Hi y'all. Long time no see, right? I return, and I return with a new story. I've been working on mostly original fiction for years now, not sure why I got the HP fanfic bug again, but I guess you never forget your first (fanfic) love, so here I am.

Note: For those of you who read "A Keen Observer" (and I assume that is most of you, because why else would you have me favorited, right?) this is not a sequel to that, and it will be very very different. I have no desire to rewrite the same story. This is not a romance, it's more suspense (though there may be some romance-y elements) and it is post-war, so Andromeda is very much an adult (and everything happened per canon, so she is widowed and raising Teddy.) If you're looking for teenage romance, this won't be your cup of tea, and I won't be offended if you don't read.

My life is in extreme upheaval for now, so I cannot guarantee how fast updates will come, but I do know where I am going, so they will come eventually. This chapter is longish, just to set the stage.

Mmkay, that's it.

Except p.s. I do want to thank those who have continued to leave nice reviews on AKO even years later…they still do make me smile.

Chapter 1- The Potter Wedding

"Now, do you remember what you have to do?"

Teddy drew himself up, proud of the task he'd been given.

"Stand still, and don't talk, and don't change my hair, and don't make faces," he recited solemnly.

"And?" I prompted.

"Um…oh yeah! Don't drop the rings!"

"Sounds like you're ready," I said, smoothing down the hair that stuck up despite the best efforts of a wet comb. "And you look very handsome."

"Gran! Stop!" He protested.

Before I could apologize for insulting his six-year-old dignity, Gabrielle Delacour swept in and Teddy gave me a beseeching look, to not do anything further to embarrass him in front of her. Since she had arrived from France a few weeks before, the signs of Teddy's first crush were hard to miss. I couldn't fault his taste, at nearly nineteen she was undeniably gorgeous.

Everyone in the Weasley family's universe had been recruited to help out in preparing for the wedding, but Gabrielle's unflappable competence in the face of Molly's frenzied cleaning and cooking and napkin-folding had been a godsend for everyone else, and earned her the position of chief-wedding-planning-assistant.

"Almost time, Teddy," she said. Her English was flawless, thanks to her time spent with her sister and Bill. "Oh, don't you look 'andsome."

Apparently it was allowed for her to say it, he turned deep red and mumbled what might have been "thanks" at this shoes.

He hesitated only a moment as we followed her out. "You'll be watching, right Gran?"

"Of course, I'll be right there up front. You better go make sure Harry is ready, hadn't you?"

It was a small wedding, or rather, small considering the happy couple were the Boy Who Lived and the first witch born to the Weasley family in generations. Harry and Ginny had said they didn't want a large wedding that would turn into some sort of Ministry production, but rather wanted to be married in the orchard on the Weasley property, like the rest of Molly and Arthur's children. They held firm on that, as well as the condition that there be absolutely no press at the wedding, but beyond that they let Molly plan to her heart's content.

A large marquee had been set up in the orchard, and I slipped in through the side, and took my seat, next to Bill and Fleur Weasley. Bill was bouncing four-month-old Dominique, trying to keep her from fussing, while Fleur watched the back of the tent anxiously, waiting to see their four-year-old Victoire, who was the flower girl.

The guests fell silent and turned in their seats as music began, and little Victoire stepped into the tent, adorable with her white dress and strawberry blond curls, to a collective "awwww." Apparently Gabrielle's orders had not been quite specific enough, because it had to be said Victoire didn't so much scatter rose petals as much as fling them with a great deal of force and enthusiasm, but she looked so pleased with herself that it was impossible not to smile at her. While Fleur sighed, Bill was shaking with silent laughter.

Teddy followed her, taking exaggerated care to not drop the rings. His cheeks burned at all the people watching him, but he grinned when he got a wink and a discreet thumbs-up from Harry, standing up at the front with Ron Weasley at his side.

He was followed by Charlie Weasley escorting Molly, and then Hermione Weasley (nee Granger), who was always surprisingly pretty when she took the effort, and Luna Scamander (nee Lovegood) looking vaguely distracted, but then it seemed she always did.

There was a restless rustle of dress robes and squeaking of chairs as the music swelled and guests rose, and Arthur Weasley and Ginny appeared. Arthur was beaming, and Ginny, who had always been a pretty girl, was radiant. Because Harry was so dedicated to being Teddy's godfather, to being there for him, I had been able to watch him, and to watch him with Ginny Weasley, and I could not deny I had come to like her a great deal. She was a combination of her mother's warm, no-nonsense pragmatism and her father's unselfconscious friendliness, and it took quite a woman to put up with all the complications that came with loving someone as famous as Harry Potter.

And as Ginny and her father made their way down the aisle, one could not help but look at Harry Potter, because of the way he saw nothing but Ginny. Harry Potter had surprised me. The first time I met him had been brief, and Ted and I had been so worried about Dora we hardly took any notice of him. After the war, after the funerals and the celebrations, he had shown up on my doorstep, and with halting awkwardness told me that Sirius had been his godfather (which I knew, Sirius had been so proud to be named Harry's godfather he'd told strangers on the street) and what that had meant to him, even in the short time they'd had. He told me, with frank emotion surprising for a man his age, that though he was young, he wanted to be a part of Teddy's life.

And despite the demands of Auror training and a girlfriend and a social life and the inevitable fame of being the boy who lived, he had kept that promise, coming by weekends and evenings to play with Teddy, eventually sometimes taking him to the Weasley's or his own flat, and I gradually grew comfortable with it. And as Teddy grew into a boy who had his own opinions, it was clear he adored his godfather. I had thought I would be jealous, guarding Dora's baby, but Harry had impressed me.

And I closed my eyes for just a second at the memory of the traditional words of the wedding ceremony in our world. I heard the voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt- as the Minister of Magic he was empowered to perform the ceremony, as a member of the Order of the Phoenix he cared about the people being married, and his voice rang through the tent.

"Do you, Harry James, take Ginevra Molly…"

Molly Weasley was sobbing quietly into a lace handkerchief. Though I frequently had little patience for Molly's displays of emotion, this time I couldn't blame her, her only daughter's wedding, and it felt so terribly right. I had not cried at Nymphadora's wedding…I wanted so much for her to be happy, and I had not been sure that Lupin would make her happy, he'd hurt her so much before.

But she had loved him, and they had both loved Teddy, and that was what I had to pass on to him.

"…then I declare you bonded for life…"

"You were at the Potters' wedding, weren't you? James and Lily Potter's?"

Molly's voice surprised me. As the reception was just getting underway, I would have expected her to be fussing or adjusting or organizing.

"Yes…" I said, a little taken aback. Ted and I had hardly known Lily- though our school years had intersected by only one year, a younger child in a different house would have hardly merited notice. But Sirius had been James's best friend, and so we'd seen a fair amount of him, especially after Sirius ran away and James was, essentially, his family. "We weren't sure if we should, it was dangerous, given who they were, but Sirius and James in one place, with cake? It was like Dora's holy trinity at that age."

Molly smiled. "I didn't know James and Lily all that well, but we were there…my brothers…"

Ted and I had stayed on the edges the first time.

When Edgar Bones had first told us about The Order of The Phoenix, we had been so young, just barely married, settling into a new life. We knew the war was raging, but we had grown up with the war in the background, and while we had always known it would be our fight when we got old enough, we wanted just a little longer in a world that belonged just to us. Still, there was no ignoring what had been going on in those days- the Ministry in disarray, everyone living in fear, never knowing who to trust. I had resented it a little then- I was thirteen the first time I saw the man who called himself Lord Voldemort, fourteen when I saw my Uncle Orion shake his hand in the shadows of his study, choosing for all of us. This was my parents' war, my sister's war. I just wanted Ted, and the baby…a life of my own choosing.

I was four months pregnant then, when Edgar came to us. Already afraid of bringing a baby into the uncertain world, we didn't want to put ourselves in more danger, risk leaving our baby alone, and yet we couldn't say no, not when everyone else we knew was taking the same risk. Still, we avoided the worst of it, stayed out of battles. We always knew that we were in more danger than most, because between Bellatrix and I it wasn't just the abstract battle of good vs. evil, of revolution vs. status quo, it was all too personal.

We could have been more involved, could have thrown ourselves recklessly into the fight like Sirius, like the Potters, like Frank and Alice, who had rushed into the war full of idealism, thinking they were saving the world. They had saved the world, and died doing it. Ted and I had done what we could from the sidelines, but instead protected Dora. I knew it was selfish, to put our own happiness and our own child above the greater good, but I found when it came to Nymphadora I didn't care.

Molly and Arthur had five children by that time. Like us, they had done what they could for the Order while staying away from the front lines, but I sometimes forgot who Molly Weasley had been before she married. The Prewetts were an old family- Molly's blood was as pure as mine, and we had both become blood traitors. Her brothers, though older than me, I remembered from my early years at Hogwarts…more golden Gryffindor boys.

"I was just thinking of them today, James and Lily...and...all the others," she said with a shrug, watching Harry and Ginny, being congratulated from all sides, patiently accepting handshakes and hugs, smiling.

Though it wasn't really in my nature (or upbringing), I placed a hand on her arm for just a second. "They'd be proud of him."

"It's just this sort of shooting pain, you see…"

As soon as the reception was in full swing, I was cornered by Mafalda Hopkirk. She came into St. Mungo's every week or so with various afflictions that were, as far as any of the Healers could tell, entirely the product of her own imagination. Normally, I could pass her off on one of the trainees. At the wedding reception I had no such escape, but given that she donated a great deal of her modest Ministry pension to St. Mungo's, it wouldn't do to be rude to her.

"Mrs. Tonks," a welcome voice said from behind me, and then with exaggerated apology, "Oh, I'm terribly sorry, don't let me interrupt, I'll just-"

"Oh...ohh…oh of course not, Minister, please!" Mafalda stammered, waving a hand vaguely and backing away. "No interruption at all, of course!"

I turned gratefully to Kingsley Shacklebolt, who winked at me.

"Thank you," I murmured, as soon as Mafalda was a safe distance away. "She's a nice woman, but…"

"One of the benefits of my position is that people will generally assume what I want to say is more important than their conversation, even when that's entirely untrue," he said, leading me to one of the small tables. I automatically glanced around for Teddy, but found him being forced to pose for photos with Victoire and little Molly Weasley, the only daughter of Percy. I didn't know Percy well, he was the one of the Weasley boys Dora had never really taken to, but the younger Molly and Victoire seemed to get along.

"Teddy acquitted himself very well," Kingsley said, following the direction of my gaze.

"Anything to impress Gabrielle Delacour."

"Is that it? The boy has good taste." He smiled at Teddy, who was scowling, and then at Harry and Ginny, both beaming despite being photographed yet again. "There was a time I never thought I'd live to see Harry Potter married," he said, paused a moment, then added, "There was a time I never thought Harry Potter would live to be married."

Kingsley is not a man I would have expected to be a natural politician- he had been fairly keen to challenge authority when the chance came up, and he still poked dry fun at his position, never taking himself too seriously. He had been thrown into it, as so many people were thrown into a new role post-war. He was an obvious choice in the immediate chaos following the war- people found him reassuring, they trusted him, he had been an Auror, and had been loyal to the resistance and Harry Potter even when it had seemed hopeless. After the war, he had been a voice of reason- seen to the heroes buried with honor, those who had chosen the wrong side (my sister among them) buried quietly, without ceremony, but without vengeance. Then he turned the public's attention to the long hard task of rebuilding- buildings and physical structures of course, but also and perhaps more importantly, trust in wizarding society and government.

He never shied away from mentioning the times most people never spoke of- the darkest days of the war. The last few months, Voldemort with absolute power, Harry Potter vanished, and only a few clinging to hope that he was still alive. Dora and Remus had always believed he was. I had lost any hope after Ted died, thinking no seventeen-year-old boy could save us, no matter how "chosen" he might be. I had kept up appearances for Dora as best I could, but I think she saw through it.

Kingsley pulled me from those thoughts, which were somewhat out of place in the celebration.

"I was not only rescuing you to display my chivalry," he said conversationally as we sat. "I do need to speak to you Andromeda, but this is not the time or place. Perhaps I could come by St. Mungo's on Monday morning?"

"Of course," I said, surprised and curious and a little worried, though he didn't speak as though there was any urgency. "I expect to be there by nine."

"Half-past ten then, as I know you'll have patients to attend to first thing."

"Of course."

Kingsley arrived outside my office at St. Mungo's at half past ten sharp, with a security detail of two Aurors.

"Wait out here, please," he instructed them, and then at their aghast looks added dryly, "I don't expect any threat of assassination from Mrs. Tonks."

"I expect you could take me," I added.

The Aurors still looked as though this was highly unusual and in their opinion, unacceptable, but fell back. He closed the door softly behind him, added a muffling spell, and then cast a spell checking my office for bugs.

As though this was not even remotely unusual, as the spell swirled around the room, he said "Thank you for taking the time to meet with me, Andromeda."

"My taking the time? Yes, I suppose as Minister of Magic you've nothing but free time."

He smirked as the spell finished its search of the room, finding nothing.

"I didn't think so, but you'd be amazed the strange places we find things listening, best to be careful," he explained, settling himself into the chair on the opposite side of my desk. "I didn't really think this was appropriate conversation for a wedding party."

"What's wrong?"

"I need your help. The Ministry needs your help," he said, and then let that surprising statement hang in the air for a few moments. "Voldemort's more devoted supporters didn't all have a sudden change of heart when he was defeated, they simply lost a leader. Apres moi, le deluge, Andy. We've had more than a few aspiring new dark lords in the last five years."

"Of course, there will always be pureblood lunatics, but if they're stopped before they gain power…"

"That's the idea, but easier said than done. How well do you remember your History of Magic classes?"

"I didn't remember my History of Magic classes when I was taking them, much less now."

"I would guess you took an O in it, but nonetheless, a lot of those who followed Grindelwald, after Dumbledore defeated him, fled to avoid Azkaban…and really, the Ministry didn't bother to pursue them or even really take note where they went. 'Out of sight, out of mind' applied, apparently. But they didn't change what they believed about pureblood superiority, and they didn't go away. The French Ministry is concerned. They feel they've got new age Death Eaters on their hands, and they're likely right. And those new age Death Eaters seem to have found a leader."

"Well, it sounds like the French Ministry have their eye on them, and it's their problem, right?"

"You know that Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange were released from Azkaban? They're mad, but essentially, we couldn't hold them any longer."

"Yes, I had a letter from the Ministry," I said, with a shrug. "A sort of "we're releasing your insane family from prison" kind of form letter. I wasn't too alarmed. The thing you need to understand about the Lestrange boys, Rodolphus isn't stupid, or weak, but he's inherently lazy. I doubt he'll do much without Bella pushing him. They'll probably leave the country, they still have relations in France. And, while I know I shouldn't disclose any illegal spells to the Minister of Magic…my home is well protected.

Kingsley looked me straight in the eye. "I'm not worried about your immediate safety, but you're right about them heading to France. In fact, we think they might be seeking out this new aspiring dark wizard. And he has some fairly ardent supporters among the Rosiers in France."

I sighed. "Lovely, sounds like a family reunion. I can understand why you'd ask me, but if you're looking for information on people who run in dark magic circles… here's a phrase I never thought I'd say- Lucius Malfoy might be more useful."

He laughed. "I can't really think of any context in which that statement would hold true, but I wasn't assuming you're terribly connected with the dark arts world- I know you're not. The thing is Andy, you watched it happen last time, Voldemort's rise to power."

"I don't understand."

"No, I'm not being clear," he admitted, pausing for a moment and looking beyond me, where the window looked out on a small grassy courtyard where recovering patients could get some fresh air. It was charmed to be always sunny and warm.

"Andy, you've been there, you know the players, you know what and who to look for, and…I'm going to guess you know some spells that we're not necessarily 'officially' aware of."

He was still looking out the window, not meeting my eyes, and so I stood and moved to block the window, forcing him to actually look at me.

"I don't particularly like what you're suggesting, and I won't go back into that world. They know who I am. I'm a blood-traitor Kingsley, and worse yet because I had a child. Most of them would kill me on sight and consider it a job well done."

"I'm not going to put you in danger. I just need information, you're the only person I know who –"

"You have no idea what I went through to get out of that world…"

"I've got a feeling about this…it's happening again. Last time we just watched it happen, watched while they gained power and support until it was too late. We have to know what's going on, now…"

As Minister of Magic, he was always calm, always spoke gently and confidently, so the urgency in his voice was surprising and unsettling, but not enough for me to get past the complete insanity of what he was thinking.

"No. I can't believe you would even ask…"

"That's why you should understand how serious this is. I wouldn't ask if I didn't think there was a danger to this world, to this peace…"

"Don't you dare suggest I haven't sacrificed enough for this world and this peace!"

"There is Teddy…do you want him to grow up like you did, and like Nymphadora did, with the threat of war hanging over him?"

"Yes, there is Teddy. His parents left him to go save the world. And how has that worked out for him?"

He had risen too, and spoke nothing like the warm, genial Minister of Magic I had gotten used to.

"You're angry that Nymphadora left Teddy for the Battle of Hogwarts. You can't forgive her for leaving him and going to Remus, and that's something that you need to deal with, Andromeda. That's not what this is about."

I wanted to curse him, I nearly did, curses I had learned from Bella but never used, never even wanted to use, the kind of things that usually made me recoil...I barely stopped myself.

" You need to leave."

"Andy-"

"Now."

He didn't move for a second, as though trying to judge if I meant it, and then said quietly "I'll be in touch," and strode out.