Chapter 3
It was raining heavily on the morning of the funeral. Draco could hear the raindrops hammering against his window, like the owl had just four days ago. The sound of the owl tapping against the window had plagued his dreams during what little sleep he had gotten over the past few days and he didn’t think the funeral was going to improve anything.
Teddy was currently curled up on Draco’s lap, Batty squished between them. He had woken up a few hours ago and stumbled sleepily into Draco’s bedroom demanding hugs. Draco had welcomed him quite eagerly, relishing in the familiar and comforting weight of the small child against his chest. It wasn’t often that Teddy climbed into bed with him anymore and his presence was especially welcomed on nights like last night, when simply closing his eyes had him reliving horrific memories.
As per Andromeda’s wishes, Teddy wouldn’t be attending the funeral. His aunt had opted for a traditional Wizarding funeral, which involved the viewing of certain memories from the deceased. Andromeda had left Teddy a set of memories in her will, including the ones she had set aside for the funeral, that she wanted him to view when he was older. She hadn’t wanted Teddy to be at her funeral, saying it would only cause him unnecessary distress.
Instead, Teddy would be staying with a muggle family down the street from Andromeda’s house. They were friends of Andromeda and had a young daughter Teddy’s age, who had displayed signs of very powerful accidental magic. As muggles, they were not permitted to attend the service, but they had send their condolences through a muggle card and a small bouquet of flowers, which were sat in a vase downstairs.
A quick Tempus revealed that it had just gone 9am - two hours until the funeral was due to begin.
Draco gently shook Teddy awake, smiling fondly as he pressed his face deeper into Draco’s chest. After a few minutes of sleepy mumbling and quiet protests, Teddy sat back and rubbed his eyes.
“Sleepy.” He whispered, hugging Batty close to his chest and frowning.
Draco leaned forward, pressing a kiss to Teddy’s forehead. The change was almost instant - the toddler giggled and batted Draco’s face away with one hand, the other making a show of wiping the kiss off his forehead.
“Nooooo!” He shrieked with laughter. “Wet!”
“No kisses?” Draco gasped, pretending to be shocked.
“No!” Teddy giggled. “No kissy!”
“Well then, I suppose I’ll just have to tickle you instead!” Draco laughed and began to tickle Teddy’s sides mercilessly. Teddy’s joyful shrieks of laughter echoed in the large bedroom and Draco couldn’t stop smiling.
Teddy had been the only thing to keep sane in the past few days. If the little toddler hadn’t been with him, Draco had no idea what he’d have done.
He had had no one to turn to when his mother had died and only the knowledge that his father was going to be incarcerated for her murder kept him together then.
Ever since then, it had been Andromeda who he had turned to for comfort when things overwhelmed him. Andromeda had relied on him too in the months after the war and they had become unbelievable close during the last few years.
Now, her comforting and steady presence was gone and Draco felt more than a little lost. He was sure he would have lost his mind if he hadn’t had Teddy to look after. The knowledge that he was Teddy’s sole guardian, that this small, vulnerable human being was reliant on him, also kept him from completely falling apart. He had grieved over the past few days, but he had been careful to keep his emotions in check around Teddy, lest he cause him unnecessary upset.
Teddy gasped and fell back onto the bed and off Draco’s lap, still giggling in between gasping for breath.
“Stooooop.” He gasped out, pushing Draco’s fingers away. Draco chuckled and ran a hand through Teddy’s turquoise hair. “Breakfast Teddy-bear?” He asked, standing up and stretching his arms above his head.
Teddy shot up from the bed, clapping with Batty in his hands. “Can we haf Cheerios?” He asked.
Draco smiled again.
“Of course.”
•••••
Draco tugged slightly on his robe, which was just brushing his ankle, in a feeble attempt to make it look longer. He hadn’t worn robes since the war and only set he had was several inches too short. With a frustrated sigh, he cast a Fabric Lengthening charm.
The charm was poorly named, given that the robes were stretched by the charm rather than lengthened, leaving the fabric uneven in places. It was a terrible charm and Draco wondered, not for the first time, why the Wizarding World was happy settle for substandard charms. Now though, was not the time to ponder the popularity of shitty spells.
Draco hurried along the street, towards Godric Hollow’s church. Andromeda had specifically requested to be buried in the graveyard next to the church, alongside her daughter, husband and son-in-law. Other witches and wizards were making their way up the steps in the rain and Draco sped up, not wishing to be one of the last to enter.
It was a Wizarding church and, while it looked quite similar to a muggle Catholic church on the outside, the inside was very different. Where the altar would be was instead a clear floor space, intricately spelled to change to fit the needs of the witch or wizard occupying the space, in a way not dissimilar to the room of requirement. Instead of the ‘Stations of the Cross’ - a series of images depicting the crucifixion, something that, according to his aunt, was a very important event to catholics - portraits of influential members of the Wizarding community hung around the church. Many of the witches and wizards depicted had made significant impacts on medicine, such as Wisteria Holt, the witch who had invented the Blood Replenishing potion. Other paintings were of magical folk who had committed exceptionally brave acts - meaning many wizarding churches across Britain were home to portraits of the Golden Trio.
The beliefs held by the Wizarding community were also very different to that of the various denominations of Christianity. Most Wizarding families, like the Weasley’s or Tonks’, would be considered atheist and would use the church not as a place for prayer, but to reflect. They didn’t believe in a God, though many witches and wizards did believe that Magic was a sentient being, similar to the idea of a God, and would pray to her accordingly. The majority of the Wizarding community didn’t follow Christianity due to the Salem trials and witch hunts that were carried out by many Christians, but it generally wasn’t held against people who were Christian.
Compared to the cold dampness of the street outside, the heat within the church was stifling. The candles perched on every surface, combined with the layers of warming charms on the building made it uncomfortably warm and Draco was suddenly reminded of the heat of the Fiendfyre in the Room of Requirement. He squeezed his eyes shut and took several deep breaths, counting to ten in his head. It wouldn’t do to have a panic attack in the middle of a crowded church.
Draco opened his eyes again and made his way towards the front of the church to find his seat before the funeral began. He was sat by a stuffy witch who had pointedly shifted away from him when he sat down, wrinkling her nose in disdain. He ignored her, focusing instead on the wizarding officiant who was making his way to the front of the church, presumably to begin the service.
From what Andromeda had told him, Draco gathered that wizarding funerals were quite different to muggle ones. The coffin would make its own way down the aisle, aided by magic rather than pallbearers, and would be set down in front of the officiant. The officiant would then perform a ritual on the coffin, which would protect the body and prevent it from being disturbed once buried. While the ritual was performed on the coffin, people would bring up gifts to lay on top of it.
Usually, these gifts were small bouquets of flowers, a tradition that stemmed from the Salem trials, when the Wizarding population lived almost entirely in poverty, as flowers were inexpensive and could easily be conjured. Nowadays, people would leave other gifts, such as small candles, but flowers were still the most common gift.
Draco himself was cradling a small bunch of narcissus flowers in his lap, tied together with what had been one of his mother’s favourite hair ribbons. She hadn’t worn her ribbons very often in the last few years of her life, as she had worn them mostly for celebrations.
There had been precious little to celebrate once Voldemort returned.
Once this ritual was complete, people would be invited to come up to the front of the church to speak about the deceased, a part of the service that Draco was dreading, as he knew that sitting listening to Andromeda’s friends talk about her life was going to make him cry like a baby in front of everyone. But, he thought, not crying at a funeral would probably make him stand out more.
The coffin would then be levitated back out of the church and the guests would follow it to where it was to be buried. Once it was buried, people were given time to pay their respects to the person before everyone reconvened in the church.
A select number of people, a list decided by the deceased before their death, would be taken into a room to the side of the church, which would be known as the sacristy in a Catholic church. Inside this room was a special type of pensive, designed for projecting memories to a larger audience than a typical pensive.
It was the this part of the service that Draco was dreading the most.
It was traditional for witches and wizards to keep a box with important memories in throughout their lives, so that they would be eventually viewed by friends and family at funerals. Draco had never been quite sure as to why this was such a common part of wizarding funerals, since it did little more than reduce everyone in the room to tears, but according to his aunt, it brought people closer to the deceased and helped them understand the person more.
Draco had spent the last few months with Andromeda helping her organise her memories. The ones she had collected over the years were kept in an ornate, black box, with silver roses etched into the lid. It contained rows and rows of memories, all neatly labelled with years and the people they contained. Almost all of the memories were of Nymphadora, from first steps and first words, to her wedding and her pregnancy announcement, but most of the recent ones were memories of Teddy and, surprisingly, himself.
Draco had been shocked when Andromeda told him that some of the memories she was preparing for the funeral contained him. She had, of course, refused to let him see the memories - “you can wait like everyone else!” - so he was in equal parts anticipating and dreading watching the later memories.
He also knew that Andromeda had set aside individual boxes with memories inside, which were to be handed out during the will reading.
Draco had never hated memories more in his life.
••••
Draco watched with a detached sense of fear as Andromeda’s coffin was lowered into the ground. He could vaguely hear the sounds of sniffing coming from the direction of where the Weasley family was gathered. Only now did the reality of his aunt’s death seem to really hit home.
There would be no more days out together with Teddy.
There would be no more late night chats.
There would be no more petty squabbles over Draco’s lack of a love life.
There would be no one to confide in when things just got too much.
There would be no one to comfort him after a particularly bad nightmare.
And then there was Teddy. Dear Merlin, Teddy.
Teddy was his sole responsibility now.
He had no idea why that made him so panicked - he had cared for Teddy almost 24/7 for months and he had been there to watch him grow up. Teddy called him ‘Papa’ for Circe’s sake!
Maybe it was because this made it more official. He was, in the eyes of both Teddy and the Ministry, now a parent, rather than just a very close friend or relative.
Or maybe it was because Draco doubted his parenting abilities. It was a bit late to be doing so, considering that he’d helped to raise Teddy alongside Andromeda and an odd collection of Weasleys, but he felt himself wondering if he would turn out like his own father.
Lucius’ ideas of punishment were a touch more extreme than average. Stinging Jinxes were a favourite of his, used for everything from an incorrectly knotted tie to failing to come out on top in an exam. Everything Draco did had faults, no matter how small, Lucius would pick his every move apart and throw his supposed failures back in his face.
He didn’t want to be that to Teddy. He wanted to encourage Teddy to learn from mistakes, to not be discouraged by little failures. He didn’t want Teddy to grow up fearing him.
Draco jumped when a hand was placed on his shoulder. He spun to find himself face to face with Ginny Weasley.
Her eyes were red rimmed from crying and her mascara had smudged around her eyes. “You ok?” She asked, staring intently at him.
Draco gave his friend a half smile. “No.” He replied honestly. “Not really.”
She gave him a small, sad smile in return. “I don’t think any of us are. Not really.” Ginny squeezed his shoulder comfortingly. “I’ll come over and see the two of you next week, I’ve missed the blue-haired menace.”
“He’s not a menace.” Draco protested. “But I’m sure he’ll appreciate a visit from his ‘Auntie Ginny-bread.”
Ginny scowled at that, shoving his shoulder. “You know I hate that nickname.”
It was a name born from an incident with a gingerbread house and two Weasleys last Christmas, and, as much as she protested against it, Draco had seen the way her eyes softened when Teddy shouted it while running towards her for a hug.
He also found it rather adorable.
Ginny nodded in goodbye as she was called over by her mother and Draco was left once again to his own thoughts.
By now, the graveyard had emptied out, people already making their way back to the church or heading home. Draco turned to the headstone, its newness sticking out like a sore thumb against the older graves in the cemetery. Even his cousin’s grave seemed to have aged a great deal in the three and a half years since it had been erected.
He crouched down beside the grave, placing another bouquet of flowers among the pile of other gifts. He leant forward and pressed a kiss to the top of the grave. “Goodbye Andromeda” He whispered, before standing and making his way out of the graveyard, wiping away the tears threatening to fall down his face.
“Malfoy!” A voice shouted behind him.
Draco sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he turned to face Potter, who was jogging to catch up with him. Draco flushed as he realised that Potter had watched him say goodbye in the graveyard.
“I wanted to talk to you about Teddy.” Potter panted as he caught up. “Y’know, because you have custody of him now.”
“Is now really the best time?” He replied, a tad more sharply than he intended to, if the frown that crossed Potter’s face was any indication.
“We don’t have to talk now, but can we at least arrange a date to meet? I haven’t seen Teddy since April. Is tomorrow lunchtime okay?” Potter asked, hands shoved in the pockets of his suit jacket.
“Tuesday. Teddy’s little friend is coming over to play tomorrow, so it will have to be the day after.” Draco replied much less sharply this time. He could understand him wanting to see Teddy after being away for so long - Draco missed Teddy after being away for a weekend, he couldn’t imagine not seeing him for seven months.
Potter nodded. “Okay.”
“Meet us at ‘Sugar & Dice’ at 12.” Draco said, handing Potter a slip of paper with the coordinates for the nearest apparation point to the café.
Potter nodded again, accepting the slip. “Isn’t this a Muggle area?” He questioned, shock written all over his face.
“Come along Potter, they’re going to start without us.”
••••
The officiant had set the pensive up in the centre of the room and had ordered them to stand around it in a circle.
Draco was, quite thankfully, sandwiched in between Luna and Ginny. Potter and the other two thirds of his trio were stood somewhere to his left, with the rest of the Weasley family.
The officiant tapped his wand against the memory box and the vials floated out, lining themselves up in order in the air around the pensieve. The cork off one vial popped off and floated above it as the vial tilted forward, the silvery memory sliding out and landing with a small splash in the pensieve.
The officiant tapped the side of the pensieve then left the room. He had previously informed them that he wasn’t authorised to view the memories, so he had spelled the vials and pensieve to automatically play the memories - like a muggle PowerPoint according to Granger’s whispering to Potter
The first memory began to play, colours swirling before settling into the scene, projected above the pensieve so everyone could see it.
A much, much younger Andromeda stood by her mother’s bedside, clutching the hand of her younger sister, Bellatrix, barely recognisable to Draco.
The pair could have easily been mistaken as twins, with their long, dark and wavy hair, identical button noses and straight-backed poses - a stance reminiscent of Draco’s own upbringing.
Only their eyes set them apart. Bellatrix’s were dark and brown and, even at the age of no more than 4, her eyes seemed colder than one would expect. Andromeda’s were a light blue and bright with elation, obviously much more excited about the baby than her sister.
The way the sisters’ fingers were intertwined declared their closeness in a way words would have never been able to. Judging by their outward reactions to their new sister, Draco believed it was at this point that their closeness began to lessen.
Their mother - Druella - was sat up in bed, dark circles visible under her eyes, a small, squirming bundle held in her arms. Said bundle let out a loud wail, tiny, chubby fists appearing out of the white shawl.
“Girls,” Druella began, adjusting the baby in her arms slightly and rocking them gently to sooth them. “Meet your little sister - Narcissa Ophelia Black.”
The scene faded and the colours swirled around once more, colours mixed and intertwining with each other, before settling into the second memory.
An eleven year old Andromeda sat alone in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express. The decor inside was flowery and outdated, even for the sixties, and Andromeda’s disdain for it was clearly visible in the way she regarded it with a slight sneer.
Through the window, parents could be seen hugging their children goodbye, shoving small packages and pets into their hands as they climbed on board. One particular boy stood out to her.
He was stood with his parents, giving every one a berth and glancing around the platform anxiously. His parents were similar - the pair stood, hands clasped together, watching the excitable crowd of magical folk with clear apprehension. She squinted at their clothing and realised with a gasp that they were muggles.
As if he had heard the barely audible gasp while stood on the platform, the boy looked up, instantly locking eyes with her.
She offered him a quick smile, at which he lit up and turned to his parents, gesturing towards her compartment vaguely as he held a rapid conversation with them. Reluctance was written all over their faces, but they hugged him tightly too them and sent him off towards the train with his luggage.
Andromeda sat back slightly shakily and Draco could see a flicker of regret cross her face. It was obvious why - she came from a Pureblood and very prejudiced family, yet she had just seemingly made a friend in a muggleborn student.
Barely seconds after Andromeda had sat back, the boy burst in, lugging his case along with him.
“Hi!” He said brightly, with a heavy Spanish accent. “I am Ted Tonks. ¿Y tu?”
Andromeda smiled in return. “Andromeda Black.” She replied.
The colours swirled again and a new memory began.
An older Andromeda walked along a Hogwarts corridor, a set of NEWT Level Transfiguration textbooks in her arms. A shiny Head Girl badge was pinned to her robes.
Raised voices could be heard from around the corner of the corridor and, upon hearing them, Andromeda deposited her books onto the nearest window sill and dashed towards the voices, drawing her wand as she did so.
She skidded to a stop as she rounded the corner, freezing at the sight in front of her.
Ted Tonks was stood with his back against the wall, wand raised and expression fierce. A group of Slytherins stood a short distance away from him, each with various injures. One was clutching his side, small black wings protruding from rips in his robes, clear signs of a powerful Bat-Bogey-Hex. Another had a singed patch on his robes.
“Ted!” Andromeda cried out, standing in between him and her housemates.
“Oh how sweet.” One of the girls sneered. “It’s the muggle loving traitor, here to defend her disgusting little mudblood boyfriend.”
“Don’t call him that!” Andromeda replied sharply, throwing up a shield charm when two of the Slytherins sent spells towards them. “50 points from Slytherin for attacking a fellow student.”
Scowls formed on their faces. It was clear that the house cup was more important to them than punishing someone they deemed unworthy.
“Whatever, Black.” One of the boys snarled. “I’m sure that your parents will be thrilled to discover that you’ve taken up with a mudblood.”
The group disbanded, setting off towards the staircase without so much as a backwards glance at the pair.
They stood in silence for a few seconds, chests heaving. Then Andromeda threw her arms around Ted’s neck, squeezing him tight. His arms came around her waist and they stood like that in the darkening corridor for several minutes before separating.
“You really ought to stop reacting so violently to them.” Andromeda said, taking hold of his hand and using the other to wipe a splatter of blood off his cheek. “We only have two months left, not even that, then we can leave here. Together. We can’t do that if you insist on attacking them every time someone makes a comment about blood - it’s going to get you killed or expelled. I know you don’t like sitting back, but you can’t fight everyone, not with violence, especially when it’s a pack of people like them.”
Ted opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed his mouth and pressed a kiss to Andromeda’s forehead instead. “I know.” He stated with a whisper. “I love you.”
The colours of the memory swirled again, faster this time.
Andromeda sat cross legged on her bed in the Slytherin dorms, eyes fixed upon a letter on her lap. She looked exactly the same as she did in the previous memory and Draco assumed this was taking place shortly after.
The Black family crest was stamped onto the blood-red wax seal. Andromeda gulped audibly, and with a shaking hand, she reached to open it. A thin silver band on her left hand glinted in the light streaming through the bedroom window.
An engagement ring.
She pulled the letter from the envelope, the scratch of parchment on parchment deafening in the silent room. The parchment trembled in her hands as she unfolded it. Six words were written on it in red ink matching the colour of the wax seal.
‘You are no longer my daughter.’
There was no signature but it was obvious that one wasn’t needed, as Andromeda broke down into sobs, her tears splashing on the parchment, causing the ink to run.
A slightly older Ted and Andromeda stood at an altar, holding hands and gazing into each other’s eyes. Ted’s family and friends were sat in the pews, his parents sat right at the front, alongside Andromeda’s two best friends.
Ted’s parents, a much younger version of them than Draco was familiar with, had tears in their eyes, both obviously overjoyed that their only child was getting married.
The couple recited their vows and exchanged their rings, beaming at each other. Draco never met Ted, but he could tell just by the way the pair looked at each other that they were made for each other. He understands now, better than he did before, exactly how Ted’s death led to Andromeda’s.
The memories shortened and seemed to bleed into each other.
Andromeda and Ted stood over a small cradle containing an even smaller bundle of green blankets. The bundle let out a small cry of discontent and Ted scooped them up, revealing a head of bright red hair.
Ted rocked the baby gently, murmuring as he did so. “Shhhhh, Nymphy. Daddy’s here.” The baby’s whimpers ceased and her hair paled, turning to a bright yellow colour.
Andromeda watched the pair, a soft smile on her face.
Nymphadora sat next to a shimmering Christmas tree, wearing onesie with ‘Santa’s Little Helper’ on the front. She seemed far more interested in the glittery gold bauble dangling from one of the lower branches than the presents, much to the amusement of her parents, who were sat a few feet behind her.
Andromeda leaned over and pushed a squishy and slightly misshapen package towards the baby, successfully diverting her attention.
The package was loosely wrapped, so it only took a few tugs before a stuffed rabbit fell into Nymphadora’s lap. With a squeal and incomprehensible babbling, she scooped up the toy and cuddled it to her chest. An ear found it’s way into her mouth and she giggled again, drawing smiles from her parents.
Andromeda and Ted were kneeling on the floor on opposite ends of a room, presumably their living room. Baby Tonks sat in between them, wearing nothing more than a nappy and a t-shirt with a huge Hufflepuff badge on it.
Ted pulled a face at her, causing her to giggle and shriek in laughter. He made beckoning motions with his hands, his face splitting into a smile as his daughter shifted and pushed herself up with her hands to stand up on wobbly legs. The floor beneath her shimmed briefly as Andromeda cast a Cushioning Charm, distracting the baby momentarily.
She looked up again and put her arms out to Ted. “Da!”
Ted smiled made beckoning motions again, laughing in delight as she took a few wobbly steps towards him before falling down and landing on her bum.
Andromeda rushed forwards, scooping her daughter up in her arms and spinning around with her, both laughing while Ted watched on, smile still fixed on his face.
The memory was clouded for a second by smoke, before it cleared to reveal Ted and Andromeda stood on platform 9 3/4 with Nymphadora. Her hair was changing every few seconds, gaining her quite a lot of attention from the people in the crowd around her.
Nymphadora hugged her parents tightly and picked up her case, eyes gleaming with excitement. She had an old a slightly faded Hufflepuff scarf wound several times around her neck - Ted’s old scarf. Her mother adjusted the scarf with a wry smile. “I still think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself.” She says.
Nymphadora only smiled at Andromeda. “I will be in Hufflepuff. I’ll beg the hat if I have to.” Draco recognised Andromeda’s own stubbornness in her daughter.
Ted laughed loudly, attracting a glare from a stiff family next to them. “Whatever you say Dora.” He ruffled her pink hair. “But you need to get going, the train’s going to leave without you.”
Her parents hugged her once more before she climbed aboard.
The pair stood on the empty platform long after the train had disappeared along with their only child.
An older Nymphadora was sat on grass in what appeared to be a muggle park, judging by the clothing of the people in the distance, fiddling with a muggle stereo. She jumped up, pulling her dad up with her as the crackling of static stopped and a song began to play.
Draco recognised it as a Beatles song that Andromeda had played often during the times he spend at her home - ‘Twist and Shout’.
Nymphadora did just that, twisting in a slightly clumsy dance and singing along to the song. She laughed as her dad copied her and pulled her mum up with them.
With a roll of her eyes and very little reluctance, Andromeda stood up and joined them.
“I did it!” Nymphadora cried, waving a letter in front of her parents faces. “I passed them all, even Transfiguration!” She held the letter still, showing a set of OWL results, made up mostly of Es and the occasional O or A.
It had always made Draco smile when Andromeda talked about her Metamorphmagus daughter being terrible at Transfiguration.
She let out another cheer and flung her arms around her parents necks.
“Does this mean I can get the cat I wanted?”
The new memory was a very similar scene, but with an older trio.
Nymphadora sat at a table with her parents, a Hogwarts letter and a Ministry of Magic letter in her hands. She opened the Hogwarts letter first, letting out a shriek of joy when she unfolded it. “I’ve done it! Outstanding’s and Exceeds Expectations on all the subjects I need!”
She pushed the letter towards her parents and tore into the other, letting out another cry of joy. “They’ve accepted me into the training!”
Draco knew that both of her parents had had reservations about her becoming an Auror, but both adults appeared to be equally happy about her results, pride clear on their faces.
Nymphadora picked up a ginger cat that had been hidden under the table. “And you, Tubbs, are coming with me!”
Ted and Andromeda were sat in one of the fancier function rooms within the ministry. They were sat with rows of other witches and wizards, facing a stage.
Upon the stage was a podium and a line of witches and wizards wearing Auror robes, including Nymphadora, her bubblegum pink like a beacon against the beige wall behind them.
The minister - Draco couldn’t recall his name - began reading off a scroll on the podium in front of him, handing medal and certificates out to the newest Auror recruits, each name accompanied by cheers and applause.
“Tonks, Nymphadora!”
She jumped slightly, her hair brightening to a neon pink as she walked forward to accept her certificate and medal, signifying her successful introduction into the Auror ranks.
Her parents, alongside several Weasley’s, stood and applauded for her, cheering as she accepted her things from the the minister.
Nymphadora waved at her parents, blushing as she tripped on her way back to the line
“We’re engaged.”
The small dining room was silent. Nymphadora stood in front of her parents, clutching Remus Lupin’s hand. His old professor looked painfully awkward, but held his head high as he waited for his future in-laws reply.
Andromeda looked quite taken aback, but it was unsurprising, given that Draco knew for a fact that she had never met Remus prior to this.
Ted was the first to react, stepping forwards and envelop ing the pair in a hug. Draco had come to understand that Ted Tonks hugs could fix any situation.
“Welcome to the family.” Andromeda smiled, pressing a kiss to Remus’ cheek.
They appeared to sag in relief, obviously expecting disappointment and disapproval. The younger pair share a loving glance that reminds Draco of the younger Andromeda and Ted at Hogwarts.
Andromeda’s smile grew and she muttered a summoning charm, resulting in a few distant bumps from somewhere in the house.
“We have a wedding to plan.”
Nymphadora and Remus kissed at the altar, amid cheers from family and friends and conjured confetti.
It’s the same church that Nymphadora’s parents were married in, with a few slight changes to the decoration. Unlike Andromeda and Ted’s wedding, the church had only around 20 people inside, war time limiting the number of guests that could be present.
The newly-weds shared a long, loving look, a look that Draco would be tempted to call sappy if he did not know their history, and it is clear to everyone that the lack of guests wasn’t an issue for them, that being together was all that mattered at the moment.
“I’m pregnant.” Nymphadora’s voice is shaky as she squeezes her mother’s hand.
Remus wasn't present. Draco knows why, having heard his aunt tell the story of Remus running for the hills at this news, only to have sense knocked into him by 17 year old Harry Potter, many a time.
Her parents are silently supportive through their hugs, murmuring soft, most likely meaningless, words that they can’t hear from the memory.
Andromeda sat on an old sofa, it’s design something that most likely had been the height of pureblood fashion during the 1960s, face pale and blotchy from crying.
Fresh tears fell down her face as she leaned against Molly Weasley, her body shaking with quiet sobs. Molly too had tears in her eyes.
“He’s gone.” Andromeda choked out, staring unblinkingly at the crumpled picture of her husband in her hand. She let go of it, allowing it to fall to the floor, joining a tear stain letter on the carpet.
A heart-wrenching sob tore from her throat and she turned in Molly’s embrace, weeping unashamedly into her shoulder.
Her other hand opened, Ted’s blood stained wedding ring landing with a dull thud on the carpet.
Andromeda sat in a rocking chair, staring down at the child in her arms with wonder. He was sleeping, tiny fist clenched around the blanket he was wrapped in and hair fading from one colour to the next.
“Have you named him yet?” She asked quietly, stroking a finger down the side of his peaceful face.
“Edward Remus Lupin.” Her daughter replied. Nymphadora was sat on the bed, curled into Remus’ side.
“Teddy for short.” Remus added quietly.
Andromeda nodded slowly, eyes teary. “It suits him. He has Ted’s nose.”
A silvery lynx patronus burst through the open window. It opened its mouth and spoke in the deep voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt.
“Voldemort is dead. We need you at Hogwarts immediately.”
Andromeda sat in the same rocking chair, arms empty and tears streaming down her face. Teddy was lying in his crib, fast asleep and oblivious to his grandma’s distress.
Andromeda knelt down in front of her daughter’s grave, silent tears streaming down her face. She placed a large bunch of flowers on the freshly dug dirt and pressed a kiss to the grave, doing the same to her son-in-law’s.
Andromeda stood in the doorway of the living room, watching as her nephew cradled her grandson in his arms.
Draco remembered this day well, given that it was the first time he had held Teddy.
Teddy let out a quiet cry, shifting unhappily. Andromeda made to step forward and take Teddy from him, but stopped when memory-Draco stood, rocking the baby gently as he paced slowly in front of the fireplace, murmuring to the calming baby.
Andromeda sat up in bed, jumping out quickly at the sound of distressed wails from the next room. She made her way out of her room, obviously surprised to hear the cries beginning to lessen.
She peeked her head around the open door to see Draco holding Teddy to his chest with one arm, his other preparing a bottle using his wand.
Teddy’s wailing quietened to smaller cries as Draco murmured soothing words towards the hungry baby. He tested the bottle on his free wrist before cancelling the Levitation charm and guiding the bottle towards Teddy’s eager mouth.
Seemingly satisfied that her grandson was in good hands, Andromeda returned to her bed.
Andromeda opened her front door to a guilty looking Harry Potter. He began stuttering out apologies for not coming sooner, or so it seemed, as his words were almost incomprehensible as he fell over himself to explain.
Andromeda smiled and told him not to worry, allowing him to step through the door and into her house.
She guided him to the living room, where Teddy was sat up on the carpet, surrounded by a mountain of cushions and multiple stuffed toys.
Shock was written all over Potter’s face as he walked in. Draco was stuffing things into a bag and pulling a jacket on, while pulling faces at Teddy. Teddy was giggling and waving his arms towards Draco. Draco smiled and pressed a kiss to Teddy’s forehead.
“I’ll see you later, Teddy Bear.” He said, laughing when Teddy grabbed at his nose.
The smile fell from his face when he spotted Potter in the doorway. With a nod to Potter and a kiss on the cheek for Andromeda, he apparated out of the living room.
With a nudge from Andromeda, Potter stepped into the room and crouched down by Teddy, awkwardness radiating off him. Teddy stared up at him with wide brown eyes.
“Hey little guy.” He whispered. Teddy continued to stare back at him. Potter reached for the white bunny by his foot, giving it a little shake when he realised it had a bell in it.
Teddy giggled and in a split second, his hair had changed to match Potter’s. Potter sagged in relief and sat down to play with Teddy, Andromeda watching on in the doorway.
Andromeda landed in her hallway, dusting off the soot from her Floo journey. The house was quiet - too quiet if Andromeda’s frown was anything to go by. She walked up the stairs, peeking into the rooms she passed until she reached the end room, voices drifting through the slightly open door.
On the door hung a small sign, with ‘Teddy’s room’ painted on in purple. She opened the door slowly and poked her head around the door, a fond smile slipping onto her face.
Potter sat on the floor, Teddy standing up in his cot, chubby fingers clutching the bars. Potter had a story book - ‘Scaredy Mouse’ - open on his lap, angled towards Teddy so he could see the pictures, and was reading from it.
“‘It’s the cat! It’s the cat!’He cried.” Potter read out loud, putting on a voice to imitate the mouse in the story.
Teddy laughed and pointed at the book in glee.
“‘At! ‘At!” He giggled.
Andromeda made her way from the kitchen to the living room, three drinks and a plate of biscuits floating in front of her.
“Teddy?” She called. “Biscuit time!”
A look of bewilderment crossed her face when she got no reply - Teddy always came rushing for ‘biscuit time’.
The bewildered look was replaced by a soft smile as she stepped into the living room to find Draco and Teddy fast asleep on the couch.
Draco was on his back, head tilted back slightly on the armrest, one arm behind his head, the other around Teddy. Teddy had his back against the sofa and was curled up on Draco’s chest, Batty held tightly in his fist.
With a quiet ‘aww’, Andromeda placed the plate and drinks on the table and summoned her camera.
Teddy sat on his bed in blue snitch pyjamas, looking downcast as he stared at the clothes Andromeda had just placed on his bed for him to wear.
Draco stepped into the room, Batty in his hand. “I found Batty, Teddy Bear!”
Teddy reached his arms up to Draco. “Up please.” He whispered.
Draco scooped him up into his arms, handing over the bat and allowing Teddy to snuggle into his arms.
“What’s wrong, Teddy Bear?” He asked, frowning when Teddy only shook his head and buried his head deeper into Draco’s neck.
“Teddy?” Andromeda turned away from the toys she had been putting back into their boxes, watching her grandson in concern.
Teddy mumbled something into Draco’s neck.
“We can’t hear you, Teddy Bear.” Draco murmured.
“Clothes are boy clothes.” Teddy said, fists clenched in Draco’s shirt.
“Do you want girls clothes, Teddy?” Andromeda asked.
Teddy nodded.
“Ok then, Teddy, Papa can transfigure them for you.” She said with a smile. Andromeda, much like her daughter, was woeful at transfiguration.
Teddy’s eyes lit up as Draco waved his wand, turning the clothes into a soft purple dress with little bunnies around the bottom. “Purple!” Teddy cried, wriggling in Draco’s arms to get down. “Tank you Papa!”
The last memory faded, leaving the small group in silence. Several people were staring openly at him, mostly in shock, and he could feel his cheeks heating up.
The officiant burst back into the room, making more than one person jump, waving his wand to return the memories to their jars. With another flick of his wand, chairs appeared behind them.
“Now, if you would all sit for the reading of the will...”
•••
Harry held back a wave of nausea as he landed at the apparation point. He really hated apparation.
It was more than worth the few moments of discomfort though, as he was just minutes away from seeing Teddy again, for the first time since April.
He had landed in some sort of side street, which smelt faintly of piss. He was in Liverpool, that much he knew, as Dean and Seamus had mentioned the café before, but he had no idea which way to go to get there.
Harry began walking and hoped for the best.
After several minutes of walking, he came across a man walking a baby in a pram. He had obviously noticed Harry’s aimless and slightly shifty wandering, as he called out.
“You lost mate?”
“Er.. Yeah, actually. Do you know where Sugar & Dice is?”
Please, please say yes Harry begged silently.
“Ye’ miles off mate!” He pointed to the street Harry had just walked up. “Go right back down there until you reach that skip - bloody thing’s been there for years, it ‘as - take a left and then a right at the flats and it’s there.”
Harry nodded and thanked the man before turning back around and following his instructions. He found himself just around the corner from where he had apparated and cursed himself. Had he taken a right initially, he would have already been there.
He checked his watch, huffing when he realised he was ten minutes late and pushed open the door to the café.
He glanced around the café, which was fairly busy, considering it was in such an odd place, in search of a blond head.
One wall consisted entirely of shelves, which were stocked with various board games. A group of teens were huddled around the table closest to it, bidding rather loudly for a monopoly street.
A pair of old men sat by the window, arguing over a game of scrabble, while two woman on the table next to them stared intensely at each other over a game of chess.
There was a cry of “Uncle Hawwy!”, earning a curse of the group of teenagers, when one of them knocked into the board in shock, and Harry looked up.
Teddy jumped up from his seat, where he was sat across from Malfoy, a board in between them. His elbow collided with his full cup of juice, sending the liquid flying across the table. Malfoy lunged forwards, lifting the board off the table and saving the tiny die from the flood of juice.
Harry caught Teddy in his arms as he jumped at him, hugging him tightly. Teddy had began talking the second he was in earshot of Harry, but he barely caught a word of what his godson was saying, too busy staring at Malfoy‘s back.
Stitched onto the back of Malfoy’s leather jacket was a winking Pink Panther.