Making Adjustments

Disclaimer: The characters here and the world they inhabit are the creation and property of JK Rowling and her assigns.

Their week long honeymoon was lived in the cottage and its garden. They spent hours comparing their childhoods. There were many differences between Ted growing up as the youngest in his Muggle family and Andromeda's pure-blood childhood between two sisters. They discussed their Hogwarts days from their different perspectives. They whispered ideas about how their future would proceed. This last topic was a bit troublesome. By tacit agreement they didn't discuss their children. Ted was eager to start their family, but he somehow knew Andromeda wasn't ready.

It wasn't that she didn't want children. She had always imagined presiding over her own table complete with a trio of children, but she couldn't get over the idea of them being part Mu-Muggles, she corrected herself quickly. She knew they would be Half-blood, but it somehow wouldn't be the same, and she didn't know how she could deal with that. How many times had she traced her name on the tapestry, wondering whose name would be added beside it and what her children would be like? She had never dreamed that the answer would be something that would never be mooned over by other little girls in the same way. Ted, bless him, didn't bring the subject up.

They spent their mornings lazing in bed together and having late breakfasts. After that, they walked through the gardens, discussing changes they might want to make, if Uncle Alphard was interested. They had small lunches and spent the afternoons in the sitting room, reading and relaxing together. Late in the afternoon, they would move to the upstairs, and after some amount of time they would re-emerge fully dressed for a formal dinner in the dining room. Ted was able to admire his wife in a different color every night as she went through what had been the contents of her suitcase.

Then there was the bedroom. The Muggles had started using the term "compatible" to describe couples who found enjoyment together, and Andromeda definitely found that quality with Ted. She couldn't believe the level of passion she was capable of feeling in her husband's arms. He had told her of his intention to learn everything he could about her body and pursued his education avidly. At times she wanted to weep over the beauty of their lovemaking, while at others they laughed raucously together. He was patient and tender and careful and at other times impatient and intense. She delighted in keeping up with him.

On Saturday night, they came down for dinner to see Uncle Alphard at the table ahead of them. He smiled benignly upon them as he stood to greet them. Andromeda blushed dark pink as she hugged her uncle, wondering if he knew what she and Ted had been doing just minutes before. Ted shook hands with a smile on his face, fairly certain the elder wizard knew and approved. They sat down to dinner, and Alphard told them what he had done in the past week.

"We started on the continent. There were some places Albus thought Voldemort might have developed a following. He thought perhaps the Black name might get me some attention that he wouldn't get. We visited an old friend of his, as well. So far, it's not very widespread at all."

He told them about some of the wizards and witches he had met and generally entertained them through the meal. They had retired to the sitting room when he introduced the difficult subject.

"On the other hand, I had quite an eventful dinner at Grimmauld Place yesterday."

Andromeda's heart beat a little faster. "Oh?"

"Yes, the old family homestead is just as grim as ever. I was summoned by my dear sister and brother, who proceeded to grill me concerning your whereabouts. I told them that as far as I knew you had disappeared. Since this house is Unplottable, I believe that can be considered the truth.

"Your parents are a little annoyed that you managed to leave the family with so many of your clothes and so much jewelry. Your father says that you have Ursula Flint's emeralds." He looked over his glasses. "You have them around your neck as we speak, I see."

She put her hand over her throat. "What about them?"

"Your parents claim they were to go to Narcissa upon her engagement. They expect that to be within the next year and have asked me to keep an eye out for them. You are to return them forthwith." He sat back and smiled. "That's done my duty by my loving siblings."

Andromeda smiled as she fingered the necklace. "I'll consider it. Right now they're leverage."

"That's my Slytherin girl."

"Was there anything else?"

His smile went away and he reached over to take her hand. "Your father blasted the tapestry. He wanted to do it while your sisters and cousins were there. He made us all watch. He made quite a ritual out of it."

A bleak look came over her face. Ted reached for her other hand and held it as he watched her forehead. She took one breath and then a second. After a few minutes she said, "How is Professor Dumbledore? His group was very helpful to us this week in getting Ted's things."

Ted said, "Andromeda."

"We were going to ask some questions about the garden, too..."

"It's perfectly reasonable to be hurt by it."

She buried her face in her husband's shoulder. "Why did they have to do that? Why couldn't they let me make my own choice? If they had to do it, why do it that way? Do I deserve nothing from them?"

He held her and patted her back. As much as he had given up to be a wizard, he had not experienced this sort of betrayal or abandonment. "Do you want to go back?"

She leaned up and looked at him. He pushed her hair back and looked into her sad face. "My dear, you can go back, erase this whole thing."

She shook her head. "What would happen if I did, Uncle Alphard? Tell Ted what would they do."

He looked at her kindly. "They won't take you back into their house. Since they can't break up your marriage, they consider you to be ruined. They might accept you as their daughter if you go back to the Lestranges, but anything could happen if you did that. Rabastan is not known for kindness."

She leaned back into her husband's arms. "I'm content here, with Ted. I think we'll even be happy together. Why would I give that up on the chance that my parents might relent if Rabastan doesn't act the way he always has? It makes no logical sense, even if I wanted to."

Ted pulled his wife close and kissed her. Uncle Alphard looked on and smiled. "That's my girl. They'll forget about you as soon as Narcissa's engagement to young Malfoy goes through. Meanwhile, you've prevented your parents, aunt, and uncle from joining those Death Eaters. Voldemort had all but promised he would return you to the family fold, and since he failed they have chosen to stay outside his group. It's too late for Bellatrix, but she belongs to the Lestranges, now."

"He looks for ways to ingratiate himself to people, doesn't he?"

"Long ago, he promised me that if I worked with him we would find a way to bring Evie back, but of course that would be impossible to do in any meaningful way. I refused."

"He offered me the husband of my choosing, but tried to convince me it shouldn't be Ted."

"Without the Blacks, his plan will be slowed. You have done more than you may have thought by resisting him and your family." Uncle Alphard leaned back and folded his arms in gratification. Something in his robe crinkled. "Ah! I forgot. The elder of your cousins sent you a message. He figured you would be here, or that I at least knew how to contact you." He handed the scroll over.

Dear Andie,

PS: Your parents have been here and boy are they hot! When your father blasted you from the tapestry, he made the wall behind it burn. Now there's a black hole in the tapestry and a mark on the wallpaper behind it.

Andromeda burst into tears and laughter at the same time. "Oh, that boy!" She handed it to Ted, who likewise smiled. "I guess the whole family isn't against me, then."

"No, my dear, we are not. Some of us remember what it is to be noble as well as ancient. Purity of heart and purpose are much more valuable than purity of blood."

Andromeda sat up and looked at her husband. "Then Ted's the purest person I know."

Ted went back to work the following Monday and survived to tell the tale. He morphed to look like other Ministry workers to get from the courtyard to the Atrium in case the Blacks were looking for him but morphed back when he got to the Transportation office. His only difficult moment came on Tuesday when a creature that could be best described as a witch-sized rabid toad came to his floor.

"Ted Tonks! You'll pay for this. I had plans, and you used MY marriage license with that other witch! I knew I shouldn't have trusted you! You're just a filthy Mudblood and you're going to pay, if it takes YEARS!"

After delivering her invective, Dolores Umbridge spun on her heels and stormed off to whichever department she currently terrorized. Anderson walked over and handed Ted a job slip. "Bit of a thing out in Devonshire. Maybe you should look after it." Ted looked at the slip. He grabbed his coat and hat and headed to the lifts. As he did, he heard voices start to talk behind his back.

All in all, things at the Ministry settled down after Dolores's tirade. The Prophet published a two line statement about the marriage of one AB to TT in Gretna Green, listing the date and Albus Dumbledore as officiator. With the removal of Andromeda's name from the family tree, the Black family seemed to have accepted that the marriage had happened and would not be reversed. Ted started to relax and travel to work as himself in the morning.

Ted's greatest disappointment was that he was no longer allowed to work with Dumbledore's group. There was a strict policy against using witches and wizards with small children, and it was extended to this young couple because Andromeda was an attractive target for Voldemort and his followers. There was some thought that if she could be delivered to her family or the Lestranges, the Blacks, with their wealth and influence, would join Voldemort, and his organization would be strengthened significantly.

Therefore, Auror Moody spent half an hour per week discussing ways in which Ted could take care of his wife if the Death Eaters somehow found Alphard's house. Ted was instructed to design a way of escape and safe hiding places were established. These meetings never ended agreeably, since Ted always asked if he could help patrol Diagon Alley or some other portion of London, and Moody always denied the request.

A couple of weeks after returning home, Alphard Black watched the younger two at breakfast. Ted seemed a bit glum, while Andromeda was more cheerful than she had been in several days. There was nothing in the young wizard's demeanor that Alphard could fault, but there was simply a stiffness in his manner as he ate his meal and then kissed his wife before leaving.

"Let me guess," said the uncle. "You're pregnant and he doesn't want the baby."

"Oh, no, Uncle, quite the opposite... on the first part at least, I don't actually know about the second part." Andromeda's manner was quite bright.

"You seem rather pleased with yourself this morning."

"Wouldn't it have been too soon?" asked Andromeda.

He sighed. "That's what Evie and I thought. There's always a good reason to wait, but they were all so wrong. If we had started sooner, I might have had someone to console me. As it was, she was pregnant when she was killed. If we'd started just a few months earlier..." He looked at her sharply. "What's the real reason you are so relieved? Is it the Muggle issue?"

She opened and shut her mouth.

"You don't want to have his child because it would be half Muggle."

She lowered her head in shame.

"I know I shouldn't feel this way, Uncle, but I can't help thinking. If I have a child with him, it won't be a pure-blood child. And while I carry that child, I won't be completely pure-blood, either."

"Young lady, do you know how stupid that sounds?"

"Yes." She looked out a window. "I know exactly how that sounds. I didn't ask for this marriage, though. It sort of happened to me, and while it's been quite successful in many ways, there are some things I just can't get used to. I can't just change my ideas about everything overnight."

"Do you love your husband?"

"I don't know. I care for him very deeply and I trust him more than anyone...even you," she admitted.

He patted her hand. "That's as it should be. If you feel all that for him, then why wouldn't you want to bind yourself to him and to have that piece of him to comfort you when he's gone? Why wouldn't you give him that piece of yourself to comfort him if you go first?"

She didn't have an answer.

"Think about it, girl."

"Yes, uncle."

Arrangements were made for another witch to visit a couple of times a week. The other witch was familiar with housekeeping and was not very many years older than Andromeda. She Flooed into the kitchen fireplace one morning and handed Andromeda a squirmy little boy before brushing herself off. Then she took the child back and held out her hand. "You must be Andromeda. I'm Molly."

A whirlwind erupted in the kitchen as Molly showed the new wife the best spells for washing dishes and generally setting a kitchen to rights. Bennie left the environs with a sniff, complaining that Mistress shouldn't learn to do so much. The two witches laughed and promised to mess it all up again if that would suit the elf. After teaching Andromeda those spells, Molly showed her how to make bread.

They sat at the kitchen table over a cup of tea and exchanged stories. Andromeda was delighted to learn that the red-haired witch was the sister of the two men who had befriended her husband. "I met them the day after our wedding," she said.

Molly leaned forward. "They're a bit too much sometimes, aren't they?"

"I liked it, but I admit I'm glad they're not Ted."

Her guest laughed. "My Arthur isn't very much like them, either. They're great boys, but not very settled. They enjoy running around like heroes, chasing after those Death Eaters. Thank goodness it's nothing very serious. They'll get tired of it and settle down after a bit."

They chatted about various things. Andromeda watched little Bill, who sometimes watched the witches and wanted to help them and at other times seemed perfectly content to play with spoons. "Do you mind an impertinent question?"

"Go right ahead."

"Are you glad you had your baby?"

"Glad enough to have another one on the way." Molly had her cup to her lips but it didn't hide the dreamy smile.

"Oh, really?" This was something Andromeda hadn't imagined. One child was something to ponder, but another one was something else entirely. She glanced at her guest, who didn't look pregnant.

"Oh, I'm only between three and four months gone. It makes me look dumpy. I'll look pregnant in a few weeks, though, if the first one was anything to go by."

"Don't you worry about what could happen?"

"Yes. I worried at first. Arthur is so outspoken about Muggle rights, perhaps more than is prudent. He's been held back over it..."

"Let me guess, Dolores Umbridge is involved."

"Hm, I think she might be. Do you know her?"

"Ted does."

"Anyway, I just love Arthur so much, and Bill here is such a little dear... I couldn't not have another."

This was definitely something to think about for Andromeda. When her husband came home on that particular night, he was tired and a bit worn looking. He wouldn't say what, but something he had seen at work had worried or upset him. He simply pulled her into his arms and held her for a long while as he took deep breaths.

She thought for a minute and remembered that when he comforted her, he soothed her hair and patted her back. She tried it, and it was a bit awkward at first. Then he started to relax in her arms, and suddenly some instinct rose up in her that made it seem the most natural thing in the world. She made soothing sounds and kissed around his ear. After a few minutes he released his hold on her and smiled. "Thank you," he said, "that was just what I needed." He dropped a kiss on her lips and they went in to dinner.

That night, Andromeda started to explore her husband's body as he had been doing with hers all along. It started innocently enough. She rubbed his tired shoulders and back with a soothing lotion, but once she had done that, her questing fingers led her to new places and she followed. She discovered that she was fascinated by things like the backs of his knees. Ted responded with sighs of joy and pleasure, and that night she knew the bliss of having actively given as much pleasure as she received.

A/N: Thanks to Trickie Woo for beta reading.