The first time Harry met Andromeda Tonks he had mistook her for her sister. She, meanwhile, had greeted Harry rather haughtily. A mixture of worry for her daughter and irritation at being confused with her older sister. Irritation because Andromeda's sister happened to be Bellatrix Lestrange, probably the most feared and hated woman in wizarding Britain. Not someone that you would want to be confused with. As Andromeda had moved closer to him her differences to Bellatrix had become noticeable. Wider, kinder eyes and lighter hair. In the twenty years since then Harry had got to know Andromeda well. The pair had been drawn together by the presence of Teddy Lupin. Godson to Harry and Grandson to Andromeda. Since Teddy's parent's death in the Battle of Hogwarts bringing him up had been shared between them.
But in those twenty years Harry had never talked to Andromeda about Bellatrix. They made a conscious effort to not mention Bellatrix's name when in the presence of Andromeda. Because not only was she her sister but she was also her daughter's murderer. But today Harry had come to the house of Andromeda Tonks to talk about Bellatrix. Harry had some news to give to her.
Harry knocked gently on the green door of the quant cottage and took a deep breath. A few moments later Andromeda opened the door and greeted him with a broad smile.
'Harry, this is a nice surprise. I'm sorry but Teddy's not here' She said.
Harry shook his head lightly 'I'm actually here to see you Andromeda. There's something I need to talk to you about'.
Andromeda raised her left eyebrow slightly in a gesture which showed she was intrigued. She then moved back from the door and motioned with her arm for Harry to come in. Harry moved through into the living room. It was a cosy space which was an unusual mixture of the magical and the muggle world. A muggle television sat in the corner but the walls were covered with moving photographs capturing various moments throughout the family life of the Tonks'. The images depicted a girl with brightly coloured hair in various stages of her life. From a newborn baby with a tuft of purple hair sticking out from a blanket to a portrait of her alongside a man with brown hair flecked with grey. He missed Tonks terribly. Her death often hit him hard. So young and with a newborn baby. She had often brought fun and laughter in a time when those things were so hard to find.
'Please take a seat Harry' Andromeda said gently with a small smile, Harry thought that she had noticed him looking at the photographs.
'Do you watch the television much Andromeda?' Harry asked 'You mustn't have grown up with one?'
Andromeda laughed softly in response, glancing over at the television set 'The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black did not allow such things. I can't say I watch it much but it reminds me of evenings spent with Ted and Nymphadora. I wouldn't want to part with it'
'Arthur keeps saying that he would love a television. Ginny and I did actually discuss getting one for him for Christmas but I'm not sure what Molly would think about it. You know she…'
'Harry' Andromeda said cutting him off 'I'm sorry to interrupt but I'm on tenterhooks here. You said you had something to talk to me about?'
Harry smiled at her and nodded softly 'Of course. Have you heard about my son Albus? What he's been up to recently?'
'Teddy did mention that he'd been in a bit of trouble at school'
Harry couldn't help the chuckle that was released 'You could say that. You see it's a long story. I can't really go in to details but there is one thing in particular I need to tell you'
As he had delivered this sentence Harry had stared down at his clasped hands in his lap but at this point he glanced back up at Andromeda meeting her eyes. 'It's about Bellatrix'
A flash of anger came across Andromeda's face as she continued to meet his eyes 'sorry Harry but I really don't want to…'
'She had a daughter'
Andromeda's eyes bulged forward and she shook her head lightly.
'She befriended Albus. He didn't know who she was. But we know now. From investigations we've done it would seem that it's true. This girl is the daughter of Bellatrix and… and Voldemort'
Andromeda's eyed moved further out of her head and she gulped slowly.
'I'm guessing by your reaction that you didn't know' Harry asked
'No idea' Andromeda said in a whisper 'When was she born?'
'In 1997 in Malfoy Manor. She was kept secret there. And then after the war was over she was given to the Rowle's to raise'
'What about Narcissa? Did she know? She was born in her house?' Andromeda asked
'I'm not sure. She has refused to see me. I think she is embarrassed by the whole thing. Either she knew and their secret has been uncovered or this all happened in her own home without her knowledge. I personally cannot see how she would not have known. Her own sister pregnant and having a baby in her own house. Perhaps she believed life would be better for the girl if her parentage was not known'
'She must have known' Andromeda said firmly 'Anything else is impossible. What's the girls name?'
'Delphi. Delphini'
'And where is she now?'
'Azkaban' Harry said with a twinge of sadness
'Azkaban?' Andromeda asked in a confused tone 'But why?'
'She murdered a student at Hogwarts. He was unfortunate enough to come across her when she was with Albus in the forest. She killed him, Andromeda, without a second thought' Harry explained.
'Like Mother, like daughter' Andromeda said with hatred dripping from her voice.
'Did you know Andromeda?' Harry asked cautiously 'Did you know that Bellatrix and Voldemort had a physical relationship?'
Andromeda stood up and walked over to a small wooden cabinet in the corner of the room. She opened one of the draws and pulled out a small pile of what looked like photographs. Flicking through them she turned back to Harry. 'I didn't. But I'm not surprised'
She came back over and sat down beside Harry on the sofa. 'I could never explain to you Harry what it is like to lose a daughter. But one of the hardest things to accept is that she was murdered by my own sister'
Andromeda took the photograph from the top of the pile and passed it over to Harry. The photograph showed three young girls sitting on a bench in a well-kept garden. Harry would guess they were between the ages of five and ten. On the left was the youngest of the three, a pretty blonde girl who was giggling with a big smile on her face. Next to her a slightly older girl with wavy hair was waving enthusiastically at the picture taker. On the right was the oldest girl. This girl was looking down at the two younger girls beside her with a soft affectionate smile on her face. With distinctive heavy eye lids and big curly hair, she was easily recognisable to Harry as a young Bellatrix Lestrange.
'This is my sister Harry' Andromeda said firmly pointing at the image of Bellatrix 'before she met him. Before she even knew he existed. She was a different Bellatrix to the person you knew. I mourn for Bella. The girl she was'
'Tell me about her' Harry said, bringing his eyes up from the photograph to Andromeda's sad looking face.
'My Father was only thirteen when he had Bella. And by the time my parents had Narcissa he was seventeen. Three girls by the time he was seventeen. No sons. He had always wanted a son. Bringing up three daughters is hard enough, let alone when you're seventeen and you didn't want them to begin with. He would rarely engage with us, just leave us to roam around the house and do our own thing. Most of my memories of him are when he was angry, when we'd run around the house too much. He would shout at us and tell us what a disgrace we were to the House of Black. I would sob my heart out, as would Narcissa, but we always had Bella to comfort us. She was the strong one. I always thought nothing could happen to me while Bella was around' A solitary tear began to trail down Andromeda's cheek. 'For years she remained our defender. At school and at home. But then she met him'
'Him?' Harry asked with a tone of confusion
'Voldemort' Andromeda clarified with slight hesitation. Still after all these years the name clearly having an impact on her. 'It was common place at that time to have regular parties and balls, for pure-blood families. It was an opportunity to matchmake children and socialise with others of the same social standing. It must have been the summer of 1970 when he first came to one. I guess wanting to gain support amongst the pure-blood families. Bella was just out of school and had been insistently talking about the ideas preached by Voldemort. I didn't realise it at the time but she had already been attending meetings of his followers. She hadn't told any of us that she was doing this. I still don't know how she'd managed it at such a young age. I guess Voldemort had seen how talented she was at duelling. But it was at that party that this photo was taken'
Andromeda handed Harry a second photograph. This one showed a line of four adults of varying ages all dressed formally. In the centre was a gentlemen wearing a pair of well-kept dress robes who looked sternly forward, the only indication that he was moving was the odd blink of the eyes. To his left was an older gentleman with tied back long hair, he gave a soft smile towards the photo taker. To the left and right of them were the two individuals that Harry recognised from the photograph./p
'This is my Father' Andromeda said pointing at the stern looking man. 'And this here is Abraxas Malfoy' she added pointing at the gentleman with neatly tied back hair.
She moved her finger across to a woman on the far right 'This is Bella. And this man on the far left is…'
'Tom Riddle' Harry interrupted. The man here was very different to the figure that Harry remembered but he would always recognise those cold eyes and piercing stare.
However, the noticeable thing about the photograph was that those cold eyes and piercing stare were only momentarily present. Voldemort could be seen to stare out of the photo for a second before turning his gaze down the line of people to his left. Harry could clearly make out his mouth turning into a smirk as he did so. At the same time on the other end of the line Harry could see Bellatrix mirror his movements. Staring out of the picture before turning her gaze down the line. As she did this her eyes met with those of her master and she could be seen to smile back at him. The pair shared this moment for a few seconds before both turning back forwards.
'She was captivated by him' Andromeda said bringing Harry back to the conversation. 'And I do believe that there was something about her which struck him. From this evening onwards I began to no longer recognise her. All that mattered to her was him. My sister slowly disappeared and Bellatrix Lestrange emerged.'
Andromeda took the photos out from Harry's hands and walked back over the cabinet, placing them back in the drawer. 'You asked me if I was surprised about her and Voldemort. I'm not. Are you after seeing that photograph? It just confirms to me, tragically, that there was no part of her that didn't belong to him'
