sweet like cherry wine .

            " Ah... well, " She responded, with a casuaL tilt of her head, " How convienent. Apparently.. giving her hell is the one thing that I exceed at according to my mum. " Despite her teasing words, the young woman agreed with his statement. There was a certain satisfaction in proving people wrong... especially those that were going around making such NASTY assumptions about her character. Andromeda was many things, but she certainly wasn't someone that used her name for her own gain. And yes, she probably should have questioned when she was given the extra invitation to dinner and Lily hadn't been. But, could everyone else honestly say that they would have done the same?             " You do have a point there, " She spoke, giving a small nod as he stepped closer to her. " I'd rather make my fair share of friends that'll have my SIX out there. " Her eyebrow quirked lightly at his next words as the corners of her mouth pulled into another smirk, " Oh, have I? What makes you think that I want to be friends, huh? " There was, of course, an obvious teasing tone to her voice as the last comment left her lips.

            As much as Andromeda wanted to believe the idea that she was immune to any sort of removal from Edin, she knew that that simply wasn't true. She wasn't granted that sort of privilege despite what most around here would believe. No, she could just as easily be chosen to pack up her bags to head home the next day. It was a thought that filled her with much more DREAD than she wanted to admit. She didn't want to have to leave Edin to be faced with Druella's mocking as she returned home as a failure. No proof that she could be valued as anything more than to prettily decorate the arm of a carefully chosen husband.             So, the brunette gave a delicate and almost humbled shrug of her shoulders in response to Dorcas's words. " I don't think that I'd go that far, " She responded. Then, her lips tugging into a light smirk, " If I get too confident, then I'm bound to get lazy... and that's when the competition can sneak up on ya. " Her last remark accompanied with a playful wink as she gave Dorcas's shoulder a nudge.

            Understandably, Andromeda had been looking for a place that she could escape her peers. She needed a break from the constant stares and whisperings that seemed to follow her as of late. A frequent runner of the trails, she spotted the small stream running off into the woods days ago. When curiosity got the better of her, she decided to follow said stream and found that it opened to a much larger area of water. So, today, she decided that it might be nice to take a relaxing swim in it. She had forgotten, however, that Caradoc Dearborn also had the tendency to frequent this spot.             She didn't know where she exactly stood with the older man after her embarassing outburst with him. Andromeda couldn't blame him for wanting to avoid her after that. Her shoulders shrugged in response to his words as she finished removing her shirt and tossing it aside. " I came for a swim... and honestl I didn't think about you being here, " She responded, " Not that I can think of any reason to avoid you, can you ? " As she finished her last sentence, she shimmied out of the shorts that she wore and let them also fall carelessly to the ground. Really, she didn't have any real reason to be upset with Caradoc. She was truthfully embarassed by the emotional outburst that she had had and hoped it was something that could be FORGOTTEN.

            Honestly, there was some relief that he'd looked away in that moment for Andromeda's cheeks flushed in response to his words. Something that she was definitely surprised by and quickly tried to hide by ducking her head down until the moment passed. Once it had, she gave a simple shrug of her shoulders, " Hmmm.. well, we will just have to agree to disagree on that one. It seems like the majority want to believe that I'm exactly who they thought I was. ". Of course, Andromeda would admit that she was far from being perfect. She still had her FLAWS, but so did everyone else. She gave a nod of her head, " I s'pose you do have a point there. But.. it doesn't seem like many people are here to make friends. Everyone here is just so tense and prefers to see everyone else as their competition. "

            Her hands soon found their way to her temples where fingertips began to gingerly massage. She was tired. She was just SO GOD DAMN tired of all of this. " Merlin's fucking beard, I don't need to hear another speel, " She muttered out in frustration. The words spilling from her lips before she could even begin to control them. She tried to take a breath to calm herself but it was pointless. She was over all of this.             " Prejudice may exist everywhere, but it has nothing to do with why the faculty saw fit to give me that invitation, " She responded. Despite what everyone thought, Andromeda would probably go to her grave swearing that. Because, she hadn't tried to convince the judges to see in her favor. She had actually worked as a team with Lily Evans... even gotten to like the girl... which had apparently all been for nothing considering where they were now.            " It's not about CRITICISM... it's about... " She began, but quickly cut herself off. She stopped herself short, however. No, she didn't need to lay out her bleeding heart to this woman. She didn't need to admit that the assumptions had been so much worse because she had thought that Lily might actually see her differently than others. " Nevermind.. " She finished.             " Actually... I don't, " She spoke abruptly. Because... she didn't know the prejudice that Lily felt. Of course, Andromeda often felt like she was trapped in a gilded cage. That she was held down by the rules that her own life held on her, but that was entirely different than what Lily went through. So, despite her own problems, she didn't believe she felt a fraction of what Lily felt every day. But... still, there was nobody that understood what she was currently feeling over the betrayal of a naively hoped for friendship.             " I don't know what it's like for Lily or any of the other muggleborns.. " She spoke. Abruptly, Andromeda stood up as she grabbed her bag that she had set on the bench next to her. She roughly flung it over her shoulder before giving Alice a dismissive glare. " But, you don't know what I'm feeling either so don't try to go assuming that you do, " She hissed. With that, she turned on her heel and marched out of the dining area suddenly at a loss of an appetite for breakfast.

            " For this to be a school for genuises, there are a bunch of bloody idiots running around here to think someone could bribe their way into an invite here of all places, " She responded with a roll of her eyes. As intense as this school was, did they really believe that they were giving anyone special treatment here? Then, she tacked on to her remark with a sigh, " They're smart enough, at least, to know not get in the way of Evans's little temper tantrums. " Who knew whose name that girl would smear through the mud next? Her shoulders gave a shrug in response to her last remark, " I didn't invite you to sit here. You are welcome to leave at any time. "

            Andromeda's lips tugged into a small smile at the sunny disposition that Dorcas Meadowes held. Of course, she didn't honestly believe that anyone at the school would be gathered around a campfire singing kumbayah anytime soon. But, she didn't quite have the heart to break that news to the blonde in front of her. It seemed a little cruel to put a damper in her optimism. So, Andromeda decided to keep hush about it. Instead, she simply gave a shrug of her shoulders in response, " I s'pose that everyone is just a bit stressed at the idea of getting the boot. "

            Quite honestly, Andromeda was surprised by the response that he gave. It was shocking that he should think of her to be seperate from the rest of her family. After all, despite the cooperation that she'd shown Lily Evans, the girl was determined to see her just the same as the worst in her family. She'd honestly been wondering just what was the point in even attempting civility when people were going to view her the same as they always did. And yet.. these words, from Ted Tonks of all peoople, made her think that maybe, just maybe everyone around her wasn't stuck in their opinions on others.             " It's refreshing to see that someone believes I'm not cut from that same cookie cutter, " She spoke honestly. His next words caused her to force a shrug of shouldersas an equally forced smile pulled onto her lips. " No, I mean.. why should I care what they are going to say anyways? " She spoke, " People are going to talk no matter what you do.. or what's true. It's probably best to turn a deaf ear to it then, right? "

            The SOURED expression that Andromeda once wore visibly softened at the sound of her friend's voice. Her shoulders rose up as she took in Dorcas's words. " Hmmm.. you could have a point. Maybe, that's how I should start looking at this whole thing, " She mused. Honestly, Andromeda was tired of beating herself up over it. What did it matter if others thought she had cheated? She knew that she had done nothing of the sort. She should just let them think what they wanted to think since that's what they were going to do anyways, no matter how hard she fought against it.