The characters in this story belong to J.K. Rowling. AU/EWE


1 January 1999

"What do you think, Harry?" asked Andromeda Tonks. She had just presented her idea of an adventure to the Godfather of her grandson.

"Do you think she will be up for that long of an adventure," Harry Potter replied, "especially with a toddler in tow?"

"We won't know until we ask, will we?"

"I think the idea has merit, especially since she is no longer under house arrest, but cannot use magic for the next eighteen months." Harry said, thinking over the proposition.

"That's what I was thinking. Also, Draco has another six months in Hogwarts before he needs to do his year of community service." Andromeda went on, "I have talked with the Ministry of Magic and they are fine with it. I think they think I will be a sort of probation officer, but the way we will be travelling will take care of the loss of her wand and binding of her magic. Teddy is the wild card here."

"What are you going to do about his blue hair?"

"Hats outside and wigs if we are out in public. I have been trying them out and he seems to like the funny ones that I put on him. Hopefully the novelty won't wear off soon." She looked across the room at the young wizard rocking the baby. "I know you'll miss him, but you are only getting away from training to see him every six to eight weeks. With your training schedule, you don't have a lot of time to visit for the next couple of years. We can make arrangements to be here when you're free."

"Andromeda, I don't want to play the age card, but will this be too much for you?" Harry sheepishly asked.

She laughed and then said, "Oh, come on Harry. I'm only in my forties. I still could have children of my own if I were to have sex."

Harry appropriately blushed. "On that note I think I should be going. I'm meeting Ron for dinner at the Burrow, then we're back to training."

"You only want Molly's cooking," she accused in a teasing manner.

"Yeah!" He rose and handed the sleeping boy back to his grandmother. "Owl me where you are and what you are doing, okay?"

"I will. It will be fun, wait and see."


After putting the baby down in his crib, Andromeda went to the floo to make the call. She had been communicating with her sister since Narcissa Malfoy's trial and home incarceration. It had been awkward at first, but the sisterly friendship and love that had been there during their childhood had returned. Now they felt the comradery that had been there in their childhood.

"Cissy, are you there?" Andromeda asked.

Narcissa snarked, "Where else would I be?"

"How about a road trip?"

"You've got to be kidding."

"Nope, I'm dead serious."

"No, you are not dead Sirius. He's in the veil." Narcissa quipped back. Her black mood breaking as she made the terrible joke.

Not missing a beat Andromeda quipped back, "At least I didn't say I was deadly serious."

"Too true. Now what's this about a road trip?"

Andromeda began to explain her plan and the preparations she had made. "I have talked with the Ministry and you will be free at 8 o'clock tomorrow in the morning as long as they know where you are. I asked if I could take you on a road trip by muggle means, of course, and they have agreed that it meets the letter of your probation. I went to Gringotts and transferred enough Galleons to pounds in Barclays to cover our expenses. There is a letter on file with the goblins to transfer more if we should run low. You know how that works with the plastic and all." She went on as though Narcissa knew what plastic was. "I have gotten your British passport from the Ministry (don't ask how, it involved a couple of spells to expedite things) and purchased tickets on British Airways to New York from Heathrow. We leave day after tomorrow."

"Sometimes I forget that you were a Slytherin, Meda," her sister said. "So, what's the rest of the plan?"

"I will pick you up tomorrow with empty luggage and a muggle outfit for you to wear while we shop for a wardrobe. Molly Weasley will be watching Teddy while we shop."

"Do you think Teddy will travel okay? Babies don't like apparating or floo travel. It makes them queasy."

Meda explained, "I have talked to a pediatrician, a muggle baby doctor, and they have given me Benadryl (a potion) and told me to give him a bottle or pacifier to suck on during take-off and landing. Said we might want chewing gum for our ears. I got first class seats on the airplane for us, so we would have more room and can spread out."

"So, we are going to spend a year in New York?" Cissy asked. "Won't we be bored?"

"No, we are not going to do that," her older sister answered. "We will tour the United States and Canada, then move on the Australia, New Zealand, China, India, the Mediterranean and wherever our whim takes us. When we get back you can finish your six months community service at the same time Draco finishes his and then you both will be free to live your lives."

"Fun touring for a year, then work for six months and not the other way around? How many ministry employees did you Confund?" the blonde witch laughed.

"Maybe one or two, but who's counting," she laughed. "See you tomorrow morning at one minute after eight. Wear comfortable shoes. We have a lot of shopping to do."