InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "MONKEY!"

Andy (chained_maiden) wrote in shards_of_time,
@ 2008-09-20 14:00:00

look at the stars and see how they shine for you
Who: Andromeda, Nymphadora Tonks (Black) and Sirius Black
What: Andy is meeting her daughter
Where: St. Mungos Hospital
Warnings/Status: Pretty low, will change as needed. Started;incomplete

Andromeda didn't quite know what to do with herself. The implications of her daughter being alive again after this last year was just so momentous and amazing but nerve wracking and frightening all in one moment. She was Nymphadora but not her at the same time, she was alive and yet very much dead... Andromeda was torn between relief and disgust at herself but the former won out due to the desire to hold her little girl in her arms again. So with thoughts of a reunion the woman had finally rose from her writing desk and scrambled around her home, taking pictures from their frames, haphazardly dragging a shawl across her shoulders and throwing her hair up into some semblance of order before she'd gotten around to gathering Teddy as she'd said she would do.

She wasn't sure Nymphadora understood who Teddy actually was, but she'd do her best to explain and it would be rather harsh to drop Teddy off with Harry so she could gallivant across London to visit a woman who came from another dimension anyway. Even if she was supposed to be her daughter. So, with a few misgivings but ultimately giving in to the notion Andromeda smoothed out her long skirts and very gently lifted Teddy out of his pin and with a whispered word of soft happiness she apparated with the boy in tow.

***

St. Mungos was intimidating on a regular day, it was large and chaotic and oddly overwhelming but even more so now; Andromeda's heart pounded in her chest and she felt weak from her excitement and nervousness and was trying not to run but still looking left and right eagerly for the right door.

And there.

Andromeda paused and exhaled a very slow breath then blinked back her tears. She didn't move, couldn't. She just stared, adjusted Teddy's position on her hip then very slowly pushed the door open.

(Post a new comment)

pinkonblack
2008-09-20 08:57 pm UTC (link)

Nymphadora was alone at that moment, sitting in the hospital room and rather annoyed at everything. They had things to do and events to plan, and there was no time for any of this. Granted there was nothing anyone could do about them being there, no matter how much she complained, but that didn't improve her mood much.

The thought of her mother coming to see her quite honestly scared her. She'd seen pictures of Andromeda, but there was nothing about having known her mother in her conscious memory. And her father - that was the part she was confused about, but she figured it'd all get sorted out once they arrived. Either way, if it meant she could finally meet her parents and get to know them, then maybe there were a few perks to being here after all.

Looking up nervously when the door opened, from the moment she caught sight of the woman on the other side, she knew there was no mistake. She looked eerily like Bellatrix, but more than that, she looked like an older version of the girl she'd seen countless pictures of. There was no question this was Andromeda Black.

Her mouth dropped open, and for a long moment, all she could do was stare. It was several seconds before she finally noticed the toddler her mother was holding, and it was enough to jolt her out of her stupor.

"Mum?" she said stupidly, sitting very still in case this was some mad dream. "Er - Andromeda?"

(Reply to this) (Thread)

chained_maiden
2008-09-20 09:27 pm UTC (link)

Time stood still, there was no better word or phrase to describe it. Everything had stopped, even the pounding rhythm of Andromeda's heart beat, and it seemed to take an eternity to begin again... it was the sound of that disbelieving voice touching her ears that pulled the woman out of her stupor and thrust her into the reality of what was happening. She stood dumbfounded and uncertain for a moment longer but with a burst of sharp laughter she bounced forward.

"Dora! Nymphadora," she said tearfully while trying to maintain her strength. She wanted to hug her and hold her in her arms and never let her go again for anything in the world but instead of frightening the girl with such familiarity Andromeda reached out and framed Dora's face with one hand and stroked her cheek with gentle fingertips.

She was so real, she was solid and warm and very much alive. "Dora," she whispered again and with an indifferent toddler in her arms she gave in to the initial desire and pulled Nymphadora close for a hug and her determination not to cry wavered enough to shake her with a stifled sob.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

pinkonblack
2008-09-20 09:41 pm UTC (link)

Nymphadora blinked several times, trying to pull herself together to say something intelligent. While she was a familiar face to her mother, her mother was a virtual stranger to her, little more than a forgotten memory. She stared at her mother, trying to memorise her features as if she were afraid she'd only get these few precious minutes.

Making a small, surprised noise in the back of her throat when she hugged her, Nymphadora managed to hug her back, though her nose was now inches from the toddler, who stared back at her with eerily familiar eyes.

"Hi," she said softly, intended to be for the little boy, but also for Andromeda as well. Her arms felt heavy around her mother, and while it was a sort of warmth that was vaguely familiar to her, she eventually let go.

"Who's this?" she said, giving the little boy a nervous smile. Did she have a brother in this timeline?

(Reply to this) (Parent)

chained_maiden
2008-09-20 10:04 pm UTC (link)

She certainly didn't want to let her go, not now that she had her back in her arms again, indeed in her life! But Nymphadora withdrew and so Andromeda did too. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the woman though, she was just as beautiful as ever and familiar in all of those kind ways. Andy exhaled a heavy breath and smiled brightly upon the young woman before her attention was finally drawn to Teddy just as Dora's was. Oh, how to explain him? What could she say? Andy brushed a hand through the toddler's sandy locks that were so like his fathers normally and smiled kindly at him.

"This is Teddy," she said quietly and glanced at her daughter, "Ted after your father.. " She paused at that, uncertain if she should say it but not wanting to lie to her or do her grandson the injustice of depriving him of the mother he would otherwise never have. She didn't want to frighten Nymphadora or give her too much information at one time. But with a wistful sigh the woman spoke;

"Teddy is your son, or he would be," she said carefully, steeling herself for whatever reaction Nymphadora would give. "He's a metamorphmagus like you." Unconsciously her arms tightened around the boy as if seeking to shield him from whatever would come. "I know you don't understand.. "

(Reply to this) (Thread)

pinkonblack
2008-09-20 10:24 pm UTC (link)

"Teddy," said Nymphadora quietly, her brow creasing. "But I thought--"

And that was when her mother explained. Her son. Her son. For the second time in as many minutes, Dora's mouth dropped open. "I have a kid?" she blurted, automatically leaning back a smidge.

Sirius had been right, she realised. In this timeline, she'd spent her time barefoot and pregnant. Brilliant.

Instead of shouting or moving away or any of that, Nymphadora sighed heavily. There was no point in getting upset about it; she hadn't been the one to give birth. She was just a biological match, that was all.

But at the same time, as she looked at that little boy who had her eyes, she realised he was motherless. His mother - Nymphadora Tonks - was dead in this place, and she was the closest thing to a mother he would have. Having grown up without a mother herself, having lost her before any memories had settled, Nymphadora felt something tug inside of her. Maternal instinct, maybe, but whatever it was called, it was strong. She didn't want this little boy to live the life she'd had to live, growing up without a mother.

"Dammit, Sirius," she whispered to herself, annoyed at him for being right about them having children and suddenly very afraid for him as well. Swallowing tightly, she looked at Andromeda, then looked back at Teddy, searching for any signs of Sirius. It was pointless; if he was a Metamorphmagus as well, he wouldn't really look like this.

"Where's his father?" she pressed. "Is he - is he gone, too?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

chained_maiden
2008-09-20 10:52 pm UTC (link)

Sirius? Andromeda furrowed her brow at that, Sirius hadn't known Dora until a few years ago but she didn't press it, she had to remember that this girl was different so she pushed aside her musings on Sirius. Andy smiled sadly and hesitantly shifted the boy, "Do you want to hold him maybe?" she asked softly, "he's very open and loving, his hair turns blue whenever he gets excited," she explained. But of course the questions would come and now that she'd brought it up she couldn't very well ignore them.

"His father," she said sadly and pressed forward to sit down on the hospital bed beside Nymphadora, carefully bending low to set her grandson on the floor, steadying him on his feet before letting him go to wander around as he would, "both of his parents.. died on the same night last year during the war, May 2nd," she said and took her daughters thin hand into her's, "His father, I thought he'd be here with you, you said you were with your husband," she said and looked around the room as if Lupin would pop out of nowhere. "Remus, he was dueling with a Death-Eater and Dora, well.. Bellatrix, you know Bellatrix? My sister, she.. killed her--you," she finished in a low tone and furrowed her brow, tilting her head to the side very sadly.

"Where do you come from? What was your time like? Was there a war too? I hope not, I always wished for peace but everything was always so chaotic and uncertain."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

pinkonblack
2008-09-20 11:06 pm UTC (link)

Did she want to hold him? Nymphadora pressed her lips together and thought about it. "I'm not very good with kids," she admitted. "But - er, sure, if he wants to be held, that...that'd be nice."

She watched Teddy as her mother spoke, still amazed that he was hers - well, not hers. Andromeda's daughter's, who was dead. But still sort of hers biologically.

Both of his parents were dead, just like hers had been. Nymphadora swallowed tightly, but her eyes snapped up at the very unexpected name. "My husband is here. What do you mean, Remus? Remus Lupin? What does he--" And suddenly she realised what was going on. Her mouth dropped open again, and this time she didn't recover.

"Remus Lupin is Teddy's father?" For a moment, she felt like she was choking. "But he's - are you serious? He was - did she - did I marry him? We had a baby?" Sirius was going to sock him in the jaw next time he saw him, that was for damn sure. "Wait. You're saying Bellatrix killed me? Why would she do that? She's my aunt! She practically helped raise me!"

Nymphadora shook her head, still shocked. "Er, we didn't have a war at all. No - no Death Eaters or Dark Lord or whatever it's all called. I - er, I'm twenty-three, got married at nineteen, I am - was - an Auror, too. Druella raised me, and my parents died when I was a baby. I don't--" She took a deep, unsteady breath. "I don't understand what's going on."

(Reply to this) (Parent)

chained_maiden
2008-09-20 11:28 pm UTC (link)

Andromeda wasn't doing a very good job at this explaining business, here she was tossing out names and a bunch of information that really just would have been better left unsaid until a later time... and then there was Nymphadora's reaction, it was akin to how Andromeda herself had felt when Dora had announced her engagement to Lupin. She didn't say this of course but quietly stuffed her misgivings about this whole situation away.

She'd spent half a life time listening with a strained patience to her younger sister's disbelieving and irritating way of talking and that skill helped her now while she tried to think of a way to help Dora make some sense out of this mess. Okay, so start again, go back to the beginning and try to explain in a manner that wouldn't keep shocking her. Just use the information already given, right? Andromeda shook her head and sighed.

"Oh! Fantastic, that's mostly true for my Dora too, except my mother disowned me when I left them for Ted, I haven't spoken to my family since I was nineteen, but you.. You, Dora became an Auror too. She married Remus against Ted's and my better wishes but she was so happy to do it, despite his condition, to be light about it." She hated the resentment in her tone when she said that, but it was part of the old bias.. the Black way of thinking. "Oh this is hopeless, I can't relate an entire history to you, you didn't live this life... It's selfish of me to think you'd comprehend it all and be fine with it. Tell me about yourself then, I'm.. I want to know. You're married, been married.. Who is your husband? How did my mother treat you?"

(Reply to this) (Thread)

pinkonblack
2008-09-20 11:58 pm UTC (link)

Nymphadora was relieved to hear that much of it was the same for Andromeda's daughter. Maybe it wouldn't be too much of a transition for everyone else then, if they didn't expect her to be someone she wasn't. Mostly, at least. The Lupin thing was something they'd have to work on.

"What, you mean the werewolf thing?" She shrugged. She'd never seen what the big deal was either - as long as he had Wolfsbane, there was no problem. "Can't see why anyone would have an issue with it. But, er, right. Does Teddy have that...issue, too?" She eyed the little boy, almost like if she looked hard enough, she'd be able to tell.

"Oh, er, you might not like that part," she said almost absently, still eyeing the little boy. "Sirius, he's my husband. So when I say Nymphadora Black, I mean that's my married name. I went by Tonks before that officially, though everyone just called me Nymphadora Black anyhow. It was a bit confusing, now that I think on it." She frowned, then glanced at Andromeda again. "So, er, Sirius and I didn't get hitched here then? Instead it's - Lupin?" She shook her head. "Sirius is going to kill him. But Druella - she was brilliant. I mean, strict, sure, but brilliant."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

chained_maiden
2008-09-21 12:26 am UTC (link)

"What!" it came out of her mouth unbidden and she almost regretted the tone of it, almost. Her eyes flashed and she did indeed look very much like her sister in that moment, fierce and dangerous in her disbelief. "Sirius?" she hissed, "my cousin? He's.. he's twice your age!" she insisted, shocked, horrified really. She slid off the bed and backed a pace away, staring at her would-be-daughter in utter disbelief. Her cousin? She felt faint really, but she couldn't get too upset, not when Dora hadn't refused Teddy so openly. "Oh I'm going to--" she faded off and shook her head, trying to bring herself around to a calm state of mind.

Andromeda exhaled briefly and touched her fingers to her temple to rub away the ache of stress, "No, no Sirius didn't know about you, Dora, in this lifetime, he was--he went to Azkaban about the time he turned twenty-two... he was in there for some twelve years. He died about.. three years ago. Bellatrix seemed to want to do the family in because she got him too, apparently," she said evenly and looked at her daughter.

She didn't mind Sirius dying suddenly, better dead than married to her daughter. She was going to beat him senseless.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

pinkonblack
2008-09-21 12:34 am UTC (link)

Nymphadora's eyebrows shot up at her mother's reaction. Not that it was anything strange or unexpected - they'd gotten all sorts of shite about it from various places when they'd gotten married in the first place. But somehow her own mother reacting this way hurt.

"Right," she mumbled, and as subtly as she could she managed to pull out her journal and scribble a few quick notes to Sirius, hoping he was paying attention. When it became apparent he was, she breathed a small sigh of relief and hoped to hell he'd get over here. "You're not going to do anything, because we got over the whole cousins thing ages ago, and it doesn't matter. His parents were second cousins, and that's what we are." Her eyes flashed almost dangerously as she said this, her protectiveness out in plain sight. Once upon a time this woman might've been her mother and that little boy might've been her kid, but in her world, Sirius was her husband, and that wasn't a faery tale.

"Brilliant, your Bellatrix is a maniac," she grumbled, glancing at the door and trying to will it to open. Where was he?

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

srsly_sirius
2008-09-21 12:49 am UTC (link)

Shit. Sirius had often thought about how much Andromeda would have wanted to kill him for marrying her daughter, but...she hadn't been alive, and he loved her and took care of her, so what was the problem, really? He treated her a lot better than anyone else could. She should have no complaints. Right?

He practically ran back to the room, not because he was eager to die, but because Dora needed him. And he might have been interested in th her kid. He hesitated outside it for a moment, unsure of himself and the situation, but plucked up his courage and walked in in Sirius-like fashion: like he owned the place.

"Andie!" he exclaimed, a bit forced, but hopefully she wouldn't be able to tell that. But some of it was genuine; she'd been his favourite cousin, back in the day, and he hadn't seen her in what, twenty-one, twenty-two years? She was dead in his time like he was apparently dead in hers. He stepped forward to hug her.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

chained_maiden
2008-09-21 01:04 am UTC (link)

"I'm sorry," she said it automatically and she meant it, truly very deeply. "I'm just.. I'm surprised is all, Sirius--he was a rebel and against anything even remotely trad-" she didn't finish because the damned devil walked right through the door just as he would have done if he were fifteen years old. Andromeda spun around on her heel, her eyes flaring with that dangerous fierce glare. She could have slapped him, or kicked him or shouted, hell she wanted to do all of those things and more then hex him to bloody pieces but the hurt in Dora's tone and that look in her eyes was enough to force Andromeda to behave. For now.

"Sirius," she said in as much of a fake tone as he'd said her name in. She hugged him, briefly and only long enough to lean up and hiss into his ear, 'wait until I get you alone' or something of the sort, it was more of a jumbled waittilone, accompanied by a very sharp pinch to the tender spot on the back of his arm. "Back from the grave," she said icily and narrowed her eyes a moment before shaking it off to look back at Nymphadora. This was awkward, "Dora just shared the news," she said.

Andromeda cast around for a different topic of conversation before she threw all to the wind and beat Sirius in front of everyone. "Oh this is.. Teddy," she said and pointed to the toddler who was trying to open a drawer.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

srsly_sirius
2008-09-21 01:49 am UTC (link)

Sirius stepped back, alarmed, and rubbed his arm where Ande pinched it. "Ow, Ande, what the f-uh..." he stopped short, spying the kid on the other side of the room. He didn't usually have any sort of morals when it came to swears, but somehow it always seemed wrong to use that kind of language in front of kids, especially ones so small. It was like corrupting them unnecessarily or something. "What was that for, geeze!" His eyes darted back at the kid as he took a couple steps back toward Dora, whom he turned to face after a moment.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

pinkonblack
2008-09-21 01:58 am UTC (link)

Dora was relieved to see Sirius enter and even more relieved that Andromeda didn't kill him on sight. At Sirius' exclamation, however, she realised that her mother wasn't going to be as nice about this as she'd hoped.

Standing, she reached out to give Sirius' hand a quick (and hopefully reassuring) squeeze, then bent down to pick Teddy up. She didn't think him slamming his fingers in the drawer would do anything to improve the tension in the room, and while it was awkward holding him, he seemed to settle nicely in her arms.

"Can we please retract the claws?" she said to Andromeda, not terribly happy with her behaviour. "We've been married for four years, and he treats me brilliantly." Managing to balance the toddler on her hip, Nymphadora held him with one arm and snaked the other around Sirius' waist. "Really, I promise. Nothing awful about it. And he isn't twice my age, I'll have you know - I'm twenty-three and he's thirty-six." Glancing up at Sirius, she gave him an apologetic look, though it was for her mother's actions and not for the fact that she'd married him in the first place.

"I love him, he loves me, and maybe it isn't the sort of love you think it ought to be, but it's legal and there's nothing wrong with it. It's not like he's my brother or uncle or something. So can we please just get over the shock and move on to the important stuff here?"

(Reply to this) (Parent)

chained_maiden
2008-09-21 02:16 am UTC (link)

No one had ever been so efficient at putting Andromeda in her place as Nymphadora had been in that moment. She cast her eyes down as if she were fifteen again and in the presence of her mother or father, it was awkward and yet.. beautiful at the same time. Maybe it was because the words came from her daughter, or because she was right. Who the bloody hell was Andromeda to judge or resent for her child marrying someone she loved? Hadn't Andromeda done it too? That realization managed to cool her temper considerably but it didn't quell the desire to take Sirius aside and demand to know what he'd been thinking when he decided he loved his cousin any less. She'd just deal with it later, when they were alone and definitely not in front of Teddy.

Andromeda looked at her cousin and then her daughter and she nodded in agreement to let this moment pass. She also tried not to cry again because the sight of Dora holding Teddy and standing with Sirius was almost the perfect image. They were a family, a whole and very apparently loving family. She pressed her hand to her mouth briefly then laughed again and shook her head.

"If you're happy and well, there's nothing I can do but accept it.. " or lose her, again. She'd take the former. "Alright, I'll work on this," she gestured at the two of them, "do you two have a place to stay? Where are they sending the ... ones who've come through the rift?"

(Reply to this) (Thread)

srsly_sirius
2008-09-21 03:15 am UTC (link)

Sirius, still very wary of his cousin, slowly wrapped an arm around his wife as she side-hugged him....with the kid on her hip. Uh oh. She'll be wanting to take care of him now, won't she? Shit. Probably because she herself didn't have a mum or dad, too. But they didn't know the first thing about kids; Sirius had been around Dora when she'd been a baby, having already been 13 at her birth, so he had a little bit of experience with her, and with Harry, but that was really it. Surely Andromeda wouldn't just let them take the boy....right?

"Er...No, we haven't; I've been asking around, and the Ministry's trying to set up a shelter of sorts for everyone to stay at 'til they can find their own places to stay." Speaking of places to stay, "Not unless Mum's house is still standing and livable...D'you know if it is?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

chained_maiden
2008-09-21 03:33 am UTC (link)

Andromeda brushed a hand through her semi-disheveled hair and looked at Sirius, her eyes clouding over briefly. "Oh! Harry, of course," she said and closed her eyes. "Oh he'll be so thrilled! You--well, Sirius that I know.. died about three years ago like I told Dora and he actually gave Grimmauld Place to Harry Potter.. so he's living there with Kreacher and a fair number of Weasley's, they pass in and out mostly. But, I'll be more than glad to have you two stay in my home until you've managed to settle with what's going on. I'm sure it'll be more fitting than a cot the ministry will provide, word has it there are hundreds of you so I can't imagine you lot will have rooms to yourself, unless of course you'd rather try that first," she said distantly.

She hoped not, she would love having people in the house again. "Teddy isn't much of a problem, Harry's good about gathering him on weekends and Ginny comes by now and then to sit for me." It was a simple life she lived in all reality, there was no excitement, just a day to day routine but it worked and worked marvelously. They would upset the balance, surely, but what could be done about it?

(Reply to this) (Parent)

pinkonblack
2008-09-21 01:02 pm UTC (link)

Dora made a face. Brilliant, now their home was taken over, too. But at least it was by Harry. That was something, she supposed.

At Andromeda's offer, her gaze drifted from Teddy's face to her mother's, not particularly surprised, but still a little wary about the whole thing. As much as she wanted to get to know Andromeda, she wasn't this woman's daughter, and she wasn't so sure that Andromeda would be capable of making that distinction so soon after losing her daughter. But it was still a very nice offer, and she glanced at Sirius before answering.

"That would be nice, I suppose," she said slowly, giving Sirius time to jump in as well. "As long as it wouldn't be any trouble, of course. I can help with some things around the house and with watching Teddy--" His name felt foreign and heavy on her tongue, and she glanced at the toddler again, rather surprised to find him staring right back at her. The whole thing was unnerving. "--so...right. Siri? What d'you think? Up for it? It is better than the sh--crap the Ministry would give us."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

srsly_sirius
2008-09-27 11:23 am UTC (link)

Well, if Sirius couldn't have his house, he was glad that at least Harry was the one living in it. And yeah, that sounded like something he'd do: leave his house to his almost-grown-up godson. The mention of Harry made him think of Lily and James, and he decided that at the top of the list of Things He Wanted To Do In This New Universe was visit his best friend and his wife, and his godson. A dark part of him realised that as the previous Sirius had died, surely they would all be especially receptive of him, and it made him grin in his mind.

But he saw the look on Dora's face as she looked at the kid and he didn't like it. Just because she was technically his biological mother didn't actually make her his mum. And besides, hadn't they agreed to wait before having kids? This might not technically count, but they'd wanted to wait for a reason. And they didn't know the first thing about taking care of a kid. Well, Sirius knew a bit, from taking care of Dora (only a little, though) and Harry, but that was hardly enough to make him comfortable with someone putting the life of a child in his hands.

And did they want to live with Andromeda? Yeah, it'd be better than what they'd get from the Ministry, but....he didn't think that having Andi, Dora, and Teddy under the same roof would be a good idea for very long...but he did miss his favourite cousin...oh hell, alright.

"...Yeah, staying with you for a while would be alright with me," Sirius replied, throwing his eyes back to Andi as he tried to avoid looking at his wife and the kid again. He'd have to put down his foot down and say no and very soon.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

chained_maiden
2008-09-27 01:03 pm UTC (link)

Andromeda brightened up considerably, it was like watching a super fast flower bloom after winter passed. She clapped her hands together and positively beamed, the silly smile making her look less and less like her family than ever before. "Fantastic, we're the only wizarding family the lives in the area, but the Lovegoods aren't too far off," she said randomly, then something clicked in her mind about families and she remembered the pictures she'd taken from her walls.

"Oh! Here," she said and dug into the folds of her long skirts to pull out a few now partially wrinkled photos of the family. She stepped closer to Dora and held them out, "This is Ted when he was younger," she said and looked from the photograph to Nymphadora's face, the smile flickering before fading into a sad grimace. "And Ted and my Dora," she said. "..the pink hair came right from the start.."

These sentiments were really odd, she spent most of her time walking blindly past these photographs and pretending that the house was always so unusually quiet.. and clean. There was never any mess aside from Teddy's to clean but maybe that would change. They were coming to stay with her. Andromeda looked between Dora and Sirius again, "So are you waiting for something in particular? Do you need clearance to leave here or what? How long have you even been here in Mungos?"

(Reply to this)