If I owned it, I would be rich and not at all worried about the economy. As it is, I'm not rich, I don't own Harry Potter. Sorry.

Part Three: Until They're Before Your Eyes

April 1971

"You look gorgeous," Kitty told her happily. "Oh, I forgot something!" she squealed, hurrying out of the room again. Andromeda bit her lip as she studied the person in the mirror. Curly brown hair had been tamed by some good smelling muggle potion Kitty had found. It was pulled half up, behind her ears, brushing just a little against her back. The clothes weren't even hers. She was wearing one of Lisa's dresses. It felt awkward. She wanted her robes and at the same time she rather liked being out of them. Although, studying herself in the mirror, it seemed all the more obvious that a very slight bump was beginning to show on her stomach. Slowly her hand moved over it and Susan Tonks put a hand lightly on her shoulder.

"Trust me. No one will notice it if they don't know," she whispered quietly.

"You knew before you got told," Andromeda told her, looking down at her stomach again.

"Well I'm a mother. I just know," she said with a light smile.

"I found it!" Kitty declared coming back into her mother's room. She stood on her tiptoes behind Andromeda and slipped a thin, pretty chain over her neck. "Too bad your ears aren't pierced," she commented thoughtfully.

"I've never really worn much jewelry," Andromeda told her. "Or make-up." Kitty sighed and shook her head. Susan squeezed her shoulder.

This had never been how she had pictured the day of her wedding. Bellatrix and Narcissa had always been in her mind as the ones who would help her get ready. Instead, here she was with her husband's mother and younger sister, with muggles. It had always been after she had left school but it was actually April, during Easter Break in her final year. Already she was three months pregnant with a little girl. And she was not marrying Rodolphus Lestrange. She was marrying a muggle-born, Ted Tonks in muggle clothes, pretending to be a muggle. She had no interest in a big wedding. So they were simply going to a muggle church. It was still considered legally binding in the wizarding world; it would still change her name. Andromeda bit her lip as she left the room, tugging at her clothes. The church wasn't far from here. They were walking.

"I think it's going to rain," Kitty commented, looking up at the stormy sky.

"It is April," Susan reminded her. Andromeda stared off into space, listening only slightly as they continued to talk. She wasn't unhappy or scared or regretful. It just felt like all her thoughts were scattered, too airy for her to get a good grip. She wondered where Ted was. He had gone with his father and Richard to the church earlier. Marianne and Lisa wouldn't be there. Alice and Francis had pleaded with her until she'd allowed them to come. It amazed her a little just how well her plan had worked. In the past couple of months, Alice had turned out to be a great ally. She was quite fearless when it came to making enemies in the Slytherin house and she had good friends in all the houses except Slytherin. For the most part, Andromeda felt a lot safer than she had before coming back to school. There always seemed to be someone else willing to watch her back.

"Andromeda?" someone said quietly as they reached the church. Kitty's eyes widened as she saw the two people standing there. Andromeda turned and saw her little sister, her blonde hair slipping in the wind. A man stood next to her, Uncle Alphard.

"What are you-"

"I wanted to talk to you," Narcissa said quietly. Kitty opened her mouth to talk but her mother shuffled her inside.

"You're not going to st-"

"I know you're going through with this. I'm not here to stop you," Narcissa answered. "I just- I wanted to see you before- before-"

"I got married?"

"Before she really isn't allowed to talk to you anymore," Uncle Alphard put in carefully, his eyes studying Andromeda closely.

"She hasn't been talking to me since winter break," Andromeda informed him. "Every time I've tried she's-"

"I have a reputation to maintain," Narcissa told her sharply. "I can't be seen talking to you."

"Yet here you are," Andromeda pointed out.

"Here I am," she replied, the three of them falling into silence, birds chirping in the background as the clouds moved slowly across the sky.

"You look very pretty Annie," Uncle Alphard told her, apparently feeling things had gotten too uncomfortable.

"Thank you."

"You're wearing make-up," Narcissa commented suddenly. "I haven't seen you wear make-up since- since you were-"

"Thirteen, when a certain eleven year old decided to experiment on me and it went horribly wrong."

"It wasn't that horrible for a first attempt," Narcissa complained.

"I looked like a hooker," Andromeda reminded her. Narcissa managed to crack a small smile.

"Well, you don't today. Apparently you have more talent with make-up than I did at eleven."

"Oh, I don't. Kitty did my make-up."

"Kitty?"

"Ted's sister."

"A muggle?" Narcissa asked in disgust. Andromeda sighed and didn't answer her. Narcissa took a deep breath in and began to speak again. "Bella is engaged to Rodolphus now."

"Oh."

"They did a trade I think. Bellatrix for you."

"Oh," Andromeda said again, not sure how she should feel. In all honesty she didn't really care. The only thing she knew was that Bellatrix had never wanted to be married.

"Your parents are thrilled. That's why I'm in town, for her wedding. But I wanted to say my good-byes as well," Uncle Alphard broke in and then sighed. "They figured that Rodolphus would break out of the family completely after your," he paused, thinking of a word, "mishap."

"He's infatuated with Bella," Andromeda told him.

"Most men who fancy themselves brave are," Alphard agreed.

"Bella's not happy about it," Narcissa added.

"No, I wouldn't imagine that she would be," Andromeda replied.

Narcissa looked up at her and shook her head. "You really lived up to your name, didn't you?"

"Excuse me?"

"Andromeda, the girl on the rock, about to be devoured by a monster, suddenly gets away from it all. And so did Bellatrix. The warrior. It's very much who she is. I just hope I can live up to mine."

"Cissy, why would you want to?" Andromeda asked her sharply.

"Dying staring at my reflection. It sounds far more pleasant than the other ways I could go," she answered.

"Cissy," Uncle Alphard scolded.

"Well, it does," she bit back, her eyes narrowed as she met Andromeda's eyes. "Nothing has gone according to plan so I can at least hope my life goes according to my name." She sighed and shook her head, looking down at the ground. "I had it all figured out you know. When I got engaged to Lucius, I thought that was it. There was the plan. I would get married and so would you and maybe Bella. And we'd be happy and stay the same, stay together, be safe. But nothing's gone according to plan, has it?" she asked disheartened. "Bella's going to die or be imprisoned. I can't deny that," she said, looking to the side. "I know my fiancé is doomed to the same fate. And you- I never would have dreamed that things would end up like this for you back then. I thought- I wanted you to marry a pureblood who would be nice to you because if he was nice and let you be yourself then I could keep you. You would always be Annie. But you're not my Annie anymore, are you? You haven't been for a long time."

"Cissy-" Andromeda started.

"It's not fair!" she yelled suddenly, tears forming in her eyes. "You and Bella get everything you wanted and I'm stuck with a compromise. It's not fair," she cried, the tears now streaming down her face. Alphard looked between the pair of them not seeming like he knew what to say. Andromeda shook her head at Narcissa in disbelief.

"You think I have everything I want? Leaving my family? Hurting you? Living in the middle of a war? Getting married to someone who's in danger because of me? And Bella? Do you think this is what she wants either? Estranged from both her sisters? Engaged to Rodolphus Lestrange when the only one she wants is You-Know-Who? You think that's what she wants?" Andromeda asked, fighting not to cry herself. Her voice was starting to shake. Narcissa sniveled and shook her head as Andromeda heard the door open and footsteps coming towards them. She and her uncle looked up to see Ted coming towards them. He froze, meeting her eyes to see if she wanted him and she shrugged. He came down further as Narcissa looked up and noticed him before taking a deep breath.

"So who wins?" Narcissa asked. Ted reached Andromeda and took her hand in his. She slid closer to him so they were nearly touching at the shoulder. "At the end of this war, which of us wins? You or me or Bella?"

""Nobody," Uncle Alphard said suddenly, not taking his eyes off of Ted. He took a deep breath as his words grew slower, into his typical cautious pace. "Nobody wins in war. There are sides that win and sides that lose but every individual person loses. Everyone is hurt by betrayal and death and bad memories. This is as good as it gets, more or less."

"I thought there was supposed to be a happy ending for somebody," Narcissa stumbled. Alphard shook his head as he met Andromeda's eye.

"Happy endings are in stories, Cissy. You make the choice you think will make you happiest, lead to the least regret, and you live with it."

"I've done that," she protested as he looked at her.

"You're lucky then," he told her. He looked back up at Andromeda and Ted again. "I still haven't managed the last part." Andromeda suddenly let go of Ted's hand and dashed forward, throwing her arms around her uncle, tears starting to run down her eyes. He hugged her tight for a moment and then pulled away, taking her hands in his, managing to smile weakly. There were tears in his eyes as well but he glanced towards Ted. "You'd better not hurt her. I've got strings I can pull to make you miserable without anyone knowing it was me. Or there's an eleven year old boy who wouldn't hesitate to try beating you to a pulp," he managed with a forced chuckle.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Ted replied, meeting his eyes.

"Sirius?" Andromeda asked moving her arm to wipe away her tears. Narcissa grabbed her arm before she managed it. Uncle Alphard nodded.

"Walburga's- demonstration had the opposite effect she wanted," he told her. "Sirius, saw her hurting you, one of his favorite people. He saw you," he inclined his head towards Ted, "still trying to fight when you were obviously very hurt. I am afraid Burga is running into some definite- problems with Sirius now. He is being rather a pain for her."

"Andromeda, here," Narcissa sighed, taking out her wand and pointing it at Andromeda. She felt a brief cool feeling across her face and then it felt normal again. "If you're going to cry at least protect your make-up and don't push it away like that."

"Okay," she agreed as Ted took her hand again and she gave it a light squeeze. Narcissa took a shaky breath and then turned to Uncle Alphard.

"I want to get going," she told him. He nodded at her. Andromeda paused for a moment as they began to walk away and then let go of Ted's hand, rushing after her sister.

"Cissy, wait."

"Don't call me Cissy. I haven't called you Annie since I found out you were leaving us. At least pay me the same courtesy," she growled.

"I wanted to thank you," Andromeda told her. "You saved us from being tracked, saved Ted's life, and-"

"I wanted you to leave," Narcissa interrupted. "If he was gone, you'd stick around. You'd try to protect Sirius, Regulus," she took a deep breath, "me. You'd try to protect us from Bellatrix, from Rodolphus, from the war. And I didn't want to have to spend the rest of my life pretending you were the same as the rest of the family and yet watching you get treated like crap, used." Her eyes glanced back at Uncle Alphard but he looked away. "You're a blood-traitor and I can live with that. In that case, I can forget you, pretend there never was a you. I can pretend that everything was just how it was supposed to be. If you had been my full sister who got treated worse than any of us because of something we were all supposed to pretend didn't happen, I- I could pretend on the outside but I'd always see you, always have it shoved in my face that things didn't turn out how they were supposed to be." She sighed and shook her head. "But I might have been wrong there anyway," she said, meeting Andromeda's eyes. "There's someone else you might have left to protect, isn't there?" Andromeda looked at her in confusion and Narcissa rolled her eyes. "Andromeda, you're glowing. And most people might not be able to see it but I know your stomach on its own is flatter than that."

"You're pregnant?" Uncle Alphard asked, studying Andromeda for a second and then looking back at Ted. Andromeda nodded.

"A girl. I'm due in late September," she answered. He shook his head.

"You really aren't a Black are you? As a group there's more fertility issues at this point than Henry the VIII. Could be the new mix of genes," he said glancing at Ted. Then he snorted. "And Bellatrix certainly won't be having children."

"Of course she wouldn't," Andromeda shrugged in agreement. "She's good about spells. She wouldn't want to have-" Andromeda began.

"Are you implying you're not?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Andromeda blushed badly and Ted laughed behind her. She wheeled around to glare at him and he tried to cover it but he was still laughing. Uncle Alphard was fighting not to chuckle.

"My hair changed again, didn't it?" she asked Ted. He nodded.

"Actually, the problem is Rodolphus," Uncle Alphard told her peeling his eyes from her hair. "He's become sterile," his eyes moved to Ted, "fairly recently." Ted grinned a little and looked up at the sky. Narcissa was staring at Andromeda's head.

"Your hair is pink," she commented in astonishment.

"It does that when she blushes or her pulse goes up," Ted told her. Narcissa gave him a look of disgust as Andromeda pulled out her wand and fixed the color of her hair. The four of them were silent for a moment and Andromeda bit her lip as she met the eyes of her sister. She sighed.

"I guess I won't have much chance of seeing you around school, will I?" she asked. Narcissa shook her head. She took a gulp of air. "So I guess this is good-bye then," she told her. Narcissa nodded, straightening her back but her breathing was uneven. Finally she broke and zoomed forward, hugging Andromeda hard.

"Good-bye Annie," she said, tears flowing from her eyes again. Andromeda didn't answer, just hugged her back, her face in Narcissa's hair, feeling her own tears. After a moment her sister pulled back and pushed away her tears with the back of her hand as she stepped back towards Alphard. Ted took her hand again and she slid closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. Narcissa walked further away as Uncle Alphard came closer to Andromeda and lightly laid a hand on her shoulder that wasn't against Ted's.

"I think you did manage to choose the path of least regret," he told her quietly. "And Aunt Cassiopiea thinks the same." He shook his head and sighed. "Live your life well, kid. You're living for both of us too." He smiled at her. "Good-bye Andromeda."

"Bye," she whispered softly, her eyes on his. He turned and followed after Narcissa, fading from sight.

"Are you okay?" Ted asked her quietly. She pulled away from him and nodded. Her eyes met his.

"You ready?"

"You still want to go through with it today?" She nodded. He smiled at her and kissed her on the forehead, her heart starting to thump at the feel of his touch. She slipped her hand into his and the two of them walked towards the church. He chuckled a little. "I love you Dromeda."

"I love you too Ted."

"No, I mean I really love you," the told her, a grin on his face. She glared over at him.

"My hair's pink again, isn't it?" He nodded at her, his lips pressed tightly together trying not to laugh. "If this is the way you're going to act when I'm pregnant, I am never sleeping with you again!" she told him.

"Oh great, always what a guy wants to hear the day he gets married," Ted told her. Andromeda smirked as she changed her hair back and got to the doors, shaking her head.

"You still want to go through with it?" she asked him smugly.

"Oh sure. You'll cave soon enough. I know you just want me for my body."

"Theodore Tonks!" she yelped at him as he opened the door and smirked.

"Lady's first."

"Thanks," she growled, trying to grin as she walked inside and was grabbed by Alice and Francis. Ted quickly kissed hard her on the lips before speeding away, leaving Andromeda trying very hard not to smile. He was trouble. Definite trouble. But then again, so was she.

"Andromeda why's your hair pink?" Francis asked with a frown of confusion. Andromeda sighed as her hand brushed lightly over her stomach. And apparently trouble bred trouble.

End, finito, oh crap what am I going to waste time doing now? Playing Sims doesn't LOOK productive whereas typing into a growing word document does. I even found out, that when you reach a certain number of misspelled words in Microsoft Word, the spell check has it's fill and turn off unless you teach it some of the words (Gryffindor, Slytherin, etc.). I so didn't know that before I wrote this.

Anyway, I really want to thank you guys. I've never written a story this long and I've NEVER received so many reviews. Thank you so much for sticking with me. I hope you think it was worth it. Also, thanks to Emma who acted as my sounding board a LOT despite the fact that I moved an hour and a half away from her.

If people are interested, I might post some one-shots pertaining to this but not directly related to the plot (Sirius moving out, father/daughter moment with Ted and Dora, etc.) I am going to post a reflection of Slughorn's over his collection of the Blacks.

So, thank you again, and well, the end.