Nineteen Years Later, Part II: Andromeda's Proposal
Title: Nineteen Years Later, Part II: Andromeda’s Proposal
Author: kanedax
Spoilers: Deathly Hallows; Previous Chapters ( timeline)
Characters: Andromeda, Teddy, Tiberius Ogden
Rating: PG for mild language
Summary: Andromeda gets a visitor
Notes: Hopefully this one doesn’t feel quite as out of place as the last one. I still have my ending in my sights, but I also want to lay some cards on the table if I choose to use them in the future.
I own these characters. The others belong to JK Rowling.
Patrick the Muggle / Previous Chapters / The Other Family
Andromeda Tonks heard the thumping from the other room as she poured herself a cup of morning tea. The heavy footsteps approached the small kitchen, in Andromeda's small house, a one-story unit where she and her grandson had been living since they moved out of the home once inhabited by Ted, Andromeda, and Nymphadora Tonks, now far too large and far too haunted by memories to be lived in.
“Morning, Gran!”
“Good morning,” she replied. “You’re up earlier than I expected.”
“Why do you say that?” asked Teddy Lupin, Andromeda’s grandson.
“Well, you were out when I went to bed,” she said with a shrug, walking to the kitchen table with her tea and flipping the page of the Daily Prophet. “And I didn’t hear you come in. I assumed you’d want to sleep in this morning.”
“I wasn’t out that late,” said Teddy defensively. “Just a few drinks with Gavin and Jenn. I was in by midnight. It was a Thursday night, after all; they had to work this morning.”
“Don’t think I’m complaining, dear,” said Andromeda. “I do appreciate the company.”
“I know,” said Teddy, pouring himself his own cup and grabbing a banana from the hanging basket. “I’m not here for too long, anyway.”
“Oh, really?” asked Andromeda.
“Damn, did I forget to tell you?” Teddy asked. “I’m helping Vic get her stuff to King’s Cross this morning.”
“No, you didn’t tell me that,” said Andromeda.
“Sorry,” said Teddy. “The four of them were in France over the weekend for Gabrielle’s wedding. The other three are staying the week, but Vic had to come back for classes. Obviously.”
“Hm,” said Andromeda. “Obviously. Gabrielle’s getting married, is she?”
“Got married, yeah,” said Teddy between bites of banana. “Some French bloke who works in finance in Tours.”
“The Delacour girls have a thing for bankers, I guess,” she said with a small smile. “I’m amazed it took her so long to find someone. How old is she again?”
“Thirty?” Teddy thought aloud. “Thirty-one? Something like that. You know I’m bad with ages.”
“She’s such a pretty girl,” said Andromeda. “It’s amazing to me that no one swept her up sooner.”
“Way I figure it, no one swept her up sooner because she is such a pretty girl,” said Teddy. “She could afford to be choosy because she knew that they were lining around the block for her.”
“I suppose that’s another way of looking at it,” said Andromeda. “So when are you leaving?”
“In a few minutes,” said Teddy, tapping the banana peel with his wand and making it vanish into thin air. “Vic’s been home alone for the past few days packing, but she wants to make sure she’s not missing anything. I’m her second pair of eyes.”
“Train leaves at eleven?”
“As always.”
“Will you be home tonight?” she continued. “Or do you have rehearsal?”
“Nah,” he said. “I’m off tonight. They’re working Jake and Diane’s scenes.”
“I’m having the Grangers over for dinner,” said Andromeda. “Will you be home by seven? I’m making a roast.”
Teddy’s face turned red. His hair turned green. “You are?”
“Nothing too complicated,” said Andromeda. “But they haven’t been over in a while. I thought it might be nice?”
“Oh,” said Teddy quietly. “Actually, I… I think I’m at Harry’s tonight.”
“Are you sure?” said Andromeda, sitting up.
“Yeah.”
“And this is something you had planned in advance?” she asked. “And not something you made up right now?”
“No, it…” Teddy sighed. “Might have been made up right now.”
“Because you know it’s just going to be Charlotte and Dan,” Andromeda continued.
“I know.”
“No Caroline. She’s back at Bristol.”
“I know.”
“But you’re still going to be at the Potters?”
Ted paused, running his finger absently around the edge of his teacup. “Probably, yeah.”
Andromeda sighed and, standing up, walked back to the stove. “Alright then,” she said quietly.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” she said. “You should get going. Victoire will…”
“No, Gran,” Teddy said, standing up. “I mean it. I’m sorry about all of this. About everything.”
“Teddy, you don’t have to be…”
“But I am,” said Teddy, standing beside her. “I’m sorry you have to get caught in this whole mess with me and Hermione. It’s stupid, I know, it’s been a year and a half and I’m still all… I just don’t know how comfortable I am around her parents yet. Old memories, I guess. And I’m sorry that you have to be the one to pay for it.”
“I know,” said Andromeda, looking up at her grandson. “And I understand. Dan and Charlotte have been saying as much from their end, that Caroline feels the same way around me, so I know I’m not the only one in the crossfire.”
Teddy sighed and shook his head. “I guess this will teach me never to date family friends. Makes the end harder on everyone involved.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” said Andromeda. “It’s… There are complications in every breakup, Teddy.”
“Yeah,” said Teddy, putting his hand on his grandmother’s back. “Look… It’s probably for the best that I’m not around at dinner tonight, anyway. You three have fun. Pretend that your grandson and their daughter aren’t currently on bad terms. Just… Just enjoy yourself, okay? No drama.”
Andromeda chuckled reluctantly. “No drama would be a good thing for a night.”
“Exactly,” said Teddy. “But, you’re right, I probably should get going. Vic’s waiting for me.”
“You know,” Andromeda said slowly as Teddy turned to leave. “Victoire is single.”
Teddy stopped and turned around. “That she is.”
“And she’s pretty, too,” Andromeda continued, “and very sweet, and you two have always gotten along so well…”
“Yeah,” said Teddy with a shy smile. “I know.”
“I’m not saying…” Andromeda said, shaking her head. “All I’m saying is that you might think about moving on from Caroline. From Hermione. See some other people, Teddy.”
“I know I should,” said Teddy.
“And Victoire seems like someone who would be interested…”
“Probably,” said Teddy with a sigh, leaning against the doorframe. “It’s just…”
“I’m sorry, dear,” said Andromeda. “But it’s been a year and a half. I hate to see you like this. I just think finding someone else is healthy, even though I’m just playing a prying grandmother.”
“You’re not,” said Teddy. “Not at all. I appreciate it. Really, I do. But… I don’t know. It would be odd, I guess. She is kind of cute, in a way, but…”
“She’s not Hermione,” Andromeda finished.
“It’s not even that,” said Teddy. “Like I said, maybe it might not be a good idea for me to date friends of the family.”
Andromeda sighed. “I’m sure Lily appreciates your noble stance, and is relieved to know you won’t be making any advances.”
Teddy laughed sadly. “I’m sorry, Gran,” he said. “I’m trying my best. I really am. But it’s just hard to get back into it, you know?”
“I know,” said Andromeda. “I just hope you can someday. You’re such a wonderful boy. You deserve to be with someone.”
“Thanks,” said Teddy with a small smile. “And I will get back into it again. Just not now.”
“Of course you will.”
Teddy checked his watch. “Alright, so I should really get going. Look, I should be back by noon or one. How’s lunch sound?”
Andromeda smiled. “I’ll have sandwiches ready.”
“Excellent,” said Teddy. “Be back in a bit.”
Andromeda Tonks sat back down as Teddy left the kitchen. But before she could even start reading the next paragraph of her article there was a knock at the door.
“I’ll get it, Gran!” Teddy called from the sitting room.
“Thank you, dear,” Andromeda called back.
Andromeda heard the mumbling noise of two male voices from the other front of the house, but couldn't make out any of the words, or who it was that Teddy was speaking to. After about a minute he heard Teddy say, loudly and clearly, "Shell Cottage!" and the distinct floomph of the house's Floo, sending him across the island to Bill and Fleur Weasley's house on the sea.
"Good morning, Andromeda."
Andromeda leapt to her feet as a tall, imposing wizard entered the kitchen. He was impeccably dressed in emerald robes and a small brimless cap, his steel gray eyes looking through pince-nez glasses.
"Tiberius!" she cried out, trying her best to smooth out any wrinkles in her morning robe.
"I'm sorry, dear," said Tiberius Ogden, his mouth, which was framed by a long gray mustache (a fu manchu, Teddy called it, a Muggle phrase which Andromeda assumed he had learned from either Caroline or Edmund), breaking into a small smile. "Ted said that I could come in. But if I'm intruding, I could certainly return at another time."
"Oh," said Andromeda, quickly gaining her composure. "No, Tiberius, that's fine. I just... You were the last person I would have expected, especially this morning."
"I understand," Ogden replied. "You don't mind if I take a seat, do you?"
"No, of course not," said Andromeda as Tiberius pulled back one of the chairs and sat down. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at Hogwarts?"
"In a few hours," said the headmaster, who looked quite out of place at the small kitchen table. "The Hogwarts Express doesn't even leave the station for another two hours, and doesn't arrive at Hogsmeade until about six or seven. I'm only a short Apparation away in the meantime."
"So you're making social calls, then?" asked Andromeda with an arched eyebrow. "Seeing all of your old friends again before you get locked up for another nine months?"
"I suppose you could say that," said Tiberius with a chuckle. "Attending to some business, as well. Before I'm, as you say, 'locked up.'"
"So am I friend or business?"
"Perhaps a bit of both," said Tiberius. "But how are you doing? We haven't spoken in so long..."
"I'm surviving," said Andromeda. "Can't complain too badly. Would you like some tea?"
"That would be lovely, thank you," said Tiberius as Andromeda stood and walked to the stove. "And financially? Holding up?"
"Well, I'm not left wanting," said Andromeda. "Teddy's been paid for through the Auror's pension for Nymphadora, as well as the benefits Dumbledore assigned for Remus as a former professor.”
“And yourself?”
“You know I’ve been fine,” said Andromeda quietly as she set the teapot down. “The Ministry’s been very good for families who… you know…”
“Of course,” said Ogden solemnly.
“It was good of Kingsley to do it,” she continued. “To recognize that not everyone who died during the war died during the Battle of Hogwarts.”
“I know you don’t need me to say it,” said Ogden, “but Ted was a good man. One of the best in our year, and I considered him a friend.”
“Yes, he was,” said Andromeda with a sigh. “But that was a long time ago. I’ve moved on. Mostly. When I have a grandson who shares his name, he’s always somewhere in my mind.”
“I would be surprised if he wasn’t,” said Tiberius. “And how is Mr. Lupin?”
“He’s just fine,” said Andromeda, bringing the two cups of tea back to the table with some biscuits. “Doing a play in London, actually. I barely see him except for the occasional breakfast or dinner. He’s a man now. We’re running on different schedules, and he’s trying to make a name for himself while still keeping in touch with his grandmother and his godparents. But, you know how men are when they’re ready to move into the real world. This place becomes less a home and more of a boarding house.”
“Leaving you with more free time on your hands than ever,” Tiberius said with a nod.
“Well, that’s the way it’s been for years now,” said Andromeda. “He’s my grandson, and I tried to raise him as well as I raised Nymphadora. But he’s been in a unique situation his entire life. He was born in hiding, his parents died before he had his first tooth. He spent most of his childhood living both here and with the Potters. He was raised as a wizard, but his best friend has always been… well, until two years ago his best friend was always a Muggle. He’s had two homes, two worlds, and so he’s only been here… not that often. Even before he started at Hogwarts I would have nights where I’d be practically begging my girlfriends to come over for some cards or a nice quiet chat.”
Tiberius cracked a small smile. “Then I think you might be interested in the business part of my visit.”
“It depends on what you’re going to offer…”
“I’ve come to reiterate the offer I made to you, what was it, thirteen, fourteen years ago?”
“Is that so?” asked Andromeda, taking a sip of tea.
“It is so,” said Ogden.
“And you’re reiterating the offer to me when the new term starts in less than twenty-four hours?” Andromeda snorted. “Tibby, you’re insane.”
Ogden’s eyes widened in surprise. “Do you know how long it’s been since anyone’s called me by that name?”
“Couldn’t tell you,” said Andromeda innocently. “I thought I was the only one who did.”
“Anyway,” said Tiberius, forcing his way back to the subject, “no, not for this term. But I’ve been notified by both Professor Alkahest and Professor Squall that they will be retiring following this school year.”
“When did you get these notifications?”
“About two weeks ago,” he said. “Albert’s back is becoming such a bother that he can barely stand anymore, and Calamus’s numerous aches and pains from his years as an Auror are starting to pile up on him.”
“Seems sort of short notice to be making these resignations, don’t you think?”
“Not at all,” said Ogden. “Considering how many times Albus found himself desperately searching for Defense professors with only a month or two to spare, I think two weeks followed by a year of weekends gives me ample time to find qualified candidates.”
“So you’ve been looking for two weeks,” said Andromeda, “and you just now think of speaking to me?”
“I’ve been spending the last few weeks looking for Defense candidates,” said Tiberius. “I spoke with the Minister and with the Aurors to see if they could suggest anyone, and I’ve interviewed a few people. But for Potions… well, you’re the top of my list, quite honestly.”
“And what makes you think my answer will be any different than it was before?”
“Because your situation has changed,” he said, leaning forward on the table. “You said it yourself, Andromeda. Your grandson’s on his way out. You’ve been bored to tears. Why not come and do something worthwhile in your golden years?”
“For one thing,” Andromeda countered, “I haven’t mixed any potion besides household brews in decades…”
“That doesn’t matter,” said Ogden with a shrug. “The way I see it, you were always the best in Potions when we were at Hogwarts. It’s like climbing back on a broom, especially since you’ll have the textbook to cheat off.”
“And my age?” said Andromeda. “You were going with a youth movement when you took over for Minerva. I’m sixty-four, Tiberius. You’re asking me to replace two retiring professors, but I’m no spring chicken myself.”
“You’re not young,” he said. “None of us are. But you’re healthy; you don’t have any more pain than the rest of us old farts. I’m two years older than you, and I think I have another forty years ahead of me. If the governors don’t give me the boot first, of course.”
“I don’t know, Tiberius,” said Andromeda slowly, playing with her teacup. “It’s tempting but… I’ve never taught before.”
“You taught Teddy and you taught Nymphadora, and they both did quite well for themselves. And, besides, if you say yes, you’ll be given the opportunity to sit in on some of Albert’s lessons this year, and he could help you devise a curriculum, just like Sprout and Flitwick did for Longbottom and Bosh.”
Andromeda sighed. “I don’t know…”
“It might be a benefit or not,” he added, “but if you say yes, there’s probably a Head of House in it for you.”
“That’s not necessarily a benefit,” she said flatly.
“Sinestra can’t take the post because she’s the Astronomy teacher,” Ogden argued. “Her hours run completely different than the rest of the school, so she can’t patrol. And her students have difficulty enough staying awake for her lessons, I don’t think her House would be that alert when she gives them announcements.”
“And you can’t take any of the other professors…”
“Because they’re not primary lessons,” said Ogden. “A Head of House has to be teaching their students every year until O.W.L.s. That leaves out Vector and Skryer. So unless I bring in a Slytherin for Defense, and you’d be amazed how difficult it still is to find a Slytherin comfortable in teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts…”
“It leaves me,” Andromeda muttered.
“Or an outsider,” said Ogden with a shrug. “I could always try to find someone educated at another school, or home schooled. There’s no Hogwarts law against hiring from out of the country, and they could be Head of any House I choose, since they would never have been a Hogwarts student. I’d just rather see you in the Slytherin Head so I don’t have to limit myself in the Defense candidates.”
“But you know I hate being known as a Slytherin,” said Andromeda. “And I’m about as opposite of a Slytherin as one can get. I was just put in the house because I’m a Black. I’m not exactly qualified.”
“Actually, I think that makes you more than qualified,” said Tiberius. “Not all Slytherin Heads have to be Phinneas Nigelus, Andromeda. Horace was a gem of a man, even if he was a little egotistical. And Albert was extremely fair, treated every student equally. A rare gift for any Head.”
“I just don’t know how much respect I’d get…”
“You’d be amazed at how quickly your students will fall in line once they know you’re in charge of giving them grades and House Points and, most importantly, detentions and suspensions. Quite frankly, I think it would do some of the students good to have a blood traitor holding their futures in her hands.”
“I never liked that phrase, either,” said Andromeda quietly. “I heard it enough from my family when I married Ted, thank you very much.”
“I apologize,” said Ogden. “And I’ll be frank: you’ll probably hear it for a while when you first come back to Hogwarts. Not everyone is past pure-blood mania yet. But they’ll come around. They always do.”
Andromeda sighed and picked up a biscuit. “So I assume you already have your Gryffindor Head?”
“Oh, Longbottom, of course,” said Ogden. “Couldn’t come soon enough, if you ask me. Having the owner of the Sword of Gryffindor, the boy who used it to lop off the head of Voldemort’s snake, on staff for fifteen years without being the Head of Godric’s House… Well, it’s been a little shameful, to be honest.”
“Rules are rules, I suppose.”
“Rules are rules,” Ogden agreed. “Squall replaced Carrow the same year that Minerva moved up from Transfiguration to become headmistress. Since Calamus was the only other Gryffindor on hand before Neville was hired, he got the position, and I didn’t want to ask him to leave it until he chose to step down himself. He’s a man of honor, and it would have been dishonorable to force that upon him.”
“You did the right thing,” said Andromeda. “Neville was young when Minerva hired him. He wasn’t ready to take the House then.”
“Exactly,” said Tiberius. “But he’s almost forty himself, amazingly enough. I think it’s time. So, Andromeda,” he leaned forward again, “what do you think?”
“I think,” Andromeda said carefully, “that I have some thinking to do. And I think that I have a grandson who I want to bounce the idea off of first.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” said Ogden. “That’s why I’m trying to get this to you now instead of next summer. Give you some time to mull it over, maybe come to the school and take a look around, see how it feels. But, Andromeda, I would love to have you on our staff. I think you’d be a perfect fit. Just know that I’m not interviewing anyone else until I get your answer.”
“So much pressure,” Andromeda said, shaking her head.
“No pressure at all,” said Ogden. “If you say no, then it won’t be any trouble for me to move on to the next person on my list.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Excellent,” said Tiberius with a smile.
“So may I ask who you’ve spoken to about the Defense position?”
“You can ask,” he said mysteriously. “But I can’t give any names.”
“Have you spoken to Harry?”
“I have not.”
“Will you?”
“If I do, it will be to get his advice and opinion of other candidates,” said Ogden. “But, for multiple reasons, he will not be considered for the position.”
“Oh, yes, you’re right,” said Andromeda. “His children, I suppose.”
“He has one son in the student body right now,” said Tiberius, “another who will be sorted tonight, and a daughter who is two years out. That’s at least nine years until he’d even be considered for the post. And even then… well, he’s lacking.”
“Lacking?” asked Andromeda in disbelief. “The savior of the wizarding world is lacking?”
“In a formal Defense education, yes,” said Ogden. “I won’t argue that he’d be magnificent when talking about battle-tested hexes or various other offensive and defensive spells. But the Defense post requires so much more than that and Harry and, quite frankly, every other student who attended Hogwarts in the nineties never received a proper Defense education. Far too many changes in standards, and far too many sub-standard or even dangerously unqualified professors in that period of time.”
“Now, it wasn’t that bad,” said Andromeda. “Was it? I mean, Remus certainly did a good job.”
“Remus was the only one who did, quite honestly,” said Tiberius. “Quirinus was possessed by Voldemort, so refused to teach anything, hiding behind a veil of fear and paranoia. Gilderoy was completely unreliable. The man we thought was Alastor turned out to be a fraud. Dolores was Fudge’s tool. And Severus and Amycus…” Tiberius shook his head. “Quite frankly, I think Harry and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley deserves immeasurable credit; not just for defeating the Dark Lord, but for teaching all of those students how to fight better than any of their professors did. But that still doesn’t mean any of them qualified to handle the more academic areas of the subject.”
“Except for maybe Hermione,” said Andromeda.
“Mrs. Hermione Weasley is on the fast track to Minister,” said Ogden. “Asking her to be the Defense professor would be like asking Gwenog Jones and Kyle Mullet to handle first year flying lessons. They could do it, but it would be so beneath them they’d get mud up their nostrils.”
“She has children of her own, too…”
“Not even a question, believe me,” said Tiberius with a smirk.
“So you won’t tell me who you’ve interviewed?”
“Strictly confidential,” said Tiberius. “Even to old girlfriends. Sorry.”
Andromeda chuckled. “God. Don’t remind me.”
“You make it seem so sordid,” said Tiberius with a wink.
“Fifty years,” she said with a sigh. “Lord, we’re getting old, aren’t we?”
“Yes, but we’re magic,” said Ogden, standing up. “Plenty of time left to come.”
“You’re off?”
“I’m off,” said Tiberius. “One or two more stops to make, and I suppose I should get back at Hogwarts before the train arrives. Just to make sure the place hasn’t burned down in my absence.”
“You have to keep your eye on those professors,” said Andromeda, standing herself. “They love to party.”
“So you’ll think about what we discussed?”
“I will think about what we discussed,” she relented.
“And you’ll send me an answer?”
“As soon as the answer comes,” she said. “Which, in all likelihood, will be a yes. But that’s not my answer yet, so don’t quote me.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Thank you for stopping by, Tiberius,” said Andromeda as she walked the headmaster to the door. “And thank you for thinking of me.”
“Think nothing of it, Andromeda,” he said as she opened the door.
“Have a safe trip.”
“I will,” he said, stepping out into the late morning sun. He turned around. “Oh, and Andromeda?”
“Yes?” Andromeda asked, standing in the doorway.
“I never thought of you as a Slytherin,” said Tiberius.
“Thank you,” she replied with a kind smile.
“Just thought you’d want to know,” he continued. “Might help you in your decision.”
And with that, Tiberius Ogden Apparated from the front walk, leaving Andromeda Tonks alone in her small house, pondering the future.
Patrick the Muggle / Previous Chapters / The Other Family