Andromeda Tonks

Andromeda Tonks (née Black) (c. 1953- ) is a pure-blood witch, the mother of Nymphadora Tonks, widow of Ted Tonks, and grandmother of Teddy Lupin. She is descibed as closely resembling her elder sister Bellatrix physically, though she has brown hair and softer features.

Family
Andromeda was the second daughter of Cygnus and Druella Black (née Rosier) and middle sister of Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy. Walburga and Alphard Black were her aunt and uncle on her father's side, and Sirius and Regulus Black her cousins. Evan Rosier may be a relative on her mother's side. Orion Black was her uncle by marriage, as well as her second cousin once removed.

She was Sirius Black's favourite cousin, but he never met her post-marriage family before his imprisonment in Azkaban.

Early Life
"She is no niece of ours, my Lord. We – Narcissa and I – have never set eyes on our sister since she married the Mudblood. This brat has nothing to do with either of us, nor any beast she marries."

- Bellatrix Lestrange to Lord Voldemort about the recent marriage of Nymphadora Tonks

There has been some speculation that Andromeda may have been in a Hogwarts house other than Slytherin, but a statement by Horace Slughorn in 1996 strongly suggests that the Blacks were, almost without exception, members of Slytherin, meaning that Andromeda would also have been a member of this House. Thus, Andromeda may be an example of a "good Slytherin".

At some point during or after her education at Hogwarts, Andromeda met Ted Tonks, a Muggle-born wizard. Despite her family's steadfast belief in the importance of blood purity, Andromeda married Ted and was subsequently disowned and burned off the family tapestry in 12 Grimmauld Place by her aunt. Statements by her sisters indicate that both of them cut off contact with Andromeda because they considered her a blood traitor for her marriage.

Andromeda and Ted had one child, Nymphadora Tonks. Andromeda selected the name, which her daughter strongly disliked, preferring to be known simply as "Tonks". Andromeda had a talent for cleanliness that her husband and daughter did not share.

Second Wizarding War
Although Andromeda and Ted did not appear to be members of the Order of the Phoenix, they allowed their home to be one of the Order's safehouses and were supportive of the organisation to which their daughter belonged. Nymphadora, called "Dora" by her father, married Remus Lupin in the summer of 1997; he suspected that her parents did not approve because he was a werewolf, though it is unknown if this was true.

After the Battle over Little Whinging, Harry Potter and Rubeus Hagrid took temporary refuge in the Tonks' home, where Andromeda took care of Hagrid's injuries. She seemed somewhat offended when Harry first reacted to her as if she were her sister Bellatrix because of their resemblance. She and Ted were both very worried about their daughter when they learned that the Order was ambushed by Death Eaters when transporting Harry, though Ted tried to reassure his wife by pointing out that their daughter had been through worse in the course of her work as an Auror.

When the Ministry of Magic fell under Lord Voldemort's control in August of 1997, the magical protections around the Order safehouses were broken. Andromeda and Ted were interrogated and tortured by Death Eaters for information pertaining to Harry Potter and the Order. Their son-in-law reported that they were "shaken, obviously, but otherwise okay". Soon after this, their daughter discovered that she was pregnant and came to stay with Andromeda and Ted, as her husband temporarily left her out of fear that he would pass on lycanthropy to their child.

The Ministry soon began persecuting Muggle-borns by forming the Muggle-Born Registration Commission, which charged Muggle-borns with having stolen their magic and their wands from "real" witches and wizards. Ted refused to register on principle and was forced to go on the run; Andromeda, as a pure-blood, was safe, and stayed with her pregnant daughter. Some time before the birth of her grandson Teddy, Andromeda was left a widow, as her husband was killed by Snatchers.

Her daughter and son-in-law were killed during the Battle of Hogwarts by Bellatrix Lestrange, Andromeda's own sister, and Antonin Dolohov, respectively. Andromeda was left in custody of her grandson, though Teddy would also spend a lot of time with his godfather, Harry Potter, and the Weasley family.

Behind the Scenes
Many members of the Black family — such as Sirius, Bellatrix, and Cygnus — appear to be named after stars or constellations, and the name Andromeda follows this pattern. It is a northern constellation that contains the Andromeda Galaxy and was named after the character from Greek mythology: a princess who was chained to a rock to be sacrificed to a sea monster as divine punishment for her mother's boasting, but was saved by the hero Perseus, whom she then married. This may allude to Andromeda Tonks' estrangement from her aristocratic but cruel family.