Tonks looked on the verge of a panic attack, trembling on the floor, while Andromeda remained seated, completely serene.
"You don't have to get so worked up, it's not that big a deal," said Andromeda calmly.
"For Morgana's sake, how can it not be a big deal?!" cried Tonks from the floor, staring at her in desperation.
"I thought you would've gotten over something like this by now. Just a moment ago you were fine, and I doubt you've forgotten the threesome we had yesterday. There was sex too, and it was the two of us," Andromeda commented matter-of-factly.
"That was different! There was no direct contact between us!" Tonks responded, shuddering.
Until now, that memory had been the most disturbing one she had, and she had barely managed to cope with it. But this... this was something else entirely. Knowing that her mother, on an astral journey, had been her boyfriend... and at the same time, had been her... No, she couldn't process it.
Andromeda had to take her time to calm her down, though it proved difficult, since Tonks recoiled in disgust whenever her mother tried to touch her after telling her what had happened.
"Come on, you'll get over it. Don't let this consume you," Andromeda insisted, still with her serene tone. "Look, I was the only one aware of it, I was the only one who felt it. It's not like it actually happened in the physical world."
"That doesn't reassure me at all," murmured Tonks, holding back emotions that threatened to shatter her sanity.
"Nymphadora Tonks! You're a grown woman. You can't keep reacting like a child," her tone shifted to that of a strict mother, and somehow, that helped stabilize Tonks a little.
She took a deep breath and murmured, her gaze lost:
"This has to be a nightmare... Why doesn't it affect you? Are you really my mother? I'm sure the mother I know would've been affected by this... Maybe not as much as me, but definitely more. But you... you're way too calm about all of this."
"I understand. And I think I know why it seems so strange to you," Andromeda replied thoughtfully. "But it was different for me. I told you: I was him, I was you. I didn't just witness it—I felt it, I lived it from the inside. And not just on a physical level, but emotionally too. I know it may sound twisted, but... it was beautiful."
"I don't think I want to know," murmured Tonks, regretting having asked.
"Maybe you're not as mature as I thought," said Andromeda with a faint, teasing smile. "And yes, maybe it's not exactly healthy for a mother and daughter to share so much... But like I said, it helped me understand my son-in-law better. And you, too."
Silence settled between them. Tonks stared at her mother with a furrowed brow, as if she kept changing her mind every second about what she should do or say. Finally, just to break the uncomfortable silence that forced her to think about images she didn't want in her mind, she spoke:
"So... that's why you defend him. Because now you're like a copy of him in my mother's body," she said warily.
"Heh, I don't think it goes that far," Andromeda laughed softly. "I was only able to connect with him at certain moments... Especially during his sexual encounters. And, to a lesser extent, at times when he was sufficiently aroused. But it wasn't enough to mold me into his image. Just enough to give me a new perspective... and to learn many of his secrets."
Tonks swallowed hard, feeling a chill run down her spine.
"That's why I'm telling you I know," Andromeda continued calmly. "I know what he felt when he was with you. And he loves you, truly. You're incredibly important to him. Only three other girls hold a similar place in his heart." She didn't mention the fifth, but it was because this one was a unicorn and it would only be talking about the human.
Tonks felt a knot in her stomach. She didn't know if she wanted to keep listening.
"Heh… Not even in the deepest part of his heart am I the first," Tonks said bitterly.
"You shouldn't see it that way. You should be happy," Andromeda replied gently.
"Happy? To be one of the 'four most special' ones?" Her tone was mocking, tinged with sadness.
"Yes. Especially because the reason he loves each of them is different," Andromeda nodded.
Tonks sighed and looked at the floor.
"How?" she asked, not very enthusiastically. She was curious, but knowing she was just one among four hurt more than she wanted to admit. Maybe she had already suspected it, but hearing it out loud made it more real.
"First there's his sister and his friend, whom he also sees as a sister: Ginny and Luna," Andromeda began.
Tonks let out a dry, bitter laugh.
"Heh… After all this, I wouldn't be surprised if he wanted to fuck his sisters. Not even his mother must be safe from him," she snapped, upset—furious, even.
"No, my dear, it's not like that. In fact, it's almost the opposite," Andromeda said with a firm tone. "Those two are his anchor to sanity. I won't lie to you: he knows that, under certain circumstances, he could hurt them. But precisely because of that, he's most careful with them. He doesn't want to break what little humanity he has left. He knows he's walking on thin ice when he's around them, but even so, he can't stay away. They are an essential part of his life… his family."
Tonks raised an eyebrow, surprised. Her mother was speaking with an unusual seriousness, and in her voice, certain nuances crept in… emotions that made Tonks wonder if those words were just Andromeda's or if, somehow, they also reflected Red's thoughts.
That revelation made her see her twisted boyfriend in a new light. Maybe… maybe he wasn't completely lost.
Even so, the anger still burned inside her.
"Sure, he'll have a hard time, because those girls are the complete opposite of what he's looking for. While Red wants to keep his relationship as pure as possible out of love, they, out of love, want to make it as impure as possible… if you know what I mean. Well, more his biological sister," Andromeda clarified, making a rather cheeky gesture.
Tonks, however, didn't find it amusing.
The pink-haired woman was stunned, to say the least, but the irony of the situation almost made her laugh. She shouldn't be surprised that a brother like that had a sister like that. Not that she felt any better after the revelation, but her mind was expanding with this new information. Red, the one who never stopped, who seemed to have no limits, held back… with a sister who, apparently, didn't let him.
"In fact, she did it," Andromeda continued, her tone growing increasingly somber. "While Red was asleep, she drugged him and got on top of him… It was painful, but in her heart, it's one of her most beautiful memories. She wished he had been awake, that he had held her… that he hadn't had to leave, that he could have stayed in her arms."
"WHAT?!" Tonks reacted violently, stepping back as if the words had physically struck her.
"Yes, but you can't mention any of this. This is just a secret between you and me," Andromeda reaffirmed with seriousness.
Tonks could barely process what she had just heard. Her mind was too shaken to register her mother's words. But then Andromeda grabbed her firmly by the shoulders and shook her, forcing her to listen.
She didn't want to hear this. She didn't want to know. She didn't want this conversation to exist.
But Andromeda was clear: her daughter needed to understand that this was a huge secret—one that couldn't be revealed without terrible consequences.
"If you talk about this, Tonks, they'll kill you. Or worse, you'll lose me," she warned coldly.
Faced with such a threat, Tonks had no choice but to nod, reluctantly. But even if she agreed to keep quiet, the thoughts planted in her mind wouldn't go away so easily.
It seemed the Weasley family was far more twisted than she had ever imagined.
"No, it's just those two," Andromeda replied, as if reading her daughter's mind.
"Oh…" Tonks let the word out in a murmur, falling silent for a moment before asking, "So that makes two… he considers family. Assuming one is me, who's the last?"
"His 'official' girlfriend, Hermione Granger. But his bond with her is different from the one he has with you. You were his first, and you left a mark; there's a real feeling between you two. With Hermione… it's something else. A desire, a longing. As if he wanted her from before—not from having met her, but as if she were someone unreachable he always yearned for and, after a long time, finally obtained. And when I say 'from before,' I mean literally before he was born. I don't fully understand it, but knowing he can travel through time, I guess I shouldn't be surprised," Andromeda explained with a trace of confusion in her voice.
"He can travel through time?!" Tonks momentarily forgot about Hermione, too stunned by that revelation. She had thought the Troy thing wasn't really time travel, since no records remained of what they did there—even though it had been quite remarkable.
"Oh, yes. And if you ask around this town, you'll confirm it. Andra, Eileen and the two little girls… they're not from this time. Those girls are, in fact, Harry Potter's deceased mother and his aunt." (Andromeda)
Tonks felt a chill run down her spine.
"He's traveled to the past many times… and slept with them many times. Some good, some bad… but that's a topic I want to talk about later," Andromeda added seriously.
Tonks felt lost. She had seen the girls, but had never wondered who they were. She had assumed they were just younger classmates from Hogwarts—not women who had actually died more than thirty years ago.
Her mind was spinning, but before she could process the information, Andromeda took her hand and squeezed it tightly.
"Since we're on the topic… I want to explain why he does what he does with sex and relationships. I want to help you understand him." (Andromeda)
Tonks looked at her with disbelief.
"Seriously?" she scoffed. "Isn't it enough to just say he's a selfish, horny bastard? Or are you going to tell me there's a demon inside him making him do all this?" she asked, though her tone no longer carried the same fire or resolve as before. Everything had turned into confusion and uncertainty.
"It's more complicated than that," Andromeda sighed. "It all started with feelings that, somehow, come from before he was even born. It sounds strange, I know, but even I don't fully understand it."
Tonks frowned, but remained silent, listening.
"Prolonged loneliness. Deep loneliness. He lacked affection, love, human contact—though it's not like he was isolated from people. He never had emotional security… and it was never resolved. It became a wound that stayed inside him, eroding his ability to understand love and closeness." (Andromeda)
Andromeda spoke with an uncommon seriousness.
"But that's not all. He didn't overcome that burden—he suppressed it, buried it. Until he was born… and then another problem arose. I won't say he has a demon inside, but something… twisted, perhaps. I believe it's tied to the origin of his powers. Whatever it is, it blocked his emotions, preventing them from developing normally. His conscience was castrated, limited. Even though he knows right from wrong in his mind, that block keeps him from naturally applying that morality to his life. Then, evil gave him power… but it ended up destroying what little morality he had left. He's done many things he knows are wrong, but he's incapable of feeling guilt." (Andromeda)
She paused, taking a deep breath. For a moment, Tonks saw something in her mother's eyes… something disturbing. A dark glint, twisted—similar to what she sometimes saw in Red.
"He wasn't ready for many things: love, affection, sex… none of them. But that old wound made it so that the love he now receives is never enough. For him, affection is like a dream… something that could vanish at any moment. That's why he trades quality for quantity." (Andromeda)
Tonks felt a knot in her stomach.
"He can't settle for just one woman because he feels it's not enough. That it's not safe. That at any moment, everything could disappear. That's why he 'collects' women. He thinks having more will fill that void he's always felt. More people means more love… or so he thinks, unconsciously. And at the same time, he can't let them go. Because he's terrified of losing what he fought so hard to gain. What he never had before." (Andromeda)
Andromeda paused again, looking directly at her daughter.
"That's why I'm telling you not to fight it so much, Tonks. Don't try to escape. He won't let you go. Even if it costs him his own life, he can't afford to lose you. He can't lose anyone… but you are a fundamental part of the love he lacks." Her voice dropped lower, heavier. "He will keep you with him… no matter the cost. Even if you don't want to. Because he simply can't let you go."
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If anyone felt that Andromeda's sex conquest was sudden and didn't make much sense, it's because, honestly, it was. This moment was planned from the start, but it was originally meant to be preceded by two important events that would have given it proper context. However, as the story progressed, many things didn't fit together if I followed that plan. That's why I had to move it forward.
I'm sorry if some of you didn't like how it turned out. If this book ever gets a rewrite, I hope I can develop it the way I truly intended.