Under the Stars

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

The middle of August was approaching as Ted approached the cottage one night. The past month or so had been more difficult than he'd expected. Back in the days he led a lonely existence in his flat, he had imagined the wonder of being married to the right witch. He had now accomplished all of that but somehow it rang flat.

He had asked to be allowed to continue his work with Dumbledore's group, but was refused. Dumbledore and Moody both had refused him, on the grounds that he was now targeted by his wife's family. He didn't see that it mattered, since the chances of actually getting hurt were small, but Moody was adamant. The irony ate at him. He wanted to help remove the danger to his wife, but he couldn't because he was married to his wife.

He had sent a letter to his parents right after the wedding, notifying them of the fact and apologizing for not informing them ahead of time. He received a response, telling him that they were proud of him whatever he did and that they were sure it must have been the best way to do things. They were eager to meet her; would Ted and Andromeda consider visiting?

Ted pondered that question. He owed it to his family to see them and introduce his wife. Safety was the biggest issue in his mind, although Andromeda's response to being surrounded by Muggles was a close second. He wondered how she would like his family. He wrote a noncommittal response and left it at that for the time being.

Andromeda was always a source of odd concerns. As far as he knew, there wouldn't be any children. Ted was no fool. His wife still thought of him as a Mudblood even if she never said the word aloud. He could see it in her eyes as she would look at him thoughtfully and then avert her gaze. There was no telling what she would think of their children, and he would rather not risk it. He knew she had somehow managed to grow up in a home with minimal love, but he jealously desired more for his own children.

For the past several weeks, he had held his wife in his arms at night and started to ask himself whether they shouldn't have waited before marriage. Perhaps with a certain amount of courtship, the issue would have been better resolved ahead of time. The question was ludicrous. Had they waited to marry, the Blacks would have found a way to retrieve Andromeda and made sure that she couldn't get away.

She became a little distant with whatever was haunting her, and she watched him with eyes that were becoming too large and dark. He noticed himself becoming a bit short with his wife, and he could see the dark rings that were starting to form under her eyes. He knew that something was starting to take its toll. Yet in this same amount of time, she had been surprisingly eager to learn more about how to please him. There was a new openness about her lovemaking that surprised him, because during the day she seemed to be more thoughtful and quieter than before. Even as everything became more difficult, he was enjoying their nights together more.

Her visits with Molly Weasley were going well, at least. She was quite proud of the housekeeping spells she was learning and especially her skills at cooking. Molly was becoming a fast friend, and it was a good outlet for a witch who was not allowed to leave the garden around her home. At least Ted got to go to work most days.

There had been a quarrel last night that resulted in him sleeping in the back bedroom. At breakfast this morning, Alphard gave Ted a look but didn't say anything. He watched the younger wizard fix his toast and eat it while the elf puttered about. Ted looked at the front page of the Prophet and started reading. Finally the elder wizard looked at Bennie and asked, "Wasn't Andromeda going to fix breakfast this morning?"

"Mistress is being sick this morning. Bennie does it. Better for house-elf to do it."

The head leaning over the paper stiffened, but nothing was said. Alphard tried again. "Is it serious?"

"Bennie goes to check on Mistress. She lies down on bed and says she is better but she can't make breakfast."

Ted's head lifted high enough to see the hard look Alphard was giving him. He returned the stony stare and went back to the paper. Breakfast was finished in silence. Ted took his plate over to the sink left the kitchen.

He went up the stairs and stood outside the bedroom he shared with his wife. He raised his hand to tap on the door and stopped. Had things really gotten to the point where he needed to knock on his own bedroom door? He backed away and went quietly down the stairs and out of the house. For the first time in his marriage, he went to work without kissing his wife goodbye.

This day was particularly long. There was another major accident between a Muggle and magical train. Ted had been eager to get there and do something, so he was part of the first group that went. As soon as they arrived, his co-worker, Eric, fell to the ground, dead. He saw a wand pointed at him and dove behind some rubble even as the stream of green light went over his head.

Taking out his own wand, Ted moved quickly behind train cars, turning a deaf ear to the voices inside them in order to concentrate on the danger and how to end it. He got a chance to see who was wielding the wand and couldn't tell anything. The wizard, or perhaps a tall witch, was wearing a hooded black cloak and a mask. He heard a voice say "Avada Kedavra!" Whoever it was had spotted him.

He rolled away again and thought. He had heard of this spell in Defense class. It was an Unforgivable and there was a trace on it. Magical Law Enforcement would arrive any moment. He needed to take care of this before someone Apparated here and got killed before they realized what was happening. He eased his head up and heard a crack.

"Protego!" he shouted, and a Shield Charm went up before the other wizard had a chance to cast a spell again. The shield didn't work against the Unforgivable, but it gave Alastor Moody time to see what was happening and duck the Killing Curse before it could hit him. The cloaked one saw Ted and aimed his next spell at him again, giving Moody a chance to cast an Incarcerus Spell. Moody walked over to his captive to make sure he was held fast while Ted came out around the train cars to see if he could help.

"That was a close one," said Moody, shaking Ted's hand. "They never used the Killing Curse before."

"Who is it?" Ted asked.

"One of Voldemort's Death Eaters. They're wearing hoods and masks, now."

As Ted watched, Moody cast a spell that sent a shining white light into the distance. Moments later several other Aurors came and took the hooded one. Anderson came with some others from the office, and Ted's team got to work at fixing the trains and Obliterating memories. A pair of Healers from St. Mungo's came and gently took Eric's body.

While he worked, Ted thought of Andromeda. He had very nearly died that day, which would have left her defenseless. He pictured her at the mercy of her family. If they would blast a black hole into the tapestry of her name, he wondered what they would do to her personally. He suddenly understood why Dumbledore and Moody wanted him to stay away from the fighting, yet it made him more determined than ever to practice and become good at dueling. He wanted to stay alive to protect her.

They straightened out the trains and tracks and went back to the office for the endless round of paperwork. Today, in addition to the standard paperwork, there was an inquiry about what had happened on the previous occasion and how it was possible for such a thing to happen again.

Now that they knew Death Eaters were involved, they discovered that the trains had been spelled to crash, although they should have been in the area at different times. Voldemort was hoping to achieve some of his goals with a show of force. He had hoped to kill Muggles, but he also wanted to terrorize the Wizarding community in an effort to get the ministry to enact laws of his choosing.

Ted's least favorite administrative assistant was present. Dolores asked a great many questions about what Ted had done on both occasions, implying that both accidents were somehow his fault. The presence of the Death Eater, identified as a relative to the Wilkes family, changed things, and Dolores's suggestions were dismissed. When the meeting was over, she looked at Ted with narrowed eyes and followed the managers.

The meeting ended late in the afternoon. The paperwork concerning the accident, which appeared not to be accidental, started. As he wrote out the many details on several different forms almost mindlessly, Ted's thoughts wandered back to his wife. She wasn't well this morning, and the things he'd said to her the night before came back to haunt him.

"What's the use, Andromeda? I know you still think of me as a Mudblood."

"I understand far too much. I love you, Andromeda, but I need some space tonight."

He had spent the night in a different bedroom, staring at the ceiling and listening for her tears. He never heard them. Perhaps she had been too ill to cry. There was no telling how sick she really was because he had chosen not to disturb her that morning. What if it had been his last chance to kiss his wife? His behavior accused him, and he didn't have much to defend himself. Why did he have to be so stubborn? He had no excuse.

He tried to make a Floo call to the cottage, but he couldn't get through. The kitchen fire in the cottage was out. He told himself that there were a lot of reasons why the fire the kitchen might be out. It was the middle of August, of course. Other possibilities were hard to come by. He kept thinking of how the elf said she was ill, and he worried.

It was a relief to get the work done and go back home. He walked toward the cottage, wondering what he would find there. He had just noticed what looked like a heap of laundry sitting on the front step, when suddenly it jumped up and ran to him. She barely allowed him to get through the gate before wrapping herself around him and kissing him everywhere.

"Oh, Teddy, you're back! I was so worried and it was so awful all day. We heard about it at St. Mungo's. There were whispers, and Uncle Alphard went to find out what was happening. He said those Death Eaters caused two trains to crash. Four Muggles were killed as well as one magical person. I've been so worried ever since."

He shook his head and let her kiss him. "I'm not hurt, Dromeda." She must be better, to come at him like this, and she was covering him with kisses. He couldn't remember a time quite like this. His wife was calming down from the first frenzy of relief, but she continued to talk.

"Ted, I was so worried. I know now what you mean to me, when I thought you might not come home, and when I thought that you might have been the wizard who was killed." She pulled away just long enough to look in his face, her hands on either side of it. "Theodore Tonks, I've realized that I love you."

He put a finger to her lips. "Shush, you're just overwrought. You've been sick."

She kissed his finger and pulled away from it. "Ted, I really do. When I thought maybe I wouldn't see you again, I knew. I knew exactly how I feel about you. You shower me with kindnesses and affections, and I don't have any idea how to return it, but I mean to try. You're good and honorable, and I can't think of anyone better for my baby's father."

He tilted her head and kissed her briefly. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

He kissed her fully then and found a response that went a little deeper than what he was used to. He put his hands on her shoulders and held her at arm's length. "What about you? You were sick. Are you better?

"I'm right as rain after the Healers finished with me."

"Healers? Oh, you said you had been to St. Mungo's. Did they say what it was?"

"Yes, and I told you, but I'm not sure you were listening."

He replayed the conversation in his mind. When it came to him, he hugged her closer. "Oh, Dromeda, I do love you."

It was all thrilling, and he was eager to make up for the lost hours of the night before. He took her hand and led her onto the lawn. Pointing up to the sky, he said, "There's Andromeda, waiting for her hero."

She pointed to a constellation near by and said, "There's Theodore, riding Pegasus to come rescue her."

"That's Perseus on Pegasus."

"It will always be Theodore for me from now on."

He put his arm around her and nuzzled his head around her neck, kissing her skin as he went. When he looked up again, he saw the first of the meteors shooting across the sky. "Look, Andromeda, the Perseids are starting." She lifted her head and watched with him. He held her close and chuckled into her ear. "There's the dynasty started by Perseus and his Andromeda, just as ours is starting."

"Happy birthday, my hero," she whispered back. For the first time since leaving home the morning before, he remembered that the day that was just starting was his birthday. He was nineteen years old.

She had wrapped a blanket around herself, and now it was spread on the lawn so they could sit and watch the stars. Ted quietly told Andromeda such bits about what really happened with the trains as he felt he could tell her without frightening her too much. She told him what she had discussed with the Healers and what she would need to do over the next several months.

Neither realized what was happening until it was almost over. They counted meteors and occasionally kissed and cuddled. The caresses that followed were gentle. They lay together in an act that was as delicate as the starlight, their quiet sighs and moans mixing with the sounds of the crickets and frogs. When they were done, they pulled their robes over themselves and kissed each other tenderly.

They continued to watch the meteors until the horizon started to grow light, and they could no longer see them. Ted helped his wife put her robe back on and shrugged into his own and they went into the house, where the elf was starting to make noises in the kitchen. They quietly moved up the stairs and into their bedroom.

"You didn't get any dinner!" remembered Andromeda. "Are you hungry?"

"They got us something to eat while we were working," he answered. "Shouldn't you be eating?"

"Hmm... I think I need sleep first. I'm quite tired, it seems."

"Let's get you into bed, then."

"Oh, I like the sound of that." Her eyes were full of promises. Then her brow wrinkled. "You have to go to work, soon."

"I begged off for today, since I was there so late. Anderson said it was a good idea."

"Oh... then come to bed with me." She smiled invitingly.

They prepared themselves, Ted using the bathroom second. When he got into their bedroom, he found Andromeda breathing heavily, sound asleep. He smiled and gathered her into his arms, happy to have things restored to their proper balance.

A/N: A bit of wordplay is present here, more so than I realized at the time I wrote it. The mythological Perseus's name means "from (per) Zeus" because Zeus was his father. Theodore means "gift from god."

As always, this has been beta read by Trickie Woo. Thank you all who have been reading this. I have enjoyed all the reviews, too!