Authors note: I hope you enjoy this oneshot, I definitely enjoyed writing it
The sunlight was soft as it shone through the window, its light gently touching everything in its path. Andromeda Tonks greatly enjoyed days like this, days where the sun was out and the wind was calm and she could open all the windows of the small house she shared with her husband and daughter. Days like this were becoming few, and with the reign of terror in the wizarding world hitting its peak, an anxious scratching at the back of her mind made her wonder how many of them she would have left.
But she tried not to think of that too much, shaking the thought from her mind as she watched her three year old daughter Nymphadora playing with toys on the bedroom floor, while she stood ironing. Dora was a very lively child, always running around the house and tripping over things, trying to open drawers she shouldn't, this moment of peace felt like bliss to Andromeda as she watched her completely entertained, her hair turning the same bright purple as the toy she was playing with. The sight warmed Andromeda's heart, and she thought once more about how lucky she was to have her family.
She finished ironing the small dress, folding it and then taking it over to the pile of Nymphadora's clothes that she had already ironed, placing it delicately on top. When she realised that any more items of clothing and the pile would topple over, she decided to take them next door to Dora's room. Andromeda picked up the pile of laundry, checking once more that her daughter was completely enthralled by her toys before moving next door to put them away.
She made quick work of putting away the clothes, magically placing each item in its designated drawer while listening out for any signs of mischief from next door. Once they were all away, she quickly went back into the master bedroom, expecting to find Dora still sat playing with her toy. Her daughter was still sat on the rug, her magical toy still bouncing around her in circles but Dora was holding something, something that when Andromeda saw it she froze, her mouth falling open with a gasp.
"Mummy, who's this?" the girl said, holding up a moving photo. Andromeda could barely speak. "She looks just like you."
The photo was of two young, near identical looking women sat outside at a round iron table, a stone balcony and fields of green behind them. The woman on the right smiles softly as the other wraps an arm around her shoulder, tilting her head back and flashing a grin at the camera as dark waves of hair flow behind her.
"She's just somebody mummy used to know, that's all," Andromeda answered her daughter softly, taking the photograph from her hands, hoping her voice didn't falter. She remembered the day it was taken, the warm breeze in the air, the sun on her back, the smell of red wine on her sister's breath as she pulled her closer. "Nobody important."
"Can I keep it?" the child asked curiously, and Andromeda had to stop herself from firing back a harsh no as soon as the words hit her ears.
"No darling, I'm sorry. This belongs to mummy," She answered, wondering what she was going to do with it. "Where did you find it?"
"In here," Nymphadora said, pointing to an old bag of Andromeda's that she'd been using to keep her toys in. Realisation struck her, of course it was in there.
It was the first time Andromeda had ever been out of the country. As a graduation present, Bellatrix had taken her to France for two weeks with herself and her husband Rodolphus to stay at his family's estate. They'd taken her around France to places they'd visited on their honeymoon the previous year, given her an entire wing of the Chateau to herself, plied her with exquisite food and wine despite her protests that she didn't enjoy alcohol. She remembered how strange it had been to observe her sister's relationship with her husband so closely, how they seemed nothing like herself and Ted, more like business partners than a married couple. She remembered the guilt she felt that Ted had proposed to her two weeks prior and nobody knew, how much she'd missed him. She remembered everything that happened after. That had been the bag she'd taken her clothes in, and when Bellatrix insisted that Andromeda keep the photo, she must've put it in there and forgotten about it.
"Alright, mummy is going to put this away now," she began, rising slowly from where she sat on the floor. "Can you stay here while mummy puts this away?"
"Yes," Giggled Nymphadora.
"Good girl," Said Andromeda before leaving the room. She went to shove the photo in her pocket, having every intention of disposing of it as soon as Dora had gone to bed. But first she looked at it once more, a heavy pang settling in her chest as she thought of the family that disowned her. She wondered what Bellatrix was doing now, but a nagging suspicion told her that she already knew. And Narcissa, Andromeda had read the announcement in The Daily prophet of her marriage to Lucius Malfoy last year, but she wondered if Narcissa had wondered down the same dark path she suspected her older sister had followed, or was that spark of youthful hope still alive in her.
Once she went back inside her bedroom she found Nymphadora trying to climb onto the bed, who in her efforts had knocked Andromeda's piles of ironing off and onto the floor. She gasped, feigning shock before picking her daughter up and lifting her onto the bed, swiftly moving to pick up the ironed clothes that had fallen onto the floor, cringing at the mess but incapable of being angry at Dora for it. This was her family, the people that loved her unconditionally and whom she loved back, not those people with whom she shared nothing but blood and memories.