Chapter Text
Andromeda Tonks' yellow-and-grey eyes fixed Teddy Lupin where he stood. The air inside Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place was stuffy, but Nana had insisted that the breeze gave her a chill, even in this summer's heat.
She looked so fragile, tucked into bed with pillows supporting her head, back, and various limbs to limit the pain. Standard Pain Potions had stopped working months ago, and Andromeda had refused the newer Muggle-magical hybrids, fearful of becoming addicted.
Not that it much matters at this point, Teddy thought bitterly. Addiction doesn't much matter at all, does it, when you're dying anyway.
He looked back at his Nana, taking her paper-skinned hand as he sat next to her bed. The yellowed skin was too loose over the back of her hands, wrists, and forearms, a reminder of how much fuller her arms had once been; all her weight seemed concentrated at her distended middle now. There was blood caked under her fingernails; bruises coloured much of her body. The airless room smelled of dried blood; it stained the air even when it was not leaking from her nose and tear ducts.
Six millennia of magical thinking, and still no one's come up with an adequate treatment for liver failure.
Andromeda had turned her head to see Teddy at her bedside. Her tongue traced her lips, but her mouth was still too dry to speak.
"Here, Nana," he said, and reached for the pitcher of coconut juice Kreacher had insisted would be "better for the Mistress Black than sharp water". Teddy also gathered the soft rag they had been using to help Andromeda since she had stopped being able to drink liquids. He dipped the rag into the pitcher, wetting a corner, and brought it to his grandmother's mouth.
He patted her lips with the rag and offered it for her to suck. She did so and, when she finished, rasped, "More, please?"
After another suck of the coconut juice, Teddy began to turn to refill the rag, but saw his Nana turn her head minutely. "Do you want some lip potion, Nana?" he asked.
She tilted her head in a pale imitation of a nod. Teddy used his broad, round index finger to spread the magical balm on her lips.
Andromeda smiled sadly. "I'm so sorry, Teddy-love," she said, seeming to measure the importance of each word before she spoke it. "You take good care of me."
"Of course, Nana. You're my family. I wish..." Teddy broke off, swallowing back the sensation of his voice about to crack. I'm not a bloody teenager. He took a breath to regain his composure. "I just wish there was more I could do. I want to make you better, and I can't."
He was looking down at their hands, and felt more than saw hers twitch, trying to comfort him.
"Other talents, Ted," she croaked, and tried to swallow again. Teddy brought the rag to her mouth to replace the saliva she didn't make.
"Teddy, I don't want you to be alone when I've passed," she said. "I haven't done enough to give you the family you need."
"Nana, I have friends, co-workers. I'll be alright, I promise. I'll reach out to Aunt Narcissa and Cousin Draco, as well. I promise," he repeated, running out of words and phrases. "Nana, you don't need to worry about me," he choked, finally unable to suppress the tears in his eyes or his voice.
Andromeda tried to lift her head, pat his hand. "Hushhhh," she susurrated. "I want to tell you something."
"Yes, Nana?" Teddy asked, gulping back tears again. I'm supposed to be taking care of you, Nana.
"Your mum and dad, they never wanted you to have just me." She coughed, blood joining the spittle as Teddy held up a hanky. "A family... people who eat together and carry each other's stories. I had some stories. Your godfather was supposed to help take care of you, carry the rest of the stories for you, but he went missing a few years after the War...."
"Nana, it's okay. I don't need someone who's been gone for almost thirty years to be my parent. You've been parent enough. I'll get on fine," Teddy protested.
"Ted." Somehow, even with this wisp of a voice, Andromeda could demand his attention by speaking with such emphasis. "Your father... Remus was a fine man. You need his stories."
Teddy nodded. Being part-Black, and having only Black relatives available to him, had taught him the importance of learning one's family history, if only to avoid repeating its mistakes. Yet what he knew about his father was limited to that he was a werewolf and a member of the Order of the Phoenix who had fought in both Wars Against Voldemort and died in the Battle of Hogwarts.
"I can ask, Nana. I'm sure that Kingsley can tell me stories, that older members of the Order – Vickie's grandparents, maybe – can tell me stories."
Andromeda coughed, the air wracking her misshapen body, her face appearing to strain and then give up, going slack as she rested her head on the pillow. Teddy automatically gave her more coconut juice, twice, to ease the dryness that always followed.
Even with her eyes closed, Teddy could see his Nana struggling to hold on, to give him that which she had decided he needed – access to his 'father's stories.' Why she had waited until he was well-grown and she was dying was beyond him.
But debating such things would only waste the precious words his Nana had left. He stroked her hand as he steadied his breath, which threatened to quicken past the point of helping him be reasonable. "Nana," he said, raising his voice a little so that he would be sure to penetrate the darkness if she were stuck inside it. "You want me to know my stories, all my family's stories. What else did you need to tell me?"
"It was Harry Potter."
It felt as though the information had punched him in the diaphragm, causing a cry of "What?" to leap from his mouth unbidden.
"Your godfather. He was close to your parents, especially your dad. Ranted and raved when Remus told him he planned to fight, and you not yet born. Loved you in his own way, but..." she gestured for more coconut water, "...he disappeared when you were still small. Never heard from him...."
Teddy took a moment to wipe the tears staining her cheeks pink. "Hush, Nana."
Andromeda fell silent for a few more minutes, seeming to rest. Teddy continued to stroke her hand and clean up the blood and other liquids where they spilled.
"Ted," she said again. "Find him. Eat with him. He can tell you more stories. You have my stories of your mum – he's got your dad's."
Teddy wasn't quite sure what to make of all this, but his Nana was seeming to settle again. "Okay, Nana. I'll see if I can find him. Now let's rest, okay?" He moistened her mouth again and then wiped her brow, pushing back the hair plastered to it.
"Love, you, Teddy-love...." Andromeda's voice trailed off, consciousness leaving her.
"Love you, too, Nana," Teddy whispered, and continued to tend to her as he listened to the breath rattle through her chest.