Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.
A/N - I don't love this, but it's the best I could do with a limited amount of time. I hope you enjoy it regardless.
Written for the Stretch Your Boundaries Competition - Prompts - Learning Experience / Possibilities / Remedy
Written for the Disney Character Competition - Duchess - Prompt - Black
W/C Without A/N - 981
A Step Too Far
At first, it was all about rebellion. She wanted her parent's to pay attention to her, even if it was for something bad. She hated being the middle child, the forgotten one. Bellatrix was perfect, of course, and she couldn't step a foot wrong in their parents eyes, never mind that she was a sadistic bitch, even as a teenager. Narcissa on the other hand, she was the beautiful one, the baby of the family.
Andromeda thought and schemed and planned for months, trying to think of something that would make her parents mad, would make them sit up and remember that yes, they had a middle child, and no, she was no longer going to be ignored. It had been a learning experience, she thought, and the possibilities had been endless. In the end, she kept coming back to the same plan, the first one she thought of, the one that would have her parents raging like they never had before.
Ted, poor sod, was lost before he knew where he was. It was too easy in a way, Andromeda had been expecting at least a little bit of a challenge luring him in, but he gave in, and he was hers. Her toy, hers to play with, to do as she pleased. Ted was never what Andromeda wanted in a partner. He was too easy going, too laid back and carefree. He lacked the passion that she wished for, but, looking back, she knew it wasn't his fault.
Ted was everything her parents hated, and for her plan, he was perfect.
xxxx
Years later, when Andromeda thought back to her younger years, she can't help but feel the stab of regret that always hits her in the guts. The what ifs, should have's and could have's tortured her dreams. If she had back down, if she had let go of her pride, if she had apologised. She could have still been a Black. She could have married into another pure-blood family. She could have still had her family, her sisters.
Ted. Theodore Tonks. He was a nice man, too nice for her she knew, and he deserved better than what she could give him. She had softened over the years, and she had grown fond of him. She would never be in love with him. The man was too... mellow for her, but she had grown to respect him.
He should have walked away from her long ago, but instead, he had gone on one knee and proposed to her. It was years later when she asked him why he had gone on one knee. A muggle tradition apparently, and one that confused her more than most, she had to admit. Still, when she let herself get knocked up, when she took her 'plan' too far, he had done the decent thing and stuck by her.
Andromeda knew he was more than she deserved, but she couldn't feel grateful for the half life she had lived.
xxxx
Being a wife, and a homemaker had never been in her plans. She wanted to travel, to do something interesting, to explore herself and the world around her. She loved her daughter, of course she did, but part of her will always regret the pregnancy that threw her parent's over the edge.
Now, as she sits by the window, she hears her grandson crying out. A tear spills to her cheek, but she leaves it, and continues to stare out, seeing nothing but memories and regrets flashing in front of her eyes.
Her daughter is dead. Her husband is dead. Her son in law is dead. And it's all her fault.
If she hadn't been rebellious, if she had toed the family line, married into a respectable family, done everything she was supposed to do, she would have been happier. Any children she had would have been safe and well.
Even as she thinks that, she knows its a lie. They would have been drafted by Voldemort, marked like common servants like the rest of her family had been, but the thought that there was a better life waiting for her, which she turned her back on, still haunts her. Would it have been better? She doesn't know.
She wishes she could have found out.
xxxx
Teddy is still crying in his cot, but she can't see to him. He is a reminder of a life messed up. A reminder of a husband she didn't love, and of a daughter who didn't keep herself safe.
Harry will be here soon, Andromeda knows. He is like clockwork, and he'll be here to take Teddy for the weekend in less than an hour.
A vile sits on the windowsill in front of her. A home 'remedy' of sorts, a concoction of her own making. She had always been the best in potions. It is ready for her to drink, yet she hesitates.
She could wait. She could wait until Harry has been, until she is alone in the house. It would be the best way for everyone else she knows, but then, she's always been selfish. Her trip down memory lane has proved that to her beyond any doubt.
When Harry arrives, he will find Teddy in his cot, still crying. He will find the house in a mess, ornaments and plates smashed, drawers ripped from their places in the cupboards. He will find a lifeless Andromeda, her soul long gone from a world that always fell flat of her expectations. He will suspect foul play. He will insist on working the investigation. He will be devastated when the evidence tells a story of a woman in desperate need of help.
Andromeda always did take things a step too far. Why should her death be any different?