Love Will Tear Us Apart

GRYFFINDOR COMMON ROOM

Andromeda Black hurried along the winding corridors of Hogwarts, inwardly criticising herself for being late to Potions again. She was her own worst enemy, unable to organise herself enough to arrive on time and yet, walking into a classroom full of her peers unaccompanied, only to be dressed down by her professor in front of them all was her own worst nightmare.

All of a sudden, the tip of her boot caught itself on one of the uneven cobbles and Andromeda went sprawling, smacking her pointed chin on the hard ground. As quickly as she had fallen, she rose to her knees and began gathering her books and spare parchment up into a bundle in her arms.

"Here." A voice interrupted her scrambling and Andromeda looked up to see a tall boy, holding out one of her rattier quills to her with one hand, and offering her help with the other. She took his hand and raised herself up to his level.

She recognised him of course, Ted Tonks, he was in almost all of her classes, though they had never spoken before now. She was aware, thanks to her elder sister's obsession with such things of his blood status, and thus, it had never crossed her mind to start up a conversation with him. Not that she did such things with any of her other classmates, even the purebloods.

"Thank you." She said reservedly.

"You're hurt." Andromeda took his statement as a question and hurried to assure him that she was fine. He smiled crookedly and shook his head. "No, you are hurt. Your chin." He reached out a tentative hand and wiped gently at her chin with his thumb. When he pulled his hand away, Andromeda saw her blood smeared on the tip of his thumb.

"Oh, I..."

"Andromeda!" Her sister's shrill voice pierced the air as she stalked over to her and Ted. "What are you doing?" She demanded, her bushy black hair escaping from its thick plait.

"Nothing... I mean, I tripped. Ted helped me up." Bellatrix looked down her nose at the skinny boy standing before her, before turning back to her sister. She did not address him, or even recognise his presence. He was, as far as she was concerned, entirely beneath her, and the fact that she had to stand so close to him was something she found difficult to stomach.

"Come on." She ordered, taking Andromeda by the arm and beginning to march away, her younger sister in tow.

"Wait!" Ted called after them. "You forgot your quill." He said, speaking directly to the younger of the two girls.

Andromeda turned back and held out her pale hand for the quill, but before Ted could hand it to her, Bellatrix had snatched it from his grasp and pocketed it. "Now, Andromeda."

Andromeda rolled her eyes at Ted, who smirked boyishly, scuffing his foot along the ground. "See you in class," He called after her, and then, just to irritate Bellatrix, he added, "Andy!"

It worked, Bellatrix saw red and spun around to give him a rage-filled lesson about pureblood superiority.

But when the sisters looked back, Bellatrix in fury, Andromeda with amusement and curiosity, they were both disappointed.

Ted Tonks had disappeared.

~~~

Later, in the Slytherin common room, Bellatrix, Narcissa and Andromeda were curled up in their usual corner, close to the fireplace. They rarely associated with the other students, even their cousin Regulas only received civil niceties in passing and was never invited to sit beside them. Their backs were against the wall, to avoid anyone sneaking up behind them and listening to their conversations, their eyes lowered so as to avoid the curious and often frightened gazes of First Years.