Darkness Creeps
The brevity of the rivalry between Andromeda Black and Edward Tonks might have been a blessing. For two weeks following their passing, she had put incredible censure on herself to prove how knowledgeable she was to a boy she’d met once. Since then, she hadn’t seen him, but she had excelled in all her classes the past few weeks due to her immense studying. She thanked the success of the ferula spell to Edward because of this, although she’d never admit that.
Professor Ronen had assigned the class a two-parchment breakdown in preparation for their next lesson; the liquefacio spell. Charms was one of the easier classes a student would take at Hogwarts. Many of the spells, charms, and curses are deplorably childish, but they teach the basics of magic. Ronen urged the class to be fully prepared, and get plenty of sleep, though they couldn’t use their lack of sleep as an excuse to miss class. She announced it would be one of the more difficult spells to cast along with its high potential to cause danger which is why students must come with full awareness.
After dinner, Andromeda headed to the library to begin her paper. At this time many students were passed out from the meals they consumed, too tired to try studying, so the library would be relatively empty. Despite the room's great size, it doesn’t always accommodate the school's large student population when it comes to seating. Yes, it had desks that lined the bookshelves, and beneath the windows, but with students constantly grabbing and exchanging books, those seats aren’t ideal. She was able to snag a small table near the restricted section. Andromeda always wondered why they still had the books in the library if the books were restricted.
She hung her bag from the back of the chair and pulled out her parchment and quill before she started to search for the textbooks. The back of the library had dim lighting compared to the front- probably to add to the restricted section ambiance, which made navigating around the shelves harder. It was more than likely the books she needed wouldn’t be back there, but it never hurt to check if there was an old edition of Charms Is for Every Wizard . Books dating further back than the 1800s collected dust, she wasn’t sure who was reading them because they looked like they hadn’t been read for centuries. She was scared if she held one, the pages might disintegrate at her touch.
Books ranging from The Anatomy of the Centaur to History of Muggle Transportation lined the shelves. Some of these books she wouldn’t read in her seven years at Hogwarts; or ever because of their sheer ridiculousness. Others she’d read at least once, but there wasn’t enough time in the world to read all the texts kept in the Hogwarts library. One type of book that’s a rarity in the wizarding world, was the ones written by muggles. Andromeda had grown a keen liking to them, though she could never admit it- they were the one good thing muggles had ever created. Back in her first year, when she was still friends with them, Ameilia had lent Andromeda her copy of The Catcher and The Rye , and she could not put it down.
While flipping through the pages of an old charms book, she found, she heard a few voices coming from behind her. Old books weren’t the only things hidden in the back of the library. She had heard stories of students getting caught snogging against the shelves or doing other stuff against school policy in the privacy of the dark corners of the library. As a prefect, she should investigate, but as a student, she wants to walk away and pretend she didn’t hear anything. The voices were getting louder, which was odd, because if they were trying to hide, they’d be silent.
Andromeda crept to the other bookshelves behind her to see if she could see anybody. A few books were scattered across the aisle, she couldn’t tell if they came from the shelves or someone's arms. The voices were louder, they weren’t trying to hide it anymore. She gently removed a few books from where they sat and put them on the desks below so that she could peer between the cracks.
She could barely see but saw enough to know what was happening. Rabastan Lestrange, Amycus Carrow, and Lucius Malfoy are standing around a terrified looking fifth year. Something else she’d never admit was the growing tension in the halls. Many students had gotten used to freely speaking dogmatically. Of course, this wasn’t new, students had been talking like this for centuries before she was even born, but she’d never heard it this loud. A majority of the talk came from the students of high purity, which is also not new. What is new, is the number of complaints and reports she has gotten about the cruelty of the words and actions from them. She was used to this in her own home, but it was somehow seeping into the castle's foundations.
A Slytherin girl in Narcissa’s year came to her one day barely able to walk because someone had used the jelly-leg jinx on her. This was after they told her she’d never be able to be like them and she’d suffer the same fate as those who came before her. Salazar Slytherin once argued the school should only open its doors to pure-bloods and half-bloods to keep the bloodlines clean. Andromeda would be lying if she said she disagreed. Hogwarts was a prestigious school known around the world for its success in creating powerful witches and wizards. Tainted bloodlines weakened the success of the masses, but one thing she did disagree with was the violent persecution of mudbloods.
“What are you doing?” A voice whispered making Andromeda jump. When she turned to see who was beside her, scared it was another one of Rabastians' friends, her mouth hung open in disbelief. Edward Tonks was leaned up against the bookshelf staring at her with that same patronizing smile.
“Nothing.” she hissed.
“Really? Cause it looks like you’re peeping at some snoggers,” he responded nonchalantly, keeping his voice low.
Her eyes widened in incredulity. She scowled as she watched his smile grow, “Are you thick? No, I’m not-”
There was a slam against the bookshelf. A few books fell, accompanying the others on the floor. Edward looked at Andromeda and Andromeda turned back toward the crack. Rabastan held the boy against the bookcase by his shoulders smiling menacingly. The other two boys stood back waiting for him to bark their orders. Whines fell from the boy's mouth as Rabastan pushed harder and turned to his friends, “Do it, Carrow.”
The next thing she saw wasn’t from the other side of the bookshelf, it was Edward brushing past her and turning the corner where the four boys were. She tried to stop him, snarling his name, but he marched on anyway. There was a moment of hesitation, or debating; she didn’t know which, but she chose to stay back.
“Let him go Rabastan.” Edward stood a few feet away from him. His voice was a mix of disappointment and empathy, his eyes not once veering from Rabastan. It reminded her of Narcissa.
“Mudblood.” Carrow spat defending his friend. Edward’s face paled, but still, it remained steady. “What are you going to do about it?”
Lucius who had been silent during the entire ordeal chirped up, “He can’t do anything, too weak to defend himself.”
Laughter erupted between the three boys. Rabastan dropped the fifth year who tried to crawl away but was stopped by Carrow's feet. Andromeda’s stomach dropped as she watched Lucius raise his wand from behind Rabastan. She barely knew Edward- not enough to know he was a muggle-born at least, but she didn’t want to see what happened in her house happen in her school. Luckily, Rabastan raised his hand and said, “Put it down Malfoy.”
Edward visibly became less rigid, letting out a sigh of relief. Andromeda wasn’t even sure if he had a plan. He was practically backed into a corner and defenseless. And defenseless he was when Rabastan delivered a punch directly to his gut as he growled, “Filthy Mudblood.”
As Edward hit the ground, Rabastan went in for another blow, this time kicking his side. His eyes were filled with hatred, and she found it hard to believe he really knew Edward at all, or if he just hated him for him. Instead of hiding, Andromeda ran out and pulled Rabastan’s shoulder back, “Stop! Rabastan stop!”
He glared at her, a frown on his face as he let his body loosen up, “What? Is he your boyfriend now?”
“You know that’s not true,” she huffed, “Just let them both go. Please.”
“Is that supposed to mean anything to me?” he laughed.
“Rabastan.” Andromeda was practically groveling at his feet.
He sighed, waving his hand in dismissal, “Fine.”
From behind him, Carrow stammered, “Wha- What if they tell a professor?”
“They won’t.” his eyes burned into the back of her head. It was a silent threat, but a threat, nonetheless. She waited until they were fully out of the library to continue studying. Even going to the extent of following behind them to make sure they were gone. Andromeda hadn’t waited to see if Edward was okay because by the time she came back, he was gone.