Andromeda's legs were heavy as she dragged her tired body up the stairs to her bedroom. She lit a few candles with a wave of her wand and sat down on the soft mattress.
She was long past her usual bedtime, but the events of the day kept her mind restless. Getting to know Hermione Granger properly was better than she had imagined. The young witch's gentle caring manner was a balm to her weary soul and helping her was the highlight of the last few months.
One thought, however, she could not shake off. Should she have gone to Black Hall to get the book before using the potion? She sighed deeply and pulled the t-shirt over her head. As usual, she tangled it in her long hair. Once she freed it from her mane, she laid it on her lap, her arms still half-hidden in it, and tried to get rid of the thought. She had helped her, and that was good. That was all she could have done. She shook her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught her reflection in the long mirror.
The mirror had once belonged to her aunt Walburga. Shortly after the war, she had visited Harry at Grimmauld Place and discovered the mirror while rummaging around the house. She had admired the mirror since she was a young girl. It was distinctively Slytherin. The glass was rimmed with silver snakes that seemed to slither around whenever one didn't directly look at them. Their eyes were set with emeralds. As numerous other artefacts from the Black family, the mirror was decorated with the family motto Toujours pur and the coat of arms.
The mirror reflected many things she had come to hate, yet she could not tear herself away from it. In a mixture of melancholy and madness, she had taken it home.
She fully opened the heavy, black velvet curtain and stood in front of the mirror. Closing her eyes, she let herself be swallowed by the memories.
-§-§-§-§-§-
1965
'Sirius, watch out!' Andromeda yelled when her cousin ran headfirst into his mother's giant mirror. It wiggled dangerously, and Andromeda ran towards Sirius to pull him out of the way. Luckily, Bella was around to catch the mirror before it smashed to the ground. Sirius broke away from Andromeda's grip and escaped out of the room.
'What are you two idiots doing?' Bellatrix asked incredulously. 'Can I not leave you alone for two minutes without you causing havoc?' She put the mirror back in its original position and crossed her arms in front of her body, giving her a stern look.
'No, you can't leave them alone,' Narcissa replied haughtily and dragged her older sister towards the door.
'Let's get some fancy clothes for Sirius. I want to dress him up nicely.'
Bella rolled her eyes but followed suit.
Andromeda stayed in the room, examining the mirror. She traced the snakes with her fingertips; they were smooth and cool.
'It was a wedding gift.' Andromeda turned around to look at her aunt.
'As we were both Black's already, your uncle thought it suitable to gift me this mirror. It belonged to his mother. She got it as a wedding gift as well. Your grandfather made it for her.' She gently touched the family crest with her index finger and smiled lightly.
'It's a beautiful mirror, Walburga.'
'Come sit next to me, ma fille,' her aunt patted the empty space next to her. Andromeda sat down on the chaise longue and studied their reflections in the mirror. Her aunt had a loving expression on her face. She wore dark makeup around her eyes and on her lips.
'You get more beautiful every day, ma chère,' she said and brushed her niece's hair with her long delicate fingers. 'I wish I had a girl myself.'
'Father would happily trade one of us for one of your sons,' Andromeda said drily.
'Your father loves all three of you,' her aunt replied sternly.
Andromeda didn't believe her. She knew how much her father longed to have a son and that the three of them would never be enough. Just as Sirius and Regulus would never be enough for Walburga.
-§-§-§-§-§-
It was hard to look at her face when there was no glamour to hide the exhaustion. Her messy hair hung loosely down her head. It was dull and stopped right above her shoulders. She was tracing her fingers over the sharp collarbone when she realised, she looked an awful lot like Bellatrix.
If it weren't for the faint stretch marks on her lower belly and the revolting scar on her arm, she would be sure her dead sister was staring right back at her.
She felt sick at the thought. There was the sadness again that she detested so much. She despised herself for mourning the sister she lost to Molly Weasley's wand. A sister she had lost thirty years before - a sister who didn't deserve to be missed.
With trembling fingers, she traced the silver marks on her abdomen and closed her eyes.
'How could you do this to me, Bella?'
Tears rolled down her cheeks, and she quickly closed the curtain before she would completely lose herself.
She lay down on her side of the bed and grabbed the sheet where Ted used to lie. Missing them was never easy, but today was more painful than usual. She hugged his pillow and squeezed her eyes shut.
Andromeda didn't know silence could be so defeating.
-§-§-§-§-§-
Two weeks passed since Hermione's visit, and her thoughts were often occupied by the young witch.
Even though Hermione's silence worried her somewhat, she didn't want to strain on their blossoming friendship, so she never reached out either. After all, it had taken two years to meet her adequately. She could be patient for a few days. At least Harry had told her everything was fine. The younger witch was just busy with her job. Still, the thought of seeing her again made her excited, and she hoped it would be soon.
She was teaching Teddy a few complicated words when a tiny grey owl delivered a letter.
Can you meet me today at Grimmauld Place? I've some questions about your potion.
P.S. Metis likes the blue treats.
Andromeda smiled fondly as she welcomed the change of plan in their otherwise mundane day.
'Teddy,' she called him and lifted him into her arms. 'You'll be spending the afternoon with gran-gran. '
His joyful squeal confirmed that he didn't mind that his nana went out.
She wrote a sweeping Yes below Hermione's lines and fed the owl a few blue treats.
After the initial excitement had died down, she looked down at herself and frowned. What in Salazar's name was she supposed to wear?
-§-§-§-§-§-
Two hours later, and dressed to the nine's, she stepped into Number 12, Grimmauld Place.
Walburga's rant began the second her blood traitor foot had touched the ebony floorboards. As always, she had been prepared to hear the tirade, and as always, the words took her by surprise.
She looked at Walburgar's portrait and squared her shoulders. A lump formed in her stomach, and she tried to reassure herself that it was just the charm speaking.
Cold blue eyes stared back at her. 'Filthy blood traitor w-'
'Arrête!' yelled Andromeda and covered her ears with her hands.
Her eyes widened when the portrait fell on the ground. After a moment of stunned silence, she levitated it to take a good look at it. Her aunt was still sitting in her armchair. She seemed a bit ruffled but looked a lot more like the woman she grew up with. Her aunt fixed her hair and waved at her.
'Merci, ma fille!' the portrait spoke.
Andromeda didn't quite know how to feel about that.
Hermione had heard the commotion from her room upstairs and run down to find Andromeda staring at the portrait in her hands. She had only overheard the last bit of their conversation. Confused, she pointed towards Walburga. 'How did you manage that? We've tried everything!' After the hundredth spell, she had stopped counting, and sometime after that, they had stopped trying.
Andromeda hung the portrait back onto the wall. 'Blood magic, I suppose. Or the French, I guess you haven't tried either?' She chuckled.
Hermione shook her head. 'You are correct.'
Andromeda took one of Hermione's hands and kissed each of her cheeks once. 'How have you been, love? It's been a while.'
Hermione felt guilty for not inviting her sooner, but she had been busy with her job and her parents. 'Tatters has taken up quite a big amount of my free time lately, and I met with another doctor about my parents. I did read your notebook, though.' She summoned it and gave it back to Andromeda.
She let her fingers linger in Andromeda's hand while she studied her carefully. Andromeda was wearing an anthracite-coloured turtleneck that accentuated her grey eyes. She had her hair loosely tucked into the collar, which softened her stance considerably. 'You look wonderful,' Hermione said, almost breathless.
Andromeda sheepishly tugged at the hem of her turtleneck. 'Thank you, love. I did some research on the potion. It's nice to be working on something again. I missed it more than I thought.'
She had quit her job when Ted went into hiding to look after Nymphadora. Then her life was uprooted, and she has not looked for a job since. After a breath she continued: 'Teddy's with his great-grandparents today. We have plenty of time to work.'
Hermione smiled. 'I bought some pots I thought fitting and some ingredients that might work. Shall we get started right away?'
Andromeda nodded and followed Hermione through the long corridor towards the library. Something about the hall seemed off. She stopped and traced the wallpaper with her hand as she always felt the urge to explore her surroundings by touch.
'Exactly how many extension charms did you cast onto this house?'
Hermione chuckled and gave her a look over her shoulder. 'We've lost count but only just enough to make it airy without messing with its structure.'
Andromeda briefly wondered why her aunt and uncle never did that. Or did they and she had forgotten it? Either way, it was much better this way. They had turned Grimmauld Place into a home.
Hermione pushed the heavy wooden door to the library open and let Andromeda enter first. Between the bookcases, the young witch had put a table. A few books already lay open on top of it. Sticky notes were sticking out of most of them. In the other corner of the room, Hermione had set up a small potion lab. Andromeda admired Hermione's enthusiastic approach. She was looking forward to spending an afternoon doing research. Taking care of Teddy was no burden, but the lack of mental stimulation had begun to wear her out.
Andromeda leaned against the table. 'I've visited my former colleagues at St. Mungo's. They assured me that such a potion does not exist. Did my notebook help?' She opened the notebook and grimaced when she looked at the entry of June 5, 1980. Quickly, she switched pages.
Hermione didn't miss her reaction. 'Sorry for being nosy, but what happened then? It sounds like a good story,' she said with a gentle tone in her voice.
Andromeda hesitated for a moment. That day in June 1980 was one of the most emotionally draining days of her life, and she didn't feel able to talk about it right now. Hermione, however, looked at her with interest and shining honey-brown eyes. It made it impossible to resist her. Andromeda sighed heavily and sat down on the couch. 'Can I tell you over dinner? I'd rather get to work now.'
Hermione nodded and smiled mischievously. Her question had, after all, earned her a second dinner with Andromeda. She bent over Andromeda from behind and flicked through the notebook to the potion's recipe. 'I have a question about the mandrake. What's it good for?'
Andromeda furrowed her brows, a little distracted by the young witch's proximity. 'Didn't I write that down?'
Hermione shook her head and sat down beside her.
Andromeda flipped back a few pages and then forward again, stopping with her finger on a passage written in sloppy script. Andromeda held the notebook closer to her face to decipher the writing. 'Oh, Ted with his poor writing! No wonder you couldn't read it. It says he used mandrake as a painkiller. Pretty useless if you ask me.' She chuckled and put the notebook in her lap.
Hermione rolled her eyes. 'His writing's no worse than Ron's. I should have been able to read it. Do you have an idea what to replace the mandrake with?'
Andromeda thought for a moment. 'Peppermint might help, but I'll have to read into that to avoid it interacting badly with any other ingredient.'
'Mmh, yeah, we don't want that. Why don't you have a look at Sharp Herbs? They have written some chapters on peppermint. I'll have a look at Herbology. Maybe I'll find something.'
Hermione picked up both books and put them on the couch. She sat down cross-legged on the couch so that her knee touched Andromeda's leg. She picked up the notebook and opened a new page. 'Can I write in it?'
'Of course,' Andromeda replied, leaning over her to reach for Sharp Herbs. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hermione neatly writing a date and number on the blank page. It made her smile.
They continued to work in silence, scrolling through the books. The older witch enjoyed looking at the studious woman next to her. Even the way she was reading a book intrigued Andromeda. She caressed every new page with her thumb and scrunched up her nose from time to time. It seemed like nothing could distract her from whatever page she was currently reading.
After a long time, Hermione looked up from her tome and tapped Andromeda, who had a moment to detach herself from her book.
Hermione smiled. 'I found something!'
She laid the book a little to the right so that it was half on Hermione's legs and half on Andromeda's. She pointed to a small image in the top left corner. 'Three aconite leaves. It's a good painkiller and it should speed up the wound healing.'
Andromeda pulled the book a little closer to her side and skimmed the page. 'Yes, should work. Peppermint, on the other hand, is useless. It would slow down the curse-breaking.'
'Aconite, then,' Hermione said and wrote it down with a few notes as to why they chose it.
Andromeda stretched herself and grabbed the small of her back. 'I can't believe it took us over two hours. Time has flown.'
As if on cue, Hermione's stomach grumbled.
Andromeda smiled. 'Time for dinner?' She asked with a cheeky grin on her lips.
'Only if you cook like a Muggle,' Hermione countered.
Andromeda's chuckle became a melodious laugh.
Within milliseconds, Hermione was lost in her face. Lines of laughter and sorrow beautifully softened her otherwise sharp features. Hermione was sure this laugh was one she only showed in private. At that moment, she was so overwhelmingly beautiful, Hermione's stomach churned, and it wasn't because she was starving.
Andromeda already had the door latch in her hand when she realised Hermione didn't follow her. She turned around. 'Well, what are you waiting for?'
The red on Hermione's cheeks did not escape Andromeda, and she thought it looked excellent on her.