Teddy joined Andromeda in the garden with a can of Coke in his hand and dropped onto the wicker sofa. Like a cat in the sun, he stretched himself. Luckily for him, he didn't spill anything. Still, Andromeda was ready to clean up the mess, her fingertips already caressing her wand.
With delight, he took a sip of his beverage and swallowed with a drawn out and loud ah. He smacked his lips and met her gaze.
Andromeda eyed him over the edge of her Muggle novel. On his lips, he wore a mischievous smile. His eyes were hidden by his sunglasses, but she was sure they gleamed. Andromeda knew this expression all too well from Nymphadora. Rarely did it mean anything good.
Andromeda put her book in her lap and raised an eyebrow. 'What are you up to?'
He pointed towards his chest in a dramatic motion. 'Moi?' he said in a saccharine voice, which made Andromeda's eyes roll. 'I'm just enjoying some quality time with my favourite grandma!'
Andromeda squinted her eyes; he was definitely up to something. For a second, she wished she could cart him off to Hogwarts again in September, but he had graduated.
'Spill it!' she demanded without humour in her voice.
He heaved himself into an upright position with an obnoxiously loud groan and put the can on the wooden table. Andromeda pursed her lips, and he swiftly reached for a coaster and shoved it beneath the can.
'According to your calendar, you're free tomorrow night, right?'
The frown on Andromeda's face deepened. She summoned her phone and scrolled through her calendar. 'Indeed,' she said after a while and placed the device on the table to cross her arms. 'Why?'
Taking his own phone out of his pocket, he gestured towards her phone. 'Take that back into your hands. I'll send you an invite.'
Puzzled, Andromeda read the message that lit up on her screen: Hera's Sky - 8 o'clock.
It came with a detailed description of how to get there by apparition or floo. Andromeda sighed. Hera's Sky was one of the most exclusive restaurants in wizarding London. An establishment she hadn't visited in many years and before that only on special occasions.
She shot Teddy a stern glance. 'I ask you one last time: What are you up to?'
'I arranged a date for you!' he said in a far too cheerful tone and pushed his sunglasses up into his cerulean hair.
Andromeda's eyes widened, and her hand twitched towards her wand to hit him with the tickling hex he so disliked. Knowing that he'd retaliate with an equally unpleasant spell, she instead got up from her chair and put her hands on her hips as she stepped closer to him.
'You did what now?'
To her dismay, he got up too, and instead of towering over him, she was now looking up into his mischievous eyes. She straightened her back and kept her gaze trained on him.
He grinned. 'It took me quite some time to arrange that, but eventually, she agreed.'
'She?' Andromeda asked baffled as a knot formed in her stomach.
He put a hand on her shoulder. 'Ah, Andromeda! You're not exactly subtle when you ogle pretty witches in the street!'
Heat rose in her cheeks, and she didn't know if it was annoyance or embarrassment. She stroked her hot cheeks in a useless gesture to get rid of the redness. The midday heat wasn't exactly helping to fight it either.
Without missing a beat, he continued. 'Don't think I've forgotten about the witch you kissed a few years ago! Made it a hell of a lot easier for me to come out to you.'
Andromeda frowned. Until that moment, she felt that she had hidden her love for women well. In her naivety, she had forgotten to take into account that her grandson rarely overlooked anything. A quality she greatly appreciated in him but which had also driven her nuts on more than one occasion.
She wondered how he could be so confident at only eighteen. He certainly hadn't inherited it from her. Although she had almost half a century more under her belt than he did, she sometimes still didn't quite know who she was. Maybe that was because she had had to re-invent herself more than once over the years or because she never felt comfortable having a label forced on her.
She hummed softly and touched his hand, which was still resting comfortably on her shoulder. 'You've got a lot of nerve! What makes you so sure I say yes?'
His cheeky grin widened. 'Knowing you, you've already begun to catalogue the women in your mind to figure out which one I asked. You're far too curious to say no.'
Feeling caught, Andromeda brushed his hand off her shoulder and playfully jabbed his collarbone. 'Who brought you up to be so cheeky? Insufferable!' She tried and failed miserably to keep the smile off her face.
'Well, that must have been you. I certainly can't be blamed!' He threw his hands into the air and stepped away from her. With a firm nod, the sunglasses fell back onto his nose.
Andromeda laughed and shook her head. 'Is there a dresscode?'
-§-§-§-§-§-
After a short night, Andromeda had reduced the possible women for her date to five.
While she did her make-up, squeezed herself into tight burgundy slacks and a crisp white silk blouse, which she tucked into her pants, she ruled out two more.
Of the three left, there was only one she really hoped to get to have dinner with. The prospect that it might be her made her giddy. She spritzed some perfume in the air and stepped into the fragrant cloud.
After putting on her heels, she gave herself a once over in the tall mirror. 'Not bad,' she muttered, grabbed her bag and headed downstairs.
Teddy paused the game on his muggle console. Slowly, he raised his left arm and looked at the watch he wasn't wearing. 'Curfew is at midnight!'
This time she hexed him. Immediately, he began to squirm and snort loudly with laughter. When his face had turned the desired shade of red, she released him. He raised his wand.
'Don't you dare!' she hissed. 'I've spent hours getting ready.' She bent down to him and ruffled his yellow hair. 'Don't do anything stupid!'
He swatted her hand away and winked. 'I'd never!'
He continued his game as she apparated.
Hera's Sky was posher than she remembered. They had remodelled it over the years. It was all polished black now with high ceilings and enchanted chandeliers that hovered above the tables. Despite wearing one of her finest outfits, she felt a tad out of place. She adjusted her blouse and touched up her lipstick before stepping through the transparent wall into the restaurant.
With a pounding heart, she walked up to the hostess.
The young woman smiled warmly at her. 'Good evening, do you have a reservation?'
'Mmh, Andromeda Tonks,' she said somewhat absently as she let her eyes wander over the heads of the other guests. Before she could spot a familiar face, the hostess spoke again.
'Follow me, please.'
Andromeda's stomach churned. The walk to the table felt like a small eternity. When the hostess stopped, Andromeda's gaze fell onto the beautiful woman sitting at the table. Number one on her list and number one in the country. No wonder they met in such a luxurious setting.
'Hermione,' she breathed. Still a bit breathless, she leaned down and softly kissed her cheek. 'It's good to see you!'
'Likewise,' Hermione said in her soft voice as her hand brushed over Andromeda's forearm.
Andromeda sat down at the table and suppressed the urge to fiddle with her earrings. Being in Hermione's presence put her slightly on edge. The not-so-well-hidden Aurors sitting near them didn't make it any easier for her to stay calm. To ground herself, she focused on the radiant woman sitting opposite her. She wore her hair in a tight updo that complemented her face wonderfully. She wore a red, strapless dress and equally red lipstick.
Although they had known each other for years, this encounter made Andromeda incredibly nervous. After a few calming breaths, she managed to find her voice.
'My grandson's been incredibly tight-lipped about this whole affair. Maybe you can enlighten me?'
Hermione laughed heartily. 'Why don't we order our drinks first?' she suggested.
The waitress returned moments later with their cocktails.
Hermione took a sip of her martini. 'Teddy made an appointment with my secretary to meet me.'
Andromeda groaned and closed her eyes. Sounds like him, bothering the Minister for Magic at work. She was about to apologise when Hermione continued.
'He was ever the charmer. Told me all about how he thinks we would be a perfect match. He even brought a list.' She pulled a crumpled piece of parchment out of her bag and smoothed it out before she handed it to Andromeda.
The further down the list she got, the more uncomfortable Andromeda felt. She scoffed.
As if she could read Andromeda's mind, Hermione said: 'I already reprimanded him for spilling your secret so carelessly. You don't have to worry, it's safe with me.' She touched her chest just above her heart and smiled.
Her words unsettled Andromeda. Had she only shown up because she felt obligated? She sighed and shot Hermione an apologetic glance. 'I'm sorry he disturbed you at work. I'll talk to him.'
Hermione quickly grabbed her hand. 'Please don't. Without him, we wouldn't be sitting here now. Godric knows I never would have dared to ask you out!'
Andromeda almost spat out the last sip of her gin and tonic all over the table. To keep her countenance, she dabbed the corners of her mouth with the black napkin.
'So, you really wanted to go on a date with me?'
Hermione rolled her eyes. 'Don't be silly. Why shouldn't I want to go on a date with you?'
A pleasant wave of relief washed over Andromeda, and her stomach fluttered in response. She studied the Minister's features. The tightness in her jaw told Andromeda that she was nervous. Over the years, she had gotten to know Hermione well, and she already knew a few she could press to loosen her up.
'There is a myriad of reasons. For one, I'm a Slytherin while you're just a mere Gryffindor!'
As soon as she had finished her sentence, the words began to spill from Hermione's mouth like water from a spring in the mountains. Andromeda leaned back into her chair while she savoured her drink. As always, it was beautiful to see the formidable witch so flustered. After a while, she could no longer stifle her amusement and laughed out loud.
Hermione swallowed the rest of her sentence and narrowed her eyes at her. 'Why do I keep falling for your nonsense? You are just as shameless as your grandson!'
Andromeda smirked. 'He learned from the best.'
The Minister lazily leaned back into the dark chair and stirred through her martini with the toothpick. The olive was long eaten. 'You've raised him well. Only heard good things about him from McGonagall.'
'Ah, I paid her some good money to fake the records,' Andromeda said without missing a beat. Her eyes sparkled; she liked this game.
Hermione was about to launch into another tirade when the waitress served her food. She pointed her finger at Andromeda. 'You didn't get me this time!'
Andromeda slowly turned colourful chickpea noodles onto her fork. 'Just you wait. This date isn't over yet.'
'Good to hear.' Hermione gave her a bright smile before she dug into her dish that emitted bright golden smoke into the air.
A pleasant feeling spread in Andromeda's belly, and it wasn't because of the delicious meal.
Their friendly banter turned into a serious conversation about how the wizarding society treated magical creatures.
Andromeda was accentuating her point with wild gestures. During a particularly heated exclamation, she waved her hand in which she held the knife towards Hermione. Before she could let her hand fall down onto the table, the knife was snatched from her hand by an auror whilst two others pointed their wands at her. Her own wand flew into a young auror's hand.
By now, most of the guests had turned their gaze onto them. Heat rose in Andromeda's cheeks.
Hermione's face was equally red. She looked furious. 'Lower your wands!'
Neither of the aurors reacted. The grip around Andromeda's wrist tightened.
'Immediately!' Hermione barked, and the young blonde auror to her right immediately blanched. Clearly a rookie, Andromeda thought. The wizard let go of her hand, and her wand clattered down onto the table next to her. She swiftly put it back into her bag.
With their spines ramrod straight, the aurors sat down at their tables again. Slowly, the guests around them started up their conversations again.
Hermione glared. 'This is the fourth time in a few months that they had to restrain you. One day they'll lock you up!'
Andromeda's eyes gleamed. 'Let them try. I'm sure I can take the blonde one down. Besides, you know how annoying I can be. They won't hold me for long.'
Hermione chuckled. 'Indeed. You've talked my ear off on more than one occasion!'
Andromeda leaned closer to Hermione and grinned. 'Just admit it, you like that about me!'
'Wouldn't you like to know?' Hermione asked in a smug voice and flicked her tongue over the edge of her glass before taking a sip.
Andromeda got hot and cold at the same time, but two could play this game. 'Well, well, Minister, it almost sounds like you're flirting with me. And even in such a way that the entire wizarding world can overhear.' She tutted.
Hermione's cheeks reddened. With a wave of her hand, she cast a privacy charm over their table. 'What if I am?' She said in a low voice that made Andromeda shiver.
Andromeda's face turned serious. She wanted to reach out and touch her face but didn't dare to do so in public. 'I've liked you for a long time, Hermione.'
'And I you, Andromeda.' Hermione did what Andromeda, moments later, didn't dare. She cupped her cheek. 'I want to get to know you properly.'
Andromeda nodded and smiled fondly. She put her hand over Hermione's and stroked her thumb.
The rest of their date passed quickly, and soon they were looking at each other outside the restaurant. The aurors were luckily out of earshot.
'Do you want to join me for a nightcap?' Hermione asked.
Andromeda shook her head with a bright smile on her lips. 'I'm afraid I can't. My curfew's at midnight.'
Hermione half sighed half laughed.
Andromeda gently grabbed her wrist and kissed her pulse point. 'Next time.' she whispered.
'Promise?'
Andromeda nodded and waved her goodbye.
At 12 o'clock sharp, Andromeda stepped out of her floo, leaned against the cool wall and closed her eyes.
Teddy was still playing his silly video game but paused it upon her entry. He gave her a look. 'I take it things went well?'
Andromeda smiled dreamily. 'More than well.'
'Yes!' Teddy exclaimed and balled his fist triumphantly.
She let him have his moment before she gave him a stern look. 'Off to bed now, young man!'
He kissed her cheek on his way to the hallway and hit her with a small stinging hex.
She yelped, and it took her a second to gather herself. 'My life would be really boring had I raised you to be a well-behaved!' she called after him and smiled when he laughed.
She couldn't have been prouder of him.