Mischief Managed Year One: Mayhem of the Moon

Chapter Fifty-Six- Murder

TW: (the chapter title says it all folks^^')

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As they walked towards the pitch it became apparent the Hufflepuff Quidditch team was just finishing up an early morning practice, no doubt brought along by their losing to Slytherin. However, the team seemed cheerful as they started leaving the pitch. All of them encouraged one another that next year would be different, and that they would be sure to win in honor of the graduating seventh years. It was rather touching, but Remus was confused as to why Andromeda had brought them here until he saw Ted catch her eye, a silent understanding passing between them.

He too looked worn out, his eyes red and swollen. But lately a lot of Hufflepuffs seemed close to tears, so it was possible he was just touched by his teammates and caught up by the warm air of camaraderie that surrounded them. Remus glanced at Sirius, who for once wasn't glaring at Ted. Sirius seemed rather scared actually, as if he suspected something worrisome was about to happen.

It took a while for Ted to untangle himself from his fellow Hufflepuffs. Once he did, he ran over to Andromeda who hesitated before running toward him. The two of them met and hugged each other as if they hadn't seen one another in a long time.

Or, Remus realized with a pang, as if they had been through something terrible together.

Sirius must have come to the same conclusion, because he reached out and grabbed Remus' hand, tightly. Ted and Andromeda walked back to the two of them, hand-in-hand in a way that made Remus feel rather self-conscious that he and Sirius were hand-in-hand as well. But Sirius didn't let go, and he wasn't about to pull away from his friend who needed his support.

Andromeda glanced at their linked hands, then at Remus, who had been looking at the couple, unlike Sirius who was staring at the ground. There was a strange look and a sort of intensity in her strong gaze that caused him to look away quickly, feeling like an intruder on what seemed like a very personal matter.

"Sirius," she began in a grave tone.

"Drommie..."

There was the same pleading in his voice that he sometimes got when talking to Remus. Both desperate for whatever information was about to be bestowed on him and terribly frightened at the same time.

"I told my mother," Andromeda replied with a low tone full of hate that surprised Remus. He glanced back up, Andromeda was now looking into Sirius' eyes who seemed as surprised as Remus at the hatred in her voice. Only Ted didn't seem surprised. In fact, the same hatred shone in his normally soft eyes as well.

Sirius didn't respond and neither did Andromeda. Both of them seemed too scared to continue. Then Ted, looking close to tears, put a hand on her shoulder, which seemed to jostle her. She took a deep breath and continued.

"She took it...surprisingly well. At least...at the time I thought she had. I really...really thought she had..."

"D...Drommie..." Sirius stuttered, his voice cracking as tears filled his eyes. Andromeda let out a tense laugh, filled with anger and despair that made Remus ache.

"If I had only been smarter. She sat me down for tea....she put something in it. Sirius...I lost one of the babies."

"No. Your mother killed him," Ted corrected angrily. Sirius just looked stunned. Remus squeezed his hand, but his friend neither pulled away nor squeezed back.

"Are...are you sure...she killed it?"

Ted looked ready to say something angrily, but Andromeda stopped him with a slight head shake and her hand on his shoulder.