Chapter Text
Edward,
I must, before all else, express my gratitu d e for your f aithfu l ness in regards to our companionship. Your diligence in correspondence is admirable, and I would be remiss to allow it to go unremarked upon; Y ou are an honor to know.
Such being t rue, I fear I o we you my apologies, as well; Y ou may recall I was expected t o sit for a new portrait, my first as a debutante and of marriageable age, over the s u mmer holiday. Si t ting f o r said portrait has proven to be a m ore arduous task than one would expect, and I’ve found m yself with little and less leisure time- th o ugh plenty enough time to r eflect. I beg you r f o rgiveness for this, as for another matter.
Your previous letters found my home w ell, though on the wings of an owl I do not recognise- perhaps your fearso m e Elvira was out on delivery, or else otherwise u n available? I wish her g o od health, and you good f ortune on that front; good, respectable owls are i n short supply as of late. In any case, this owl seemed unfit for both the journey and your status, and your letters found themselves filed away in error by the elf in char g e of our estate’s deliveries. W h en t he letters were i nspected, as is customary for private correspo n dence to a woman of my station, they were found nearly blank and charmed beyond belief. Rest assured that I know you would not lower yourself to such g auche tricks, and expla i ned the odd circumsta n ces to my parents, fearing in t erference. You must understand, my family, T h e Most Noble and Anc i ent House of Black, cannot allow ourselve s to be wrapped up in the tricks of some reprobate criminal looking to sully our name.
Of course, I have never doubted you or your intentions, dear Edward, but I cannot risk more trickery upon your missives. I ask you, woefully, to cease your correspondence until the culprit can be found- or else until we meet again come September. You have my regards, for both you and your family, until then and ever after.
This is the last you w ill he a r f r om me until King’s Cross.
With Regards,
Andromeda V. Black
Ted Tonks received remarkably more mail in the summer of 1969 than he had ever anticipated, but only one letter struck fear into his core: addressed to one ‘Edward G.T.’, delivered in the talons of a great eagle owl. The name was enough to send him reeling, honestly. There wasn’t a single person other than his grandmother who would even think to call him ‘Edward’ and any reference to his middle name, particularly initialed and in such intense penmanship was beyond his imagination. It wasn’t until the bird made a great screech, frightening Ted’s own tawny owl into a flutter of brown feathers, that he realized he had been standing stock still with the letter in hand for longer than he’d intended. Reaching for a fish-shaped treat from a packet on his desk, he flipped over the letter and found a seal embossed in dark black wax. “Ah,” he said aloud, extending the treat to the now-slightly-more welcome owl, “So she’s speaking to me again?”
The look of scorn, coupled with a sharp turn toward the open window, didn’t even phase Ted. He sat down on the corner of his desk and popped open the seal, “Figured you’d not like it, but there’s no fine caviar stashed away, no matter how you mope.” He flicked the folded parchment open with a flourish, sparing a quick glance at the spread wings of a departing owl, “Thanks ever so, bird.” And began to read.
Sometime during the third read of Andromeda’s letter, Ted found himself picking out clues. ‘Elvira’ was surely a reference to his haphazardly named owl ‘Elvis’, and the discovery of her gender long after the name was christened. He knew his bigger charms would be detected on the letters, and that could mean that he’d succeeded in covering any trace of the smaller ‘invisible ink’ trick he’d mastered several summers ago. What he didn’t know, maddeningly, was what Andromeda could possibly have gained in responding to him after so many letters delivered and read, only to ask him to stop. This girl, he thought, is worth too much trouble. And then, because of course it did, the letter in his hands erupted into a fountain of cold, green and silver sparks.
The Tonks family was slow to anger and certainly not quick to panic, but no one in Ted’s family had ever solved a problem quicker or more assuredly than when they cursed every aspect of it to hell and back. He’d never be proud of what he said in that moment, or what it implied about ‘Salazar Slytherin’s enormous backside’, but it got him to his wand quickly, and the sparks died out on cue. Ted lifted the letter from where he had dropped it, and read the new words in awe:
I’d fly to you tomorrow, I’m not fighting in this war.
And so, when September found a pale, resigned looking Andromeda Black early to platform 9 & 3/4 and flanked by her sisters, Ted knew to turn to his father and warn him to expect a few packages via floo- to his aunt’s old place in Bristol. Graham Tonks had no context for this, sure, but he followed his youngest son’s line of sight to the three posh girls on the other side of the platform and hoped, with all his might, that this wasn’t about the scary one wearing an engagement ring. He was simply too old for any more excitement.