1994-10-18: Tea Time Talk

Participants:

Tonks_icon.gif

On Loan: Andromeda Tonks

Scene Title Tea Time Talk
Synopsis Considering Sirius Black is family, the inevitable has taken place. Andromeda demands answers.
Location The Tonks' home
Date Oct 18, 1994
Watch For Paranoia, a Mother's indignation, and an Albatross' timing
Logger Nymphadora.

The letter was polite, pleading and laced with a threat that only a mother could give. Andromeda sent her daughter a note, asking her around to tea and to visit. Of course, she would pick a timeframe when Ted was out of the house, there'll be no hiding behind him! As usual, the house, or at least the areas dominated by Andromeda, are spotlessly clean. The table has been set for afternoon tea, and there are a few recent issues of the Daily Prophet sitting out, headlines face up.

Merlin's beard, she was expecting this…but at the same time, it still came as a surprise. Unfortunately, it meant her plans to drag Holly to Azkaban got put off. It was okay more or less considering Azkaban wasn't a place to go during the nighttime hours anyway, but between a work shift (why was there suddenly so much paperwork for her to deal with and not enough well, real work?) and the tea that she, if she really valued her existence, really should attend. Unfortunately, Andromeda should understand that Tonks' concept of time isn't exactly, how shall we say… perfect? So that's why it's actually fifteen minutes after the scheduled time that the door finally opens (Kids have no need to knock), and well, just like old times, the stomping of feet, the bags she was carrying dropped just a few feet shy of the door and boots kicked off, "Mum, I'm home."

Actually, knowing Tonks's sense of time, Andromeda put the letter for 15 to 20 mins late. Between her daughter and husband, she's learned to expect less than punctuality. So as Tonks is entering, the sandwiches and other bread-related snacks are set on the table. "There you are Nymphadora. I shouldn't have to send a letter inviting my own daughter to tea." Brushing back her soft brown hair that serves as a distinction between herself and her sister Bellatrix, Andromeda meets Tonks and brushes a kiss against her cheek. "Your father won't be joining us, he's got to work. Besides, we should have a chat between ourselves."

Is that a sound of displeasure? "Mum~ Most everyone calls me Tonks now. Everyone else uses Dora," Why can't she? Grrr. She finishes removing her outer robes, having the sense to hang these up. As she makes her way over to the table, those Auror senses kick in. Tea, check. Not entirely out of place, but whens he sees those Daily Prophets? Tea becomes a smokescreen for a lecture. Especially since the last piece is her father's absence. Which means she won't get her way with her mum, no way, no how. Fortunately, she keeps her cool, being the semi-decent actress she is (Unless Umbridge is involved). "Girl talk?" She offers, hopefully.

"I'm your mother, I'll call you what I named you," Andromeda says then flicks her wand out to clean up the mud that Tonks has tracked in. Highly experienced in cleaning up after her daughter and husband, this takes no time at all and she's back at the table. Without waiting for Tonks to settle in, Andromeda starts pouring tea by hand. "Oh I thought we'd just talk, Nymphadora. It's been awhile as I said."

UGH SHE HATES THAT NAME MUM. "Yeah, it has. Sorry about that. Been a bit busy." It seems like a slip of the tongue, but Tonks had said such deliberately. If she can just get straight to the point then maybe they can have /real/ Mom-daughter time. When the tea's poured, Tonks'll take the cup and set about fixing it her usual way-sugar heavy.

So? It's what Andromeda picked, and that's the name she's using. "I can see things have been busy." She settles into her seat to prepare her tea with sugar and lemon. The cup is then set it into its saucer with a clink of china. "Why didn't you say anything? To your own mother?" There's a variety of emotion on the woman's face, hurt, anger, a lot of feelings she has held suppressed over the years. "You just let me see this in the Prophet? Without warning?"

She should've seen this coming. But even she can't predict every avenue. And for some reason,s he's been remarkably good at removing her family from her work. She picks up one of the sandwiches and nibbles on it thoughtfully. "Would you believe me if I told you the truth?" she asks quietly.

Holding her head high, as she reigns in herself, there's no denying the family resemblance that Andromeda possesses. She will not cry in front of her daughter, that already has been purged since the Skeeter article. It reopened an old wound she thought had healed. The anger and pain have yet to leave the woman's face as she regards her daughter, "And what would that be? First that raving Skeeter woman, now these articles?" It's as if someone's playing a cruel joke.

"That I didn't want anyone harassing you," Tonks says quietly. "People know we're related to Sirius, mum. And even if they didn't, it wouldn't take a whole lot of sleuthing to discover it. And then it wouldn't take all that much more to know that you and he were remarkably close before he was sent to Azkaban," All they'd have to do is ask the Malfoys. They'd probably embellish the facts, too, to make things even worse. "So I thought…the less you were aware of, the less chance they'd have reason to pester you about things. Or worse…suspect you as an accomplice."

"You could have at least warned me," Andromeda says, fighting the tremor in her voice. "An accomplice!? What are you talking about? As if I could have anything to do with him breaking from prison, where he should be, and him being on the run!" She refuses to say his name, not after the heartbreak of finding out he was like the rest of the family.

Tonks just winces and frowns. She sets her tea cup down. "This…" She doesn't know what to do. She can't make this jdugement call with her own mother! She instead just stands up and pulls out her wand. A flick of it and that damn silvery clumsy ball of light faceplants right in the middle of the sitting room floor before it toddles to shape as an Albatross. Summoned with the sole purpose of delivering a message, the Patronus should already have it's target in mind. "Mum wants to know. Shall I tell her, yes or no. Convince someone to send the fastest owl. I'm at home." She flicks her wand indicating the patronus should go now. "So…while we wait…" she turns back to her mother. Hopefully she'll get a response.

And yes, that damn bird takes a few to do a proper take off

Andromeda watches her daughter, a haughty expression on her face. Even as she watches the Patronus message being sent. Eyes narrowing, she fastens a sharp look on Tonks, "What is going on here Nymphadora?" It's that 'tell me young lady' tone she's giving, and she doesn't care how old her daughter has gotten. She's not too old to punish. Clearly, she's unamused by the level of secrecy here.

The Patronus message still might have been a bad judgment call. But she can't think clearly when it's her mom that's suddenly the subject of it all. Surely Sirius would understand, considering his fondness for Andromeda. Hopefully that hadn't waned. Tonks would presumed so, since once they got over the whole 'Omg you're guilty' part of their initial reunion, Sirius was instantly attached to her. "What's going on? A serious ass-ton," she probably got that from her father, "of complications. You honestly have no idea."

"Language, Nymphadora," Andromeda chastises and finally drinks some of her tea. She recognizes stubborn when she's up against it and clearly.. Tonks is not talking until there's a reply. "You're right, I have no idea because my own child is keeping secrets from me. You're too young to remember him, what it was like before. What … that news did to me."

Tonks turns around. Why can't parents understand that sometimes the nature of the job requires secrecy? "Geeze, be glad I'm not an Unspeakable," she grumbles about the secrets thing. She does rejoin the table. "Mum, I know. You think I can't tell? I mean, one, I was /eight/ that's not that young, and two…" She waves a hand at the house. "You removed every shred of evidence Sirius Black was ever apart of your life. Every picture, every gift he sent you…everything." Fear her mad Auror skills.

Fighting emotion, Andromeda has settled into her seat. She almost wants to reprimand her daughter for speaking that way to her, but Tonks has a point. "I did what I had to do, and I also got on with my life." Deep down, she would have liked to have had a benefit of the doubt, but on this side of the fence? He looked as guilty to her as he did to everyone else.

Sometime later, there's a return owl that swoops in and drops a rolled up bit of newspaper in front of Tonks before swooping back out. On the newspaper a return message has been scribbled, 'Sorry for delay, caught me in a rare moment of privacy. Had to sneak this out. Not allowed to write. Go ahead and tell her. Give hug from me. -SB'

There's a wane smile from Tonks. She's unsure how to carry on the conversation, especially since it's taking far too long. So she ends up standing up while her mom passes that info and begins checking her own home for any magical 'bugs' that might've been planted. There's a grumble about 'should've done this sooner'. She's gone back for tea when the owl comes in. She just opens up the prophet, barks a laugh, but then leaves it there, face up like the others, the writing visible and she begins securing the house in earnest. Muffling charms, detection charms, the entire works. It's a level of paranoia that would make Mad-eye proud.

Andromeda watches her daughter, and shakes her head. "That Auror training, what has it done to you?" Make no mistake, she's proud of her daughter's achievements. It's just.. couldn't she have picked a less dangerous profession? When the return owl finally arrives and the paper is set on the table, face up, she glances over the writing. The script familiar to her, even after not seeing it for going on thirteen years. "You've been in contact with him all along?"

"Constant vigilance, mum. Constant vigilance," is her reply about her Auror training. It probably /was/ her rare accomplishment (her youth being the largest one) that had her landing under the best, as it were. She's still making sure nobody can hear anything, or even eavesdrop if something was set in place to overhear them. "Only since the summer," is her response as she digs in her bag and breaks out a couple Sneakoscopes and sets them about the house, then settles one between them as she returns to the tea table. "The short end of it, mum, is that he's innocent."

Rolling her eyes slightly and giving a sigh, Andromeda tears her gaze from the quick note on the newspaper and looks back at Tonks. The sneakoscopes are ignored and she's firmly convinced Auror training has ruined her little girl. She should be doing something less dangerous with her life. "Summer.. Nymphadora.. how can you be sure? The evidence against him.." Now it's starting to appear that Andromeda simply felt betrayed by what happened November 1st, 1981. That she couldn't get past the hurt and disappointment to really see that some things didn't add up.

The evidence? "Which was simply Sirius Black being at the place where twelve muggles and one Peter Pettigrew died. There was no trial. There was no testing of his wand to see what the last spell he cast was. The only thing they were able to get him on was the fact he was Secret Keeper for the Potters, and thus, allowed You-Know-Who to kill them." She taps the one about Sirius' Trial, "That's waht this one's about, really. Has nothing to do with his guilt or innocent, just the fact he didn't get what was his /right/ to have; a trial." She rests her palm against her mouth for a moment. "Peter Pettigrew was the secret keeper."

Wilting some in her seat, Andromeda is still fighting a return of an emotional breakdown. It makes sense, in hindsight. She knows her cousin's temper, it's the same with much of the family. A betrayal of that sort? She wouldn't blame him for wanting revenge. This is just a lot of information to digest after the initial blow starting with Rita's article. "Have something to eat, you're looking thin," she says, nudging a plate towards Tonks.

Tonks will chalk that up to Mommy-reflex. As seriously, her ass? It needs a Wide-Load sign. Still, she'll take the sandwich and eats it. She'll et her mum sit and digest what she said, and patiently await questions. There's things to point out but… she'll cross that bridge when they get there.


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