Andromeda walked into her bedroom, feeling the familiar grief that always came when remembered that she would be spending another night alone. She only made it two steps into her room, however, before a pair of strong arms grabbed her. Her own arms were suddenly pinned to her sides, while a hand covered her mouth tightly, preventing her from making a sound.

"It's okay," whispered a voice that she recognized. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just didn't want you to scream."

Despite her current situation, Andromeda did not fear her captor. She nodded her head to let him know that it was okay to release her. She had no intention on yelling out and waking her daughter and newborn grandson, who were asleep down the hall.

The man slowly pulled his arms away, and instead drew his wand. He left it trained on her, indicating that he didn't trust her. Ironic, she thought, considering he was the fugitive, not her.

Andromeda was standing only a couple feet from him and could clearly make out his familiar features. They had both aged considerably since their last meeting, and the lines on his face showed it. He also had scars that weren't there twenty years ago, and some looked like he had acquired them recently.

"What are you doing here, Rabastan?" she whispered, after a moment.

"I just needed to talk to you," Rabastan replied. "There is something I wanted you to know."

She crossed her arms and looked at him expectantly, but he didn't say anything else. Instead, he just stared at her as though she were a long-lost treasure. His hand tentatively reached over and gently stroked her cheek. Caught up in the moment, it took Andromeda a couple of seconds before she realized what was going on. She swatted his hand away and took a step back from him.

"Don't touch me," she hissed.

"Sorry," Rabastan said, lowering his hand. "Its just been so long."

"And who's fault is that?" she asked scornfully. Then she shook her head, dismissing the question. "Just say what you need to, Rabastan, and leave. I suggest you make it quick, before I decide to summon the Aurors and have you returned to Azkaban."

She watched a small smile cross his lips.

"I won't be sent back to Azkaban," he replied. "I've been fully pardoned."

"By a corrupt Ministry," she shot back. He shrugged but didn't say anything else.

"What do you want?" she asked again.

He sighed slightly before he spoke. "I didn't kill your husband."

"Excuse me?" she asked, venomously. How dare he even bring up her husband!

"I didn't kill him," Rabastan repeated. "I didn't even know anything about it until after it happened."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" she asked him in disbelief.

He considered this for a moment before answering. "No, I don't imagine it would," he finally said. "Perhaps I needed to tell you for my own peace of mind. I assume you loved him, since you've stayed with him this long, and I also assume you think I was responsible for his death."

Andromeda stared at him, feeling perplexed. Truthfully, when she received the news about Ted, the thought that Rabastan may have been involved never even occurred to her.

"I hated him," Rabastan continued. "I hated everything about him. There were many times I considered getting rid of him, but I didn't. I would never intentionally cause you that kind of pain."

She watched him closely as he spoke; looking him directly in the eye. He didn't look away from her and Andromeda knew that he was telling the truth. Time seemed to stop for a moment, as they stood in the bedroom, gazing at each other.

"Is that all?" she asked a couple minutes later, as she forced herself to use common sense. She was, after all, standing in the room with a Death Eater. Was she being stupid for not being even a little bit afraid?

"Yes," Rabastan responded. "That's all I wanted to say."

"Fine," she replied. "You should leave now."

He nodded to her and walked over to the window, where he obviously had come through earlier. She watched as he opened the window, and put one leg up on the sill, ready to climb out. Then he paused and looked back at her.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice quiet.

"Why are you sorry?" she asked angrily, as tears began to fall down her cheeks. "I thought you didn't have anything to do with it."

"I didn't have anything to do with your husband's death," he explained, "but I am sorry for everything else I put you through."

"Would you choose differently?" she asked, before she could stop herself. He looked at her curiously, so she clarified what she meant. "If you could go back, to when we were younger, would you choose me over… over him?"

Rabastan didn't respond, but he didn't need to – she saw the answer in his eyes.

"Goodbye, Andromeda," he whispered before climbing out the window.

She sunk down onto her bed and stared at the open window, not having the strength to get up and close it. The loss she was now feeling was quite different than the recent pain she had been enduring over the death of her dear husband. This loss was an old wound, one that she thought had closed a long time ago.

She saw now, however, that the pain of losing her first love would be with her forever.