Hearing hushed voices talking around me I slowly feel myself waking up and go to stretch out only for a weight on my chest to whine slightly making me look down confused. Seeing a small head of curly black hair I chuckle to myself when I realise that it's Nymphadora and carefully readjust the blanket that had been draped over us making her sigh happily as she snuggles closer to me. Looking around the darkened room I cast a silent spell at the fire and it springs to life making the portraits stop talking as they look at me with soft gazes. "What time is it?" I ask quietly, not wanting to disturb the sleeping girl pinning me to the sofa.

"It's just after six in the morning darling. How are you feeling?" Mum asks and I groan quietly at that. Why the hell did no one wake me before now? I had things to do. "Don't even think about getting annoyed at us for not waking you up Thea, you needed the sleep and we both know it. You've barely been sleeping without having nightmares of what happened and I know that you refuse to use dreamless sleep potions."

"I'm fine mum, I promise." I tell her and she scoffs in return making me sigh as I meet her worried eyes. "Why did she leave mum? Is the prospect of marrying into this family really that daunting?" I ask her and she looks at me with sad eyes while aunt Cassie and grandma shake their heads as they join mum in her portrait.

"No darling, I think that your idiot of an uncle just startled her. It's quite a big thing to consider and I think that she was shocked that you were thinking about proposing." Grandma says and I offer her a small smile while aunt Cassie's eyes are glued to the young girl curled up on my chest. "You know little Nymphadora has been glued to your side since her and Ted arrived. No matter how hard Andi tried to get her to leave you be she somehow kept gravitating back to your side and eventually Andi gave up with a sigh." She adds making me chuckle slightly as I slowly sit up against the arm of the sofa making my inky black curls cascade over my shoulders onto my top.

"Who the hell changed me and let my hair down?" I ask confused and aunt Cassie laughs at that while Nymphadora subconsciously grabs my hair and it turns a more purpley black colour.

"Andi thought that you would be more comfortable in proper pyjamas instead of your robes and it was my suggestion that she remove your hair from it's braided bun so that you would be more comfortable." Mum says and I smile at her while relaxing back against the sofa more. "You know, little Dora has been having just as much fun changing your hair colour while you were asleep as your aunt Cassie used to when you'd stay at hers overnight as a child. You look absolutely adorable with pastel blue hair by the way, you really suit it."

"You know those were my favourite sleepovers when I was a kid. No offense grandma because you taught me all sorts of things but aunt Cassie you always managed to find time to do something that was just between us that didn't include politics or some pureblood lesson on how to run the family." I say and aunt Cassie grins at me while grandma just smiles fondly. "Have the boys owled?"

"No but I believe that Andromeda recieved a letter from Bella that had her worried." Grandad says as he moves into grandma's normal painting and she's quick to join him making me giggle. No matter whether it's in life or death I have never known those two to be apart for longer than a few hours, even after grandad died from a bad case of dragonpox grandma passed away only a matter of hours later in her sleep. "You look a lot better than you did before my sweet girl. It's amazing what a proper nights sleep does to someone isn't it?"

"I know, I know. I promise to start taking better care of myself." I tell him making him laugh as he pulls grandma closer to his side. "Mipsy." I call out quietly and she quickly pops in front of me making Dora whine slightly.

"What can Mipsy do for Thea?" The young elf asks quietly and I smile at her.

"Would you mind making me some toast and a cup of coffee? I wouldn't normally ask at this hour but it seems that I'll be here for a while yet." I ask her and she nods before popping away quietly. "What did the letter from Bella say that has Andi so worried?"

"I believe that it has something to do with her parents and this uprising lord." Grandad says and I frown at that. "It looks like Bella may be starting to withdraw from her fathers control as she refuses to join the maniacs forces and Andi's worried about how Cygnus will react."

"Which proves that neither her or Cissy are safe to return there and a trip to Hogsmeade is in urgent need. I really wish there was more time for me to sit down and talk with all three of them before I have to do this!" I say as I run a hand through my hair and chuckle when it slowly changes colour, this time settling on a dark green that almost matched the family robes. Slowly standing up so not to wake Nymphadora up I make my way to Andromeda's room just in time to see her close the door quietly behind her.

"Hey, I was just coming to check on you two. How are you feeling?" She asks softly and I smile at her as she takes Nymphadora from me. Motioning for her to follow me to my room I move over to the wardrobe and search for a decent set of robes to wear only to come up empty making her frown as she sits on the bed.

"I'll be better after I'm finished at Gringotts and spoken to your sisters Andi." I tell her as I move over to the dresser where I know for a fact there's formal robes stashed away and grab one out before turning to look at my little cousin. "What I'm going to do today is going to affect all three of you but I need you to listen to me and hear me out before you get pissed off okay? I promise that it will be better in the long run, for everyone in the family."

"Okay, you're worrying me Amanthea. What's going on and how do you mean it will affect me and the girls?" She asks as she lays Nymphadora down on the bed with pillows surrounding her before she comes over to my side.

"I'm disowning Cygnus and Dorrea." I tell her and her eyes harden slightly. "Before you get angry listen to me. Just because I'm removing them from the family does not mean that you, Narcissa and Bellatrix will be removed. Grandad told me about the letter you got from Bella and while I wanted to talk it through with all three of you first there's no time. Cygnus is getting desperate to have Bella join this Lord Voldemort and Dorrea is getting increasingly more desperate for you to be removed from the family. Add onto that the fact that both marriage contracts have been dissolved and you know that one or both of them is going to do something drastic. I refuse to let anything happen to you or those girls so I'm going to Gringotts and I'm going to transfer Bella and Cissy's care into my name and I'm disowning your parents." I explain and she looks at me with conflicted emotions on her face making me sigh. "I know that you don't want to lose your parents completely Andi and I don't exactly want to lose my aunt and uncle but as the head of the family I need to think about everyone's safety. At this point it's not safe for either of them to return home when the holidays come around and I don't trust Dumbledore enough to trust him with any of my family members lives should one of the lunatics decide to try and take either the girls or my brothers out of school."

"Where will it leave us? Will we still be part of this family?" She asks quietly as she looks over at Nymphadora and I smile at her softly. "Will Nymphadora be protected from them and will she still be part of this family?"

"Always, Andromeda this will not affect your standing in the family. You, Bellatrix and Narcissa are and always will be Black's no matter who you marry and any and all children you and your sisters have will be the same. All this means is that Dorrea will only have the Rosier name left and Cygnus will be forced to earn his own living after his dowry runs out. I'm doing this for the safety of my family and I will swear on whatever magic you want me to that you and your little family will be protected." I tell her softly and she hugs me tightly making me smile slightly. Even though she's only two years younger than me she sometimes acts like she's the elder of the two of us and I think it takes it's toll on her more than she lets on. "I refuse to let either of those girls get hurt because I've let them go home to people that are out of their fucking minds."

"What about the holidays? Where will they go then?" She asks as we move to sit on the bed and I smile at her.

"They'll come stay here with me and the boys. You all have rooms here and this place is more than big enough for a few extra people to stay here. For crying out loud there's seventeen rooms that aren't being used most of the time." I tell her and chuckle when a tired Nymphadora crawls into my lap. "Good morning little one." I say as I kiss her hair and she giggles as she plays with my hair. Handing her over to Andi I move to get dressed only to find my hair purple which makes me laugh. "We're going to have to get aunt Cassie to teach the little one how to control her powers when she gets older Andi." I call out as I walk into the bathroom and get met by laughter.

"I was talking to Ted about that last night as we were getting ready for bed Ama, he couldn't understand how aunt Cassie would be able to help from a portrait thouh and I'll admit I do have some worries about that as well." She says and I chuckle at that as I slip into the robes only to sigh when I see how much I look like mum. It's not a bad thing but it's painful to see how much I look like her now that she's no longer here. Shaking my head I spell my hair up into it's normal plaited bun and quickly apply some light makeup to cover the bags under my eyes before stepping into the room again. "How will aunt Cassie be able to teach Dora through a portrait? I know it's possible but I've never understood the magic behind it."

"It's more that Nymphadora will learn through the journals that aunt Cassie started writting when she was young. All aunt Cassie herself will do is teach her the breathing techniques and relaxation methods needed in order to keep control of the ability while around others. Aunt Cassie prepared a lot of things for any potential metamorph that should be born into the family." I tell her as I move to slip into my jewellery and look over at the two on the bed with a smile as I put my earrings on. "Right, let's go get this little one some breakfast and then I'm heading to Gringotts. I want to deal with your parents as soon as I can then after a trip down to the vaults I need to go to Hogwarts to talk to the girls and check in with my brothers while I'm there." I say and laugh when Nymphadora reaches out for me. Scooping her up from Andi's lap we make our way down to the dining room and I chuckle when I see that there's breakfast laid out on the table.

"Seems like our family have been productive while we were talking Amanthea." Andi says as I set Nymphadora in her highchair and look at her with a chuckle.

"Every morning Andi, I'm not even kidding. Every morning for the last year breakfast appears without me even getting a chance to ask for it. I thought that the boys were playing tricks with me but they promised that weren't behind it and for once I believe them." I tell her and she laughs as Edward stumbles into the dining room tiredly. "Good morning Edward, please. Help yourself to whatever you fancy and if there's anything extra you want feel free to ask Mipsy."

"Why don't you call him Ted like everyone else does?" Andi asks and I look at her confused making both her and Edward laugh. "You do it with Dora as well. You'll call them by their full names instead of a nickname like you do with me, Bella and Cissy." She explains and I chuckle slightly.

"Honestly, I hadn't even realised that I do it Andi. You know how I am with nicknames and I call Nymphadora, Dora most of the time. Edward if it ever makes you uncomfortable please tell me and I'll try to call you whatever name you prefer." I say and the portraits nod as the little girl giggles as the ends of my hair turn bubblegum pink making me glare at aunt Cassie. "I will find a way into that portrait and kill you again aunt Cassie, next time don't choose such a telling colour. You always did love tormenting me with bubblegum pink hair aunt Cassie" I tell our aunt and she just laughs while feigning innocence making me roll my eyes as I sit down only to jump when Minerva comes through the fireplace making everyone glare at her while I just ignore her

"It doesn't make me uncomfortable Amanthea, I was merely curious about how I was Edward yet Andromeda is Andi." He says with a chuckle and I join him as we start filling our plates.

"You have to understand that I've known Andi her whole life and she's family, nicknames come easily in family. Give me the time to properly get to know you and in no time I'll be calling you Ted like everyone else does." I tell him with a smile and Andi looks at him with a triumphant smile while Minerva chuckles where she's standing. "Would everyone quit it with the glares? Minerva either sit down and make yourself up a plate or say what you wish to and leave. I have a lot to do and only so much time to do it before certain people try anything." I say without looking at her and she's quick to sit beside me while kissing my cheek making me look at her with a small smile.

"What are you in such a rush to do? I thought that things had calmed down after your rant yesterday." Minerva says as she makes up her plate and I shake my head with a sigh. "What's happened?"

"I recieved a letter from Bella last night, she's started to pull away from father's control and Amanthea is worried for hers and Narcissa's safety." Andi tells her and Minerva looks at me with wide eyes as she takes my hand softly. "We're heading to Gringott's after breakfast to remove my parents from the family and then I think we're going to the family vaults for some things."

"Actually Minerva would you be able to sneak Bella, Cissa, Reggie and Siri home without Albus knowing? I need to talk to all of them about the changes being made and you know how I feel about the man. If I try to talk to them while they're there you know he's going to insist on either himself or someone that will report back to him sit in on us and this isn't something anyone outside of us needs to know about." I ask and she nods as she looks at me with worried eyes. "I'll be fine, if by any chance Cygnus or Dorrea try anything then I can deal with them. However, on that notion you and Dora are staying here where I know that you are safe Andi. Don't even think about arguing with me on this, you're safety and that of your little girl is my main concern here so stay here where I know that if anything happens we have defense ruins woven into the wards." I tell both my cousin and my girlfriend and they both shake their heads making me groan.

"No, I agree about Dora staying here with Ted but I'm coming with you Ama. I know that you can handle yourself Ama but I can't let you do this yourself, let me come with you and we can do this together." Andi says and I look at her silently for a moment before nodding making her grin at me.

"Fine but you stay beside me Andromeda Black and so help me if either of those two appear and start to try anything you leave. You apparate back here and lockdown the manor, keep Edward and Dora safe am I understood? If you even think about defying me I will make your life a living hell." I tell her firmly and she looks at me with wide eyes before nodding reluctantly. "I mean it Andromeda, I have lost too many family members recently and that little girl needs her mummy in her life while she grows up. You may like to act like the eldest but you are two years younger than me and I'm the head of this family which means that you damn well have to listen to me."

"I promise Ama, I'll stay beside you and if anything does happen I'll come back and lockdown the manor." Andi says softly as she reaches over the table for my hand and I take it with a small squeeze. "You're scary when you want to be I hope you know that."

"I do." I say with a chuckle and she just rolls her eyes as she takes her hand back to that we can eat. Feeling Minerva squeeze my hand I look at her with a soft smile which she returns and I can see the apology in her eyes. "Alright, let's eat breakfast and then I'm going to Gringott's. The sooner I get this done the better, I have a bad feeling about those two and I don't want to have to deal with either of them."

"I've already had Mipsy remove them from the wards angel and your dad's at Gringott's now warning them that you'll be coming." Grandad says and I smile at him as I eat my breakfast. "You know, it wouldn't hurt for you to-"

"Grandad, I know what you're about to say but no. You may have trusted the man enough back in the day but I don't trust him. Albus Dumbledore has had multiple chances to stop this rising Dark Lord and he's done nothing about it. I refuse to ask him for anything so don't push it or I will freeze your portrait." I warn him nad he raises his hands in surrender while grandma grins at me. "Maybe once upon a time I would have grandad but he's not been the same since everything happened with Grindlewald and he holds far too many titles to be able to focus on all of them completely."

"I hate to say it but Amanthea's right, Albus isn't the same and is actively trying to cause fear and animosity between the houses where none was before." Minerva says and I wince at that while an owl swoops into the room. Holding my hand out expectantly I'm not suprised when the black owl lands on my shoulder and quickly take the letter from his leg while handing him a small bit of bacon which he takes gently before flying off again. Opening the letter I scan over it and my eyes widen at the contents and I quickly shake my head as I reread it.

"That's impossible." I whisper as I get up from the table without explaining and floo away to Gringott's without saying anything and get met by Griphook who offers me a grim smile. "This letter cannot be right! What in Merlin's name do you mean someone has been stealing from the private vault?" I ask as calmly as I can and Griphook motions for me to follow him into his office.

"Have a seat Lady Black and we can get down to business." He tells me and I sit across from him as I note the anger on dad's face. "Now Lady Black, you're dad made some rather unique requests a while ago before he died. He asked us to monitor the accounts and lookout for any unusual or suspiscious activity and until recently we haven't seen any. However, as I was going over the accounts I noticed a sum of 100,000 galleons being taken out by one Cygnus Black before the same quantity were put into one Thomas M. Riddle's account only a matter of days before the attack on your parents, now the money has been retrieved and put back into your account but we will need to take action against this."

"Take all the action that you need to against Cyngus and Dorrea but their three daughters are off limits. Their two youngests cares are to be tranferred over to myself while those two are removed permanently, Cygnus may have his family dowry to live on but that is it. He shall have no access to any of the vaults or the contents inside them." I tell him firmly and he nods as he quickly summons the necessary paperwork for me to sign. Reading over the parchments I sign them in the necessary places and hand them back over to Griphook before leaning back in my seat slightly while crossing my arms together. "While I'm here I would like to open up a savings account for Nymphadora Tonks, the daughter of Andromeda Tonks nee Black and Edward Tonks with a starting balance of one thousand galleons which will be topped up monthly by five hundred galleons until she starts at Hogwarts." I say and dad looks at me shocked making me chuckle slightly while signing the necessary paperwork for opening the account.

"Is there anything else I can help you with before you leave Lady Black?" Griphook asks and I smile at him while nodding.

"I would like to take a trip down to the private vaults, there are a few items I would like to take out and what better time than while I'm already here." I say and he nods while dad smiles at me. "Dad, can you return home and tell the others that I'm alright and shall be home soon? I may have flooed away without explanation after promising Andi that she could come with me on the condition that she stay near me."

"Of course sweetheart. Out of curiousity what exactly are you taking out of the vaults? Other than the engagement ring that is." Dad asks and I chuckle at that.

"I want to take the braclet I wore as a baby out of the vault and give it to Dora, it only makes sense seeing as she's the first female Black to be born since Bella. Then I want to grab the necklace, bracelet and books the girls have all been wanting since they were old enough to realise they existed." I tell him and he looks at me with a pointed look making me sigh. "I know dad but I need them to feel welcomed and not like they're being burdened onto me because of their parents actions. I'm doing everything to protect them and I need them to know that dad, for Merlin sake I just threatened to make Andi's life hell if she disobeyed me! I'm terrified that somethings going to happen and knowing now that Cygnus paid the man that killed you and mum just a matter of days before the attack I'm even more terrified to let any of them out of my sight! Not to mention the fact that Minerva has solidified my fears that Albus can't be trusted completely." I say and he nods in understanding.

"I understand darling but can I ask you something? Don't tell your mother that it was Cygnus who was behind the attack, she's already having a hard time believing that her brother could hurt the girls the way he has done. If she ever found this out it would break her completely." Dad says and I nod as it really hits me that my uncle had my parents killed. Blinking back a fresh wave of tears I put my mental sheilds up making dad sigh and look at me with tears of his own threatening to fall. "Can you gran Sirius and Regulus out those signet rings? I believe that both of them are close to asking Remus and Severus respectively to enter official courtships." He asks after clearing his throat and I nod with a smile while clearing my own throat.

"About time if you ask me dad, those boys have been going in circles for long enough with their respective partners. I've come close to banging their heads together a fair few times now." I say with a slight chuckle and he smiles in return. "I'll see you at home and we can continue to talk about this later dad." I tell him and he nods as he leaves the portrait while I turn to Griphook. "Griphook can I ask you to do something for me? When you go after Cygnus and Dorrea, can you make it as painful as you can? Ensure that the weasels pay for what they've done to my family or I will make sure they do myself."

"With pleasure my Lady." He says with a viscious grin and motions towards the desk where the items I had been wanting to collect were sitting reasdy to go. "A little goblin magic never hurts in making things easier for those that honour our ways so politely." He tells me with a chuckle that sounded more like a cackle making me supress a shiver as I nod to him in respect.

"Thank you Griphook, it's an honour to do pleasure with you as always." I tell him as I shrink everything down and pocket it before taking my leave. Walking over to the floo systems I quickly floo home and get met with the confused faces of my brothers and cousins while Andi and Minerva glare at me. "Okay, before you two get angry at me hear me out."

"You better have a damn good reason for just disappearing on us Amanthea." Minerva says with a glare and I turn to look at her with a glare of my own.

"Just like you did last night you mean Minerva? Did you honestly think I had forgotten about the shit you pulled last night because I haven't!" I tell her angrily and she quickly backs down as the lights flicker slightly. Taking a deep breath to calm myself I motion for everyone to sit down and dad looks at me worriedly as I slowly move over to his old armchair which I fall into heavily. Closing my eyes I try to shake off my anger completely but I can't shake the bitterness of what I've just learnt and all I want to do is cry but I can do that later. RIght now my brothers and cousins are more important. "Right, I'm sure you're all confused as to why I've pulled you four out of Hogwarts so suddenly but I really need to talk to you all about some changes that are now officially in effect." I say as I look at the girls and see the confusion on the girls faces while Regulus and Sirius glare at Minerva who has the decency to look ashamed.

"What's going on Amanthea?" Bella asks quietly and I can see the fear in her eyes making me pat the seat beside me. Wasting no time she comes over to cuddle me with Narcissa following not far behind her making me bite back my tears again as I hold them close to me. "We're not in trouble are we? Because I swear I only started to pull away because-"

"No Trix, you and Cissa aren't in trouble for anything but your parents are. Now I need you both to listen to me properly before you get upset or angry adn I also need you to know that I have done this with oyur safety in mind, okay?" I ask them and they nod against my shoulders silently. "I have removed your parents from the family and have transferred both of your care into my name. Meaning that when the holidays come around you two will come back here where you will be safe from either Cygnus' or Dorrea's wraths. I have also dissolved the marriage contracts that your father had made with the Malfoy's and Lestrange's which means that you are both free to find and fall in love with whoever you want to." I say softly and they tighten their grips on me as they look up at me with bright smiles.

"We really don't have to go back there? We can stay here during the holidays and we don't have to worry about them getting angry at us?" Narcissa asks me and I nod as I use every ounce of Black willpower not to cry from that question alone.

"You really don't have to go back there ever again and you never have to worry about them getting angry at either of you again sweetheart." I tell her and they both squeal slightly at that as they hug me as tight as they can making me chuckle. "I do want to ask you both something though. Would you both me willing to see a mind healer to talk through what you've been through because of them? I won't force you to and if you aren't comfortable with the idea or just feel like you don't need to then we can completely forget about the whole thing." I say and they look at me skeptically making me chuckle. "You don't need to make a decision anytime soon, take some time to think about it and you can let me know when you're ready." I tell them and they both relax at that.

"Okay but why were we brought home? I haven't had time to do one prank yet so I know that I'm not in trouble." Sirius says and I roll my eyes at him while the girls slowly move over to the sofa again, well Narcissa does. Bellatrix stays curled into my side and I kiss her forehead making her smile before looking at my brothers.

"You two are here because I didn't want you to be blindsided by the changes if you hear about them in the papers or by anyone outside of the family." I tell them and the nod in return making me smile. "I'm sorry that I've had to tell you about all of this after it's happened but there wasn't any time to do it beforehand."

"I don't care when you told us so long as our family's safe that's all that matters." Sirius says as Narcissa falls into his side with a yawn making me realise just how early it is for them on a Saturday morning. Watching Sirius wrap his arms around Narcissa protectively I look over at dad's portrait and he nods slightly making me nod in return.

"Before I send you four back to Hogwarts I have a few things for all of you, yes boys that includes you two." I tell them and carefully manouver Bella so that I can take everything out of my pocket and resize them. Throwing the signet rings at my brothers they look at me shocked making me and dad laugh while everyone else looks confused. "Enter an official courtship with them already! Me and dad are tired of watching you two idiots dance around things." I say and they nod as they swap rings making me roll my eyes at them.

"What's in the velvet box?" Bellatrix asks as she picks it up and I softly take it from her and send it to my room with a sigh.

"Nothing that needs to be discussed just now sweetheart, the subject that's in reference to has been made clear it's unwanted." I say and she looks at me with a frown while Minerva flinches slightly. "Anyway, Andi I hope you don't mind but I got the Black bracelet out of the vault for Dora. I know that she's already well protected by you and Edward but I just want to ensure nothing can happen to her." I tell Andi and she looks at me shocked as she comes over to take it from me, slipping it on Dora's wrist making the young girl giggle as it automatically adjusts to fit her small wrist. Handing her the necklace I had withdrawn from the vault as well she gasps as she looks at it and Edward's quick to take Dora while Andromeda looks at me stunned. "I figured someone deserved to get some use out of it Andi, it's been sitting in the vault since I turned fifteen after all."

"But you always said-" Andi starts to say but trails off and I nod in return.

"I always said that you couldn't wear it because I was the heir to the Black family but I'm not the heir anymore nor do I have one and if or when I do have an heir I can make something they so desire into their accessory like dad did for me." I tell her and she grins at me as she leans down to kiss my cheek before moving back over to Edward who helps her put the neckalce on. "Trixie, you have the bracelet you kept stealing from me as a kid and Cissa you have those books you kept going on about. There's more in the vaults if you want them just tell me and we'll take a trip down." I say and both girls grin at me in return, while I get whispered thank you's from them both.

"Do we really need to go back to Hogwarts now? Can't we stay here until tomorrow evening?" Narcissa asks as she curls into Sirius' side again and he starts running his fingers through her hair without realising making Narcissa grin as she cuddles into him more.

"What about your friends? Won't they wonder where you are?" I ask her and she just shrugs making me sigh as I look at Minerva. "What do you think? Could we actually get away with keeping them here until tomorrow night? They won't be missing any classes after all."

"I don't see why not Amanthea, Albus sure as hell won't notice anyway." She says with a sigh as she comes over to sit on the arm of the chair. "About last night-"

"We can talk about that later but don't worry Minerva I got the message loud and clear." I tell her before turning back to the teenagers present and nod making them grin. "You guys can stay here tonight but this isn't happening every weekend okay. I'm allowing it this time because I think that we all need some time to get our heads around what's happened today." I say and get nods in return making me smile.

"Are we allowed to go flying?" Sirius and Bella ask at the same time and I nod making them both grin before they're running off making Narcissa pout as her and Regulus follow after them.

"While they're off having fun and getting settled can we talk? I really need to explain my reaction to what happened last night, I never should have left like that Amanthea." Minerva asks and I nod as I stand up from the armchair because quite honestly I'm close to breaking and I need my girlfriends comfort right now. Taking her hand I look over at Andi who nods with a smile as she pulls Edward over to the fireplace to floo home and once they're gone I pull Minerva to my bedroom and ward it so that none of the portraits or kids can get in before my tears finally start to fall. "Oh darling what happened?" She asks as she pulls me into her and I clutch into her robes as I cry.

"The reason I left is because that letter was from Gringott's, more specifically from our account manager Griphook asking me to come immediately. Apparently dad asked him to watch for any suspicious activitiy in the accounts before he died and nothing came up until her was going through the accounts recently. There was a 100,000 galleon withdrawl by Cygnus only a few days before the attack on mum and dad and to make it worse he then paid the exact same amount into the account of one Thomas M. Riddle." I tell her as I pull away to look at her and she furrows her brow at the name. "Yeah I didn't recognise the name either until dad looked at me pointedly. Thomas Marvolo Riddle otherwise known as Voldemort and the Dark Lord. My uncle used money from the head of family's personal vault to pay for my parents to be killed, uncle Cygnus is the reason mum and dad are dead and the reason that I have been miserable for the last year." I say quietly and she looks at me with sad eyes before pulling me into her again and we just stand there hugging for a while.

"I'm so sorry my darling." She whispers into my hair and I close my eyes as I just enjoy her embrace. "I didn't mean to run last night I really need you to know that and I most certainly do want to marry you Amanthea. I was shocked and hearing it from a portrait kind of ruined everything and I just needed time to clear my head and think." She tells me and I slowly pull back from her to look at her making her smile as she reaches up to pull my hair out of it's bun. Closing my eyes with a smile as she runs her fingers through my hair I tighten my hold on her robes as I lean in to kiss her softly and she meets me halfway as she pulls me impossibly closer to her. "Ask me." She says against my lips and I slowly pull away from her, moving to grab the ring box while banishing my robes in favour of more casual and comfortable clothes.

"Minerva McGonagall, we've been together for eight years now and this isn't how I planned on any of this going. Hell I had to ask Regulus to help me try to plan something because I'm not good at this sort of thing but it all got ruined by my uncle who will be getting killed a second time I assure you." I tell her and she laughs as I open the ring box to reveal the Black engagement ring which is a silver band with one singular diamond surrounded by emeralds which is how mum wanted it. "I have loved you since we were in Hogwarts together and I'm going to love you for the rest of my life so I'm asking you here and now if you'll marry me and become part of this crazy family?"

"Of course I will." She says quietly as she leans in to kiss me and I slip the ring onto her finger only for her to pull away and look at me shocked as the ring not only adjusts in size but the jewels and patterns change to fit her as well. "How?"

"Not everyone in my family has ever loved this ring when it's first been given to them, my great gran was allergic to the gold band and cast a spell to change it into a silver band and the stones were changed from diamonds and opals to an emerald in the middle and rubys around it to make it look like a rose. Gran had it changed to that it was all sapphires and mum changed it to the diamond and emeralds. I guess lady magic has just grown to understand what each wearer wants in a ring or it's a black spell that I'll never understand." I explain and she rolls her eyes fondly making me chuckle as she pulls me into her a bit harder than she meant to which makes us topple back on the bed with a laugh. "I love you Minerva McGonagall and I know that you didn't mean to upset me last night. I was upset and I'm sorry for the remark I made earlier it wasn't fair honestly." I tell her as we calm down and she shakes her head as she leans in to kiss me again making me smile against her lips. Moving up on the bed to cuddle properly I close my eyes as I rest my head on her shoulder making her hum happily and I yawn slightly.

"Get some more sleep darling, it's still early and if the kids need anything then I can deal with them for you." She says as she kisses the top of my head and I don't have the energy to fight with her which she damn well knows as she pulls me tighter into her side. "Sleep darling, you need it more than I know you care to admit."

"Fine but wake me if anyone needs anything okay?" I tell her and she nods but we both know that she won't wake me unless it's urgent or I end up having a nightmare again. Letting my eyes fall shut I slolwy lose my fight with sleep as I bask in being surrounded in Minerva's comfort.