As always, please read, enjoy and please do leave a review for this final chapter of Tempted!
The Purple Black
Footsteps pounded down the stairs, audible over the low volume of the wireless in the kitchen as the witch rolled her eyes with a sigh at the sound. The crash of something toppling over in the corridor was predictable, expected even. She turned around from her observation of the morning's dishes that were currently cleaning themselves within the sink and crossed her arms just in time to see the girl slamming open the kitchen door. Her hair was bright pink in two long plats, a grin plastered on her heart-shaped face and an excited glimmer shone from her dark eyes as she clutched an envelope in her hands.
"Nan!" Cassiopeia Crouch exclaimed as she ran into the counter beside her grandmother to stop herself.
"Cassie," Andromeda sighed, "how many times have I told you not to run in the house?"
"Umm . . ." Cassie bit her lip for a moment as if doing the maths in her head before she grinned and looked up at the woman, "I lost count."
"Of course you did," Andromeda couldn't help but smirk in amusement, "what ornament have you broken this time?"
"None!" Cassie laughed, "Cross my heart, honest."
"So I imagined something falling over out there?" Andromeda raised an eyebrow at the young girl.
"No," Cassie shrugged, "it was the cat."
"We don't have a cat."
"No," Cassie agreed, an all too familiar mischievous smirk playing on her features as she pulled herself up to sit on the counter, laughing as her grandmother immediately took her hand to help her down again, "but I will. When you get me one."
"Oh?" Andromeda shook her head, returning to the dishes as she waved her wand to ensure they returned clean and dry to their rightful places, "I'm getting you a cat, am I?"
"Yep," Cassie nodded, "a big fluffy white cat. That's what I want. I'll call her . . . Snowball."
"Very inventive," Andromeda mused, smirking at the girl as she gave her a mock scowl.
"It doesn't need to be inventive," Cassie shrugged, "it's adorable. You know it's adorable and you will love that cat just as much as I already do."
"Cassie," Andromeda turned to face the girl again, "have you got a cat hiding in your bedroom?"
"No," Cassie gasped in mock offence, "how dare you accuse me of doing something like that?"
"Of course," Andromeda shook her head, walking over to the small table and sitting down as she nodded towards the letter in her granddaughter's hand, "who's the letter from?"
"Oh!" Cassie jumped in excitement, having temporarily forgotten the original cause for her excitement. She rushed to sit next to her grandmother, sitting up straight in her chair she unfolded the letter with dramatic flair, clearing her throat and reading from the parchment in her most sophisticated voice. Andromeda couldn't help but stifle a laugh as she noted the broken red wax seal, "Dear Miss Crouch, We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find a list of all necessary books and equipment, which your grandmother must go out and buy you immediately—along with some nice dresses . . . and chocolate . . . and other things. Spoil her rotten."
"Well," Andromeda sighed, looking wide-eyed to the girl, "that letter has certainly changed since my day."
"Well, Nan, that was a long time ago," Cassie nodded, laughing as Andromeda nudged her slightly.
"The cheek of you," Andromeda rolled her eyes.
"I mean," Cassie shook her head, "I could let you read it . . . but I think it's just best to take my word. I mean, it is my birthday after all."
"I see," Andromeda nodded, "the multiple presents this morning weren't enough?"
"Never," Cassie let out a small laugh before sighed and put the letter back on the table, flattening it out and staring at it.
"What's wrong?" Andromeda frowned slightly.
"Nothing," Cassie shook her head, "I just can't believe it . . . Hogwarts."
"Did you not expect the letter?" Andromeda asked, reaching over and stroking some of the girl's hair out of her face, "You've clearly proven you've got magical ability since birth and the letters do come on your eleventh birthday . . ."
"I know," Cassie nodded, still staring at the letter.
"Then what's wrong?" Andromeda asked.
"Nothing," Cassie looked up to the woman with a small forced smile.
"You're a terrible liar," Andromeda shook her head, smiling kindly at the young witch, "you know you can talk to me."
"I know . . ." Cassie sighed, "it's just . . . Hogwarts . . . do you think . . . well . . . I don't know."
"You're worried?" Andromeda asked, the little girl nodding.
"What's it like?" Cassie asked.
"It's . . . magical," Andromeda said, smirking as the girl let out a huff of laughter, "it's whatever you make of it. You'll learn so much, meet new people, make lots of friends . . ."
"Will I?" Cassie asked, uncertainty in her voice.
"Yes," Andromeda said, "despite your clumsiness and your sheer cheek you are a very lovable young lady."
"But what about . . ." Cassie shook her head, "People will know who I am, who my parents are, I don't think they'll like me. My parents . . . well . . . they killed people, hurt them, did some really bad things . . . didn't they?"
"You're not your parents," Andromeda assured her.
"You tell me I'm like Mum all the time," Cassie rolled her eyes.
"You are," Andromeda nodded, "you're like your mother so much, but your mother wasn't always what the world makes her out to be. People aren't born Death Eaters, sometimes even the best of people get pulled off the right path and turn into something that you never thought they would become."
" . . . Like Bellatrix did to Mum? She 'pulled her off her path'?" Cassie looked up at her grandmother, frowning slightly as she nodded.
"Yes," Andromeda sighed, "your mother was a wonderful child. She was full of life, mischievous, clumsy, though I suppose she was rather well behaved up until she was around eleven or twelve."
"So I could still turn into that side of her?" Cassie looked down at the table again, the pink beginning to fade from her hair, she looked back up at her grandmother only when she felt her hand squeeze her arm.
"Do you want to be like that?" Andromeda asked earnestly, "Do you want to hurt people and break the law?"
"No!" Cassie spoke instantly, shaking her head vigorously.
"Then you won't," Andromeda shrugged, "you'll be whoever you want to be. If you want to be good, you'll be good. Your mother didn't want to be good, she . . . strayed off her path, was influenced by the wrong people—maybe part of that was my fault, but I assure you if that is not what you want to happen I will never let it happen to you."
". . . She's not all bad though, is she?" Cassie asked, "She's not . . . evil. She's always made out to be some sort of monster."
"You've met your mother, Cassie," Andromeda sighed, "She loves you more than anything and 'monsters' don't love at all. She made some bad choices and now she faces the consequences of it as she should, that is all. You are an entirely different person and not to be defined by her bad choices."
"I suppose . . ." Cassie agreed, "But the other children won't see it like that, it's not just Mum's reputation I have to live with it's Dad's too—and even Bellatrix and her husband and all of that."
"I won't lie to you," Andromeda said, "it may be difficult at first, you may not have it easy, but you're strong. You'll adapt and you'll learn and I promise you no matter how hard it may seem at first you will find friends and you will love your school years. You'll come back for the summer next year counting down the days until you go back the minute you step off that train."
"Promise?" Cassie raised an eyebrow at the witch, a shadow of a smile on her cupids bow lips.
Andromeda gave a small nod, leaning over and kissing the girl's hair as the pink returned to her plats.
"But what if I'm in Slytherin? Like them?" Cassie asked, "Then I'll be even more like them and that house is just full of bad people."
"Excuse me?" Andromeda scoffed, "I would like to remind you that a very good Slytherin is sitting right in front of you now—and I'm not the only one. Narcissa was a Slytherin, she's not a bad person, Merlin was a Slytherin . . . Besides, I don't think you'd fit Slytherin," she teased, "I mean, you'd be great regardless of what house you're in but if you don't want to be in the best house . . ." she smiled as the girl let out a scoff of laughter, "Your grandfather was in Hufflepuff, I always used to think Dora would be too . . . but maybe she chose differently."
"You can choose?" Cassie raised her eyebrows at the woman.
"Of course," Andromeda nodded, "the sorting hat will take your wishes into consideration . . . but I would let the hat decide where you truly belong. Regardless of what house you're in it does not affect who you are as a person. You're still my beautiful, good, somewhat crazy granddaughter."
Cassie laughed, "Thanks, Nan—and you're my awesome, good, somewhat crazy grandmother."
"Again with the cheek." Andromeda gave a dramatic sigh, standing up from her chair and raising an eyebrow at the young girl as she picked up her Hogwarts letter and inspected the list, "Now, I suppose we have some shopping to do and I'm fairly certain you will want to go today, correct?"
"Yes," Cassie grinned.
"Well then," Andromeda gestured to the door, "you best go get dressed."
"Can Aunt Cissa come?" Cassie asked hopefully, "She's really good at picking out dresses and like I said, the letter does say dresses—Oh don't bother checking, it's in invisible ink so you can't see it."
Andromeda rolled her eyes and shook her head in amusement, "I'll contact Cissa via the floo, though I'm sure she won't protest to a little shopping trip."
"Thanks Nan, you're the best." Cassie laughed, reaching up on her tiptoes to kiss her grandmother's cheek before she went to leave the room. She paused at the door, waiting until she had opened it until she turned around and said to her grandmother "Oh, by the way, there is a cat in my bedroom, she's called Snowball and she was a birthday present from Aunt Cissa. I knew you wouldn't mind, thanks Nan!"
Andromeda couldn't help but laugh at the girl as she ran from the room, "No running!" she called out as she heard the familiar thud on the stairs again.
"Sorry, Nan!" Cassie yelled back.
It was still a fair few months until the first of September, though to Andromeda Tonks the time seemed to fly by as if it was simply a matter of days. She was soon holding her granddaughters' hand as they pushed through the barrier at Kings Cross Station, watching the girl as she looked around at all of her fellow schoolmates in wonder. Cassie had been unable to keep the pink from her hair that day, despite her original intentions to try to 'blend in' her excitement had overtaken her the moment they left for the station. Though the sight of a pink-haired eleven-year-old raised some eyebrows as they walked through the muggle side of the platform neither witch cared and Andromeda was just happy to see the girl so excited, glad that her previous fears had all but dissolved. Andromeda let the girl take in the moment, watching her proudly as she looked around before eventually grinning up at her. She walked her over to an empty carriage, helping her with her things and giving her a kiss and a hug goodbye before she stepped back ready to watch the train depart.
She smiled as she watched the carriage from a distance, noting a young girl Andromeda presumed to be muggleborn enter. The girls smiled nervously at each other, Cassie agreeing for the girl to join her in her carriage, she watched as her granddaughter pulled out her box of Bertie Botts Every Flavoured Beans, offering some to her companion and grinning as she appeared to be explaining them to her. As the whistle for the train sounded Andromeda waved at her granddaughter, who quickly jumped up to the window and gave a short wave in return before the train began to move away out of the station and on towards her school.
As Andromeda Tonks woke up the next morning she smiled at the tap on her window from her owl. Stretching slightly she got out of her bed, opening the window and taking the letter gratefully. She recognised Cassie's untidy scrawl, rolling her eyes in amusement as she thought of the lessons she had tried to give the girl to neaten her writing before she left for Hogwarts. The letter didn't say much, merely a few short sentences ending with promises to write more to her soon. It was the first line that stood out to her the most though 'HUFFLEPUFF! Just like Granddad.'
Andromeda sat back down onto her bed, a smile on her lips as she read the letter again before gently placing it on her bedside table. Her eyes lingered on the photographs beside it, Ted laughing and playing with Nymphadora at seven-years-old as she tried to run from the man only to burst into a fit of giggles as he grabbed her and tickled her mercilessly next to a photograph of Cassie, around three-years-old and smiling up at her grandmother with loving eyes as she read her The Tales of Beedle The Bard. Andromeda paused for a moment longer before she summoned her quill and parchment, ready to write to her daughter to inform her of her daughter's new house (though she was sure Cassie would write to her to tell her too, if she hadn't already).
Though Andromeda had certainly been wary to take on her granddaughter all those years ago, as she sat in her home writing to the daughter that at one point would not talk to her surrounded by photographs and filled with the happy memories Cassie had given her, she did not once regret the decision to take her in and she hadn't from the moment she held her in her arms. Despite her troubled past, Andromeda Tonks was once again truly happy.
So, after nearly 200,000 words, over a year and a half and 52 chapters later this story is finally finished! I have to say, it's always so strange finishing such a big story. Thank you so so much to everyone who has followed, favourited and reviewed this story, you have no idea how much I appreciate it. Please do let me know what you think of the story and if you have any questions or want to discuss anything feel free to head on over to my Tumblr (same username as this site) and get in contact!
Thanks again!
The Purple Black