Letters

Teddy Lupin opened his eyes. A ray of sunlight hit him full in the face. He grimaced, remembering why he hated growing up in this room. It faced east, and he never got to have a lie-in during the summers. Not that Andromeda would have let him, but it was a nice dream. He stretched, and subsided limply back into the mattress. He had come round for dinner last night, and fallen asleep, curled into an armchair. The night before had been busy. There had been a seemingly random Muggle-baiting, and Teddy's unit of the Obliviator squad had been called in to modify the memories of the Muggles in a poor suburb of London. He vaguely remembered his grandmother urging him to his old room, and falling into the narrow bed.

Teddy rolled off the bed, and crept down to the kitchen. He always woke up hungry, and was too impatient to sometimes to wait for what his grandmother called a 'proper' breakfast. He opened a jar of Muggle peanut butter and dipped a spoon inside. He swirled it around a few times, creating a large ball on the end of the spoon, before pulling the spoon out and screwing the lid back on. Just as he was about to start licking the peanut butter from the spoon, a tap on the kitchen window caught his attention.

He padded to the window and opened it, letting in a small tawny owl he didn't recognize. There was a letter addressed to Andromeda tied to its leg. Teddy took the letter, offered the owl some water, and a few Owl Treats, and propped the letter on the kitchen table against the vase in the middle. The owl hooted softly at Teddy, then flew out the window. Teddy closed the window, and stood meditatively watching the owl fly off into the sunrise. 'I don't know why I ever bothered to put the peanut butter on bread for you,' a wry voice said behind him. 'You just ended up scraping it off and scattering breadcrumbs to the birds.'

Teddy grinned around a mouthful of peanut butter. 'Mrng, Grnnn.' Frowning, he tried to work free the blob of peanut butter now stuck to the roof of his mouth. Sighing through his nose, Teddy pulled a carton of milk from the refrigerator and poured some into a glass. Gulping half the contents helped clear the logjam and he pointed with his spoon to the table. 'There's a letter for you.'

Andromeda picked up the envelope. When she was the carefully executed hand of her sister, her grip tightened enough to crumple the parchment. 'Do you want breakfast, Teddy?' she asked casually, slipping the letter into the pocket of her dressing gown.

'No thanks, Gran. I need to get going. Unit's meeting to discuss the incident the other night.' Teddy kissed Andromeda's cheek and bounded out the back door. Andromeda waited until she heard the faint pop of Teddy's Disapparation, before she sat at the table and pulled the letter from her pocket.

Andromeda laid the letter on the table and stared at it, as if the reasons for writing it would come though the parchment. Narcissa didn't write very often. They sent each other occasional letters, perhaps one a year or so. In fact, Andromeda had just received one right before Christmas.

Steeling herself, Andromeda broke the seal on the envelope, and slid out a piece of parchment.

Dear Andie,

I'm sure you heard about Lucius. Please, no sympathy. I'd probably choke trying to sound sincere in my expressions of gratitude.

Andromeda smiled. Narcissa was the one with the twisted sense of humor.

I heard from Scorpius the other day that he met you and Teddy during the school holiday. He idolizes Teddy, as I'm sure you know. He asked me how to Transfigure hair color the other day. Specifically to turquoise.

I'm glad Scorpius was able to meet you. He needs to have family where he feels he belongs. I don't want what happened to you, or Sirius, to happen to him.

It appears I'm going to stay in England for the time being, or at least until school starts again. I would love to see you, Andie. You and Teddy. I know I haven't seen you in years. Not since Teddy was about a year old.

Please, Andie? I'm not proud of the decisions I made in my past, and I'm not asking for absolution, but I want to see you.

Maybe we can start over? Even at our age, Andie, I've learned it's not too late to do so.

Narcissa

Andromeda folded the parchment and slid it back into the envelope.

Ted would have told her to at least see Narcissa once.

Dora and Remus would have been wary, wondering why on earth Narcissa would want to see her after nearly twenty years.

Teddy would act like he didn't care, but Andromeda knew otherwise.

-But what do I want? Andromeda asked herself.

She didn't know.

Andromeda took the letter to her desk and put it inside. She needed some time to think.

*****

The letter lay in Andromeda's desk for a week. Every time she walked by it, she shot a furtive glance in its direction. The desk, usually so innocuous, now mocked her, with its unanswered letter tucked into a drawer.

Another week went by.

And another.

Teddy came over for dinner, as he usually did, if he wasn't eating with Harry and Ginny, claiming his cooking would choke a chimera. 'Hi, Gran!' he said brightly, coming through the back door. 'What's for dinner?'

'Whatever it is, Teddy, it won't be enough to feed you and your bottomless pit,' Andromeda said, stirring a pot of soup. 'But it's only some soup.'

Teddy shrugged, and grabbed the jar of peanut butter from the pantry. 'No worries, then.' He found a spoon and began to eat the peanut butter straight from the jar. 'So, Gran, who was that letter from?'

'My sister. Narcissa.'

'I thought you two didn't really talk much.'

'We don't,' Andromeda said shortly.

'What'd she say?'

'Nothing you don't already know.'

'Gran...'

'Teddy,' she sighed. 'She wants to see me,' Andromeda admitted.

'Why?' Teddy was perplexed.

Andromeda ladled soup into a bowl for Teddy. 'She just does, dear.' Andromeda shrugged. 'Maybe it's just time...'

After Teddy went back to his London flat, Andromeda approached the desk, and pulled the letter out of the drawer cautiously, as if it would bite.

Maybe it was time.

Dear Narcissa,

You are right. It's not too late.

Will you be able to come this Saturday afternoon? Bring Daphne and Scorpius. Teddy will be here, too.

Andie