A/N: This story was originally my first Andromeda/Ted fanfiction but I was unhappy with it. It was very rushed so I decided to redo it and hopefully a lot more people will like it. In this story, Ted and Andromeda are the same age.

Disclaimer: Everyone belongs to the amazing JK!

September 2nd was always full of anticipation of what the students could expect from the new school year. At breakfast that morning, most students were chatting about the new topics they would be taught in various subjects and the new third years were excited about the new privilege of going to Hogsmeade on certain weekends. But one student sat silently at the Slytherin table, eating her porridge slowly as her eyes skimmed through an article in the Daily Prophet. Andromeda Black had just started her sixth year at Hogwarts and wished it wouldn't go by so quickly as all her other years had. She had achieved good OWL grades and was starting her NEWT preparation. But she wished that she didn't have to grow up so quickly. Her father had arranged a marriage match to Oliver Nott, a fellow Slytherin sixth year who she detested. She loved her father dearly but she wished that she could marry someone she loved. She was only sixteen after all, she wanted to have a life. And by marrying Nott she wouldn't get that.

Professor Slughorn sat opposite her, discussing her timetable for the next school year. She nodded her head, pretending to be interested as she was cleared for Divination, Potions, Transfiguration, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Arithmancy and Herbology. After telling her Head of House that she had no questions at present to ask him about her sixth year, the Potions Master smiled and handed her the timetable before heading up to the staff table.

"Andromeda." a rough voice called.

Andromeda shivered, wishing that she could hide behind the morning paper and pretend that she didn't exist. But it was too late to do anything, Oliver Nott sat down next to her and she wrinkled her nose. Oliver was a rather large boy; slightly overweight and wore a uniform one size too small. His strawberry blonde hair was gelled back which only made her think it needed to be thoroughly washed and his blue eyes were watching her greedily. Oliver couldn't wait to claim the Black fortune for his own.

"I can't wait until we get married." he said quietly, placing a hand on her knee.

Andromeda said nothing but rolled her eyes, placing the spoon back into her bowl of porridge and moving his hand away from her knee. If her mother had seen Oliver do that, she'd have been given a lecture on 'saving yourself for marriage' and that 'it's inappropriate for your betrothed to touch you before he takes your maidenhead' the lectures which she found rather old fashioned. Sure, she was saving herself but she wanted her first time to be with someone she loved and that someone felt the same about her and she had gone no further than heated touches and kissing in broom cupboards with a few boys who weren't someone her parents would have approved of.

"Our first born will obviously be a boy and we have to call him Theodore, after my father because he approached your father about our marriage and for that I am ever so grateful." Nott said proudly.

"Who says it will be a boy?" Andromeda asked

"It just will be." Nott stated, helping himself to some toast.

Andromeda yet again rolled her eyes, he wasn't the most intelligent boy there was. Clearly Oliver hadn't been educated about the way making a baby worked, there was a fifty-fifty chance of the baby being a boy or a girl but most pureblooded families wanted a male heir.

"And we'll take summer holidays in Peru-

"Oliver, stop making all these plans!" Andromeda snapped, pushing away her bowl of porridge and folding the newspaper.

Oliver blinked, his expression turning a little angry at her snappiness. That was another thing that she hated about arranged marriages, aside the fact that it was so old fashioned, was that many men believed that women should be treated like second class citizens.

"Why shouldn't I? You are my fiancée." he pointed out.

Andromeda rose from the table, turning her back on him and storming out of the Great Hall.

"Where are you going?" he demanded, his voice booming after her.

"To Divination." she replied bitterly.

"Classes don't start for half hour" Nott shouted but it didn't make any difference.

Andromeda let out a sigh of relief as she continued on her way towards the common room. She would give anything to be placed in another house, just so that she didn't have to put up with Oliver and his plans for their future. After saying the password to the stone wall, she walked up the small spiral staircase to her dormitory to collect her bag and Divination textbooks. Her parents never understood why she had taken Divination, they had always classed the subject as 'lunacy' but she wanted to be different from her sisters. She returned to the common room to find that Narcissa was at the bottom of the stairs.

"Cissy." Andromeda called.

The blonde haired Black turned around and smiled warmly. Bella used to tease their younger sister by saying that Narcissa was adopted, for Narcissa was the odd one out with her blonde hair and bright cobalt blue eyes and high cheekbones but truthfully, Narcissa resembled their mother. Whereas she and Bellatrix had inherited their fahter's heavy lidded eyes, Bella's a colour of black and hers a muddy brown. Although her hair was dark, her own colouring was more of a mousy brown.

"Dromeda." Narcissa said brightly, hugging her briefly.

The two sisters left the common room, taking a slow walk behind some third year Slytherins.

"Did you sleep okay?" Andromeda asked.

"Not too bad." Narcissa muttered.

"Looking forward to your fourth year?" she questioned.

"More to the Hogsmeade visits if anything." Narcissa admitted.

They walked up the steps that led them both to the entrance hall, with both sisters stopping. Andromeda knew that Narcissa hadn't eaten breakfast yet, her sister always dressed for the day and got her schoolbag ready before eating the first meal of the day.

"Are you coming for breakfast?" Narcissa asked.

"I'm not really hungry." Andromeda replied, a slight lie because she didn't want to sit with Nott for the remainder of breakfast.

Narcissa nodded and said her goodbyes before heading into the Great Hall. Andromeda started ascending the marble staircase to head in the direction of Divination when she tripped on a step and dropped her books. The students around her started laughing as she silently cursed herself before bending down to pick them up. She started shoving a few belongings that had fallen out of her bag back into it when suddenly she saw a boy with fair hair rushing up the stairs. The boy bent down and helped her pick up her books. She looked up and met the boy's gaze. Something took her by surprise, his smile. He was smiling at her. A genuine smile. Being Bellatrix's younger sister people were often scared of her due to her resembling Bellatrix more than Narcissa. Andromeda found herself returning the boys smile as they rose and stood on the stairs.

"Thanks."

"Not a problem." said the boy smiling.

"I'm Andromeda. Andromeda Black." she introduced.

The boy's smile faded slightly, "I know. You're Bellatrix's sister." said the boy, his tone of voice slightly wary.

Andromeda's face fell. In the past she had made friendships with the halfbloods and muggleborns that were in the other houses but those friendships had stopped when Bella had found out about them. Bella had hexed her friends for her own amusement, even going as far as to have one muggleborn student crawl to the class because she saw them beneath her, as did the rest of her family. Her sister had said 'mudbloods need to know their place when I am present and that place is crawling on the floor like a pathetic dog who has shamed his master." and ever since then, the people had been wary of the Black sisters. And clearly this helpful boy was another who thought her to be the same as her sister.

The boy's expression change to be apologetic when he saw that just by mentioning that he knew who she was had affected her rather badly.

"I'm sorry if I offended you." he apologised.

Andromeda smiled weakly and shrugged her shoulders. It didn't really matter any more but she just wished that she could be known by the other students at Hogwarts as 'Andromeda' and not as 'Bellatrix's little sister'.

"Doesn't matter, Bella had a reputation and because I look like her people seem to think I'm the same." Andromeda stated.

"I don't think you're like her. I mean I've never seen you hex someone for the fun of it." said the boy.

Andromeda, slightly taken surprised by what the boy had just said, raised her eyebrows.

"Really?" she asked with slight disbelief.

The boy nodded and once again Andromeda smiled, maybe this was her chance to prove that she wasn't anything like her older sister.

"I'm Edward Tonks, but people call me Ted." said the boy holding out his hand.

Andromeda placed her hand in his and shook it.

"Which way you headed?" Ted asked.

"Divination." Andromeda replied, rather too happily.

"Me too, shall I walk with you?"

"That'd be nice." said Andromeda with a smile.

She and Ted made their way to the north tower, chatting mindlessly as they walked through the crowded corridors as students rushed down to breakfast. Although having only become an aquaintance of Ted's a few minutes ago, she found that he was rather good to talk to.

"How come I never noticed you in Divination before?" she asked.

"You tend to keep to yourself." Ted said.

"Well then that will change, I'd like to get to know you better Ted." Andromeda smiled.

"That'd be great." Ted beamed.

"Would you sit with me? It might make others think I'm not so aloof." she joked.

Ted laughed slightly, "Sure, I'd love to." he replied.

And from that momenet on, everything had begun to change. And maybe, just maybe, her sixth year could be a little more pleasantly if she had someone like Ted to befriend and she could forget about the things expected from her and more importantly, she could forget that she was engaged to another boy who had been her father's choice.