Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and events from J.K. Rowling's wonderful Harry Potter books. I am writing this for my own enjoyment and hopefully for the enjoyment of readers. Anything you recognize belongs to JKR. The rest belongs to me.
Chapter 65: Cunning and Bravery
"Nice performance this morning," commented Sirius, following Andromeda into her flat. "I particularly liked the part where you transformed your hair into a bunch of angry looking snakes," he added, referring to her abilities as a Metamorphmagus.
"You deserved it," quipped Andromeda. "After all, it was highly inappropriate for the Black heir to hide a dungbomb inside a family member's teacup."
Sirius laughed before placing an innocent look on his face. "I don't see why that would bother you so much. You were able to get the stains off your robes with a simple spell!"
Andromeda smirked and said, "You're lucky I'm so forgiving. I'd say your parents don't suspect a thing." Walking to the couch she asked, "What are your plans for your weekend away from the family?"
Sirius shrugged and said, "I'll probably Floo over to James' place and stay there."
"James?" queried Andromeda. "You mean James Potter? That Gryffindor friend of yours," she
said, emphasizing the word 'Gryffindor' with what sounded like disdain.
Sirius frowned and retorted, "Yes, my friend." He paced the room and said, "Look, Andromeda, we may be getting along better now, and I appreciate your getting me out of the house for a few days each week, but that does not mean I will tolerate any disrespect toward my friends."
Andromeda scrutinized him for a few moments before replying, "Very well. Just don't get caught. It would be bad enough if you were found outside of my presence, but if the family saw you with a Potter then there would be hell to pay."
Sirius snorted and said, "I'm well aware of what the family would do." Deciding to change the subject he said, "Don't you forget about your part of the deal. You're supposed to tell Tonks about your being a witch and about our family."
Andromeda frowned and said, "You just had to remind me of that, didn't you?"
Suddenly there was a loud knock at the door. Andromeda gulped and looked at it, saying, "That'll be Ted. He's early!"
After another knock at the door Sirius rolled his eyes and said, "Well? Are you going to answer it?"
Andromeda said, "Please, be on your best behavior!"
Sirius gave her a wide grin filled with a hint of mischief as he cheekily replied, "Aren't I always?"
As she shook her head she opened the door, revealing a tall man of about 25 years of age who had light brown hair and blue eyes. As soon as he saw Andromeda his eyes lit up and a large smile settled about his features. "Hello, Andy!" he greeted, leaning over to kiss her.
'Andy?!' thought Sirius.
"Hi, Ted! Come on in," said Andromeda.
Ted Tonks walked inside, pausing as he spotted a teenage boy standing in the living room watching them. When he gave a questioning glance to Andromeda, she said, "Ted, I would like you to meet my cousin, Sirius." Turning to Sirius, she said, "Sirius, this is Ted Tonks, my boyfriend."
Ted smiled and stepped forward to greet Sirius. "It's great to finally meet one of Andy's relatives. There's so little she reveals about her family."
Sirius shook Ted's hand and said, "Well, Andy was just telling me how she wanted to tell you more about us, weren't you Andy?"
Andromeda gave Sirius a tight smile that silently told him to shut up and said to Ted, "Well, yes. I was hoping to speak with you."
"Great," said Ted. "Why don't we all go out and grab some lunch. It'll give me a chance to find out more about the Black family."
"That sounds lovely," said Andromeda, "but unfortunately Sirius has plans with one of his school
friends, so it will just be us."
"Alright, but I hope that I can get a chance to know you better, Sirius," said Ted. "I'd love to hear stories about Andy from when she was younger."
"Of course!" said Sirius, throwing a knowing look at his cousin. "I have all sorts of tales I could tell you about dear old Andy."
When Ted's back was turned to her, Andromeda's eyes changed to a fiery red as she glared at her cousin. When Ted turned around she changed them back to their usual deep brown and smiled.
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"So what are you going to do today?" asked Marianne.
"I dunno," replied James as he grabbed a piece of toast. "Same as usual, probably."
"You mean you're going to fly around on your broomstick all day?" asked Marianne.
"Probably," replied James, taking a bite of his breakfast.
"Don't you ever get bored with that?" she asked.
"Hey!" exclaimed Joseph. "Don't knock flying OR Quidditch!"
James looked up at his father's portrait which winked back at him. Suddenly the mirror in his pocket started to vibrate and James excused himself from the table. Rushing into the kitchen, he pulled the two-way mirror out and said, "Sirius?"
Sirius' face appeared and with a wide smile he said, "Hey, Prongs! What are your plans for today?"
"Breakfast with the Wimbourne Wasps, then tea with the Minister of Magic," joked James. When Sirius gave him a questioning look, James said, "Nothing much, why?"
"Mind if I Floo over?" asked Sirius.
Not sure if he heard Sirius right, James said, "Huh?"
"I said, do you mind if-" started Sirius.
"I heard what you said, Padfoot," said James. "I just didn't think you were allowed over here."
"I'm not, but they don't know that I'm coming over," said Sirius. "Look, I can explain everything once I'm there. That is, if you're okay with me visiting."
James grinned and said, "Of course I am. I'll meet you at the fireplace."
"I'll be there in a few minutes," said Sirius.
James made his way into the living room to wait for his friend. As promised, a few minutes later brought the sooty arrival of Sirius. Dusting himself off, Sirius stepped out of the fireplace with a huge grin on his face. He quickly regaled his deal with Andromeda as James' smile widened into a gigantic grin.
"So you can visit every weekend?" asked James.
"That's the plan, though I may have to spend some time with Andromeda and Tonks. I've never seen Andromeda like this, and it seems so impossible to see her in love with a Muggle. It'll be amusing to hear about his reaction to her being a witch. I'd also enjoy taunting her a little with the idea of revealing her childhood stories to him," said Sirius.
"James!" called the distant voice of Marianne.
"I'm in here, Mum!" replied James.
Footsteps could be heard approaching as she said, "Your breakfast is getting cold, and…" she stopped suddenly as she walked into the living room and saw Sirius standing before her. Her eyes filled with worry as she said, "Sirius! What are you doing here? Are you okay? Did something happen with your family?"
Sirius smiled and said, "I'm fine, Marianne. I'm here to visit, if it's okay with you."
"Actually, Mum," started James, "I was hoping Sirius could visit every weekend this summer."
Marianne walked up to Sirius and hugged him, "Of course, Sirius. You're always welcome here." She pulled back and put her hands on his shoulders. "Do you parents know you're here?"
Sirius looked down and quietly said, "Not exactly. They think I'm staying with a cousin. She's covering for me."
Marianne was concerned. In her gut, she knew Sirius' family mistreated him, and she worried what would happen if
they found out he was sneaking over. On the other hand, she had seen the haunted look in his eyes at the end of the
previous summer. He needed to be able to get out and have fun. "Are you sure you can trust your cousin?" she
asked.
Sirius, sensing Marianne's apprehension, replied, "Don't worry. I'm covering for her as well. She has no reason to tell."
Somewhat satisfied, Marianne smiled and said, "Well hurry up, then. Breakfast is getting cold, and I remember your appetite, Sirius. I'd better warn Perchy to stock the pantry."
Sirius' mouth watered at the prospect of Perchy's cooking. "Does she still make those Bludger shaped pancakes?"
James snorted and said, "Sirius, pancakes are round! Of course they would look like balls, though I think they look more like Quaffles."
Sirius crossed his arms in defiance and stated, "They're definitely Bludger shaped!"
As they walked toward the dining room bickering about the shape of the house elf's pancakes, Marianne trailed behind them, shaking her head with the realization that Sirius was the closest thing to a brother James ever had. That was wonderful as far as she was concerned, because after all the worrying she had gone through for Sirius, she felt a bit protective of him, almost maternal in nature. As the boys' argument crescendoed, Marianne finally decided to intervene, "Perhaps I'll have Perchy make the pancakes look like Snitches today."
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After a weekend of flying and petty arguments and all-around fun, Sirius Flooed back to Andromeda's flat. Once he stepped out of the fireplace, he looked around in confusion. The flat was dark and it looked as if nobody was home. Sirius had agreed to meet Andromeda at that time and he wondered where she was.
As he stepped further into the room he heard a gasping sound coming from the armchair in the corner. Sirius, thinking there could be an intruder or unwanted family member present, went to grab his wand. He silently cursed his parents when he remembered how they had forced him to leave it locked in his trunk. Sirius stepped closer to the chair and felt his shoulders relax when he saw that the figure in the chair was Andromeda, who was crying.
Sirius, not having much experience dealing with crying females, went with his first instinct - humor. Remembering Tonks' pet name for her, he said, "Hiya, Andy."
This sent Andromeda into a wave of fresh sobs, and Sirius was left standing there, wondering what on Earth he had to do to calm her down. Knowing that he was in uncharted territory, Sirius went with his next instinct - blunt honesty. "What're you doin' here crying in the dark?"
Andromeda, trying to pull herself together, failed as she let out a string of unintelligible sounds in response to his question. Sirius had never been this close to a crying female, except for one Hufflepuff who teared up every time Professor McGonagall scolded her for her lack of talent at Transfiguration. He had never been in the position to comfort that girl, though. His own mum had certainly never cried in front of him. Sirius doubted she even had emotions other than scorn and hatred. He had seen James upset about his dad, but the difference there was that boys did not acknowledge tears with each other the way girls did.
Feeling a bit out of place, Sirius walked to his cousin and gave her a few pats on the shoulder, saying, "Erm…there, there…"
Andromeda stood up and threw her arms around Sirius, sniffling and trying to calm her tears. Sirius, wide-eyed, patted her back, unsure of what else to do. After several minutes, Andromeda started to calm down. She pulled back slightly and looked at his wet shirt sleeve. "Sorry," she muttered, sitting back down in her armchair.
Sirius sat down on the loveseat and asked, "Are you ready to tell me what has you so bothered?"
Andromeda gulped, trying to catch her breath and said, "I-it's T-Ted. I t-told him about me…everything."
A torrent of thoughts raced into Sirius' head. She told him? Did he break up with her? Will she go back to her old ways? Will I still get to visit the Potters during the weekends this summer? A pang a guilt hit Sirius as he realized his thoughts were straying toward his own problems. Refocusing his attention on his cousin, he asked, "What did he say?"
Andromeda took a deep breath as if to summon her courage, and stuttered out, "H-He t-told me…he t-told me that he's a….h-he's a…"
Sirius waved his hand around, trying to get her to spit it out. "He's a what?"
"…he's a w-wizard!" she finished, about to delve into a wave of fresh sobs.
Sirius, trying to keep her talking more than crying, said, "A what?!"
"He told me h-he's a w-wizard!" she repeated.
Sirius was flummoxed. Ted Tonks was a wizard?! And why was this sending Andromeda off the deep end? "Why are you so upset about THAT?"
"I'm not," she said weakly. "I'm not upset that he's a wizard. He was happy when I told him that I'm a witch. He said he always thought there was something quirky about me, in a familiar way."
Sirius shook his head and said, "Again, this doesn't explain why you are sitting here crying in the dark."
"I told him about the family," blurted Andromeda. "I told him about my sneaking around to see him, and I warned him about the consequences of our relationship should they find out." She looked up, her eyes red and brimming with tears. "Ted's a Muggleborn wizard. He even went to Hogwarts. I was too young to know who he was when he was there. He chose to pursue a Muggle career." She stood up and started pacing. "He told me he wants to marry me! He said that he loves me and wants to spend his life with me."
"Is that what you want?" asked Sirius.
Andromeda paused in her steps and said, "I love him, but I don't want any harm to come to him because of who I am."
"You didn't answer the question. Do you want to marry Ted Tonks?" prodded Sirius. "Pretend the family doesn't exist and that he proposed to you. Would you say yes?"
Andromeda nodded and choked out, "Yes, I would, but-"
"No buts," said Sirius. "If you want to marry the guy then we'll figure something out."
"The family-" protested Andromeda.
"Forget the family!" Sirius forcefully replied. "I'm a living example of someone who strays from the family ways, and I still have to live with them! You've known me for a long time, Andromeda, and I'm sure you suspect some of the things that…occurred…at Hogwarts were partly my doing," he said, referring to a few of the Marauders' larger scale adventures. "I may not be a Slytherin, but I've lived with enough of them for long enough to be just as cunning as they are. Enjoy the summer, spend time with him and make sure that he's the bloke you want to marry, and don't base your decision on anything but your feelings for him. Then, if you still feel you want to marry him, I'll help you find a way."
Andromeda walked up to him and looked into his dark, determined eyes. "Thank you, Sirius," she said. "I certainly misjudged you for a long time. I thought you were weak, but now I feel the shoe is on the other foot. You're the strong one." Seeing the familiar glint appear in his eyes, she decided to jokingly add, "Though I heard you were a bit weak out on the Quidditch field against our Slytherin Beaters."
Sirius scoffed and threw an arm around his cousin. "Andy, Andy, Andy," he said, making her smile at her nickname. "Let me educate you on the finer points of the sport…"
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A/N: This was sort of a salute to Harry in that Sirius had a hard time dealing with a crying female, too (think Cho Chang in OotP). And he gets to sneak over to James' house almost every weekend! Had a difficult time thinking of a chapter title - finally settled on Cunning and Bravery - an attribute from each Slytherin and Gryffindor, in honor of the developing friendship between Andromeda and Sirius.
So let me know what you think in a review. Be nice - it's my birthday! Not that I'm advertising it or anything…
Thanks to my latest reviewers: Anu, nanopy, Nyscat, blackquill, delpheena (x3), Alicia, Remus'sweetie (x3), tigerfairy (x2), DreamAngel, Golden Phoenix (x2), astronomylover, mrs. pendragon, Mani12191, lilynpotter, Jo Bob, and Alicia78.
Next chapter: We'll take a peek at how Lily's summer is going so far.