This piece was inspired by the amazing askdoratonks, specifically this post. Jes, thank you so much for giving me permission to do this… and Merlin damn it this broke my heart to write.
It was a nice, normal evening in the Tonks' house. Nothing important had been broken all day, and Andromeda had only nearly tripped over her daughter's toys three times. Ted, when he got home from work, had been pounced on eagerly by the little girl, who was demanding to show off the new words she'd learned to read. He'd happily agreed to indulge her after dinner, and now the little family was settled in the living room while Nymphadora, snuggled up on her dad's lap, proudly read out the book she'd been learning from.
Andromeda watched them both with a fond little smile. The past seven years had been hard work; raising a child would never be easy, especially one with as much mischief in her as Nymphadora, but there was no way the doting mother would ever change a thing. Her little girl was happy and carefree and loved, and she'd sworn never to put her through the strict and often plain nasty childhood that the House of Black generally provided.
As the clock chimed nine, she sat up and eyed the half-dozing pair. "Bedtime," she said, and Nymphadora made a noise of protest. "No arguing, it's getting late. Come on, up."
"Give it a couple more minutes," Ted said indulgently as he lifted their daughter off his knee and got up. "I need to nip upstairs anyway."
Still mumbling complaints, Nymphadora wandered over and put her arms round her mother instead, seeking some attention. Ted chuckled, ruffled the fluffy mass of royal blue curls, and headed upstairs, adding, "Won't be long," over his shoulder.
Andromeda shook her head with weary amusement at the antics of her family and put one arm around her daughter, trying to smooth down the tumbled curls to no avail. "I'll get the hairbrush if I have to," she threatened with a chuckle.
Nymphadora wrinkled her nose and shortened her hair till it was too short for brushing. "No you won't."
"That's cheating," her mother said, smiling, but a sudden chill in the air sent a shiver down her back. "Did you just feel a breeze?"
"Maybe the fireplace is broken," the little girl suggested, scrambling over and peering at the flames with a frown.
"Maybe. The charm we put over it to keep out draughts might have worn off." Andromeda wasn't quite convinced and got up to take a look.
As she crouched to examine it more closely, Nymphadora looked back over her shoulder at the squeak of a hinge, and let out a tiny gasp.
"What is it -" The breath froze in Andromeda's throat at the sight of the tall, far too familiar figure standing in the doorway, and by instinct she flung her arm out, trying to shield her daughter, as she shot to her feet. "Bella," she managed, her voice shaking as she tried to summon up courage she didn't feel.
"Hello to you too, Andi." Bellatrix took a couple of steps forward, her eyes darting about the room for a moment before they landed on the little girl who had taken a death-grip on her mother's skirt. "I hope you're going to be reasonable about this."
"About what?" Andromeda's mouth was dry with terror. "What do you want?"
"Her." The curved wand flicked out towards Nymphadora, who whimpered in fright and shrank back behind her mother.
Andromeda's jaw nearly hit the floor before she caught herself. "Have you gone insane at last, Bella? I'm not going to hand my daughter over to you."
"She's got Black blood, Andi, and she's got a rare gift. We'll even overlook the filth that fathered her for that."
"You're not taking her," Andromeda said, backing towards a corner of the room and pushing her daughter behind her.
"Don't tell me you'll fight me for her!" Bellatrix laughed, raising her wand. "You don't have the guts for it, and even if you did I -"
She barely deflected the curse in time, and it sizzled into the wall.
Andromeda had drawn her wand and cast faster than she'd known was possible. Even though she'd never been in a serious fight in her life - had never even learned to duel - protecting her daughter was enough to lend her limbs almost superhuman speed. "I said you're not taking her," she snarled. "Get out of my house." Nymphadora had her face buried in her mother's skirt, sobbing quietly in fear. It was all far too much for her.
And then her mother stepped through the door behind Bellatrix. "Don't be so simple, Andromeda," she said disdainfully. "You can't fight all of us, and it would be stupid to try. Just be sensible about this."
"Sensible?" There was a thud and a scream of pain from upstairs, and Andromeda blanched. "Leave him out of this!"
"That's not how this works," Druella said, circling round the room so Andromeda couldn't face both her and Bellatrix at the same time. There were several scuffling noises from the stairwell, and the sound of stumbling as several people tried to get down the steps as a group. "My granddaughter belongs with the rest of her family, and if you won't see reason, Andromeda, we're going to make you."
"She's nothing to do with you or the rest of the family - she's a Tonks, not a Black, and you can't change that by -" Andromeda trailed off with a shuddering gasp as the door flew open again, and Ted was hauled in by three others, half-conscious, his shirt torn and a significant cut across his chest already soaking the fabric in red.
He was flung to the floor in the middle of the room, and immediately struggled to get back up before a hex knocked him back down. Cygnus regarded his son-in-law with disgust, wand at the ready to keep him down if necessary.
"Stop it!" Andromeda nearly screamed, tears rolling down her face. "Stop it, leave us alone, we're nothing to do with you any more -"
"Enough!" Orion Black, the head of the family, levelled his wand at her. "That's enough, Andromeda. We gave you enough chances. You're coming home."
She shook her head, trying not to break down sobbing. "This is my home."
"Not any more." And then, seeing from the set of her jaw that it was useless to talk any further, he flung a spell at her. She deflected it, but by then the others were closing in.
She might have been able to hold off one of them, but not five, and the struggle was over fast. Disarmed, helpless, and struggling in the vice-like grip of her father and brother-in-law, Andromeda faced her uncle with a look of utter hatred. Nymphadora was squirming against her grandmother's hands, crying quietly, and Ted lay sprawled on the floor, still dazed and bleeding.
"You can't make me obey you," she spat.
"If I could we wouldn't be having this conversation," Orion replied coolly. "One way or another you're coming back, though, and maybe this will serve as a reminder of what happens when my family dares to defy me." He glanced at Bellatrix, who smiled gleefully and promptly unleashed the Cruciatus on Ted.
It took a long time.
At first Andromeda had screamed and begged and pleaded, thrashing in an effort to reach Ted, to break free, to make it stop. Nymphadora, too, shrieked and fought in outrage that these people were hurting her daddy, and had indeed put up enough of a fight that she'd been slapped into silence.
As the hours passed by, however, and Ted's screams faded to moans, the moans to whimpers, and the whimpers at last to rasping noises from a throat too raw to make any other sound - as his blood soaked the carpet and turned it shining red - Andromeda went limp, tears rolling down her cheeks in silence. After all the times she'd promised him she'd do anything to keep him safe… her worst nightmare had come to life. She could feel her mind splintering under the weight of the horror she couldn't bear any more.
"Stop it," she croaked. "Please."
Bellatrix paused, raising an eyebrow, and turned to Orion. He looked between the two women, clearly thinking the matter over, and finally sighed, shaking his head with the air of a man who'd been dealing with squabbling children all day.
"All right," he said. "Bella, enough playing. It's late. Just finish him off."
The dark-haired woman laughed and whirled, raising her wand for the final blow. Andromeda lunged forward, screaming the last words she knew he'd ever hear.
"Ted, I love you!"
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"
And then Andromeda felt herself shatter from the inside out, and there was nothing left but the void and the echoes of her last farewell. Or was it her daughter, screaming and crying for her daddy? She couldn't be sure; darkness was closing over all her senses, and she welcomed it, hoping she'd never wake up again.
In a sense, she never really did.