Cry, Little Sister
Characters: Andromeda Tonks, Antonin Dolohov, Ted Tonks, Nymphadora Tonks
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Death (Alas, not the Terry Pratchett version)
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Outside the small house, the storm raged mercilessly. Inside was another story altogether. Andromeda Tonks stirred restlessly in bed. She was alone tonight. Her husband Ted was away on a business trip and her dearest daughter, Nymphadora, was on Ministry business.
Even after so many years, she relished her solitude as much as she did in those first few months away from the grip of the Black family. As a child, she�d been constantly surrounded � whether it was by the house elves who preferred her kindness over the rest of the family or by her sisters. She hadn�t minded Bellatrix so much. As the eldest sister, she�d been too concerned with other things to pay much attention to Andromeda.
Narcissa was the one she had needed to be wary of. The baby of the family, Narcissa was skilled at subterfuge and manipulation: as a child, she�d often managed to get Andromeda blamed for the things she did. It had been Narcissa who had managed to extract the secret of Andromeda�s romance with Ted and then promptly owled their mother.
Though she had been furious with Narcissa at the time, she supposed she couldn�t really blame her. Bellatrix�s engagement to Rodolphus Lestrange had been all but assured, and although their relationship had been rocky at times, but it had been plain to see how happy Bella and Rodolphus were together. Narcissa, however, had been utterly miserable at that time. She had had a long-time crush on Lucius Malfoy, and that year his eye was on everyone but her. She couldn�t lash out at Bellatrix, for the family greatly approved of Rodolphus, but she could vent her frustration on Andromeda, who was �desecrating the family name� by loving a Muggle-born wizard.
Andromeda smiled faintly. Ted had always said that she was too forgiving when it came to her family. They�d thrown her out of the house (and burned her name from the family portrait), but she still loved them. They were unhappy, she�d once tried to explain to him. Even though they had more wealth and prestige than most people could dream of, they still couldn�t shape the world to their desire. Time progressed, but their ways of thinking didn�t. He had said that was all very well, but there was no excuse for them treating her as a second-class citizen. She�d mentioned mildly that they were still her blood, which had set Ted off on a rant. To calm him down, she had finally had to tickle him.
A loud crack of thunder startled her, and Andromeda sat up in bed. She waited for a few minutes for her heart to stop pounding and then started to roll over onto her side. A flash of lightning lit the room, revealing the presence of a man in ragged robes. She screamed and reached for her wand. Trembling, she pointed it at the stranger. �Who are you? What do you want?�
�Li� Little Star. Wait.� the man said, holding up a hand.
�Antonin?� It had been many years since she�d last seen Antonin Dolohov, but she would know his voice anywhere. She set her wand down besides her and reached over to turn on the lamp on the dresser.
Her hand flew to her mouth as she examined Antonin. The change in him was horrifying. His hair, which had once been short and curly, now hung down to his shoulders, horribly matted; his formerly olive skin was pale. In short, he looked ill.
Impulsively, she slid out of bed and put her arms around him, drawing him close. It was as if she was hugging a skeleton. �Oh, Merlin,� she breathed. �Look at you.�
Antonin clung to her. �Skin and bones, Little Star,� he said hoarsely. �They tried to devour me body and soul. Wouldn�t let them.�
�Oh, Antonin,� Andromeda murmured as she began to stroke his hair. If it were any other Death Eater, he would have been hexed into unconsciousness. Antonin had always been kind to her from the moment she entered Hogwarts. She had heard the whispers around the school of what he liked to do to people, particularly to third-year boys. Bellatrix had even confirmed some of the more disturbing ones. Despite this, she had never turned from him. To her, he was gentle and thoughtful, like the brother she�d never had. Even after her marriage, he�d remained devoted to her.
She could no more send him away now than she could Ted. �It�s alright, darling. You�re here with me, now. It�s alright.�
His fingers tightened around her waist. �Oh, Andri. I missed you so much. I kept thinking of you while I was� there.�
He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. �It�s what kept me alive � thinking of you.� He gently kissed her forehead. �I had to come � had to find you.�
Andromeda tilted her head in confusion. �Had to find me? What do you mean?� She looked around the room, half-expecting to see Dementors to be lurking in the shadows. �Antonin, I �� She was silenced by his finger on her lips.
�They�ll be looking for me, you know,� he said. �There�s a place, a safe place I can go, but I needed you, first.�
�Antonin, I don�t understand,� she said, moving away from him. �What � why do you need me?�
�I�m tired of standing by silently,� came the reply. Antonin�s voice grew deeper. �I want you. I have wanted you since we were in school together. Tonks doesn�t deserve you � he can�t even take care of you the way he should.�
�What are you talking about?� Andromeda stared at him, shocked. �Ted takes wonderful care of me.� It was easier to focus on that than on the revelation that Antonin was in love with her. He couldn�t really be in love with her, she was sure. He was worn-out from his ordeal and needed rest.
�Look around!� He gesticulated wildly. �You�re forced to live in a shabby little house surrounded by muggles as if you�re some common witch!� He grabbed her hand roughly and pulled her to his chest. �You should be in a castle, surrounded by beautiful things with house elves to serve you. And me. Anything you asked, I would do for you.�
For the first time in her life, Andromeda was frightened of Antonin. She tried to break free, but his grip was surprisingly strong. �Antonin, you�re hurting me. Let me go, please.�
�I can�t,� he whispered against her hair. �I�ll lose you. And I need you so much.� He bent his head and kissed her hungrily.
�You! What are you doing to my wife?�
At the shout, Antonin looked up and snarled. Standing in the doorway was Ted Tonks, briefcase in one hand and wand in the other.
�Ted!� Andromeda shouted. With Antonin distracted, she was able to slip out of his grasp. �Ted, please go downstairs. I can handle this. I��
Antonin cut her off. �Tonks. It�s been a long time, hasn�t it?� He drew his wand from within his robes and pointed it at Ted. �Impedimentia. Accio wands!� The first spell froze Ted where he stood. The second brought both Ted�s and Andromeda�s wands to him.
�Antonin, stop!� Andromeda pleaded, reaching for his arms, trying to draw his attention away from her husband.
Antonin ignored her, walking over to Ted and tapping his forehead with the wand. �Remember what I told you, mudblood? If I ever found that you were not worthy of her, I�d kill you.
�Da svidaniya*, my friend.� He pointed his wand at Ted and smiled coldly. �Avada Kedavra!� A green light flashed and Ted�s lifeless body fell to the floor.
�NO!� Andromeda screamed. She ran towards her husband�s body. Antonin caught her from behind, forcing her onto her knees.
�He was not worthy,� Antonin repeated. �Now there is nothing keeping me from you, Little Star.�
�You killed him,� she said dully. �He loved me. He was good to me.�
�Not as much as I love you. And not as good as I will be to you.�
�I trusted you.� A flare of temper in her numb grief, gone as quickly as it came. �You said that you would� you would support me and whatever choices I made as long as I was happy.�
�I remember,� he said softly. �That has never changed.�
�But, Antonin, I /was/ happy��
She felt him stiffen and quickly release her. A familiar voice shouted at her to get down and she obeyed. Andromeda heard the Stupefying Charm being cast and the sound of a body falling to the floor.
�Mum?�
Andromeda looked up to see her daughter in front of her. Nymphadora had returned home with her dad, but an accident involving her and the front steps had kept her away from the scene in the bedroom. Hearing her mother�s screams, she�d rushed upstairs.
�Dad� is he�� Nymphadora could not finish the sentence: her mother�s face told her the answer. She bit her lip. �Did he hurt you?�
Andromeda managed to shake her head. �No.� She glanced at Antonin�s prone form. �You�d� we�d� the Ministry.�
�I�ll take care of it,� Nymphadora nodded, her face drawn. �Come with me.�
�I need some time alone with Ted � with your father,� Andromeda said. �Please.�
Nymphadora extended her hand. �No, mum. I want you to come with me now.�
�I�ll be right behind you,� Andromeda said a little more sharply than she�d intended. �Dolohov�s not going to wake up. I�ll be fine. I just need to be with Ted.�
Nymphadora flinched at her mother�s tone but relented. �As soon as I send the owls, I�m coming back and taking you downstairs with me.�
As soon as her daughter had left the room, Andromeda summoned her wand to her. She crawled to where Antonin lay. �I�m sorry,� she whispered.
She kissed his forehead gently and murmured a spell: there was a loud crack as his neck snapped.
In the end, she couldn�t really hate him. Perhaps she would later, when the shock wore off. But for now - he�d been through the hell of Azkaban and survived.
He had been ill and thus not in his right mind.
Perhaps he had really loved her, perhaps not. But what�d he done � he�d done for her. Like an over-protective brother.
She could at least spare him from going through Azkaban or the damnation of a Dementor�s Kiss. Like a sister.
* Russian for �Good-bye�
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