Blackbird

Chapter 51

"Ted, darling, you've hardly touched your supper."

His mum's voice was hesitant and gentle, but he jumped all the same.

"Sorry," he mumbled, "I'm just not very hungry."

Jean Tonks pressed her lips together. She knew he was lying. She'd made steak and kidney pie, his second favorite dish, as she was saving his favorite dish for tomorrow. He could tell the moment she'd given it to him she'd been hoping it would cheer him up.

"Is something the matter?" she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Yes. "No," he sighed, "I'm just a bit tired, is all."

Once again, she knew he was lying. He could tell she was desperately hoping he'd open up, because she didn't want to press him. She'd already learned he just shut down every time she tried.

A part of him wanted to tell her, but how was he supposed to explain to his mother that the girl he loved was marrying his mortal enemy tomorrow? He wouldn't even know where to begin. And it would open him up to questions he didn't want his mother asking.

"I think I'll retire a bit early." He tried to make his voice sound nonchalant, but the worried look that jumped into his mother's eyes made him sure he'd failed. He could feel her eyes following him all the way out, and he felt another stab of guilt. His reclusiveness over the past couple of months had hurt her, he knew. They'd always been so close. One day, maybe, he would tell her, but he couldn't now. Not until it all blew over.

Assuming it all blew over.

Once he reached his room he slammed his door closed and collapsed onto his bed. He knew better than to assume sleep would come. He'd hadn't been sleeping well since that night with Andromeda, and Bellatrix, and the Lestranges.

Surprisingly enough, it wasn't the memory of being tortured that kept him lying awake at night, though that would've been enough.

No, it was the look he'd seen on Andromeda's face when Rabastan had said she was capable of securing her own happiness. Despair. The idea of spending the rest of her life with Rabastan brought her despair. It was that moment that he knew she hadn't been lying to him when she'd said she wanted to be with him. It didn't matter how happy she'd acted around Rabastan, he knew the truth. He was the one that made her happy. He was the one she wanted to spend her life with. In the end, she just hadn't been strong enough to follow through.

He should probably hate her for that. It would be so much easier if he did. But he couldn't. That was part of loving someone, he supposed. No matter what they did to you, you still wanted them to be happy.

He shouldn't be thinking about her. He should be trying to let her go, but he found his thoughts drifting toward her anyway. The angry glint that came into her eye when he called her an elitist. The way her eyes glowed when she talked about Magical Creatures. The way she would sigh and giggle at the same time when he pressed his lips to hers...

It was sometime before his thoughts slowed long enough for him to check his watch, and then gasp in surprise. It was 11:59, he would be seventeen in one minute. An adult, by wizard standards.

He sighed and laid back on his bed. He'd better enjoy this night as much as he could, because tomorrow all he would be able to think about was the wedding. And then when their wedding night came...

He glanced at his watch again to keep his thoughts distracted. 10 seconds til his birthday. And then he could legally perform magic. At least that would make his mum smile.

Five seconds. Four seconds. Three. Two. One...

There was a knock at the window.

It wasn't a loud sound, more like a gentle tapping, but it was enough to perk his interest. At first he thought he'd imagined it, but then there it was again. Slowly, he got up off his bed and crossed over to the window. It was probably an owl come to deliver him an early birthday present. From Olivia. Or Jake. If it was the latter then it was most certainly going to be full of fireworks, which was sure to give him mum a start. The thought brought a small smile to his lips as he reached his window and flung open the curtains—