#andromeda001

Narcissa had prepared a simple pasta dish for dinner, leaving off the wine for the night. She’d just finished setting the table when there’s a knock at her door. She goes to answer it, smiling brightly at her sister on the other side. “Hello, come on in. I just finished preparing dinner. I made a bit too much, so I hope you’re hungry.” She steps aside to let her sister in before shutting and locking the door behind her. 

“Feel free to drop your coat wherever,” Narcissa suggests. She makes her way back to her small kitchen, grabbing two plates from the cabinet and setting them on the counter. “Please, get as much as you’d like.” 

Before the holiday break, Narcissa caught wind of a terrible rumor that she didn’t like surrounding her sister and a certain mudblood. The youngest Black sister, always keeping an eye out for her sisters despite her age, quickly found Andromeda to make sense of the matter. As expected, Andromeda told her that the rumors were baseless and nothing but folly. Narcissa didn’t expect anything less, but she can’t help but feel unsettled. Being the subject of a rumor involving a mudblood was serious and Andromeda was clearly not taking it seriously. At least they had the Christmas break to distance themselves from talk, Narcissa thought.

He couldn’t stop thinking about her for the entirety of the meeting. Their situations were not at all the same, but for the first time, he felt like he understood what she had gone through. 

Andromeda Tonks, like Vincent Avery, no longer had a place in the family of her past. Of course, she gave hers up willingly, whereas his had been ripped from his fingers. Again, their situations were not the same, but they weren’t so different either. Vincent had never particularly cared when Andromeda had left her family to marry that mudblood from Hufflepuff, but like everyone else, he was expected to cut ties. He’d liked her more than both of her sisters, but if there was anything he had been good at before, it was doing what his father expected of him.

Vincent had not attended a meeting of Art Society, not since his own fall from grace. He’d shown up today, though, taking great care to avoid the likes of Sloane Yaxley. He’d sat next to Amos for most of the meeting, but Andromeda was on his mind. The urge to speak with her weighed heavily on his mind, and when their time came to a close, he approached her. 

He had never been the greatest at beginning conversations, but the pieces of art lining the room around them gave him a perfect starting place. 

                “Did you get a chance to look at the Cezanne piece?” 

He motioned vaguely towards a tall oil painting close by. 

                “I’ve always liked the symmetry.”

Late February Diagon Alley { @andromedaxunchained }

Minerva looked down at the list in her hand with a thoughtful look on her face, quite obviously pondering something. She bit the right corner of her lip as she always did when she was thinking hard. A nice spring breeze blew back the strands of hair that lay around her shoulders, falling to chest-length; a rare occasion, as she usually kept her hair up in a tight bun as it always was at Hogwarts. This morning, however, she couldn’t bring herself to put it up. It was the first day it had been slightly warm, and the Scotswoman in her wanted to feel the breeze through her hair, even if the air was a dirty London and not a fresh Scottish air.

A smile spread across her face as she suddenly crumpled up the list in her hand and threw it in the nearest rubbish bin. Her shoulders relaxed and she stood a little more easily. Today was far too nice for lists or tasks she needed to check off and accomplish. Today was a day to wander, to walk at a leisurely pace as she was so rarely able to do. She had the whole day to herself, and it was far too nice to not enjoy it. 

Minerva began to amble down the alley, looking into the windows she passed to see what caught her interest. She was jolted from her thoughts by the sound of a little voice calling her name, and she whirled around in surprise, her eyes landing on little Nymphadora Tonks. Her face broke out in a smile as she registered that Nymphadora was running towards her, and she knelt down to receive a hug from the little girl. With a laugh, she leaned back. “Wow, Dora, every time I see you, it seems like you’ve grown a whole foot!” She smoothed back Dora’s hair, her eyes flicking around looking for Andromeda. “Dora, where’s your mother?”

“Cute little doormat you’ve got.” Sirius murmured to both himself and a metaphorical Andromeda, as he walked up the steps to his older cousin’s house. 

The work-week had just begun, though the work-day had just ended. Training to be an auror was no light joke, as Sirius could quite personally attest to. When the day had finished and he had changed back into his street-wear, he’d grabbed a quick sandwich to fill his stomach. Working that hard definitely built up an empty stomach, and Sirius Black was never the type to go without, when he could go with. 

Yesterday had been busy--- filled with small errands that he was still trying to learn how to do. Who knew that something like grocery shopping could be difficult?! He’d never needed to do it before, always having either his family elves or the school elves to take care of all of the food. He’d told James it would take two hours to finish all of his tasks, but James had buggered him into just one hour. When he had finally returned home, he discovered that his cousin had visited, and he’d just missed her. 

Which was why he found himself at her doorstep, half-eaten sandwich in hand with a large bite in his mouth. He shifted his food from his right hand to his left, and then lifted that right hand to knock hard on the door. He wondered what Andromeda wanted. She always had been his favorite cousin, but she wasn’t one to ask for help. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t curious. After a period of waiting, the door swung open, revealing the face old the older witch he had known and loved for years.

“I heard you were looking for me.” He said, talking whilst still having a bit of food in his mouth. His mother would flog him if she could see him. “Are you going to let me in? It’s rude to keep a bloke waiting when he’s got food in his hand.”

March 14, 1979 Longbottom Manor { @andromedaxunchained }

The sound of children’s laughter rang through the Longbottom manor, bringing a smile to Augusta’s face. It had been far too long since all three of her children were under the same roof, and even longer since her children had been the age of Nymphadora Tonks. Looking on the young child now, Augusta felt a pang for the days when Frank, Adelaide, and Annabelle had been that small. 

She had once dreamed of having a dozen children. Broderick had been all for it, yet after Adelaide, seven years had passed without a child. Maybe it was the rising tensions of their world or maybe it was the brokenness that always seemed to taint their marriage, however happy it had been. Whatever it was, it had been over seven years before another child came Augusta’s way, and by then, Broderick was gone, and with him, all hope of having another child. Besides that, Augusta wasn’t sure that she could have another child even if he hadn’t died. Annabelle’s had been a difficult birth, nearly causing the death of both of them. She wasn’t sure her body was capable of undergoing that again.

But watching Annabelle play with little Dora Tonks, Augusta couldn’t help but wonder what it would have been like to fill this manor with children. It seemed far less empty and dreary with the laughter of those two girls ringing through it. With another smile, Augusta shook her head at herself, pulling herself out of her thoughts, and turned her attention to the figure standing next to her. “Cup of tea?” 

Without waiting for a response, Augusta lead Andromeda Tonks into the kitchen, waving off the house elf that bustled up to help. Augusta didn’t have the heart to get rid of the two elves that were still in the employment of the Longbottom family, but they sure did aggravate her. She preferred to do things herself and insisted on cooking dinner for herself and Annabelle every night. Putting the kettle on the stove, Augusta pulled out two mugs and turned to Andromeda while the water heated up. “How are you, dear?”