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Written for Jen. I hope you like this lovely :D
For Now and For Always
Do not be afraid; our fate cannot be taken from; it is a gift - Dante Alighieri, Inferno
"My father is busy with preparations for the announcement of our betrothal," Rabastan murmured to Andromeda, glancing up from his letter to look at her. She smiled briefly at him, before turning her attention back to the argument currently happening at the other end of the Slytherin table.
Narcissa and Bellatrix were going at it again, and Andromeda was sure she knew what was the source of their tension. She watched Narcissa's face crumple delicately when Bellatrix let out a cackle like laugh, clearly enjoying her youngest sister's torment. Andromeda sighed. She'd have to speak to them both at some point during the day.
Sometimes, she really hated being the middle sister. Playing mediator was never fun, especially in her family.
"Are they arguing over Lucius again?" Rabastan asked, looking past her at her sisters.
"Of course," Andromeda replied, rolling her eyes. "It's all they ever argue about, just lately. Honestly, I miss them arguing over clothes and make-up, at least then, it was easier to fix. I don't understand the attraction. Yeah, he's charismatic, I guess, but..."
Rabastan chuckled, wrapping his arm around her waist. He pressed his lips lightly against her temple, smiling when he felt her lean into him. "Meet me up on the Astronomy tower tonight? I have something that will cheer you up."
She smiled up at him then, nodding her head. "Midnight?"
"Midnight."
"You didn't need to get me a gift, Rab. Just spending time with you is enough, you know that," she whispered, taking the box from his hands.
"Open it."
She did as he bid, opening the small box that could be nothing other than what she suspected. A gold band holding a single diamond shined up at her. "It's beautiful," she gasped, looking from the ring to Rabastan and back. "But you know I can't wear it. Not yet. Not until our parents announce the betrothal officially."
He smiled and took out another box. "Which is why, I also got you this," he replied, opening the box to show a simple gold necklace. "You can wear it under your shirt. That way, even when we're not together, you'll always have part of me with you."
She laughed lightly, taking the ring from the box and putting it on the already unclasped necklace he was holding out for her. "You're such a cheeseball," she teased, lifting her hair for him to put the necklace around her neck.
He fastened it and pressed his lips to the skin just above where the necklace lay. "Are you complaining?"
A quiet moan escaped her lips and she shook her head. "No. I love you."
"Hmm, as I love you."
Andromeda was going to go crazy if Narcissa didn't stop. She was ranting and raving and crying intermittently, and Andromeda still hadn't got the full story yet. She'd been sitting there for almost two hours.
"He slept with her. He says he wants to marry me, but he wants to sleep with her until the wedding! How could he?! How could she?!"
Andromeda raised her eyebrow. Everyone knew Lucius was sleeping with Bella, it was obvious to anyone who watched them in the common room in the evening, but for him to actually admit it to Narcissa. That was... well, in all honesty, it was really fucking stupid.
While it was only rumor, unconfirmed, even while obvious, Narcissa could have ignored it. Andromeda knew how it worked. The man could do what he wanted, especially before the wedding took place, but it was usually kept... low key. Secret.
She rubbed Narcissa's back comfortingly, while her other hand raised to her chest where she could feel Rabastan's ring resting. She couldn't stop the brief smile from blossoming on her face. She knew she had nothing to worry about. Rabastan loved her.
She frowned. "What are you talking about?"
Rabastan rubbed at his face tiredly. "As soon as we Graduate, I'm expected to take the Dark Mark. Rod has already got his own."
"But..."
"I know, Andie. Trust me, I know."
"You can't! We don't... you don't... do you? Do you support them? Do you want to be a murderer?"
"Of course not. But... I can't say no, Andie. You know that. My father... he's demanding I follow in Rod's footsteps."
"So tell him no," Andromeda replied quietly, and Rabastan looked up at her. There had been steel in every word, and he could feel something shifting between them, the air crackling around them.
"I can't."
She shook her head sadly. "I can't marry a Death Eater. I'm sorry, Rabastan."
He watched, shock and pain engulfing him, as she unclasped the necklace around her neck and dropped it carefully to the floor in front of him. When she turned to leave, he could see the tears gathering in her eyes, just waiting to fall to her beautiful cheeks.
"Andie... don't... I love you."
"I love you, too," she whispered, her voice shaking. "But sometimes... sometimes love isn't enough."
"You're my destiny. You're my soul, dammit, Andie, you can't do this."
She turned to look at him, and he could see the tears flowing down her cheeks. "I love you."
And then she left him alone.
She wasn't sure why he agreed to her dubious-at-best plan, but he did. Ted was a good man, and Andromeda had banked on his admiration for her. He'd liked her for years, she knew. She'd seen the looks, the lust in his eyes, the want. She'd seen the jealousy when Rabastan was near her, and that was what she needed for her plan to work.
"Are you sure this is what you want?" he asked, sitting beside her in the otherwise empty compartment.
She nodded, unable to speak for fear of what might come out of her mouth. It wasn't what she wanted. What she wanted just wasn't available to her anymore.
"I... I love you, Andromeda."
She glanced at him, and she could see the honesty in his eyes, and it only made her feel worse. She was stealing a life from a person in her actions. Ted could have gone on to find a lovely woman, who could love him completely, who would adore him everyday. He could have found a woman that would give him her whole heart.
Andromeda could never give him her heart because she'd already had it taken from her by force.
"I know," she murmured, patting his hand awkwardly. Her eyes moved to the safety of the train window, where she watched the world rush by her. Why did it feel like her life was over already, when it should only just be starting?
She looked out into the endless darkness that surrounded their little cottage and sighed to herself. The night was silent, not even the usual animal noises were there to distract her.
She sat down on the bench that Ted built, perching on the edge. He refused to use magic to strengthen his woodwork, and it put her slightly on edge. He'd been lovely. He was always lovely. And so nice. Too nice.
He wouldn't argue with her, even when she purposefully tried to pick a fight. He barely disagreed with her. It made her feel slightly sick.
Of course, the sickness could be explained away with the other symptoms of her... current predicament. She rubbed her hand gentle across her stomach. There was a life in there. A little life that Andromeda was to care for and protect. She knew she had to tell Ted, but for a moment, just a brief moment, she wanted it to be her secret.
She wanted a moment, just a brief moment, to pretend that her life was as she had always planned it. To pretend that the baby inside of her would have a different surname.
A crack, a loud one, startled Andromeda from the sofa. Ted was running into the room, his wand drawn. She drew her own and edged towards the back door where the noise had come from.
"Go and protect Dora," she whispered. "Get her out if you can."
"I won't leave you to de -"
"Ted. I have more of a chance than you do. Go."
He nodded, taking the stairs two at a time to the nursery where their newborn baby girl lay sleeping, unaware of the possibility of her soon becoming an orphan.
Andromeda opened the door slowly, shrewd eyes scanning every shadow she came across.
"Don't shoot, I won't hurt you."
She gasped, and her wand lowered instinctively at the familiar gravelly voice. "Rabastan?"
"I'm sorry I scared you. I..."
"You! What are you doing here?!"
Andromeda closed her eyes briefly when she felt, then heard, Ted behind her. "I thought I told you to protect Dora."
"I thought we were being attacked. I couldn't just leave you to fight them off by yourself."
She shook her head slightly, turning her attention to Rabastan. "Why are you here?"
"I've heard things, rumors. Bellatrix... she's after you. You need protection."
"She has me!" Ted exclaimed.
Rabastan's eyes flicked briefly to Ted. "You're not good enough," he growled.
Andromeda bit her lip. He still cared. Even now. "Ted, can you give us a minute."
When he started to protest, she turned her head to her husband. "Please. Just a minute, and I'll be right in. I promise."
Ted stared at Rabastan for a moment, distrust etched in every line on his face, before he backed away from the door. Andromeda waited until she heard him bang the living room door closed behind him before she looked back at Rabastan.
"Why are you here?"
"I just told you, Be -"
"Rab."
He sighed. "I wanted to see you. I needed to see you. I miss you, Andie, so much."
"You know I'm married now. I can't... We can't..."
"I guess I'm just not a very good person. I'm not the man I want to be," he murmured, his hand raising to stroke her cheek. "I'm not the man I was when I was with you."
She couldn't stop herself from leaning into the familiar touch, from breathing in the scent that was purely Rabastan. A tear fell to her cheek.
"I have a daughter."
He nodded. "I know. I bet she's just as beautiful as her mother. I shouldn't be here, Andie, it's not fair to you. I just... I don't know how to stay away from you. I've tried. I've tried so fucking hard, but I can't. I need you."
She turned her head slightly, pressing a soft kiss to his palm. "I'm sorry, Rab. I can't."
"I -" Andromeda would never know what he wanted to say because he winced suddenly, and clutched his left arm. "I have to go. Stay safe, Andie, please. I can't live in a world you don't exist in, even if I can't be with you. I love you."
And he was gone.
Only the darkness and the silence heard her murmur, "I love you, too."
She sat in the back of the courtroom, unseen by those on trial, as she listened to the gruesome details of their crimes. Her eyes never strayed from his face, not even to look at her sister, who seemed completely proud of her actions. He was withdrawn, paler and skinnier than she'd ever seen him. He looked lost, broken.
He wasn't her Rab anymore.
The Longbottoms, though she didn't know them personally, were known to be good people. That the attack came when everyone thought it was over, when everyone thought they were safe, made it even harder to accept.
But her Rab, he'd never do something like that. He'd never torture a couple into insanity. Her Rab... he was compassionate and loyal and... he wouldn't do it.
As she stared at him, her eyes taking in every new line and crease on his face, his eyes told her the truth. It was a truth only for her, and she would cling to it. He didn't do it. The horror and torment told her he'd been there. Probably watched it. But he hadn't done it.
She left the courtroom before the punishment was handed down, unable to listen to the verdict.
It was one thing they still had in common. She didn't know how to survive in a world where he didn't exist either. Even if they weren't together.
Ted was gone. Possibly, probably, dead. He refused to sign on for the Muggleborn registry and she didn't blame him. She'd tried to stop him from going on the run, but at the same time, she realised as he did that it was best way to protect their daughter, and in turn, their unborn grandchild.
Over the years she'd grown to love Ted, and she missed him. His companionship was something she felt she would always miss. Their relationship, more platonic than not, had grown into one she'd cherished.
It was just another hole in her already broken heart.
She rocked Teddy slowly, singing a long forgotten lullaby, the same one she'd sang to Dora so many years before. Her daughter, her only child, was out fighting a battle that she shouldn't be part of.
Andromeda had begged and pleaded with her to stay home with her son, to stay safe behind the wards, and wait for news from Hogwarts. Even as the words left her mouth, she'd known they were pointless. Dora was her father's child for the most part, but she'd inherited her stubbornness from Andromeda. She could already see the resolve in her eyes, and knew that further words would only hurt them both.
Instead, she took her grandchild in her arms and pressed her lips to Dora's cheek. "I love you. Come home safe."
"Were you there?"
Andromeda wondered if he would answer her. When silence reigned clear, she thought for a moment that she'd imagined the shift in the air. She stayed on the bench Ted had built for her, still sturdy despite his refusal to use magic, and waited. She could feel him. His magic sang out to her own, and her's welcomed it in turn.
"Were you there?" she repeated.
"I was. I... I'm sorry about your daughter. I didn't... I didn't see her there, I... saw her... after."
"Why are you here?"
"Because I wanted to see you one last time."
She turned to look at him, her eyes drinking him in desperately. She hadn't seen him for seventeen years. "You shouldn't be here. There are wards. The Aurors are probably already on their way."
"I know. I... I won't fight them when they get here. I just... I needed to see your face, to remind myself that there's still something to stay alive for."
"Even if we're not together," she agreed, holding her hand out to him.
He took it, pulling her into a standing position in front of him. "Lift your hair," he whispered.
She did as he asked without question, and she knew what he was clasping around her neck before it fell comfortingly to her chest. "You're still as beautiful as you were the first time I gave you this ring."
"If you go now, you'll stay out of Azkaban. Go abroad. Go... somewhere," she told him, even as he caressed her cheek.
He shook his head. "I have crimes to atone for, Andie. Maybe then, one day, we'll be together again."
She smiled, even as a single tear dropped to her cheek. "We'll always be together, Rab. It's fate, remember. I'm your soul, you're mine."
As the sounds of apparition surrounded them, Andromeda pressed her lips to Rabastan's. "I love you."
"I'll always love you, Andie. For now, and for always."
Also Written for;
Once Upon A Time Competition - "I guess I'm just not a very good person. I'm not the man I was to be."
Sims 3 Progression Challenge - Charisma Level 1 - Describe someone as charismatic.