A/N: Andromeda's life; I don't really like this one much but ehh, w/e. I don't own anything. To my reviewer: I thank you very much; you gave me the will to write this.
Alexithymia: the inability to express feelings with words
All smiles and no one remembers our names
A constant, hazy rain developed as March gave way to April, and London sat in a debilitating fog for a straight week. Contrary to Andromeda's wishes, the weather did not improve as the days of the month flew by, and she was forced onto the blurry streets of Diagon Alley with her young grandson in tow.
As usual, Teddy was enchanted by the glittering store fronts and the exciting animation of the witches and wizards gathered there. She had a great deal of difficulty trying to stop him from running every which way; sometimes, she admitted, his boundless energy exhausted her, but today, she felt more uneasy than she normally did, like the weather reflected her stirring mood.
She struggled to keep her eyes on Teddy while also searching for a gift for his impending birthday. It simply amazed her that four years had nearly passed. He was getting to be such a charming boy: Dora would have absolutely adored him. Andromeda felt her heart constrict with the dreadfully depressing notion that her only daughter would never see her only son grow.
Not that she didn't warn her that something awful could happen because she had. She had reminded her every terrible day of that war, and still, Dora couldn't live in a world where her son could be in danger. Andromeda understood the feeling, so maybe she couldn't fault her.
But after years of waking in a cold sweat, she found that she most definitely could fault her.
She shoved those thoughts out of her mind and tried keep a pleasant look on her face. Diagon Alley was certainly not the place to be losing her composure, especially on a bustling Saturday. She reminded herself to stop by the Apothecary after their shopping trip. Teddy had acquired a severe runny nose from the dreadful weather, and she had depleted her stores of Pepper Up Potion.
She felt a familiar tug on her hand and switched her vision to the height of the young boy currently struggling to be free from her grasp. His hair turned a deep black as he focused all of his energies into his little arm muscles. Her aged lips pulled into a smile as she realized where Teddy wanted so desperately to escape to: Quality Quidditch Supplies.
She should have known.
Teddy's godfather, Harry Potter, had hardly wasted any time getting Teddy acquainted with the most popular Wizarding sport. In fact, on their first meeting–right after the Battle–Harry had been so unsure of what to say to an infant that he spouted off for nearly an hour about the game. She thought Quidditch to be frivolous and bordering on barbaric, but it made Teddy overwhelmingly happy.
She tried to keep the smile out of her voice as she told him that they couldn't visit that shop and steered him into Flourish and Blott's. He frowned, his eyes turning a muddy brown, but followed dutifully, knowing that the bookshop would be bustling and remembering the book with the moving safari animals he'd received last time they were there.
Andromeda was quite happy to be greeted by the warmth of the bookshop, even with the hoards of weekend shoppers poured into the bookstore. She tried to edge past a group of gossiping elderly women. They hit a dead-end in book aisle with only a sign displaying a stodgy old Frenchman that read: Curtis Delamater, Author of Bestseller, Wizards Without Pants: the Naked Truth Behind Famous Behinds, Writes New Novel Coming To Stores This May. Reserve Your Copy Today! She rolled her eyes, causing the Frenchman to shout silenced obscenities, obviously perturbed that someone found the idea of his writing a new book obnoxious. Teddy giggled and pointed wildly at a cover that showed his mirror image.
He thought his hair was a ball of laughs.
Apparently, laughter caused the sign to swing open, revealing the back of the store where a very old witch in a set of tattered, patchwork robes sat reading a book to children gathered on their own stools, which looked like sturdy stacks of classic Muggle children's books. She signaled to Teddy that it would be alright for him to join: She watched her grandson happily pick the stool near a handful of burly, rough boys.
She glowed with pride as Teddy chatted amicably with them, even getting the frail girl next to him to participate in the conversation. Teddy had no fear for anyone. At the mere age of three ("I'm almost four, Gran!"), Teddy showed himself to be courageous, caring, and extremely friendly.
They might as well induct him into Gryffindor now.
Nearly an hour later, Andromeda carried her sleeping grandson down the street, slipping into the Weasley boys' shop for his birthday present. Ron Weasley greeted her with a smile and rubbed Teddy's bright hair affectionately saying, "'S too bad Harry's stuck in the office today: He would have loved to be hanging out with this guy."
"Yes, it's awful how much the Ministry's been working him and you, as well!" She shook her head disapprovingly. She found in her older years that she had become one of those bitter witches who automatically hated the Ministry of Magic no matter how efficiently they were running. "You're just boys!"
Ron laughed heartily, "They like having Harry around because he makes them look good. And me? Well, I'm here helping George without any Howlers from Kingsley, so it doesn't seem as though they're missing me too much."
"Oh, nonsense," she dismissed this with a hand wave. "All of it is just nonsense–making young things like yourselves work endlessly in search of Death Eaters, who are probably in a rainforest somewhere hiding, without pausing to think that you might have lives!"
She shifted Teddy who was weighing heavy on her left side and stooped to pick up a children's cauldron kit that Ron assured her would be safe for Teddy. She glanced over her shoulder, feeling again struck with an uneasy feeling. She forced a smile and turned to Ron, "And oh! Molly and I were speaking about you lot, and she told me that the Longbottom boy is leaving to teach at Hogwarts."
"Oh, yes. He's taking over Herbology. He was always fantastic at it." Ron laughed, scratching at his red head and watching George handle another customer.
"Good for him." She smiled, slightly cheered by the notion. She wanted to add that he and Harry should think of leaving, too, but she knew it would be to no avail. Besides, there was always time at Teddy's party for that. "Well, I've got to get going. I'm sure Teddy will be awake for Wednesday's party, you are coming and bringing Hermione, yes?"
After Ron had promised that they were, of course, coming, Andromeda left the shop with Teddy and his present, once again wishing it wasn't so blustery out. Passing by the Apothecary, she decided it was worth the second trip to not have to carry Teddy around where there were dangerous vats of everything possible laying about the store. The Pepper Up Potion could wait.
They reached the archway back to the Leaky Cauldron, and she nearly sighed aloud in relief. The idea of getting back to the crackling fire and hot dinner awaiting them sounded simply blissful. It did seem, however, that they would have to wait to use the fireplace to Floo home due to the numerous witches and wizards crowded in the pub. She could barely budge an inch into the tavern, and when she tried, she knocked Teddy's weight into a blonde man in fine black robes. Teddy stirred and rubbed his eyes, and the man turned to her, wearing a sneer that made her heart stop.
Beside him, a blonde woman stood with her mouth drawn in a straight line. She felt hers open, as if to apologize, but it shut itself before words would form.
"Andromeda," the man's voice was lazy, uncaring, "of all the people.."
Teddy squirmed and wrestled out of Andromeda's arms easily. "Hi, I'm Teddy! It's my birfday soon!"
"How lovely." The woman directed to Teddy. "Andromeda, this is certainly a surprise."
The wind seemed to be knocked out of her as if someone had punched her in the stomach. The woman-- who when they were much younger would tease her for being a worrier, would nag her to play endless matches of Gobstones, would ultimately hate her for loving a Muggle-born--how could she so swiftly address her when she herself felt incapable of any interaction.
The drawling of her name from the woman's lips was like being taken back in time. A time that she had hated more than anything. Around them, the Leaky Cauldron bustled onward, and the two women, little boy, and uncaring man did not attract any sort of flutter as they once would have.
The woman's icy blue eyes bore into her chocolate brown ones with such intensity that she had to fight the urge to pull into her famous glare. Then, she realized with jolt, the woman, though never able to glare like she and her oldest sister could, had learned the same Black stare that their cousins and parents had.
She cleared her throat, "Narcissa."
"Lucius, why don't you go ahead? Draco is waiting for us. I'll be along in a moment." The blonde swept her hair off of her shoulder and let the impatient man move past her. "It's odd that I would run into you, Andromeda.."
Her eyes rolled without her thinking of it and she spat, "Wizarding Britain is quite small, Narcissa. This meeting was bound to happen after thirty years."
"I meant since I have been thinking about you at lot lately." The blonde continued, completely unfazed. Andromeda could almost see the young beauty running about their childhood home, knowing that the world was at her fingertips; she could almost feel the vivacious attitude of the young Narcissa which had faded terribly overtime. She could almost let her heart want a sister again. But then she remembered the last words her sister had spoken to her before she left the Black household for good.
Blacks never come clean, Andromeda.
Someone behind her tapped her on the shoulder. "Miss? Are you going?" The Floo line had moved in the time between two sisters sharing a grasping moment. She nodded and grabbed a handful of Floo Powder. She gathered Teddy into her arms again.
She turned back to a dejected Narcissa. "Malfoys never come clean, Narcissa."
In a flurry of motions, the Leaky Cauldron spun out of view and the Tonks household greeted her. Years later, she would be proven wrong about her statement to her sister just as Narcissa was wrong about the statement to her.