Written for the Carbon Leaf Challenge by Muffled Chimes.
J. K. Rowling owns Harry Potter.
Song: Another Man's Woman by Carbon Leaf.
I hear a knock at the window and I turn to stare.
I sigh in relief, it's only Rabastan.
I stealthily slip out of bed, watching Rodolphus to make sure that he's still asleep.
I silently shut the door behind me, glancing back one more time at his peaceful expression.
I pull on my coat and step out the back door, engulfed in the cold night breeze.
I wait for a moment, standing on the wet grass in my bare feet.
"Rabastan?" I whisper, and I feel his hands encircle my waist.
"It's been too long," he whispers in my ear huskily.
"Rodolpus cannot know," I say firmly. "I don't want him to find out. We can't afford to lose another of the Dark Lord's followers."
I turn to face him as he steps back.
"You don't really think that he'd kill himself like the others?" he asks me.
"No," I whisper. "I think that he'd kill you. Or me. Perhaps both."
It's getting harder to breathe; my heart is pounding in fear, but I don't show it.
As usual, I hide it.
"We could run. Run away. All I want is to be with you," he tells me.
"We can't afford to lose more followers," I repeat.
"I can't afford to lose you," he says, his face inches from mine.
I boldly lean in even closer, whispering, "You will if we tell them."
"I won't let them," he says stubbornly.
I let out a ghostly laugh, and the wind carries it away.
"You silly fool. No one can defeat the Dark Lord," I say.
But he replies, "I can try."
This will surely end in death, no matter which way we go.