Blackbird

Chapter 14

"You're staring at Andromeda again."

"Am I?" Ted said, distracted, then he quickly looked away. "I mean, no I'm not."

Olivia snorted. Ted sighed. He hadn't slept last night, and he was exhausted. He'd cycled through everything that had happened between him and Andromeda, finally ending on the kiss they'd shared, her promise that they could be together. He'd let himself drift on that thought, but then the image of what she'd looked like when she left, all distraught and conflicted, and what it meant to be dating a Black came swirling back and suddenly he was hyperventilating and then the whole process started all over again.

He'd dressed quickly and run down to the Entrance Hall, waiting for her to come up from the dungeons to breakfast, but she never did. He'd checked their spot by the lake but she wasn't there either. He didn't feel right eating there without her so he'd been forced to actually eat at his house table, all the while casting sidelong glances at the Slytherin table and earning himself a few nasty stares from the students there, but she'd never shown. He'd practically run to Charms, knowing he'd see her then, but she'd completely ignored him. She'd sat in the far corner, opposite of him, and never even glanced in his direction no matter how many times he tried to get her attention.

He'd thought about trying to catch her between classes, but something about her attitude made him hesitant. Or maybe he was just bitter. If she was going to ignore him he was going to ignore her. Hadn't exactly worked out though, even in the foggy potions classroom she was still the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen, and he longed to push those beautiful curls behind her eyes and have her look up and smile at him the way she done before things had gotten—complicated.

"Can't exactly blame him," Jake said. "She is stunning." Ted smirked at how closely Jake's thoughts mirrored his own, except he never would refer to Andromeda as merely, stunning. More like breathtaking, or ravaging or...

"And taken," Olivia added. "I heard she was going out with Rabastan."

Lorie sighed. "I hate her already." She lifted her head from where she was sprawled out on the desk and added; "You sure they're going out? I heard they were just shagging."

Jake made a face at Ted over his cauldron, which Ted did not reciprocate. Normally they wouldn't be able to get away with talking like this while Slughorn was here, but he'd come down with something and asked Flitwick to fill in for him. That had been a joke. Flitwick had set them on one of the simplest potions in the book and they'd all finished with 15 minutes and started going a bit wild. He'd tried to get them to study, but after a while he'd just given in, so they were enjoying the first free period they'd had since third year.

"Why do you care so much?" Ted said, glaring at Lorie. It wasn't really her fault he was so edgy, but he wasn't exactly eager to discuss what may or may not be going on between Meda and Rabastan. It made him feel like his insides were on fire.

"Because he's fit," Olivia put in, like it was obvious.

Lorie sighed again. "They all are. Why do the Slytherin boys have to be so damn sexy?"

Now this was really too much for Ted. "First, I'm sexier," Olivia rolled her eyes, "and second, he's an arse."

"Didn't he call you a mudblood the other day?" Jake said.

"Yep," Ted said, leaning back on his chair.

"Why?" Olivia asked, almost sounding like she didn't want to hear the answer.

"'Cause I freakin' ran into him while he was freakin' making out with his stupid girlfriend."

"Andromeda?" Lorie asked, sounding uncharacteristically gleeful about this, especially when she had just professed to hate the girl.