Andromeda was a strong but sympathetic woman with dignity and integrity, despite having been disowned by her own family and having experienced her fair share of hardship. Harry could still remember the first time he had met with her after the Second Wizarding War. He had dreaded for days before, thinking about how Andromeda would surely get upset in front of him and thus he would undoubtedly need to comfort the grandmother of a newly-orphaned infant, not to mention he himself had not really gotten over the loss of Lupin and Tonks that he had no idea how he would be able to get through the meeting. However, after everything Lupin had done for him and as Teddy's godfather, offering condolences and any assistance he could possibly give to her had been a matter of duty that he could not possibly shy away from any longer.
Instead of arriving at the Floo, he had apparated to the front of her house and he had only been able to knock on her door after pacing around for five minutes hesitantly. Ginny had offered to join the visit for support but he had declined, as he had believed that he would not be able to open up about the Lupins' deaths in front of an almost stranger if Ginny had been there. He had planned to greet her formally as "Mrs Tonks" with a nod of his head the moment she had opened the door, but pathetically, he had frozen at the sight of her. He had to keep reminding himself that Bellatrix is dead, Bellatrix is dead… under his breath while taking deep breaths. She had patiently waited for him to calm down, then she gave him a sad smile before wordlessly holding his hand, then she gently pulled him into a soothing hug and unexpectedly, he had gone right into it despite almost suffering from a panic attack mere seconds ago because of her resemblance to her sister and it had been very comforting.
Embarrassingly, when he had later tried to express how sorry he had been for the deaths of Lupin and Tonks, it had been he, instead of Andromeda, the widow who had lost her husband, daughter and son-in-law, had been tortured herself as well as being left with the tremendous responsibility to care for an infant on her own within the past year, who had ended up breaking down and sobbing like a child. Again she had embraced him firmly, this time holding him tight for what had felt like an hour while letting him cry his heart out for his losses. Although she had shed some tears herself, she had been able to maintain her composure remarkably well.
Harry had also met and held his godson for the very first time on that unforgettable night, which had understandably been upsetting at first as he could not shake off the thought that Teddy had become an orphan like himself looking at the innocent baby. However, something magical had happened after holding the lively infant, who thankfully had seemed clueless about his terrible situation, for ten minutes, the baby had been so happy and his laugh had been so infectious that looking at him, Harry could not help feeling a sense of hope that he laughed along with his godson. Almost immediately after being held by this sad looking young man, the metamorphmagus baby had changed his hair into a black and messy bush, which brought a gentle smile from Andromeda, who had been silently wiping her tears. About a minute later, he had changed his eyes into green as well, but it had been nothing compared with the shock of seeing a "scar" shaped in a lightning bolt appeared on his godson's forehead, even though it was on the wrong side. Sensing that his handler had not been happy with his change, the "scar" had disappeared mere seconds after appearing as the young godfather hugged the baby tight against his own chest and silently promised that he would be the godfather Sirius could not have been for himself due to his imprisonment, one who would be a constant presence all through Teddy's childhood. Since that night, Andromeda had become kind of a surrogate aunt to him, especially because of the frequent times they had met the first few years when he had babysat Teddy at least once a week, brought them food and run errands to provide her with some much deserved relief.
Harry had actually offered her the entity of his inheritance from Sirius' vault and had reasoned that she had been Sirius' favourite cousin and Teddy had been the son of one of Sirius' best friends that his own godfather would no doubt approve of his decision, not to mention he had inherited a substantial sum from his father in addition to the salary of a full time job he would no doubt be earning to provide for his own family in the future that he had no real need for the fortune. The Tonks, on the other hand, had not have much in saving so Andromeda would obviously need to both care for and provide for Teddy, that surely receiving the sum that would eliminate her financial needs would be the most practical thing to do in order to provide the infant with the best care possible. Unfortunately, the talk had been very frustrating as Andromeda, being a woman of principle, had insisted that she could not have taken any money from him. They had gone back and forth for two hours until he had finally left. He had tried it again many times afterwards but had never managed to change her mind.
Having lived in the cupboard under the staircase and worn nothing but hand-me-downs from Dudley in his early years, Harry would never want Teddy to feel that he was any less than the other wizarding children just because his family could not afford what others would easily take for granted. He felt strongly that after losing both of his parents, his godson had not deserved to feel deprived of anything else. Not to mention, he had fantasised receiving new and fitting clothes and all the delicious food he could have eaten as a child that it felt good to fulfill his own childhood fantasies while helping Teddy. Therefore, he had grabbed every opportunity he could to buy school supplies and presents for his godson, to the point that he had even started inventing special occasions, like the anniversary of the day he had persuaded Lupin to return to Tonks after learning of the pregnancy (it had been a good excuse to tell Teddy more about his parents but he could not actually remember the actual day this had happened). He had had some successes over the years but there had been quite a number of times when he had failed to stop Andromeda from paying him back.
Andromeda was easily the most important person in Teddy's life that his godson always worked hard to make each of her birthday special for her, which had been quite a challenge for him during his years in Hogwarts when he could not spend time with her on the day at all. For the past few years in which he had graduated, he would always take the day off to spend the afternoon with her as well as to organise a dinner in which those closest to her, namely the Potters and some of the Weasleys, were all invited to celebrate the occasion. Since she was a rather low-key woman, he always tried to keep it simple and cosy with less people in attendance. This year, Molly, Arthur, Bill, Fleur, Victoire, Harry and Ginny would all attend.
Immediately after Harry had arrived at the small house's Floo, Teddy rushed forward to give him an enthusiastic hug. He was sporting a "simpler look" tonight with uniform blonde hair that ended in turquoise blue. Even though Teddy's future parents-in-law liked him a lot and had basically considered him as another nephew for all his life, Harry knew that the elegant and fashionable quarter-Veela Fleur had never been a fan of Teddy's more outrageous looks that he tried to tone it down whenever she was present. After releasing his godson, Harry took a moment to take in the surroundings. Ginny had brought their present over before him that it had already become part of the pile on the table. His wife was catching up with her father with him holding her arms like they had just pulled away from a hug, while Vic was nowhere to be seen. He guessed she was in the kitchen as there was noise coming from there and she had always been known as the best cook out of all the Weasley grandchildren. Bill and Fleur were seated at a corner of the room discussing something with many pieces of papers and parchments lying all over the tea table between them. Andromeda, who had apparently been sitting with Molly, rose up to greet him.
Harry felt his heart warmed at the sight of her welcoming smile and open arms that he went straight into her embrace. Life might have tested her but it would never be able to harden her. Her hair, which had mostly turned grey by now, was neatly put into a bun, with a few strands of loose hair hanging around her heart-shaped face, which effectively brought out the softness of her look. She might be nearing seventy but the lines around her eyes and mouth could do nothing to diminish her elegance and grace or the life and kindness in her dark brown eyes. In Harry's opinions, Andromeda was the kind of aunt everyone would want in his life, even strangers would grow comfortable in her presence within minutes.
"Happy Birthday, Andromeda." He said as they pulled away from the hug.
"Thank you, Harry. I heard that you have been very busy the last few months, it's so nice of you to come." Coming from Andromeda, this kind of greetings would never felt superficial at all. She genuinely looked appreciative of him coming even though he was one of her closest friends and had celebrated her birthday with her almost every year for the last twenty years.
"Of course I have to come, it has been way too long since we last met. I should have come by earlier but I could barely afford taking the few days off during Christmas holiday for my family. I wish you would join us at the Burrow."
At this, she smiled a little and said, "As sweet as you all are, that kind of crowd is a bit too much for me." They chatted for a bit more before he turned to greet the others. She sat back down on the sofa to resume a conversation with Molly, whose hair had been greying for some years as well. These days, the picture of these two older ladies together was one of harmony. Harry could easily remember how jarring the sight had been to first see them sitting together years ago looking like Molly Weasley having a friendly conversation with Bellatrix while lovingly holding a baby.
At seventeen, Harry had absolutely no experience in taking care of babies that fittingly, Molly had been the one who had showed him the ropes to enable him to help babysit his godson. In addition, Molly had babysat for Andromeda a lot herself since at the time, all of her sons had already been working adults living elsewhere while Ginny had been finishing Hogwarts. The mother of seven had a lot of spare time in her hands so naturally, she tried to help out Andromeda as much as she could, which proved helpful for Molly to cope with her own loss. Percy, George and Ron had all taken turns to live one to two weeks every two to three months at the Burrow to keep an eye on Molly, who had had quite a number of bad days in those first two years, from not bothering to cook breakfast, cooking a full meal and having nine places set up at the table when there had only been three people at home at the time, to not talking at all for a whole day sometimes. It had been terrible to see the loving but usually tough Weasley matriarch so affected but mothering the orphan baby had proved to be a great antidote to the grief of losing one of her own children.
Harry was sitting comfortably with Ginny looping an arm around his while his father-in-law was excitedly asking him questions about the Muggle smartphone when his eldest niece came out of the kitchen and made a beeline for Andromeda with her most gorgeous smile. Victoire might only be an eighth-Veela but she was every bit as charming as her mother had been at her age. She gently held her future grandmother-in-law's hand then planted a kiss on her cheek, before saying, "Your birthday dinner is ready, gran." With that, Vic helped her up then accompanied her to the kitchen, where the dining table was, even though Andromeda was still very healthy that she could get around everywhere without help. But judging by her affectionate smile, the birthday girl did not mind the attention at all. Teddy then helped Molly up and now everyone was making way into the kitchen. Seeing them together, Harry struggled to remember when Vic had started calling Andromeda "gran" like Teddy did, it rolled off her tongue so naturally that she could not have started after the engagement. For what was worth, Vic might as well be Andromeda's granddaughter already.
Before the full course meal had even come into Harry's view, he could hear Andromeda admired, "Oh Vic, this is amazing! Thank you so much!" Indeed, if this was all about the appearance, Vic's feast was so beautiful that not only was it better looking than Harry's Christmas Eve dinner and the Malfoy's Christmas breakfast, it also looked more impressive-looking than Molly's Christmas lunch, which was no small feat at all. But then of course all the aforementioned meals had been prepared by someone who had only wanted his or her family to have a good time sharing a tasty meal, while Vic was a half-French perfectionist working her hardest to try to impress her future family and to show off her culinary and artistic talents. There was a whole roast chicken decorated with chili flower garnish, a dish of fishes with creamy sauce decorated with tomato roses and cucumber roses, a pie with its crust arranged in impossible braids and leaves design, a "peacock" which was actually a veggie salad with some cold cuts, a fruit salad arranged as a colourful heart-shaped flower wreath, a dish of potatoes in which golden brown and lighter-coloured potatoes were arranged into cute looking mushrooms decorated with red onion lotus-flower garnish. Granted, the feast might not be that time-consuming with the suitable cooking spells, it was still a lot for a twenty-year-old girl to pull off alone.
"It is your birthday, gran. Of course everything has to be perfect! I have baked your cake as well and I am sure you will love it!" If Vic had been her mother, this might come off as kind of smug or arrogant, but not only was the blonde girl stunning enough to pass as a half-Veela instead of an eighth-Veela, she also processed a natural sweetness which made it impossible for anyone to dislike her and to doubt her sincerity. But then as a Wesley, she could also be quite sassy at times, especially when dealing with her male cousins and uncles, sometimes even her own father.
"Hey Vic, why was my birthday dinner not half as good as this? Isn't it a bit unfair that you are already treating Andromeda so much better than your own dad?" Bill feigned jealousy to tease his daughter even though Harry could tell he was partially serious.
She turned towards her father looking a bit impatient, "Dad, do I honestly need to remind you of the time you happily popping one of my first tomato flowers into your mouth before proclaiming it was okay but then you immediately wondered aloud why I had to spend so much time on these only to have my hard work eaten within seconds? Also, this is my first time cooking a full meal for gran, of course it has to be special."
"I was hungry at the time, Vic." Bill answered defensively with his face looking quite red but at least he knew enough to shut up. Fleur gave him a look as if to say serve you right.
A/N: This was one of those times when I felt like I was writing a part that could easily be a separate one-shot instead of yet more background story of this already very long story. I find setup hard as understandably, most of the readers following would be reading for the main characters, that it's challenging to make sure that these parts are engaging. Sometimes I worry that you are all just dying for me to go back to the boys. It would be helpful to get more feedback on the secondary characters.
Thanks for all your encouragements. A shout out to Ronnie Jane, guest reviews are as important to me as signed reviews but it's extra special that I got to know who you are. I would love to chat with more of you, please comment!