When the time for the guests to arrive neared, Harry talked to Laura.
'Okay, so, if you're uncomfortable or anything like that, let me know. Er, you can ask me if the food's burning.'
'Harry.'
'Yeah?'
Smiling, she squeezed his hand. 'I'm fine, really. Meeting people isn't something that worries me.'
'Oh, right.'
His somewhat-dejected look adorable, she leaned in to steal a kiss, though just a quick one. 'Anyway, aren't we having sandwiches?'
'I can toast them.'
Giggling, she brushed some loose hair behind her ear. A general sound of chatter began outside, distant but getting louder, and eventually she spotted the chatterbox walk across the path to the front door of the cottage.
She followed Harry to the hallway, though kept back as he opened the door. Not enough room for everyone to hang around there.
'Harry!' Teddy shouted, and Harry knelt down to hug him.
Though subtle, she noticed Teddy's hair darken for a moment, something she could have easily dismissed as lighting if she didn't know better. While she wanted to keep watching those two, she raised her gaze to the other guest.
The one time she'd seen Andromeda, she'd thought the older lady looked rather aristocratic. In better light, she didn't think otherwise. Given how proper Teddy spoke and behaved (despite Harry's more casual manner,) she had thought Andromeda a rather strict person—more like Professor McGonagall than Sprout. So, the warm smile threw her a bit.
After a few more seconds of the boys greeting each other—hair ruffled and Teddy lifted to the ceiling—Andromeda softly cleared her throat. 'Harry?'
'Ah, right,' Harry said, putting down his godson. Gesturing to Laura, he said, 'This is my girlfriend, Laura Madley.'
Andromeda bowed her head. 'Pleased to meet you. I am Andromeda Tonks, Teddy's grandmother.'
'A pleasure to meet you too,' Laura replied. She looked down; Teddy held Harry's hand. 'Hello to you too, Teddy.'
Grinning, he said, 'Hello, Laura.'
She smiled back at him before turning to the lounge, saying, 'Shall we?' as she walked through. They all followed, settling in different places. She sat back at the dining table, chair facing the fireplace, and Andromeda joined her there. Harry and Teddy set about upturning a box of wooden building blocks onto the crimson rug. It felt like so long ago that she'd carved the pumpkin, nearly a year.
Her reminiscing was ended by Andromeda speaking up. 'So, Harry has told me a lot about you.'
'Good things, I hope.'
Andromeda chuckled. 'Nothing but. He's rather smitten, I would say.'
Cheeks a touch red from hearing that, Laura smiled. 'That makes two of us.' After a moment, she bit her lip, not entirely sure she was supposed to say that aloud. 'Um, if there's anything you want to ask me about, please, go ahead.'
'Well, if you insist, then Harry did tell me your mother raised you. However, he didn't go into more detail than that.'
Laura nodded along. 'Yes. My father passed away a couple of months before I turned three.'
'I'm sorry to hear that.'
'Thank you.'
A couple of seconds passed, and then Andromeda asked, 'Did your grandparents help at all, or….'
'No. My mother's a Muggleborn and her parents weren't happy with her attending Hogwarts. They cut her off when she decided against attending university. My father's parents didn't approve of her, so, once he died, they disowned us.'
'Oh that's dreadful. No one should have to go through that,' Andromeda said.
'I'm sure there's more to it than that, but I've not asked. My mother has done her best and that's all that matters to me.' Pausing, she brushed her fringe to the side. 'She's a strong woman. It can't have been easy, yet she never complained. I'm sure me going to Hogwarts was a big help, though.'
Andromeda listened politely, and then followed up with a question. 'You were in Hufflepuff, yes?'
'Yes.'
Smiling with a distant look, Andromeda said, 'My daughter was as well. A few years before you joined the school, though.'
'Really? From what Harry told me, I thought she had been a Gryffindor.'
'There's a thin line between being brave and being foolish,' Andromeda said, though she shook her head afterwards. 'That's to say, she liked people to be happy and didn't mind playing the fool—always pulling silly faces and tripping over herself.'
Laura thought the first sentence had a different weight to it than the last, but left it alone. 'That does sound more like a Hufflepuff. I guess, Harry did only meet her after she left Hogwarts.'
That led on to a short break, Andromeda turning her attention to the two builders. Teddy had become much more adept at balancing the blocks, Laura thought, his building a much taller and more coherent structure. This time, he had actual walls rather than just an outline, properly lined up straight with holes for doors and windows. Harry still asked much the same questions, though: what kind of building was it, what each room was, who it was for.
'Teddy still very much likes the book you bought him,' Andromeda said.
'Ah, I'm glad. Harry said he enjoyed reading, and I loved it when I was his age, so I hoped he might too.'
After a moment's pause, Andromeda said, 'Can I ask a more personal question?'
'Sure, I don't mind.'
'Did you ever get lonely, as the only child of a single parent?'
'No, never.' Laura took another moment to think. 'If I'm being honest, I did, but only after I sat my N.E.W.T.s and moved out. That was just for a few of months, though.'
Andromeda nodded, and then said, 'That's good to hear.'
'Teddy's starting school soon, isn't he? There'll be lots of friends for him there.'
'I hope so. He is rather shy, which worries me.'
'He plays so nicely with Victoire, I'm sure there won't be any problems. If anything you'll hardly see him after his friends start inviting him over. With how polite he is, I'm sure there'll always be a play date waiting for him.'
Andromeda chuckled. 'That just might be the case.'
