couldn’t risk those falling into the wrong hands.

He did his best to keep his head down so she wouldn’t realize he was there, but he couldn’t stop himself from glancing up at her every now and then. Even after everything she’d done, and after all this time away from her, his heart still skipped a beat at the sight of her. It was like before that fateful day when he’d run into her. Standing on the outside, looking in. Wanting so badly to be a part of her world, no matter what that part was.

 He shouldn’t have worried about her noticing him, as she was too wrapped in in Rabastan. Her hand was inside his and she was laughing at something he said. He felt his chest stiffen in spite of himself. He’d thought that laugh was only reserved for him. He’d been wrong.

He shook his head, trying to clear away these thoughts. What she did or didn’t do was not his concern anymore, and it wasn’t like he wanted her to be miserable for the rest of her life.

It just still hurt to see her so happy without him.

“I must admit, I’ve been worried about your courtship,” Rodolphus said as they got closer. Ted froze. This was the last thing he wanted to hear, but there didn’t seem to be anyway out of it without drawing attention to himself.

“However, you seemed to have settled into your engagement nicely.” At first, Ted didn’t register what Rodolphus had said. He’d known that Andromeda and Rabastan’s parents wanted them to be together, but Rodolphus had definitely used the word engagement, and based on the way Andromeda blushed, he was telling the truth.

He looked away again, before anyone could notice him. It was strange, because even though he felt like a ton of bricks had been thrown on his chest, he also had an odd sense of calm. They must have gotten engaged over Christmas, that was why she’d been so attached to him after she got back. And with the way they’d left things before Christmas, he couldn’t blame her for having doubts about their future. He had.