Yay! They're gettign married! Porr Adromeda tho. It's a shame she was born into the Black family.

Ted sat in his living room, waiting for Andromeda. Today, his fiancé was telling her family about their engagement. Then she would drop the bomb: Their lovely, pure-blood daughter was marrying a Muggle-born! It seemed foolish to expect a miracle. Her parents would never accept him, and he didn’t think they would forgive Andromeda for saying yes. But was it so bad to still hope for the best? He’d told her to come over afterwards and tell him their reaction, whatever it would be. Ted kept looking out his window to watch for her arrival. Before long, she Apparated there, standing motionless in the snow. Something was unquestionably wrong. He put on his coat and went outside to meet her. Andromeda’s face was blank, and it was plain that she’d been weeping.

“They disowned me, Ted. I’m not allowed to see them anymore. No owls, no visits. Nothing.”

He opened his arms, and she walked into them. He didn’t try to speak yet, holding her tightly. Ever since she’d told him about the Black family prejudice against his “kind”, Ted knew he wouldn’t like them. To make her as miserable and fragile as she appeared now? That was outright despicable.

“I’m so tired of everyone judging you before they even get to know you,” Andromeda cried into his shoulder. “First Rupert, then my own family! They were just awful talking about you. You don’t deserve it.”

“Neither do you,” Ted argued quietly.

She pulled away to grin meekly at him. “Thank you, sweetheart. I wouldn’t have said yes if I didn’t know you were worth it.”

Even in the worst of times, Ted’s future wife was one strong, caring person. “I think I just fell more in love with you,” he said.

Andromeda put her arms back around Ted, clinging to him. He knew it wasn’t only out of love, but because he was the only family she had now. Ted couldn’t fathom how she was still standing. After all, most people don’t lose their entire family at once… especially not while their relatives are still alive.

“Do you want to spend the night here?” he offered. “I figured you didn’t want to be alone after what happened today.”

She nodded gratefully, and he led her to his front door.

“It’s much warmer inside. You’ll have to sleep in the living room, but the sofa is comfortable.”

Ted took Andromeda to his sofa. She collapsed onto it, trembling.

“Please stay with me,” she begged in her weakest voice.

What else was Ted going to do but console his fiancé? He grabbed a blanket and lied down next to her. Ted draped them both with the blanket, protectively crossing his arms over Andromeda’s shoulders. This is how it will be when we’re married, he thought. I’ll get to comfort her every day, whenever she needs it. It relieved him to see her calm down. Occasionally, she woke up and started to shake again, letting out a few sobs. He just held her closer. “It’s okay. I’m here. I’ll always be here.”

“You may need me there to carry all your weight;
But you’re no burden, I assure.”
-Rob Thomas

[Author’s note: If you want to actually read the scene where Andromeda gets disowned, look at part 5 of my other fanfiction, “Confessions of a Death Eater”, from her sister Bellatrix Lestrange’s point of view. That's when I knew that I wanted to write about Ted and Andromeda in the first place. J.K. Rowling deserves so much credit for actually creating this part of their story, just by making a brief mention!]

Wow... just wow. This was great!It was really cute.
Poor Andromeda, that has got to be awful. Though I'm sure she would have eventually partially broken it off with her family when they became the worst death eaters.
Great job! Can't wait for more!
-Rachel

That was beautiful! I'm crying right now! Andromeda is just in the worst state of things! I couldn't imagine losing my family; no matter how evil they might become in the future!
I can't wiat for more! PAMS!!

That is so sweet! I just fell in love with this story once more
I LOVED the chapter and can't wait for more!
PAMS!

Eviee.

Poor Andromeda, she must have been really upset! But did Ted's family agree when they found out what Andromeda's family was like? But I must say I LOVED this chapter and I can't wait for the next one!

From all of Gringotts Goblins (and a special shout out from me!) Happy New Year! May 2012 allow your creativity to soar to new heights just like the dragon the year represents

Beautiful story Really pulling on my heart strings. Can't wait to read more!

As you can imagine, a bittersweet aroma trailed the preparations for the wedding of Andromeda and Ted Tonks. Andromeda felt a giant opening in her heart where her family should be. It’s not like her engagement had been on a whim. She’d thought over her future with Ted a million times before he even proposed, and she’d known that whichever side she chose, guilt would plague her until the day she died. Standing up for what she believed in had given her so much power, even if it had been at the cost of her family. Weren’t they supposed to be happy for her? Weren’t they supposed to stand by her decision, even if they hated it? Isn’t that what family does? Her parents had warned her not to go over to “the wrong side”, but she never dreamed that they would actually shun her. Narcissa, and Bellatrix, whom she used to admire as a little girl, wouldn’t speak to her anymore, either. Their words still rang in her ears for days afterwards…

“We’ve told you countless times how terrible Muggles are! Now you want to marry the son of Muggles?

“I can’t imagine why you’re putting yourself through this, Dromeda. Why can’t you just find a pure-blood to marry?”

“He acquired his power by sheer chance. He doesn’t have any magical blood running through his veins. ”

“He’s got nothing but dirty blood in him. If you were a sensible witch, you’d see that.”

They’d ensured that she lost contact with every single Black. For getting married, of all things! Some family she had.

Ted’s family was more than accommodating through it all. They paid for her dress, and Mr. Tonks even volunteered to walk her down the aisle himself. She let him do so, very appreciatively. Her in-laws were everything her own family should’ve been: gracious, loving, and accepting. They didn’t mind her coming to visit them by Floo powder (though it gave them a good scare the first time she did it!) or using magic inside their home. Ever since Violet and Reginald Tonks were told that they had a wizard for a son, nothing seemed to shock them anymore.

On the big day, Violet assisted Andromeda with putting on her beautiful white gown. “For the longest time,” her soon-to-be mother-in-law admitted, “Ted was so upset that people in your world would ignore him because his father and I don’t have magic. Then you came along. I can’t tell you how thankful we are that you gave him a chance.”

Andromeda tried not to cry, taking Violet’s hand. “I can’t tell you how glad I am that I’m doing this. Ted’s made me almost a completely different person. Because of him, I can see past bloodline, into the actual people themselves.” She sighed deeply. “I just wish my parents and sisters could do the same.”

Finally, she stepped into the sanctuary for the ceremony, accompanied by Reginald. From both sides of the aisle, she found confirmation that none of the Blacks were here. Well, all but one. Her cousin Sirius came because, as the first relative she had told about Ted, they were very close. She trusted him alone since he’d been an outcast of the family from the moment he was sorted into Gryffindor. Sirius would never shut her out, that mischievous rebel of a boy! He had come with James Potter and his parents, whom she’d met at work. All the sadness melted away when Sirius smirked at her lovingly, shaking his shaggy mane of hair. Andromeda also saw some other friends from work: Nancy Finnegan, Vikki Brown, and Arabella Figg (a Squib, but still very involved with the Wizarding world). Her eyes spotted Violet Tonks in the front, where she should be, as the mother of the groom. Andromeda was instantly overwhelmed by how much she was still loved, despite losing the people who’d given birth to her. It caused her to burst into the first genuine smile she’d worn in a long time. Standing at the altar was Ted, handsome as ever. Being married to him would surely mean that she wouldn’t experience any more days of unhappiness, and she felt determined to care for him just as much as he would care for her, fulfilling a cardinal rule of marriage.

“Ready to become a Tonks?” Reginald asked in a whisper.

His new daughter-in-law said, without skipping a beat, “I’ve never been more ready for anything in my whole life.”

“You're in my heart;
The only light that shines
there in the dark.
'Cause I wanted to fly,
so you gave me your wings;
And time held its breath so I could see,
and you set me free.”
-Michelle Branch

That was beautiful, very well written!!

Yay! That was beautiful! I have tears in my eyes! Keep up the good work!

Aww such a good chapter I like! (:

So cute! Well done!
It's not surprising that Sirius is there.... at least he still loves her.
James is too, no Lily? or not yet?
-Rachel

Hmm. I didn't think about Lily. I'm going to say that this is before they started dating, because I have to estimate how old Andromeda is, based on Harry Potter Wiki.

Ya, of course that'd make sense. That's kinda what I fugured. So James and Sirius would still be school-aged then?

Yes, m'aam
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Not long after they became husband and wife, Andromeda complained of feeling ill every morning, along with the obsessive need to eat peanuts. It scared her to death. What could this mean?

She told Ted this as they were getting ready for the beginning of another day. In reply, he said sympathetically, “Well, that’s not good…” Then his face erupted into a big grin, and he laughed hysterically.

“What?!” she demanded, placing her hands on her hips. “This is serious! I need to go to St. Mungo’s. Something’s wrong with me!”

Ted put an arm around her shoulder. “I know you’ve been surrounded by magic your whole life, but this is too funny… Dromeda, I think you’re pregnant!”

Andromeda could’ve kicked herself. She’d known that it was possible, yet it sounded so Muggle-ish, for some reason. Living in a magical world sometimes made her forget that things like becoming a mother were universal. Now that she knew for sure, she couldn’t stop herself from bouncing up and down with Ted, their arms enveloped around each other.

A visit to a Muggle doctor confirmed the wonderful news. Andromeda had to be convinced by Ted, more than once, that a stethoscope wouldn’t hurt her, much to the bewilderment of the doctor. He must’ve thought that she was psychotic. But she had been willing to see how the Muggles treated pregnancy, and when the time came, she found that their hospitals were very clean and comfortable.

It was on a beautiful April day that the newest Tonks was born; a girl. Andromeda gazed down at the baby in her arms, while Ted sat on the side of her bed.

“Aw. Her eyes are brown, like yours!” She had to blink a second later, amazed at what she was seeing. “No, wait... they’re green.” She’d only heard of this condition, but she knew it, just the same. Her daughter was a Metamorphagus! She could alter the color of her eyes, the shade of her hair, even the shape of her entire face. The changes would be very random until she learned to control it when she was older.

Ted chortled. “Wow. Isn’t that a sight? Never thought I would meet a Metamorphagus. How cool is that?” Astonishment suddenly came over his face. “Dromeda, we haven’t talked about a name yet. We’ve been so busy with work and such that we haven’t gotten around to it!”

She knew he was right. How could they have not given this any thought before? “Well,” she decided, “her middle name could be Violet, in honor of your mum.”

Her husband beamed in appreciation. “She’d love that. Matter of fact, she and Dad will be here soon. Now, what about our daughter’s first name? What do you think of ‘Leanne’?”

Scrunching her nose, Andromeda told him, “That’s a beautiful name, but I don’t think it fits her, Ted. Someone with her abilities should have a more unique name. How about… ‘Dora’?”

“I like it,” Ted agreed. “Maybe it would be even more unique if we added something before it, though. Have you ever read Greek mythology?”

She nodded skeptically, wondering where he was going with this.

“Remember the nymphs, those beautiful creatures that look like women? What if we took ‘Nymph’ and combined it with ‘Dora’?”

Andromeda warmed up to the idea within a minute. Definitely unique, but it was still missing something. “Hmm… Let’s put an ‘a’ in the middle of them. Nymphadora.”

Ted tried out their daughter’s full name to see how it sounded: “Nymphadora Violet Tonks.” They glanced at each other cheerfully and linked their fingers together. The baby changed her hair color to Andromeda’s dark shade of brown.

“She likes it!” her mother cheered. “Feels like the name was made for her.” Then she realized with a pang: “Uh oh. We’ve got to get out of here before the doctor sees her using her powers… They’ll think she’s ill.”

Ted appeared to feel the same twinge of fear. The midwife had already seen Nymphadora change, and he’d had to cast Obliviate on her to prevent any questions. “I’ll ask a nurse if we can check you out now,” he assured her, leaving immediately for the door.

Andromeda had to giggle a bit, pondering the clash of worlds that was taking place. She looked into her daughter’s eyes and said, “Nymphadora, you’re going to be quite the troublemaker, aren’t you?”

In a twist of irony, Nymphadora Tonks would grow to despise her first name, preferring to just be called “Tonks”, or “Dora”, to Ted and Andromeda. Regardless, Dora brought so much fun to their lives. And she did seem to cause mischief wherever she went, mostly the kind involving her terrible coordination. With her, the Tonks family had twenty-five years of joy.

Then came Lord Voldemort, and an era that would shake the foundation of their bliss.

Such a good chapter!
Awww so cute, I like how they came up with her name too
Brilliant chapter!

Eviee.

This is awesome! Adorable!
I can't wait to see how you carry them through the war and Dromeda through the deaths of both her hubby and daughter (and son-in-law).
-Rachel

Absolutely wonderful! I loved that chapter!

Just simply brilliant! I love it!
Is this the last chapter?
If so, Congrats! If not, can't wiat for more!

Thank you But I'm not gonna leave you guys hanging... 2 more chapters are on the way

Yay! Good! I must know more! *hungry reader*

Love it! You're a really good writer! JKR would be proud!!!

So glad to hear that She was the first writer I really liked, back when I was 8. Makes me feel old

-Ok you guys... try not to cry...

-Twenty-four years later-

The night sky was rich with blue and black shades. It didn’t seem much different from other lovely nights. Yet Ted knew that nothing would be the same after this one. He’d been putting it off, but… it had to be done. His insides reached their final nerves. Do I really have to do this? He walked into the kitchen, and there she was, sitting down at the table. Andromeda. The love of his life. The mother of his child. He’d visited Dora earlier in the day to give her the news. Dora herself was going to be a mother in eight months. She’d cried non-stop, while Ted had fought to keep his own tears from falling.

Andromeda sensed his unease. “Is everything all right, Ted?”

He took a seat next to her and scratched his head to find the right words. “No. The Ministry’s after me. All because they believe it’s impossible for people from Muggle families to become witches and wizards, purely out of nowhere. They’re under the impression that I stole somebody’s magic. Can they really picture an eleven-year-old doing that? It’s madness! I was just a boy when Dumbledore told me that I was a wizard, so how did this idea pop into their heads?”

She shook her head. “Your guess is as good as mine. The whole thing is totally unjust.”

“It is,” Ted agreed grimly. “Which is why I have to fight them. If I go on the run, then I’m less likely to be found. There’s another boy, Dean Thomas, who’s Muggle-born. We made plans to meet tomorrow morning and we’ll decide where to go from there.”

Andromeda gazed incredulously at her husband. “You’re leaving?”

Ted couldn’t bear to look into her midnight-colored eyes, not when she sounded so distraught. He reached out to take her hand. She didn’t let him touch her. “Yes. I have to,” he said. “I can’t sit back and let them take me to Azkaban for no good reason. Plus, it will keep you safe. Blood traitors aren’t nearly as wanted as Muggle-borns.”

Fresh tears ran down Andromeda’s face. “Ted, I’ve heard about the terrible things that have been happening. Won’t the Snatchers kill you if you get caught?”

“Maybe.” Finally facing that fact made him feel twice as anxious.

“And did the last thirty years we’ve had mean anything to you?” she asked dejectedly. “Did my sacrifice mean anything at all?” She headed outside before he could answer.

Ted knew better than to stay put, so he went after her. He found Andromeda staring at the stars in their backyard. Ted came up from behind and wrapped his arms around his wife.

“Dromeda, your sacrifice was unforgettable,” he assured her. “Don't think for a second that I take it for granted. And you mean everything to me.”

She sniffed. “I know. I was being stupid. Of course you wouldn’t leave me by choice. I’m proud of you for defending your magic. It’s just… we’ve been through so much. How am I supposed to live without you?” She started sobbing uncontrollably.

He turned her around and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Look at me. Please don’t cry. This is going to be hard on both of us. But guess what? We still have until morning. Let’s make the precious hours we have left special.”

Andromeda wiped her eyes. Renewing her composure, she linked her arm through his. “You’re absolutely right, Ted.” They leaned on each other’s shoulders and went back inside for one last night in paradise.

The next morning, they ate breakfast together in the kitchen while rain fell on the house in buckets. When they finished, Andromeda packed a bag full of food and other necessities.

“I don’t know how long you’ll be out there or where you’ll be going, but this should help,” she told Ted, handing him the bag. “Come back home as soon you as you can, dear.”

Ted slung the bag onto his back. “Thank you. I will.”

“And if you don’t?” He could tell she didn’t even want to think about that possibility, but she needed to ask. He would’ve done the same thing if their parts were reversed.

“Be sure to tell our grandchild all about me. Tell them how much their grandfather loves them.” Andromeda took another step towards him.

“I love you,” they said in unison. If they hadn't done so, it would've haunted Ted, and Andromeda, for an eternity. Some things you just can't go without saying.

He cupped her face in his hands. “Andromeda Tonks, you’re so beautiful. Take care of yourself, darling.” Ted brought her lips to his and tried to savor the sweetness for as long as possible. Then he strolled out the door, into the pouring rain. Andromeda followed him to the bottom of the doorsteps and grabbed his hand.

“Ted!” She flung one arm around his neck and kissed him so passionately that his heart broke even more. He wondered, not for the first time in his life, why couldn’t I have been born a pure-blood? This whole bloodline nonsense was unbearably cruel. He seized her waist, kissing her back with a fierceness that surprised him. They came together in a final embrace. Both of them were soaking wet, but neither of them cared.

She gave him a bittersweet smile. “Now I’ve said a proper goodbye.”

Both of them had tremendous difficulty letting go. If it were up to Ted, he and Andromeda would’ve stayed this way forever. Unfortunately, the time had come. He became too choked up for words. Ted turned to walk away, to face the unknown: life without her.

“Just remember, till you're home again,
You belong to me.”
-Jason Wade

Too late! I already am crying!!! That's just... just ... so SAD!!!!!! They are so sweet together. Love you Andromeda and Ted!!!

So, so, so sad... Fantastic writing! ... but soooo sad!
I couldn't imagine going through that, and to think that that really was the last they saw each other makes my heart break more. But it's good they had a proper goodbye.
-Rachel