"I think you should see this."
Ted Tonks had been reading the Daily Prophet for the last few minutes. With shaking hands, he held it out to his wife, Andromeda.
"What is it?" Andromeda asked absently, waving her wand to stir the stew that was cooking on the oven. She then took the paper, not waiting for her husband's reply.
Her eyes scanned the page. Ted conjured a chair as Andromeda's legs weakened beneath her. She clutched the paper so hard that her knuckles went white, and the paper began to tear slightly. She reached the end, and placed the Prophet on the table, tears in her eyes. "N - no. It can't be." She looked helplessly at Ted, who just nodded. He placed a hand over Andromeda's.
"It gets worse." He whispered, flicking to the fifth page.
Andromeda read the next article, her face now as white as a sheet. She stared at the picture, her horrified expression frozen. Her eyes were wide, and terrified.
Suddenly, an girl bounced cheerfully into the kitchen, not sparing her mother or father a look.
"What's for dinner? Stew? Great! Can I have a biscuit first? How's Uncle Sirius? What about his friends? He took me to meet his friends the other day, when he - um - babysitted - er, babysat me. Not that I'm a baby. I'm eight. But yeah, he took me to see - what are they called? Er, Prongs, and Lily, and - what's his name? Moony. And - uh - Harry. He's one. He's Prongs and Lily's baby. Harry Potter. Wasn't it in the news yesterday? That Harry Potter survived Avada Kedavra? That You-Know-Who's gone? I've met Harry Potter. Isn't that cool?"
"Very - er - 'cool', Dora. Darling, listen - Lily, and - I assume you mean James, they all had silly nicknames - they were killed. Yesterday." Andromeda couldn't keep the misery from her voice, but she didn't look round in case her face showed her fear.
"What?" The girl shrieked, dropping the glass jar of biscuits on the floor with a loud smash. "The Potters? Dead? DEAD? But - how's Sirius?"
"Sirius - sweetie. I have to ask you not to ever call Sirius 'uncle' ever again. You might get in trouble. You see - he's in Azkaban. So's Aunt Bella. It might be best to pretend you're not related to her, either."
"You're kidding! Sirius? Azkaban? Bellatrix doesn't surprise me, she's horrid, I already pretend I'm not related to her - but SIRIUS? He's really cool! And nice! And just last week he took me for an ice-cream at Fortescue's!"
"I know, Nymphadora. But -"
"How many times do I have to tell you? Don't call me Nymphadora!"
"Fine, Dora. But Sirius - he killed -" Andromeda took a deep breath. "Sirius is a murderer. He killed twelve muggles, and one wizard."
"No! Not Sirius!" Nymphadora protested.
"No, sweetie. He did. And Bellatrix tortured two people. Frank and Alice Longbottom."
"Longbottom? Alice Longbottom was in Sirius's year! I met her last year!" She panicked. "What's happening? Nobody else will die, will they? We won't die?"
"No, no. Calm down. Sirius and Bella were working for Voldemort, Death Eaters." Ted chipped in.
"So, they had the Dark Mark?"
"Probably."
"No." Nymphadora shook her head. "He wore a short-sleeved shirt last week. He didn't have a Dark Mark."
"Maybe he hid it? With a spell?"
"Nope. He said that that's why he finally left home. It was the final straw. He was sick of the lot of them, but it was when Bella came back on day with the Dark Mark, and she had to try and cover it up. Tried long sleeves, bandages, make up. But she never cursed it, but if she could, she would have. The Dark Mark can't be concealed with magic." There was a long pause.
"Look," Andromeda said finally, "this - none of this - matters. Don't mention Bellatrix or Sirius anywhere, especially not when you start Hogwarts. If they come up, pretend you don't know them. Even if he's innocent, there's nothing we can do. I'm sorry. I know how you feel. But there's just not. If you try and defend him, you might get chucked in Azkaban too."
"But he'll go insane. Or die." Nymphadora whispered. "Please... he's innocent -"
"Enough." Andromeda snapped suddenly. Nymphadora stepped backwards, away from her mother (who suddenly looked a whole lot more like Bellatrix than she had moments ago), but didn't realise that she was already pressed against the cupboards. She slipped, and landed on the floor - she put her hands down to stop herself, but forgot about the glass from the jar.
"Oh!" She gasped, looking at the huge cut on the palm of her hand.
"Merlin!" Andromeda exclaimed, and was at her daughter's side in an instant. "I'm sorry I got mad - I was just upset, I don't want to talk about it. And I would hate to cry in front of you. It's not nice to see grown-ups cry." Nymphadora nodded as Andromeda healed the cut with a wave of her wand, and helped her to her feet. "Why don't you go and read your book? The Tales of Beedle the Bard? The one that Sirius's friends bought you. James and Remus."
"I forgot, again - why did they buy it?"
"Because you and Lily and Harry and James and Remus and Sirius were in Diagon Alley, and you wanted the book, and they're very nice people. Now then, run along." Andromeda ushered Nymphadora out of the kitchen. Ted stood up, and walked over to his wife, who began sobbing into his shoulder.
"Why them?" She asked. "Why James and Sirius and Lily? And P-Peter - he didn't do anything wrong. And he's dead. Why did Sirius do it, though? And why the Potters? And why did Harry survive? And how's Remus feeling?"
"No-one knows why Harry survived, but I assume that's why You-Know-Who targeted them. He probably though that Harry would be a threat, and to get rid of him before he could do magic. But it wasn't Harry's powers that would do the damage, it was something else. As for Sirius - I don't know. I'd send an owl to Remus, but I don't know where he lives." Andromeda nodded, and sniffed.
"I should finish the stew." She whispered, stirring it again, and taking a step away from her husband.
Nymphadora Tonks watched the whole thing. She had promised herself that she would read the book, once her mother was okay. Her mother was sort of okay now, so she crept back into her room.
It really was horrible to see an adult cry.