Blackbird

Chapter 18

She reached the third-floor room Ted had specified in his note and stepped inside. He wasn't there yet, but that wasn't that uncommon anymore. In the beginning he'd always come early. He told her he used to wait in the common room, counting down the seconds until he just couldn't stand it anymore. But not even she could inspire that kind of organization in him for very long. And the Ted that was five minutes late to everything was back.

She didn't mind really. Well, she did. It was five more minutes gone from their already limited time together, but sometimes it was nice to just be. And by that she meant to not be. Not be anything, not a student, a sister, a Black, not even a girlfriend. To just breath.

Someone grabbed her around the waist and she screamed.

"Shh... shh, Meda you can't scream." Ted said, he sounded a little winded, but he was chortling a bit too. "You're going to wake-up the whole castle."

Her scream turned toward a laugh, which she tried stifle. "Don't sneak-up on me then." She turned around to face him, but stayed close enough that his arms wouldn't leave her. She let her own hands snake up to his shoulders.

"I was being romantic."

"You scared me."

"Of course I did." He grinned. "I'm terrifying."

"Yeah," she whispered, tilting her head closer. They'd done that thing again where'd then drawn closer without realizing it. He was barely a hairsbreadth away now. "That's the word to describe you." And then he was kissing her. She let her hands slide to his neck, feeling his warmth under her fingertips.

She forgot her pangs at her confusing relationship with Narcissa, her terrifying almost-moment with Rabastan, her actual terrifying moment with Potter. She even forgot her despairing notions from afterward. All that mattered was that he was here, with her. She wanted every moment to be like this. Ted might've agreed, except he was Ted.

"Seriously though," he said between kisses. "You've probably alerted Filch to our whereabouts. I bet we only have seconds left..."

"Ted," Meda said, "be quiet."

He started to chuckle, but Meda pressed her lips tightly against his, which stopped him.

Finally, after a long while that was still impossibly short, they pulled away.

"Well, I missed you too," he said. She smiled, letting her head dropped as she examined their intertwined hands, gently running her finger over his wrist.

"But seriously," he said again. "We should get out of here."

Andromeda's head flicked up. "Where would we go?"

"That," he said, flicking hands and grabbing both her wrists, "is a surprise." Then he turned and, one hand still on hers, and wheeled her toward the door. She let him take her, rolling her eyes as she did. When she caught up to him she placed a hand on his arm, gently stroking the soft skin between muscle and bone.

"So," he said once they were out in the hallway, "how are you?"

Andromeda thought about her breakdown earlier.

"All right," she said. "I had an interesting conversation with Potter, however."

Ted coughed, Andromeda shot him a glance.

"Oh yes, thank you for that." She bumped his shoulder.

He chuckled. "Come on, I'm sure it wasn't that bad."

"It was," —she decided to choose her words carefully—"better than expected." She was silent for a moment as she decided how to phrase this next question.