Ted placed his hand around her waist and took her hand, but he didn't pull her as close as he had before. Even with the added distance she could feel the tension in his hand on her back. It shifted restlessly, crawling forward and then pulling itself back. She glanced up at Ted, then down at her waist, then back up at Ted.
"You know your hand actually goes on the small of back?"
He pressed his lips together, "Of course, who doesn't know that?" But he turned crimson anyway as he started to move his hand up.
She reached back and caught his arm. Then she stepped closer, just close enough to brush her body up against his. He got the message, and his hand wrapped around her waist, securing her there. They were so close she could feel his breath. He was staring at her, and suddenly she couldn't take any more of those eyes. She turned her head. What was she doing? If anyone recognized her she was doomed. Most people didn't know she was engaged, but a few of them had caught her and Rabastan staring at each other. His fan club, at least, had picked up that something was going on between them. But then, if any Slytherin saw her, and realized who she was, she was dead.
She felt Ted's hand loosen, and she slipped backward. She looked up at him, now that there was room to breathe between them. Something in her heart sank a little though, but he grinned at her crookedly, and she couldn't help but grin back, and this time she didn't break eye contact. They continued to dance, the music a soft, haunting melody, but Meda barely noticed. She forgot about the people, about Rabastan, about everything. There was just his body next to hers, his hand in her hand, his blue eyes gazing into her brown ones. The two of them outside of time as they danced.
The people around her stopped moving. Somehow, she hadn't noticed the song ended. She looked up at his face, and then hastily backed away with an almost horrified look. He released her, reluctantly. His mouth parted as though he wished to say something, but couldn't remember how to talk.
"I have to go." She gave him a brief curtsy, not registering how out of place that was for a school dance.
"What am I to you Andromeda?" His question caught her off guard, and she found herself stopping and turning again. He stared at her, his eyes no longer hopeful and mystified.
"I don't—"
"Or was I? I guess I should say," he stepped forward. "Was this always just a game to you? Was I just some toy for you to play with, and then throw out when you were done with me?"
His words stung, but her own anger quickly overcame her hurt and she spat, "you know it's not that simple."
He threw his arms in the air. "Nothing's simple, Andromeda! And I get it, I get that you couldn't parade what we're doing, but this meant something to me." He stopped, looking her over again. "I guess I thought it meant something to you to."
She closed her eyes, she couldn't give him the answer he wanted, she couldn't. "Ted, I—
But he wasn't listening as he backed away.
Her chest rose and fell, slowly, as she stared after him. But wasn't this what she wanted? To keep things over?
"Andromeda?" Another voice said behind her. A softer voice, more like a purr. She didn't need to see him to know for sure it was Rabastan this time.
"They weren't exaggerating, you look fantastic." His eyes lingered on her dress before returning to her face. "Where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you." He took her hand, and she jumped, startled.
"Andromeda?" Her name sound so different when he said it, less, mysterious, "Are you all right?"
"I—" she couldn't help it, she looked over her shoulder where Ted had disappeared before returning her attention to Rabastan.
"I'm fine. I just..." she breathed, then smiled up at him, "I'm sorry it's been so hard for us to find each other." He smirked, taking her hand in his, and then he lifted his other hand and stroked her cheek.
"Then let's not waste another second."
Like she expected, her led her to the center of the dance floor, where everyone could see them.
Unlike Ted, he knew to place his hand on her back, except he used it press her against him. She looked sharply to the side, choosing instead to watch the couples that were twirling around them. She saw Narcissa with the Slytherin Seeker Torin Flint. Her sister made a face at her before gesturing to Rabastan. Reluctantly, Andromeda looked back to her dance partner. Rabastan was looking at her, a smile on his lips, which were now right next to hers. She quickly looked down, while still being able to watch him out of the corner of her eye. The smile slipped off his face a little.
"I'm sorry I kissed you."
She looked up, but meeting his gaze was still too much and her eyes quickly turned over her shoulder.
"You don't need to be sorry," she said. She wasn't sure how to feel about the fact that he was, either. Did that mean he didn't like it?
"But I am." He sighed. "The boys asked me why I was paying so much attention to you, so I lied and said we were going out. And then they asked me to prove it." He looked down a little. "I still haven't told anyone we're engaged."
"Me neither," Andromeda said. "I mean my sisters know, but no one else."
"I told Rolf," Rabastan said. "He doesn't understand why I want to keep it a secret though."
But Andromeda did, and he seemed to sense that.
"To be fair though," he said after a pause, smiling again, "It's not like I minded kissing you. That much." She made a face at him, almost without thinking.
"It wasn't completely deplorable for me either," she said, and he grinned.
"May I interrupt?" Came another, purr-like voice. Rodolphus Lestrange was standing next to them.
"Of course." Rabastan nodded to his brother, gave her another smile, and then left.
For the third time tonight, someone held their hand out to her, though for the first time, she took it with trembling fingers.
Rodolphus didn't hold her nearly as close as Rabastan, or even Ted, but there wasn't a certain firmness to his grip, making her feel like she was more in his grasp than any of the others.
"So, we're to be family soon."
She nodded, forcing a smile, which he didn't return. She wasn't sure if he meant that as good thing anyway. It was more like a statement of fact, without him giving his opinion on the matter one way or another.
He didn't say anything else. Perhaps that was all he had to say. She couldn't bear to look at him anymore than Rabastan, which is how she ended up gazing around at the couples again. There were a lot of Slytherin's around her: Lucius Malfoy and Luciana Nott, both the Carrows, Dolores Umbridge, who was dancing by herself, Andromeda noted, and Bellatrix and Evan Rosier. Bella caught her stare, but her gaze quickly drifted to Meda's partner, Roldophus. She raised her eyebrows, and then made a face at Meda. Andromeda bit back a chuckle. It was moments like those where Bella felt like the lovable older sister she remembered and not...
"Rabastan seems to care for you," Rodolphus's voice surprised her.
"Yes. And the feeling's mutual." She almost winced at how forced that sounded, even though she was not sure it was forced.
Rodolphus almost smiled. "He cares for a lot of women. Truly, my brother has terrible sense when it comes to the female sex."
Andromeda presses her lips together. What was she supposed to say to that?
"But you, you seem different." His voice barely had any inflexion, and his face was near expressionless, making it impossible to determine his meaning.
"You play the pretty, simpering, obedient daughter, but there's something else in you, isn't there? You're not nearly as airy as you seam."
She blushed, though she wasn't quite sure why.
The song ended. Rodolphus released her and walked away. She stared after him, a slight frown on her lips. That conversation felt like it was missing something, like he'd left before he'd actually gotten to the point. She shook her head. Trying to understand Rodolphus seemed like more trouble than it was worth. At least the strangest part of the evening was over.
She was wrong. Her next dance was with Antonin Dolohov. There weren't even words to describe what that encounter was like. Antonin was a thickset man with sweaty hands who towered over her. He didn't say anything, he just stared at her, the whole time.
After that she excused herself to get a breath of fresh air. She went out into the entrance hall, letting out a long breath as the much cooler air washed over her. The air inside was beginning to thicken from the sweat of dancing bodies.
She couldn't hide out here forever, as much as she might like too. But it was nice not to have to talk or dance with people for just a moment.
"Hey."
She looked over. Her heart seemed to lift a little at the sight of Ted, even though that didn't make any sense. They'd just had their second fight in a week. Who was to say he hadn't come back for a third?
Nothing. Which was why she needed to leave.
"Wait." He grabbed her sleeve. She stopped, even though they'd already been through this before tonight. It wouldn't lead to anything good. She knew this, yet she still didn't pull her arm out of his grip.
"I'm sorry. About what I said. It was wrong." That lightness returned to her chest, making her feel like she was floating. Still, all she did was nod, pulling her sleeve out from under his grip.
"Will you come with me? There's something I want to show you."
"Oh." She glanced back at the Great Hall. She really needed to head back inside, before someone wondered where she went. Yet the prospect of returning to the dance was so uninviting, whereas as the idea of going with Ted. Well, what harm could one more little venture together do?
He didn't smile when she agreed to come with him. By contrast he turned his back to her and walked away, forcing her to follow after him. He didn't look back at her at all, and the hair on the back of his head turned shiny under a line of sweat. What on earth was he doing?
As their venture grew longer she grew more impatient. What if someone noticed her absence and decided to come looking for her?
Ted finally stopped in the space underneath the grand staircase before turning to face her.
"What is it?" she asked, her frustration mounting.
He looked her over again, slowly, taking in every little detail of her body. His eyes lingered on the curves of her dress, her lips, and finally her eyes. There was a longing there she had never seen before. Raw. Desperate.
"This," And then he rushed forward, grabbed her arms...
And kissed her.
At first his lips were slow, hesitant, but when she didn't push him away he deepened it, like he was slowly pulling her out, into him.
Her entire body shuddered, and she reached up her arms to push him away, but instead placed them firmly on his chest, and kissed him back. His breath caught as she responded, and he pulled back, only to come back and kiss her harder. Her hands slipped off his chest, moving up to wrap around his neck, pulling herself closer. He moaned softly, his hands running down the length of arms, towards her waist.
Someone behind them laughed. The two of them pulled apart just as two people, a boy and a girl, came barreling around the corner.
"Oh," the girl stopped laughing the moment she saw them. They were still standing rather close, and their hands were still on each other. The girl grinned sheepishly, looking over at her boyfriend. "Looks like we walked in on something, sorry." She giggled, then grabbed the boy's hand and sped off down the hallway.
Andromeda looked at him, her breath coming out in raspy gasps. She dropped her hands as she turned away. They flew to her mouth, and then she slowly forced them to straighten at her side. She couldn't breathe, couldn't think, but she could still feel where his lips had been. She looked back, thinking, hoping, that Ted wasn't really there, but he was. He was staring at the floor, his hand tangled up in his hair, again. He looked up to meet her gaze. She wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, wide-eyed, breathless, lost. She kept thinking he was going to say something, but for once, he was silent.
Finally, the silence had reached a bursting point. He stepped forward. "Andromed—"
"Go."
He stopped, eyes widening in shock.
"I need you," she took a deep breath, "to go."
His shoulders slumped and the light in his eyes seemed to literally go out. "Andromeda, please—"
"Just get out here." The tears were getting closer to the edge of her eyelids. "Please."
He stumbled back, like a bird with broken wings. Finally he managed to turn around. He took a few steps, then glanced back at her. She turned away, so he wouldn't see her tears.
When she looked back, he was gone.