Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
✦
" Sirius."
" Don't Sirius me, Andy !"
At this point, Sirius was yelling at his cousin, but the witch seemed almost unbothered by it. Or at least, she was doing an exceptionally good job at controlling her urges to hex her younger cousin into oblivion.
" Do you have any idea how Ophiuchus would react to all of this ?" she asked him incredulously, ignoring the pleading look her husband was giving him from the other end of the table. " You cannot do this. You left him. You chose you stupid vengence over your family and then got arrested...it destroyed Mary, it destroyed your son !" Andromeda retaliated.
" I made mistakes and I'm trying to fix them!"
"You don't know anything about how much it destroyed him Sirius. Both of you leaving the boy in a constant tug of war between me and Cissy. Your son being himself thought I'd never notice. But to bring him here, to make him live with you? This is too much to ask of him. And he'll not listen to you."
" That's why I'm asking you to convince him."
"For Merlin's sake Sirius!" Andromeda gasped. " You were gone for fifteen years, you can't just show up one fine day and expect everything to back to normal!"
" You'd rather send him to the Malfoy Manor then?" said Sirius, eyeing Andromeda with an unfamiliar hint of annoyance, " Which is the lair of Death Eaters at the moment."
" Of course I won't! Do I look that ignorant? "
" Well you're acting ignorant!"
" Of course I'm not !" Andromeda defended. " You're acting immature."
" Goddammit Andy!" Sirius yelled, " He's not your son !"
Andromeda's eyes widened. With a single glance, anyone could tell that there were a thousand things running through her mind. Yes she might have stayed up all night with him when he was sick, yes she might have been the one who bought the boy his first broom, yes she might have been the mother-figure the boy loved desperately, but at the end of the day he wasn't her son.
Sirius seemed to have realised the meaning of what he had just said . " I'm sorry," he apologised immediately, " I didn't mean it like that."
" Yes," she squeezed her eyes shut. Her lips trembled slightly before she bit them back. " It is all right."
" Now that we are done yelling at each other," said Ted with a rather bored expression,"Can we talk like adults?"
The past few months had happened in a haze. Andromeda of everyone was most affected and surprised by the sudden turn of events. Last time Voldemort gained power, it had cost him almost everything she loved. Her own sister had attacked her family at least twice. But that time she hadn't done anything much against it. This time however, Nymphie and Ted and managed to convince her to help the fight against Voldemort. Which was exactly what had brought her back to number twelve Grimmauld Place, much to the distaste of her aunt's painting and Wallburga's old house-elf, Kreacher. The building itself had become unsuitable for habitation, but the amount of protective enchantments on this place made it suitable to serve as Headquarters for the Order of Phoenix.
Few people had noticed, relief wash over Andromeda's features when she was finally told that Sirius had been innocent from the very begenning. Few people had noticed all the emotions she'd tried to put into that one almost never-ending hug she'd given her cousin. Well that had been one step towards making Ophiuchus's dysfunctional family slightly functional.
But Andromeda knew that moving Ophiuchus in to live with his father and the Weasley's was hardly a good idea. No, scratch that, he wouldn't have much trouble with the Weasleys. Most of his troubles Began at Sirius and ended at Black. It wouldn't be that much of a task convincing him that his father was innocent. But Andromeda knew that the boy wouldn't forgive his father for walking out of his life that easily.
Unfortunately she of all people knew very well, how stubborn either of them could be. So instead of arguing further, she heaved a deep sigh and said quietly, "Fine. But whatever follows, that's your responsibility."
Sirius deliberately avoided Andromeda's intense eyes, and said in a rather apologetic manner, "You'll, you're my family. You're all I have. I'm just trying to make things right."
"You made everything wrong the day you decided to go after Pettigrew. You chose vengeance over your wife, you chose vengeance over your son," said Andromeda flatly.
" I thought the discussion on this was over," said Ted, not in the mood of getting caught up in another argument between someone and his wife. Last time that had happened, both Andromeda and Narcissa had yelled unanimously at him. The people of this family, even the decent ones could be terrifying sometimes. Even the paintings on the wall were terrifying and who keeps decapitated elf heads, hanging in their hallway? And then there was Andromeda's infamous sister, Bellatrix Lestrange. Did he mention that he had barely escaped with his life,the last time they ran into each other ?
" As if I want to yell at her," Sirius rolled his eyes, and ignored the incredulous look, Andromeda was sending his way. She looked as if she could hex the living daylights out of him any second now. And if Ted wasn't sitting right their and unwillingly playing mediator, she would have.
" Do you think Dumbledore might bring Harry.... " Andromeda began, but was immediately cut off by Mrs. Black's unpleasant screaming. The door to the meeting room opened minutes later. Andromeda and Sirius rose to their feet almost immediately.
Kingsley Shacklebolt walked in by followed by a rather distraught Nymphadora who'd tripped over the umbrella stand once again. All eyes were on them. Mrs. Black's screams were almost forgotten when Shacklebolt opened his mouth to break the silence.
