Rekindle the Heart // Tuesday, 10th of October 1972

[Ted Tonks]

“Yeah, of course Holyheads gonna win against the arrows; their best seeker’s gone and injured himself for the rest of the season. Harris doesn’t know what he’s doing up there, lettin’ everything past him. He looks like me when I tried out in second year. That doesn’t mean the Harpies can defeat a proper team. Puddlemere’s got it in the bag. I’d bet my paycheck on it.” The pressure of being a newly certified Healer was intense but having a brilliant crew on the same evening shift helped to lighten things up a bit. He’d made loads of new friends since being hired on at St Mungo’s, not to mention those he’d met during his training program. Lachlan had been here a few years already, and in addition to being a great mentor for the newbie, he was also a big quidditch buff which Ted could appreciate as a fan of the sport himself. Ted sometimes wished more wizards would branch out into muggle sports as well, they were missing so much by not following football or rugby or hell, even tennis.

The only thing Ted loved more than sports, of all kinds, was sci-fi. And yeah, some of the wonderment of futuristic worlds created for the telly were dampened a little with the knowledge that what muggles thought was advanced scientific spectacle could easily be accomplished today with a flick of his wand, but the stories were really what enthralled him. Plus, who didn’t love to see an orangutan with a medical degree running the planet?! Ted rolled his eyes and listened as Lachlan incorrectly rebutted why he thought the Hollyhead Harpies would win over Ted’s beloved Puddlemere United. “Right, well I say we bet on it then. Loser pays the tab at The Pyro?” The men shook on it before Lachlan was called away by a matron, and Ted returned to the patient file he had been looking over. With everything in order, he slid the file back into its cubby and headed to the next room.

The patient inside was sleeping, as was his husband who was curled up in a chair next to the bed. Ted moved quietly as he pulled the chart from the wall and looked it over. Three stunners to the torso. The man was lucky the assailants only wanted to rob him, there were worse off in other rooms but I’m sure that was of no comfort to either of the room’s occupants this evening. The man in the chair snored loudly, waking himself up and once the bewilderment of waking had subsided a new expression of shock overcame him as he saw Ted standing at the foot of the bed. “Just checking things over,” Ted assured him, noting the relief in the man’s eye as he realized there was no emergency calling the healer into the room. “Looks like he’s about ready for a bit more murtlap essence. I’ll have one of the matrons bring it in shortly. I think they’re still taking orders for tea down in the café, if you’re hungry.” Ted smiled, replaced the file in its cubby, and then headed back out of the room.

The hallway was busy so he didn’t notice straight away but upon arriving at the matrons’ desk he realized it was empty. Ted shrugged and decided to fetch the potion himself, knowing that murtlap essence wasn’t going to be on the top of the priority list if all the matrons were needed elsewhere. The Spell Damage Ward was always a bit of a busy place, and Ted had learned early in his training that his title as a Healer did not make his time any more precious than that of the other professionals working alongside them in the hospital. Matrons, mediwizards, even the custodial elves were vital to keeping things running smoothly around here, and honestly Ted didn’t mind the walk down to the chemists for a potion a few times a shift. He would no doubt run into some friendly faces and have another opportunity to sing the praises of Puddlemere United before this week’s big match.

Or perhaps ‘friendly’ was not the correct adjective for the moment. ‘Familiar’ might have been a better choice, as her face came into view and Ted’s stroll slowed into a stagger. “Andromeda? What are you doing here?” he asked, his shock perhaps coming off more as rudeness than sincere curiosity.

[Andromeda Tonks]

It was with a sigh that Andromeda turned a corner at St. Mungos, heading from the mediwizard office to see the chemists. Since starting her training over the summer, she’d mostly been too busy to think much about the current state of her life. She’d graduated from Hogwarts, with much delight from her family. And then before they could announce an engagement and marry her off to a man who wanted nothing to do with her, she’d gathered what she could and left home. She’d heard from Sirius over the summer that the day after, Bella had blasted her face off of the family tree at Walburga’s house. That was fine, as Andy had long ago decided she had no interest in maintaining a relationship with Bellatrix. It was leaving Narcissa without a proper goodbye that was getting to her. Her younger sister had been her confidant during her school years, when she was sneaking around with Ted and desperately needed someone in her family to talk to about it. Sometimes she wondered if Cissy had told the family after she had left in the middle of the night. But she hadn’t left because of Ted - he’d ended things last year and she was still trying to pick up the pieces of her heart. She just wanted out of the life they had envisioned for her.

So she’d found some friends who didn’t mind her sleeping on their couch since she chipped in for rent, and she’d been in training to be a mediwitch since August. Of course, she felt like she was on edge every time she was in the hospital. Bella could be around any corner, waiting to strike, and while liked to think her elder sister had enough sense to not confront her, she’d seen the things Bella had done to people she felt slighted by. Becoming a healer had always been her goal, and she wondered if they truly cared so little for her since not a single one of them had sought her out, besides Sirius. But her younger cousin had always been the black sheep of the family, just like their Uncle Alphard. Another family member that still spoke to her since she’d turned her back on most of them. Running a hand through her hair, she stepped off the lift, realizing she’d made it all the way to the chemists while being lost in her thoughts. It was a slow night, so she was helping out the other healers on the first floor until they received a call.

She was tired, the long days and nights she was pulling were catching up to her, and it wasn’t until she heard her name that she remembered the other reason she crept around the halls of St. Mungos. She wasn’t a fool, she knew that Ted worked here. She’d sought out that information on her first day and had avoided the fourth floor ever since. But the chemists on all the other floors were busy, and she had hoped that she could make it through this trip without running into him. He looked good - too good - and she hated herself for the way her heart leaped into her throat at the sight of him. His question to her felt like an accusation, but could he really have forgotten her dreams to work as a mediwitch? Or was he questioning why she was on the spell damage floor when the mediwizard offices were located on the ground floor. “I work here Ted,” she answered him after a pause, “Not on this floor or anything, I’m training to be a mediwitch. All the other chemists are busy tonight and..” Trailing off, she realized that she didn’t need to give him a complete rundown of what she was doing. “You look well.”

[Ted Tonks]

She worked here?! No, right, of course she worked here. Ted’s brain seemed to have fogged over upon seeing her perfect face and he felt like such an idiot for not having realized sooner. She was out of school now. They had talked so many times about her plans for her future, it only made sense that she would be here. He just hadn’t expected it to be so soon. Not that it was soon. God, had it been a year already? More?

Ted stared blankly at her for a moment, letting his brain catch up with him in a truly awkward display. No one fancied running into an ex, but geez this had to be the worst first post-relationship encounter in the history of post-relationship encounters. Realizing he had his mouth open, he shut it and then righted himself, clearing his throat in an attempt to hide what was too obvious to hide. “Oh. Yeah. Good. Good for you. You're brilliant. I mean… that's brilliant.” He chuckled, looking to the floor as he absentmindedly played with his hair. At least one of them wasn’t blowing this thing. How Andromeda managed to stay so calm when his insides were doing cartwheels in every direction was beyond him. “Yeah, I am,” he said, still playing with his hair as he looked back up at her. Bloody hell, she was gorgeous.

Why did you dump her again?

Oh right, she was ashamed of you. A rather large issue that had been hard to look past in the moment.

“How are you?” he asked, ready to shut his thoughts up lest they get him in trouble. “How’s your family?” Why was he asking?! Had they married her off to a respectable wizard yet? He hadn’t seen any announcement in the Prophet yet, but he also actively steered clear of that section just in case.

[Andromeda Tonks]

She had known running into Ted was bound to happen one of these days, but she had to wish it was when she was more put together and not feeling guilty about abandoning her younger sister. Ted had never understood her commitment to a family that only wanted to marry her off to someone they deemed proper, in order to secure their own future. They’d never cared about who she might love, or what she might want to do. The only reason they had allowed her to pursue healing during school was the thought that she would follow in Bella’s footsteps and serve the Dark Lord. That had never been her plan, even though she’d spent long nights up with Bella as her elder sister had talked about how important she was to the cause.

Ted looked just as handsome as she remembered, and all she could think of as he stared at her were long nights spent together at Hogwarts in secret, and sneaking off over the summers to spend time with him. She’d never loved that they couldn’t be together publicly, and she knew that he thought she was ashamed of him. That wasn’t true, she had loved him so deeply. But the thought of what her family would have done to him if they had known…even telling Narcissa had been risky. It was hard to keep the smile from her face as he called her brilliant, and she found hope in her heart that maybe he didn’t hate her. She knew she still loved him, he had always been the guy she had considered to be the one. Which is why she’d even told Narcissa, her younger sister the one person who understood wanting to marry for love and not power.

“I’m well,” she answered quietly, trying not to look hurt by his second question to her. He had every right to be upset with her, and she had been trying to decide what she would tell him when she saw him for the first time. But it still stung, leaving her family, and knowing how quickly some of them had erased her from their lives. “I, well I don’t know how they are. I left in the middle of the night, and I haven’t seen or spoken to them. Bella blasted my face off the family tapestry apparently,” she answered with a strained laugh, looking back up to meet his eyes. “So yeah, I left. And none of them are allowed to speak to me now.”

[Ted Tonks]

He watched as her face dropped at the same time as his last question rambled passed his lips and he instantly regretted it. His remorse doubled with her answer. “I’m so sorry, Dromeda.” He reached out to her, touching her shoulder gently. While they had been together, sneaking around behind her family’s backs, he knew that it hurt her, but he never thought she would leave them. That was their biggest issue, and he would never have asked her to give up her family just to be with him. He wasn’t a grand enough prize for anything so monumental. But for it to have happened regardless, for them to treat her so coldly…

And yet, at the same time that he was feeling this remorse alongside her, sympathizing with her over this loss of something she had always held dear to her, Ted couldn’t help but feel a sense of hope. Her parents had not forced her into a marriage that she did not want. She had made it out, physically unscathed and single. Possibly. She was intelligent, caring, and gorgeous, who wouldn’t take a run at her if they had the opening. Ted felt his hope wither at this realization, knowing that despite any residual feelings he still held for her, their time together was over. He’d seen to that more than a year ago. He had moved on, and certainly she had as well. The best he could hope for now was colleague comradery, workplace friends, yes he could manage that. “But, if it’s just someone to talk to that you’re missing, I have been told I’m quite the chatty Cathy,” he offered, as if his thoughts on sports or science fiction would be enough to fill the void left by the Blacks ostracizing their own daughter.

Clearing his throat and shifting subjects, he ran his hand through his hair once more. “You’re training on the ground floor, then. You must be enjoying it, yeah? You were always brilliant in hospital wing back in school, I’m sure they’re all delighted to have you here. Bit different from dispensing potions and changing bandages after lessons, isn’t it?” Ted had found his professional training to be vastly more intensive than the training he'd received volunteering with Madam Pomfrey, but that was to be expected.

[Andromeda Tonks]

Andromeda understood why people disliked her parents and her sisters. She understood the venom that came from Bellatrix’s mind, the fact her family hated people who weren’t pureblood. But she still loved them. Bella had been the older sister who was always there to protect her, who taught her that music made people happy when they played together. Bella had also been cruel to her, making fun of the fact she was going to be handed off to Malfoy like she was a trinket, taking joy in the fact that Andromeda wasn’t as cruel as she was and wasn’t wanted to serve the Dark Lord. Her relationship with Bella had been strained for a while, since she’d really found her footing at school. So as much as she had love in her heart for her sister, she also had disdain. But Narcissa? She blinked back tears that found their way to her eyes, wanting nothing more than to have Ted wrap her in a hug. But she knew if he did she would cry, and she’d spent plenty of nights crying over the loss of her younger sister. She didn’t need to also do so at work.

In his ever so kind and joking way, he offered her an ear to talk to, and she laughed as she wiped her eyes before smiling at him, “Thank you.” He had always been a good listener when she’d been frustrated with her family. He knew how much she had hoped that Bellatrix would stop being so heartless, and how she wanted Narcissa to follow in her footsteps and find someone to love, not to just marry for the sake of pleasing their parents. Being apart from them now, knowing how distressed her sister and mother must have been to find her note - it wasn’t easy. But it was the right decision for her, and she’d never doubted that. Because one day she would find a love like she had with Ted again, and she didn’t want it to be ruined because of who she was related to. It had been a year now, and her heart still hurt from the end of their relationship. He was her first love, the one that got away.

She appreciated that he changed the subject, smiling as he ran his hand through his hair. She loved when he did that and missed the feeling of running her hands through it. Focus, you lovesick idiot. He was asking her about work, which was a fair neutral topic, and one that she could easily talk about. “Yeah, on the ground floor. I’ve been working with Anna Peasegood, she’s brilliant. Much more hands-on experience than passing out potions for sure,” she said with a grin. “Actually, sort of reminds me of working the Quidditch games. Fast-paced and always being ready to go.” What she wanted to tell him was it reminded her of how they met at the Quidditch game when he’d been injured, but this wasn’t the time for reflecting on their failed relationship. “You must be a Junior Healer now officially, yeah? How’s the training been for you?”

[Ted Tonks]

Ted hated to see her cry. He hated to see anyone crying, apart from tears of joy, which had always been a weird concept to him but nonetheless he understood it was different than a sad cry. Sad cries were the worst, and unfortunately, they were not an uncommon sight around the hospital. Loved ones sick, injured, or dying. There were so many reasons for tears at St Mungo’s and yet he had brought on tears in Andromeda’s eyes that he could have prevented had he not been so stupid as to ask after her family first thing after not seeing her for over a year. What a colossal knobhead he’d been. He would have to do better, Andromeda deserved that from him.

“Oh ace! I’ve only worked with her a few times when we were short staffed and had to move us all around, but she’s amazing. Everyone loves her.” Ted was happy that Andromeda’s spirits seemed to perk up so quickly after he’d made her nearly cry. And working with Anna Peasegood really was going to be brilliant for her. She was a great teacher and Andromeda was a fast learner. “I can see that. Those quidditch game days were bonkers. Don’t go falling in love with any of your patients down there now….”

What is wrong with you?! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!

From the first moment he could see her after getting injured in the quidditch match – it wasn’t right away as he had a pretty nasty concussion, but when his eyes started telling things to his brain properly again, he was smitten with Andromeda. Her mention of quidditch was enough to bring those memories back in full force. Perhaps he had a concussion now, because he was being an absolute loon. He shifted uncomfortably on his feet, deciding to simply pretend he hadn’t said anything of the sort and answer her question about his training instead. “As of August, yeah. Totally official, big man on campus.” Why was he like this?! “You know, Spell Damage is pretty busy wing most days, so it’s been rather chaotic, but it also means I get loads of experience with all sorts of wild stuff. I’ve got a bloke in there right now actually-” he thumbed in the direction of the room he’d come from and realized he was supposed to be getting murtlap essence from the chemist. The sight of Andromeda had completely wiped his mind clear of every other responsibility. “He took on a load of stunners all at once. And we’ve got a couple who had the Cruciatus Curse on ‘em. Poor souls, but they’re on the mend. I’ve had a few of those in lately.” Ted hadn’t expected the vast quantity of patients they’d receive who had Unforgivables put on them when he first took the position, and the more senior healers confirmed that their current numbers were way above average and still rising. Which wasn’t a fun detail to hear, but it reinforced his decision to become a healer because there were even more people who needed help now, and he was glad to be able to do something.

[Andromeda Tonks]

It was so embarrassing that the first time she’d run into Ted, she’d cry over her family. The people who hated him simply because his parents weren’t magical too. It was embarrassing that she had ever held those beliefs, that she thought she was somehow better because their families all kept marrying each other. She didn’t want him to think she was regretting leaving her family because she was crying about it. Holding back an awkward laugh she looked at him, flashing a grin. “So, I guess you haven’t read Rita’s scandalous piece on me abandoning my family.” Andromeda had never liked Rita, and it baffled her that Bella actually considered Rita to be a friend. Rita existed for the story only, and Andromeda doubted that Bellatrix’s vent session with her friend brought her sister the closure Bella seemed to need.

It was much easier to talk about work, and Andy nodded at his words. Anna was great to work with and loved to talk about her kids. Andromeda only knew the eldest one from overlapping years at school, Grace was very sweet, but it felt nice to talk to Anna about her family, about her muggle husband. And then Ted said those words, and she wished for a moment she had a quiet room to scream in. Had he really said that to her? What was she even supposed to say to that? She knew Ted well enough to know that he hadn’t thought that through before he said it, but it didn’t make it hurt less. She may have never been able to admit to her family she loved him, but she didn’t think she deserved that.

Talking about work was easier, and she nodded along as Ted told her about his work. Work that set her on edge because it was too close to home. Too close to Bella bragging about the things she did for the Dark Lord at a family dinner. Andromeda would have bet money on it that one of those poor souls had met her sister at the wrong time. “Sorry, I just…” she trailed off, before shaking her head to clear her thoughts. “It’s horrible, all these events. And there aren’t enough of us.” Her thoughts were tumbling out, showing her fears and Andromeda hated that she was babbling. “I left my family,” she said again, “I had to. I couldn’t be on their side. I’m sorry I didn’t do it sooner.”

[Ted Tonks]

Context clues quickly directed Ted to which Rita Andromeda spoke of. Rita Skeeter. The journalist was practically a household name, and as well known for her dramatic storytelling as she was for somehow getting an inside scoop on just about every big story over the last few years. Ted had even seen her around the hospital on more than one occasion, though he’d never spoken to her. Some of the other healers had bragged about getting her autograph on one of her visits, which Ted assumed had something to do with an article the following day on ‘the many failings of St Mungo’s’. All of those anonymous sources weren’t so anonymous when they were waving her autograph around the place. “I must’ve missed that one,” he replied, though he made a mental note to seek it out later. Based on Dromeda’s demeanor as she spoke about it, Ted was sure it wasn’t a flattering portrayal, but any insight into what she had been up to since they last spoke couldn’t hurt if he was to be seeing her around work. It could give him clues as to how to better start a conversation than by bringing up her folks, or more likely guide him on what topics might be too sensitive to bring up, because he clearly needed as much help in that department as possible.

Any hope he held that she hadn’t heard his poorly timed and inappropriate attempt at a joke – don’t fall in love with your patients, what sort of git would say that?! Bloody moron – was dashed as he watched her expression fall from barely hanging on to nearly devastated. He was mucking this up so badly, Rita Skeeter might as well be taking notes but it was certainly newsworthy how spectacularly he was bungling this. She started apologizing and Ted nearly lost it right alongside her. “Nah, don’t do that. You’re brilliant, Dromeda. It’s not your fault your family’s a bunch of wankers. Sorry, but anyone who makes their own kid, their own sister feel like that, they can all just sod off. And you managed to tell ‘em that! Do you know how many other witches and wizards have been in your place, and they just went along because it was easier. You were brave, and strong. You always have been. Even if it’s hard, you do what’s right. Not many people can say that. Don’t apologize for them, or for taking whatever time you needed to do what you felt was right. And don’t let me make you feel like shite just because I let whatever I think fall out my mouth like an idiot.” Now look who was babbling. Rambling. Gushing. My god, she had a way of making his brain run ten times faster and 20 times slower all at once, and it was completely disconnected from his mouth which seemed to do whatever the bloody hell it pleased. He wanted to break out into song like they were in Cabaret (which he’d seen with his mum only about a half dozen times) about how amazing she was, but short of bewitching the staff and patients on the entire floor to perform an impromptu dance number, Ted blurted out, “get dinner with me.”