#dromeda009

One of the many downsides of spring looming ever closer was the lengthening of the days. There was a time when Ted Tonks would have been grateful for just a few more minutes of sunlight and the warm breeze that meant he could leave his scarf and gloves back in his dorm. This year, however, Ted prayed that winter might last a lifetime. Anything to prolong the summer and the goodbyes it would bring. Every moment the sun lingered above the horizon meant a moment stolen from his meetings with Andromeda, meetings that relied on the secrecy and cover of darkness. Ted had paced the Hufflepuff Common Room countless times, waiting for the last of the sunlight to fade before slipping out to the greenhouses to meet her there.

He’d known she would have been waiting on him for a while now, and Ted felt terrible for making her wait so long, but he hadn’t expected to slip through the doorway only to find her sound asleep at the work bench, her head resting on her folded arms and her dark hair splayed around her. Ted stood for a moment, frozen aside from a small, sad smile tugging at his lips as he debated how best to wake her so she could return to her dorm- at least, until he heard her whimper. It was a soft sort of cry and Ted took a half-step forward, dismaying at the sort of dreams that might be plaguing her and recalling how she had mentioned them before.

Before Ted could best decide how to wake her, however, her dream seemed to grow worse as Andromeda thrashed against the workbench, her hands pushing aside potted plants and sending them smashing against the floor. Ted was at her side in an instant, his hands gently shaking her shoulders “Dromeda… Dromeda, wake up… It’s just a dream.”