Author's Note:- Well hello! Here I am again...and with another new story! (I should really finish the other ones I started before I begin a new one.) But this one's only a one shot...so I'm hoping I can get away with it. I was looking through my computer, and I found some of the other Andromeda fan fictions I wrote, (They are also uploaded on here, if you would like to take a look!) and I realised - I hadn't written any in a while. So then I decided, I would write one, and this idea popped into my head! I hope you like it!
Disclaimer: I own none of these characters. They belong to the wonderful J.K Rowling!
The howling wind that blew threatened to knock the little girl off her feet. She was alone. Frightened. All she could hear was the vicious wind blowing so fiercely that trees were ready to give way and snap in two at any second. Nymphadora let out a small scream and began to run. Where to? She didn't know. She just ran for all it was worth, holding her beloved stuffed wolf close to her chest as she sprinted.
"It's okay, Wolfy. I'll keep you safe. We'll find mummy and go home." A high, cold cackle made her skid to a stop, and looking up, she came face to face with her mummy. But...it couldn't be mummy...this woman looked more terrifying and cruel than her real mummy...and mummy had lighter hair and bigger eyes...so if this wasn't mummy, then who was this?
"Mummy..." Dora sobbed, pitifully. "What have you done with my mummy?" The woman simply giggled, in a childlike fashion.
"Dead. Your mummy's body is rotting in the ground, where it belongs." Before Dora could say anything, however, a hand slapped her across the face, making her fall onto her backside. Wolfy tumbled away from her, and out of sight. "And now, darling Nymphie..." A grin spread across the woman's evil face. "It's your turn."
She awoke with a start, her heart thudding quickly in her ears. It took her a while before she realised that she was in the dark, tucked up in her bed where her mummy had left her earlier that evening. She wasn't in the forest, and the crazy lady was nowhere to be seen. But...she had to make sure...she had to make sure that it had, in fact, all been a dream.
She slid out of bed, looking frantically for Wolfy. She couldn't find him. Maybe the dream had been real. Maybe Wolfy and mummy were gone. But after a few moments of horror, Dora stepped on something soft and fuzzy. She brought the toy up into her arms and kissed its shiny plastic nose. He must have run away from her, whilst she was sleeping, unsuspecting, in her bed.
"That's very naughty, Wolfy. You know you're not s'posed to run away from me. Even mummy says so." She grumbled...but she didn't let go of him as she left her bedroom, and tip toed across the hall, to a door opposite her own. Mummy and daddy's room.
The door creaked open, but neither parent stirred. Though it was dark, and she couldn't see very well, Dora could hear daddy snoring softly, and she knew she would find mummy. Wherever daddy was, mummy usually was. She crept over to mummy's side of the bed. Yes, mummy was here. The five year old could smell her mother's perfume. Dora had asked to have some of that perfume on whenever she saw mummy spraying it on herself. Sometimes Andromeda let her. Sometimes she didn't.
Andromeda was curled up on her side; her back spooned up against Ted's stomach. Her breathing was slow and even, in her deep sleep. Dora clambered onto the bed, accidently falling and landing on mummy's arm in the process.
"Mmm." Andromeda mumbled, moving her arm out of the way. Dora poked her mother, in a vague attempt to wake her up. She wasn't sure where exactly her finger had ended up...it was dark. But it felt like a leg...she thought. "Get your finger out of my eye." The woman grumbled in her sleep, but instinctively moved over as far as she could, to allow her daughter to slide under the covers beside her.
"Mummy..." The little girl whispered. "I had a bad dream." With that, Andromeda opened her eyes, and yawned, holding her daughter close, and running a hand through her daughter's short, vivid pink hair. Dora smiled a little, and snuggled closer. Her mother's nails brushed against her scalp, in a soothing manner.
"What was it about?" She heard her mother whisper, as a soft kiss was placed on top of Dora's head.
"A mean lady said that you were dead...and that it was my turn." She felt her mother stiffen, and immediately worried. "Does that mean something bad?" Andromeda let out a long sigh, and pulled her daughter closer.
"No, darling. It was only a dream. Nothing can harm you there. Dreams can never hurt you." And with that, mother and daughter huddled close together. Dora knew that with mummy there, her dreams would never mean a thing.
Twenty Years Later.
The scream from across the hall pulled Dora out of her uneasy slumber. With a tired sigh, she struggled into a sitting position. The child inside her belly appeared to have woken, and was thrashing around inside the womb, wanting to get a piece of the action. She quietly slipped out of Remus' protective arms, and made her way to her mother's bedroom.
As expected, Andromeda was sobbing to herself in her sleep. Ever since her husband had died, she had been having unyielding nightmares. The same one. All the time. They never went away, and they never left her alone. They never changed. They never got better. They were a persistent agony that seemed like they would never cease.
Like her mother had done for her when she was a tiny, dependent child, Dora held Andromeda as she cried. She reassured her mother that she wasn't alone. That her daughter would always be there for her, no matter what; and so would Ted, in spirit if nothing else.
"Mum..." Dora whispered, placing a hand on her mother's shoulder, gently. Andromeda woke up at her daughter's touch, tears falling obstinately down her pale cheeks and onto the pillow.
"I was holding him..." She cried, clutching to Dora with a vice like grip. "I could smell his hair..." Dora shushed her mother and lay down beside her, holding her so close that the baby she was carrying would almost certainly feel claustrophobic.
"I know...but remember, mum, dreams can never hurt you."
Twenty Five Years Later.
The little boy with turquoise hair slowly opened the door to his grandmother's room. It was late, the middle of the night, and he expected his nana to be asleep. But no...she was sat up in bed, a book propped against her knees. She heard Teddy enter, and smiled, beckoning him over to sit with her on the bed.
"Bad dream, sweetie?" Teddy nodded, and bounded over to the bed, climbing up and snuggling into his grandmother.
"Wolfy was scared, so he wanted a kiss." He held up the stuffed wolf that he had inherited from his mother. Andromeda smiled, a little sadly, as she kissed Wolfy on the nose.
"Better?" Teddy nodded. To Teddy, Wolfy was only a stuffed toy. He was too little to really understand the meaning of it...but to Andromeda, the symbolism was clear...and though the memory was painful, she had been glad she had never thrown the filthy old thing away. Even when Dora had stopped needing him for comfort when she was eleven.
Andromeda sighed, blinking back tears that threatened to fall. They were gone. All gone. Ted. Dora. Remus. The people that Andromeda had given up everything for were no longer here. The only thing that kept her alive was knowing that she had to be strong. She had to raise Teddy in the best way she could.
Teddy seemed to sense his grandmother's sadness, and he frowned, kissing Andromeda's cheek. "Did you have a bad dream too, nana?" Andromeda let out a soft chuckle.
"Something like that..." She placed her arm around Teddy, as he climbed into her lap.
"Don't worry, nana. Remember, dreams can never hurt you."
Author's Note:- Well there you are! I don't know if I'm happy with it or not, to be honest. I usually write my fan fictions out by hand first, before I type them up, so I can double check things and improve and edit things, etc. But I have no room anywhere to write right now. I've been so busy that decluttering the house has become neglected. I hope you liked it, anyway. I could have done better, but then again, I could have done worse.
Chapter six of 'Occlumency' is currently in the stages of planning, and chapter two of 'Trembling Courage' should follow shortly after!
Thank you for reading. Please review! You know how I love them. x