Dysfunctional

44 - In-Laws and The Gargoyle

Saturday, May 24

A faint pop heard in the quiet streets of a little town somewhere on the outskirts of Hampshire preceded a lone man, who walked up the road in the late afternoon, dressed casually in Muggle clothes.

He put his hands in his pockets, trying to tamp down the anxiety that welled inside him. He was going to visit Dora's parents after all.

He felt annoyed with himself for feeling nervous. It was only a simple tea that Andromeda had invited him to through Tonks.

He walked up the driveway of the small, vaguely familiar cottage and knocked twice before he stood back, waiting.

A couple of seconds passed and he tapped his feet unconsciously before he noticed his own behaviour and stopped himself.

It wasn't like they were going to be his in-laws.

The door clamoured open and a woman in her mid-forties stood on the other side. Her soft, light-brown hair was pulled into a bun and she was wearing a flowery apron over her purple robes.

The corners of her eyes crinkled in happiness as she smiled in greeting, "Sirius!"

Sirius hastily remembered his manners and leaned forward to kiss his cousin's cheek. "It's good to see you, Andy."

Andromeda was beaming as she pulled him into a proper hug. "You look better than I expected. Come in, Ted's here too."

Sirius found himself ushered into the drawing room that looked quite different from the last time he had been here. A set of chintz sofas surrounded the empty fireplace and a pot of aspidistra stood next to a delicate table on the side which led to a hallway that Sirius knew connected the dining area beyond.

There were far less wizarding photographs here than in Potter Manor, whose walls were so full of them that Harry and Sirius had had to take some of them down just so they didn't get creeped out at night. Sirius supposed that Andy did not have any pictures of her side of the family (that she would want to remember anyway) and Ted's family were Muggles. Only about a handful on the mantelpiece showed a happy family of three or Dora through the years.

Ted Tonks was sat on the sofa, reading the Quibbler. He stood up on Sirius' arrival and offered his hand to shake.

"Sirius! It's been so long since we met. What was it, twenty years ago?" said the fair-haired, big-bellied man jocularly.

"Seventeen, but I might be mistaken," said Sirius, returning the smile. He had only met the man once before when he had visited Andy just out of Hogwarts and immediately liked him.

"Ah well, time flies when we least expect it," said Ted. "Sit down, sit down. How have you been doing? I must say, freedom suits you a lot better than Azkaban."

"I'm doing quite better than I expected myself," said Sirius truthfully. "I finally have my godson with me and one of my best friends too. I can't complain."

"Harry Potter," said Ted simply, shaking his head. "It has to be quite a responsibility having him as your godson. Can't seem to stay out of the newspapers, that lad. Dora tells me a lot about him."

"They do get along rather well, especially since Dora stayed over at our house for the holidays."

At that moment, Ted asked Andy to get some tea for them and she smirked at Sirius before leaving to the kitchen. Sirius was quite puzzled, but the reason for Andy's amusement became apparent in the next few minutes.