Chapter 21: Epilogue
Disclaimer: This belongs to J.K. Rowling.
1977.
"New wave of attacks on Muggles and Muggle-borns by Death Eaters today: Full story inside."
Andromeda Tonks threw the Daily Prophet down in disgust. She could stand no more bad news today. She knew that right now Ted could be on the Muggle news reporting it, when he alone knew the full story. And, in the process, he'd be sending secret messages for the Order. He was in danger at any moment.
But today she would take her mind off all that. She'd taken a day off from work and all she had to do was answer the letters brought by owl to their window every hour. She lay back in her chair by the fire, glad for once that Nymphadora was asleep. She was her father's daughter all right—getting into everything, and then never picking it up. The only thing Nymphadora inherited from her mother was Andromeda's black hair and dark eyes.
"I'm home!" called Ted from the back of the house. He slumped in, looking as though he hadn't gotten much sleep.
Andromeda smiled wanly at him.
"So...you've seen the paper?" he asked.
"Oh yes. Needless to say, it didn't cheer me up much."
Ted was staring out the window into the woods morosely, as if Death Eaters would come barging out of them any second. The two of them picked this house because it was close enough to London for Ted's job, but also on the outskirts so they could pretend that they were still in touch with the wizarding world. With Nymphadora to take care of, they seemed to leave the house only to go to work.
They heard footsteps coming from upstairs, which made them both jump. A second later, Dora popped out at them.
"Daddy!" the five-year-old yelled.
Ted picked her up and swung her around as she laughed and hugged him. Andromeda came over. She hated to be the mean one, but...
"Why aren't you in bed, young lady?"
Dora looked up at her with too-innocent dark eyes. "I couldn't sleep, Mummy."
"And why not?"
Dora bit her lip guiltily. "'Cause I learned something new. Watch me!"
She squeezed her eyes shut tightly and gritted her teeth. A second later her beautiful black hair turned into blonde ringlets. When she opened her eyes, they were bright green.
Andromeda screamed. "What did you do? Dora, how did this happen?"
Ted almost dropped her in shock. "Dora, have you...have you been playing with our wands again? You know that's very naughty!"
"No!" Dora—this stranger—insisted. "I wanted to be like Katie, so...I did. It was easy."
"You mean Katie your Muggle friend? The one with blonde hair?" Ted asked.
She nodded and he set her down.
"Why don't you go play in your room for a minute?" Ted told her. "Mummy and I have to talk by ourselves."
"All right," she said grumpily, stalking off.
"How could she have done this?" repeated Andromeda. She was still in shock. "Without a wand?"
"I think...she might be a Metamorphmagus."
"That's ridiculous," Andromeda started to say, but she trailed off. "Doesn't that run in families?"
Then she thought back. Oh. "Er, one of my second cousins might've been a Metamorphmagus. I'm not sure. I've blocked it out."
Amazingly, Ted grinned. "Well, whatever she is, she's special all right. Lucky us."
Andromeda rolled her eyes. She only wanted her daughter looking like her daughter again. So she sat down on Dora's bed next to her and explained it all.
"Darling, you look beautiful as you are. You're you, not Katie. And you have a very special gift—whatever it is—that you must be very careful with. Now, please change back?"
Dora kissed Andromeda's forehead and scrunched her face. She and Ted sighed in relief when she came back to her normal self.
But being the parents of Nymphadora Tonks meant things didn't stay normal for long. As she grew older, she played more and more tricks on her parents—especially Andromeda. Ted wouldn't blanch if she came home with purple hair. He'd only say she looked cool—like she was in a rock band. But Andromeda would force her to turn it back.
"You think it's bad now," Ted teased one night. "Think about when she becomes a teenager and starts to really hate us."
"She'll be at Hogwarts! With some order finally!" Andromeda closed her eyes. "Only three more years, only three more years..."
She flinched as she heard a crash come from the kitchen. Then a familiar voice called out, "I'm all right! How long has that been here?"
But Ted and Andromeda were the most doting parents imaginable, shielding their daughter (perhaps too much) from the harsh realties of the world. If one of their friends was suddenly killed, they would cry in private where Dora couldn't hear. They wouldn't tell her how lucky they were to be alive, or how on the top of Voldemort's target list were Muggle- born and pure-blood couples. And they never explained why they couldn't take her to Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade.
Instead she and Andromeda would fight over her name.
"Nymphadora, could you get some Floo powder for me in the other room? And be careful not to touch anything! Watch where you put your feet!"
Dora grumbled, "Say that name ten times fast, would you?"
Ted stood up. "That's my clue to leave." He winked at his daughter. "Come talk to me later, Tonks."
Even though he only mouthed the last part so Dora could see, Andromeda guessed what he said.
"What did you call her?" she demanded. "Ted, remember why we picked that name for her!"
"Daddy didn't pick it," Dora said loudly. "You did. He hates it."
Ted's smile froze on his face, as if he was deciding which route was safer—buttering up his wife or fleeing from the room. He chose the former.
"Dora, where do you get these ideas? I think—that name—is a lovely one. And I'm sure you had your reasons for picking it, dear."
Andromeda put her hands on her hips and glared at them. Why were those two always thick as thieves against her?
"For your information, I called you 'Nymphadora' because it is a family tradition. It's supposed to remind you—and everyone else—of one-half of your heritage that we could easily forget. No matter what my family's done to us, someday when this war's over you might want to meet them."
No one spoke, though they didn't look as properly put in their place as they ought to be. Having one more go at it, she added, "Besides, Narcissa approves of it."
"Narcissa?" Ted said. "When have you seen her?"
"A few months ago. Don't look so shocked. It's perfectly legal to see my own sister."
"Not when she's married to a known Death Eater like Lucius Malfoy—someone who'd give anything to see us gone for good!"
"Lucius Malfoy is a horrible person, but he's not a 'known Death Eater.' He works at the Ministry, for heaven's sakes!"
"And how does that not make him completely corrupt?"
"Excuse me?! Where do I work?"
"Hey, shut up! Stop yelling!" broke in Dora's voice. "What are you talking about? Who are these people? You have a sister, Mum?"
They had gotten so heated over the name argument they had forgotten just who was in the room with them. Just like that, the fight was over.
Andromeda opened her mouth to tell Dora to leave, but shut it. Ted was shaking his head.
"She's eight years old. She ought to know."
"Know what?" Dora's eyes were filled with confusion, but she was waiting patiently—for once—to hear an answer.
Ted took her hand and the three of them sat down on the couch together.
"Do you want to tell the story?" Ted asked. "From the beginning? Or should I?"
"We both can," said Andromeda. "It is, after all, a story about both of us...and about Dora..."
He squeezed her hand like he so often used to do, and Dora joined in.
"Want to hear about how we first met?"
A/N: Well, it's done. Thanks so much to everybody who reviewed my very first HP fanfic! Did anyone catch something about Ted's newscaster job? If not, read page 6 in SS/PS. Anyway, have a great summer!
Disclaimer: This belongs to J.K. Rowling.
1977.
"New wave of attacks on Muggles and Muggle-borns by Death Eaters today: Full story inside."
Andromeda Tonks threw the Daily Prophet down in disgust. She could stand no more bad news today. She knew that right now Ted could be on the Muggle news reporting it, when he alone knew the full story. And, in the process, he'd be sending secret messages for the Order. He was in danger at any moment.
But today she would take her mind off all that. She'd taken a day off from work and all she had to do was answer the letters brought by owl to their window every hour. She lay back in her chair by the fire, glad for once that Nymphadora was asleep. She was her father's daughter all right—getting into everything, and then never picking it up. The only thing Nymphadora inherited from her mother was Andromeda's black hair and dark eyes.
"I'm home!" called Ted from the back of the house. He slumped in, looking as though he hadn't gotten much sleep.
Andromeda smiled wanly at him.
"So...you've seen the paper?" he asked.
"Oh yes. Needless to say, it didn't cheer me up much."
Ted was staring out the window into the woods morosely, as if Death Eaters would come barging out of them any second. The two of them picked this house because it was close enough to London for Ted's job, but also on the outskirts so they could pretend that they were still in touch with the wizarding world. With Nymphadora to take care of, they seemed to leave the house only to go to work.
They heard footsteps coming from upstairs, which made them both jump. A second later, Dora popped out at them.
"Daddy!" the five-year-old yelled.
Ted picked her up and swung her around as she laughed and hugged him. Andromeda came over. She hated to be the mean one, but...
"Why aren't you in bed, young lady?"
Dora looked up at her with too-innocent dark eyes. "I couldn't sleep, Mummy."
"And why not?"
Dora bit her lip guiltily. "'Cause I learned something new. Watch me!"
She squeezed her eyes shut tightly and gritted her teeth. A second later her beautiful black hair turned into blonde ringlets. When she opened her eyes, they were bright green.
Andromeda screamed. "What did you do? Dora, how did this happen?"
Ted almost dropped her in shock. "Dora, have you...have you been playing with our wands again? You know that's very naughty!"
"No!" Dora—this stranger—insisted. "I wanted to be like Katie, so...I did. It was easy."
"You mean Katie your Muggle friend? The one with blonde hair?" Ted asked.
She nodded and he set her down.
"Why don't you go play in your room for a minute?" Ted told her. "Mummy and I have to talk by ourselves."
"All right," she said grumpily, stalking off.
"How could she have done this?" repeated Andromeda. She was still in shock. "Without a wand?"
"I think...she might be a Metamorphmagus."
"That's ridiculous," Andromeda started to say, but she trailed off. "Doesn't that run in families?"
Then she thought back. Oh. "Er, one of my second cousins might've been a Metamorphmagus. I'm not sure. I've blocked it out."
Amazingly, Ted grinned. "Well, whatever she is, she's special all right. Lucky us."
Andromeda rolled her eyes. She only wanted her daughter looking like her daughter again. So she sat down on Dora's bed next to her and explained it all.
"Darling, you look beautiful as you are. You're you, not Katie. And you have a very special gift—whatever it is—that you must be very careful with. Now, please change back?"
Dora kissed Andromeda's forehead and scrunched her face. She and Ted sighed in relief when she came back to her normal self.
But being the parents of Nymphadora Tonks meant things didn't stay normal for long. As she grew older, she played more and more tricks on her parents—especially Andromeda. Ted wouldn't blanch if she came home with purple hair. He'd only say she looked cool—like she was in a rock band. But Andromeda would force her to turn it back.
"You think it's bad now," Ted teased one night. "Think about when she becomes a teenager and starts to really hate us."
"She'll be at Hogwarts! With some order finally!" Andromeda closed her eyes. "Only three more years, only three more years..."
She flinched as she heard a crash come from the kitchen. Then a familiar voice called out, "I'm all right! How long has that been here?"
But Ted and Andromeda were the most doting parents imaginable, shielding their daughter (perhaps too much) from the harsh realties of the world. If one of their friends was suddenly killed, they would cry in private where Dora couldn't hear. They wouldn't tell her how lucky they were to be alive, or how on the top of Voldemort's target list were Muggle- born and pure-blood couples. And they never explained why they couldn't take her to Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade.
Instead she and Andromeda would fight over her name.
"Nymphadora, could you get some Floo powder for me in the other room? And be careful not to touch anything! Watch where you put your feet!"
Dora grumbled, "Say that name ten times fast, would you?"
Ted stood up. "That's my clue to leave." He winked at his daughter. "Come talk to me later, Tonks."
Even though he only mouthed the last part so Dora could see, Andromeda guessed what he said.
"What did you call her?" she demanded. "Ted, remember why we picked that name for her!"
"Daddy didn't pick it," Dora said loudly. "You did. He hates it."
Ted's smile froze on his face, as if he was deciding which route was safer—buttering up his wife or fleeing from the room. He chose the former.
"Dora, where do you get these ideas? I think—that name—is a lovely one. And I'm sure you had your reasons for picking it, dear."
Andromeda put her hands on her hips and glared at them. Why were those two always thick as thieves against her?
"For your information, I called you 'Nymphadora' because it is a family tradition. It's supposed to remind you—and everyone else—of one-half of your heritage that we could easily forget. No matter what my family's done to us, someday when this war's over you might want to meet them."
No one spoke, though they didn't look as properly put in their place as they ought to be. Having one more go at it, she added, "Besides, Narcissa approves of it."
"Narcissa?" Ted said. "When have you seen her?"
"A few months ago. Don't look so shocked. It's perfectly legal to see my own sister."
"Not when she's married to a known Death Eater like Lucius Malfoy—someone who'd give anything to see us gone for good!"
"Lucius Malfoy is a horrible person, but he's not a 'known Death Eater.' He works at the Ministry, for heaven's sakes!"
"And how does that not make him completely corrupt?"
"Excuse me?! Where do I work?"
"Hey, shut up! Stop yelling!" broke in Dora's voice. "What are you talking about? Who are these people? You have a sister, Mum?"
They had gotten so heated over the name argument they had forgotten just who was in the room with them. Just like that, the fight was over.
Andromeda opened her mouth to tell Dora to leave, but shut it. Ted was shaking his head.
"She's eight years old. She ought to know."
"Know what?" Dora's eyes were filled with confusion, but she was waiting patiently—for once—to hear an answer.
Ted took her hand and the three of them sat down on the couch together.
"Do you want to tell the story?" Ted asked. "From the beginning? Or should I?"
"We both can," said Andromeda. "It is, after all, a story about both of us...and about Dora..."
He squeezed her hand like he so often used to do, and Dora joined in.
"Want to hear about how we first met?"
A/N: Well, it's done. Thanks so much to everybody who reviewed my very first HP fanfic! Did anyone catch something about Ted's newscaster job? If not, read page 6 in SS/PS. Anyway, have a great summer!