Saying Yes, chapter 8
Jun. 5th, 2013 03:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
starfishstarSAYING YES chapter 8
Summary: At 17, Andromeda Black thought being in love was everything. At 57, Andromeda Tonks knew better. Yet the first time Kingsley Shacklebolt asked her out, she surprised herself by saying yes.
Characters: Andromeda Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Teddy Lupin and ensemble (Harry! Ginny! Molly! Kingsley's kids! All the Potters and Weasleys!)
Warnings: None
Chapters: 15
Story:
CHAPTER EIGHT
Returning to England after their holiday, Andromeda turned her attention once again to her newspaper column – a piece debunking myths about shapeshifters such as Metamorphmagi was particularly satisfying to write – and was enjoying herself so much, she barely blinked when Ginny said one day, "You ought to write a book, Andromeda. I have this feeling wizarding history would be a lot less boring if you wrote it."
Andromeda ran the idea past Kingsley, her usual sounding board, when he dropped by later for tea. "What do you think?" she asked.
"Isn't the real question, what do you think?" he replied.
"I think I'd want to do it properly," Andromeda said as she poured their tea. "I'm not going to just republish columns I already wrote and call it a book. I would want to start fresh."
"Sounds like you've given it some thought."
"I suppose I have." She smiled. "Ted did always tell me I was so opinionated I ought to write a book."
"Clever man," Kingsley agreed, accepting a teacup from her hand.
"So what do you think?"
"About whether you're opinionated enough to fill a book?"
"Well, if that's how you want to put it!"
"Opinionated and brave and thoughtful and intelligent enough to fill several books, in fact," Kingsley answered.
"Oh," Andromeda said. "Thank you." Then, on further thought, she added, "You know I love you too, Kingsley."
Kingsley stared at her, the tea in his hand forgotten. "I – You don't have to say that."
"But it's the truth."
Now he blinked at her. "I love you, too."
"I know."
That night, Andromeda sat down at her desk with a quill and the intention of jotting down a few ideas she might use for a book. When she looked up again, the hands of her old grandfather clock pointed at midnight and she had in front of her a complete outline for a modern history of wizarding culture.
You could have knocked her over with a feather quill.
"What have you decided?" Kingsley asked a few days later. "Are you going to write a book?"
"Yes," said Andromeda. "It appears I am."
– – – – –
"We hear Teddy's quite the heartbreaker," Bill said one evening that winter, when he and Fleur, and Andromeda and Kingsley, were at the Burrow for dinner. As soon as he'd uttered the words, Bill looked mortified. Fleur gave him a look across the table.
"Is that so?" Andromeda asked.
"Oh, I shouldn't have said that," Bill said. "What I mean is – No, I'm sure Victoire exaggerates quite a lot in her letters, actually."
Fleur made a tsk-ing noise and Andromeda had to suppress a smile, because Fleur sounded so much like Molly when she did that.
"All Bill means," Fleur said, "is that your Teddy is apparently quite popular with the girls, and he has had a few girlfriends. Perfectly normal for a boy his age."
"I really didn't mean to say anything," Bill mumbled.
"I shouldn't be surprised," Andromeda sighed. "He's like Nymphadora, then. There was never any shortage of boys interested in her, and she never seemed to know quite what to do about it. I never saw her take any of them seriously, until Remus."
Andromeda brought up the subject – the existence or nonexistence of girlfriends – with Teddy over Christmas break, and to her surprise he didn't try to dodge the question.
"I don't know, Gran," he sighed, slouching in his chair at the kitchen table and barely pausing in his vigorous attack on an enormous sandwich. "They just all kind of…throw themselves at me. I know I'm supposed to think it's really great and all, but mostly it's just weird. I'm not even a Quidditch star! Girls are supposed to like Quidditch stars!" He shrugged helplessly and turned his attention back to his sandwich.
"Take smaller bites, please, Teddy," Andromeda said. Once he'd safely swallowed and taken a next, more reasonably sized bite, she changed subjects. "I don't know if you've thought about it, but your birthday falls during the Easter holiday this year. Would you like to have a celebration here?"
"You don't have to do anything like that for me," Teddy said.
"I don't have to, Teddy, but I'd be very happy to. It's your seventeenth."
"But just family, then," he said, looking uncomfortable. Teddy had always been shy about people making a fuss over him, though he wasn't particularly shy about anything else.
"Not any of your friends? The boys from school?"
"Yeah," Teddy conceded, "Ben and Zach maybe."
"And Alastor and Emmeline?"
"Gran."
Andromeda heard the barely suppressed roll of the eyes in the way he stretched the word into to two syllables. "Yes?"
"They're called Stor and Em."
"Yes, names which are short for –"
"It doesn't matter what they're short for. That's what everybody calls them."
"I can't imagine they mind –"
"Why don't you ever call people what they actually want to be called?" Teddy demanded, interrupting again.
Andromeda gave him a stern look. "Is there a problem here?"
"It just sounds really out of touch, is all."
"And why does that matter to you?"
"You should call people what they want to be called."
"What is this really about? Would you rather be called by a different name as well?"
"What? No. I just think it sounds dumb, that's all."
"Teddy," she warned.
"Sorry," Teddy grumbled, but the atmosphere in the room had shifted unmistakeably. Teddy ate the rest of his snack in irritated silence, then slumped back up to his room.
"He's just so unpredictable," Andromeda said to Kingsley, the next time she saw him. "One moment he's the same sweet boy he's always been, then the next he's peeved by the slightest thing."
Kingsley chuckled.
"Oh, you may well laugh," Andromeda complained.
"He's a teenager, Andromeda."
"Does he talk to Alastor, perhaps? Or does he tell you anything?"
"No," Kingsley said. "Teddy doesn't tell me anything, because I'm an adult and he's a teenager. This is the natural order of the world."
"Dora didn't sulk this much," Andromeda fretted.
"Are you sure about that?"
"All right, I suppose sometimes."
"He's a teenager. Unless he starts setting his bedroom on fire or consorting with goblins, it's better just to let him be."
Andromeda raised an eyebrow. "Consorting with goblins?"
Kingsley, to her surprise, actually looked embarrassed. "It was…a teenaged phase."
– – – – –
(continue to chapter 9)
Summary: At 17, Andromeda Black thought being in love was everything. At 57, Andromeda Tonks knew better. Yet the first time Kingsley Shacklebolt asked her out, she surprised herself by saying yes.
Characters: Andromeda Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Teddy Lupin and ensemble (Harry! Ginny! Molly! Kingsley's kids! All the Potters and Weasleys!)
Warnings: None
Chapters: 15
Story:
CHAPTER EIGHT
Returning to England after their holiday, Andromeda turned her attention once again to her newspaper column – a piece debunking myths about shapeshifters such as Metamorphmagi was particularly satisfying to write – and was enjoying herself so much, she barely blinked when Ginny said one day, "You ought to write a book, Andromeda. I have this feeling wizarding history would be a lot less boring if you wrote it."
Andromeda ran the idea past Kingsley, her usual sounding board, when he dropped by later for tea. "What do you think?" she asked.
"Isn't the real question, what do you think?" he replied.
"I think I'd want to do it properly," Andromeda said as she poured their tea. "I'm not going to just republish columns I already wrote and call it a book. I would want to start fresh."
"Sounds like you've given it some thought."
"I suppose I have." She smiled. "Ted did always tell me I was so opinionated I ought to write a book."
"Clever man," Kingsley agreed, accepting a teacup from her hand.
"So what do you think?"
"About whether you're opinionated enough to fill a book?"
"Well, if that's how you want to put it!"
"Opinionated and brave and thoughtful and intelligent enough to fill several books, in fact," Kingsley answered.
"Oh," Andromeda said. "Thank you." Then, on further thought, she added, "You know I love you too, Kingsley."
Kingsley stared at her, the tea in his hand forgotten. "I – You don't have to say that."
"But it's the truth."
Now he blinked at her. "I love you, too."
"I know."
That night, Andromeda sat down at her desk with a quill and the intention of jotting down a few ideas she might use for a book. When she looked up again, the hands of her old grandfather clock pointed at midnight and she had in front of her a complete outline for a modern history of wizarding culture.
You could have knocked her over with a feather quill.
"What have you decided?" Kingsley asked a few days later. "Are you going to write a book?"
"Yes," said Andromeda. "It appears I am."
– – – – –
"We hear Teddy's quite the heartbreaker," Bill said one evening that winter, when he and Fleur, and Andromeda and Kingsley, were at the Burrow for dinner. As soon as he'd uttered the words, Bill looked mortified. Fleur gave him a look across the table.
"Is that so?" Andromeda asked.
"Oh, I shouldn't have said that," Bill said. "What I mean is – No, I'm sure Victoire exaggerates quite a lot in her letters, actually."
Fleur made a tsk-ing noise and Andromeda had to suppress a smile, because Fleur sounded so much like Molly when she did that.
"All Bill means," Fleur said, "is that your Teddy is apparently quite popular with the girls, and he has had a few girlfriends. Perfectly normal for a boy his age."
"I really didn't mean to say anything," Bill mumbled.
"I shouldn't be surprised," Andromeda sighed. "He's like Nymphadora, then. There was never any shortage of boys interested in her, and she never seemed to know quite what to do about it. I never saw her take any of them seriously, until Remus."
Andromeda brought up the subject – the existence or nonexistence of girlfriends – with Teddy over Christmas break, and to her surprise he didn't try to dodge the question.
"I don't know, Gran," he sighed, slouching in his chair at the kitchen table and barely pausing in his vigorous attack on an enormous sandwich. "They just all kind of…throw themselves at me. I know I'm supposed to think it's really great and all, but mostly it's just weird. I'm not even a Quidditch star! Girls are supposed to like Quidditch stars!" He shrugged helplessly and turned his attention back to his sandwich.
"Take smaller bites, please, Teddy," Andromeda said. Once he'd safely swallowed and taken a next, more reasonably sized bite, she changed subjects. "I don't know if you've thought about it, but your birthday falls during the Easter holiday this year. Would you like to have a celebration here?"
"You don't have to do anything like that for me," Teddy said.
"I don't have to, Teddy, but I'd be very happy to. It's your seventeenth."
"But just family, then," he said, looking uncomfortable. Teddy had always been shy about people making a fuss over him, though he wasn't particularly shy about anything else.
"Not any of your friends? The boys from school?"
"Yeah," Teddy conceded, "Ben and Zach maybe."
"And Alastor and Emmeline?"
"Gran."
Andromeda heard the barely suppressed roll of the eyes in the way he stretched the word into to two syllables. "Yes?"
"They're called Stor and Em."
"Yes, names which are short for –"
"It doesn't matter what they're short for. That's what everybody calls them."
"I can't imagine they mind –"
"Why don't you ever call people what they actually want to be called?" Teddy demanded, interrupting again.
Andromeda gave him a stern look. "Is there a problem here?"
"It just sounds really out of touch, is all."
"And why does that matter to you?"
"You should call people what they want to be called."
"What is this really about? Would you rather be called by a different name as well?"
"What? No. I just think it sounds dumb, that's all."
"Teddy," she warned.
"Sorry," Teddy grumbled, but the atmosphere in the room had shifted unmistakeably. Teddy ate the rest of his snack in irritated silence, then slumped back up to his room.
"He's just so unpredictable," Andromeda said to Kingsley, the next time she saw him. "One moment he's the same sweet boy he's always been, then the next he's peeved by the slightest thing."
Kingsley chuckled.
"Oh, you may well laugh," Andromeda complained.
"He's a teenager, Andromeda."
"Does he talk to Alastor, perhaps? Or does he tell you anything?"
"No," Kingsley said. "Teddy doesn't tell me anything, because I'm an adult and he's a teenager. This is the natural order of the world."
"Dora didn't sulk this much," Andromeda fretted.
"Are you sure about that?"
"All right, I suppose sometimes."
"He's a teenager. Unless he starts setting his bedroom on fire or consorting with goblins, it's better just to let him be."
Andromeda raised an eyebrow. "Consorting with goblins?"
Kingsley, to her surprise, actually looked embarrassed. "It was…a teenaged phase."
– – – – –
(continue to chapter 9)
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