AN: this sort of popped into my head a while ago...when I was writing NTTSMF –looks guilty-. I mean all the information that we got about the Tonks' was that they received the cruciatus curse and were "a bit shaken up." What happened to them? And since Tonks was still alive after the Wedding I think that we can safely assume that Bellatrix Lestrange was nowhere near the Burrow, so where was she?
Something at the back of her mind suddenly fell apart, briefly leaving a gaping hole. Andromeda quickly stood up, needing to reach her husband quickly. There would be no hope for them if they were apart.
"Please don't let it be so," she murmured but a wailing sound briefly filled her head, warning her of possible intruders.
Ted ran straight into her, their heads colliding with a sharp blast of pain.
"Dromeda the wards! They're down!" he gasped out.
Andromeda closed her eyes and sighed softly, it was just as she had feared. But who would attack them? They weren't in the Order, their beloved daughter was, yes, but that wasn't very well known unless you were...
A woman's cackling laugh filled the area. That could only belong to one person.
Ted flung open the door; they weren't going to hide from anyone in their own home. Gryffindorish thought it may be but Andromeda would be damned if her eldest sister would destroy one of the things she had rebelled against her family for.
Sure enough, standing just inside where the ward line used to be were three darkly robed figures with white masks. They may look indistinguishable to many but Andromeda knew who they were. After all, who else could it be?
"Rabastian Lestrange," how good to see you she greeted quietly, her voice holding a hint of scorn.
"Let us not forget Bellatrix or Rudolphus, Dromeda, that would be rude," chided Ted, only a tell tale crease of his nose told Andromeda that he was disgusted at this game she had started.
"Andromeda," was all Rudolphus said in reply and then sent a scathing look towards Ted. "Mudblood."
Andromeda's hand clenched in her pocket, she always hated people insulting her family.
Bellatrix wasn't saying anything, which was extremely odd and just a little creepy. She was just staring at her. Andromeda was slightly unnerved but didn't dare show it as she was completely sure that Bellatrix could smell fear.
"I would say it was a pleasure to see you again," continued Andromeda. "But I have since learnt that it's not nice to lie."
Bellatrix sorted and said in a mocking tone, "Forgotten about your upbringing already?" she lifted her wand and sent a nasty looking grey spell her way, Andromeda dodged, "Sometimes it's necessary to lie to get what you want."
Andromeda gritted her teeth and growled as she spun out of the way of her sister's well aimed sleep inducing hex. "You would do well to remember that yourself Trixie."
She had gone too far, Andromeda knew it when Bellatrix's face tightened and she stood tall. Rudolphus must have sensed it too because his hand wrapped around her wrist, forcing her wand down.
"Now, now," he reprimanded her. "We need information first, my dear. Then you can have all the fun you want. Maybe the half blood brat will have returned by then as well."
Bellatrix's eyes gleamed and nodded her consent.
"We won't tell you anything!" hissed Ted, his wand also out and pointing surely at Rabastian.
All three Lestranges sneered at him.
"And what can a filthy blooded creature like you do to us, the Dark Lord's most trusted followers?" was Bellatrix's scornful and arrogant reply.
"An awful lot more than you, sister," Andromeda informed them haughtily.
"All we want is a little chat," coaxed Rudolphus. "Catch up on old times."
Andromeda and Ted moved away from the house, to the right of the Lestranges so the lake was behind them. Andromeda found it easy to manipulate water and Ted had a way with the air if it came down to pure power spells.
Andromeda started talking; hoping (uselessly probably) to distract them, maybe Voldemort will Call them back.
Okay, it was very wishful thinking considering that He had probably sent them here himself.
"Yes, unfortunately I know all I need to know about what happened from when I gladly left to quite recently." Andromeda began; Ted was looking at her as if she had grown three heads. Wasn't he meant to be the Ravenclaw? Had he heard of diversion tactics? Or maybe he thought that they would kill her if she said one thing wrong, which may be true...
She looked at them all in the eye, "You all gladly joined your 'Dark Lord' before you had even left school, I know that personally. You went on a reign of brief terror and got yourselves locked up for over a decade-"
"The Dark Lord has rewarded us," crowed Bellatrix with a manic look in her dark eyes.
"-Only to get broken out and now you're back to the same old-same old" she finished, completely ignoring Bellatrix's comment.
Rudolphus shook his head, "Tsk, tsk, this just won't do." And then shouted, "pungo!" pointing his wand at Ted
"No!" shouted Andromeda, that was a type of cutting curse, with enough power it could penetrate every layer of cells in the body in a straight line, permanently cutting off limbs that no Healer could reattach.
Ted thankfully ducked and shot his own headache inducing curse, pity it just skimmed Rudolphus' arm.
The duel began. There were soon potholes of muck dotted all around the garden that Ted had tended to so carefully and scorch marks up the walls of the house. The five were dancing around each other; weaving, ducking, attacking whenever they could.
The Dark Lord's inner circle members were powerful, Andromeda would grant them that but she and Ted weren't half bad either considering that they were a solicitor and Healer respectively. By rights, Ted shouldn't have even been a decent dueller because he healed people but this fight showed those who told everyone that up.
Unfortunately, they were outnumbered. Andromeda found herself using darker and darker spells as the duel wore on, hoping to gain any advantage. She thought that she had forgotten most of these, obviously not.
Bellatrix cackled in triumph. "Is my bwave widdle sister using nasty spells? Naughty, naughty!"
Azkaban had obviously affected Bellatrix more than Andromeda thought possible.
Ted manipulated the breeze so Bellatrix was thrown off her feet, unfortunately that left him open to Rabastian's blood boiling curse which would have hit him if Andromeda hadn't cast a hasty (hence low powered), "pondero tentation!" reflecting the horrible pinkish brown spell back at the caster. Since she hadn't taken the time to aim, the spell went wide.
Ted's eyes widened in horror as he looked behind her. Andromeda whirled around, her long blue skirt swirling, only to be hit with a well timed, "Incarcerous " from Rudolphus.
There was a brief scuffle between Ted and Bellatrix but he was soon tied up as well with a nasty gash behind his ear, blood trickling down his neck.
The Lestranges smirked down at them and levitated them into the house.
"I think you have time to talk now," Rabastian chuckled darkly.