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Andromeda Black thought she had lost her family the day she gave away her name and they began to ignore her existence. At the time, although she never regretted her decision, she even grieved for her loss. It took her a long time to realise that she had never truly lost her family, that she would never truly escape them.
Regulus was the first one to fall. It was not widely reported and so she only learned of his death a week later in a note from Sirius, who had recently become too busy to visit her even on, or especially on, an occasion like this. She had never been close to Regulus as she was to Sirius but she remembered him as well-mannered, somewhat shy boy who was always eager to please and definitely too young to die. Despite what he had done all she felt for him was pity and a sudden choking sensation when she realises that she could easily have been in his place. She walked around her new home, finding family photos and mementos to look at, touch and cling to, reminders that she had left the Blacks behind.
The second blow was by far worse. She was cooking breakfast, humming to herself contently because the Dark Lord had fallen and there was no need for fear anymore. When the owl arrived she reached for the Daily Prophet happily, excited that this was the first time in years she did not have to be afraid of the day's news. Except her cousin cackled manically at her from the front page. Sirius. The only one she had left. The only one of them who had visited her home, befriended her husband, played with her daughter.
Andromeda read the article three times then she carefully folded the paper and placed it in a kitchen drawer. She finished preparing breakfast, saw Ted off to work and took Nymphadora to the park. When she arrived home there were two letters waiting for her; one from a concerned Ted offering to leave work early if she needed him, the other from the Ministry of Magic asking her to visit their offices as soon as was convenient was her. She decided that the present moment was convenient enough; Nymphadora still had her coat on and she herself was too numb to care what was happening.
She kept her report answers brief, bland and unemotional. No, she had never suspected Sirius of any wrongdoing. No, he had never mentioned a plot against the Potters. Yes, it was possible he had been lying to everyone for months. Yes, it was more likely he would turn to the Dark Arts given his family background. Walking away from the office, Andromeda was lost in thought when Nymphadora managed to fall over her own feet and almost crashed into an ugly, but probably extremely expensive, statue that adorned the corridor. A man walking in the opposite direction caught the girl before she could hit the floor and Andromeda went to thank him before she recognised him as Sirius' friend Remus Lupin and her eyes were magically drawn down to the floor. She had to shake herself for a moment, remind herself that she was not betraying Sirius because he had already betrayed her and everyone else. In fact, from the way Lupin had averted his own eyes she guessed he was at the Ministry for a similar purpose as her. She stammered a few words of thanks, took her oblivious daughter's hand and they all hurried away.
The next time her family arrived in the morning paper it was Bella, and while Andromeda was sickened she was also not surprised, and that perhaps was the worst part. This time there was a trial which she did not attend, and when Ted told her the result she nodded absently as though he was merely telling her the weather report. Still, her family's faces appeared in her dreams even more often than usual and she was grateful that few of her and Ted's friends knew who her family were. It was much better for Nymphadora at least if no one connected Andi Tonks to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.
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