'Tis said of love that it sometimes goes, sometimes flies; runs with one, walks gravely with another; turns a third into ice, and sets a fourth in a flame: it wounds one, another it kills: like lightning it begins and ends in the same moment: it makes that fort yield at night which it besieged but in the morning; for there is no force able to resist it.

Miguel de Cervantes

Andromeda Tonks looked warmly at the baby in the cradle, her grandson. Not too long ago she'd received a visit from Minerva McGonagall detailing the deaths of her daughter and son in-law. She dared not cry though, not yet, she had things to take care of. Maybe later when everything was peaceful again she'd let out the tears she hadn't yet shed for her beloved husband for her daughter and hers. Perhaps later she'd cry for Teddy's lost parents. But not now.

Sighing, she swiped a caramel curl away from her face and leant down to place a kiss on Teddy's little head. Her grandson did not awake and she smiled softly, happy for the one mercy she'd been granted in this time of war. She may have lost everything but at least she still had her grandson.

Turning away from the crib she approached her bed, a mix of emotions crossing her face.

Plopping herself down gently on the mattress she reached out a hand towards the tiny baby sleeping centimetres away before withdrawing it again.

…

The night before

Andromeda rocked the fussing baby in her arms. Moments earlier her daughter had left her son in the care of her mother and disaperated to Hogsmeade in search of her husband. Andromeda could not blame her for her decision, her son would be safe here so the only option for Dora had been to go and make sure that the man she loved would be safe too. The witch hoped beyond reason that they would both return safe and sound.

There was a pop and Andromeda's head snapped up from Teddy's adorable face to be confronted by that of Rodolphus Lestrange's. Her mouth fell open in shock and she instinctively reached for her wand that was resting on the nightstand. She held it out in front of her protectively, eyeing Rodolphus with a mixture of shock and fear and also a tad of confusion when she saw the strange white bundle in his arms.

"I'm not here to hurt you, Dromeda," he assured her although refusing to pocket his own wand.

Andromeda eyed him doubtfully. "Then what are you here for? In my experience a Deatheather has only one thing on their mind when they show up at someone's house."

He sighed, looking all for the world rather tired and not at all in the mood to put up with her questions.

"I'm here to ask you a favour."

She gazed at him in disbelief, clutching Teddy tighter to her chest as she did so. "A favour? You do realize we're on opposite sides of a rather tragic war, right?"

"Yes, of course," he replied briskly, seeming rather disinterested in the fact, "but I can't think of anyone else to turn to in a time like this. I assure you it's not something that ought to put you or your morals in danger."

"What is it then?" Andromeda asked after a pause, still eyeing him distrustfully and not lowering her wand even the slightest.

"Bellatrix and I are both going to the battle at Hogwarts, we need you to look after our daughter."

The witch nearly chocked. "Daughter?" When did this happen?

"Yes," he replied, nodding towards the white bundle in his arms.

Hesitantly she backed away from him towards the cradle in the corner and, not taking her eyes of Rodolphus, placed her grandson down into its safety. Slowly she approached Rodolphus and held out her arms, portraying only with her eyes what she wanted, and the Deatheater gently placed the bundle in her arms.

Eyes filled with wonder, Andromeda gazed down upon her niece. Blonde hair like Cissy's caught her eyes and she smiled softly; Bellatrix must have a thrown a fit over that.

"How old?" she asked, not taking her eyes of the baby in her arms. She felt quite confident now that Rodolphus wouldn't harm her, especially now that she held his daughter.

"The same age as your grandson," he responded, nodding towards Teddy in his crib. "They were born on the very same day, ironically enough."

Andromeda's brow furrowed, taking in the size of her grandson and comparing it to her niece's. "She's small."

"Yes, well, she was born a few months early. Bella wasn't strong enough to carry her to full term, almost lost the both of them during the birth." His face darkened at the memory though his voice remained light.

Andromeda frowned, unable to stop the worry that overcame her. Despite everything that had happened she still loved her sister and she doubted that would ever change. "But they're both OK?"

"Splendid, actually. I haven't seen Bella so . . . well, Bella, for many years now," he admitted, frowning thoughtfully. His gaze turned to her in an appraising manner as if debating over what was next to come out of his mouth. "She misses you, you know. Same as Narcissa, they both miss you. Not that Bellatrix will ever admit it, of course," he finished with a smile.

Andromeda didn't say anything. After all, what could one say to something like that? She sighed and allowed Bella's daughter to play with a strand of her hair. She was a good deal quieter than Teddy, which seemed to contradict with her mother's personality – Bella had always been irritatingly loud.

"What's her name?" Andromeda asked, indicating the babe.

"We haven't actually agreed upon anything yet, though lately we've been calling her our 'little star'."

She nodded absentmindedly and shifted the baby in her arms, memories of Nymphadora when she was just a babe coming back in a rush. She'd looked something like this, maybe not so small, but when her hair had decided to stay the colour blonde for more than a second she'd looked something like Bella's daughter. They had the same features really, not that you could really tell what features someone had when they were just a babe but still . . . there was something there.

"So, I take it that you'll look after her for the time being?" he asked hopefully.

"Of course," she responded.

Rodolphus nodded. "Good, good. And Dromeda, I promise I won't hurt either Nymphadora or her husband. Can't say the same for Bellatrix, of course, she'll be on a warpath when I get there, may even kill a few Deatheaters if they get in her way enough."

She glanced up from the baby and her eyes zeroed in on her old love. "Thankyou," she whispered, truly meaning it.

He nodded, smiling boyishly, and for a moment they were just students again at Hogwarts, smiling and joking about careless things but the moment soon passed and the present reared its ugly head once more.

The wizard approached them, ducking his head to plant a little kiss on his daughter's before rising and tracing a finger across her cheek momentarily.

"I never blamed you for leaving," he confided. "I would've done the same if it had been you."

Andromeda's breath caught at his words, the closest he would ever get to admitting he was still in love with her. Her heart of course would always belong to Ted but there had been a time when she'd cared about Rodolphus very dearly and the words meant something, not a lot, but something.

Smiling slightly he backed away, raising his wand in preparation to disparate. "Oh, and by the way, you do look as beautiful as ever, Dromeda." He spun on his feet and disaperated with a pop.

Andromeda stared at the spot where he had been standing for a few moments before heading to her grandson's side at the sound of his cries. She ignored the tear that coursed down her cheek as she fussed over both babies. Her husband's death hadn't made her cry, she'd had to be strong for Dora after all, but always the reminder of her past and what she'd lost ripped the tears out of her; for she'd lost a lot.

…

Andromeda smiled softly and finally reached out towards her niece, bringing the sleeping babe into the closure of her arms.

Some would say that she had the perfect revenge at hand, kill Bella's daughter just like her sister had killed her own. But that would give Andromeda no solace, Bella would not be around to feel the pain and not only did she have no wish to harm the child but she also had no wish to cause Bella any such pain, funnily enough. The woman had murdered her daughter and as much as she tried to make herself hate her it was not coming easy.

Still, whether or not she hated her sister, Andromeda would never be able to forgive Bellatrix for what she had done nor forget. And because of that she would not be able to continue looking after her daughter like Rodolphus had obviously wanted if the two of them should not have returned.

At least there was still Narcissa to turn to, the youngest of the Black sisters had not perished in the fight as she'd been assured by Minerva and would no doubt swell at the thought of taking care of Bella's daughter.

…

The battle at Hogwarts, not long after Rodolphus's visit with Andromeda

Rodolphus searched the crowd at Hogwarts for his wife. Curly black hair caught his attention, swimming through the thousands of witches and wizards toward him. Instinctively he reached out and took the figure's hand – immediately knowing it was Bellatrix – and pulled her away into a slightly less populated area of the room. Bella looked up at him with wide grey eyes, so like her cousin Sirius's that it always caught Rodolphus off guard. Except for this time, no, there was too much going on to contemplate Bella's uncanny likeness to her favourite cousin.

"She's safe. My friend agreed to look after her," he told her quickly, knowing they didn't have much time. Soon they would have to throw themselves back into the thick of battle and it was a very real possibility that they would never see each other again.

Immediately Bella's face relaxed a little and she let out a relieved sigh. She turned to leave but was held back by a restraining hand from her husband. There was something he had to ask her, something he was suspicious about.

"You know, you haven't once asked me who my friend is," he pointed out.

She cocked her head to the side, contemplating his words. "No need, I already know. You took her to Andromeda." He watched, stunned into silence, as she skipped away, wand waving around her as she shot off random curses.

If she had known all along that he was going to take her to Andromeda then why did she let him? Honestly, he just couldn't keep up with her.

…