With You? Always.

Duels and Mishaps

Author's Note: Trouble? In paradise? I gotta keep things interesting. Enjoy! :)

"Are you coming to watch tryouts?"

Andromeda stopped writing her notes on her parchment and looked over her shoulder to see Imelda sitting on her bed, strapping the hooks of her elbow pads. Quidditch tryouts for the Slytherin team were scheduled for the afternoon, and Imelda was making sure her gear was intact. Andromeda gave her answer with a nod and set her quill aside to stretch out her hands after working on her history of magic assignment for the past two hours.

"Sebastian asked if I would come watch to support him since Ominis may not be able to make it due to a meeting with the other prefects with Professor Black."

Imelda scoffed as she brought her knee to her chest to lace up her boots. "That doesn't surprise me with the headmaster. I bet he made a rule that none of the prefects are allowed to play Quidditch in the first place."

"Maybe that's why Ominis was chosen to fill the vacant position. He doesn't care for the sport and isn't able to play even if he wanted to."

Imelda set her foot down and stood up from her bed. "He's also a Gaunt, and we know how Professor Black loves to play favoritism. How is he, by the way? Besides having some classes together, I've rarely seen him."

Andromeda sighed as she leaned against her chair with her arm resting on top of the rail and perched her chin on her forearm. It was almost near the end of September, and classes were in full swing with their assignments and exams. Andromeda had already had her meeting with Professor Sharp to go over the list of students that she will be tutoring for the rest of the school year and created a schedule to meet with each student individually in the following week to set up a study plan.

Ominis has been more than busy with the responsibilities of a prefect with doing patrols in the corridors in between classes and after curfew along with accompanying the third-years with their first trip to Hogsmeade a few days ago. Despite having some classes together and sitting with each other in the Great Hall, Andromeda has noted his absence. He wasn't always there to walk with her after class, and sometimes she found herself studying alone in the library.

Andromeda hated to admit it, but she knew deep down this was going to happen, despite Ominis' reassurance that everything was going to be okay. Their last proper snog was the night Ominis became a prefect and that was weeks ago! Since then, it has been chaste kisses or a swift hug before heading their separate ways.

Imelda started to laugh, which caused Andromeda to break from her train of thought. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing." Imelda shook her head. "It's just I can tell by your facial expression that you are certainly not happy about the current situation. You're pouting like a child on Christmas morning who didn't find the new Silver Arrow 3000 underneath the tree."

Andromeda threw her head back and groaned. "Am I that obvious?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Can I be honest with you?"

"Oh, please do."

Andromeda sprung to her feet and began to pace in front of Imelda with her arms flailing at her side. "I'm happy for Ominis. Truly! But, at the same time, it's absolutely frustrating that I only see him in class or in the Great Hall. We haven't had a moment alone in what feels like centuries, and it's driving me insane! I had this feeling in my gut that something like this was going to happen, and I thought at first my mind was playing tricks on me, but now I'm starting to wonder if it was a warning for what is to come."

Imelda stared at Andromeda with wide eyes, almost taken aback by her friend's offloading of her feelings. "Wow. Is all of that going inside your head right now?"