QLFC Holyhead Harpies Beater one. Prompts are "You think you're so clever, don't you?", "I wouldn't blame you if you hated me", fleeting

1995

"You think you're so clever, don't you? Putting your life on the line for some cause -"

Fear. So much of it she could almost taste it. The sweaty palmed, chest tightening, heart thumping kind of terror that plagued her in the dead of night. Fear for her brave young daughter whose stubborn will was likely going to get her killed.

"Mum, you did exactly the same thing when you were my age!"

Andromeda supposed Dora was right, in a way, but that had been different. So different. She stood up, rage fueling her fire.

"I did no such thing! Running away to keep myself safe is completely different to joining some foolhardy cause -"

"Don't you trust Dumbledore to keep me safe?"

Andromeda nearly laughed at that. Dumbledore the liar. Dumbledore the fool. Dumbledore the manipulator. Dumbledore who could never keep anyone safe, not even his own sister. Andromeda would never trust him, never again. She managed to hold it together, shooting back a reply.

"As a matter of fact no I don't!"

Dora's form was constantly morphing, her unstable emotions causing unstable appearance. "Mum, I'm an adult now, perfectly old enough to know my own mind and I know that this is what I want."

Andromeda saw her younger self mirrored in Dora for a fleeting second, the same posture, words, tone. A brief feeling of understanding flashed through her, but the moment passed.

She had to understand. Andromeda would make her. She took a deep breath, then spat out words she had hoped she would never have to utter.

"While you live under this roof you will obey my rules young lady!"

Dora stared her directly in the eye. "Yes Grandmother Druella."

Andromeda's stomach dropped. Oh Merlin, Dora was right. That was exactly the thing Druella Black would say in this situation, or more accurately bellow. She masked her reeling mind behind a mask of scorn. Slytherin through and through, she hid her emotions perfectly. Andromeda pointed her nose in the air haughtily.

"Fine. Join the Order, fight your battles, be a bloody grown up, see if I care. I don't have the energy to fight you anymore Dora."

All the fight drained from Andromeda's system. She slumped in her chair, defeated. If Dora wanted to fight a war, let her. She would learn quickly enough that war was horror. Dora apparated away, spinning on the spot rapidly, leaving a gaping hole in the fabric that had once made their family up.

1996

"Mum, can I talk to you for a second?"

Her tone. It was… hesitant? Not even close to her usually jaunty voice. Worry filled Andromeda's stomach. Was she sick? Dying? Had she committed a crime?

"I think… I think I'm in love."

Relief filled Andy's body, the tension in her bones relaxing a little. Love couldn't possibly be that bad, could it? Well, depending on who it was of course. Andromeda lay her knitting to the side and clasped her hand in her lap.

"Darling, sit down, and tell me all about them. What is his name?"

Dora shifted uncomfortably. "Remus. Remus Lupin."

Andromeda's world shifted on it's axis. "Remus Lupin, as in the werewolf?"

A nod confirmed her greatest fears. Andromeda massaged her forehead, trying to decide on a course of action. Dora bit her lip.

"You don't approve, do you."

Andromeda clasped her hands and stared at the ceiling. "He's a werewolf."

A pause. "Yes."

Andromeda continued. "And ten years older than you."

Another pause. "Yes."

Andromeda took a deep breath, trying to hold it together for the sake of her relationship with her daughter. Dora jumped in.

"It's just like your relationship with Dad isn't it? I mean -"

Andromeda held up a hand. "No Dora, it's not. Your father is not dangerous. He is fully human. And he was the same age as I am. This situation is very different to what we had, the only similarity that could possibly be taken from this is our families forbidding us from seeing them."

Silence reigned in the room. Dora finally shrugged. "Whatever. I don't care. He doesn't want me anyways. I was just hoping you would care."

Fleeting images flashed through Andromeda's mind, pictures of her own self talking hesitantly to her mother, but a far more explosive result coming to mind.

"Dora, I do care. This is why I am forbidding you."

Dora shook her head. "Night Mum."

She apparated away, leaving Andromeda to chew over her daughter's words.

1997

"Dora, being pregnant isn't the end of the world. You will be fine."

"Mum, what if I die? What if the kid die? What if REMUS DIES?"

Dora was in hysterics, fear smothering her sanity. Andromeda hugged her softly, gently patting her on the back.

"It's ok. You won't die. Remus will be fine. Your child will be ok."

Dora's hysterics calmed to a sob, her shoulders heaving a little less than before.

"I can't stop thinking about it. What if I don't make it?"

Andromeda looked her directly in the eye.

"You will make it."

The funeral

The funeral's turn out had been astronomical, every person touched by Dora's light or Remus's heart had shown up to mourn the couple lost too soon.

Andromeda stood next to the grave, holding a squalling baby in her arms. A tear dripped down her face, tracking it's way onto the ground.

As the priest said the last rites, she vowed to herself to protect Teddy. He would make sure he never had to face the horrors of war like her own child did.

2021

"Teddy, you can't fight in this war. It's not your battle and besides, you have a daughter to look out for!"

Her grandson turned towards her, a fire in his eyes. He looked exactly like Dora at that age, his posture, eyes, hair. Almost identical.

"My parents did the same for me. It would be wrong not to do the same."

Then he apparated away, leaving Andromeda by herself once again.

All alone in an empty house.