Secrets Well Kept

Chapter One || Andromeda

Bellatrix was not at the platform to send her sisters off, nor was Andromeda's father, as he had found himself busy with work. Narcissa, now a sixth year, and Andromeda, a seventh year, had been seen off only by their mother, who had given them a stiff hug and then left.

Andromeda and Narcissa were used to their mother's lack of interest in their lives, and so this had little to no effect on them. The two sisters, one blonde and delicately built, with bright blue eyes, the other tall and slender, with dark chestnut hair, a white streak hidden amongst the slightly curly hair, and soft brown eyes.

They parted ways without a word when they did reach the gleaming Hogwarts Express, Narcissa going off to find her friends, and Andromeda heading off to the Prefect compartments.

The Prefect compartments weren't full yet, although it was to Andromeda's slight displeasure that she saw Lucius Malfoy was already sitting in the compartment. The sixth year boy had shown too much of an interest in Andromeda for her liking, and it was hardly a surprise when he immediately stood up and walked over to her.

"I heard that Dumbledore was still planning on you having to take tutoring sessions from that mudblood Tonks," Lucius commented to Andromeda, shaking his head slightly. "I don't think I could have gotten through last year without hexing that filthy mudblood," he commented, clearly thinking that Andromeda shared his sentiment.

"Well then, it's a good thing you aren't the one taking tutoring lessons, now isn't it?" Andromeda asked, her voice hardly sounding amused.

Maybe if she could be certain that Bellatrix wouldn't go after Ted should she discover Andromeda's secret, she would have jinxed Malfoy just to shut him up, but her concern for what may happen to Ted should any pureblood extremist find out kept her from doing so.

"And there's the mudblood now!" Lucius crowed, interrupting Andromeda's thoughts as Ted entered the compartment, the Head Boy badge gleaming on on his uniform already.

"It's a good thing Amelia is Head Girl, there's no way I would listen to a filthy mudblood like you," Lucious added, even as Andromeda's want to jinx him increased, she was on the verge of drawing her wand, but one glance from Ted and she forced herself to resist the temptation.

"Amelia is a good witch, I'm glad she's earned your respect, Malfoy," Ted commented, smiling a little, although Andromeda could tell it was forced.

Lucius had no response for that, and so it was with a slightly stunned silence that he sat back down, as more of the prefects filed into the compartment.

Once the compartment was fairly full, Amelia Harding entered the compartment next. The blonde Ravenclaw girls family were from America, one of the few pureblood families to have lived in the states, they had moved to Britain when Amelia was ten. Despite Amelia having lived in Britain for the past seven years, she still had an American accent.

"Alright Prefects, I'm Amelia Harding, as most of you should know, and I'm Head Girl this year, Ted Tonks is Head Boy," she said, even as Lucius made a face at Ted.

"Malfoy, I saw that," Amelia said, shooting Lucius a glance, before fixing her blue eyes on the rest of the room.

"I hope to avoid any sort of house rivalry between the various prefects this year," she said, before starting to discuss the various logistical things, such as the various year's duties, the passcode for the Prefects bathrooms, when and where Prefects would be meeting weekly, and so on.

Ted had remained silent throughout Amelia's talking, which was probably for the best, as Lucius had continued to shoot Ted death stares. Finally, Amelia dismissed them all, and Andromeda was quick to leave before Lucius could try to start a conversation. She had only gotten down a few steps before she heard a familiar voice.

"Andromeda! Wait," Ted called from a few yards back, quickly closing the distance. "I need to talk to you about our tutoring schedule for this term," he said, now peeking into a compartment. "Maybe we could talk in here?" he suggested, nodding towards the compartment.

"Sure," she said, glancing around to see that thankfully, neither Lucius nor Narcissa were within earshot as she ducked into the compartment with Ted.

Once she closed the door, she turned to be surprised by a kiss. Pushing aside her momentary surprise she kissed him back before pulling away.

"What if someone sees?" she asked, sounding concerned, although Ted had a playful smile.

"Come on Dromeda, Bellatrix is gone- finally, what's there to worry about?" he asked.

"Narcissa for one, and let's see who's that blonde kid who hates you?" Andromeda asked, folding her arms. "If Malfoy found out he'd be sure to tell everyone, and it wouldn't be long before Bella found out," Andromeda pointed out seriously.

"As if I couldn't handle Malfoy, Dromeda, people are going to have to find out eventually," he said. "Why not now?"

"Ted, you know how dangerous that would be, you know how my family is!" she said, shaking her head a bit.

"I'd never let anything happen to you, you know that," Ted said, reaching forward to take Andromeda's hand, even as her expression softened a bit.

"It's not me I'm worried about," she replied, looking down momentarily. "If my parents found out how I feel about you, let alone if Bella did..." she now looked back up. "Ted, I don't like the crowd Bella's hanging out with, she could kill you," Andromeda said, shaking her head a bit again. "We have to be careful if I lost you-" she didn't finish as Ted pulled her into a hug.

"I'm sorry Dromeda, you're right, we'll be careful," he said, hugging her for a few moments longer before letting go. "I was thinking three times a week," he said. "For tutoring sessions," he added.

Andromeda nodded. "That sounds fine, Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays?" she checked.

Ted nodded. "Yeah, that's what I was thinking," he said, before glancing over her shoulder, out of the compartment. "Looks like the coast is clear," he said. "I should probably duck out," he added.

Andromeda nodded again. "Yeah, I'll see you soon," she said, and then he was gone. She waited several minutes, before slipping out of the compartment as well, and making her way towards the area of the train that her friends typically occupied. She wasn't extremely popular, but she had a few friends, two girls from Ravenclaw, a girl from Slytherin, and a girl from Hufflepuff were people in her year she typically hung out with.

Arriving at the compartment where her friends were, the rest of the train ride going fairly uneventfully.