Andromeda Tonks usually enjoyed peaceful and undisturbed sleeps. Perhaps it was because, as a young girl, sleep was her only opportunity to block everything out. It was her time to remain ignorant to the real world for a few sweet hours, only to wake up in the morning and remember that people were cruel and life wasn’t perfect.

But tonight was different.

Tonight her dreams were filled with sinister laughter and screaming children. It looked like a war zone, blinding flashes of green danced in and out of sight. She searched through the chaos, looking for one thing – her daughter. While her mind was preoccupied, her body thrashed and turned in her bed. She was whimpering and crying out her daughter’s name and then...

“Andromeda!� said an echoing voice. She struggled to understand where the voice had come from before she was shaken back into reality. Her eyes opened and, upon meeting those of her husband, she felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment.

“Ted, sorry for waking you. It was just a nightmare, that’s all.�

“Andromeda, listen,� he said hurriedly. “It’s Dora.�

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Before she knew it, Andromeda was rushing through the fourth floor corridor of St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. She clutched onto Ted’s arm tightly, she could hear her heart beating in time with her footsteps and she was ready to be sick with worry. All Molly Weasley’s note had said was that Dora had been injured in a battle at the Ministry and she had been taken to St. Mungo’s.

She only vaguely heard Ted counting the numbers on the doors of the wards. According to the witch at the enquiries desk, they were looking for ward thirty-seven, Spell Damage.

“Thirty-seven!� Ted said breathlessly. He dragged her through the open door and a wave of relief washed over her. Nymphadora was propped upon pillows in a hospital bed, her hair wasn’t as vibrantly pink as usual but she was still very much alive. Andromeda rushed over to the bed and embraced her tightly.

“Oh Dora, we were so worried. What happened?� she said, stepping aside for Ted to hug their daughter.

It was then that Andromeda had a better look at her surroundings. Beside Dora’s bed sat a rather scruffy looking man with light brown hair. He stood up and attempted to smile at Andromeda. “Remus Lupin,� he said, extending a hand. She shook it lightly and turned back to her daughter. She was slightly taken aback when she realised Dora had started to cry – Dora, much like herself, never cried.

“Darling, you must tell us what’s happened,� Ted whispered.

Dora shook her head. “I’m fine. It’s just ...�

“You are clearly not fine, Nymphadora!� Andromeda said, as she began to fuss with Dora’s blanket in attempt to make her more comfortable.

“Mum, listen!� she cried, tears streaming down her face. “Mum, its Sirius ... He’s ... he’s dead.�

Andromeda stepped back in shock. She barely noticed the man named Lupin rush to Dora’s bedside while she sobbed. She didn’t feel Ted put an arm around her and mutter soothing words into her ear, because the world seemed to have stopped.

Years ago, when Sirius was sent to prison, Andromeda was certain he had been wrongly accused. She had grown up with the boy, and out of her entire family she knew Sirius was the least likely to end up a mass murderer. No, she had thought. There simply had to be a mistake. Andromeda had decided she would visit Sirius in Azkaban, to hear his side of the story. “I didn’t do it,� he had mumbled. She wanted to believe him, she really did.

As much as she missed Sirius, Andromeda didn’t go back to Azkaban after that visit; the Dementors had developed a special interest in her. She didn’t quite know the reason why, at first, but she could definitely hazard a guess – a guess that was, more than likely, right. After all, there were plenty of not-so-cheerful memories stored up in her mind.

After reading that Sirius had escaped Azkaban after twelve years of imprisonment, she began to wonder if he would seek her whereabouts, demanding to know why she had abandoned him, just like she did her sisters.

But Andromeda didn’t hear from Sirius Black until the start of this year, when she received a special visit from Nymphadora. She said she had brought someone along with her and that it might come as a bit of a shock. Andromeda raised her eyebrows slightly as a huge black dog came through the door after her daughter. “I’m shocked?� she joked, but gasped as the dog transformed into someone much more familiar.

“Sirius ...� she gasped as he pulled her into a tight hug. He began to explain everything, the things he had failed to mention during her Azkaban visit, followed by the exciting events that occurred after his escape. Dora stood by, grinning from ear to ear. Andromeda apologised and apologised for never going back to visit him, and for doubting him.

“But Andy,� he had said. “You were the only one who ever doubted that I was guilty.�

Not only was she thrilled about having her cousin back, it was also great to know she wasn’t the only sane Black left.

Now, she supposed, she was.

She suddenly snapped back to reality. The realisation of Sirius’s death came crashing down on her like a violent ocean wave. She was finally aware of the three people in the room staring at her, waiting for her to react. She took a deep breath and turned to her daughter. “How did it happen?�

Dora looked up at her mother, pools of tears settled in her eyes. “Dora ...� Andromeda urged. She needed to know, more than anything. She needed to know who or what would take Sirius away from her, the only member of the Black family she had ever grown to love.

“It was Bellatrix. Bellatrix killed him, Mum.�

Bellatrix. The name rang in her ears. She felt sick, she needed to get away. “Excuse me,� she whispered, dashing out of the room. She stumbled through the corridor and into the ladies’ bathroom. Once she was safely inside a locked cubicle, she threw up. Not that there was much to throw up – she couldn’t even remember the last time she had eaten. But somehow, it helped. Andromeda collected herself and stood up, stepping out of the cubicle and finding herself in front of the large, bathroom mirror. She brought a trembling hand up to her pale cheeks and touched her skin lightly. She had the same harsh cheek bones and thin lips as her sister, Bellatrix. It was amazing how two people could look so much the same, yet be so different.

When they were younger, Bellatrix and Andromeda had always gotten along perfectly well, as there was never any reason for them to disagree. However, thanks to years of being educated at Hogwarts, Andromeda was no longer influenced by her family’s views. She finally realised how much she actually disliked her sister. The dislike eventually became mutual when Andromeda became the first Slytherin to date outside of her own house. “Ted Tonks is a Mudblood, Andromeda!� Bellatrix had hissed.

Andromeda had merely smiled at her and said, “I know, Bella. But he really is an excellent kisser.�

That was probably the last time Bellatrix and Andromeda had had a proper conversation, and when Andromeda finally left home after her final year of Hogwarts, they never really saw each other again. If I saw her right now, she thought viciously. I would kill her. For a moment, the idea gave her pause; Andromeda was slightly surprised that the idea of killing her own sister had come so easily.

She killed him. Those words were stuck on repeat in her mind. But somehow, knowing that Bellatrix had killed Sirius gave her an odd sense of satisfaction. Because this way meant she had somebody to blame besides herself. Knowing that somebody else was responsible for Sirius’s death made the guilt she felt disappear.

She knew why she had felt that guilt: In her fifth year of Hogwarts, she made a promise to herself that she would always protect Sirius, because he was the only one who had a chance to be different. She nearly laughed out loud at the thought of her promise – her own sister was the reason he was dead.

The pain Andromeda was feeling was far worse than any physical pain she had ever endured. The lump in her throat was nearly choking her. She struggled to breathe as she tried to understand how it had come to this, family turning on each other. Andromeda knew Bellatrix had done awful things in the past. She had tortured those Aurors, of course; it was the reason she had been locked up in Azkaban in the first place. But Andromeda had always thought Voldemort forced Bellatrix to do those things, and that her sister wasn’t as evil as her acts made her seem. She nearly laughed at her own stupidity once again. She finally realised Bellatrix wasn’t forced to do anything. You always have a choice.

And tonight, Bellatrix chose to murder her own cousin.

This left Andromeda feeling numb, rather than ill. Because the day she made a promise to herself to protect Sirius Black, she never for a second thought she would break that promise. She knew she could protect him from their family’s prejudice and she knew she could protect him from turning into one of them. But Sirius had never really needed protecting; he always managed fine on his own. She had always seen a young boy, who was vulnerable to being brainwashed by his own family.

But in the end, he had been a lot stronger than she thought he was. He was the first Black to be placed in Gryffindor and he even had the nerve to befriend ‘half-breeds’. He had survived Azkaban, not to mention escaped it, which he did on nothing but hope. He had even managed to evade the Ministry for two whole years.

And now, well, now it all felt like a waste.

Andromeda heard the bathroom door creak open slightly, and she quickly made to wipe away her tears, for surely she had shed some. But she felt no liquid on her cheeks; she realised she had never actually been crying.

“Mum?� said a small voice from the gap in the door.

“Dora, you should be resting!� said Andromeda as her daughter entered the room. She was wearing a white hospital gown that was slipping off her delicate frame. It was strange to see her looking so fragile. Nymphadora was one of the toughest people she knew. Andromeda sighed; her own daughter was another person she could not protect.

“Mum, I just wanted you to know ... Sirius, he died fighting,� she firmly.

Andromeda nodded. “I can’t believe it, Dora. I can’t believe that Bellatrix killed him.�

“It’s not that hard to believe, Mum,� said Nymphadora. “She’s completely mental.�

Andromeda nearly laughed, but instead, she broke down. For the first time in a long time she felt warm tears roll down her cheeks. She fell pathetically into her daughter’s arms, where she shuddered and sobbed. Andromeda felt foolish for losing control in front of Nymphadora. But she knew she had every right to cry. She had just lost the one good thing from her past.

Andromeda almost started to panic; Sirius had been the only thing keeping her sane when they were kids, so how could she cope now that he was gone?

And would the world even be informed of his innocence? Or would he be forever known as a mass-murderer? She knew she would never stand for that. Once this war was over she knew it was her responsibility to make everyone aware of the man her cousin was, who he really was.

She shook her head and wiped her tears. She had finally realised that her life was no longer what it used to be. Now, she had a loving husband and even a child of her own. Without noticing it, she had stopped needing Sirius Black long ago. Andromeda knew she would always miss him, and she would forever blame her sister for his death. But now that there was nobody in her life to remind her of the past she was always looking to escape, she knew she could finally move forward.

And maybe even forget.