"I chose you."

He opened the front door, stopping as the chilly night air wrapped itself around him, a breeze gently tugging him, inviting him to the darkness. The danger.

"If they come, tell them I've gone. Disappeared while you slept. You've no idea where I went."

The lines on the woman's faced were drawn. "They won't believe that."

He glanced back at his wife, wrapped in the blanket. Her hair was pulled back messily, strands falling around her face, tickling at her cheeks, disrupting her vision. Beneath the blanket she wore a loose cotton nightgown. Her feet were bare.

She wasn't going with him.

That was the hardest to deal with.

"Make them." He turned away now, looking up at the stars, which gave him a bright, shining smile. "They shouldn't bother you once I'm gone."

"You say that as though it's a positive." Andromeda glanced down, feeling guilt as something deep down told her it was. No more Death Eaters at her door.

No more husband in her bed, her house, her life.

"Your safety is." Ted dropped his bag, taking steps toward his wife. "And you'll never have it as long as a Muggle-born is around."

"Then let me go with you!" Andromeda cracked, taking his hands in hers, kissing each knuckle. She wiped her tears away with his hand.

"Nymphadora needs you now, you know that." Ted placed a hand on the back of her head, pushing down on her curls while pulling her closer to him. "And I'd rather have you home, safe, then running from Death Eaters, traveling God knows where."

"I'd rather be with you." She whispered, voice muffled against his chest.

"I'm a danger." Ted pulled her away from him, large hands on her delicate shoulders. "I'm nothing but trouble for you." He smiled apologetically now. "I always have been."

"Don't say that." She wanted to wrap her arms around him. Mold into him. The stare was too intense, however. Theirs always was. Reserved, solid brown against inviting, warm grey.

"I'm sorry I ever did this to you," He petted the top of her head, smoothing out the wild locks. He then cupped her face in both hands. "When we were young, you always told me how bad of an idea it was. How dangerous. Insane. But it felt so right and-"

"I chose you." Andromeda had never looked older than when she said these words. Her face seemed to collapse, brow knitting, eyes welling, nostrils flaring, frown deepening. Her eyes never left his. "You did nothing to me. I fell in love with a Muggle-born. Me, a Pureblood. Andromeda Black, of the Noble and Most Ancient House. I dragged you into the madness when I let you put that ring on my finger. You? You've done nothing." She blinked, and tears spilt over. "I chose you. And I'm so sorry."

Ted Tonks took his wife in his arms for what would be the last time. He couldn't feel the hot tears that soaked into his cloak, but later, as he came to a stop in the dense forest he apparated to, he looked back up to the sky, appearing in patches due to the tree tops, and looked vaguely in the direction where he knew the Andromeda Galaxy was located. He placed a hand over his heart and drew it back when he felt the dampness. He puzzled over this for a moment, before realization dawned, and he placed his palm there again until his wife's tears eventually dried.

They shared one last kiss before Ted retrieved his bag and stepped outside. She remained in the doorway, looking after him as he walked away from the house, unlatched the small gate that had always separated them from everyone else, and turned as he closed it.

The moon's glow was bright enough that they could see each other clearly.

Andromeda stood bent, cold, with tears streaming down her face.

Ted stood tall, throwing his shoulders back.

For a moment, Andromeda could see Ted, seventeen years old, stepping out onto the Quidditch field. He puffed his chest out and gripped his broom tightly. He was anxious, excited, and raring for a tough match.

The man before her was now forty-five. She would say that the same emotions still applied. He was anxious, maybe a little excited, and ready for the fight that lay ahead of him.

The fight for his life.

The fight that he would soon lose.

Ted smiled for his wife before disapparating.

-Reels