The auror on the doorstep is a shock. Aurors – with the exception of her daughter – mean bad news.
"Is Nymphadora hurt?" She asks at once, the worst case scenario jumping to mind; she turns her head and shouts into the house. "Ted! Come quickly!"
"No." The auror says, a marble pillar in the midst of her panic. "Nymphadora is fine."
"Oh, oh thank Merlin." What a relief; for a moment there she'd felt like she was back in the war… "Oh." Had they caught him? Would they bother to tell her if they had? "It's Sirius, isn't it?"
Ted appears beside her, his presence, as ever, preventing her from breaking down. She has so little family left, is it really such a crime to want to keep her little brother?
"Well?" Ted says to the auror, stern in a way most people never get to see. "Take us to him. He won't be alone when it happens."
His words remind Andromeda of the news that had only been published this morning. That the minister of magic had authorised the dementor's kiss on Sirius if he was found.
"This may come as quite the shock Mrs Tonks…"
"Get on with it." Ted snaps, although Andromeda can feel the shake of his hand in hers. "The quicker you tell us the quicker we can go."
The auror purses his lips. "Black has been found living with Nymphadora under the guise of a pet dog." He raises an eyebrow the slightest amount, as if to say 'I warned you', "Minister Fudge has asked me to fetch all those who spent time around the animal."
"Don't call him that!" Andromeda spits anger at the insult before she even finishes processing the news about Snuffles. The auror remains unmoved.