Tonks took a deep breath as she sat down on the sofa in her childhood home. The sofa was the same one that her parents had bought during the summer when Tonks had been home from Hogwarts. Tonks had hated it at the time, having grown used to the one that they'd had since she was born, but now, this one was even more familiar than the last. She took a deep breath and gripped Remus' hand tightly in her own.

Her parents had settled down in armchairs opposite them, and both were smiling, which was a good sign. Her dad in particular looked happy to have them there even though he didn't know the purpose of the visit yet, and she could understand why. She'd never brought a significant other home before, and her parents knew that it must mean something.

But they didn't yet know just how significant it was yet.

"It's nice to meet you, Remus," Ted said, beaming at the man in question.

"You too, sir," Remus said with a nervous smile. Tonks squeezed his hand again.

He really didn't have anything to worry about. Her father wasn't the type to make grand speeches about treating his daughter right. Tonks was better at both offensive and defensive spells than he was anyway. He'd always been a more peaceful sort than she was. Her mother was better at such wandwork, but even she hadn't trained in it as much as Tonks had as an Auror.

"Sorry for the short notice," Tonks said, giving her parents a sheepish smile.

She usually had no qualms about dropping in unannounced, but doing so with a guest did make her feel a little guilty.

"Nonsense," Andromeda said. Her voice was kind but there was a stiffness there that only appeared when she was around people outside the family. "You're welcome over any time."

Ted smiled and reached out to link his fingers with his wife's. "But I feel like this isn't just any old visit?" he asked with one eyebrow raised.

Tonks had a sneaking suspicion that he had guessed why they were there. She glanced over at Remus, who gave her a stiff smile in return. He was going to let her take the lead on this, which was only fair considering it was her parents.

"It's not," she said, her voice shaking. "Remus and I have gotten married."

For a second, there was complete silence. Then, Andromeda stood without a word, her face tight, and left.

"Mum?" Tonks called, but Andromeda didn't respond.

Tonks hardly paid attention to her dad or Remus as she dropped her husband's hand and buried after Andromeda.

Andromeda hadn't gone far. Tonks found her in the kitchen, which she was thankful for. The kitchen didn't have a door that her mum could lock behind her. If she was in the kitchen, then she'd wanted Tonks to follow her.

"Mum?" Tonks said hesitantly.

Andromeda lowered herself down into one of the chairs around the table. She looked up at Tonks as a stray tear streaked down her cheek. Tonks' own eyes burned knowing she was the cause of that, even if she didn't understand why.

"What's wrong?" she asked, taking a seat across from Andromeda. "Why are you upset? I thought this would be happy news."

Andromeda smiled through her tears. She put her hand on the table, palm side up, and Tonks took it, feeling a little better when her mum gave her a squeeze.

"I am happy for you, Nymphadora."

It was a testament to how shaken Tonks was that she didn't even roll her eyes at the use of her full name.

"Then what's wrong?" she asked.

Andromeda took a deep breath and focused on a spot on the wall as she considered her answer.

"When your father and I got married, no one was there but a couple of witnesses." She took a shaky breath. "Have you heard about this?"

Tonks froze except to shake her head. On the mantle sat a wedding picture of her parents, both in dress robes and smiling at the camera. Whenever she'd asked about it, her parents had told her it was their wedding photo, but she'd never even thought to ask more about that day, and neither one of them had ever offered.

"It was a bittersweet day," Andromeda admitted. "I married the love of my life, but no one in my family was there. None of my previous friends from Hogwarts attended either, and that wasn't because I didn't want them there."

Tonks took a shaky breath. She did know some of this. She'd realised a few years into Hogwarts that not knowing anything about a single relative on your mum's side wasn't normal. Explanations had followed soon after, though it had taken Tonks a few more years to realise just who those estranged relatives were.

She'd heard significantly less about her mum's Hogwarts friends. She'd never really thought about Andromeda having them at all if she was honest.

"Oh," Tonks said. "I'm sorry."

It was a lame response, but she couldn't think of anything else. Andromeda gave her a small smile.

"It's not your fault," she said. "I made my decision, and I don't regret it. Marrying your father was worth it. But I swore to myself that I would accept whoever my daughter married. I'd never let her get married without me there, and then…"

She took a deep shaky breath as Tonks stared at her in horror. She could count the times she'd seen her mother cry on one hand, and this was the only time Tonks knew of where she'd been the cause of it.

"I should have told you," Tonks said. She wasn't sure why contacting her parents hadn't been high on her list of priorities before the ceremony. It wasn't because she didn't care about them. It just genuinely hadn't crossed her mind. "If I had known…"

"I know, dear," Andromeda said with a smile. "I'll be all right. Ultimately, you did what was best for yourself, just like I did."

She stood up and came around the table, stooping over to wrap her arms around Tonks' shoulders. Tonks sunk into the embrace, already feeling a bit better.