Recently
Title: Recently
Author: tegdoh
Format & Word Count: ficlet, 942 words
Rating: PG
Prompt: prompt 12, The Andromeda galaxy
Warning: a bit of angst
Summary: Andromeda comes home to find that things aren't exactly as she had left them. Dora, Remus & Teddy help her cope.
Author's Note: I thought I'd get at least one in on the same day as the prompt. Guess not.
This is an outtake from my denial!fic The Grass That Grows. I wasn’t happy with it in its original version, but picked it up and dusted it off for the challenge. This fic has given me fits, and I’m still not entirely satisfied with it, but it is submitted here for your approval.
Recently it all came back to me
Somebody promised us roses
We slid by for awhile on dreams
But today I see what's only a memory
Of a decade ago that vanished from sight
With the speed of a shooting star
Leaving you, leaving me, where we are...
Joan Baez, Recently
June 1998
One month after the battle
“Oh, my...” Andromeda pressed a shaking hand to her lips as she stared at the ruin of what had once been her kitchen.
“Merlin…,” she heard Dora whisper behind her.
In the dim light filtering through the kitchen door it was apparent that the Death Eaters had taken their frustration out on the house itself when they found its occupants missing. The splintered remains of her kitchen chairs were scattered like kindling around the overturned table, and dishes had been shattered against the countertops.
“Here, let’s have some light,” said Remus gently. He moved passed Dora into the house to cast a silent luminos, lighting the sconces along each wall.
Shortly after Bellatrix had first broken through the wards they had put up on their home, Ted had contacted a Muggle cousin about borrowing a small rental on the coast. When he noticed Rudolphus skulking around the neighborhood he insisted that they split up, and that she, Dora and Remus should move to the coast without him. His voice had haunted her dreams nearly every night since. “I can still pass as a Muggle, Dromeda, hide out in Manchester or Leeds. It’ll be safer for Dora and the baby this way, give them two sets of tracks to try and follow.”
Now Ted was gone and she had returned to the home she had shared with him for 25 years to see what damage had been done in their absence.
Andromeda chafed her hands against her arms, trying to relieve the chill she had felt since entering the house. Remus righted the table and began to piece together one of the chairs while Dora adjusted Teddy more securely in his sling and began sorting through the broken shards on the countertop. She moved around them numbly, unable to focus enough to help.
Eventually she wandered down the hall and into the living room. At the crunch of glass she looked down to see a framed photograph, broken, beneath her foot. Andromeda bent down to retrieve it and brushed tenderly at the image of a giggling girl with bright pink pigtails being chased around a tree by her father. She crossed the room to the fireplace and carefully placed the picture on the mantle.
Turning back towards the room her eyes fixed upon the opposite wall, where a faded green image could just be seen: the outline of a snake erupting from a skull. Time stood still as she forgot how to breathe. Finally, her knees gave way and she slid down the wall, weeping.
She barely registered Dora’s curses when she stumbled into the room, followed closely by Remus. Andromeda held on to her daughter and grandson tightly as Remus raised his wand to remove the offending mark. He turned to face them, his face pale. None of them spoke for several minutes.
Slowly Andromeda brought herself back under control. She stood and walked over to her son-in-law, squeezing his arm in silent thanks.
“Andromeda,” he said gently, “why don’t you take Teddy back to the cottage. Dora and I can clean up this mess.”
“No,” she said, straightening her shoulders and gaining some strength back into her voice. “No, I’ll be fine, thank you, Remus. This,” she continued, waving at the destruction around her, “this can all be fixed. This is my home-our home,” she stressed, “and I’ll not be run out of it again.” Her eyes took in the damaged room, lingering on Ted’s old chair and finally settling on Teddy nestled securely on Dora’s back. “First thing is to find a safe place for Teddy. Perhaps one of the bedrooms. Dora, would you mind lending me a hand?” she asked, her voice not quite as steady as she willed it to be.
“Sure, Mum,” Dora agreed quietly.
They started on Dora’s childhood room. Fortunately the vandalism to the bedrooms was not as extensive as it had been in the living areas of the house. Clothes had been strewn about and some furniture was overturned, but nothing appeared to have been irreparably damaged. Dora cleared a spot along one wall under her favorite Weird Sister’s poster and conjured a cot for Teddy. “There you go love, nice and comfy,” she cooed.
Satisfied that her grandson was taken care of, Andromeda turned back to straightening the room. “Dora, could you help me with this dressing table...Dora, what is it?” Her daughter stood staring down at the cot, a slow grin spreading across her face.
“Mum! He smiled! Teddy smiled! Remus, come quick!”
Remus ran into the room, wand drawn and concern written on his face. “What? What is it?”
“Teddy just smiled his first smile, didn’t you, love,” Dora said, not taking her eyes off of her son. “It was the Weird Sisters poster, I’m sure of it.” She looked smugly at her husband. “He’s obviously inherited his mum’s excellent taste in music.”
Remus and Andromeda both moved across the room towards the cot, where Teddy laid obliviously sucking on his toes and gurgling happily. His hair had turned the exact shade of purple as Myron Wagtail’s dragonhide jacket on the poster above. “Oh great Merlin, two of them,” groaned Remus, but his crooked grin betrayed his amusement. He put his arm around Dora and added, “I suppose we shall have to learn to live with that wretched noise, Andromeda.”
Andromeda watched them standing over Teddy’s crib, fawning proudly over their son. Some of the warmth returned to her body as she imagined the years ahead, the house filled once again with the laughter of a child. And although it was tinged with regret that Ted wouldn’t get to watch his namesake grow up, she finally felt that she was ready to come home.
And the roses that lately arrived in the new baby's eyes
So recently
Author: tegdoh
Format & Word Count: ficlet, 942 words
Rating: PG
Prompt: prompt 12, The Andromeda galaxy
Warning: a bit of angst
Summary: Andromeda comes home to find that things aren't exactly as she had left them. Dora, Remus & Teddy help her cope.
Author's Note: I thought I'd get at least one in on the same day as the prompt. Guess not.
This is an outtake from my denial!fic The Grass That Grows. I wasn’t happy with it in its original version, but picked it up and dusted it off for the challenge. This fic has given me fits, and I’m still not entirely satisfied with it, but it is submitted here for your approval.
Recently it all came back to me
Somebody promised us roses
We slid by for awhile on dreams
But today I see what's only a memory
Of a decade ago that vanished from sight
With the speed of a shooting star
Leaving you, leaving me, where we are...
Joan Baez, Recently
June 1998
One month after the battle
“Oh, my...” Andromeda pressed a shaking hand to her lips as she stared at the ruin of what had once been her kitchen.
“Merlin…,” she heard Dora whisper behind her.
In the dim light filtering through the kitchen door it was apparent that the Death Eaters had taken their frustration out on the house itself when they found its occupants missing. The splintered remains of her kitchen chairs were scattered like kindling around the overturned table, and dishes had been shattered against the countertops.
“Here, let’s have some light,” said Remus gently. He moved passed Dora into the house to cast a silent luminos, lighting the sconces along each wall.
Shortly after Bellatrix had first broken through the wards they had put up on their home, Ted had contacted a Muggle cousin about borrowing a small rental on the coast. When he noticed Rudolphus skulking around the neighborhood he insisted that they split up, and that she, Dora and Remus should move to the coast without him. His voice had haunted her dreams nearly every night since. “I can still pass as a Muggle, Dromeda, hide out in Manchester or Leeds. It’ll be safer for Dora and the baby this way, give them two sets of tracks to try and follow.”
Now Ted was gone and she had returned to the home she had shared with him for 25 years to see what damage had been done in their absence.
Andromeda chafed her hands against her arms, trying to relieve the chill she had felt since entering the house. Remus righted the table and began to piece together one of the chairs while Dora adjusted Teddy more securely in his sling and began sorting through the broken shards on the countertop. She moved around them numbly, unable to focus enough to help.
Eventually she wandered down the hall and into the living room. At the crunch of glass she looked down to see a framed photograph, broken, beneath her foot. Andromeda bent down to retrieve it and brushed tenderly at the image of a giggling girl with bright pink pigtails being chased around a tree by her father. She crossed the room to the fireplace and carefully placed the picture on the mantle.
Turning back towards the room her eyes fixed upon the opposite wall, where a faded green image could just be seen: the outline of a snake erupting from a skull. Time stood still as she forgot how to breathe. Finally, her knees gave way and she slid down the wall, weeping.
She barely registered Dora’s curses when she stumbled into the room, followed closely by Remus. Andromeda held on to her daughter and grandson tightly as Remus raised his wand to remove the offending mark. He turned to face them, his face pale. None of them spoke for several minutes.
Slowly Andromeda brought herself back under control. She stood and walked over to her son-in-law, squeezing his arm in silent thanks.
“Andromeda,” he said gently, “why don’t you take Teddy back to the cottage. Dora and I can clean up this mess.”
“No,” she said, straightening her shoulders and gaining some strength back into her voice. “No, I’ll be fine, thank you, Remus. This,” she continued, waving at the destruction around her, “this can all be fixed. This is my home-our home,” she stressed, “and I’ll not be run out of it again.” Her eyes took in the damaged room, lingering on Ted’s old chair and finally settling on Teddy nestled securely on Dora’s back. “First thing is to find a safe place for Teddy. Perhaps one of the bedrooms. Dora, would you mind lending me a hand?” she asked, her voice not quite as steady as she willed it to be.
“Sure, Mum,” Dora agreed quietly.
They started on Dora’s childhood room. Fortunately the vandalism to the bedrooms was not as extensive as it had been in the living areas of the house. Clothes had been strewn about and some furniture was overturned, but nothing appeared to have been irreparably damaged. Dora cleared a spot along one wall under her favorite Weird Sister’s poster and conjured a cot for Teddy. “There you go love, nice and comfy,” she cooed.
Satisfied that her grandson was taken care of, Andromeda turned back to straightening the room. “Dora, could you help me with this dressing table...Dora, what is it?” Her daughter stood staring down at the cot, a slow grin spreading across her face.
“Mum! He smiled! Teddy smiled! Remus, come quick!”
Remus ran into the room, wand drawn and concern written on his face. “What? What is it?”
“Teddy just smiled his first smile, didn’t you, love,” Dora said, not taking her eyes off of her son. “It was the Weird Sisters poster, I’m sure of it.” She looked smugly at her husband. “He’s obviously inherited his mum’s excellent taste in music.”
Remus and Andromeda both moved across the room towards the cot, where Teddy laid obliviously sucking on his toes and gurgling happily. His hair had turned the exact shade of purple as Myron Wagtail’s dragonhide jacket on the poster above. “Oh great Merlin, two of them,” groaned Remus, but his crooked grin betrayed his amusement. He put his arm around Dora and added, “I suppose we shall have to learn to live with that wretched noise, Andromeda.”
Andromeda watched them standing over Teddy’s crib, fawning proudly over their son. Some of the warmth returned to her body as she imagined the years ahead, the house filled once again with the laughter of a child. And although it was tinged with regret that Ted wouldn’t get to watch his namesake grow up, she finally felt that she was ready to come home.
And the roses that lately arrived in the new baby's eyes
So recently