"Bella, I'm leaving," Andromeda Black announced, taking a deep breath as she dragged her suitcase behind her towards the front door.
"No, you're not," Bellatrix firmly interrupted, swinging the door shut with a flick of her wand. "I will not tolerate my sister going to live with a so-called-wizard of inferior birth!"
"Ted is not a piece of filth!" Andromeda screamed, reaching other wand in her pocket. "He is a respectable man and I love him. I don't care if he is unacceptable according to our family, in my eyes he is the most respectable wizard to have walked the land and that's all that matters!"
"Respectable!" Bellatrix spat, glowering at her younger sister, "You astonish me with your blood traitor ways, Andy! How on earth you were born to be a Black, for the life of myself I can't understand."
"Well, I'm sick of being a part of a family that only associates with pure-bloods and treats everyone else like scum!" Andromeda retorted, her eyes flashing with anger.
"Naturally," Bellatric sniggered, "being a blood-traitor like yourself, you obviously would. You're an insult to the family, Andromeda. You've disgraced us beyond measure. We're never going to speak your name from this day forward, without being deeply mortified."
"Suit yourself. I feel privileged enough to have a person like Ted, who cares for me regardless of my family background or the path I choose to follow," Andromeda remarked, her tone rising as she reached for the door.
"You are so naive, Andy. You'll be hunted down, mark my words. I'll break both you and your precious Ted Tonks apart. I will, I swear upon it," Bellatrix hissed as Andromeda stalked past her.
"Shut it, Bella," she yelled, as her eyes welled up with tears of anger, "you and I can have nothing further to say. Your prejudices against muggle-borns have disgraced me in almost every possible manner. I shan't be seeing you again."
"Oh, little Andy is getting all emotional now," Bellatrix mockingly taunted. "No matter, we'll see how freely the years fall when your darling Teddy is gone and you are broken beyond repair. I'll break you apart, Andromeda. Don't think that your beloved isn't already marked for a certain death."
Nostrils flaring Andromeda gripped her wand and pointed it at Bellatrix. "You," she snarled, "are the vilest creature to ever have existed. I am so glad to be getting away from you. I think I'd probably be the happiest woman once I've totally lost contact with this horrible family."
"You won't," Bellatrix growled. "I'll make you regret this day forever more, Andy!" she yelled, as Andromeda began picturing the loving home of Ted Tonks in her mind, "I swear!"
"Ted, what are we doing by raising a child in the middle of a war?" Andromeda anxiously asked, as they heard a loud crash in the drawing room, followed by an "I'm okay!" from their young daughter.
"Everything will be fine, Andromeda," Ted tried to explain, "in a few years time, Dora will be at Hogwarts. She'll be safe there, under Albus Dumbledore's protection.
"I'm not only concerned about Nymphadora, Ted," Andromeda frustratedly said, "The day I left my family, Bella swore to me that she would break us. She said that you were already marked on the list for a certain death and implied that I too, would be if I ran away."
"Andromeda, I'm sure-"
"She's one of them, Ted," Andromeda interrupted, "they're as determined as they are vile and cruel. If they say something, they mean it and they'll go to any extent to carry out their given task."
"I appreciate your concern, Andromeda," Ted fondly consoled, "but, as long as we're together, nothing can harm us."
Andromeda smiled sadly. "I sure hope so," she said, "I sure do."
"Ted!" shrieked Andromeda, "Ted, come here!"
"Andy, are you alright?" Ted Tonks asked in a concerned manner, as he rushed down a flight of stairs, "What's the matter?"
"Look," she said wordlessly indicating the Daily Prophet in her shaking hands, as Ted entered the room, "such injustice."
Ted followed her gaze to the newspaper. "Sirius Black...guilty of betraying Potters...life sentence in Azkaban," he read aloud, slowly. He then looked up at Andromeda, trying to remain as nonchalant as possible, but the shock in his eyes was very visible.
"I'm sorry, Andromeda," he said, trying to console his wife, "I knew you were very fond of Sirius."
"I just can't believe it," Andromeda angrily whispered, "Sirius would never betray his best friend. It's impossible."
"Andromeda, you can't forget- Sirius is a Black. You haven't seen him for so many years now. They may have well influenced him to change his ways. He could have turned to the Dark Side, you know," Ted tried to explain.
"No!" Andromeda cried, "that would never have happened. You have to understand, Ted. Sirius is exactly like me. The white sheep of a Black family."
"Well, I'm sorry Andromeda," Ted sighed, "but honestly speaking, if Sirius was entirely innocent, then how could he possibly have been convicted of a mass murder, especially when there were witnesses around to confirm his actions?"
"I don't know, Ted," Andromeda said in a distraught tone, "I really have no idea. All I can say on the subject is that Sirius must have been in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Nymphadora, please, for my sake, choose your career wisely. Are you sure you want to become an auror, out of all the possible professions that the wizarding world has to offer?" Andromeda Tonks asked her daughter in a concerned voice.
"Yes, mum," Nymphadora replied firmly, "I do. An auror is the only thing I want to become and I am determined to do it."
"Nymphadora, do you understand-" Andeomeda began, but she was cut across by her daughter.
"Don't call me Nymphadora, mum!" Tonks exclaimed, "you know I don't like it."
Andromeda sighed. "Very well, but honestly, this job demands a lot of risk and can be really dangerous. Catching Dark Wizards for you especially, may not be the right thing to do."
"Just because I may be clumsy, doesn't mean I am incapable of becoming an Auror," Nymphadora furiously bit back.
"I am not referring to your being clumsy at all, Dora," Andromeda gently told her, "I am talking about something completely unrelated to that."
"Then what?" Nymphadora inquired, placing her hands on her hips.
"I would never have wanted to tell you this, but after a long discussion with your father last night, we think it is mandatory that I do so," Andromeda explained. "Do you remember, asking me as a child, about my family?" she asked.
Nymphadora nodded her head.
"Well," Andromeda continued, "I am now going to tell you the truth. As I child, I was born into the family by the name of 'Black'. My relations all thought themselves to be purer than most wizards, and me only mingled with certain folk, based on their blood status.
"When I went to Hogwarts, as you know I was sorted into Slytherin. I had two other sisters, who I referred to as Bella and Cissy. They were the perfect siblings that I could have asked for...or so I thought. Bella, like my parents, only associated herself with 'pure bloods'. Likewise, Cissy always did the same. I, on the other hand, could not understand for the life of myself, what was so wrong in the other wizards and witches. Unlike the rest of my family, I allowed myself to mix with students from all the other houses, to find all of them perfectly normal and understandable. I couldn't see why everyone else I knew thought them to be so unworthy.
"Another thing my family had, was a tradition to marry off a daughter at the age of seventeen. Our parents could decide whom to marry their child to and everything else. I completely disapproved of this custom. When I received word that my parents had arranged my marriage with a man I utterly detested, I took my most precious belongings and eloped with the man I truly loved- your father. I couldn't think of a worse a match, than with Death Eater Rabastan Lestrange. But what could I say, his sister-in-laws are my sisters."
Nymphadora gaped at her mother with shock and surprise. "Why didn't you tell me before?" she asked softly.
"I thought...that you were too young to bear the truth," Andromeda sighed, "but now that you know, I would advise you to please think better of your choice. My sister Bellatrix, in particular would always want her revenge."
Nymphadora looked down at her hands. "I'm sorry, Mum," she whispered, "but I made the choice long ago."
Nymphadora apparated into the kitchen of her parents home and grasped the door, panting with exhaustion and stress.
"Nymphadora, what happened?" her mother anxiously inquired peering over at her.
"Sirius..." Nymphadora managed to stutter, "Sirius..."
A panicked look came across Andromeda's face. "What happened to him?" she asked, urging her daughter to continue speaking, "Where is he?"
Nymphadora shook her head. "He-he," she stuttered, "went through t-the veil. D-dead as c-can be."
Andromeda gasped. "Who did it?" she questioned, tears glistening in her eyes, "Tell me, Nymphadora, who was the killer?"
Nymphadora closed her eyes tightly. In a constrained tone she whispered, "Bellatrix Lestrange."
"Ted, please Ted," Andromeda pleaded, tears pouring down her face, "you can't go away."
"Andromeda," Ted sighed wearily, "I don't want to leave you either, but what I'm doing is for the best."
"No!" gasped Andromeda, "Please, you have to stay with me. You yourself once said, that no harm could befall us if we were together."
"I know, Andromeda," Ted tried to explain, " but times have changed. If I stay, they'll hunt us down. I promise you I'll come back, but for now I have to go."
"If they want to kill you, then they'll have to kill me too," Andromeda sobbed, "I'm not going to let you go like this."
"Please, Andromeda," Ted begged, "you have to stay strong. For Nymphadora and the baby. Please see straight, Andy, you have to take control of yourself."
"B-but, how c-can I, without you?" Andromeda cried.
Lost for words, Ted held her close and stroked her hair, as she muttered a mantra of "please don't go". It wasn't before long that she fell fast asleep, and Ted carefully lay her down on the sofa. Hastily writing a note to her, he took the bag of essentials that he had kept ready for days and confidently walking out of the threshold of his house, apparated on the spot.
Everyday, Andromeda sat with her ears glued to the radio. Potterwatch was her only source then, of knowing that her husband was alright. She listened to it while cooking, eating, doing various household chores and even late at night, until she fell asleep.
The day she received the news that she had so dreaded was merely a month after Ted had departed.
"It is with great regret that we inform our listeners of the murders of Ted Tonks and Dirk Cresswell."
As soon as she heard those words, a hole almost instantly formed in her heart. Her stomach gave a horrible lurch and she gripped the table for support, but to no avail. Her body soon gave way and she found herself lying on the floor, tears pouring uncontrollably down her face.
If it wasn't for her daughter and son-in-law, who found her in that state on hearing the news themselves, she would probably have died with grief. It was actually, the mere mention of their child, that kept her going.
"You have to stay strong, Andromeda," she remembered her husband say, "For Nymphadora. For the baby."
It was these very words which urged her on, her husbands spirit which kept her going.
For, though Bellatrix Lestrange swore to break Andromeda and Ted Tonks apart, she never really did. Ted Tonks continued to live inside Andromeda and always would, until her dying day.