Andromeda "Infinite Patience" Capella Tonks (dromedatonks) wrote in blurred_lines, @ 2008-08-04 13:26:00 |
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Admittedly, Mary was nervous to go to this defense class. The only reason why she agreed to it so quickly was because she was certain Lily was teaching it. And then, in some sort of emotional confusion, Mary agreed to go to the class even though Lily wouldn't be there. She was nervous, and she was also upset over what had just happened. Getting chased out of a shoppe because she was Muggleborn? That was bullshit. And now she was entering a defense class with a bunch of strangers? This was not shaping up to be a good day.
She arrived several minutes early. Everyone there seemed to know each other, which intimidated Mary a little bit more. She kept to herself at a far corner of the empty room. She recognized a few faces, but many of them were people she did not know. She could see Frank Longbottom at the front of the room, which made sense since Lily said he was the one teaching the class. She briefly wondered what they would be doing or going over. As she sat in the back corner and more people arrived, she felt her stomach in knots. What if they chased her away with a broomstick like the shoppe keeper? Was she fooling herself even coming here? She didn't have time to think about it. A faint chiming could be heard from a distant village clock. Six o'clock, and there was no time to waste. She heard a, "Pair up!" called from somewhere in the room and immediately saw the people pair off or gather in groups of four. Mary rose slowly from her Indian-style stance, and emerged from the shadows of her corner. She wasn't sure how this was going to go. She really wished Lily was there, but she also knew that Lily wouldn't always be there to protect her. Apparently that time was now, rather than later. It was then that she saw a brunette without a group gathered around her, so Mary approached the woman slowly. "Excuse me," she called out softly. Her voice was barely a whisper. "Do you have a partner?" Andromeda had been learning a lot in all the classes she had attended so far. She was still a bit rusty, but she was a lot better in her offensive spells for sure. She still had to work on her defensive spell skills and that was why she was here today. Today they were scheduled to learn defense spells and techniques. She was sitting down, waiting for the class to begin. Andromeda heard Frank tell everyone to pair up. She unlike everyone else, sat and waited for someone to come to her. Everyone would pair up with their natural friends and she had no problem pairing up with someone new today. She was not expecting the person to come up to her, to be none of other than former Order member, Mary MacDonald. She noticed Mary come in today and automatically felt a bit odd. She felt even odder and more nervous when Mary came over to her, asking if she had a partner. Now she had to pretend to not know her. Andromeda tried her best to sound normal, despite the emotions rushing threw her. She smiled and shook her head. "You are in luck. No I don't." Andromeda replied as she slowly got to her feet. The other woman seemed to be pleasant enough. Mary offered her a nervous smile as she watched her climb to the brunette climb to her feet. "I'm Mary," she said, introducing herself in the same soft-spoken tone she had inquired in. Mary offered her hand to the woman to shake with a little grin. "This is my first time here." Her green eyes slowly scanned the room. The empty warehouse seemed like wasted space, but for something like this, it was an oasis. The large empty rooms were the perfect size to spread out and give everyone enough space to move around a bit. "It seems like everyone here knows each other. It makes it a little nerve-wracking for a new comer." Mary chuckled nervously. She tended to fill awkward silences like this. "Sorry. I guess I'm just nervous," she tried to explain as she toyed with a lock of her golden hair, still looking around the room. She began to wonder how all these people came to know of this class. Mary, herself, wouldn't have known if Lily Andromeda smiled back at Mary in a friendly way, but when Mary introduced herself, she pulled her best acting job and pretended she was meeting her for the first time. She extended her hand out to the other woman. "Nice to see you here. It is nice to see new people attending these classes. My name is Andromeda Tonks, by the way." She said, in her very formal, polished voice, that had not changed much from her younger years. Despite being married to Ted, and loosening up a lot personality wise, when she spoke, she still sounded like the well to do Black she used to be. "Yes, it does appear that way, but everyone is rather polite and friendly enough if you give them the chance and strike up conversation. But I can see how you would feel that way." she said, sympathizing with her some and smiled, "Oh, it is quite alright." She added, trying to comfort her and make her relax. Andromeda then scanned and saw how everyone else had already started to practice and then turned back to Mary. "Well, we should start practicing. How much do you know about defensive spells?" She asked her, trying to start the conversation slowly. She had a lot of questions for her, but decided not to overwhelm her with a million questions all at once. The woman seemed friendly enough, and there was no visible broomstick she could chase Mary away with. The thought made her shutter internally. Pushing the prior events from her mind, Mary forced herself to concentrate on the here and now. Mary shook Andromeda's hand lightly before returning her hand to her side. "Thanks," Mary replied still feeling rather foolish and out of place. She offered a grin though. "Andromeda is a pretty name," Mary added. The woman seemed very poised and polished. Her confidence in herself intimidated Mary a little, but she refused to show that just yet. Mary blushed at the thought of going up to all those people. "It's nice to know the people here are receptive of new people," she replied quietly. "I'm just a little shy, so the thought of going up to all these people.." Mary trailed off, but her cheeks grew red. Shaking her head, Mary dismissed the thoughts. Mary, too, was watching how everyone else seemed to be practicing their defense spells. She didn't want to get in trouble for talking. (Mary hated getting in trouble. It drew attention to her, and she hated attention, whether positive or negative.) "I took DADA in school," she replied thoughtfully. "I practice a bit on my own, but.. I am probably a little rusty. I'm sorry," she added very quickly. "I don't mean to hold you back.. I just.. I'm sorry. We can work on whatever you want. I promise!" When Mary complimented her name she blushed slightly, being the modest person she was, and smiled. "Oh, thank you. I prefer to go by Andie though, well my friends and my cousin call me Andie. It sounds less formal to go by Andie." Andromeda appeared to be very polished and poised, which she was to a large degree. But, like everyone, she had her many insecurities and suffered from low self-esteem at times. She didn't find herself as pretty as her sisters or as talented, magic wise, as some of her pears or Order members. She was proud of a lot of things, but sometimes it took some work to make herself confident in herself. "It does look overwhelming, but just try for one person at a time. You came up to me didn't you? I am not all that bad, right? I can be shy like you as well, but sometimes you have to take the initiative and hope for the best. People can surprise you sometimes." Andromeda then smiled softly and waved her hand in a dismissive manner. "Oh it's okay. We can start with a refresher then? What spells do you remember from school? We can start with those first." Mary nodded. "Andie, then," she repeated as if clarifying it for herself. Even Andie was a nice name- much nice than Mary, at least. Her name was simply so common. Mary sighed inwardly. She wished she could be more poised and proper like the woman in front of her, but that wasn't who Mary was. She wrinkled her nose at herself. She needed to stop kicking herself when she was down. There was nothing wrong with Mary. Too bad her name wasn't Maridromeda or something brilliant like that. Her thoughts at least made a smile come to her face. "Well, it's nice to meet you, really. And thanks again for being my partner." Mary pursed her lips shyly. "Well, I didn't want to stand in the corner looking foolish either, but you're right. Sometimes we're all a bit too hard on ourselves, yeah? We all need to give ourselves more credit." The last statement was simply a reminder to herself to stop being so hard on herself. But at the statement 'people can surprise you,' Mary frowned and grumbled, "Yes, well people can certainly surprise you. And it's not always in a good way." Like when they chase you out of shoppes with a broomstick. Mary shook her head miserably. "Sorry. Right.. how about starting with a simple disarming spell and working up from there? Is there some sort of.. list or protocol to follow here? I mean.. is it just sort of a free-for-all and everyone gives the other tips?" Andie nodded and smiled, "There we go. Much better! Oh and no problem. Everyone needs a partner and who was I to say no to you?" Andromeda then worked on getting her long brown hair into a high ponytail so that dueling would be easier. She then listened to what Mary was telling her. "I am hard on myself all the time, but I just have to keep telling myself to take a chance and not let anything hold me back. It is hard sometimes, but necessary." Andromeda then frowned back at what Mary was telling her now, "Bad way how? Did something happen?" She asked her curiously, in a slightly concerned way. Andromeda then nodded as the topic turned back to the class at hand. "Yes, starting with a disarming spell would be good and have you ever dueled before? We will handle it like that. How about you try to shoot a spell at me and I will try to disarm you? Then we can change it up until you feel like you want to go on?" Andromeda was shakey at defense spells, but disarming was one of the spells she was okay at. Mary grinned shyly at Andromeda. She usually wasn't this silly and ridiculously shy when meeting new people. She just attributed it to that fact that she didn't know anyone in the room, and situations like this made her uncomfortable now. Mary shrugged at Andromeda's question. "You're right. I'm just being silly," she replied dismissively as she watched the woman pull her hair back. It was probably a good idea to get the stray strands out of her face, but Mary didn't really think about bringing a hair tie. She chewed at her lip as she waited. "That makes sense. It's hard to get in that mindset though." Mary tilted her head at the woman. Did she want to complain to a complete stranger? What if she had the same opinions as the shoppe keeper? "Yes, but it's not a big deal," Mary replied with a shrug. It really wasn't that big of a deal. She simply couldn't purchase owl treats anymore apparently- or anything from Diagon Alley because everyone was too scared to stand up for what they believed in. "Sure, that works," Mary continued, glad to be on a different subject. Mary backed away from Andromeda, putting adequate space between them before turning and nodding at Andromeda. With that, she muttered a soft, "Incarcerous!" and waited to see what would come of it. Andromeda was quiet and shy around people she wasn't sure about as well. Seeing as she knew who Mary was, resulted in Andromeda being less shy and quiet than normal, though she was still a bit nervous, hoping that she was doing a good job at her acting job she had to do. Andromeda really hoped that Mary was doing better than she was before. She was concerned about Mary, but she knew she had to broach the subject about her safety and how she was doing naturally, so as not to raise any suspicions. "It is hard, but with practice it becomes easier." Andromeda was hoping that Mary would tell her what happened, but seeing as wasn't, Andie was not about to push the subject. "As you wish." Andromeda replied back as she held her wand out. She nodded back at Mary and prepared herself for Mary. She saw her mutter something and immediately muttered back, "Expelliarmus!" in order to disarm Mary. Seeing as she didn't want Mary thrown back that far so she didn't make the spell too powerful. Mary nodded solemnly. It would be extremely odd to Mary if she knew someone knew her and not vice versa. She was nothing special, and no one really had a reason to know of her. Mary also couldn't imagine the woman before her being shy. She seemed poised and confident, but maybe it was just an act she was putting on. She seemed nice enough though, and that was enough for Mary to warm up to her. She wasn't very guarded herself. As long as people were nice to her, she was nice in return. "I suppose so," she replied with a grin. She didn't have a reason to not be shy around people though. Maybe that was the difference. Mary really did want to tell Andromeda about the incident at the owl shoppe, but she felt bad complaining to a complete stranger about problems she was having. She didn't need the woman knowing she was Muggleborn either. Apparently, it was an awful thing to be Muggleborn, and more and more people were agreeing with that point of view. Mary cleared her head of those thoughts as she felt her wand jump out of her hand as she flew backwards and landed painfully on her bottom. She nodded as she got up though, and waited for Andromeda to nod at her before Mary took her turn in muttering, "Expelliarmus!" back at Andromeda. She hoped the woman wouldn't go flying too far back. Well, after years of etiquette classes and learning how to act like a lady, she was really good at appearing how a lady should. That meant being very poised, polished and confident. That did not mean that she was really as sure of herself as appeared to be. Then when she saw Mary smile she smiled back. Seeing Mary smile made her feel good. Andromeda then put her attention back onto the practicing. Andromeda wanted to see how good Mary was at the expelliarmus spell, so she made no attempt to repel it. She went flying back, but not too far. Mary and Andromeda then spent the next few hours going down the list of spells until it was time for the class to end. It was 8:40pm, but she wanted to stay back and ask Mary some more questions, so she could see how she was doing. "You did very well considering. I was a little shakey too, but with some more practice I am sure we will be both be up on all the different spells." She said as she brushed herself off. "Oh and you were pretty good company as well. My husband and daughter are waiting at home, but I don't think they would mind I stayed behind to chat some more?" She asked in a friendly and hopeful way. The practice turned out to be rather good- and rather necessary. Mary found herself a bit more rusty at her spells than Andromeda, but she didn't have as much trouble keeping up as she originally anticipated. And by the end of the three hours, Mary actually felt a bit more confident in herself and her abilities. She even cracked a smile or two despite her nerves. She found her partner to be a lovely, conversational woman, who genuinely seemed interested in getting to know her, and that was more than enough for Mary to warm up to the woman. After the class was over, Mary waited as she watched Andromeda gather her things. "Thanks!" she exclaimed happily. "I'm a bit rusty, but I remember more from the NEWT-level Defense class than what I anticipated. This was great. Do you lot do this all the time?" If so, Mary would definitely come back. It was a really good work out and the spells could come in handy at some point. "I'm just glad I didn't hold you back. I was really worried about it." Mary began to toy with a lock of her hair again. "You were pretty good, though!" Mary tilted her head. "You're married? You have a daughter? How old is she?" Then Mary grinned though. "I'd love to chat, if you're sure you have time for it!" This was going to be fun.. and maybe she could make a new friend too! As the class went on she felt like Mary seemed to be feeling much better than she had been before. Even with the loss she had to deal with, Mary seemed to be going rather well and she was now really glad that Mary came up to her. Now, Andie was able to strike up conversation and hopefully re-establish a friendship with Mary. This way she could check up on her much easier, since she rather worried about about the younger female. Andromeda smiled back and shrugged, "Oh no problem. I am rusty as well. I am much better at my offensive spells, thanks to these classes. These classes are really helpful and useful. More people should come. Make sure to tell people about it. What with everything going on, everyone could use the practice. Oh and I have been attending these classes since the first class. I was not that good when I started. I have been out of school for a while, so I needed the refresher. Need to be able to protect my daughter if need be." Andromeda explained to Mary seriously and then waved her hand in a dismissive manner. "Hold me back? Never. Don't be worried." Then when Mary asked her about Dora and Ted she smiled proudly and nodded. "Yes, I am. I am married to Ted Tonks. My daughter's name is Nymphadora, but I call her Dora. She is six years old." Andromeda then grinned, "Well that was what I was hoping. I can spare a half hour. We can grab some tea and biscuits." Mary felt more and more confident in herself. Admittedly, she was very shaken up by recent events. Her best mate, her brother, her sister-in-law and her niece all died within a week of each other- not to mention that it had been the first anniversary of her father's death last summer on the same day Fabian Prewett died. Mary thought she deserved credit for even getting up in the morning. And especially after the prior incident in Diagon Alley, Mary felt defenseless and very low about herself. She needed something like this to pick her spirits up. It made her feel a lot better than she could defend herself or learn how to defend herself better. And she really like the format of the class.. how it was practice on your own and everyone sort of helped each other out. It was nice. Mary really liked it. "This class was really great. I definitely know a couple of people I could drag here with me," Mary replied with a little grin. Beth and Hestia, of course! Mary grinned at the thought of the three of them throwing around defense spells. She was really glad to have friends like them. Mary nodded at Andromeda's reasoning, but she gulped to herself. "I wish I could have.. have defended a few people.." She was thinking of her brother, but she had no way of knowing. "This is really good for you, then. Your hubby should come too." She shook her head. She couldn't imagine more people dying. "Oh! Six? They're so cute at that age." Mary blushed. "Sorry.. I work- worked- in the Pediatric Ward at St. Mungo's. I love children!" She nodded again. "Tea and biscuits sound brilliant. I'm starving! This really is a work out, hm?" But then Mary frowned. "Actually, you might not want to go anywhere with me.. I'm.. I apparently.. I just.. it's a bad idea." She couldn't just tell Andromeda she wouldn't get service anywhere because she was Muggleborn, but how embarrassing would it be for them to go someplace and get chased out with a broom again!? "That is great! I look forward to seeing some new faces next class then." Andromeda's happy demeanor then got more somber at Mary's next remark. She moved closer to her and her arm around her shoulder. "Aww, love. I am sorry you had to deal with loss, but you didn't know anything was going to happen." She then sighed when Mary spoke about Ted, "I wish he could, but he has been really busy with work lately. I only get to see him for a few hours every night now. What will all the werewolf protests, he has been spending extra hours as work, seeing as he works for the Werewolf Taskforce. So when he is home, he doesn't have the energy to come to classes all the time. He tries to come when he can though." Andromeda then brightened back up and her smile reappared when they started talking about Dora. Her face lit up as she thought of her bundle of pink energy. "My Dora is a little bundle of spunk and energy. I have a hard time keeping up with her at times. Oh and you do? I used to work in the Spell Damage ward, but after Dora was born I became a stay at home mother. I did not like the idea of a nanny raising my Dora. I wanted to be at home for her." She then pursed her eyebrows together and appeared to be clueless. She knew Mary was a muggleborn, but appeared to be clueless. "And why would I not want to go with you?" Mary honestly felt sorry for Andromeda's circumstance. It was so hard when one of the parents had to work and was away the majority of the time. That's how it was with her parents, at least. "Hopefully things will calm down soon," Mary replied with a frown. "It sounds hard.. at least he is able to come home every night and see you and Dora." Mary nodded at Andromeda's description of her daughter. "Most are at that time in their life. It seems like you really love her though. That's so important that you have something that can make you light up and smile like this.. especially with times being as they are now." Mary wished she had something like that. "Oh really? Spell Damages? You have to be kidding," Mary replied shaking her head. "That's where I work now. My boss just transferred me there this week!" Mary shrugged immediately though. "I mean, I'm not anything special like a Healer or anything, but my two closest mates work on that ward, so.. it's really nice to be around them." It was nice too. They popped in throughout the day and made her smile and laugh. It was so much better than Pediatrics, despite Mary's love for children. "No, that's perfect. You're so dedicated.. it admirable!" And then Mary frowned and shifted uncomfortably. "I'm.. erm.. I'm not offered services at all locations," she explained delicately without saying she was Muggleborn. "Like this afternoon right before class I went to buy my owl some owl treats and I was chased out of the shoppe with a broom." She shook her head. "I don't think you want to be seen in public with me." She shrugged before looking down at her shoes. "I hope they will, but what with the werewolves now having journals and all the recent attacks, I really don't know. I hope it will though. I just make the most out of the time we have. Yes, but some nights he is so worn out he doesn't have the energy to do much of anything. I wish they didn't have to work him so much." She said with a resigned sigh. Andromeda wished Ted didn't have to work so much. She missed him and so did Dora, but she knew he was just working as much as he did to provide for the three of them and she loved him for it. She then smiled and nodded, "I am not kidding. You do? That is great! I miss it there sometimes. Once Dora goes to Hogwarts, I am probably going to go back there if they will have me. Oh, who are your friends?" Andromeda asked, very much interested now. Andie then looked sympathetic and put a hand on her shoulder. She figured that what with all the anti-muggleborn talk and all, that her reaching to the conclusion that Mary was a muggleborn would not be that farfetched. "Well, my husband is a muggleborn, so I understand what you are going threw. We will go somewhere in muggle London. There are lots of nice cafe's there." She hoped that her knowing that Ted was a muggleborn would make her more okay with going out with her. Mary nodded. "The werewolves having journals is a horrible thing," she replied. She had been taunted by the werewolves over the journals. And if she knew it were Fenrir and Tabby who had killed her family, she would have been even more pissed. "It's a shame they're working him so hard though." Sodding Ministry. Mary was not a fan of the Ministry right now. "You think they would hire more people to handle this problem." Mary frowned. She was certain that Andromeda and her daughter missed him. "Hopefully this will all pass soon." Mary grinned widely and nodded. "Yes, this is my first week there!" she replied with a grin. Not a lot of people were genuinely interested in her. There was nothing special about her, in her opinion. "Oh! Um.. Hestia Jones and Beth Frobisher? Beth is a Healer on the Ward, and Hestia will be one hopefully by December. Do you know them!? It's such a small world!" Mary nearly jumped when Andromeda's hand touched her shoulder. She didn't really get a hug or human contact like this often, so she wasn't as warm and receptive to it as most expected her to be. It just took but a moment for Mary to relax once Andie told her that her hubby was Muggleborn. Mary nodded with a sigh. "Yeah? Muggle London sounds brilliant. Sorry," she replied softly. "I just.. I was.. it just scared me." Mary nodded though. "But yeah.. tea in Muggle London sounds brilliant. Thanks." "Werewolves in any capacity is horrible. Then we have vampires on the journals too, who knows when hags will creep up too. I hate how dangerous the muggle world has gotten lately. I hate that I have to raise Dora in such an atmosphere. I don't want her to be exposed to all this. I just hope that when she gets older she won't remember any of this." Andromeda then nodded and sighed sadly, "I wish they didn't either, but what can I do but just hope that things calm down soon. Dora especially misses seeing her father all the time. She tries to stay up for when he comes home, but sometimes they keep him late and he even works some weekends now. It is horrible. The fact that Ted is one of the few people in that department does not help anything." Andromeda tried to think if they were around when she was there. She knew of Hestia and Beth, but she didn't remember them when she was working there. "Well, it has been over six years since I was there. I don't think they were there when I was working there. I stop by to see how everyone is doing sometimes. I will pay them a visit the next time I do and tell them that you told me about them." Andromeda was honestly surprised by Mary's response to her comforting gesture. "I am sure it did. It is awful how some people are succumbing to the threats and propaganda. But yes, enough about that, we have relaxing tea to get to." Mary nodded. She hated werewolves. They were awful and they taunted people over the journals. The hags were horrible too. "I have to agree. When with the DMLE do something about this?" Mary inquired rhetorically. "If the Ministry can't stop this, then who will?" Mary shook her head miserably. "Poor child. I'm sorry she has to be raised in such a horrible world. Poor baby. At least she can colour him pictures and owl them to him? I don't know. It's so hard. It's so horrid. I hate the world today." Mary nodded again. It had been a while since Andromeda worked there. "I think we were all still in school when you were on the ward," she replied as nicely as she possibly could. You should stop by though! I always have sweet homemade treats at my desk. And I'd love to meet your daughter. She sounds adorable." Mary felt bad reacting as she did, but she wasn't used to comforting gestures like that, as sad as it was. Mary shrugged away from Andromeda's hold and scurried to fetch her things, then she nodded. They were two of the last people there. "I think a nice cup of tea would do us some good," she replied with a grin as she started towards the door. She glanced back over her shoulder with another grin. "I think I'm going to start liking these classes," she added more to herself before offered the brunette her arm. "Shall we?" And with that, Mary led Andromeda through the streets of Hogsmeade. She finally felt lighthearted...like things were going to work out- or like she had just met a woman she could see becoming good friends with. |