Thank you so much!  The war wouldn't have necessarily called upon everyone to be like Harry or Dumbledore, but it would have affected every family, for sure.  I have to admit that last chapter was one of the hardest I've ever written.  I never cry about anything, but I did have some tears in my eyes over it.Some of Tonks's statements while growing up were a lot of fun to inject.  I understand how it got to be that way, but in JKR's stories, so many characters act like they never existed even one paragraph before they show up in the canon.  It's fun to flesh them out.Thanks again!

I totally agree, though I also think that those gaps are what makes HP fanfic so varied and interesting.

Thank you for the lovely review!  I never thought much about this pair, but I had a plot bunny and then found a challenge for which this was the perfect story, and within three chapters I was madly in love with Ted Tonks.  I'm so glad you enjoyed this. 

This was very much my salute to "everyman," the people who do all the little things that make the world go round.  They may not live incredible lives, but they're heroes all the same.  I'm glad you saw that in the story.  I'm glad you enjoyed it.  Thank you for the beautiful review!

Thank you for being so enthusiastic and supportive.  I have really felt the love.  I'm sorry to see the end of this story, myself.

The only reason I didn't cry with this chapter is that I actually wrote it when I was also working on chapter 8 or 9.  When I re-read it to edit for posting on TPP, I did tear up.When I read the one line in DH about Ted leaving and then later about his death, he was just a statistic.  He became a person to me when I worked on this story and I'm not entirely happy with myself for allowing that to happen.I hope you cried in a good way, if there is such a thing.  Thank you for the review!

Losing touch with the Wizarding world wasn't such a bad thing in those days, unfortunately.  Everyone was so sure that Auntie Bella would get Tim, but I couldn't do that to Andromeda.  Instead, he just fades from the picture.Thanks, again!

Thank you, thank you!Of coure we have no idea how Cygnus and Orion died; just that they both did during the same year.And yes, Narcissa isn't evil, just self-absorbed.  Plus, letting Aunt Walburga behead the elf would be wasteful, when she could just make Birdie disappear.

It seemed to me that this pair might have had more kids but that there must be a reason we never met them.  Tim and his situation seemed to be one possible answer to that question.It seemed to me that Sirius would be pretty upset with his family but that leaving them before he was of age would take some extra provocation.  We know from the Black family tree that Alphard died around the time Sirius left, so I tied the two together in my mind.Anyway, thank you!

Thank you!  I'm sorry to make anyone cry, but I'm glad if you enjoyed the story.

They're under-represented, for sure.  I haven't seen any stories that cover this part of the canon exactly, but JackieJLH's "Ties that Bind" is a very good look at the Black sisters and Amita's "Riddle in Black" is another POV that's quite dark.Thank you so much for jumping so enthusiastically into my story!  I look forward to seeing your develop.

Thank you!  I really grew to love this pair and I was miserable to have to bring it to this ending.  I'm glad others enjoyed the story, too.

Thank you!  I have to admit I wasn't that interested in this pairing untill I really started to think about what Ted must have been like.  Now I really like him... maybe too much.  ;)

Narcissa is the sort of overprotective mother who's nervous about every detail.  Even if she knew the line about "thrice defied," she would have figured it could have included the time she served strawberry tart for dessert when the Tedious One wanted apple, LOL.  She would have seen other infractions that she and Lucius had committed and come up with three.It stood to reason to me that if Andromeda was Sirius's favorite cousin, Sirius and his friends would be visitors at her house, so Tonks probably met Remus a few times before the first fall.I don't think Andromeda's necessarily patient as much as resigned.  She does have Molly to share a cup of tea with from time to time, and when you're raising two small children, there's not much time for anything else, anyway.  Elementary schooling for the wizarding children is a bit of a black hole in the canon.  You would think they went to the local schools, but if so, they would know a lot more about Muggles, so they must be home-schooled up to the age of eleven.Thanks for such a lovely and thoughtful review!

Severus could have enjoyed N's fear enough to forget intimating this detail. Isn't it far more convenient to have N's gratitude than owing Lucius!?JKR actually explained in an interview that all Weasleys were homeschooled by their mother. Of course, this source isn't perfect canon, and I believe she had to make it up quickly.

Hee hee... I couldn't resist.  She's six years old and has no idea what "furry little problems" are, but she wants one of her very own.  Thanks for the review!

I was trying to show one way some of these things might have developed.  In some ways this Andromeda has to rebel against her self, too.  Thanks for the review!

Thank you!  There are ways in which I really don't like the rest of this story.  JKR was almost as hard on Andromeda as she was on Snape.  I really got a kick out of writing the Tonks/Remus part.  She knows exactly who she is and what she wants to be, even if she has no idea what she's talking about.  ;)

Thanks for the review!

Thank you!  I like Ted, too.  Once I started to think about him, I decided Ted must be like those many men who go to work, take care of their families and generally keep the world going.  They're all heroes in their way. 

I had fun giving Andromeda a little bit of an "action" chapter.  I think she was able to witness elements of love and kindness in her family.  There's Alphard, after all.  However, I think she needed to piece it all together, and fortunately she had Ted for that.Bellatrix isn't *quite* there, yet.  Some of what Alphard said about shedding pure blood made her stop and think, but she's *most* of the way there.Thank you so much for everything, including that other note you sent me.  Featured Story!  I'm blushing!

I've just suggested your story - the other admins agreed to fearure it. It's well deserved.

I think a lot of things came together in her mind just then.  She probably remembered what a near miss she had the night they got married, so she understood just how likely a loss could be.  I don't think it hurt that he got a bit disgruntled with her.  I think they had reached a point where things were starting to just slide along and it wasn't enough.  Once she realized it, I think she would go after what she wanted just as her sisters did once or twice in the canon.  It's fun to speculate, any way.Thank you, again!

I can't imagine shedding the upbringing of nineteen years, even if we suspect it's wrong, just in a few weeks.  Little things will still come up from time to time, I think.  It takes a conscious effort.  For the most part, Ted's very patient with her, since he sees she's trying.Thank you for the review!

I hope that extra free time is spent on life in general.  :)  I'm honored that you used some of it to read my story.  I think in getting married Andromeda entered a new and different world.  Suddenly she's mixing with a different group of people.  There will be some time of bewilderment and that will be followed by the other adjustments.Thank you for reading and reviewing!

Thank you for the review!  I think it pays to be prepared when you're a Black.  Unfortunately, I think part of her wanted her parents to be happy about her baby, even though she should know better.

No, it's not the end, fortunately.  I'm glad you're enjoying this... it's a story that really grew on me as I wrote it.  It's kind of fun extrapolating what some of these characters must have been like based upon their younger relatives.  Thanks for the review, the next chapter is coming soon!

Oh, thank you!  You're quite kind.  A lot of nifty little things came together to result in this story.  I'm glad that the readers enjoy it.