Disclaimer: The characters here and the world they inhabit are the creation and property of JK Rowling and her assigns.
January 11, 1999
Druella Black came to visit her daughter's hospital room and found her smoothing down dress robes in a shade of Wedgwood blue. That Squib was holding the half-breed child while Narcissa played with Andromeda's hair. Druella's precious granddaughter slept in her bassinet, oblivious to the odd goings-on in the room.
"Isn't that a bit overdressed?" asked the woman who thought of herself as a matriarch. "I wouldn't have thought you needed anything so grand, even if you are going home, today. Speaking of which, when am I to be told how to get to your home?"
Andromeda made a face that was no less annoying to her mother than it had been thirty-five years before. "I was planning to wear this to the Ministry Ball when Severus was honored last summer. No one has seen it." She grimaced at a mirror as she smoothed it over her still-chubby belly and then turned back to the other witch. "You are not coming to my home, Mother. I cannot have you there."
"You can't have me there?" Druella's voice got a little screechy. "I'll have you know, miss, what I've suffered over you. I've always missed you, although your father was adamant."
"Really?" Andromeda raised an eyebrow and looked at her mother calmly. "Because I went to my father's funeral, Mother, and I don't recall your acknowledging my existence. Nor have you shown me any interest since then until this last spring. I suspect that even that was under the order of the Dark Lord."
"I couldn't speak to you at your father's funeral. I needed to honor his memory. But now—"
Andromeda sighed. "Fine, Mother. Why don't you hold your great-grandson in your arms if you're so willing to be a big happy family?"
Druella shrugged. "I don't have a great-grandson."
Her daughter nodded and spoke quietly. "And I need to honor my daughter's memory. You're not invited to my home. You are, however, welcome to join us downstairs for a few minutes in the special meeting room. Perhaps you can hold Eileen."
"What are you doing downstairs?"
"You will have to come and see, Mama," said Narcissa. "It will be wonderful."
Druella suddenly caught a glimpse of a gleam on Andromeda's hand. "Is that the Pheemy Prince ring?"
Andromeda hid her hand. "Whatever are you talking about?"
"That looked exactly like the Pheemy Prince ring."
"Mother, Euphemia Prince has been dead for a hundred years. No one alive has seen her ring."
Narcissa giggled. "Give it up, Andie, she knows."
She sighed because her sister was right. Back at an age where Andromeda Black had studied Charms and Potions, Druella Rosier had studied family trees and marriage contracts. Mother might not have the first idea on how to soothe a child's tummy ache, but she knew every piece of jewelry that had changed hands in Wizarding Britain in the last six hundred years.
January 10, 1999
"Don't tell me my baby is fine, Severus. I need to see her." Andromeda started to get up, but Severus's hand on her arm was firm. He stood and lifted the child from the bassinet. Little black eyes opened and looked into big ones. The little eyes closed trustingly and the baby went back to sleep. With a quiet murmur and a kiss, Severus pulled the small bundle to his chest and sat down, holding his daughter. Looking at the way he cradled her head in his hand, Andromeda went weak at the sight.
She recalled an afternoon in October when she happened upon him in Teddy's nursery. He had dozed off in the rocker, and the baby was sleeping on his chest. Severus had looked up when she came. "He's been so fussy all day with these teeth of his. When he went to sleep like this, I didn't want to risk waking him."
She had gone weak at the knees in that moment. "Do you know how much I want you right now?"
Something had kindled in his eyes as he had looked her up and down and smirked. "You'll have to wait your turn."
Watching him with their own baby now was incredible, she thought to herself. It was better than what she'd imagined. She could see in his face that he was content as well. She sighed. It was yet another wish that come so close to being fulfilled.
"I meant what I said before. I know men don't like needy women."
"Andromeda..."
"Please let me say this or I'll never get it out. I've never been on my own, of course. First I was one of the pampered Black girls, and even when that was frightening, I was still part of a set. I belonged to someone and they took care of my needs and small comforts.
"Then there was Ted, and we lived in a fantasy world, I guess. We loved each other and we were together, even if I couldn't leave the house for fear of what Trixie would do. I guess I know now what Trixie would do. It didn't matter as long as Ted was there. He filled my world with love and contentment and we were happy together, tending our garden and our child. When he was killed, I might have killed myself, but you were there.
"Now without you there's nothing, and I hate it. I hate that I can't sleep without your arms around me. I hate that I can't make a simple Pepper-up potion without missing your voice in my ear. For that matter, I hate that all the things I can do just fine by myself in my house are hard now... because I won't see you at dinner to talk them over. Worst of all, I've been living in a limbo for the past week because I don't know how my day is going until you sip your breakfast coffee and either smile or frown at it. I need you, and I hate it."
"Anna." She couldn't read his look, but it seemed to be a bit condescending. She turned away to continue.
"I've thought about what you've been through, that it's practically been indentured servitude all these years. I'm not going to hold you. I'll manage, and somehow I'll function even if I never stop needing you. I see how much you love our—your—daughter, and I won't keep her from you. I worked something out with Harry for Teddy; we can do the same for this little one. Just promise me... you'll do... what makes you... happy..." Her voice got weaker and a bit squeaky at the end.
He moved to sit beside her. "Do you think I've been happy this week? All I could think about was how I missed you. I miss seeing your hair glow in the sunshine when you were putting the laundry out to dry. I miss the graceful way you move through your kitchen as you cook or clear up after a meal. I miss the way you would look at me over the head of your grandson as though you and I share a special secret. I miss the fact that we do share special secrets. I miss the way I could wake up at night and feel you in my arms. Most of all, Andromeda Tonks, I miss the way I almost never thought of Lily when I was with you."
She looked up at that, a question in her eyes.
"I never realized it before, but Lily was a constant companion to me. I rarely did anything without being aware of her by my side. Then there was you, and she went away, but I never missed her. When I left you, she came back, but it was different. We were strangers all of a sudden, she and I. I've come to realize that I was wrong." He looked toward the window and cleared his throat.
She looked up into his eyes. Somehow she knew there was more. He seemed a bit changed from when she saw him last week. It was not farewell forever this time. It was something entirely different.
"I was drawn into your sorrow, first. It seemed so similar to my own. Then I was drawn by your strength of will. You were managing your bereavement in a way I hadn't considered. Then it was just... you. I hated the idea that just as I was getting used to you, just as I was opening my heart to you, they were going to take you away from me. The Dark Lord had been specific. You were mine for as long as it took to retrain you.
"When you told me you were pregnant, it was a blessing and a curse. I hated the idea of you carrying another man's child, but I couldn't believe it was mine. Yet, since you and the Dark Lord did believe it was mine, I thought I might take the opportunity to keep you for good.
"Then the war ended and you seemed to belong to so many others. I couldn't take you for myself when they all had a claim on you. Still you kept me with you, and wouldn't let me go. I hated myself for the obligation, but I couldn't make myself leave your side. You made so many demands of me, and you gave me so much in return. After I left, I don't know how many more days I could have waited. If you didn't ask for me after you went into labor, I might have come to you, anyway.
"Besides all that, of course, there was Lily. I know you understand about her, but I don't think you understand completely. You told me that Ted still has his place in your heart and that I have a place of my own there. Lily always had my whole heart, until now."
She looked up at him in question.
"I had to remember and believe everything she told me, because I thought it was all I had. It turns out that I didn't have to believe everything she said. When I finally realized I didn't need her, I realized she was wrong to say some of the things she said to me, and I was wrong to believe them." He smiled. "That last month at Hogwarts was the golden moment of my life. I told you that and it was true. More so, since we have this precious bundle from it." He lowered his face to his daughter's forehead and kissed her.
The baby stretched and Andromeda could see something dangling from the blanket. "What's that in her hand?" she asked.
Severus slid his fingers under his daughter's arm and the pearl necklace Andromeda had worn to dinner with her sisters slid out. "It's a custom in my family," he explained. "Within a day of birth, the girls are supposed to hold these pearls while their fathers tell them to make a wish. It's supposed to help them attain happiness in their lives."
"Does it work?"
"My mother never touched it until she was much older. Her father was too angry that she wasn't a boy. Her life was hard and full of misfortune, so not holding the pearls didn't do her any good."
Andromeda tilted her head and smiled at Severus and the baby. "What did she wish for?"
"I have no idea. I know what I wished for."
"What's that?"
Severus shifted the baby a little bit and then reached for Andromeda's hand. "That her mother will say yes." It was then she realized she was wearing a ring she'd never seen before.
March 30, 1998
She smoothed the ivory lace down and fluffed her hair. As she did, a golden glint in her reflection in the mirror caught her eye. She held her left hand in front of her face and had to sit down as a wave of nausea flooded through her. Her husband was dead for only days and she was making herself beautiful for a different man.
She thought of Ted. She couldn't see him in her mind without that affectionate look in his eye, even when they had been students at Hogwarts. He had always loved her. Was this her repayment to him? She heard his voice in her mind. "You're still alive, Dromeda, but things are tough. You need to get through it however you can." When she blew out the candle, she could almost feel his hands on her shoulders, steadying her and caressing her at the same time. She almost felt his lips on the back of her neck and the sweet little things he would say while kissing her like that. "It's all right; I know you still love me. We're on opposite sides of the veil now, and you need this."
She brushed the tears from her eyes and fluffed her hair some more. Her reflection was dark, but she could still see her outline. She was as ready as she would be for what life offered her next. Her left hand trembled; she was almost as ready as she would be. She slid her wedding band from her finger and clenched it within her fist. After a moment she kissed it and placed it with her cosmetics. The first two nights had been accidental, but this time it would be with full intent. She would not share a bed with one man while wearing the ring of another. She pulled her bathrobe on and opened the door.
When she saw the look in Severus's eyes, she knew she wasn't wrong. Whatever it was he was doing here at Hogwarts, it was something that would eventually be good. Somehow she knew that she was filling a space in his life. He needed her as much as she needed him. Her hand felt empty for the next few nights, but he filled her arms and together they kept loneliness and the insanity of the world around them at bay.
January 10, 1999
She looked down at her hand. He was clasping it more tightly than before, but she could make out the old-fashioned marquise cut of the diamond ring on her finger. He had said that he would want to marry her after the baby was born. Maybe he felt guilty now that he was proved wrong. He'd also said the child should have her father's name. She looked back up to see that he was watching her. "You don't have to feel obligated."
"I don't." Her look became questioning, and he smiled. "I thought it would just be that moment, but the time since the war ended has been golden, too. I know we've struggled with learning how to live together, and I know I've tortured you by not believing you about this miracle we now share."
He took his hand from hers and touched the side of her face. "I've learned to love you, Andromeda, and every moment will be golden if I can spend it with you. Please marry me."
He shifted the baby in his arms a little and leaned down to her face. She lifted hers to accept his kiss, but he whispered, "Say yes."
"Yes," she whispered back.
He leaned back and looked at her in surprise. "Do you mean it?"
"Yes. You know I love you."
He leaned all the way down, then. With his free hand, he traced along her shoulder to her neck and then down her back, holding her closer and closer. She leaned up into his embrace as the kiss became deeper. Things were becoming heated when there was a cry of protest from the third person in the room, who was getting a bit squished. They broke apart and smiled at each other.
A few minutes later he was sitting in the chair again and looking with some satisfaction at his daughter and her mother. Andromeda was feeding the baby and smiling back at him. She held her hand out to look at the ring again. "Tell me about it," she said.
1835
Euphemia Black had been born the same month as Princess Victoria. She was the younger child of Oliver and Callidora. Their son, Icarus, was not yet married, but young wizards didn't until they were a bit older. However, an eligible witch at the age of sixteen ought to be betrothed, even if she was going to finish her seventh year at Hogwarts. She showed little interest in the young men of their set, so with a few misgivings, her parents sent her to visit a cousin of Callidora's in France for the summer holidays.
Pheemy fell head over heels for a young man she met, a count or a baron of some sort who had an estate in the Alps. His kisses left her dizzy and with longings she didn't understand. She spent all of her time with him and wrote to her parents of perhaps marrying instead of finishing her seventh year of school. This sounded suspicious to her parents, who wrote back that she was to return to England immediately. When she missed the Portkey, they sent Icarus after her.
The girl had received her parents' letter and made arrangements to run away with the young nobleman. She assessed that once she had ruined herself, her parents would be forced to let her marry him. She had no idea what it mean to ruin herself, but she knew it involved being alone with him for long enough to start gossip. She Apparated to his manor and tiptoed up the stairs, her heart thumping with excitement.
As she got up the stairs, she heard banging and strange yells. They led her to the third floor and then down a hallway. She wasn't sure why she followed the sounds, because some of them sounded painful. She followed them, however, and found herself in the doorway of a bedroom. She was face to face with her nobleman. He was on a bed, naked, over the body of a naked woman. She turned and made her way back down the stairs. By the time she reached the door, her brother found her and she fainted into his arms.
The family spoke long and carefully about whether to send the saddened witch to Hogwarts for her last year. After giving the Headmistress strict instructions, they let her go. Her school mates found her to be quieter than before, but decided she was trying to study harder and get high grades on her N.E.W.T.s. Those Blacks were a snooty lot, after all.
During the Christmas holidays she met Everard Prince, a classmate of her brother's. Everard was on holiday from Gringotts East India. He had reached a crossroads in his life and was looking for a reason to quit that job in favor of a desk job in London. One look at Euphemia Black decided him. He wooed her quite properly in front of her parents, by letter, and even during Hogsmeade weekends. Pheemy was not so easily swayed this time, but eventually agreed that Everard was at least as good a choice as any others.
When she first said yes, he placed a large marquise-cut diamond ring on her finger. It was rumored to be cut from the same stone as the Hope Diamond, as charmed as the larger diamond was cursed. Pheemy didn't pay much attention to it at first, other than to notice that it felt much more comfortable on her hand than she would have imagined based upon its size. As she prepared for her wedding, she found that the attractions of her bridegroom grew upon her and she went down the aisle with a sense of anticipation. As Everard brought her breakfast on the morning after their wedding night, a sense of contentment overcame her.
It turned out to be a brilliant marriage, initially sealed with that ring. Pheemy added to the mystique by agreeing that it must be enchanted, so happy had her life been after receiving it. Shortly before she died, she gave the ring to her oldest grandson, telling him that the next recipient should be a kinswoman of hers. The ring was passed from father to son and finally to a daughter without ever being worn again.
January 11, 1999
Andromeda made her way down to the meeting room of St. Mungo's, her mother chattering in her ear all the while. When she reached the doorway, Narcissa handed her a small bouquet. Andromeda looked at her sister in a silent question.
"He said they're ones that grow in your garden. He hounded Pomona Sprout until she found every last one of them in various hothouses."
"How does he seem?"
"I've never seen him so eager for anything, Andie."
"And the babies?"
"Potter has Teddy. Mrs. Figg has Eileen, but Mother is going to hold her once we go in."
Andromeda, answering a sudden urge, turned to her mother. "Give me your blessing, Mother."
Druella was completely surprised and charmed. She leaned over and hugged her daughter. "Of course, Andromeda. May you and Severus always be happy."
Mother opened the door and Cissy smiled encouragingly. Once the door was fully open, however, she saw him. It would be a sweet ceremony, and there would be tears and happiness as family and friends surrounded them with congratulations and joy. There would be no wedding night; that would come a month later, after Andromeda had recovered to the Healers' satisfaction. Instead they would simply find rest in each other's arms in between nighttime feedings. Andromeda wouldn't remember any of that. She only knew the look on Severus's face as he stood in a sort of golden glow and gazed at her. He looked at her and compelled her forward with his eyes, and it was all she would remember of that day.
A/N: Thank you to Mark Darcy for beta reading.