They did go to the vigil, though they hung in the back where nobody could really notice them. Ted had even suggested they use the Polyjuice potion, and as tempting as it was, Andromeda had opted against it. They were going to have to face the schoolmates eventually, they might as well get used to it now.
It was a nice vigil, Lily said a lot of what she'd been planning to say earlier, about fighting to protect the people they loved. It was a beautiful sentiment; it was just a pity the crowd was smaller. Even some of the muggleborn defenders were missing, namely Barty. Andromeda was surprised, as he'd been pretty involved up this point.
Maybe he hadn't managed to sneak past all the other snakes, or maybe he felt it was better he laid low until things calmed down. A part of her wondered if it had something to do with her, though the other part told her not to be so self-centered.
She was surprised when an owl wormed its way into the vigil, and even more surprised when the owl dropped a letter in her lap. As carefully as she could she opened it. All it said was, "Emergency. Midnight. R."
"Regulus again?" Ted asked. Too late, she realized he'd been reading over her shoulder. Slowly, she nodded.
"He wants you to meet him at midnight? Is that safe?" Ted asked.
She hesitated, then said, "It is as long as I'm careful."
"Do you want me to come with you?" he asked.
She stiffened, then forced herself to relax as she said, "It's less suspicious if I go. But I promise I'll relay to you whatever Regulus says."
Ted's eyebrows were still crinkled in worry, so she kissed him on the cheek, and turned her attention to the vigil. Inside, her mind was racing. Rabastan had never called an emergency meeting before, and the last time he'd spoken with her had been about Narcissa. Had something else happened with Narcissa? Or Bellatrix?
She could barely breathe as she waited for midnight to roll by. Eventually she'd been forced back to her dormitory, where she'd had to endure Claire Zabini's taunts about her pregnancy. She was so gripped with terror she barely reacted to their insults, and they gave up.
At quarter to midnight, she cast an invisibility spell and then slipped out of her dorm room. She couldn't risk anyone following her. She reached the prefects' lounge and slipped inside. As far as she was aware Teresa and Lily were on patrol tonight, and as they were the most vigilant, she doubted they'd stop for a break in the lounge.
She'd arrived five minutes early, so she had nothing to do but count the minutes like midnight. Four minutes to go. Three. Two. One…
"Andromeda."
Even though she feared what he had to say, she smiled at the sight of him. But they smile slipped off her face as she saw him. He looked even more gaunt than before, almost skeletal, and his eyes reminded her more of a corpse than a teenaged boy.
"Rabastan?" she said. "What happened to you?"
She expected him to say nothing, but he didn't even try to lie to her. He just ignored her question.
"I'm sorry to demand a meeting like this," he said. "I'm sure you have a lot going on."
He didn't say that with any sort of malice, but there was still something in his voice that made her wonder…
"You know, don't you?" she said, her voice suddenly hoarse.
He sighed, then said, "Word travels fast, especially news such as that."
She looked down, shame burning in her cheeks.
"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice suddenly concerned.
She looked up, slowly. "Is that really what you want to ask me?"
His jaw twitched, then he said, "I don't have the right to ask anything else."
"Rabastan," she said. Perhaps she should have let it go. It wasn't like she really wanted to know his thoughts on the matter, but with everything they'd been through, she didn't want to start lying now.
He paused, then said, "You need to be careful. Bella's furious. The only reason she hasn't stormed down there and ripped the baby out of your womb is because he won't let her. And because she probably couldn't make it past Dumbledore. But nothing will keep her away from you forever."
They sat there in silence. She still couldn't believe that was all he had to say. And sure enough, he eventually said, "You still haven't told me if you're alright."
"I'm…" she breathed. She'd just said she wouldn't lie. "I'm not. I don't know what to do. And neither does Ted. And I'm terrified, I'm terrified for what the future holds for all three of us."
And there it was, Rabastan flinched when she said, the three of us, but said, "Perhaps you should consider hiding out into the muggle world. You'd be safer there."
She breathed out. She hadn't intended to say the three of us. She'd intended to say both of us, but three had slipped out. But even as she imagined fleeing to the muggle world with Ted, it wasn't just the two of them. There was a child wrapped in her arms in every vision.
"For how long?" she said.
Rabastan took a long time before he said, "I don't know."
She wanted to know more. She was desperate to know more. But she feared if she pushed Rabastan too hard, he'd pull away from her entirely. Was that stupid? Risking her future family to preserve a friendship she knew was doomed?
"Is that what you wanted to speak to me about?" she asked.
His eyes, as impossibly dark as they were, got even darker. "No. I came to tell you. To tell you that you should spend March 21st in the Forbidden Forest."
Her eyes narrowed. "Why?"
He didn't answer her question. He seemed to be going through an internal debate. Finally he said, "You should take Ted with you."
"Rabastan," she said again, urgently. "Tell me what's going on."
"I can't," he said, his voice tight. "I'm sorry."
She thought about demanding an answer, but once again, she feared she would push him away for good.
"Alright," she said, "I will do as you ask."
He breathed out, but the relief in his eyes was brief. "There's something else."
Her heart clenched in dread. "What is it?"
He looked up, suddenly, his dark eyes boring into hers. "I came to say goodbye."
The tightness in her chest became worse. "What do you mean?"
"I mean I can never see you again, not like this. It's too dangerous, for both of us."
As she stared at him, she realized why he seemed so dark. She was about to lose him, and if she didn't act fast, it would be forever.
"No," she said, throwing her face against her flame. The heat prickled her skin, but she ignored it. "No. Rabastan. You can't do this. This isn't who you are."
"I told you," he said, his voice shaking. "There's no way out."
"Well, find one!" Andromeda said, her own voice breaking as well. "Please."
Rabastan shook his head. "If I leave he'll kill me, and everyone I care about."
"So come with me," she said. She reached out as if to stroke his face, even though she knew she couldn't. "We'll run. Together."
He looked at her, her offer catching him off-guard. She didn't even know what she was offering, she just knew she couldn't abandon him to his fate.
A small smile graced his lips, as he reached a hand to her face, but just before the flame touched her skin he said, "Goodbye, Andromeda."
"No!" she shrieked, but the flame vanished, and he was gone.
She stared at the flame, her mind whirling. She'd find a way to reach him. She'd send him a letter. Or find out where he was and face him. But even as she thought it, some part of he knew it was hopeless. Rabastan was gone. Perhaps he'd been gone before he ever spoke to her today, and what she saw was only a ghost of who he used to be. It didn't matter. Either way, she would never see him again. Unless it was behind that dreadful mask, marching at his new master's side.
A sob escaped her lips as she collapsed in on herself. But as the sobs ripped and tore at her body. She knew she couldn't stay here. Someone would find her eventually, and if they found out who she was meeting with, she'd be as good as killing Rabastan herself.
She couldn't stop the tide of tears flowing down her body, but she managed to restrain her sobs as she slowly staggered to her feet. She felt like collapsing again, but she managed to make it to the door. She opened it and found herself face to face with Ted.