andromeda tonks, 1978

strength in tenderness.

[dromedaunaffiliated]

marymacdonxld​:

at the other woman’s confirmation that her presence wasn’t unwelcome, she relaxed a little. mary picked up her fork from her tray, and took a bite from her salad, her eyes still darting around to make sure that no one unsavoury had entered the room while she’d been distracted. she really did miss her usual muggle spots, where she was safe from any dark wizards who might be able to take her by surprise.

not that she expected for someone to attack her, it was just … well, she hadn’t expected it last time, had she? but it had happened, and it didn’t hurt to be alert. 

“no, we haven’t,” she answered her, smiling sheepishly. “my name is mary, mary macdonald. i was in the same year … and house as your cousin sirius,” she said, partly to introduce herself, and partly to let the other woman know she wasn’t any kind of threat. with the current situation, mary found it was comforting if she met someone new and was able to confirm that they were either friends with or related to someone that she trusted ( although, in this world, related didn’t necessarily mean much ). or that they were, at least, not a slytherin from a known dark house. 

“you are andromeda tonks, right?” she confirmed, as soon as she realised that she might have gotten it wrong, in which case she sounded incredibly stupid. 

“Mary--yes!” Andromeda gave her a reassuring smile. Mary Macdonald. A Muggleborn, if she remembered correctly, and she thought she did. She studied her for a moment, then nodded. “That’s me, yes. I hope he hasn’t been telling tales.” Her lips curved up at the corner.

“Please, make yourself comfortable,” she encouraged, sitting back. “You must be an intern at the Ministry?”

She really couldn’t imagine working here herself.

[dromedaunaffiliated]

alice-in-axrorland​:

ofaurors​:

Frank groaned but not in pain, in frustration. “Would you two please stop fussing over me? I’m fine. A few scrapes and bruises, maybe a broken bone or two, but I will survive. I’m not at death’s door.” He loved his wife and his cousin but they were really going overboard. “Andromeda, please don’t encourage her.”

“I don’t know how the others are because my wife wouldn’t let me stay and check on them.” He muttered, irritably. “Look, I know you both are worried, and I appreciate it, but can’t you just like give me some potion for the pain and let me go home?”

Alice blinked, watching her cousin levitate Frank onto the stretcher without really asking him. She hadn’t intended on that happening, and shot her husband an apologetic smile. She knew that he really didn’t want to be here, but Alice knew it would give herself more peace of mind knowing that he was truly okay. They lived dangerous lives, and she just wanted to be double check.

“Because you were hurt Frank” Alice pointed out, rolling her eyes. “And besides. The rest of the back up was there. They’ll be fine” And whils she adored her colleagues, Frank was her main concern. He’d been her main concern for as long as he could remember, and she wouldn’t forgive herself if he was really hurt, and she’d just brought it over.

“Just Let Andy do her job Frank. Then we can go home.” The more her protested the longer it would take.

@dromedaunaffiliated​ @ofaurors​

@alice-in-axrorland​ @ofaurors​

“I’m not fussing,” said Andromeda severely. “But you have a broken arm, Mr. Longbottom, and I don’t believe you’ll be sleeping that off.”

She walked the stretcher down to a private room, then effortlessly flicked the wand to transfer him onto the bed. She began to get down the potions that she needed. “Have a sip of this,” she instructed, holding out a flask of soft pink fluid to Frank. “I promise you, Alice, he won’t be here long, but he’ll heal faster if he does what he’s told.” 

She raised her eyebrows at him, still holding the potion out. It was a bit of pain relief and a bit of sedative that would calm him down while she mended his arm and gave everything else a quick look-over and fix as well.

[marymacdonxld]

where: the ministry’s cafeteria

who: andromeda tonks

it had been a busy day so far, and mary was tired. so tired in fact that she decided to just eat at the ministry’s cafeteria rather than leaving to buy her usual lunch from one of the places in nearby muggle london. by staying inside the ministry, she would be walking less, and therefore conserving energy for the rest of her ( no doubt ) hectic day. 

when she arrived at the cafeteria though, she realised that her plan had a major flaw: she had decided to eat here during the busiest time of day, so she would most definitely have to share a table with someone. mary made a mental note to not come here again during peak hours, and then set off to find an empty spot that wasn’t beside a pureblood supremacist or a suspected death eater or someone else she knew would take offence at the presence of her muggleborn, gryffindor self. 

her eyes fell on a dark haired woman, and for a moment mary was ready to hightail it the fuck out. but after a blink, and another, she realised that it wasn’t bellatrix she’d laid eyes on, a woman she knew to stay the hell away from, but her sister, andromeda tonks. from seven years spent in gryffindor tower with sirius, she knew that she was the cousin who had married a muggleborn. she was like sirius; an escapee of the black regime. 

quickly, she beelined towards the other woman, not wanting to lose the one seat she’d seen so far that wouldn’t place her in literal danger. the wizarding world was fucked, really, when she thought about it too much. so she stopped those thoughts in their tracks, sat down next to the older woman, and offered her a smile.

“all the other seats are taken,” she said apologetically. “do you mind?”

[dromedaunaffiliated]

Being a Healer who specialized in Curses, Andromeda often had patients with difficult and dangerous jobs. These patients were also very frequently extremely stubborn and bad at making follow-up appointments. Andromeda had marched over to the Ministry when one didn’t show twice. 

Now satisfied that her patient was recovering as expected, she was having lunch at the cafeteria before she headed home to pick up Nymphadora from her sitter. She supposed she could have just rushed home to her daughter, but she had asked the sitter to be there for several hours longer, and as a new mother, she kept telling herself that it was good to take time to breathe as well. Still, rather than making conversation with anyone around her, Andromeda was busy thinking of Nymphadora where she sat, her lunch mostly untouched.

The sight of a sweet-faced young woman sitting down across from her completely startled her. 

“No, I don’t mind,” she reassured her with a blink once she’d come back to the moment. She studied her for a moment. “Have we met?” she asked after a moment, her eyes curious but gentle. 

She seemed to recognize Andromeda, but Andromeda didn’t know who she was. The young woman looked quite nervous--she could see the way her eyes darted around the cafeteria before she sat. By her age, she had to be an intern or a new hire. It was easy to be intimidated by the Ministry at that level, of course, but Andromeda had a Healer’s keen eye, not to mention a mother’s. She wondered if there wasn’t something deeper to it.

[dromedaunaffiliated]

siriuslymarauding​:

“We can go flying, Dora would love it.” he chuckled wrapping an arm around Andromeda’s shoulders, “Or we can escape you and I, practice that rusty French of us for a day, leave our worries behind.” he knew it would be unlikely, but it was nice to imagine them going about without a worry.

“Meda, you had a baby. Contrary to popular believe, I know how babies are made, meaning it’s not as private as you might think.” Andromeda was so happy with Ted, it might have taken him long to see it since he was barely a teen when it had happened, but he was glad that Andromeda found herself a happy life.

“So we are buying her a Gryffindor one? I’m sure that would end the troubles with deciding a proper jersey.” he smirked at the suggestion and kept browsing the shelves “I could always offer more finger paints.”

“France? We can’t all be bachelors like you,” said Andromeda, but it was clear the idea made her a bit wistful. “I don’t know, Sirius. Aren’t you at least trying to be more careful these days?” Her voice dropped at that, and she gave him a concerned look.

Her cheeks blazed with color, and she slapped his arm. “That’s enough of that out of you. Don’t think because you’re my favorite cousin, I won’t hex you,” she threatened.

“And don’t you dare do that, either,” she said, amused. “Which shop were you headed to? I could walk with you, if you’d like.”

[inferi-hq]

✰ –– ‘ introducing: andromeda tonks ! ‘

age: twenty-five blood status: pureblood occupation: healer affiliation: the unaffiliated positive traits: caring, patient, perceptive, warm, bright, funny, diplomatic, determined negative traits: overfastidious, condescending, clannish, cruel streak, passive faceclaim: emmy rossum

✰ –– ‘ associations: aesthetics ! ‘

vases of sweet-smelling flowers from the garden you tend with your own hands, a house full of warmth like you’ve never known because you put it there, the callused but tender hands of a healer, the mint-sweet-sharp of dittany and the low herbal undertones of tea, elegant simplicity because that is all you can afford, putting away the green and silver for dove grey and dusty rose and seashell blue; becoming yourself through being his, becoming yourself through having her, a tangle of dark hair and darker eyes that some say are your sister’s but you have quietly fought for years to make your own, a past with claws like ice, a past that haunts you but vanishes every time you look over your shoulder for it–as if it were the dream.

✰ –– ‘ known information: biography ! ‘

Caught between ferocious Bellatrix and elegant Narcissa, Andromeda was the often-overlooked middle sister. She loved her sisters dearly, but she always had a difficult relationship with their parents. When she arrived at Hogwarts, she quickly strayed from the path her parents had planned for her. She was sorted into Slytherin, but through the Slug Club, she became friends with people outside of her House and worse, people outside of the pureblood social circles. She joined the Quidditch team as a Keeper and in her mother’s view, made an embarrassment of herself clonking around in the protective gear like some boy. She also had ambitions beyond marrying well, throwing herself into studying rather than soirees.

Doubt had already been seeded into her mind about some of the ideals with which she has been raised, but her fate was sealed when she fell reluctantly but irrevocably for one Muggleborn, Edward Tonks. She had a choice to make, a choice that shaped the rest of her life. By choosing love, she ostensibly chose a side. Yet while she has been burned from the Black tapestry, she is still not convinced about progress on all counts and can surprise with her occasionally archaic views or tolerance of pureblood traditions that might horrify outsiders.

Nevertheless, she married Edward and had Nymphadora shortly after, now three years old and the source of both anxiety and joy for her. She is a no-nonsense but affectionate mother. She has just begun to return to full-time work as a Healer now that her daughter is a little older, but she enjoys being a bit of a homemaker as well. She has an eye out for trouble on the horizon, but she does not consider herself a fighter, and truth be told, she would rather that she and the little family she fought to make could sit out any further conflict.

She has a subtle humor and warmth and a quiet strength, none of which are immediately apparent from looking at her. Nevertheless, she can also be obsessive in her need for everything to be just so, and she grasps for control too tightly. She was brought up rich and privileged, and it occasionally shows.

All canon information can be found by clicking here.

✰ –– ‘ ministry docier: connections ! ‘

edward tonks: husband, loves deeply narcissa malfoy: sister, estranged bellatrix lestrange: sister, fears sirius black: cousin, closest to out of the blacks regulus black: cousin, wants to get through to alice longbottom: cousin, watches out for

[ofwxtches]

ofaurors​:

@alice-in-axrorland​ @dromedaunaffiliated​

It wasn’t that bad. Okay, sure maybe there was a lot of blood, but Frank couldn’t help it if he was a bleeder! And okay, maybe he was pretty bruised, and he might even have a few broken bones but they would heal, right? It was an occupational hazard. He was fine. Of course, when he had tried to stand up and winced in pain, his boss didn’t buy his whole ‘I’m fine’ routine. The worst part was when Alice was informed. Frank loved his wife more than anything but he knew she was going to overreact. And sure enough, he was right. She was insisting that he go to St. Mungo’s and get checked out. Before going inside, he turned to her, making one last plea.

“Alice, sweetheart, you know I love you. And I would do anything for you. But, as I’ve said several times now, I’m fine.”

Alice as used to getting hurt. She was used to her husband getting hurt. It didn’t mean that it didn’t worry her. If anything, it just made her wonder when it was going to be more serious. It was why she had worked on her potion making over the last few years. She wanted to make sure that they had a stash of potions to heal them selves at home. This was different though. Minor cuts and grazes she could deal with. But bones were a different thing. It was why she was so adamant that they were going to St Mungos. Sometimes it came in useful having a cousin that was a Healer.

“Shush” She murmured, shaking her head as she just smiled at him. “Andy’s just going to look over you. Won’t be that hard if you’re just fine” She teased, still smiling. “Come on…. I sent a patronus ahead saying we were coming. So…. we can’t not go now” She mused, before heading into St Mungos. She glanced over her shoulder, making sure he was coming as she headed for her cousin’s floor.

@dromedaunaffiliated​ @ofaurors​

[dromedaunaffiliated]

@ofaurors​ @alice-in-axrorland​

Andromeda rushed out into the entry hall with a stretcher behind her. She gave a flick of the wand, levitating Frank right onto it before he could protest. 

“I’m glad you sent ahead, Alice!” Andromeda looked over Frank carefully, making sure that she didn’t look too worried. That was never reassuring for a patient. His injuries didn’t look life-threatening, he just had a lot of them. “What happened? Are the others with you all right, or did they also get hit by the Knight Bus?”

It was incredible--and concerning--the injuries she was seeing people come in with these days. It reminded her of the importance of her job. Frank was almost like a brother-in-law to her, so she was very glad he was under her care and no one else’s. Having that kind of control was reassuring to her.

[dromedaunaffiliated]

alice-in-axrorland​:

Alice just smiled at her cousin. There weren’t a lot of things from her old life that she missed, and she had no regrets about her choice. But having Andy here with her made it a little bit easier. “I feel the same…” She murmured, flipping her hand over so she could squeeze Andy’s hand.

“We need awesome healers in this war too” She pointed out with a smile. They really did need awesome healers on there side if they were going to win this. “I just want a world where everyone can be happy, and make choices that don’t lead to their deaths” She murmured, with a smile. It was clear she was talking about them both. They’d both made choices that could very well lead to their deaths, especially if Bellatrix had anything to do with it. “We will get there Andy….. we have to”

Andromeda kept a warm grasp on her fingers for a moment, returning her smile. She nodded when Alice pointed out that they needed Healers. “Yes, though I have the kind of profession where one hopes to be out of work,” she murmured. She wished she didn’t have to see anyone she cared about bleeding or Cursed. She loved a challenge, but really, she would be happier if all she had to deal with was a stubbed toe or two.

“That’s the world I want as well.” She looked down into her cup. She had made a dangerous choice. Sometimes she questioned the wisdom of it. Had she made a mistake, bringing a child into this world at this time? She had wanted her so badly, and she couldn’t regret her one bit, but Andromeda wouldn’t be able to live with herself if anything happened to her.  “I just don’t see how a war could bring us there...” 

[dromedaunaffiliated]

siriuslymarauding​:

Sirius chuckled, “And I wouldn’t want to go down so you promised we could fly. Which wasn’t the best option, since I didn’t want to go down.” it was those kind of memories that made it hard to leave the family. Not everything was messed up all the time but he knew it wasn’t a good environment to be in.

“Why? Do you still blush like a teen talking about you and Ted?” he teased with her cousin, Ted and her were perfect for each other but it was fun to tease her once in a while.

“Well, boys are different, maybe you can come and see the disaster another time. I can’t always go to your house for dinner.” he smiled looking at a snitch on a string, maybe Dora would like to chase it around. “I love that kid, of course I would offer to babysit.” he smiled at Andromeda and picked a jersey from the rack. “What about this? Wouldn’t this look adorable on her?”

“We certainly can’t fit on a broom together anymore,” said Andromeda with a laugh. “But we should go flying together sometime. On our own brooms.” 

She had very few tender memories of her past with the Black family, fewer still from her last couple of years at home. But many of them were with Sirius. She was so grateful that he had forged another path for himself, and she thought they had helped each other do so, really.

“It’s private, particularly from you,” she said, but she was blushing and smiling anyway. 

They might have been married, but Andromeda still had butterflies over Ted sometimes. It had been a great love that had gotten her to throw everything away.

Andromeda looked at the Snitch on a string. Even more trouble, she thought fondly. The jersey delighted her. “It would be adorable,” she admitted. “I thought about buying her one in Slytherin green, but Ted would no doubt rebel.” 

Despite rejecting some of the lessons of her past, she was still proud of her House. The strategies she had learned through being a Slytherin had helped her to survive.

[dromedaunaffiliated]

callmeregulus​:

Regulus sighed. “I don’t hate you.” He said, even though he knew he probably shouldn’t. “But I am disappointed in you.” Even as the words left his lips, he wondered if that was true.

The near-paternal severity of the statement from her younger cousin almost made her laugh. “Having the will to leave to be with Ted is one of the things I’m proudest of doing, so we can’t agree there,” said Andromeda.

 “Look, I can’t stay here for much longer.” Her eyes flicked around nervously. “Bellatrix shouldn’t see us together. It wouldn’t be good for either of us. But--think of why you wanted to talk to me,” she told him with a sense of urgency. “Think of who you want to be.”

She took a step away from him. “Take care, Regulus.”

She hesitated for a moment. “If you want to talk, you can reach me by Owl at my work address at St. Mungo’s. That would probably be the safer option.” 

[dromedaunaffiliated]

nvrcissasm​:

Narcissa paused for a moment as she considered her estranged sisters words. She knew exactly what Andromeda was trying to do, and perhaps if she had been their eldest sister, she would have been inclined to bite back immediately. But while Narcissa may of had the Black families anger streak in her, she also knew how to keep her cool when she was being intentionally provoked. 

“If that’s how you want to see me, Andromeda, then fine…” She replied with a shrug before turning to pick up her handbag and slip the strap over her shoulder. “It’s sad really… I might have considered a conversation if you had just asked, but instead you’ve jumped straight in to trying to provoke an argument from me.” She let out a long breath, regarding her sister. “If she didn’t hate you so much for betraying your family, I’d say that Bella would be quite proud of you for this approach… It is right up her street after all.”

There she was with that incredible capability to keep her head. Narcissa stayed cool on the surface, but she bit back as well. Andromeda couldn’t help but rear back slightly as if she had really been bitten. Nothing could be so unflattering--outright horrifying--as a comparison to Bellatrix. 

Andromeda wanted so badly to outgrow the lessons that house had lashed into her. She wanted to be good and kind in the way she saw and responded to other people, but she had a long streak of cruelty, like a stain on the window that kept the view from being clear but she just couldn’t scrub out.

“A conversation?” she repeated instead, scrambling for some control of the situation. It wasn’t fair of Narcissa. She was the one who had been immediately inclined to leave. “You look at me like something on the bottom of your shoe.”

She stared at Narcissa’s familiar face, that all-too-familiar expression. And she couldn’t help her outburst. “Don’t you miss me at all?” It was weak to admit it, and it felt as though she were betraying her new family, but she missed Narcissa.

[dromedaunaffiliated]

callmeregulus​:

“Why do you care so much?” Regulus found himself asking before he realized he was doing it. “Huh? I thought your husband and your daughter your family now.”

Andromeda crossed her arms over her abdomen. “Reg, our family was the one who forced me to choose. That doesn’t mean I stopped caring about you or stopped wanting the best for you. I care about all of you, even bloody Bellatrix in moments of weakness.” She shook her head slowly, willing him to understand. “I know you’re supposed to hate me now--the whole family is meant to pretend I don’t exist. But I don’t think you hate me, either.”

If he did, she supposed she could take it. She took it from her own mother, father, and sisters. She still had Sirius and she had Alice, Ted, Nymphadora, and all her friends. Nevertheless, it would still be a blow.

She gazed back at him, trying to read his expression. Their conversation felt like it was going in circles.

[dromedaunaffiliated]

alice-in-axrorland​:

“Totally” Alice mused with a laugh. To be honest, she had inherited some of the Rosier traits. Of course she had. That was how she had grown up. But she didn’t think she was that bad. Sure, she thought she was hot, but she didn’t boast about it. Most of the time she just joked about it. She just hoped that her other traits, how caring, and loving was, would over take the not so nice traits that she had.

“Perfect” Because she didn’t like lying to Andromeda. But if she just didn’t tell her at all, then really she wasn’t actually lying to her. “I would…… you’re all I have left of that life…. You’re important to me.”

Andromeda’s gaze softened at that. “You’re important to me, too. One of the only connections from my past that I would like to hold onto, if I’m honest.” She reached across to cover Alice’s hand.

“I admire your bravery, you know. I wish I shared it.” Her brow furrowed. “You’re helping keep the world safe for people like Ted. And people like us, who want to step away from what they were raised to be.”

[dromedaunaffiliated]

callmeregulus​:

“It doesn’t matter what I believe. Family is unconditional, remember?” Regulus said, shooting her own words back at her.

“Right. Clever.” Andromeda had forgotten how difficult it could be to have an honest conversation with the family into which she was born. To her, they often seemed more concerned with winning than with listening to each other. And she had to admit, she did feel a sting herself from not winning this one.

“But it does matter what you believe,” she told him, quiet but firm. 

“It may very well be a matter of life or death. Yours, mine, countless others’.” Any choice would result in pain or loss. It was a matter of principle--it came down to what one could accept complicity in and what one could not. 

She glanced around slightly nervously. Whether or not she was getting through to him, they had been speaking in the open for quite some time. 

[dromedaunaffiliated]

siriuslymarauding​:

Sirius chuckled, “I don’t know.” he teased knowing he would never leave, he had a proper family know, not only Andromeda but his mates and Lily, they were part of a bigger family he didn’t think he could belong to. 

“Finger paints? Are you mad? It’s like leaving me out on a tree, I would climb and not go down.” he laughed remembering the time when he had all the freedom of a yard and not able to contain everything in his tiny body to stay in the ground. His mother was furious.

“You know I can babysit, right? give you and that husband of yours a chance to give Dora a sibling?” he raised his eyebrows suggestively.

“Home is good, work too, but we are too many blokes in a tiny home and you know how that gets.” he joked taking the tiny bat from the shelf and giving it a test to see how much trouble would Nymphadora get into. “I’m just getting used to being an adult.” and battling in a war.

“I had to come up on my broom to get you,” said Andromeda with a fond smile. He had been a trouble-maker, but she definitely thought her aunt deserved every last headache Sirius gave her.

She was broken out of the nostalgic memories of their childhood by Sirius’s inappropriate comment, and she struck his arm. “Stop it,” she said, scandalized. She and Ted found time for themselves. Sometimes. Either way, she absolutely refused to discuss this with her little cousin.

“No, I don’t know how that gets, thankfully.” She watched him with the small bat, shaking her head in amusement. “I grew up with sisters and Merlin, am I glad I had a girl.” Not that Nymphadora was anything like either Bellatrix or Narcissa. 

"You seem like you’re doing all right for yourself,” she assured him. He probably had his wilder days, she supposed, but she believed he was more or less making good choices with the broader arc of his development as an adult. “And I do appreciate the babysitting offer--I’m here if you need anything, too.”

[dromedaunaffiliated]

callmeregulus​:

“Still time for what?” Regulus asked, even though he thought he knew. “Still time to turn my back on my family?”

Andromeda couldn’t help her wince at that. Of course she felt guilty about the family she had left behind. Sirius getting out as well had helped, but she had still left behind Regulus, left behind her own sister Narcissa. It hadn’t been an easy decision to make.

“You know what our family stands for,” she said, her lips pressing into a thin line and arms crossing over her chest. “Is that what you truly believe?”

[dromedaunaffiliated]

alice-in-axrorland​:

“I mean… I’m pretty hot. So I’m guessing it was bad artists….” Alice mused with a laugh. She was glad that she hadn’t wanted to do the same in her house. She preferred to have actual photographs in her house. The Longbottom Mansion was filled with photos of the happy couple, and their friends. It made her happy to see all of her happy memories.

“Yeah….” It was funny, because she actually felt better when she was out with him. Although she knew that Frank could look after him, it just made her feel better to be out in the field with him. They worked as a great pair. Sure, it was probably more dangerous them being together in the field, but she didn’t care.

“Oh of course. I only ever try to heal minor injuries” She murmured with a nod. She only dealt with the things that she knew she could handle. Knowing she had a healer as a cousin helped as well. She knew that she could count on Andromeda to be there to look after her if needed.

“If…. I don’t tell you….. then you don’t know right?”

“And humble!” Andromeda teased her cousin, laughing. Alice had always been one of the prettiest of them growing up, admittedly. More importantly, cockiness aside, she had a good heart, and that always showed through.

She watched her and could tell she was thinking of Frank. Andromeda couldn’t help her small smile at that. They’d both found the one, she thought.

“Plausible deniability,” Andromeda agreed wryly. “Nevertheless, I hope you’ll reach out to me for anything you should need.”

[dromedaunaffiliated]

alice-in-axrorland​:

“Hideous for sure” Alice mused with a little laugh. “Remember that hallway of ugly Portraits at mine? Thank the lord i was never deemed acceptable to go up there” Because she did not want to have a ugly portrait ever. To be honest, she was pretty sure that there was no portraits, or any evidence of her existance at the Rosier Mansion anymore. “Thanks….I’ve worked hard on it…” Especially consiering she and Frank didn’t have a ton of spare time anymore.

“I do….” She mused with a laugh. “I mostly brew when Frank is away on missions. I struggle to sleep when he’s not around” Frank was her safety blanket, and it was pretty bad how dependant on him that she was.

“Oh no…. just the usual” As Andromeda would know, since she actually mentored and tutored her in potions, she tended to only brew healing related potions these days. “We were running a little low. Frank’s had a few injuries lately, so I just wanted to top us up”

“Oh, that hall was awful. Whenever I saw those portraits, I couldn’t figure out whether our ancestors really were so hideous or if the artists were just terrible. Either way, I’m very happy no one will be painting me anytime soon,” Andromeda said emphatically.

“I understand that. I suppose we’re all sleeping worse these days,” she said, smile fading. She usually couldn’t sleep until Ted returned home if he was out late. She was more afraid for him than she was for herself.

“Well, if you ever need me to look at any injuries, you will let me know, won’t you?” she asked Alice. She worried about her Auror friends and those in the Order, too. 

"Please tell me you haven’t been doing anything too dangerous these days.” No doubt they had.