Disclaimer: As I am a simple person who does not own tons and tons of money, I must admit to being a plain American girl, and not JK Rowling. Therefore, I do not own Harry Potter and the connected involved characters. Oh, well...

*This is mostly canon for the entire HP series, not including the epilogue. Yes, I realize the JKR wrote no romance between Sirius and anyone, but I wrote it from my own head! Thank you!*

More Than a Thousand Words

Andromeda stared at the baby in the cradle. He was her cousin, and all she could do was hope that he would be more fun than Bellatrix or Narcissa. Bella was nasty, and Cissy was boring and doll-like.

The baby wrinkled up his nose, and grabbed her finger with one strong hand. Grey eyes bored into her own, and Andromeda felt her soul shiver. There was something drastically different about this baby, this Sirius.

And then he smiled.

Christmas, 1971

Andromeda shifted nervously. She was to meet her betrothed later, and was not looking forward to it. Currently, she was speaking to the only cousin she had that was tolerable (and sane).

"I have three friends!"

Bouncing up and down on the sofa in a way entirely unbefitting of the Heir de Familias Black, Sirius' pale cheeks were flushed, and his grey eyes were nearly silver with excitement.

Andromeda smiled at the boy she often treated like a brother or a child of her own. "Really? Who are they?"

Sirius had never had friends before, always being the odd one out in the pureblood circles that the Black family kept. He was different, all eagerness and instinct and bright eyes. He also had a purity about him that was unique, something unseen in the Dark pureblood families.

"Well," Sirius said, still bouncing, "The first one is James, James Potter." And there was that grin, the mischievous, wicked grin. "He hates it when I call him Jamie, so I do often! He's from a Light pureblood family, and he's loads of fun! We played four pranks already!" Indeed, this James seemed to be Sirius' brother-in-soul.

His smile changed, to be a bit deprecating. "Then there's Peter Pettigrew. He's fat, but smart in Potions and Herbology. He's funny too, but he's sometimes annoying because he treats James like he's a king or something."

He paused, his smile fading. Andromeda leaned forward. "You said you had three friends. Peter and James makes two. Who's the third?"

Sirius' eyes widened, and they seemed to light up from within.

"Remus Lupin," he breathed, as if the boy's name was a gift.

And then he smiled.

Halloween, 1972

"Are you really pregnant?"

Sirius was staring at her belly as if he expected her to explode or something. Andromeda rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I am. And you two are only in Second Year. What in Merlin's name are you guys doing here in Hogsmeade?"

Sirius and his wild-haired, bespectacled friend, James, exchanged a look.

"We know the castle really well," they chorused, sounding somewhat eerie. If one squinted, and ignored the glasses, they could be mistaken for brothers. That is, until Sirius' eyes turned silver.

"So," Andromeda leaned against the wall of her garden. (Her own, and not a Black family garden. How she loved being able to say that something belonged to her.) "Where are the other two of your infamous group? Marauding about at all hours together, I'd expect?"

James shrugged. "Well, Peter's probably in the kitchens, at this hour, for his first midnight snack. And Remus is probably reading, right Sirius?"

Sirius blinked; his eyes somewhat unfocused. "Yeah, he's reading some Muggle book called Moby Dick."

And then he smiled.

December 17, 1973

"An Early Merry Christmas, Andi!" A loud boy's voice called through the crisp winter air, startling Andromeda as she held her daughter on the front porch of the small Tonks cottage. Looking up, she smiled. "Hello, boys."

Four teenage boys bundled in various cloaks and Gryffindor scarves dashed up the path, the one taking up the rear reading a book as he walked.

The loudest of the boys had lost his hat at some point, and black curls flopped wildly in his grey eyes, brushing cold-flushed cheeks.

"How're you doing, Andi?" Sirius asked, carefully wrapping her in a hug that did not harm baby Nymphadora.

Andromeda shook her head. "I'm fine. Come in from the cold, boys."

As the boys tromped into the cottage, Andromeda watched their antics amusedly. James bantering cheerfully with Sirius as he mussed his hair and attempted to see through fogged-up glasses. Peter; eating some sweet procured at Honeydukes, and carefully juggling a couple of pastries and packages. Remus, oblivious to the loud divestiture of over-clothes, continued to read his book.

Setting Nymphadora in James' arms, Andromeda grabbed a plate of cookies from the kitchen and returned to see a picture of happiness.

"Come on, Pete, I paid for at least half!" James said, trying to get Peter to part with some of the sweets. Peter shook his head, and replied with something that was possibly "Nnnnthmdnthm," or "No, you didn't."

Remus was still reading, only paying attention to his book. Shaking his head with amused exasperation, Sirius walked over to his still-bundled-up friend, and yanked his hat off. Snow flew everywhere, landing on the book, which finally got Remus' attention.

"Sirius!" he cried, his light brown eyes flashing indignantly, "You got my book all wet!" A single snowflake trembled amusingly on the tip of his nose as he spoke, reducing the intimidation factor in his reprimand.

Sirius let out a laugh that was halfway to a bark (when had it begun to sound like that?) and grabbed Remus' book. When Remus rolled his eyes and wrinkled up his nose in annoyance, Sirius reached out, a fond look in his eyes, and flicked the snowflake off of Remus' nose.

And then he smiled.

April 12, 1975

Andromeda laughed as Nymphadora's hair flashed red and gold in time with the flags handed out for the game. Leaning over, Andromeda pointed out Sirius to the still-babbling-tot. "There's Sirius, Nymphadora. Say, 'Go Sirius!'"

Nymphadora giggled, and then shrieked. "Goooooooooo go go Seeeeeereeee!"

Andromeda held back a giggle of her own as her daughter babbled on excitedly and as the game began. Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw, this year.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Tonks."

Andromeda looked up – and up – to see a boy with longish brown hair and brown eyes. She shook her head. "It's Andromeda, Remus. You know that."

Remus laughed, and Andromeda wondered when the tiny friend of Sirius had become this tall, thin young man. If Remus was already suddenly grown, then Sirius must be as well.

"I know," Remus said, ducking his head as he sat. "I just feel odd. After all, I never actually knew you before you were Mrs. Tonks."

Andromeda smiled as Remus leaned over and offered a muggle sweet to Nymphadora, before she realized something with a note of amused surprise. "You didn't bring a book to the match." In every Quidditch game Andromeda had attended while she had lived in Hogsmeade, Remus Lupin had come with a flag in one hand and a book in the other.

Remus smiled faintly. "It is the Quidditch Cup. I do believe that Sirius would never forgive me if I brought a book to this match."

Andromeda laughed, and then cheered as James Potter made a goal while Sirius whacked a Bludger hard enough to be easily heard by the entire crowd.

The game blew by, and Ravenclaw won by a narrow margin. Andromeda laughed as Nymphadora made an exaggerated "awwww" sound.

When the boys came off of the field, they both looked utterly dejected. Andromeda lifted Nymphadora onto one hip and gave Sirius and James a one-armed hug each. "It's alright, boys," she said, "You both did great."

Sirius shook his head. "If I had just blocked that one Bludger before it got to Prewett, we would have won!"

Remus shook his finger in Sirius' face, leaning down a bit so as to be eye-to-eye. "Oh, no you don't! I came without a book this time, and I won't let you berate yourself when I saw that you were fantastic. You can't do everything, Sirius."

Then, with a small smile twisting across his face – "Idiot."

Sirius seemed to straighten as Remus tossed an arm around his shoulders, and a bit of sparkle returned to his eyes.

And then he smiled.

January 1, 1996

Andromeda jumped when the sound of knocking broke the silence. Sitting up blearily, she smiled at the sight of Ted and Nymphadora asleep on the sofa, curled up around each other.

Pulling open the door, she shook her head with exasperation. "You two!"

Standing in the doorway, cheeks flushed and covered in snow, were two boys with black hair – one wore glasses, and the other had silvery eyes, otherwise they were too bundled up to differentiate.

Waving them in, Andromeda looked over them, exaggeratedly searching. "Where's the other half of you guys?"

Pulling off his hat and scarf at the same time, Sirius let out a bark of laughter. "Peter's at home for some family thing and Remus is – not feeling too well."

James yanked off his hat, sending snow everywhere. "Happy New Year, Andi," he said, his hazel eyes gleaming with mischief behind his fogged-up glasses.

Amused, Andromeda gave James and Sirius a fake glare. "What mischief are you two up to now?"

They both gave her falsely innocent smiles. "Nothing," they chorused.

Andromeda snorted. "Oh, yes. You snuck out of Hogwarts on New Year's Eve – oh, I suppose it is technically New Year, now, and come here, why?" She smirked. "Let me guess. Cookies?"

A few steps into the kitchen, and a plate of cookies Levitated onto the Living Room table.

James' eyes lit up. "Thanks, Andi!" he exclaimed, a huge grin spreading over his face. Sirius nodded in exuberant agreement, his mouth already full.

"Silly boys," Andromeda said, holding back laughter at seeing the fifteen-year-olds stuffing their faces like little children.

"M'not a boy," Sirius said. Although, muffled through crumbs and a mouthful of cookie, it sounded more like "mmftt'b'y."

Andromeda rolled her eyes. "Finish what's in your mouth before speaking, Sirius."

James snorted suddenly, spraying crumbs everywhere. Flicking her wand, Andromeda Vanished the mess. "What?" she asked defensively.

James swallowed loudly. "You sounded just like Moony, for a moment there."

It took a second for the nickname to process. "I sounded like Remus, did I?" Andromeda felt oddly pleased. Remus was a good friend, if he attempted to keep these two monsters somewhat civilized.

Sirius looked up sharply, his eyes gleaming.

"Yes," he said. "You sounded just like Moony."

And then he smiled.

July 28, 1996

Rain was sheeting down in torrents outside the window. A shriek of laughter drew Andromeda's attention to the floor of the room, where Nymphadora was gleefully tugging on the tail of the griffon statues the Potters had by their fireplace.

Lying lazily crosswise on the sofa opposite the window, James was scribbling away at some Quidditch diagram, while his parents spoke in quiet voices about the rising "Lord Voldemort." Ted would be there soon –

A weak scratching sound interrupted the peaceful drum of the rain, causing all of the Potters and Andromeda to look up.

A breath later, James bolted up from the couch, limbs akimbo, and dashed to the door.

Andromeda stared at Sirius, who was leaning haggardly against the doorpost. "I ran away from Grimmauld Place," he said. He was soaked to the bone, and had a magnificent black eye.

Elisa Potter jumped to her feet. "Merlin, help us, what happened?" she gasped.

Sirius grimaced. "My dad was ranting again, and when he said something… offensive, I couldn't hold back any longer."

While Elisa and Henry helped Sirius to a sofa, James grabbed a handful of Floo Powder. Moments later, he returned with Remus Lupin in a swirl of green fire.

Remus took one look at Sirius, who was reclining on the sofa with his eyes shut, getting mud everywhere. Raising his hand to his head, Remus groaned.

"Sirius, what have you done this time?"

Contrary to his aggravated tone, though, Remus sat down on the floor beside the sofa and began running his hands gently through Sirius' wet hair.

Sirius snorted. "I left Grimmauld Place," he said.

And then he smiled.

June 15, 1978

Andromeda held Nymphadora still as Remus Lupin gave his speech. Much as she was glad that she had been invited to the graduation ceremony, keeping a hyperactive five-year-old from causing trouble was more difficult than it seemed.

After what seemed like an age, the speeches were over, and the last student had been handed their diploma.

Sirius bounded up to the place where Andromeda was standing, and enveloped her along with Nymphadora in an enormous bear hug.

"Andi!" he cried gleefully, "You came!"

Andromeda held back a wry smile. "Yes," she said dryly, "No thanks to the wriggle-worm over here."

Nymphadora began protesting the adjective, up until James walked over and swung her over his shoulder, making her squeal happily.

Sirius grinned, and slung an arm cheerfully over Andromeda's shoulders. "Wasn't Remus' speech brilliant? I keep telling him that he'd make the best teacher, don't you think?"

Coming up behind Sirius, Remus whacked his best friend on the back of his head.

"Really, Sirius," Remus said, "You want me to become one of 'the enemy?'"

Sirius grimaced, and rolled his eyes. "Of course not, Moony! You'd be our spy on enemy lines!"

Remus rolled his eyes. "Enemy lines? Sirius, this isn't some Muggle movie."

"I know." Sirius ducked his head and gave Remus the biggest pair of puppy-dog eyes that Andromeda had ever seen. Somehow, on Sirius' face, they seemed natural.

Remus snorted, and leaned over, whispering something into his slightly-smaller friend's ear. Sirius' eyes widened, and changed swiftly from grey to gleaming silver.

"Really?" he breathed. Sirius' cheeks flushed, and he looked almost feverish because of whatever Remus had said. Remus stared at him for a moment, and nodded.

Sirius grabbed Remus' hand, gripping tightly. A single tear streaked down his face. "Nobody's ever told me that before," he said.

And then he smiled.

August 2, 1980

Andromeda sighed. "Yes, Nymphadora, you can go find the griffon statue."

With a shriek of joy, Nymphadora ran off, leaving Andromeda by herself on the sofa.

The door to the room opened, and Andromeda looked up to see Sirius walk in, carrying a tiny bundle. Her eyes widened. "Is that…?"

Sirius seated himself beside her. "Might I introduce you to my godson?"

Andromeda laughed at the false formality in Sirius' voice. "Please, do," she said, playing along.

Sirius slid the blankets off of the bundle a little, revealing a sleeping baby with wild black hair.

"The great, the wonderful, Harry James Potter!" Sirius whispered, ruffling the tufts of black hair with one finger.

Andromeda giggled a bit, feeling a bit girlish as she watched Sirius hold his godson. It was so sweet.

There was a whooshing sound, and Remus Lupin tumbled out of the Floo, looking somewhat dazed. Sirius' face lit up. "Remus!"

Remus sneezed, and drew his wand, carefully siphoning off all of the ash he had collected. "Hello, Pads. Where are James and Lily? I have a message from Dumbledore."

Sirius straightened, and turned to Andromeda. "Could you hold Harry for a moment?"

Andromeda nodded.

Sirius carefully set Harry in Andromeda's arms. "I'll be there in a sec." Turning sharply, Sirius sprinted off in the direction of the stairs. Andromeda choked, and Remus snorted, when Sirius shouted, "You two better not be shagging in there!"

"So," Andromeda looked at Remus. "How have you been lately?"

Remus sighed, and rubbed his forehead. "No jobs, nothing even temporary. I've been shacking up either here, or at Sirius' flat. Unfortunately, nobody will even look –"

"What's the message, Moony?" James walked into the room tiredly, running his hand through his hair.

Remus shook his head. "Just that you and Lily should go to Dumbledore's office at Hogwarts as soon as possible."

James nodded. "Could you and Sirius – Oi, Sirius, get over here! – Could you and Sirius watch Harry with Andromeda? By the way, Andi, did you know that Dora's eating a lifetime supply of humbugs?"

Andromeda gasped. "Nymphadora, get in here this minute!"

Moments later, Sirius entered the room, holding a guilty-looking six-year-old by the arm, and followed by a tousle-haired Lily.

"I found this girl eating an entire bag of humbugs," Sirius said, grinning. "Prongsy, you should know that I'd love to stay here and stare at my wonderful godson. Moony?"

Remus shrugged. "It isn't like I actually have anywhere to be."

As James and Lily disappeared in a whoosh of green flame, Sirius whacked Remus on the shoulder. "What in Merlin's name is that supposed to mean?"

Rolling his eyes, Remus took Harry from Andromeda so that she could berate Nymphadora more easily.

"It means what it means. I have nowhere to be."

Sirius scowled. "I know what you said, it's just – do you have to sound so dejected? Do you really have that little self-worth? Moony, I –"

Remus gritted his teeth. "I know, Pads. I know."

Sirius rubbed at his eyes furiously. "Do I mean so little to you, Moony? James, and Lily, and Peter, and me? Do we mean so little?"

Remus shifted uneasily, brushing Harry's hair out of his face absently as he shifted from foot to foot. "Damn it, Sirius, you know that's not what I meant."

Sirius pulled at a lock of hair. "Then what did you –"

Remus made a frustrated sound. "Sirius, Padfoot, what do I have to say? How should I spell it out for you? How many different ways must I say that you are my world?"

Sirius stared at him for a moment, shocked. Leaning forward, he carefully took Harry from Remus' arms, and set the little boy into the cradle sitting by the fireplace.

Andromeda looked up from Nymphadora, who was now sulking in a corner, just in time to see Remus' eyes widen as Sirius carefully took his face in his hands, and kissed him.

After a long breath of time, they pulled apart, and Andromeda was startled to see that both men were crying. Tears streamed down Sirius' face, and, with a strangled sob, he threw his arms around Remus' shoulders and hugged him tightly, mumbling indecipherably in his ear.

And then he smiled.

May 2, 1998

That was the last time that Andromeda ever saw Sirius truly smile. Oh, she saw him grin, she saw him smirk, but that was the last smile she ever saw on his face.

It hurt to realize that she had never seen him after his innocence was proven, that he had died in-between the time he had escaped from Azkaban and she had learned of his innocence.

In a warped way, she watched the people in her life that she associated with Sirius, searching for that smile. But no matter how hard she had looked, she hadn't found it.

When Remus and Nymphadora had married, she had looked deeply, trying to see if this, if this would bring out that smile in Remus Lupin.

It didn't.

But today, today, the War was over, and so many were dead. It shredded her heart to realize that her own daughter was dead, to realize that her grandson would grow up without parents –

And then she saw her son-in-law's body.

Felled while still fighting, Remus Lupin still held his wand in a tight grip, his golden-brown eyes focused on something beyond human comprehension, in death.

But what caught Andromeda's eye was his face.

For, in the face of certain death –

And then, he smiled.

A smile says more than a hundred words, and a true smile, more than a thousand words.

FIN