She sat in the small, brown armchair, slowly twiddling her thumbs, watching anxiously out of the window. Andromeda sat almost completely still, frozen with fear. As she looked out onto her front garden, lit by the murky moonlight, thoughts to what could be happening at this moment crept into her mind. She shuddered at the thought, goose bumps arising along her arm. She heard a muffled cry from the next room and slowly rose from the chair, pulling her dressing gown tighter around her body.
Upon entering the room, Andromeda saw Teddy, sitting up in his cot. She hurried over to him and scooped him into her arms. She felt a small smile break her face. She ruffled his bright turquoise hair and held him close to her chest.
"Shhh," she whispered, kindly. "It's all going to be okay, Teddy."
After exiting the room, Andromeda returned to the armchair once more. Lifting her feet up onto the chair and laying her head on the arm rest, she began to feel much more tired. She stared, absent mindedly, around the room, trying to distract herself from the growing fears that were implanted into her head. As the minutes wore on, she felt herself drifting off and before she could even attempt to stop it, the darkness swallowed her.
She dreamt of them. Ted and Dora. She felt so warm inside, like a fire had been ignited in her heart. They were both standing there, waiting for her to approach them. Both of them had the same, beaming smile upon their faces. As she walked towards them, Andromeda noticed they hadn't changed. Ted's fair hair seemed to shine in the sunlight whilst Nymphadora's dark eyes glinted. Andromeda had never appreciated how perfect they both were, but she could see it clearly now. Dora tilted her pale, heart-shaped face to the side and her smile widened.
"Mum?" She asked, her voice sounded sweet and gentle.
Andromeda quickened her pace; she didn't want to lose this moment. She wanted to stay here, forever, with her family. She was meters from them when she broke into a run. She wanted to hug them both and never let them go.
Andromeda awoke with a start. At first, she thought it was because of the cold pressing against every inch of her body, but then she saw it. Outside of the window, there was something moving. Snatching up her wand from the side table, Andromeda held it tightly in front of her. She moved slowly towards the door, aware of every sound and movement that she was making. Her heart was pounding furiously against her chest. Thoughts of Teddy, asleep in the nursery, flashed through her mind.
There was a light knock at the door and Andromeda clasped her wand even tighter as she tried to muster up the courage to speak.
"Who... who is it?" She said, trying to sound demanding.
"Andromeda?" A kind and familiar voice replied. "Andromeda, please, I need to talk to you."
She flicked her wand and with a click, the door swung open. Standing in the doorframe, Andromeda saw the figure of a boy, no older than eighteen. By the breaking dawn, she could see the boy was extremely dirty, a mixture of blood and dirt smeared all over his clothes. The boy stepped into the hallway and Andromeda saw him more clearly. With his startling green eyes and round rimmed glasses, Andromeda didn't need the lightening shaped scar on his forehead to recognize him.
She knew what had happened; Harry didn't need to say a thing. His presence coupled with her dream had confirmed her worst fears. She felt her blood run cold and she swore she felt her heart skip a beat.
"She's gone, isn't she?" She whispered, hoarsely.
Harry looked at her for a moment, his eyes fixed upon hers, before he nodded, slowly.
Andromeda turned and walked away from Harry, despite Harry's attempt to call her back. When she opened the nursery door, she saw Teddy lying on his back, snoring lightly. She slowly picked him up from his cot and as he stirred, she clasped him to her breast and soothed him. She felt the tears cascading down her cheeks and onto Teddy's pale head.
"It'll be okay, darling," she muttered, softly. "Nana's still here for you."
