This ficlet is in response to thecompletebookworm's In Memoriam Challenge
Character: Andromeda Tonks
Prompt: Wilted Flowers
Narcissa Malfoy stared blankly at the front page of The Prophet. In the bottom right-hand corner there was a picture of a woman that should have been familiar, a woman that she should have known, but never truly had. Andromeda's deeply hooded eyes shone out through the black and white picture over her obituary, and Narcissa couldn't help the shock that froze her for a moment.
Purely out of curiosity, at least that was her excuse, she allowed her eyes to wander down the page to the words written about a woman who had shared her family, her home, but never her heart.
Andromeda 'Andy' Tonks
By: Theodore Remus Lupin
Andromeda Tonks was a woman of great compassion, and understanding. She grew up in a home wrought with hatred, and overcame it with love. She was a great woman, a kind soul, and an incredible mother, and grandmother.
Andromeda was born to the late Cygnus and Druella Black, in 1953. She was survived by her sister Narcissa Malfoy (nee Black.)
Andromeda attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from 1964-1971 during which she met her late husband Ted Tonks. They married in 1972, and in April of the next year, she gave birth to their first and only child, the late Nymphadora (sorry, mum) Lupin (nee Tonks).
Andromeda and Ted raised their daughter together in their home in England. Andromeda stayed home with her throughout her daughter's life while Ted worked as an author for The Daily Prophet until 1995 when he was laid off. She suffered the loss of her husband in November of 1997 at the height of the second wizarding war. He died a hero fighting for the light.
After the death of her daughter, and son-in-law, Remus Lupin, Andromeda raised her only grandchild, Theodore Lupin, alongside his godfather Harry Potter. She was a strong woman, intelligent, and independent who never let the woes of life keep her from living it.
On a more personal note, I must say that she raised me in a loving home, filled with beautiful memories, and loads of laughter. She was strict when she needed to be, which I'll admit was probably quite often, and I hope that I can be a fifth of the person she was.
Andromeda Tonks was an incredible woman of great compassion, and strong will, and she will be remembered in my minds and the hearts of those close to her forever. We love you, and we miss you, but we know that to you, death is but the next great adventure.
Narcissa stared at the page for a moment. That was her sister. That woman who had meant so much, to so many people had been created from the same genetic material that she had. She tore the eulogy from the paper, and stared at the picture for a moment longer before retreating to the blue room on the third floor. The room had once been used for guests, but it now stood empty, housing only her thoughts, and sickly sweet scent of delicate flowers, brought in by the house elves.
Narcissa stared around her contemplating where best to put the tidbit of her sister, when she saw it. Sitting on the bureau, in the glow of the reflected candle light, was a vase of white oleander. Its petals were wilted, and its stems seemed to droop in sorrow. Cissa walked across the room to the dying plant, and plucked a single bloom from it. She pressed the bud into the paper, leaving it flat, and soft within the parchment.
She then summoned an envelope, and, tucking both the eulogy and flower within its opening, she put it in the faded dresser. "I…I did love you Andy, no matter our differences."
Her words hung in the room even as she left without a backwards glance.