Blackbird

Chapter 39

She made an effort to avoid the common room entirely after that incident. She only had two friends anyway, and neither of them liked the common room much either. Rabastan preferred to avoid the gossip that his parents had forbidden him to marry Andromeda, among other gossip about his Fiance. And Magdalena, who had never much liked the common room anyway, seemed equally uncomfortable with all the negative attention Andromeda was receiving. She was surprised by how much they all had to say about her. She'd never been popular, persay, but no one had dared say anything for fear of Bellatrix. But that was all over now. While Bella herself did not participate in the gossip, she did nothing to stop it, preferring to pretend her sister didn't exist.

Now that she thought about it, she realized she had three friends. Narcissa. She could tell all the talk was hurting Narcissa, probably more than it was hurting her. She caught her sister gazing at her sympathetically from across the Great Hall a few times, but she never said anything. Bellatrix had forbidden her too. Whatever she wanted to say to Andromeda she would say through Rabastan.

"She's worried about you," Rabastan told her. "She fears you have lost your way."

She wasn't entirely wrong, but Andromeda chose not to speak on it. She hadn't mentioned her promise to Rabastan from a few days ago. It was too painful.

"Tell her I'm sorry," Andromeda replied. It was true enough.

"She says to be patient with Bella. She'll forgive you, one day."

Andromeda doubted that, but she wasn't going to squash Narcissa's hopeless optimism. At least Narcissa looked happy. She was scarcely seen without Lucius these days. Neither of them had said anything official about their courtship, but it was clear from the way they looked at each other there was something there. After everything Narcissa had been through, the last thing Andromeda wanted to do was burden her with her problems, not when things were finally looking up for the youngest Black daughter.

It was thoughts such as these late one evening that allowed her to become so distracted she didn't notice the arm that darted out and pulled her into an empty classroom.

She nearly screamed, but managed to bite her tongue in time. Thank goodness, because her assailant was Ted.

She couldn't believe it. After the way things ended between them she'd assumed she'd never see him again, other than the occasional sight of him in classes and in the halls. But never like this. Never alone.

It made her tremble.

"What are you doing?" she shout-whispered after she had recovered. "Are you trying to tempt fate?"

"I could ask you the same question," he said. He seemed as unsettled as she felt. They were both hyperaware of their proximity to each other, and even though there were several feet between them, they were both toitering on the back of their heels like they were trying to move themselves even further away.

"What were you thinking, standing up to them like that?" his tone matched her own. "To Rodolphus. Don't you think it's a major red flag when you start standing up to for muggleborns? Especially when said muggleborns happen to be my friends?"

Her mouth dropped open. He was angry. With her. After everything he had put her through.

A rage like she had never felt soared inside her.

"Bugger off!" she shouted.

Ted's eyebrows rose so high they seemed to disappear. "What did you just say?"

But she was only getting started. "All the time we were together, you told me not to hide my head in the sand, and you've never forgiven me for what happened to Teresa, and now that I actually start standing up for muggleborns you come after me again."