Author's note: Welcome to The 'I' in Family! I'm so excited for you guys to read it.
First off: this story has already been written and I'm planning on releasing one chapter a day from now on, but I may miss a day here and there. I'm not sure.
Secondly: this story is rated K+ because it's family friendly, but I would like to put a tw/cw - mentions of sickness/long-term disease, death, and orphans are very common in the fanfic because it's Teddy Lupin and this is canon compliant. Mostly. Which brings me to my next point- since Tonks popped up in Hogwarts Mystery, I'm bringing some of the characters in because I love them way too much. More info on that in future chapters because the HM characters don't really make an appearance until chapter three.
Thirdly: there will be mini-author's notes here and there, you'll see why.
Fourthly: Because this is a family-themed story, for the purposes of this story only, Andromeda and Ted will not be prejudiced against werewolves. I know this would cause some drama and that's always fun but if I do end up writing another fic with Andromeda in it (and let's face it, with the fact that Remadora is literally my favorite ship, that's very likely to happen) then she and probably Ted will most likely be somewhat prejudiced.
Lastly: I'm not JKR, so any canon characters/places/etc. belong to her. As far as I can remember I'm not taking quotes straight out from the book but if I did then those belong to her too.
With that, enjoy!

Chapter one: The Second Orphan

May 3, 1998

The boy wasn't even a month old when it happened; too young to remember anything, but somehow old enough to understand something was wrong.

Andromeda Tonks sat on the couch in the small home, staring off into space. The small boy in her arms had turned four weeks old the previous day; it hadn't been a full month since he was born, but almost. He looked so peaceful when he was asleep, calm and relaxed, and his currently dark reddish-brownish hair was now turning slowly to blonde.

Andromeda smiled at her grandson. When his mother was born, her hair had changed to many different colors all in an hour, and they were all bright. Teddy's hair hadn't changed as much, and the colors were more natural. Andromeda guessed that Teddy didn't really want to try too much to change his appearance, because seeing as he was so young, he still wasn't sure what was what in the world.

This showed a bit more of his father's more careful side in him, though only his mother had the same ability to change appearance at will. Andromeda sighed as her thoughts drifted back to them. It was sometime in the afternoon, and when Teddy had awoken this morning, crying, Andromeda had rushed to him to try to calm him, though it had taken a while. She knew there was some sort of sixth sense babies had for their mothers when they were born, that they could tell if they were far away, but the cry seemed to mean something worse and Andromeda really wasn't sure she should try to tell if his parents were in danger from something so simple as crying.

Except crying wasn't simple, was it? No, it couldn't be. Maybe for children, feelings could be simple, but since her daughter and son-in-law had started dating, everything was complicated. Life is supposed to be complicated, Andromeda reminded herself.

War is supposed to be complicated.

Andromeda was moved back into reality slowly as she felt movement in her arms. Teddy was awake now. His blue eyes stared into his grandmother's, and while Andromeda knew that most babies eyes were blue and would most likely change as they got older, she loved this color. However, they would probably change sometime soon.

"Hey, Teddy," Andromeda whispered to the boy. "You awake now, hmm? Are you hungry?"

Something told Andromeda that the boy wanted his parents. No wonder.

"Your parents aren't here right now," Andromeda whispered. She wasn't sure why she was whispering; the place was soundproof, and nobody could see the house as Andromeda was the Secret-Keeper. The three—well, four— of them had talked it over and agreed that, once the war was over, they would not need to keep the house a secret, but if something happened to the Secret-Keeper, anybody who found out would be able to spread it as they would become Secret-Keepers. So they agreed that, since Andromeda wasn't fighting, she would do it just in case something happened to Remus and Dora.

If something happened to them.

Andromeda had told the rest of the Order the location, seeing as this was a safe house in case of emergency. Because of this, unless something happened to her, the rest of the Order knew the location but would not be able to show anybody, tell anybody, write it down... nothing. The charm was very powerful, and not even the Secret-Keeper could reveal it if it was being forced out of them. They had to give it only if they wanted the secret to be known.

Andromeda had known that for a while, but by unspoken agreement she and Dora had not mentioned that part to Remus when they were discussing who would be the Secret-Keeper. Remus had too much history with that last part, but he was probably smart enough to figure out that they weren't talking about that part because of him and had figured it out.

Since it had been before Ted had gone on the run, he'd offered to be it, but seeing as he was in danger enough, they had decided on Andromeda. A tear slipped down her cheek as she remembered Ted's death all over again and looked back at Teddy-the baby- and sighed. Would he be anything like his grandfather?

Andromeda's thoughts were taken away again as she remembered his other grandfather. Remus hadn't spoken to him in years, he'd said, not wanting to put him in any danger before the war and now during because he was already a target for marrying a muggle. Hope, Remus's mother, had died sometime around 1982 or 1983, and Andromeda remembered that when Remus and Dora had been thinking about names, that had been brought up.

That was before Ted had died, though.

The four-week-old baby shifted slightly, and Andromeda looked down at her grandson. His blue eyes were staring at Andromeda, and they didn't look calm. They seemed tense and alert. How exactly a baby's eyes could be tense and alert, Andromeda didn't know, but that was those words were the first that came to her mind.

Then the knock came at her door: two soft knocks, a pause, and then a sharp knock. The one that Molly and Arthur had been assigned to use.

It had been Remus's idea originally to come up with a knocking system. The idea was they had certain knocks to use depending on which person was at the door. Their family wasn't the only one that did this, but other families had passwords or quizzing systems. Dora had pointed out that someone might use it by mistake, so the password system should be used too.

Andromeda picked Teddy up and walked over to his parents' bedroom, where his crib was currently. When Teddy was old enough, his crib would be moved to the nursery, and then eventually, his own room. Andromeda set him down in the crib and walked over to the door.

Standing in front of the doorway, Andromeda could see two clear possibilities: One, that Remus and Dora were standing outside the door, and they had just forgotten which knock to use. That seemed like something Dora would do, but not Remus. The other possibility was that it was someone else, most likely Molly or Arthur as this was their knock, and they were coming to deliver bad news.

Either possibility had many outcomes, though. Andromeda tried not to worry about who might be on the other side, but she knew that if it wasn't Remus or Dora, then it was most likely bad news.

Even if they did win the war, there was always bad news afterwards. Always.

Taking a deep breath, Andromeda opened the door, and Molly was standing outside.

Molly looked awful, bruised and her eyes were red as if she'd been crying. She certainly looked like she'd just fought in a war. And she looked like she needed to deliver bad news.

Something twisted inside of Andromeda's stomach, but she forced herself to ask, "Password?"

"Finite Incantatum," Molly said in a shaky voice.

If it really was Molly, then that could only mean something bad.

"Come in," Andromeda whispered. "Teddy's asleep, don't wake him up."

Teddy wasn't really asleep, but just in case, Andromeda decided to keep her voice down. Especially now that Molly was not here and not Teddy's parents. And Andromeda couldn't help but feel that Teddy's cries that morning must have meant something.

"I...erm... alright, then, I'll come in," Molly said. Andromeda led her to the living room and motioned to the couch.

"Sit down," Andromeda offered.

"Thank you," Molly said politely. She sat down on the couch and Andromeda sat down across from her in the armchair. Molly took a deep breath.

"Well, I guess I might as well start with the good news," Molly said. "We won the war. Voldemort is dead."

Andromeda nodded. "That's... that's good."

Molly sighed. "Then I suppose you know what I'm going to say next."

Andromeda's eyes drifted away from Molly, but she whispered, "Both of them?"

Molly nodded stiffly. "Both of them. I'm... I'm so sorry, Andromeda."

Andromeda forced herself to keep her emotions under control and too look back at Molly. She had enough practice with keeping secrets from her teenage years, so while it was slightly difficult, she could manage.

"Do you need to have some time alone?" Molly asked.

Andromeda shook her head. "I'll be fine," she said in as brave a voice she could manage. It still shook, but she wasn't crying yet.

"Alright then," Molly said, giving a slight nod. "Harry... he's at our place now, and he was wondering if you could come over later with Teddy. He wanted to talk about living arrangements."

"Harry isn't thinking of taking care of the boy now, is he?" Andromeda asked. "He's very young... only eighteen, isn't it?"

Molly shook her head. "Not yet. In July, he'll be eighteen."

Andromeda nodded. "I'll come over now, if it's better."

"It... it might be," Molly said. "Of course, if you don't want to-"

"I will," Andromeda interrupted. "I'll come over now. We... we should probably get this out of the way."

Molly nodded again, still tense but not as much as before. "I can get Teddy," she offered.

"I'll get him." Andromeda stood up and steadied herself with a few deep breaths. Then she walked over to where Teddy was lying in his crib.

The boy had been completely silent throughout her and Molly's meeting, but he was awake. Andromeda watched the baby's blue eyes, and wondered again if they were going to change. Obviously, he could change his eye color if he wanted to. But it seemed like he didn't want to.

While she had been talking to Molly, Teddy's hair had darkened from blonde to a lighter brown, the color of his hair when he was born; his natural color. It was lighter than Remus's but still a similar color, and Andromeda forced herself not to cry again. Teddy looked so much like both of his parents, but he'd never see them again.

Andromeda picked up the orphaned baby boy in her arms and walked over to Molly, who was standing by the doorway. Because of the fidelius charm, it was impossible to apparate inside and outside of the house. Molly and Andromeda walked out and the latter grabbed the former's arm as she apparated to the burrow.

Apparently, Molly had already lifted her own fidelius charm on her house, because they apparated right next to it. Andromeda quickly checked Teddy to see if he'd been splinched, and luckily, he wasn't hurt. They walked inside to find Harry sitting on the couch, fidgeting and staring off into nothing.

Harry looked up at Andromeda when she came in, then to the small, four-week-old boy in her arms. He bit his lip and then offered a sad smile. It didn't do anything.

Andromeda sat down next to him, and Molly left the room. It'd been around ten months since she'd seen him last, but he looked the same, other than having cleaned himself off so there was no blood on him.

Andromeda had only met James a few times in her life, but what everyone said was true: Harry did look exactly like his dad.

"Hi... um, Andromeda," Harry said. "If... if I can call you that."

"Sure," she said. "It's fine."

Harry took a deep breath. "Can... can I hold him?"

"Of course," Andromeda said. Slowly, she lifted her arms and allowed Harry to take his godson and hold him.

"I can take care of him, if you need me to," Harry said. "That's... that's what I wanted to talk about."

Andromeda nodded. "I know. You don't need to, Harry, you're very young."

"Then I can take care of him when I'm old enough," Harry offered.

Andromeda bit her lip. "Maybe." Then she looked back at Harry. "I... if I may ask," she started, "Who... who killed them?"

"I wasn't there," Harry said, "but we asked around so we could honor all the deaths." Harry took a deep breath before continuing. "Dolohov... and..."

Harry didn't look like he wanted to continue, but he whispered, "And... and Bellatrix."

Well. No surprise there. Andromeda didn't even have to ask who killed who.

She knew her sister wanted revenge. So she killed Dora to punish Andromeda, and also because Dora had married Remus the previous summer. Andromeda wasn't sure if she knew anything about Teddy, but she had to assume that Bellatrix had somehow found out about her new great nephew.

"But," Harry said, in a normal but shaky voice, "Dolohov was killed by Professor Flitwick sometime after. And... and Molly killed Bellatrix."

Andromeda nodded. "And... my other sister. What happened to her?"

To Andromeda's surprise, a sad smile came across Harry's face. "Narcissa was a hero," he said. "She saved my life... she lied to Voldemort by saying I was dead. We wouldn't have won the battle without her." Harry paused, and then continued, "She wanted to get to her son so badly. She loved him that much."

The two were silent for a while. Teddy shifted in Harry's arms, and it seemed as if he was going to fall back asleep.

"I... I should find her," Andromeda said.

Harry nodded. "I talked with my friends, and they figured that we should try to get them pardoned for that."

Andromeda nodded again. "Thank you for telling me all of this, Harry. You... you must be really shaken up. Are you sure you're okay?"

Harry averted his eyes. "I'm not sure."

"That's normal," Andromeda said. "Well. As normal as it can be." Then she added, "You might want to get some rest, you know. I know it might be difficult, but I'm sure Molly has some Sleeping Draughts, and I have some at home-"

"No," Harry interrupted. "I don't need that."

Andromeda sighed. "Alright, then." She looked back at Teddy, who was fast asleep now. "So... I think it's best to wait until you're older to take care of him," she continued. "Maybe wait three or four years. I won't allow you to take care of him right now; you're too young for that."

Harry nodded. "Alright," he said. He lifted Teddy so he could study his face more, and Andromeda heard him whisper, "I'm right here, okay? You're Uncle Harry's got you."

"Uncle Harry?" Andromeda asked, a sad smile spreading across her face.

Harry shrugged casually, as if the situation wasn't as bad as it was, but Andromeda could tell he was still struggling with his feelings.

"I figured he'd like that," Harry said. "I'm not going to let him grow up like I did, with no connection to my parents. He'll have you, and he'll have me, and others, too."

Then it suddenly hit Andromeda. Remus was the last of James's friends to be alive... and now he was gone. That was another connection Harry had to his parents, just taken away from him like that. Andromeda remembered that even the traitor had been killed at the end of March at the cause of his own silver hand. That was how his body had been found, at least.

"Who... else died?" Andromeda asked slowly.

Harry swallowed, and Andromeda could tell he was trying to keep his feelings under control. Teddy seemed to sense it, too, and shifted his position again. He moved a lot, Andromeda noted.

"A lot of people," Harry said. "Erm... Snape died. And he was revealed to be on our side the entire time." There was more to that, but Harry wasn't saying it. "And a sixth-year, named Colin. He snuck back in to fight. He wasn't allowed to, because he was only sixteen."

"Then... did Ginny fight?" Andromeda asked him.

"Towards the end," Harry said. "And..." Harry sighed. "And Fred died, too."

No wonder Molly had looked so terrible, then. She'd just lost her own son.

Andromeda had just lost her own daughter. The grief his her all over again.

Andromeda swallowed and shook her head. "War is terrible."

"It's... it's over now, at least," Harry said, but he didn't sound so sure of himself.

The first orphan looked down at the second one, and Teddy stared back at him. Harry whispered something to Teddy so quietly that Andromeda couldn't hear him, but she didn't need to, because she knew what Harry said. She knew that Harry would stick by him no matter what, because they would eventually both know what it felt like to have no parents.