(A/N: Set a few years after Sirius' death. I don't quite know what happened here but I kinda like it anyway. Kinda different with the tense an all. Please read and review!)
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
She broods and says she misses her mum.
Remus says "Let's go visit her."
And they drain their teacups, grab their respective cloaks, and leave Nymphadora's London flat to face the chilly autumnal air.
Locking the door, she sighs. "I have to stop by the flower shop."
x x x
The three sisters were buried in a row. No crosses, just plain gravestones marking the graves of Bellatrix Black Lestrange, Narcissa Black Malfoy, and Andromeda Black Tonks. Here, at least, they are all equal and identical.
Nymphadora Tonks puts a bouquet of fresh spring flowers on her mother's grave, and scatters rose petals on the other two.
On Narcissa's grave is a bouquet of drying crimson roses with a scrap of parchment tied to the bottom. She bends down to read 'Pax tecum. Love you.'
"Draco?" asks Remus.
"I believe so."
"I thought he went into isolation."
"I suppose he still finds time for her."
"That's nice to know I guess. Even some of the darker souls loved their mothers." He's twirling the single rose he bought from the flower shop.
She knows he's saving it for Lily Potter. "Too bad we couldn't say the same for dear Sirius." The fact that he didn't even get a grave depresses her to no end. She would never know if he was at peace. She eyes the flower in Remus' hand and asks if he wants to go now. "I'm done here."
"I can wait. Are you sure?"
"No," she sighs, "I'm not sure. It's a shame I never got to know the other two."
"Narcissa wasn't so bad," he says thoughtfully, "even for a Slytherin. I suppose she was just too blinded by Lucius to have a will of her own. Bellatrix…" he trails off bitterly at her name. "Forgive me, but I cannot find a single compliment for Bellatrix Lestrange. I doubt she was born evil but she's done unforgivable things. It's too bad she turned out the way she did."
"At least they're with the ones they love," Nymphadora says, eyes downcast. It's hard to think of anything else remotely positive about their deaths.
"That makes me wish I was one of them," he smiles.
She takes his words in with a pang of sympathy. James, Sirius, Lily, even Pettigrew, he lost them all, and all too soon. "I know it isn't much consolation but I'm sorry, even though I know that 'sorry' has probably lost all meaning for you."
"Thank you anyway. We're the same, you and I. Alone. You just take it in so much better."
"It's because you're here," she gives him a half-smile, "Thank you for that by the way. You just make it so much easier."
"I doubt that," he barks a bitter laugh. It's so much like Sirius' but softer. "No one can make mourning any easier."
His words sting her although she knows he didn't mean them to. She feels as if she is of no use to him, no comfort to him, and that is probably true because his loss was far greater than hers. The only people she really mourned were her mother and Sirius. Catching sight of the rose once more, she remembers Lily. "Let's go visit her." And they do.
x x x
He whispers a prayer and places the flower in front of her gravestone. "I should've gotten her a lily," he says light-heartedly, trying to make the situation more bearable. It is in vain though because he finds that Nymphadora is silently crying.
"You probably think it's a tragic love story," he sighs, "worse than all those muggle movies. A love triangle. The girl chooses and then she dies."
This makes her cry harder and so he turns to comfort her. She sobs into his shoulder, clutching him and almost afraid to let go.
At times like this, she's the little sister he never had and he feels protective of her and knows that he needs to be strong for her because right now she's not crying for herself or her mother but for him and his loss. And although he doesn't like to admit it for reasons he doesn't quite know himself, she makes the loss more bearable for him as well.
(A/N: To clarify, there's no romance intended between Nymphadora and Remus. R/L was actually intended, and this was originally supposed to be an epilogue for Pieces of Black but change of plans and modifications made it into a standalone. If you like dark/depressing stuff, go read that fic! Anyway, hope you liked it. By the way, the latin says 'may peace be with you' …or my translator lied. Please review!)
