They came far later than Andromeda had suspected.

Even since the battle at the Department of Mysteries, the Death Eaters had confirmed that Nymphadora was in fact a member of the Order of the Phoenix. This marked her for death in Voldemort's book. Auror she may be, and a Metamorphmagus to boot, Andromeda still feared for her daughter's life.

While she was eternally proud of her daughter for standing up and fighting in what she believed in, Andromeda knew that once the Death Eaters learned of her involvement, Dora would not only be risking her life but also the life of her parents.

Since that day, Andromeda had lived in a tense state of anticipation. She and Ted had put up even more enchantments around their home and were even careful in their messages to Dora. They took every precaution when their daughter visited; they were both used to Tonks looking like someone else when she came home, so it would be all too easy for a Death Eater to pretend to be Dora in another morph. Special passwords and knocks were created, though Dora tried to just stay away from home as much as possible.

Her marriage to Remus had not been very welcomed by Andromeda and Ted, especially to a werewolf who was not much younger than her parents, but it calmed Andromeda only in the knowledge that there would be someone else protecting her daughter.

Ted had become her only source of sanity. Remembering what it had been like last time for the Muggle-Borns, he only ventured out of the house to work and back and even then, his lab was concerned for the safety of its employees. The cellar had been transformed into a small potions lab so Ted could do his work at home and not have to risk travelling each day. Andromeda had begun to get cross about the smells drifting up the stairs and finally resorted to placing odor-blocking charms in the doorway.

Each night, one of them would check all the protective charms placed around the house. It became a repetitive job but neither complained. They both knew how important it was.

When the Order had asked to use their house to transport and hide Harry Potter, Andromeda and Ted knew the risk they were taking. They had been lucky thusfar and had not seen a single Death Eater, but luck only went so far.

Meeting Harry had hurt Andromeda. There was so much of Sirius' spirit in him. She had learned after his death that Sirius was innocent and had been hiding in London. She had been angry that Dora had kept it from her, but knew that Dora was sworn to secrecy by the Order. She wished she had been able to see her younger cousin; the fourteen years without him always felt like a part of her was missing. And now he was gone before she ever got to say goodbye.

After Harry left, Andromeda was a sack of nerves barely held together. She was so worried about Dora and whether or not she was all right. She had taken to pacing in the sitting room, aiming to clean up and repair the broken furniture as Ted cleaned up his mess from tending to Hagrid, but ended up walking back and forth instead. When Ted finally emerged to wash his hands, he gave his wife an odd look before crossing to the kitchen. Once his hands were clean and dried, he went to his wife's side and held her still.

Andromeda let Ted's arms engulf her in a tight embrace. Several tears began to slide down her cheeks. "Dora…"

"She'll be fine," Ted murmured, leading her over to the sofa. He pulled his wife down with him as he sat, keeping her tightly locked in his embrace as he began stroking her hair. "Dora knows her stuff. She'll be okay," he whispered.

It was nearly an hour later before a canine-shaped Patronus came bounding down the lane. Andromeda flew off the sofa and ran to the door as she saw it approach, Ted following at a slower pace.

The silvery figure paused at the door, Nymphadora's voice floating out of it. "We're both all right. Thank you for keeping Harry safe. I love you." The animal disappeared into the air and Andromeda nearly collapsed in relief.

The couple retired to bed soon after, their weariness catching up with the late hour. As Andromeda turned the bathroom light off, she noticed Ted was sitting up in bed, staring up at the ceiling. She crawled into bed next to him, curling at his side.

"He saw Harry come here," Ted commented. "You-Know-Who. It's only a matter of time now."

Andromeda nodded. She had guessed as much. "Do they know who the house belongs to?"

"Bellatrix and Narcissa would probably be the only two who remembered it belonging to your uncle," Ted pointed out, continuing to stare at the ceiling as if looking at the protective charms that had kept them safe. "They would probably figure it out. At best, all we can hope for is that they just send someone to come interrogate whoever lived here."

Andromeda's mind drifted to her sisters. It had been over two decades since she had seen either of them. She was sure that Bellatrix had not change; if anything, her older sister was probably far more ill-tempered and evil. How Narcissa had changed was still a puzzle to Andromeda. Narcissa was spoiled, yes, but their youngest sister was never really evil. Could she too have turned out like Bellatrix?

"If Bellatrix is one of them, she will not hesitate to kill us both," Andromeda murmured.

"I know," Ted replied grimly, turning his head down to meet his wife's gaze. They remained silent for a moment before Ted placed a long kiss on his wife's mouth. "I love you," he said quietly. "No matter what, I will always love you."

"And I you," Andromeda replied, bringing a hand up to stroke her husband's cheek. "Not a day goes by that I'm not thankful that I have you."

"You don't regret it, even the slightest?" he asked quietly, taking her hand in his. "You could have lived a normal life, Drom."

"And I chose you," she reprimanded, her eyes shining with the infamous Black defiance. "And I'll never be sorry that I chose you." She kissed her husband once more, trying to put as much into it as she could. As they broke, both remained silent. Ted killed the lights with a wave of his hand and slid down into bed, Andromeda curled up beside him. Neither said what they both were thinking.

It was only a matter of time.

It was nearly a week later that they finally arrived.

The sun had already set behind the hills. Ted was down in his lab checking on several potions and Andromeda was cleaning up remnants of their dinner. A loud wailing went off inside the house; one of their charms had been breached. Andromeda dove for her wand, spinning around and tossing a stunning spell at the hooded figured who had just kicked in her back door.

She blocked several spells that flew at her before one of the hooded figures stepped forward. "Wait!"

Andromeda kept her wand raised yet did not cast a spell. She glared at the figures with narrowed eyes, looking back and forth and waiting for them to strike.

The one who had spoke removed his mask, revealing a man about her age with dark hair. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think?" she hissed at him incredulously.

The man seemed utterly confused. "But… you were there when we left. He didn't send you," the man continued with a perplexed look.

Andromeda blinked at him, realization dawning on her. They thought she was Bellatrix. Even Harry had mistaken her at first glance. Her brain began racing as to how she could use their mistake to her advantage. She kept her scowl, frantically trying to imagine how her sister's portrait had been acting in the Daily Prophet wanted photos.

"You took your sweet time getting here," she snickered before turning around to turn off the tap. Pointing her wand at the cellar door, she quickly mumbled a series of charms as the man began rambling his excuses.

"We came straight here. Well, we had to make a small detour at first but still we came to the place the Dark Lord indicated-" The lock on the door clicked then was muffled. She knew Ted would be angry with her for locking him in and ensuring that they couldn't hear his yells, but she equally knew how they would treat her Muggle-born husband.

Andromeda wheeled around and cut off the man, crossing her arms over her chest. "That's very interesting but still, you're late. I've already taken care of everything here."

The three in the doorway eyed each other, the maskless man looking angry. "We were sent to do it."

"And you dallied so I got the job done. I'm sure the Dark Lord would love to hear about your tardiness." Andromeda felt a drip of sweat creep down her spine. She wasn't sure how long the façade would last. She gripped her wand tightly, trying to think of the easiest way to incapacitate the three before they learned of her deceit.

The maskless Death Eater turned red with anger. "Now wait just a minute…"

A fourth Death Eater appeared at the back of the group. As the other continued to blabber on, the last Death Eater pushed through the group.

"Expelliarmus!" he crowed with wand pointed at Andromeda. Her own wand flew out of her hand, cutting off the babbling Death Eater.

"What are you doing?" he yelled in confusion. Andromeda almost felt sorry for the man. He was so utterly confused and now this would make him feel like an idiot. Though on second thought, her sympathy wasn't all too great.

The fourth Death Eater slowly walked toward her. Wand still pointed out, he removed his mask, revealing an old familiar face with dark hair and a small goatee. "Andromeda Black," he pronounced with a small hint of pride.

"Tonks now," Andromeda reminded, keeping her composure at a face she hadn't seen, nor wanted to see since Hogwarts. "Rabastan," she greeted coldly.

The first Death Eater was looking back and forth between them. "But… Isn't… that's Bellatrix!" he declared.

Rabastan Lestrange shot the man a glare. "You idiot. I can see why you would be fooled, though," he added with a pointed stare at Andromeda. "All of the Black women have the same vicious streak." He turned back to the man. "This is none other than Bellatrix and Narcissa Malfoy's denounced sister."

"Is that any way to talk to an In-Law, Rabastan?" Andromeda jeered with contempt.

She should have seen the curse coming. The pain came over her before the word "Crucio" left Rabastan's lips. She fell to the ground in agony, letting out a small shriek. The pain left for a moment, Andromeda watching as the feet of the other Death Eaters finally fully entered the house.

Rabastan slowly began to circle her. "So this is where you've been hiding all of these years. Where's that Mudblood husband of yours?"

"Work," Andromeda answered truthfully before pulling herself up into a sitting position.

"And he left you all alone? Tsk tsk," Rabastan chided. "You know, Bellatrix and my brother had so hoped that you would become attached to me."

Andromeda made a face. "Forgive me – I think I just vomited in my mouth a little."

Another wave of pain hit her. She was more prepared this time; she gritted her teeth and would not let more than a groan escape from her lips. The pain shot up and down her body, feeling like someone was jabbing every inch of her body with red hot knives. It finally subsided, Andromeda letting out a withheld breath and panting heavily.

"Keep your wands on her," Rabastan ordered, raising his up. "Homenum revelio." Andromeda felt blood drain from her face. Of all the protective wards, she hadn't thought to try and block that one. It would tell them that Ted was in fact present and point them in his direction.

At once, a red light erupted from Rabastan's wand, spiraling through the air toward the cellar door. It quickly disappeared, a smile sweeping across Rabastan's face. "Well well… He's at work, is he?"

Andromeda tried to shrug. "He was doing work; you never specified where." Another wave of pain came over her as Rabastan shot another curse at her. She let out a scream of pain; he had put more into it this time and the pain was unbearable. When he finally released her, she collapsed onto the ground once more.

Rabastan turned and pointed his wand at the cellar door. "Come on out, Mudblood. Unless you want us to continue to torture your wife. " When he got no response, Rabastan sent another blast of the curse at Andromeda. He gloated as she writhed on the ground. "Your husband's a coward."

"He – is not," Andromeda managed to say between clenched teeth. Rabastan released her, laughing hollowly. "Oh really? Why isn't he out her protecting you?"

Andromeda pushed herself up into a sitting position, glaring up at her torturer as she panted to catch her breath. "I'm – protecting – him."

"Touching," Rabastan sneered, grabbing her by her scalp and pulling her to her feet. Andromeda yelped as she found Rabastan's wand at her throat. "You are such a disgrace to the title Pureblood. Marrying yourself to that filth. Then letting your halfblood child marry a werewolf?"

Andromeda forced a laugh. "You – think we let her?"

Rabastan scoffed. "At least you still have some Black in you. It is rather a shame, you know," he cooed, running his wand hand down her cheek, the excitement in his eyes growing as her eyes narrowed dangerously. "You would have made me such a lovely wife."

"Touch me again and I'll ensure you never reproduce," Andromeda hissed loudly. She found Rabastan's wand at her throat once more. He eyed her evenly then turned to look at the cellar door. Wand still pointed, he walked around her so they were both facing the door, grabbing one of her arms with his free hand and pinning it painfully behind her back.

"Come out, Mudblood. I could take your wife right now if I wanted to. And yet you're so silent. Unless-" he looked down at Andromeda with amusement. "You locked him down there, didn't you? And used a silencing charm too, no doubt. You were always quite good at Charms." Rabastan eyed the other Death Eaters, nodding his head to the door. The maskless one stepped forward, murmuring a spell at the door. As if earplugs had been pulled out of all of their ears, Ted's pounding and yelling poured through the house.

"-MEDA! If you touch her, I swear I'll-"

"Ah there you are, Ted," Rabastan called loudly. "I was beginning to think you actually would abandon your wife to torture to save yourself."

"Let her go!" Ted called loudly, pounding on the door several times.

"I'll gladly swap you for her, if you should decide to join us," Rabastan lazily voiced.

"I have tried every damn spell to open this door," Ted replied. "Andromeda, let me out. Now."

Andromeda felt tears sting at her eye. "I'm sorry, Ted," she said softly. "I love you." She turned to Rabastan. "If you swear to leave him be, I'll go with you."

"No!" Ted began to beat on the door and jiggle the doorknob so that its metallic clanks almost matched the fervor of his voice. "Open the door, Drom. Don't do this."

Rabastan laughed loudly, looking down at her with astonishment. "We're here to interrogate, Andromeda. Who says we're going anywhere?" Turned his eyes back to the door, he moved his wand from her neck pointed at the sound of Ted's voice. "Allow me."

Before Andromeda could cry out in protest, Rabastan shot a destructive spell at the door. The frame and everything around it collapsed with a loud roar as wood exploded, glass shattered, and ceramic broke. A low moan came from the bottom of the cellar; Ted had been blown back along with everything else.

The three Death Eaters quickly ran toward the cellar, disappearing down it and returning moments later dragging Ted up and over the wreckage. Andromeda tried to struggle out of Rabastan's grip; Ted was somewhat conscious but bleeding from several large gashes in his forehead and chest. They propped him up on his knees, pulling his hair up so that he was looking at Rabastan. One of them held Ted's wand, pointing it at his throat.

"So nice of you to join us," Rabastan chided.

Andromeda tried to wiggle out of his grasp once more, turning to glare at her warden. "If he dies right now, do you honestly thing I would tell you anything? Do what you came here to do, but let me make sure he'll live." She held his fierce gaze, her eyes dark and full of anger.

Rabastan held her gaze before shaking his head slightly and letting go of her arm. "Merlin's beard, you look like Bella when you do that." He pushed her forward slightly. "No funny business."

Andromeda ran over to Ted, wrapping her arms around his chest and letting him embrace her weakly. "Stupid – witch," he panted out heavily. Andromeda smiled sadly then pulled back to look him over. He was battered and bruised from the room exploding around him. A large gash on his forehead was still bleeding profusely, but there were no other signs of damage. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"I think I may have broken a few bones," Ted wheezed, "but other than that, I'm peachy."

Andromeda kissed him quickly, turning back to Rabastan. "Can I move him to the sofa?"

"No."

"Well then can you hurry up and ask what you came here to ask?" she demanded exasperatedly as she crossed her arm over her chest.

"I'll take as long as I like," Rabastan purred with a wicked smile.

Andromeda rolled her eyes. "The sooner you start, the better."

"Very well then," he replied with a lazy sigh. He pointed a finger to the floor beside him. "You. Here."

"Not even going to say please?" Andromeda retorted snidely.

"Crucio!" Andromeda flinched on reflex but realized the hex wasn't aimed at her. It took a split second later for Ted to moan in pain.

"Stop it!" she called, hurrying over to Rabastan's side. The curse ended, Ted hunching forward and breathing heavily. Andromeda eyed him with sorrow then turned to Rabastan. "Ask your questions."

Rabastan eyed her evenly then began walking around her slowly. "Here's how it works. I ask a question. You answer. If I feel you're lying, he suffers. If he lies, you suffer. If he does anything that displeases me, you suffer. And so on and so forth."

Andromeda eyed Ted then gave a small nod. "All right."

"Good. I'm glad we're at an understanding," Rabastan said lazily, eyeing them with wicked glee. "The Dark Lord followed Harry Potter to this house over a week ago. It seems that they anticipated our attack and had several disguised Potters go to different houses. Where else did the fake Potters go?"

"I don't know," Andromeda began. Before she could continue on, Ted let out a scream of pain. Andromeda's eyes went wide as she turned to Rabastan. "It's the truth! They didn't tell us where else – just as they didn't tell us where he was going after he left here!"

After Ted let out several more yelps of pain, Rabastan stopped the curse. He eyed her evenly. "Yet you did agree to help them. You know the Dark Lord wishes him dead, but you still chose to help him."

"Of course," Andromeda answered, raising her chin. "Though we are not members of the Order of the Phoenix, we are not loyal to your Lord."

"But your daughter – she is an Order member."

"She is a grown woman. She does as she pleases and makes her own decisions."

"Where is she at present?"

"I don't know-" Ted began screaming again in pain. His hand fell onto the floor, his body scrunching up in agony. Once it let up, he glared up at Rabastan. "Stay away from my daughter, you filth-."

This time, it was Andromeda's turn. Rabastan turned the curse on her, waiting for her to scream before cutting it off. "Don't you ever talk to me that way again, Mudblood!"

"Dora's moved," Andromeda began speaking quickly through gasps of breath. "When she married, she moved. For safety reasons, she won't tell us where. We don't ask."

Rabastan eyed the two evenly, continuing his slow walk around Andromeda. He let the silence ring through the air for several minutes before speaking again. "And Potter. Where is he?"

"I don't-" Andromeda cut herself off as she saw Rabastan raise his wand at Ted. She shuffled to place herself between him and her husband, raising her arms slightly. "The last time we saw or heard from Potter was the few minutes he was here the night the Dark Lord saw him. We know nothing about his location, his plans, anything." She eyed Rabastan pleadingly. "Please believe me. We don't know anything." The tension in the air was tangible. Rabastan was staring her down, unwilling to make a move. Andromeda wet her lips as she tried to think of a way to break the silence without resulting in Ted being cursed again.

"And you owe me a new door," she added on matter-of-factly, tossing a reprimanding glare at Rabastan.

The Death Eater stared at her with contemptuous incredibility then let out a laugh. He shook his head as he lowered his wand. "You Black girls… You all have the same fighting spirit in you." He motioned for the Death Eaters to follow him, turning and heading to the back door. "Your wands will be in your garden. I'll give your regards to your sister."

"I wouldn't want you to go out of your way to do that," Andromeda replied with a snicker.

Rabastan turned and looked at her evenly. "If I learn that you've lied about anything, Andromeda, it won't be me who returns, but your sister. And she's not as forgiving as I am."

"Trust me, Rabastan," she answered softly. "I know that better than anyone."

Rabastan gave a small head nod. "Unless next time. Andromeda. Mudblood." With a slam of the back door, they left. Andromeda remained frozen in place for a moment before turning and rushing back to Ted. Falling to her knees in front of him, she wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her head in his chest. He fell against her as he weakly wrapped an arm around her.

"Insufferable woman," Ted moaned. "Don't ever – EVER – lock me up like that."

"I'm sorry," she mumbled quietly. Ted was in bad shape. The gash on his head was still trickling out a fair amount of blood, as were the numerous cuts across his body. It was nothing Andromeda knew she couldn't handle on a normal day, yet the effects of the curse were still lingering in her system. Her body screamed with protest with every move and breath. All that was keeping her going was pure stubbornness.

She needed to get them both to St. Mungos. She was in no shape to care for Ted, and at least they would be protected. She tried to will her legs to move; she needed to find their wands then floo them both to the emergency ward. However, it hurt too much to move. Instead she merely sat there with her husband, holding him tightly.

"It not over yet," Ted mused quietly. "It's going to be a lot worse this time around."

"I know," Andromeda acknowledged. She tightened her grip on her husband. As a Pure Blood, they held no real interest in her. They would be after Ted and all of the other Muggle Borns. She knew it was only a matter of time.