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Post by Ted Tonks on Aug 19, 2008 13:40:22 GMT -5
"The baby sculptures are the least of what's wrong with this place," Ted whispered, smiling. "This isn't us at all." Well, he had tried, anyway, and he felt instantly better knowing she thought it was a bit much, too.
"If you want to stay, we can. Maybe the food makes up for the... palace at Versailles feel of the place. I'm all right either way."
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Post by Narcissa Black on Aug 19, 2008 14:06:36 GMT -5
Narcissa listened to the conversation going on at the table before Molly came along, with interest. She hoped that her sister could use the information against this woman and get rid of her. The woman sounded down right horrid. Realizing that both Bella and Lucius were pretty high in the ranks of Lord Voldemort, made her realize that she was going to have big shoes to fill, and she could only hope that she could impress Lord Voldemort. Narcissa decided then that there was no way that she was going to be a weak link.
After Molly came to the table and disappeared, her ears perked up as she heard that her other sister was in the building. Looking up, her eyes set on her sister. A look of slight disgust fell across her face. She was with a mudblood. Narcissa still got along with her sister alright and she still liked Andi, but this was drawing the line. Looking to Bella, she tilted her head towards Andi. "Bella, I do believe that we owe our dear sister a visit, don't you agree?"
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Post by Bellatrix Black on Aug 19, 2008 17:59:42 GMT -5
Bellatrix couldn't help to roll her eyes at Rabastan's sly attempts at flirting with Molly. The girl left quickly, probably to avoid further verbal harassment. This made Bellatrix chuckle but she barely had time to get out a sarcastic remark when Rabastan stood up from the table. At first, Bellatrix assumed he was going after Molly for some more forward flirting. But when he spoke of a third Black sister Bellatrix's head whipped around to see what was going on.
Sure enough, there was Andromeda dressed to the nines, laughing at that mudblood. No, not laughing at him, she was laughing with him! This was crossing the line, even for Andromeda. It was one thing to embarrass the family by becoming an Auror, but it was quite another to disgrace them all together by dating a mudblood. Bellatrix was furious.
"Yes," Bellatrix said to Narcissa, the good sister. "I do think we ought to have a chat with her. Excuse us gentlemen." Bellatrix rose from the table and without even looking to see if Narcissa followed, she walked past Rabastan and the curtain to where Andromeda stood.
"Andromeda! What a pleasant surprise," her words were dripping with sarcasm. "Mind if we have a word?" Bellatrix didn't even glance at her sister's date.
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Post by Andromeda Tonks on Aug 19, 2008 18:17:44 GMT -5
Andi never even saw Bella coming; she was so distracted by the decor. In fact, she'd been about to agree with Ted that they should get out of this place, when all of a sudden she was besieged by her younger sisters. If only she had agreed to leave a few seconds sooner! She groaned softly and looked up at Ted with a pained expression. This wasn't going to be pretty.
"Bella," she said tightly, an extremely fake smile plastered on her face. "What a surprise. Listen, we were just heading out, if you don't mind. But we can talk later, OK? You can send me an owl."
She knew it wasn't going to work, but she really didn't want to make a scene here in public, and in front of Ted. She could only hope that Bella's sense of propriety would prevent her from making a big deal out of the situation.
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Post by Bellatrix Black on Aug 19, 2008 19:21:06 GMT -5
"Actually, it's rather urgent," Bellatrix said with a cruel smile. She took Andromeda by the elbow and dragged her a few feet away from where she stood. It was far enough from the man to be considered polite, but close enough for him to clearly hear their words. As they moved she narrowed her eyes at the mudblood.
Turning to her older sister she exclaimed, "What do you think you're doing? Do you despise us all so much that you've resorted to this?" She spoke slightly louder than necessary, but not loud enough to disturb the rest of the restaurant.
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Post by Narcissa Black on Aug 19, 2008 19:39:27 GMT -5
As Bella stood up, Narcissa turned to Lucius. "I'll be right back," she said before giving him a smile. She stood up just after her sister started to leave. Catching up with them, Narcissa eyed Andi. How could she date a mudblood of all people?! It was one thing becoming an auror, but dating a mudblood?! Cissa's opinion of her eldest sister dropped.
After looking over at Andi's date, Cissa followed her sisters. So that was the guy Andi liked. Why couldn't she have found a nice pureblood rather than that? Another look of disgust crossed her face. She chose not to speak up, just yet.
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Post by Andromeda Tonks on Aug 19, 2008 20:41:31 GMT -5
Andi sighed and, with one last apologetic look at Ted, followed her sisters. She was frustrated and disappointed, but she wasn't going to let them see that she was upset. "I'm not doing anything to you or the family," she said, looking from Bella to Narcissa and back again. "And who I date is none of your business. Unlike you, I don't judge people just by who their parents are. I don't really care if you approve."
She turned back to Ted hoping maybe she could make a quick getaway before things got any worse.
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Post by Bellatrix Black on Aug 19, 2008 20:48:49 GMT -5
"Are you serious Andromeda? He's not even fifth generation! You have an obligation to the family!" It would be one thing if the bloke's great-grandparents were all magical, but they were all muggles! Right down to his parents. Bellatrix knew Andromeda was difficult, but she had to see how this looked to the rest of the world. It was so far beneath her, even for an Auror.
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Post by Andromeda Tonks on Aug 19, 2008 21:18:48 GMT -5
Andi rolled her eyes at Bella's accusations. Only in this family could her personal relationships be considered a slight against the whole family. Slowly, she turned back to Bella, her eyes blazing. "I don't care," she said flatly. "I don't care who his family is, and I don't care what you or anyone else thinks. Why should I? I've already been written out of the family, according to Dad. And just what has this family ever done for me, besides give me an inferiority complex because I wasn't a perfect little pureblood like you? As far as I can see, our family gave up on me the minute I wasn't sorted into Slytherin!"
She glanced at Narcissa, hoping that maybe, just maybe she would see things her way.
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Post by Narcissa Black on Aug 19, 2008 21:28:45 GMT -5
In a way, Narcissa understood what Andromeda was talking about, but then again she didn't want to. Andi was completely different from them, and that was sad. She knew that she couldn't side with Andi. She had too much riding on her, and she was being to see things the way Bella did. Narcissa was being pulled like a rag doll, and soon one of her arm seams were going to split. Now, it seemed the arm that Andi was pulling was starting to rip.
Cissa just gave a shake of her head. "I don't really understand that Andi. You're completely different. It's like I don't really know you anymore." She didn't want to be cold to her sister, and apparently Bella didn't have a problem with it.
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Post by Andromeda Tonks on Aug 19, 2008 21:38:36 GMT -5
Andi looked at Narcissa sadly. She could hear the disappointment in her younger sister's voice, and for the first time, Andi's strength began to fade. She'd hoped that Cissa would be different. They'd always gotten along well enough. And it hadn't been that long ago when she had stood under that wretched tree and told Cissa all about Ted and how happy he made her. Why couldn't she understand? "No," she said, her voice wavering slightly. "Maybe you never really did. Maybe you heard what I was saying and just assumed it was a phase I would outgrow. But the fact is, I've never fit in with this family, because I never cared about being pureblood. In fact, sometimes I'm downright ashamed of it. Like now. If I went around treating people like dirt just because their parents were muggles, I never would have had a chance to meet such an amazing guy. Cissa... don't you understand? I love him!"
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Post by Bellatrix Black on Aug 19, 2008 21:45:37 GMT -5
"Oh really! Andromeda you are acting like a loon! You can't possibly love that idiot!" She gestured widely to man who's name she still didn't know. She didn't care to ever find out. Andromeda couldn't possibly be serious, she would come to her senses and ditch the poor bastard. And Bellatrix wouldn't ever have to hear his name.
She began to plead for her sister's sanity. "Please don't do this. He's not worth it. Can't you even try to get back on father's good side? You know if you do this we'll never be allowed to see you!" Even as much as she disagreed with her sister's views, and with how much they argued over everything, there was still some part of her that loved Andromeda. Even if she were angry with her, Bellatrix couldn't imagine never seeing her again.
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Post by Andromeda Tonks on Aug 19, 2008 22:12:43 GMT -5
"He is not an idiot!" Andi yelled, a bit more loudly than she would have liked. "Bella, you don't even know him. How can you possibly hate someone you've never even met?" Tears of frustration burned in her eyes, and she wiped them away impatiently. How was she ever going to get them to understand how stupid the whole thing was. Were they not all wizards? Why was it such a big deal?
"I'm not doing this to spite Dad or to hurt the family. But if I have to choose between the family or him... I'm sorry. I choose him. And I don't care if you don't understand that. It's my choice to make, not Dad's and not yours. If that means I'm out of the family, then so be it."
She lifted her chin boldly and turned away from them both. Grabbing Ted's arm, she said, "Come on, Ted. Let's get the hell out of here."
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Post by Ted Tonks on Aug 20, 2008 3:32:21 GMT -5
There were half a dozen times during that conversation that Ted wanted to go to her and yell at her sisters to stop harrassing her. He also felt like he had something to prove... well, to them, he had everything to prove.
But this was Andromeda's family, and he had no right to butt in. It was hard not to listen to what they were saying, and he wasn't sure if he was more shocked at them or her. It proved to him though what he had entertained all along... that he really wasn't good enough for her. It shouldn't matter, but the point was that it did. And all of Andromeda's defending him didn't even help. Ted was a family man. He didn't understand a family that didn't love and support one another, which was why, if he was causing a problem between her and her sisters... then he needed to take a serious look at their relationship. Her declaration of love was lost on him, unfortunately.
Sometime during the argument, he had sunk back, leaning against the wall near the door with his eyes down.
He was quiet when she took his arm and followed her out of the restaurant. Outside, he opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again, deciding to stay quiet until she said something first. How was he supposed to comfort her with something like this? Finally, despite himself, he asked softly, "Are you all right?"
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Post by Molly Prewett on Aug 20, 2008 3:38:40 GMT -5
It could have been anything that caught Molly's attention... her friend's voice, the impossibly shrill and angry voice of Bellatrix, or those notice-em-a-mile-away blue eyes of Ted's, but she did notice them.
She set the tray she had been carrying on an empty table, moving closer to Andi and Ted, ready to intervene. Andromeda was outnumbered, since Ted was hanging back. The poor boy was out of his league here, but Andi liked him, and that should have been enough.
"Molly!"
She ignored her name being called, in case Andi needed her, but by the time she had gone outside with Ted, Molly's boss had come over to her, and she had to go back to waiting tables. She resolved to get a hold of Andi later, though, and decided to make the rest of Bella's evening as miserable as possible. She wished Andi had been born into the family like she had... already an outcast, instead of having to make that decision herself.
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Post by Andromeda Tonks on Aug 20, 2008 9:02:57 GMT -5
Once outside, Andi felt her resolve begin to break. A part of her wanted to run back inside, beg her sisters to forgive her and tell them that she still loved them. And she did. No matter how much it hurt, and in spite of all the fights she'd had with them in the past, she loved her sisters. But they disappointed her. How was it that they could not see past a person's blood status to realize that a person was interesting, funny, charming, and intelligent?
In her eyes, being a pureblood didn't make her at all superior to Ted. If anything she almost felt inferior to him. He was a better person than she was. He was loyal to his family, and he hadn't cast his muggle background aside. He was living between the two worlds, and knew enough about both that he was never out of place. She wished she could say the same things about herself. Instead, she'd grown up in a family of narrow-minded people who tried to drill it into her head that muggleborns were bad and that siding with them would be akin to betrayal of her entire family... a family that had tried to beat her down by picking at her insecurities like scabs that would never heal.
At the sound of Ted's gentle voice, Andi's emotions, still swirling around inside her like a cyclone, finally came bursting out. She flung herself into his arms and buried her face in his chest as she began to sob heavily.
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Post by Narcissa Black on Aug 20, 2008 9:26:02 GMT -5
Narcissa thought about going after Andi and pleading with her to just drop the guy and then everything would have been alright, but apparently Andi had made her choice. Andi chose the mudblood over her own family. It angered Narcissa a little that she would do that. She felt like she lost her sister, because she knew that Andi wouldn't change her mind. That trait was something Cissa had always admired about Andi, and that would never change.
Turning to Bella, Cissa gave a shake of her head. "There's nothing really more we can do Bella. We can't talk sense into her. I really don't want to lose Andi, but I do believe that's what is happening," she said with a frown.
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Post by Ted Tonks on Aug 20, 2008 10:11:29 GMT -5
What else could Ted do but hold her? Her took her into his arms, whispering to her that it was going to be all right. Her tears made him want to fix the world so that it wouldn't make her cry ever again, but he was just Ted Tonks, son of two ordinary people, and dealing with something far out of his league here.
He moved them both away from the entrances to any shops or buildings. "Andi, look at me," he said, taking her by the shoulders and holding her at arm's length. It killed him to do this. "I'm going to go home, no complaints, no questions asked. And you can go back to your sisters. You should go back to your sisters."
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Post by Andromeda Tonks on Aug 20, 2008 10:25:17 GMT -5
Andi looked up at him, her face streaked with mascara-blackened tears. "No," she said. "I don't want to go back to them. I'm never going to be one of them, don't you see that? They fit in at a place like that, they belong there. I don't. They believe in blood purity above all else, and I never have. I'm pretty sure at least one of them is a Death Eater. I can't be like them and I'm never going to fit in with the rest of my family. I don't belong there anymore, and maybe I never did."
She wiped at her tears, smearing the makeup streaks all over her face. "Please, Ted... I want to go home. Please take me home."
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Post by Ted Tonks on Aug 20, 2008 11:58:56 GMT -5
Ted swallowed, but held her where she was. "Andi... stop and think about this. They're your family." He wouldn't say it outloud, but he wasn't going to let her choose him over her family. He sighed, though, and knew trying to make her see things rationally wasn't going to happen while she was still crying like this, so he pulled her back to him, holding her in a way that offered protection, and most of all, love.
He looked around to be safe, and apparated with her back to the apartment building.
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