Chapter 32 – Black tales
Ted Tonks opened the door to his house and looked politely at the woman on the doorstep.
"Hello. Can I help?"
The woman looked uncertain for a second, but only for a second. She smiled brightly.
"Does Andromeda live here?"
"Andromeda who?" asked Ted, careful not to look suspicious. Both his wife and daughter had warned him against letting strangers in, even going as far as to say not to open the door when he was in alone. There was a war on, they said, and you couldn't be too careful. Coming from anyone else, Ted would have listened with a degree of scepticism, and gone on to deliberately ignore their advice, but he trusted his wife. He'd met her sisters.
The woman on the doorstep was looking slightly puzzled, as though she hadn't been expecting this question. She laughed with an air of embarrassment.
"Would I sound like a complete idiot if I said I don't actually know?" she asked, meeting his gaze with brilliant blue eyes. "It used to be Andromeda Black, but she married." There was a pause, then: "I'm guessing you're the husband."
"How did you know her?" asked Ted, ignoring the assumption.
"Old school friend, well, more like acquaintance, really. I was friends with her cousin." She hesitated at the look on his face and bit her lip. "Ok, not really the best thing to say, was it? I was friends with the cousin that wasn't a raving lunatic. And I was engaged to the one that wasn't a Death Eater." Again she paused, thinking this over. "Does she know that?"
"That you were engaged to her cousin?" asked Ted, wondering how far he would get if he slammed the door and ran. Then he remembered his daughter saying she'd put up wards around the house to protect it – only witches or wizards on the list his wife had written up would be let through, but Ted had met everyone on that list and he'd certainly never seen this woman before. Yet she'd said school friend and she appeared to know Andromeda's cousins…
The woman was shaking her head, forehead creased in thought.
"That he wasn't a Death Eater," she said softly. "Look, is she in?"
"How did you get through the wards?" Ted asked quietly, frowning at her, hand already moving towards the door handle, ready to close it.
"Wards?" asked the woman, gazing around and up. She squinted in the late September sunlight, and made a noise of approval. "They're very good – who cast them?"
Behind him, Ted heard his wife come down the stairs, asking who it was.
"What's your name?" he asked the woman, realising she hadn't told him. The woman's attention snapped back to him and she gave him a lazy smile.
"Now I'm definitely not telling you that. Andy'd refuse point blank to see me if you said-" She broke off as Andromeda herself appeared next to her husband, looking quizzically past him to see who the visitor was. "Ah. Andy. Hello."
Andromeda's large brown eyes widened at the sight of the woman and Ted saw her pull her wand out of the back of her jeans, keeping her hand behind her back.
"So the rumours are true."
"They usually are," replied the woman, smiling faintly. "It's the true stories you have to watch out for."
"Who sent you?"
"I did. I need to talk to you."
Andromeda considered this for a minute, then nodded slowly, opening the door to admit her. After the woman had stepped inside, and Andromeda had directed her to the lounge, she turned her husband.
"Send an owl to Nymphadora, tell her Katherine Riddle is here, and then leave. It doesn't matter where you go, just take the car and get out of here."
Ted nodded, but hesitated. "What about you?"
"I'll be fine. The Aurors will take care of everything and she won't harm me – not if she wants something."
"But you said there were many ways they could make people talk."
"There are, but she won't use them. Out of respect for Reg, she won't hurt me, now go."
Ted nodded, and headed into the kitchen to write the letter. Andromeda stood alone in the hall for a moment then entered the lounge. Katherine was standing with her back to the door, examining the photographs on the mantle piece.
"Setting the Aurors on me, Andy? You know that won't work." She turned, but her sapphire eyes weren't angry or accusing. She smiled. Andromeda didn't.
"You've got five minutes. That letter will take three minutes to get to my daughter, and I should think the Aurors wouldn't waste more than two once they know you're here."
"Ah yes, your daughter. She has an interesting taste in men, I must say," remarked Katherine, frowning slightly.
"You've met?" Andromeda was surprised; Nymphadora hadn't mentioned anything.
"Once or twice. She only tried to kill me on one occasion, I think, but who's counting?"
"I am – four minutes," she said softly as the front door slammed shut; Ted had left. They were alone and Andromeda was starting to think that maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Nymphadora would certainly be lecturing her later if she got through this – but then what else could she have done? You don't turn someone like Katherine away unless you have a death wish, and if she hadn't informed the Ministry and someone had seen Riddle arrive, she'd be accused of being in league with You-Know-Who. It was hard enough warding away suspicion as it was, what with both her sisters and cousins being Death Eaters.
"When was the last time you saw Regulus?" asked Katherine, evidently deciding to cut straight to the chase. Andromeda was startled – whatever she'd been expecting, it wasn't this. "Please? It's important," said Katherine.
"I – why?"
"Because," said Katherine testily. "You're the one who put a time limit on this conversation, Andy, not me."
"Well what was I meant to do? You just turned up on the doorstep in broad daylight!"
"I was being polite," said Katherine, voice low. "If I'd apparated right into your kitchen you would have hexed me and run. I need you to speak to me. Auriga said you went to see Reg about a week before he died – what did you talk about? She thought you were reporting back to Sirius, but he already knew how Reg was because I told him."
"You-?" Andromeda sat down abruptly, and Katherine sighed heavily, glancing at the clock. Three minutes. She unclasped her necklace and slid the diamond ring off it, holding it up in front of Andromeda.
"We were engaged," she said softly, trying to keep the note of desperation out of her voice. She was going to have to explain – it would take up time that she didn't have, but Andromeda wasn't going to cooperate unless she understood, so she had to make time. "And he wasn't a Death Eater, Andy. Trust me, I would know. He didn't betray the Potters – he would never do that in a million lifetimes – it was Peter Pettigrew. He's alive and he's an unregistered Animagus – a rat. He transformed that day, and cut off his finger – he's the one that killed all those people, not your cousin. Peter's the Death Eater, not Sirius."
"Peter in our year?" asked Andromeda slowly. Katherine nodded, wondering how much of this she was actually taking in. Andromeda took the ring from Katherine's loose grip, gazing at it, lost in thought. "Bella." She said at last.
Katherine cast a nervous glance over her shoulder.
"What?"
Andromeda sighed and looked at her with dark brown eyes, so similar to her cousin's.
"I asked him about Bella. I know she's evil incarnate, but she's my sister, Katherine. I had to know how she was and if…if the rumours were true. If she really had done all the things people were saying she had. Do you know how hard it is, seeing all these reports in the paper of Death Eater attacks and trying to be sympathetic to people who've lost their loved ones, when all the time there's this horrible knowledge at the back of your mind that it might have been your own sisters that did it? Do you have any idea what that's like?"
Katherine shook her head. She never thought her friends and Father might have been involved – she knew whether they were or not. Somehow, that seemed worse; at least Andromeda had hope.
"So you asked him how Bella was?"
"Yes, and he said he hadn't seen her in while, but that he'd go and check on her if I wanted. I said I didn't mind, but I think he went anyway – I don't know. I never heard from him after that. Katherine? Katherine, are you all right?"
Katherine glanced at her, waving a hand to say she was fine, even though her face had gone white and Andromeda was sure she'd seen a look of horror cross her face.
"I'd better...I'd better get going," she said after a moments pause. "Sorry if I've got you into trouble, but...well, you're just going to have to believe me when I say it was necessary."
Andromeda nodded, getting to her feet. "Has this got anything to do with... Is Bella in trouble?"
Katherine laughed, and there was a sour note in her voice when she spoke again. "She will be when I catch up with her."
"Oh don't say that," murmured Andromeda, looking imploringly at her. "Don't-"
"She killed Sirius," interjected Katherine, scowling now. Andromeda stopped, staring incredulously at her.
"What?" she whispered, brown eyes wide with shock. "He's...Sirius is-?"
"I'm sorry," said Katherine quietly. "It was last year. He was fighting for the Order and Bella caught up with him."
"How...?" asked Andromeda weakly, leaning against the mantle piece for support. "How did he die?"
"I don't know," replied Katherine, glancing at the clock. She didn't have very much longer before the Aurors came. "I wasn't there. Someone told me a couple of weeks ago."
"You're sure it was her?"
"Yes," said Katherine, meeting her pleading gaze. "I'm sorry."
Andromeda smiled weakly. "Why? It wasn't your fault."
Katherine said nothing, only stood watching her with an odd expression on her face. The thought never even crossed Andromeda's mind that it might be guilt.
"I should go," said Katherine after a short pause. Andromeda nodded, looking at the clock.
"Thank you – for telling me about Sirius."
Katherine smiled faintly. "You needed to know." And then she was gone – out of the room, out of the house and, from the heavy thump that followed a moment later, into the Aurors. Andromeda ran to the front door which was still open and looked down at the slumped figure on her garden path. She hoped he wasn't dead.
She looked up, casting an eye around for Katherine, but she evidently hadn't felt like hanging around. A shout made her turn around and she saw her daughter running towards her. She smiled, suppressing a sigh; this was going to take a lot of explaining.
x – X – x
Robert Avery looked up when he heard the key turn in the door. A minute later, Katherine appeared, plastic carrier bags hanging from each hand. She dumped them on the table, giving him a bemused look.
"Hello. Dare I ask what you're doing here?"
"Nicola let me in," he answered, watching her start to unpack the bags.
"Oh." Katherine paused, fridge door half open. "I don't think I saw her cloak in the hall."
"She went out about half an hour ago," said Robert, studying her with an odd expression on his face. "She said I could stay and wait."
"Wait?"
"I was looking for you."
Katherine shut the fridge and leant against it. "I'm listening." Robert gazed at her for a moment, then shook his head, smiling slightly. "What?" asked Katherine, looking confused. "What's so funny?"
"You are," answered Robert, as she folded her arms, giving him a worried look. "There's a squad of Aurors out looking for you, and you go grocery shopping."
"We were out of milk," said Katherine defensively. "What was it you wanted to see me about anyway?"
"I wanted to know what you were up to," Robert said simply. "Why did you go to see Andromeda Tonks?"
"Tonks?" asked Katherine, arching an eyebrow. "Her surname's Tonks? But I thought her daughter's name was-"
"Her daughter's name is Nymphadora," explained Robert calmly. "Which is why she prefers to go by her last name. And don't avoid the question," he added, as Katherine came to sit down opposite him. Katherine shrugged carelessly.
"Just following up something Potter said."
"What did he say?"
"That Regulus didn't sound as if he knew there was more than one horcrux." She smiled at the confused look on his face and hastened to elaborate. "He didn't – well, when he wrote the note he didn't. I think he found out later – I think he saw the diary Tom made and figured out there must have been at least two, so when I went round just before Bella arrived he gave me all his research instead of just telling me about the locket."
"Right," said Robert slowly. "So he saw the diary? What's the diary?"
"Tom's diary – Malfoy sent it into Hogwarts. Potter says it possessed someone and made them open the Chamber of Secrets. It's gone now, I think I recall him saying he stabbed it with a basilisk fang." She smiled as Robert let this sink in.
"He destroyed a horcrux when he was twelve?"
"It's his destiny, remember?" grinned Katherine, flicking her wand in the direction of the kettle to turn it on. "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches," she added, lowering her voice, eyes glinting wickedly.
"I'm glad you find this amusing," remarked Robert, arching an eyebrow at her. "Because some of us don't have your remarkable talent for refusing to die."
Katherine grinned and shrugged carelessly. "Death is just a state of mind. Want any tea?"
"No, I'm all right, thanks," said Robert slowly as she got up to make herself a cup. "Listen, there was something else I wanted to ask – the main thing I wanted to ask, actually."
"Yes?" she asked, not looking round.
"How did you get to Andromeda's house? And how did you get out again? Because I know you were there – you knocked an Auror out, for heaven's sake, but I looked at our records and I can't find you anywhere. The wards didn't register you at all and I know you didn't apparate or Floo on either network." He watched her closely as he continued; she hadn't turned around yet. "I know you're good at Portkeys, Katherine, but believe me, if you'd used one, I would be able to find out and you didn't. You just...appeared – out of thin air – and then disappeared. How the hell can you do that?"
Katherine fished the teabag out of her mug and picked up the cup, turning to face him with a blank look that he knew of old. It meant he wasn't going to get anything out of her no matter what he said.
He tried anyway.
"The Aurors did a search, you know. About thirty seconds after you stunned that guy, and you weren't anywhere within a five mile radius, so don't try saying you hid or ran – no one moves that fast."
"Maybe I transformed," said Katherine, face still the picture of innocence.
"The wards weren't disturbed," said Robert sighing. "I told you that – they didn't register anything apart from Aurors passing through them – and I know you didn't morph into an Auror because that wouldn't fool the wards in the slightest – they're too good for that."
"Yes they were," agreed Katherine, surprising Robert; he hadn't expected that. "Do you know who cast them?"
"Tonks probably," shrugged Robert. "Are you going to answer my question or not?"
"Not," said Katherine, smiling maddeningly. "You're the genius – you figure it out."
Robert opened his mouth to argue but at that moment the door opened and Severus walked in.
"I thought I heard voices," he said softly. "Hello Robert."
"Hi," said Robert, glancing at Katherine and considering pushing the point for a moment, but then he saw the look Severus was giving Katherine and decided that maybe it was better to leave. Katherine probably wouldn't tell him anything anyway.
As he stood to make his excuses, however, a thought struck him and before he could stop himself he asked suddenly:
"Does Malfoy know?"
Katherine glanced sharply at him and Severus frowned.
"Does Malfoy know what?" he asked, giving Robert a suspicious look, but Katherine shook her head.
"No – he doesn't. Don't worry." She smiled. "I expect you'd better be getting back to Cass – she'll be wondering where you are."
He nodded, apparating, and, in his relief for the excuse, completely missed the look in Katherine's eyes and the real reason behind her helpfulness.
Back in the kitchen Severus looked warily at his old friend.
"What are you up to?" he asked as she lounged against the sideboard, hands wrapped around the steaming mug of tea.
"Nothing," she said carelessly, smiling brightly and sipping her tea. Severus arched an eyebrow, looking dubious and after a while said softly.
"Be careful, Katherine. Please."
Katherine glanced at him, blue eyes betraying her surprised, but an instant later she smiled again.
"There's nothing wrong, Severus, really. Nothing to worry about."
A second later an owl tapped at the window and Katherine turned to let it in, taking the cream envelope from it's beak before it flew off again. Severus watched it go as Katherine opened the letter and wondered why Remus had written to her. He didn't usually do that – not unless it was something important.
Katherine turned round, pocketing the letter with a slight frown on her face.
"Not from your friend?" asked Severus, seeing her expression. Katherine smiled vaguely.
"Not exactly. I think I may have upset his girlfriend."
"Tonks?" asked Severus, not quite managing to keep the surprise from his voice. "He-" he paused, seeing her warning expression and decided not to finish that sentence. Instead he asked calmly: "What did you do?"
"Well I think the fact that I'm alive is the main problem," said Katherine in a mock thoughtful voice. She grinned. "And I think she may be slightly jealous for some obscure reason. Knowing Rem he probably hasn't explained things incredibly well."
"Well you two do have rather a strange relationship," pointed out Severus gently. Katherine gave him an odd look.
"We're just friends," she said quietly.
"And you'd do anything for him," replied Severus, looking at her with an unreadable expression.
"So? I'd do anything for you as well," she retorted, adding quickly, "I'd do anything for any of my friends."
"Are you quite sure about that?" asked Severus.
"Yes - if it was important, I would," said Katherine stubbornly. "Why on earth would you think I wouldn't?"
Severus shrugged. "You abandoned us for over a decade, Katherine. You lied to us – you pretended to be dead. You can't expect trust to come back over night."
Katherine gazed at him for a long moment then she said quietly. "I don't lie."
"No?"
"No. People just misinterpret me."
"We misinterpreted a corpse?"
"Yes."
Severus stared at her, then shook his head. "You're impossible, you know that?"
Katherine raised an eyebrow but what she had been about to say, Severus never found out because at that moment he felt the Dark Mark burn, and saw Katherine's hand fly to her left arm. They looked at each other and without another word turned and headed for the fireplace. The argument could wait – it wasn't as if they were ever in want of one.