Love Will Tear Us Apart

BLACK LAKE

Andromeda Black had no intention of attending potions the next day, and the minute Defence Against the Dark Arts finished she whirled out of the classroom and hightailed it to her dormitory where she changed briskly into a pair of jeans and a striped t-shirt. As quickly as she had entered the room, she exited it and half-sprinted her way through the castle. Almost every other student was in a class, precisely where she should be, so she made it through the corridors at an unprecedented speed.

She kept running even when she left the castle and made her way down to the lake, where, as she knew he would be, Ted was waiting for her.

"I have to tell you something." She panted, clutching her side where a stitch was forming and leant forward to try and ease the pain.

Ted leapt up from the sand, hurrying over to her with a look of concern plastered across his face. "Did you run the whole way here?" 

Andromeda ignored him. Still wheezing slightly she said, "My Divination professor, she told me a prophesy." She paused and moved closer to him. "She knows Ted."

"Knows what?"

"She knows. She knows what the future holds for me. For us. She knew who I was going to choose and how it was going to play out."

"Oh... And?"

"It's you Ted..." Her voice cracked and tears sprung to her eyes. She smiled tenderly. "It's always been and it always will be you."

Ted's face broke into a smile and he stumbled forward to gather her up in a hug, pressing a kiss to her cheek as he did it. She returned her smile but pulled away from him after a moment. "Ted... She told me something else."

"What's that then?" He asked, plonking himself down on the wet sand. She sat beside him, twisting her hands in her lap and avoiding her gaze.

"There's going to be a war." Ted inhaled sharply. "Two in fact. Andromeda continued. "She said that I would lose everything in the second of the great wars, and would have nothing to show for my sacrifice..." Ted was silent. "I think it's only fair that I tell you what will happen to you if I make the decision I want to make because it affects you too. If I run back to my family and never see you again, you'll be safe. Do you understand now why it's such a difficult decision for me? I either get to be with and love you for the rest of your life or I get to sleep well knowing I kept the person I love most in the world safe even if it means I'm unhappy. Bellatrix is not the person that's of the greatest danger to you Ted... I am."

Ted was silent for a few minutes, hardly daring to think about what the woman had meant when she had told Andromeda that she would lose everything. He would be gone, that was for sure, but would there be others? Would they have children? How would they keep them safe through two wars? 

Finally he slipped his hand into hers and squeezed it gently. "We just have to hope that it will be worth it in the end. And that, in the end, it's you and me, together, facing the world... Though one part of that does bother me."

"Which part?"

"That you will have nothing to show for your sacrifice. Are you sure you want to make it? Are you sure it's worth it?"

"To be with you, that's all I want. If I must fight on the frontline of these battles, if I must face my sisters from opposite sides of the conflict, then I'll do it. These wars will come, we have no way of stopping them, I believe that much. But as long as we are standing on the same side, it'll be worth it. If I can have even just a few years of uninterrupted happiness with you, then I could withstand centuries of pain and suffering to repay the universe."