No One Is Alone

"Throw me a rope

to hold me in place;

Show me a clock

for counting my days down;

'Cause everything's easier when you're beside me;

Come back and find me,

'Cause I feel alone."

-KT Tunstall

Andromeda endured about two months of knew it would be dangerous for Ted to contact her, but she still yearned to see him again. Receiving no news whatsoever left her drained of happiness; drained of power; drained of… everything. Where was he? Colorful leaves and a drop in the temperature announced the arrival of autumn. He must be dreadfully cold, Andromeda thought. Every passing day became more nerve-wracking than the one before.

Knock, knock, knock.

Andromeda hadn't anticipated anyone, yet she wasn't altogether shocked to find her daughter, Nymphadora, when she opened the door. Dora's eyes were puffy. She's been crying again. Her husband had left her because she was pregnant. Well, no; it was more complex than that. Remus Lupin was a werewolf, and he'd run away because he was frightened that he'd given life to another one. Kind of a cowardly thing to do, in Andromeda's opinion. Dora still went to work at the Ministry, though, trying to find updates on Ted.

She waved to her daughter, whose baby bump was beginning to reveal from the outside of her coat. "Come on in, Dora. I was just going to put some tea on the stove."

Dora walked up the steps, shaking her head feebly. "No thanks. I'm not thirsty or hungry." She wordlessly took her mother's hand and brought her to the living room sofa.

"Do you have any news?" Andromeda urged anxiously when they were settled down.

That set Dora off into terrifying sobs. "Oh, Mum… the Snatchers killed Dad this morning."

With those words, Andromeda's world crumbled from underneath her. She clutched onto her daughter, the most valuable thing she had left. Unlike when she was a teenager, Dora held onto her for dear life. After crying for a few minutes straight, Andromeda's mind flooded with memories of Ted. She'd miss the way he called her "Dromeda"; the cute awkwardness he had when they started dating; the thousands of laughs they'd shared, as well as kisses; the safety of his arms when her parents and sisters had shunned her. He'd taught her to stand up against the injustices of the world, and now, he'd become a victim of it.

Andromeda practically squeezed Dora, desperately trying not to lose her head. "Thank goodness I still have you."

Within months, Dora was gone, too. She and Remus were murdered in the Battle of Hogwarts, where Lord Voldemort finally fell. Thankfully (and tragically), their son, Teddy Lupin, was born a few weeks beforehand. On that wonderful day, she'd been ecstatic to learn that he would share Ted's name, and that he was a Metamorphagus like Dora. Like most grandmothers, Andromeda couldn't wait to shower him with gifts on his birthday and for Christmas. She'd even agreed to be Teddy's guardian if something terrible occurred, but she hadn't ever thought it might actually become real.

Spring turned to summer, but it felt like a permanent winter to Andromeda. Half-heartedly, she took care of Teddy, nursed him and rocked him to sleep. A never-ending chill filled her soul that consumed her from inside out. In the midst of July, the hollow shell that had once been Andromeda Tonks went to bed early, as had been her custom lately. She never did get used to sleeping alone. Of course, the minute she crumpled onto her mattress, Teddy cried out for her.

She moaned like a cranky elder and complained, "Will you stay quiet for even a second? I can't handle you right now." Come to think of it, she couldn't handle him at any given time. Having raised Dora so long ago, she'd forgotten how annoying babies could be.

He just kept on going. Andromeda screamed into her pillow and closed her eyes, wishing for sleep to take her away. Wishing that she would never wake up.

As soon as she fell asleep, she was lying down, surrounded by foot-long yellow grass. The meadow stretched out beyond her field of vision, and the sun was poking its way through, but two figures blocked it from blinding her.

"Well, if it isn't my lovely cousin!" a cheery male voice called.

Andromeda rubbed her eyes. "Sirius?" The poor man had been through a worse life than her: left home at sixteen to get away from his prejudiced family, wrongfully imprisoned by the Ministry for a mass murder he didn't commit, never put on trial, betrayed by a friend (who'd actually been the culprit of the mass murder), and killed by her own sister, Bellatrix Lestrange. So how come he was standing right in front of her, as if he'd never died?

"Yeah. It's me, Andy. Let's help her up, Remus."

The man beside him came into view, and sure enough, her son-in-law was there, too! The old friends grinned at her, took hold of her hands, and lifted her to her feet. She hugged them both at once, still disbelieving but thrilled to see them. Then she noticed two other people standing behind Sirius and Remus. Once she recognized them, she couldn't restrain herself.

"Dora! Ted!"

Andromeda ran to her family and almost knocked them over in the process. This had to be a dream. If so, it was the best dream ever. In death, Dora officially lost her ability to change appearance, and Andromeda saw her daughter as she would've looked if she hadn't been a Metamorphagus; with dark, curly hair like her own, a heart-shaped face also like hers, and stunning brown eyes like Ted's (but she'd barely ever changed eye color in her lifetime, so that wasn't entirely new). "I've missed you all so terribly," she cried.

Tears filled Dora's eyes as they put their arms around each other. "We've missed you, too, Mum."

"Ehem." Ted interrupted them by prodding her gently on the shoulder. "Dora, give your mum and I a moment, please…"

"Of course," Dora said with a sniffle. She stepped away, letting her father move in closer to Andromeda.

He touched her face, while she took a good look at her husband. He'd grown a little goatee from his time on the run. Andromeda played with it for a second and told him, "I really love this look on you."

"You do, huh?" Ted replied with a wide grin.

"Mhmm." She slipped her arms around his neck, and the world faded way, as it had whenever they were alone, in their previous life together. He leaned in first, but they kissed as one. They could've made it last for a long time, yet they didn't want to ignore the others.

Remembering where she was, Andromeda came to her senses. "Am I-" she swallowed to process the word- "dead?"

"No," Dora said with certainty. "We're just part of your dream."

Her mother sighed. "Well, I wish I were dead!" Andromeda's loved ones all gave her agonized glances of concern. It felt strange to be voicing the thoughts that had been plaguing her for months. Every word she'd just said was true, though. "Why can't I be here with all of you?" she pleaded.

"Because you're still wanted on Earth!" Sirius protested vehemently. "Remus told me everything about Teddy, that he and Tonks made Harry his godfather, and that you're raising him now." He nodded to Remus, giving him permission to speak.

"My mother cared for me so well, and you did wonderfully when you raised this beautiful woman here," he said in earnest, putting his arm around Dora. "We want Teddy to know what that feels like, too."

Dora took Andromeda's hand. "Mum, you're not the first person to go through horrible things; I'm sure you know as well that you won't be the last. Remember when we lost Sirius? And then Dad? Both of us suffered greatly. But we had each other for comfort. Don't ever think that you're going through this alone. Teddy… He'll need you when the weight of his own loss hits him."

Andromeda was amazed at her daughter's wisdom. Teddy was an orphan, who wouldn't even know his parents because they were taken from him so early. But all Andromeda had been able to think about for the past few months was her own depression, never once considering her newborn grandson. How could she have been sleepwalking for so long?

Ted, who remained at her side, said, "On behalf of all of us who are no longer with you, I'd like to make a request… No- this isn't a request. We're begging you: Keep Teddy safe, and don't leave him until your time comes!"

In a show of sincerity, his wife raised a hand to make her oath. It was the least she could do. "I will." She brought her hand back down and entwined it with Ted's. "Thank you for that reminder. I've barely gotten through each day for the past few months. But from now on, Teddy will get the same amount of love that I gave to all of you. And I'll make sure he knows each of your stories. That's a promise."

Andromeda woke up immediately after those words, because (surprise, surprise!) Teddy was crying. Only now, it didn't bother her. It became one of the sweetest sounds she'd ever heard. She ran up to his cradle and picked him up. Rays of sunlight were reaching through the windows as dawn approached.

"Shh… Dear Teddy, please go to sleep… Sorry that your gran's been a bit angry with you. But you'll know why, in time." Her eyes began to water, but they were tears of joy. "I hope you'll be proud of what your dear mum, dad and grandfather did to protect you, to bring you into a world without hatred, where it wouldn't matter who was a werewolf or a Muggle-born, or anything else."

She kept her promises. And Teddy did become proud of his family's sacrifice. How do I know? I'm Teddy Lupin. Twenty years have passed since she had that dream. Over the years, she's told me her story, and I've always wanted to write it down. Gran Tonks is the strongest person I know, along with my godfather. You might have heard of him: Harry Potter! Don't mean to brag, but yeah, my godfather's The Chosen One! On a more serious note, it's nice to know someone who's also an orphan. My mum's words in the dream will always ring true; no matter what situation you're in, you'll have someone to help you through it.

Speaking of Gran, she's standing right behind me now. Better shut off the computer before she sees how much I love her… Haha. This is Teddy Lupin, signing off.

"Sometimes people leave you

Halfway through the wood;

Do not let it grieve you;

No one leaves for good.

You are not alone…

No one is alone."

-Stephen Sondheim

[Note: This ending was inspired by the finale of Into the Woods, with music by Stephen Sondheim.]