Chapter Text
It was a sweltering Friday afternoon in the middle of August and Teddy was glad the air in the archive was cool and dry. Whenever she went outside to take a breather and sip a coffee to stimulate her brain, the heat hit her like a humid wall of unpleasantness and she quickly went back into the cool confines of the archives.
The job was a boring one, but it paid decently. It was enough to afford a small flat outside of London and even make a few nice purchases from now and then - like the Muggle telly she'd bought two months ago.
Blood prejudice had been an issue throughout her Hogwarts schooling, but it had become worse in recent years, so Teddy was glad St. Mungo's had taken her on despite being a Muggle-born. At the end of the day, she could see the results of her work, which always filled her with a rush of satisfaction. The people she met on the job were decent. Some of them had even become her friends, so there was no reason to complain about work.
The basket near the entrance of her realm was overflowing with parchment. With a simple spell, she sorted the rest of the stack alphabetically. She grabbed a few of them out of it and started counting because she only handled fifteen at once. Everything else would be prone to disarray. Judging by the stack remaining in the basket, she had another eight rounds of filing to do before she could leave for the weekend. Even though he was a great asset, fully capable and pleasant to have around, she'd dismissed her assistant an hour ago because she preferred finishing her workdays in peace and quiet. Since he had a girlfriend waiting for him at home, he was always glad to leave early and it put a smile on her lips to see him happy.
She was on her way to the shelves, flicking through her parchments to get a feeling where she'd have to file them when a mellow voice interrupted her.
"Hello, is the archive still open?"
Teddy placed the files on a cabinet and walked towards the entrance when green robes caught her eyes. They were darker than the lime ones the senior healers wore, more like forest green and identified the woman standing by the counter as a trainee healer. She couldn't help but think that the colour looked stunning on the tall brunette. Her features were striking and, apart from a few freckles, her skin looked a little too pale. It made her look like someone who avoided the sun at all costs. Teddy squinted her eyes. She seemed very familiar, but she couldn't place her.
The brunette met her eyes. "I'm sorry to disturb you. Are you Miss Tonks?"
The trainee had a lovely voice and despite her fidgeting with her hands, it held a decent amount of determination.
Teddy's eyes caught on her warm brown eyes and soft lips and she forgot all about her files. After a few more seconds of staring at her absent-mindedly, Teddy managed to pull herself out of her musings. "Depends on who's asking," she replied with a smile on her face, leaning casually on the counter where the basket of files sat.
The brunette held out her hand towards her and Teddy took it without really shaking it. "Andromeda Black, healer in training. My boss is healer Morris and she requested I fetch her a file."
With the name revealed, she now knew who stood before her. The smile she gave her seemed genuine and was dazzling, and Teddy found it hard to grasp that this was a daughter of the House of Black.
Andromeda Black was a first-year student when she was in her fourth year, so their paths rarely crossed. Besides, the Slytherin purebloods were not people she would have been familiar with. Those were the advantages and disadvantages of being a Mudblood. More vividly than Andromeda did she remember her older sister. A wild, uncouth girl, who had often been cruel to other Muggle-borns and animals. Despite her being a year younger than Teddy, she had had a commanding aura around her and more than once, Teddy had fallen victim to the oldest Black offspring calling her a mudblood. Most of the time, she'd laughed it off, claimed the slur for herself, but there had been days where she'd wished she could leave her magic behind and go back to the Muggle world.
Andromeda smiled warmly and cocked her head. "Are you all right? You look flushed." Her eyes fell on her hand, which Teddy was still clutching.
The older witch quickly withdrew it and wiped her sweaty palm on her Muggle pants, hoping Andromeda hadn't felt it. "Yes, yes, I apologise for keeping you, Miss Black. What file can I get for you?"
Andromeda straightened a little and pulled a piece of pristine parchment from the small chest pocket of her robes. She cleared her throat as she skimmed the note. "Patient's name is Ilias Rosewood. He was admitted for a nasty case of scrofungulus a few weeks ago."
As she spoke, Teddy stared at her. Her brown wavy hair was pulled up into a ponytail and a few hairs stood out, some strands falling into her face. The loose hair was sweaty and stuck to her temples. Her cheeks were rosy but not flushed and that dazzling smile was still sitting on her lips. Andromeda cocked her head and Teddy realised with horror that she hadn't caught the name. Nervously, she ran her hand through her short hair and pointed towards the parchment.
"Would you mind if I take this? Silly me is a bit bad at remembering names."
A blush crept onto her cheeks and she wanted to slap herself for the stupidity of that statement. When Andromeda gave it to her, her fingertips brushed Teddy's palm lightly, which deepened her blush and quickened her heartbeat.
On her way to her filing cabinets, she cursed herself. Andromeda wasn't the first woman she'd found attractive, but there was something about her that drew her in and simultaneously threw her off track.
"Let it go, Tonks! She's a Black," she muttered through clenched teeth.
Pursuing a pureblood would undoubtedly end with her being tortured and left in a ditch to die. She'd heard the stories of the oh so mighty Knights of Walpurgis, pruning the wizarding world from filth like her and she was in no mood to encounter the lovely lot. She snorted and shook her head.
The filing cabinets for the files with patient names beginning with R were quite far away from the counter and she was glad for the short walk to gather herself. She pointed her wand to the first drawer to open it but because of her sweaty palms, the swish was more of a flick and she almost blew it up. It spluttered and before she could mutter another spell to calm it, it spewed all the files across the room. After some sighing and eye-rolling, she decided to clean them up later so Andromeda wouldn't have to wait.
"Accio Rosewood Ilias!" she spoke and this time managed to execute the wand movement properly.
From somewhere deep inside the chaos, the file flew into her hands. Out of curiosity, she opened it to glance at the patient only to close it a second later for the photo of his swollen and gooey neck immediately turned her stomach.
On her way back, she studied the brunette witch. The young healer patiently waited by the counter, her gaze attentive and sliding over the various shelves. From time to time, she wiped her cheeks and temples with a handkerchief. She was about to dab her forehead when Teddy slid the file over the counter.
"That's indeed a rather severe case of a bug bite," Teddy exclaimed and made a face. "I'm sure my cheeks are a little green." She patted her right cheek and grinned a toothy grin.
Andromeda laughed and shrugged her shoulders. "It's not so bad. You get used to it." She sighed heavily, wiped her forehead and leaned a little closer to Teddy. "What I'm never getting used to, though, is this awful heat! You have it nice and cool down here. I'm jealous!" She pulled the file towards her with the tip of her index finger, then rested her palm on it and looked at Teddy. "It was nice meeting you, Miss Tonks!"
Teddy watched her retreat and, in a desperate attempt to see her eyes again, yelled after her, "likewise, Miss Black, have a good weekend!"
Another beautiful laugh reached her ears and Andromeda looked over her shoulder and winked. "Healers in training don't have weekends!"
Stunned by the wink, Teddy didn't manage to reply before the door clicked shut behind Andromeda. Once she was sure the healer had gone, Teddy propped her elbows on the smooth countertop, put her head in her hands and groaned.
She usually didn't care about etiquette, but making a fool of herself in front of someone as poised and beautiful as Andromeda Black was quite embarrassing. If she saw her again, she would try to behave a little more decently.
Slowly, she straightened her back and looked at the rest of the files in the basket. "Well, dearies, let's get you stored and then I'll pick up your friends from the ground!"
She grabbed the next fifteen files, made a beeline to the cabinet which held the files of names beginning with O and tapped the drawer. This one opened effortlessly and she filed them with a swish of her wand. She repeated it with every stack and then picked up the files from the ground. The defiant filing cabinet was not pleased that she was trying to file things away, but she managed to curse it into submission. After almost an hour, she was done for the week. Her archive was clean and tidy, just the way she liked it.
She was looking forward to a calm evening at home, shielded from the heat by a few cooling charms and reading the Muggle crime novel her mother had pressed into her fingers the last time she had visited her.
Back home, however, her thoughts wandered to warm brown eyes, a dazzling smile on wonderfully dark lips, and the cooling charms lost all effect. She wanted to kick herself. There were many beautiful women to be attracted to, and Andromeda Black was undoubtedly the worst choice.
She spent the rest of her weekend in a similar fashion. After a pleasant night out with her best friend, she found herself musing about the beautiful brunette and chastised herself for it seconds later. On Sunday evening, she was glad that she could devote herself to her files again the next day. At least that would distract her, and since it was still hot, she was also looking forward to the cool air.
-§-§-§-§-§-
"Good morning, Teddy," Lucas greeted her on the way in. He was busy labelling the new cardboard boxes full of bills and other papers. "Did you do something with the old, grumpy filing cabinet? It roared at me on Saturday."
Teddy threw her head back and laughed. "I had a bit of a fall-out with it on Friday so maybe we'll have to give it some peace for a few more days or call a cursebreaker to repair it."
Lucas nodded and went back to his cardboard boxes while Teddy shuffled through the files. Judging by the small pile in the basket and because there had been no Quidditch match at the weekend, she assumed that the day would be a quiet one.
After putting the files away, she sat down at the counter and started writing new labels for the cardboard boxes in which they kept the ancient files. With each label, her frown grew. It was a dead-end job and she should look for another one, but the last applications had all been rejected for dubious reasons. She was never quite sure whether it was because of her non-magical background or because of her short hair and her refusal to wear witch robes or skirts.
She was almost done with her labels when a familiar head of dark brown hair appeared in her line of sight, demanding some more files, which Teddy happily handed her.
From then on, Andromeda returned regularly. It became their game to look through the files to find out which patient had had the worst disease or the worst symptoms. The more Teddy talked to her, the easier it was to forget that she was a Black.
Late one Friday evening, when Teddy was almost done with work, Andromeda showed up for the second time that day.
With a big grin on her face, Teddy jumped up from her seat, almost spilling her iced tea. "Miss Black, what more do you need?" she blurted out, unable to hide the excitement in her voice.
The smile on Andromeda's face matched Teddy's and grew when she met her eyes. "I forgot those five files earlier." She shoved a crisp piece of Muggle paper over the counter.
Teddy raised an eyebrow. Cleary Andromeda Black would never venture into Muggle London. She must have nicked the paper from a coworker. When she unfolded it, there were five names written on the parchment in neat handwriting and a little note stating to call her Andromeda.
Excitement flooded through her and she had a hard time suppressing a nervous giggle. "I'll be right back, Andromeda." A few steps later, the brunette's voice stopped her.
"Wait! You haven't told me your name!"
Teddy turned, approached her again and casually leaned towards her, one arm comfortably resting on the countertop. "It starts with T."
She put her wand on the counter and pointed towards the two engraved Ts. She'd done them in her first month at Hogwarts after some older Hufflepuffs had told her it was a Muggle-born tradition.
Andromeda laughed and traced the furrows with her finger. "You're a Muggle-born, aren't you?"
A shiver ran down Teddy's spine and she became a bit clammy. Talking to Andromeda Black about blood had not been on today's to-do list. "I, uhm." She took a breath to gather herself, put her hand on her hip and hardened her features. "Yes, I am. Is there something wrong with that?" she queried in a stern voice that made Andromeda's lip twitch.
The smile on Andromeda's face faltered and she vehemently shook her head. The shadow of her last name and her family always made a bigger impression on people than she did. That it had happened with the intriguing archivist nagged her. She leaned forward and placed her hand on the archivist's forearm and was relieved when she didn't pull back. While she looked at her hand, she couldn't help but notice the fine, blond hair on her arm and how tanned she was. It made her want to explore further, but she shook the thought off. After a deep breath, she turned her gaze upwards again, only to be met with a challenging look from the witch.
"Nothing wrong at all," she said firmly and in a softer voice, she added, "there's more to me than my name." Andromeda managed a half-smile, which Teddy half-heartedly returned. "It only reminded me that the Muggle-born students in my year had all done that."
Judging by the expression on Andromeda's face, Teddy believed that she was telling the truth. The statement about her name resonated with Teddy. She felt guilty for harbouring prejudice while she condemned others for the same crime.
She ran her hand through her dirty blonde hair and looked to the floor. "I'm sorry, I just-"
"Assumed, yes." Andromeda finished for her and removed her hand from her arm to wave it. "Many people assume, but I'm not that person anymore." She wondered how many years it would take to shed the reputation that came with her name and for the public to realise that she wasn't a blood purist and wanted absolutely nothing to do with blood politics.
The lovely smile from earlier had been replaced with a stony expression and Teddy felt terrible. "I'm sorry. Clearly, there's more to you than your name." Teddy wanted to inquire further but Andromeda looked pensive and she lost her courage. Teddy cleared her throat. "I'll get your files now."
Andromeda nodded. "I'll be right here when you return, T."
"Hah, T, I like that! Certainly shorter than my real name," she quipped and caught Andromeda's smile when she turned on her heel.
"What is your real name?" Andromeda called after her.
"Guess!" Teddy replied with a raised voice on her way into the depth of the archives.
While she shuffled through various shelves and cabinets, Andromeda's guesses reached her ears.
"Tina? Tia? Tamara?"
Teddy laughed and opened the next cabinet while calling to Andromeda, "Not even close, keep guessing. I have two more files to find."
The file was hidden in the third drawer, and she was glad that instead of searching the drawers, she could at least use magic to conjure the file into her hand. When she reached the last file, Andromeda spoke up again.
"Tallula? Theresa?"
Quickly, she snatched the file and returned to Andromeda, who was waiting at the counter with one elbow propped on the surface and her cheek in her hand.
Teddy grinned. "Do you have some more guesses in you?"
Andromeda raised an eyebrow, squinted and looked at her for a few seconds. She straightened her back and tilted her head. "Thea, maybe?"
Teddy whooped clapped her hands. "Close enough. I'm Theodora but by all means, call me Teddy. Theoblablabla is too much of a mouthful!"
Andromeda laughed a melodious laugh that showed two shallow dimples in her cheeks. "Don't you worry, Theodora, I can handle your syllables!"
Teddy looked at her, taking in all her features, her humour and the sound of her laughter, and knew she was doomed.
They continued to meet in the archives for casual chats and their game with the files, and with each passing day, Teddy was a bit more of a mess. Then Andromeda went to Paris for an internship at France's most famous infectious disease clinic and Teddy already missed her on day one after she had left.