A Troubled Nymph

Prologue

Summary

But that was before she'd been sorted into Gryffindor, before she'd made friends with muggle-born witch, Lily Evans and, now that she's in her fifth year at Hogwarts, her ideologies of Gryffindor are slowly beginning to change. Course it probably doesn't help that the truth about her past and her true destiny is slowly being revealed to her and it all comes to one decision that she must make when she "meets" her destiny on the night of a full moon.

Prologue

"Where are they?!"

"They must be around here somewhere!"

"Search the house! Well? Go on! They can't have gone very far!"

Andromeda flinched as she heard a vase breaking as it was hit by a spell--bits and pieces of the porcelain hitting the wooden floorboards like rain drops. Boots stomping above she and her husband's heads sent vibrations along the top of the tunnel, scattering dust and dirt over them, covering their hair and their daughter's face in the process.

Andromeda looked to her husband who motioned for her to follow him quietly and she nodded, pulling her infant daughter closer to her and clutching her wand tightly in her hand, before blindly following her husband in the dark. No light could be used.Not until they were almost at the end, so as to not draw attention from the Death Eaters who were destroying the house with such vehemence, she was sure it could be heard by people ten miles away.

Their daughter squirmed in Andromeda's arms, frightened by the noises she was hearing, and began crying.

"Keep her quiet!" Ted said sharply to his wife. "If we're found than this journey will have been for nothing."

Ignoring her husband's sharp reprimand, Andromeda pulled the little girl close to her breast and whispered, "Please be still my little one." She had tried to say it calmly but she was so scared that it was broken and came out as a nervous whine.

But their daughter must have sensed the meaning behind the plea for she stopped crying almost at once, allowing her mother to tuck the blanket in so that she would stay warm as they made their way to the next safe house.

Their feet barely made a sound as they slowly made their way through the dark and she began to fear that they would never make it out of the tunnel. That they had lost their way and were even now walking into a trap or, worse, walking straight into the arms of the Death Eaters who had burst into their home. No, we can't have risked everything only to die here in this tunnel she scolds herself as the yells and shouts stopped and Teddy could risk lighting the end of his wand to light their way.

The blue light created shadows along the walls and Andromeda was able to see just how closed in they were, making her breathing come out in short bursts.

"What is it?" he asked.

"N-nothing," she replied taking in deep breaths to calm down her racing heart. "It's just . . . so closed in here."

He sighed. "Andy we can't keep pausing, we have to get out of here now! If they catch us . . ." He stopped. There really was only one thing that could happen and neither of them liked that idea very much. "We'll worry about the little things later for now, just keep going and don't even think about the walls too much!" He turns and quickly made his way through the tunnel, making her jog a bit to catch up with him.

A part of her wanted to yell at him for being cruel to her but she knew he didn't mean it. He was just as scared as she was, maybe more since he had both her and their daughter to worry about.

A minute later and a round wooden door melted into the wand light.

"Oh thank God," she gasped as her husband waved his wand over the seven locks, releasing the Locking Charms that held the door closed. The door opened to reveal a snow storm ravaging outside! Strong winds blew snow flurries everywhere and, when Teddy opened the door, the wind blew in their faces, covering their hair and faces with snow, the cold air biting.

"Come on! We need to move fast if we're to get there!" he said grabbing her arm and pulled her into the snow.

She gasps as she set foot in the snow. It came up to above her knees! We won't get anywhere in this she thought and went to raise her wand whe . . . "My wand!" she cried in horror when she saw that she had dropped it.

"Forget about it we'll get another one when we leave here!" he yelled just as a flash of light appeared from below her eyes.

Looking down she saw the birthmark on their daughter's left shoulder was glowing.

Before she could cover it up a loud cackling laugh could be heard and, before she knew it, a jet of green light hit her husband, sending him flying into the air, his lifeless body falling a few feet away from he had been standing.

"Teddy!" she screamed and was about to run to him when she felt the weight from her daughter lighten and a high-pitched voice spoke.

"Avada Kedavra!"

She felt nothing. It was over almost as soon the words were spoken. She felt the air escape her lungs as she fell to her knees and then to the snow as her lifeforce was taken.

The young man smiled as the infant came to him. "Why Bella? Why don't you take your niece? She is after all your sister's only daughter and she'll need a . . . mother's touch . . . to grow," he said.

"Yes my Lord," she said and took the infant. She scowled down at it though but an emotion she had never felt before started to take place.

NO! She had felt this emotion once before, when she had her own child--a son--and he had been placed into her arms only minutes after his birth.

But just as the chain of emotions had come they had quickly gone. No, she is NOT to be brought up to know love. The Master has plans for her and she will make a nice friend for someone I'm sure she thought.

"Now, let us leave this place and get back home."

Bella made sure she had a good grip on the infant before Disapparating to the manor.

No one could have foreseen in that moment that, at that one moment, a figure emerged from the treeline a triumphant smile on his face as he kicked Andromeda's body over to look down in her lifeless eyes.

"I told you Andromeda that you should have stayed under my protection," he said. "And now . . . both you and your husband have failed in your greatest duty as parents!" He laughed. "Don't worry though, when she comes to Hogwarts for her education . . . I will make sure that she is properly trained to use her gifts."