āThank you,ā she said quietly, pushing the door mostly shut and moving to the offered chair. Part of her was starting to wonder if this had been a mistake after all, now that she was here and facing him and trying to come up with the right words to say. It wasnāt his presence that made it difficult, exactly; Andromeda had never found it easy to bare her soul - even withĀ Ted, it came hard for her. She barely knew Edward Bones, and that only added to the difficulty. And yet ⦠sheĀ wantedĀ to talk to him. She wanted him to know that he had made a difference. She wanted advice for the future that she certainly wasnāt letting herself consider.Ā āI wanted to say goodbye before you left,ā she said, after a pause that went on longer than she meant for it to.Ā āIām sure youāre very glad to go home, but Iāve appreciated having you here.ā Hogwarts didnāt feel safe, but it seemed saferĀ with the Aurors, and with him in particular.Ā
Her gaze dropped to her hands, her fingers twisting together nervously in her lap. And then she glanced over her shoulder at the door. There was no way to tell now if someone were in the corridor listening, and this was a very dangerousĀ topic of conversation but ā¦Ā āI wanted to thank you, as well. For our conversation before. Your advice was so helpful and Iāve been - my friend and I, weāve been together again.ā That had been before she and Ted stopped talking, and he might not evenĀ knowĀ that they hadnāt seen each other for so long. But she hoped he followed what she was trying to say.Ā āI canāt - I couldnāt have done that without your advice, and I couldnāt manage any of this without - without my friend.ā Her cheeks turned red but ⦠it was true. Ted had helped her so muchĀ with everything that had gone on lately.Ā
Andie took a deep breath, eyes dropping to her fingers again. SheĀ hadĀ to ask. If she didnāt now, sheād never have another opportunity untilĀ afterĀ the decision was made.Ā āI donāt - we talked about you and your wife and the choice she made. I just - if you knew someone now who was thinking about making that choice too, what would you tell them?ā She could barely bring herself to meet his gaze again, but she did it, looking up fully aware that her eyes must be full of the hope and fear she felt whenever her thoughts drifted in this direction.Ā
āI appreciate you coming to say goodbye very much, Andromeda, thank you.ā Edward said kindly, surprised by her words. While he hadnāt expected her to be unkind like Narcissa had been, he hadnāt quite expected praise either. Being an Auror was a difficult line of work, and aside from the few Aurors who achieved fame for their efforts, it was often a thankless role. Edward had never minded that, he wasnāt in it for the glory, but even he would admit it was nice to know that your work was appreciated now and again. āIām glad that my time here has been a help to some people, if not others. As long as Iāve managed to do a little bit of good here, Iāll return home a happy man.ā Edward assured her.
He studied her, her nervous habits betraying her before her words did. She wanted to talk to him about something other than his leaving, he was sure, and Edward had a fairly good idea what she wanted to talk about. Edward had spoken to Ted as well as his father over the holidays and had pieced together the gist of the story. Ted and Andromeda had unwillingly separated, and neither of them had seemed better for it. More recently, however, heād noticed that each of them seemed a bit brighter than they had in a while and while Edward had expected as much had happened, he had chosen to look the other way for both of their sakes. āIām happy that you and your friend have reconciled whatever it was that kept you apart.ā He said knowingly, though his lips twitched thoughtfully at her question.
āThatās a very good question.ā He said, mulling it over. Edward knew that he would have to tread lightly, not wanting to push Andromeda in one direction or the other but hopeful that he might provide her with perspective to aid her in what he knew to be a series of difficult decisions going forward. āI would tell them to be very cautious, and very sure before making that decision.ā He advised, meeting her eye to convey how serious he was. āI would also tell them that my experience is not their own. Adelaide and I, well, it took us years to make that choice together. Sacrifices- permanent sacrifices mind- were made so that we could be together.ā
Edward hesitated a moment, thinking back on what it had been like so many years ago, pining for a girl whose family would never accept their relationship. āMy wife had to sacrifice much more for us to be together than I did.ā He said quietly, a point which still pained him. āIt wasnāt easy. She parted ways with her family- for good- and anyone who might choose the same should consider what that means emotionally, financially, logistically⦠we were fortunate enough to have very successful careers established and a few more years of maturity behind us when we made the choice.ā He paused again, unsure how personal he might stray in his advice. āI should also note that we only had her family to worry about, not mine.āĀ