The New Me

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It had been days since Remus busted into her flat and found out her secret. It had been days since she had attended any meetings, and it had been days (or weeks) since she had last owled her parents. Why? She couldn’t face them, she was afraid of what their reaction would be. She knew deep down that they would love her, and do anything for her no matter what. But what happened if, just maybe, they couldn’t accept the change? Or, what if, because of Ted’s muggle born status, they just couldn’t afford another blemish on their family in the eyes of the ministry, so they had no choice but to cut ties with her completely?

Tonks worried too much, even though she managed to never show it. The way she kept herself collected, even as she was mentally losing it, was quite impressive. And she would do her best to keep a composed act for the rest of the day. It was going to be a very long one, indeed. She had finally broken down to seeing her parents. Partially because she kept thinking about what she and Remus had talked about. It was so easy to talk to him once he knew that she was a werewolf. She hoped that it would be half as easy with her parents. Tonks knew she couldn’t hide from them much longer.

If she was honest with herself, she would eventually run into Ted at an Order meeting and probably get so many questions that she couldn’t answer in front of other people. Or her mum could just show up at her flat one day and invite herself in for tea. Both situations were extremely likely to happen, so she figured it was best if she initiated the meeting before either of them had the chance to.

The young auror knew better than to tell her parents that she was coming. She didn’t want all of the smothering from her mother, and she really didn’t want to have to stay for dinner if she didn’t want to. Tonks was really playing her own game right now. As far as she was concerned, Andromeda and Ted would not have any sort of control as far as how long her visit would last.

Usually Tonks traveled by apparition, or broom if it was dark enough. However, she was having a hard time focusing on a spot in her parent’s house as her nerves were gnawing at her thoughts, and it was still pretty bright out. That meant she would have to travel by Floo. Once she felt like she could walk without throwing up as her stomach turned inside out, she grabbed a handful of powder, stepped into her fireplace and said her parents address.

She leaned against the back of her parent’s fireplace when she arrived at their house, doing her best to steady herself and catch a few more breaths. Her eyes moved around the perfectly clean living room as she dusted herself off. Tonks’s head was spinning and she cursed her mum for making the living room a deathtrap for Tonks. Everything looked so fragile and breakable. The clumsy auror carefully stepped out of the fireplace and straightened herself up. “Mum? Dad?” She called her parents, nervously playing with a pink strand of hair.

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I don't know where this road is going to lead me

Honestly, it had been an unexpected naptime for Ted when he was woken up by the telltale voice of his own daughter in their living room. Last night had been a particularly long and exhausting shift for him, as he’d been called in on an odd shift when one of his coworkers “fell ill” and had to call off work. Pft. As if Healer Larington had ever been sick a day in his life. Knowing him, he’d taken off to go shag some unfortunate girl down at the Leaky Cauldron, but nonetheless, Ted had gone into work like the dutiful Healer that he was. Despite having gotten a few decent hours of sleep when he managed to collapse into bed in the early hours of the morning, he’d still dozed off the second he plopped on his bed to lounge for a while.

Snorting in his sleep, Ted immediately sat up at the sound of his daughter’s voice. It had been a rather long while since he’d last hear from her, since either he or Dromeda had last heard from her, so immediately he scrambled to his feet and headed for the living room, his heart jumping in his chest. While it wasn’t uncommon for Dora to sometimes drop off the grid because of work or Order business, but the fact that she had come to the house without even warning them beforehand immediately spelled out something off to Ted.

Wherever his wife was, he was sure she was about the house somewhere and would show up seconds after he did, but as he ran into the living room and saw his daughter brushing herself off, Ted couldn’t help himself before just instinctively rushing forward and engulfing his little Dora in a massive, enveloping hug. There was just something about her, about the way she looked, that had him extremely worried. It had only taken a second or two to tell that something was wrong, and whatever it was, Ted knew he had to be there for her. And Andromeda, when she realized what Ted had.

He stepped away from Dora, looking her up and down and shoving his hands in his pockets as if the embrace had never happened, and he smiled at her in an almost casual manner, if it weren’t for the fact that he was currently extremely worried about whatever was bothering her, so it was a little strained. ”It’s been a while since we last heard from you, Dora,” he said with a small, sad chuckle. Ted loved his daughter, he always had more than anything (except maybe his wife, of course), because she was his only child, and she was also the daughter of the woman he loved most in the world. He could even see some of Andromeda in his daughter’s features, and it was those parts of her that Ted loved the most.

”To what do we owe the nice surprise, eh? And you missed a spot of soot on your nose there, as warning. Might want to clean that bit off before your Mum gets in here or she’ll be all over you with a rag and soap.” He said that almost like it was a conspiring joke, though he really did mean it. Ted knew better than anyone how his wife could get, and at the same time also knew better than anyone just how irritated Dora could get with her antics. As always, he tried to play peacekeeper, the smiling one at that.

HARP IS A LAZY BUM AND DIDN'T CHANGE THE IMAGE

Template by Varon

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Having tucked her husband into bed early that morning, Andie had decided to spend her morning tending to her small potted garden in the sunroom. She had turned the radio on and hummed along as she repotted several of her plants that had outgrown their original homes, more than content to spend a quiet morning at home- but like so many other quiet mornings, Andie’s mind wandered, particularly to the topic of her daughter. Andie hadn’t heard from Dora in weeks, but as much as she hated to admit it, that was starting to be pretty normal.


To say that Dora resented her was probably an understatement, and to say that Andie wasn’t confused and hurt by it was an even bigger one. She had devoted her entire life to her daughter, wanting nothing more than to show her the sort of motherly love that Andie herself had never received, but Dora had seen it as a burden. Did her daughter love her? Yes, Andie was pretty sure that she did, but she definitely didn’t need her mother- which hurt. With every passing day that Dora didn’t contact her, Andie tortured herself with wondering what she had done wrong. She had always been supportive of Dora, and she had always tried very hard to make sure that Dora was happy, no matter the cost to herself, but apparently it wasn’t enough. As sad as it was, Andie was forced to admit the old adage was true: kids really did break your heart in the end.



“Mreow?”



Andie blinked, her dark thoughts clearing as she looked up at the screen door that led to the yard. Outside, a pair of green eyes stared back, and Andie smiled. She got up from the floor, listening to the sound of the silent house for a moment to reassure herself that her husband was still sleeping before she opened the door, allowing the mangy tabby to pad into the room and wind itself around her ankles. Andie’s small stray cat colony was a secret that she had shared with no one, born out of her extreme loneliness at the absence of her daughter and her husband’s hectic work schedule. Andie knew that if she asked, Ted would be more than happy to let her take all of the cats in legitimately, but Andie didn’t want that. It had originally been her who had said no to her animal lover husband’s request to have a pet in the house, and she was too stubborn to admit she had rethought that particular rule- instead, she fed the cats when she knew her husband wouldn’t see, enjoying in their companionship. Occasionally, she would let them inside if she knew there was no chance of Ted catching on.



A voice in the house made Andie freeze, and she frowned. “That sounded like Dora,” she told the cat, who ignored her completely and licked a paw before beginning to wash his face. No further signs issued from the house, and Andie sighed. Wishful thinking, no doubt. She wanted to see her daughter so badly that she was hallucinating her- surely a sign that she was losing it.



“Don’t get too comfortable, puss- you know he’s going to wake up in an hour or so.” She smiled at the cat, shaking her head. Who would have ever thought that Andromeda Black would have ended up here, talking to a cat for companionship?

Instead of a response from the cat, however, another sound came from the house- and this time, Andie was sure she wasn’t imagining it. She went to the door, opening it and sticking her head in, hearing her husband’s voice talking to… himself? She doubted that- Ted was more likely to hunt her down than talk to himself, and she frowned. Too curious about their unexpected visitor, she didn’t shut the door all the way, and she walked softly through the kitchen to stand in the doorway of the living room, her shock evident as she took in her daughter. “Dora,” she blinked, taking a moment before saying absently, “You’ve…. You’ve got something on your face, love.”

Wordz:689
status:complete
tagz:Ted and Dora!
notez: Awwww!
inspiration Hummingbird- Alex Clare
credit:this template is by monica DON’T BE STEALIN, YA HEAR???!!!!!

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