A/N: This one shot starts at the end of HBP after Tonks has told her parents about Remus. The flashback is to a conversation following a backstory I wrote about for Tonks in chapter 10 of my story, From Amused, to Impressed, to Seriously Smitten. For those who haven't read it, all you need to know is that Tonks was captured briefly by Bellatrix during the first war, her talk with Ted in this story takes place some time after that.
I hope you enjoy, I'd be grateful for any feedback!
The second the blur of pink disappeared into the emerald flames, Andromeda collapsed onto the sofa head in hands. "How dare she! She has gone too far this time! How dare she have such little regard for her own life and wellbeing, and then she has the nerve to get all high and mighty as if we're the bad ones here, as if we haven't spent the last year losing sleep over her, only ever doing what we can to keep her on the right tracks and now..." she broke off and let the sobs take over.
Ted found himself completely lost for words as he attempted to process all that his daughter had just told him along with the drastic change in everything from her hair colour to the bounce in her step and her erratic hand gestures when she spoke. "Well, at least she's herself again..." he mused out loud.
"Oh yes, that's our daughter for sure!" Andromeda snapped, "you know when I used to say she had a death wish I was joking, but clearly I didn't realise how right I was. Where did we go wrong Ted? Raising her to have such little regard for her own safety!"
"We didn't go wrong" Ted reasoned, "you know Dora, she's never been one to follow the crowd and do what people expect of her. And she has a big heart, she clearly-"
"Yes, a big heart that people can easily take advantage of" Andromeda cut him off, "remember that boy she lent all that money to and never saw a knut of it afterwards? I thought she learned then what people can be like, but this is a whole other level of stupidity! We knew she wasn't herself this last year, but I didn't think she'd completely lost her mind!"
"Dromeda calm down"
"Calm down?! How are you not more upset about this?!"
"Look, of course I'm... concerned for her, and shocked to say the least, but panicking won't help."
"Then what are we supposed to do?" she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air and finally turning to shoot her husband a glare laced with frenzied trepidation.
Ted pursed his lips as he considered the best course of action, "well... knowing her as we do, we can say with certainty that trying to discourage her will only make the situation worse."
"So what? We just accept that she's shacking up with a beast who will rip her apart at the next full moon?!"
Ted winced at the mental image, "she is an Auror, trust that she's capable of protecting herself for now. And in the meantime, we just have to keep a close eye on her, let's invite them both for dinner on Sunday-"
"What?! Have you lost your mind as well? You want to play host to a werewolf?"
"Dromeda... Dora is living with him, we need to meet him, show him that Dora has people looking out for her, that he won't get away with hurting her."
Andromeda huffed, "really Ted, how you think you'll pose any kind of threat to a werewolf is beyond me."
"It's all we can do for now..." Ted replied solemnly.
Andromeda sighed, at least recovered from her initial meltdown enough that the tears and yelling had stopped. "I'm going to bed" she announced.
When his wife had left the room, Ted sat down at the kitchen table only realising now that his legs were shaking. As a father it was difficult to trust any man with something as important as your daughter's heart. He thought of his sweet little girl, the child who had run and skipped and clattered around, always leaving a whirlwind of chaos and broken china in her midst but with a bright grin that could light up any room.
As she'd grown older, he'd seen her announce that she was only interested in dating girls, seen her in the throes of infatuation she mistook for love, seen her swear off relationships completely because her work was too important. In all that turmoil he would turn to Andromeda and reassure her it was a phase, she'd grow out of it. But this was different, Dora was different. Everything she'd been through in the last couple of years had transformed her from that feisty headstrong adolescent into an equally feisty and headstrong young lady. She knew who she was now, Ted was sure of it, and Merlin was he proud of the young woman she'd become.
There was no book on parenting, no one really knew what they were doing. All you could do was ensure your child knew that they were loved unconditionally and sit with them as they learned for themselves how to navigate the challenges they faced in this world, ensuring as they grew up that they always had a safe place to come back to and loved ones who were cheering them on. How many times had he sat with her at this very table, as he'd tried his best to guide her and help her become the young woman who had disappeared into the fireplace just moments ago...
"That woman said she was Mum's sister, why didn't Mum ever say she had a sister?"
"Well… that's because they haven't spoken in a long time, not since before you were born."
"Why?"
"They had a… difference of opinion."
"Mum and me have lots of different opinions, she still speaks to me."
Ted smiled softly at his daughter's innocence, "I know sweetheart, but some things run deeper than the colour of your hair or how much mud you got on your dress."
"So what was their difference of opinion?"
Ted furrowed his brow; how did you even begin to explain this to an 8-year-old? "Well, the thing you have to understand is that there are some people who think they are better than others because of who their family are or how much money they have, things like that."
"That's silly!"
"Yes, it is"
"Does Mum's sister think she's better than Mum?"
"Not exactly… she… didn't like that your mum married me."
"Why?"
"Because my family are muggles"
"She doesn't like muggles?"
"No"
Little Nymphadora frowned contemplatively, "that doesn't make any sense" she concluded, "muggles can't help being muggles"
"You're exactly right. But this is the thing, imagine if your whole life everyone tells you something is true, it's likely you'll start to believe it. That's why it's important to always think for yourself Dora, form your own opinions, don't let everyone around you tell you what to believe."
"I don't like people telling me what to do. I don't care if people think pink hair is silly, I like it, so I keep it pink."
Ted smiled, his daughter was nothing if not headstrong. "Yes that's true, but like I said, some things run deeper than what colour you wear your hair."
"Like who you marry?"
"Well yes, there's love for one and there's doing the right thing for another. Your Mum was forced to choose between love and what she knew was right or giving into the views of everyone around her. Even though it may have been easier for her to conform to what others told her, she chose love and doing the right thing. She was very brave to make that choice, you have a lot of her in you."
Dora wrinkled her nose at the thought, "I'm nothing like Mum! I talk way too much and I'll never wear dresses like her."
Ted chuckled, "maybe not, but you're determined and stubborn and you know your own mind, and those can be excellent qualities when you dedicate them to a good cause. And that's why I want you to always follow your heart Dora, because yours is a good one and it won't lead you astray if you do what it tells you. Don't worry about what other people think, think for yourself and be true to your own ideals."
Well, he had to hand it to her, for once in her life she had done exactly as she'd been told.