A/N:

Enjoy this little brain blast (that was written when I was supposed to be eating breakfast and getting ready for work, so there's that XD )

Put up wet with no beta. All mistakes are mine.

Summary: After a car crash stole away her husband and daughter, Andromeda has her son-in-law and grandson move in with her.

Words: 779

Prompts:

Ministry of Magic Discord Group: Who Dunnit?

Suspect: Andromeda Tonks

Crime Scene: Soft Play Area

Ministry of Magic Discord Group: Mix and Match

Color: Lemon

Character: Andromeda Tonks

Action: Rolling her eyes

"What's Left"

Since the car crash that had taken her beloved Ted and Nymphadora's lives, Andromeda had been coasting, her life just a blur. What was the point of living anymore? Remus, her son-in-law, was also in such a bad of shape, but he had it worse: he had a toddler to look after.

Little Theodore Lupin, named after Andromeda's own husband and the toddler's grandfather. It was enough to move her to tears, however easy that was nowadays. She didn't know how to process grief, and so let it fester until her eyes were red and watery nearly always.

It took her six months to reach out to Remus, and would have been longer from her shame had the thought of being separated from her grandson not killed her inside. So she had reached out to the struggling single father.

Remus had always been a sickly lad, and was infected with HIV. Thankfully, with modern medicine, he could keep it at bay. But having a sickly constitution paired with the prejudices of the world, it made for him keeping a job particularly hard. And finding childcare on a non-existent budget? Impossible.

Andromeda offered for him and Teddy to move in with her. Lord knew they had the space. She and Ted had bought a spacious eight bedroom five bath home, in the hopes of having a large family. Those hopes were dashed when Nymphadora was born, and Andromeda was labeled at risk with another pregnancy. Nymphadora was a lonely only child, clumsy, but it made sense why she would find a kindred spirit in a man who was almost old enough to be her father.

So it was easy to remodel three of the bedrooms to fit their needs. A bedroom each for Remus and Teddy, and a third to turn it into a playroom of sorts. Between her inheritance and her late husband's barrister firm and life insurance, Andromeda had all the money she needed to live the rest of her life in comfort. So she may have splurged a little.

"He's four!" Remus argued as he stood in the doorway to the playroom, incredulous as to what she had been able to fit in there. It looked like an entire soft play area from the local McDonalds had been bought and dragged into the room, with climbing platforms, a ball pit, and even an iconic spaceship at the top that he could look out of. The walls were painted a cheery lemon yellow color, with little whisps of white as if the walls were made out of lemon meringue pie.

"If he's anything like Nymphadora–"

"Dora," Remus corrected absently.

"–then he will be bursting with energy at all times of the day. This way he can safely burn off that energy without us needing to drag him all over the city. And he can do it on his terms, then. If there's one thing I regret with Nymphadora–"

"Dora," Remus corrected again. Andromeda rolled her eyes.

"–is that I always tried to push her too hard. She should have done things at her pace, and no differently." Tears came to Andromeda's eyes and she hastily turned away to brush them aside. Remus drew her into a hug, and she easily hugged him back.

"One thing I learned about Dora is that she never did anything she didn't want to, even if it was to spare someone's feelings. She chose to do it her way, and her way only. It's what made her Dora," Remus said. Andromeda nodded against him, tightening her hold on him momentarily before pulling away.

"I miss her," she confessed tightly, biting the inside of her cheeks to stop herself from bursting out into tears again.

"I miss her too," Remus said, moments before Teddy came careening into the room to look for his father. He stopped in the doorway with wide eyes, a grin slowly widening on his face.

He screamed in joy before dashing forward to engage the play area. The two adults laughed at his antics.

"Well, I'll leave you two at it. I'll go and see what we can do about dinner," Andromeda said. Remus caught her sleeve before she could completely turn away.

"I would have switched spots with her in a heartbeat," he confessed, and Andromeda searched his eyes for the honesty she knew was always there.

It still was.

"I know," she replied simply. He let her go, and she turned from the room. It would be challenging to have her grandchild and his father here with her, but it would be the first step to being less lonely and the first step on the road of healing.