Sorry, Coldplay!

…she started to leave when another voice said:

'Harry! Please, you need to tell me what…' The woman paused.

'Narcissa.'

The baby in the woman's arms began to cry.

'Andromeda.' It wasn't a question or a greeting, it was a statement.

Narcissa decided to try and be polite. She might as well patch things up with her sister. Bellatrix couldn't stop her now and she saw no harm in it.

'You're well?'

'I don't know. Maybe Harry could tell me if I should be?'

Harry had no idea what to say. Last time he had seen this woman he had mistaken her for her demented sister and yesterday her daughter had been murdered. And, it seemed she didn't know about it.

'Mrs. Tonks,-'

She frowned, her forehead creased in worry.

'Is Nymphadora hurt? I've tried to contact someone but no one has been able to tell me anything. Please, can I see her?'

'Mrs. Tonks, I think you should speak to proffessor Mcgonagal about this.'

'Is she hurt?' Harry had no idea of how to deal with this. He wished someone was there to help him and to take him away from the responsibility and away from the pain but apart from the six of them, the entrance hall was empty.

'Listen, you really should come upstairs.' Harry didn't know how much longer he could stand the stabbing pain in his chest before he broke down into tears.

'Harry, why can't I see her?!' Andromeda's panicky voice rose. Last time, Ted Tonks had dealt with calming Mrs. Tonks, Teddy Lupin on the other hand was too busy whimpering for his dead parents.

Harry took a deep breath of air, seeing no other way out he prepared himself for what ever might come.

'She's…'

'No!' Harry barely heard her whisper.

Narcissa reached out a tetative hand to rest on her sister's arm.

'Andie?'

Andromeda stiffened, clutching the whimpering baby tightly to her chest. Lucius looked disgusted and Draco horrified.

'And Remus?'

'I'm really sorry.'
The baby cried properly now, it's wails echoing around the chamber. Harry summoned Andromeda a chair from the chamber off the hall just in time.

'Ted gone, Dora gone…' she whispered, horrified, 'and Teddy's an orphan!' Teddy's wails got louder as though he understood every word she said. 'Teddy, darling. My poor little Teddy. And Nymphadora, my darling, baby Dora.

If anyone had thought to tear their horrified eyes away from the bereaved mother to look at Narcissa, they would have seen the loneliest woman in the world.

A little girl who had loved both of her sisters, the younger, who had been jealous, ambitious, craved glory and so twisted into an unrecognisable woman; and the oldest sat before her, rocking her body in anguish.

Andie's life had gone on without Cissa who was left behind, alone. She had been the one to leave her but she was the one to have been left behind.

Whether they sat for minutes or for hours, Harry couldn't tell but to Andromeda time was not there.

Teddy's cries were becoming unbearable. She wanted to escape somewhere where she could cry herself to sleep and nothing would reach her.

'Mrs. Tonks?'

'What was that?'

'Mrs. Tonks?'

It was the Potter boy, looking concerned.

Why?

'Should I take Teddy? You know, if you wanted some space?'

She nodded numbly, not taking the words in. She laid Teddy in his arms. Teddy looked like his grandfather, Tonks and Remus, all in one.

'Are you all right, Mrs. Tonks?'

'Call me Andromeda.' Why had she said that of all things? Why at such a time?

'OK.'

She wouldn't look at anyone, not even when she was outside by the lake on the rocky outcrop, which had been the scene of so many adolescent wanderings with her secret sweetheart.

Looking down at the water she remembered the last time she had been there. The last day of Hogwarts when she prepared herself to tell her family. About Ted. About the baby that was on the way. About her future. And about love, how love would work and get them through everything unscathed.

So much for that.

She leant forward further, searching the water for memories as though it was a pensieve.

Tears were streaming down her face. Nothing that she'd lost could be replaced. She had loved someone and gone to waste. Could it be worse?

She couldn't bear a second more.

She looked at the water one last time.

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

The baby in Harry's arms had a shock of violent orange hair. His face was screwed up, and Harry wanted nothing more than to stop his godson's sobs.

It was strange, Harry thought. He had part of the responsibility for the child yet had never seen it before and more importantly never held a baby in his life. What on earth was he supposed to do.

Looking up for some kind of help he saw that the Malfoys had gone. No helping hand was there for him. Although he could have gone to find any Weasley who had all dealt with children and he had a feeling that Harmione would be great too but he had to do this alone.

He felt odd walking up and down, rocking Teddy Lupin in his arms but the baby quietened which reassured Harry.

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

When Ron found Harry sitting in a dusty armchair looking at a sleeping baby as though it was an alien, he smiled. It fitted in a surreal kind of way. The oddness of the way they looked summarised their situation.

Harry looked up when Ron's shadow fell over them.

'Hi Harry.'

'Sh! You'll wake him!'

Harry hissed back making Ron snort.

'I have a feeling he is quite tired. He's not waking up soon.'

Harry looked a bit shifty to be caught like this when it was quite clear how inexperienced he was.

'I see you're quite the family man, Harry!'

'Shuddup.'

Ron snorted.

'He's kind of sweet, isn't he though. Despite being your godson.'

'Thanks. But he is I guess.'

'Look how sentimental we get in our wise old age, eh? But wait till Hermione sees him.'

Right on cue a squeal pierced their ears.

'Oh Harry! I've been looking for you two everywhere! Oh he's so cute! So this is little Teddy?'

'Oh no, Hermione, we just found another random baby with green hair.'

'Very amusing Ron. Oh he's just so gorgeous!' Ron cleared his throat.

'Yes, Ronald?'

'Nothing.'

'Oh, hi Ginny!'

'Hi Hermione, hi you two! Mum sent me to find you she says if you want to come to the Order meeting, it's a good idea to be there. What are you doing here anyway? And why was Hermione screaming?'

Harry grinned.

'Come here, Ginny.'

'OK.' Ginny looked slightly nervous as all three grinned up at her.

'Why? Oh my goodness!' Ginny's breath was taken away.

'He's…'

'Gorgeous?' supplied Ron, helpfully.

'Yeah. Most gorgeous little boy ever.' Harry cleared his throat.

'Harry's the godfather!'

'Oh, yes, Lupin told me about that when he told us about Teddy being born!'

Silence descended on them as they thought of Remus Lupin. But suddenly Hermione gasped.

'Harry, Andromeda! She brought Teddy, didn't she? Where is she? What happened?'

'Oh my God, Harry! How is she?'

'She did bring Teddy. She's gone for a walk and, er, she didn't know.'

'What?!'

'You mean no one told her?'

'Well I did!'

'You know what I mean. No one told her before. And how did she take it?'

'Well, how the hell do you take the fact that your daughter is dead?' Tears sprang up in Hermione's eyes.

'Oh, I'm sorry, Hermione.'

'No, no, it's OK.'

'No it isn't, I was…Well, she didn't say much. I took Teddy for her and she left. Oh, and Narcissa Malfoy was there as well.'

The girls gaped at him. Ron was thinking.

'Wait, aa moment…Narcissa Malfoy and Adromeda Tonks. They're… they're sisters aren't they?! Bloody hell! And they probably don't get on very well, either!'

Ginny couldn't help but roll her eyes at this.

'Yes, Ron, they're sisters, and no Ron, they don't get on very well. For your information they haven't spoken since she married Ted Tonks!'

'Please don't snap at each other!' Hermione pleaded. 'It's really the last thing we need!' Ron closed his mouth. And opened it again.

'Actually the last thing we need is for Voldemort to walk in through there and Bellatrix to-'

'Shut up Ron.' Ginny sighed.

'I was only-'

'Ron.' Harry warned.

'But-'

'Please, Ron?' Hermione's face was shining with tears.

They sank into silence again, Only Teddy's gurgling could be hurt until-

'Oh, crap!'

'What?'

'The Order Meeting!'

'Oh!'

'What do I do with Teddy?'

'Well take him.'

'Yeah well what about Andromeda?'

'We can leave a message so that she knows where we are, OK?'

'Can you do Patronuses with messages, Hermione?'

'I've never done it before, but here goes: expecto patronum!'

Her otter wasn't even distinguishable before it faded.

'Come on Hermione.' Ron put his arm around her shoulders.

'I can't! I keep thinking about Andromeda!'

Ron moved his hands to her waist ahile Ginny looked pointedly away.

More tenderly than Hermione had expected, Ron breathed into her ear, 'Think of something else. Think of our freedom, your safety, you can see your parents, we can do anything we like now! Teddy may not have parents but he's safe and he'll be happy.'

Hermione didn't think of any of those options but of Ron's hands on her waist as she whispered,

'Expecto Patronum'

She told the otter what to say and flung her arms around Ron's neck.

'Oh thank you Ron, that was lovely of you, you're…'

'Gorgeous?'

I hope I didn't completely bore the pants off you!

Thanks to all of you who read it, those who add me to alerts but mostly those who review! I love you!

Saskia

(Thankyou buttonbit for proof reading)