Author's Note: Sorry for the delay! Work has been a bit crazy as of late and all I have really wanted to do after work is sleep. I know it isn't an excuse, but I hope that this chapter puts me back in everyone's good graces! Thank you all for the kind reviews and the follows and faves! It has really helped this writer out!
"I will show you fear in a handful of dust."
-T.S. Eliot, 'The Waste land', 1922
"Now can you tell me what is going on, Mother?" Tonks asks as she cleans the blood off of her hand with her wand. Not only did her mother make her take an Unbreakable Vow and a Secret Keeper's Oath, the middle Black sister also made her daughter take a blood oath to ensure Nymphadora would not tell the Order about the newest prophecy.
Drawing the curtains shut in the room, Andromeda glances back to her only daughter and sighs. "I guess it is time to tell you what is going on. I wish I didn't though."
"Well, if you didn't act so bloody crazy when Sybil said what she said, we could still be sitting comfortably in the kitchen drinking tea, all nice and cosy, and not nearly catching our death of cold in Grandfather Phineas's old home," the younger witch says as she conjures a warming spell around herself and her mother. "Now come on mum... you have to tell me what is going on. Since father left in the middle of the night last month and hasn't been seen since, I am the only person left for you to tell anything to."
"That was harsh, Nymphadora!" Andromeda admonishes as she looks crossly at her daughter who simply shrugs her shoulders and sits down on the now clean floor. The older witch tries to clear her mind as she steadies her breath. It wasn't her daughter's fault that Ted Tonks was a coward, and it definitely wasn't either of their faults that the Order has turned into the equivalent of a ticking time bomb. The former was fault of the same man who had fled, leaving his wife and only child at the mercy of the things that go bump in the middle of the night. Ted Tonks had always been spineless and Andromeda knew it. She knew it back when they were students in Hogwarts and she knew it even more so now.
The latter's fault could be laid at the feet of Albus Dumbledore himself. Though Andromeda loathed to think poorly upon the dead, she just couldn't help herself at this point in time. Albus was a manipulative bastard at the best of times... and at the worst of times, he was afraid of his own darkness that would rear its ugly head from time to time. She could never understand why he did not dip slightly into the edges of his own darkness to keep the Second War from ever happening. If he had just killed Voldemort when he had a chance after a mere infant had bested the darkest wizard of their time. It was Dumbledore's fears that had caused all of this to happen. He kept vital information from the rest of the Order and Andromeda knew it while the rest were none the wiser. It made her sick that he could have left the rest to founder like the waves upon jagged cliffs. He just had to die before all of this was over. Andromeda thinks to herself as her mind wanders to that particular night.
She crept in the shadows of the Astronomy Tower as she watched Draco brandish his wand and point it at an already dying Headmaster. Andromeda's prowess was always shadowed by her both her sisters' and she never minded that. Being considered the weakest of the three Black sisters allowed her to walk around in crowded rooms and not be noticed. She loved that fact and tonight she embraced it wholeheartedly. She felt someone else come into the room underneath the top of the tower and had slipped into the shadows before the person could see her there. It had been Harry Potter and she had felt a strange sense of sympathy for the boy when she watched how his eyes flickered with sadness when Albus's lifeless body plummet from the dizzying heights of the tower. Once the boy had left, she slipped quietly from the shadows and Apparated back to her home before her daughter or husband knew she had been gone.
Nymphadora clears her throat causing her mother to snap out of her reverie. "Sorry," Andromeda mumbles as she closes her eyes and slowly shakes her head. "What I have to tell you is going to be hard for you to hear and I am trying to find a way to say it without you becoming mad at me... or worse..."
The younger witch stands up from her seated position on the floor and walks over to her mother. Placing her hand softly on her mother's shoulder, Tonks prompts her mother to face her. "Nothing you can ever do can cause me to be mad at you mum."
Andromeda smiles sadly as she looks at her daughter. "I hope you are right."
"We can not just simply waltz in there, Bellatrix," Snape hisses through clenched teeth as he grabs the witch's elbow, causing her to stop in her tracks. They had just used the floo to reach 12 Grimauld Place and the dark witch beside him was in a rush, like always.
A demented smile graces her lips causing Severus to loosen his grip on her arm. "We are not just waltzing in. Remember... this was my aunt's house. I know several hidden passages within the walls and plus, we have help," Bellatrix whispers as she reaches for his hand and extracts it from the crook of her elbow.
As if the house-elf had heard her, Kreacher shuffles from around the corner of the corridor and bows lowly in front of her. "Mistress Black," the house-elf whispers towards the floor as he stills bows. His huge ears and the tip of his nose resting lightly against the hard wood floor. "It is a pleasure to serve the Noble House of Black again. Kreacher will be more than happy to help you get these Blood-Traitors out of My Mistress's house."
"Thank you, Kreacher," Bellatrix says softly as she looks around the kitchen, ensuring they were truly alone. "How is Hermione?"
"The Mudblood?" Kreacher asks as his wrinkled face crinkles more as he thinks about his new predicament. "Quite strange, this world. Never thought a mudblood would be accepted in this house, but My Mistress spoke with her before the Blood-Traitors came."
"I had spoke with Aunt Walburga's portrait right after Our Lord told us the mission. He knows that I spoke with her and approved of the notion to allow her in on the details," the witch says to Severus. "It makes the job easier. I am surprised that none of them noticed that she wasn't spouting epithets when they first walked in. I guess Moody is losing his touch." She adds with a grin. "Now Kreacher, how is she doing? They haven't hurt her, have they?"
"No, they healed the young Miss and then the old wizard fell asleep after she was better," Kreacher responds as he starts to open the hidden passage that led a staircase that would lead them to the second level.
"He fell asleep?" Severus asks as they step inside the hidden alcove as the elf closes the door behind them.
"You have to ask Hermione on the details," Bellatrix replies quietly as they tiptoe up the creaky staircase. "She said she based it off of a muggle disease called, Sleeping Sickness, or something like that."
"Then why were you worried when you heard Moody was here? It seems as if she is very capable of handling herself. She is, after all, the reincarnate of Enyo," Snape says as he takes his wand out and casts a wordless Muffliato.
Bellatrix shakes her head as they continue up the stairs. "He has a way about him that allows him to see past any charade. It worried me that she may not be able to protect herself from him, I should have known better. We are here," she whispers as she before she cancels the charm Severus had put in place earlier.
They both lean towards the door, straining to hear what is going on in the next room.
"I don't understand why he fell asleep that quickly," Molly says as she stands up from kneeling beside Hermione and walks towards the sleeping form of Mad-Eye.
"Well, he isn't exactly young," Fred quips as smiles at his twin brother.
"Fred's right, mum," George replies as he stares at the old wizard sitting on the leather sofa in the middle of the room.
"Boys," Molly chides as she moves closer to the man. "Moody, are you okay? Wake up now, Hermione is better and we need to get back to Andy's house to meet up with the rest of the Order. We need to let them know that Hermione is safe. Wake up, Moody!" Molly exclaims sternly as she nudges the wizard's shoulder. A low groan emits from the man, but he does not open his eyes. "That's odd," Molly says softly as she turns to look at the rest of the group. "I do not understand what is going on."
"You will in a moment," a male's voice says from the shadowy recesses of the room. A maniacal cackle follows the statement causing Molly's blood to turn to ice.
Molly turns towards Hermione who is now standing with her wand in her hand. "You did this!" the Weasley matriarch exclaims as she reaches for her wand in her pocket but her hand grasps air.
"Looking for this?" the younger witch asks as she raises her left hand and displays Molly's wand.
Fred and George jump up from their spots on the floor and race towards Hermione. The younger witch points both wands at the twins. Flourishing both wands in a simple gesture, Hermione smirks as ropes shoot out of both wands. The ropes coil around the boys tightening their grips around them until the twins crash to the floor.
"Well, that was anti-climatic," Bellatrix drawls as she steps out of shadows and stares at Ginny, who raises her wand and points it towards Hermione. "Oh, no no no... didn't your family ever teach you manners?" Bellatrix cackles as she points her wand at the youngest Weasley. "I forget who your family is at times. Never ever point your wand at someone whose back is turned. It isn't sporting." The dark witch flicks her wand in the same manner as Hermione, causing similar ropes to fly from her wand and wrap around Ginny.
"What are you doing to us?" Molly asks as she moves towards Hermione. She may not have her wand, but this witch has threatened her family for the last time. "I should have listened to Moody... I should have never showed up here to help you out. I should have left you to die of your bloody wounds and then the world would have been better off without you!"
The younger witch laughs softly as the matriarch wraps her hands around her throat and tries to strangle her. Hermione wraps her hands around Molly's wrists and releases a current of electricity from her fingertips. The older witch howls in pain and convulses slightly as she slumps to the floor in front of Hermione.
"Mother!" Ginny screams as she watches her mother fall to the floor unconscious.
"I hope you are quite finished," Severus drawls from his hiding spot in the shadows. "You will do well to remember that the Dark Lord wants them alive. It will not do if she dies. He will not be pleased."
"Oh come off it, Severus," Hermione replies as she flicks her wand causing ropes to fly out again, wrapping Molly Weasley up the same way as her children. "She is just fine." Molly groans loudly as she tries to shift on the floor. "See, she is trying to get up as we speak."
Molly grunts as she struggles to her knees. She tries to get back on her feet but realises she is tied up. "Why?" She asks as she stares up at the witch that looms over her.
Bellatrix cackles again as she moves about the room looking around for anyone else who may be hiding around the house.
"There is no one else, Bella." Hermione says as she continues to stare at the witch on the floor at her feet. She smiles wickedly as she remembers the question Molly had asked. "Bella, come take a look at this blood-traitor on the floor." The dark witch walks over to the younger witch and rests her right hand on Hermione's shoulder. "Who does she remind you of when she kneels before us, snivelling like a child?"
Bellatrix's eyes flicker with glee as she remembers the night in question from so long ago. "She looks just like her brothers!" the witch exclaims with a laugh. "Only a lot older, wouldn't you agree, Enyo?"
Molly's eyes widen at the mention of the evil, long dead witch. "Enyo? I think you have finally cracked, bitch! Your beloved psychopathic lover has been dead for years!"
It happens so fast that Molly doesn't have time to react as intense pain floods her head. All she can remember from the past few seconds is Hermione lifting her hand and then the intense, blinding pain that followed a loud smack. The younger witch flexes her right hand and shakes it slightly.
"I think you might have broken her jaw," Severus says as he finally emerges from the shadows and joins the two women.
"It is about time you decided to help," Bellatrix says sarcastically as she turns her gaze from Molly to the wizard.
"I had to make sure that none of them would escape before I showed myself," Snape states sullenly as he moves to kneel over the witch on the floor, careful not to rest his knee in the blood that has started to pool near Molly's mouth. "She is still alive, Thank Merlin. I could only imagine the sort of trouble we would have been in if you had killed her."
"I want to ask Him if I can keep her for myself," Hermione says with a smirk as she quickly flicks her wand to secure Mad-Eye Moody, who is still unconscious on the sofa.
"He may not want to share," Severus replies as he glances around the room and quickly takes his wand out to bring the group of prisoners closer to them. "He needs as many Horcruxes as possible if we are to achieve our goals. Let us go before other members of the Order decide to show up."
"Before you tell me what you have to tell me, mum..." Tonks begins as she waits patiently for her mother to work up the nerve to tell her what exactly is going on. "Does any of this have to do with the prophecy Trelawney spoke in our kitchen?"
"It has everything to do with it," Andromeda begins as she looks at her daughter. "That is why you mustn't hate me when I tell you this. Do you remember everything she said?"
"Of course I do, she said; 'Beware the progeny of Mars; for the snakes will ensure their master's power and their terror will be great and everlasting!'" Nymphadora quotes as she looks at her mother. Tonks has an inkling about who the snakes were in the prophecy and she definitely knew what the progeny of Mars meant, she wonders though what her mother thought of the whole thing.
"I have always wanted to tell you this Dora. I just felt as though I should never allow you to get tangled up in all this mess, but it can not be helped at this time it seems. My life is nothing but a sham, a charade that has been set in motion since the beginning. Your father..." Andromeda shrugs her shoulders and laughs softly. "He never knew the deception that was taking place, if he had... well, neither of us would be here. He was best friends with my cousin Sirius and the rest of the Marauders and it... I was expected at the time to infiltrate their little group. Sirius hated all three of us at the time and my parents and the Dark Lord wished to know more about the goings on of the Order of the Phoenix. Even while we were in school the Order was around. There were skirmishes here and there between the Death-Eaters and the Order, but nothing as extreme as the First War and this war, but it was enough to cause the Dark Lord to need more information and they were they best way to gain this information. I hated it at first, not the part of spying, but having to get cosy with a Mudblood and Blood-Traitors. It was a high honour to have been used for infiltration and I was the perfect candidate. Even then my sisters were quite vocal on their stance with Muggle-born students, but I kept quiet. Mother taught me well. She taught me how to hide in the open."
"So you are a spy for the Death-Eaters," Nymphadora states calmly as she takes in everything her mother had said.
"Yes," the older witch says with a sigh. "I didn't want you to know any of this, especially since you are an Auror and are knee-deep in the Order's business. I don't want us to be on opposite sides. I may not have ever loved your father and I hated every second I shared with him, but I do not regret it because it gave me you."
"Mother..." Andromeda looks up at her daughter and is slightly taken aback by the grin that has formed on her daughter's lips. The older witch had thought her daughter would hate her after all of this, thought that she would have turned her in to the Order and sent her to Azkaban. She did not expect her to smile at this revelation. "I have something to show you," Tonks continues as she rolls up her sleeve and shows her mother the Dark Mark that had been burned into the skin of her left forearm.
"Then you are one of the snakes as well, daughter," Andromeda says as a smile graces her lips for the first time since they left their house.
"That I am, mother," Nymphadora replies as she rolls her sleeve down. "I was informed by a certain person that Our Lord would love to have members of the Order over to Malfoy Manor. Do you think we should bring our guests over?"
"I think that would be perfect, besides, I haven't been able to see my sisters in such a long time. I have missed them terribly." Andromeda walks over to the door and opens it. "Come. Let us bring Him the gifts that He so desires."