______ woke up that next morning with Newt at the foot of the bed, writing in a small journal. As soon as she sat up, Newt turned his attention towards her. "Excellent, you're up," he said with a small smile, closing his notebook. "You slept through the rest of the day yesterday. I guess you really weren't feeling well," he noted. "They said we should be there by about three o'clock."

______ nodded, taking all this new information in. She didn't remember feeling too bad except for dizziness, but Newt didn't want to tell her that he may have accidentally added too much drowsiness into what he gave her. he always liked to experiment with potions and elixirs, trying them out whenever he had the chance. He knew what he gave her had a drowsing property, but man, he didn't expect it to last that long. Just like when he gave Swooping Evil's venom to Frank, he knew it would have some effect, but he didn't know how much. He was amazed that the memory wipe on New York even worked.

It was very dangerous. Highly experimental. Kind of a miracle that it worked, really.

______ yawned and stretched, looking around the room. It felt really cramped all of a sudden, and she wanted desperately to get out. How could people stay in one room so long when they're on a boat? She looked over at Newt. "Do you want to go get some breakfast."

"Just what I was thinking," he told her. "I was waiting for you to wake up."

"Hope I didn't keep you waiting long," she said, getting up. "Well, I'll just get changed and then we'll go."

"Oh, right," Newt said, turning away from her as she changed. It was something simple, not far off from what she usually went with. She took off his jacket, setting in on the bed while she changed.

She walked behind Newt, slipping his jacket onto him from behind and taking his arm. "Ready to go, darling?" she asked in a sweet voice with a smile.

"Darling?" Newt asked, his eyebrows raised, and a slight blush coming onto his face. ______ had never called him that before, and hearing it come out of her shocked him.

"Well, they do think we're a couple," she told him. "And it would be strange if we stayed in a one-bed room and didn't act like a couple. So, we might as well keep the act up, right?"

"Oh, right," Newt said, nodding. Right, he thought. They think we're a couple, so we need to act like one. It's just a farce.

So why did he secretly wish it wasn't one?

They walked out of the room, Newt's face still faintly tinted pink. Not enough for ______ to notice it, but just enough for him to know it was there. As they got to the top deck, they each grabbed some food from what they had to offer and sat at a table on the deck, closer to the edge of the boat. Newt looked out into the ocean, and ______ decided to strike up conversation. "So, are there any magical beasts in the ocean?" she asked with curiosity, a small smile at the thought of it.

"There are," Newt told her. "There's just a few that I can think of, but I'm sure there's an entire network of undiscovered magical ocean beasts. Maybe even some that Muggles think are normal."

"There might be a few animals that are like that. Some we think are normal, but are actually magical. What does a beast have to have to be counted as magical anyways?"

"There's an entire list they gave me a while ago at the Ministry, but since then, I've lost it. I do pride myself on being able to tell them apart though," Newt told her, a small smile on his face. "They just seem to be on a different frequency from everyone else, you know? That's how wizards can pick out Muggles too. Some wizards claim to be able to smell it, but I just kind of feel it. Everyone's on a different frequency." Newt looked over at ______, who was looking at him with big, wondrous, shining eyes. He blushed slightly. "Sorry, didn't mean to ramble on there."

"No, it's fine," she told him. "I like hearing you talk. I've told you before and I'll tell you again, you don't annoy me."

Newt smiled. Just those four words put him on a level he could describe as euphoric. "You don't annoy me" was music to his ears. He didn't let many people know, but being called annoying was one of the biggest things that brought him down. It wasn't that they just got bored of him, he was bothering people just for being himself. He was annoying just for talking about what he was passionate about. When he was with ______ though, she would always listen to him with open ears and the most interested expression. She truly was interested in all he had to say, and she was an excellent listener.

It was one of the many things he absolutely adored about her.

They passed most of their time just sitting there, on the deck, chatting about everything and nothing. He would talk to her about the wizarding world, and she would talk to him about little instances from her life. Each one was interested in the other, neither of them ever getting bored or annoyed. It was perfect.

"I should take you to my childhood home once we're there," he told her. "I helped my mother raise fancy hippogriffs and other magical creatures there. I think you'd like it."

"Fancy hippogriffs?" ______ asked. "What's the difference between a fancy hippogriff and a regular one?"

"Well, really, it's in the temperament. Fancy hippogriffs are just natural smarter and better-mannered than regular ones. Doesn't always mean they're better though. I've met some regular hippogriffs that could understand me better than fancy ones."

"Do you still have fancy hippogriffs there?"

"I don't think so. The place has been vacant for years, I believe. They moved out and away, but they didn't have the heart to sell it, so I stay there sometimes. Since I've been moving from country to country the past few years, I've just been living there. There's no use renting an apartment if you're barely ever there."

"I guess you have a point there."

As ______ finished her sentence, the boat pulled into the bay. "We're here already?" Newt asked. "I didn't think so much time passed."

"Time flies when you're having fun, I suppose. Let's get our stuff," ______ proposed, standing up. Heading to their room, they made sure they had everything before getting off the boat.

"You have your passport, right?" Newt asked her, double-checking.

"Yeah, I have to go through a certain line for it, right?"

"Yes, it's right over there. I'll hail us a taxi while you do that."

The two separated, and Newt looked around, searching for a taxi. Surprisingly, though, a taxi seemed to find him first. "Do you need a ride?" the driver asked from his window. Newt must've looked really lost.

"Yeah, I'm just waiting for someone. Is that alright?"

"Of course, just get in the cab when they're here," the driver told him.

Wow, Newt thought. That was easier than I remembered. Standing by the cab, he watched the line as ______ migrated from the back to the front in a span of five minutes. She gave them her passport, let them check her things, then was on her way. She sped-walked over to Newt. "Sorry," she apologized. "Didn't think it would take that long."

"It's fine," he told her, moving aside and opening the car door for her. They sat in the back, their things at their feet, and as Newt told the driver the directions, they were off.

"So, we're going to your childhood home then?" ______ asked, looking over at Newt.

For once, he didn't seem to have his head in the cloud out the window, and turned his attention towards her. "Yes," he told her.

"How far is it."

"Can't remember. Maybe an hour or two?"

"Not that long away then. Time passed so quickly earlier, so this should be a breeze."

As they got engaged in conversation, they neglected checking the time, and as the driver got further and further away from their destination, neither of them noticed. They were too involved in talking to each other. It wasn't until ______ noticed how dark it was outside a red flag was raised for her. "How long has it been?" she asked Newt. "It's already dark outside."

"Is it?" Newt asked, shock in his voice as he turned and looked out the window. That's when something hit him. They had been driving for what seemed like hours, and he didn't recognize the terrain at all. He had no idea where they were. He looked up front towards the driver. "Where are you going?" He asked, trying not to sound rude. "This isn't where we're trying to go at all."

The next events happened so fast, it was hard for anyone to comprehend them.

The driver pulled over to the side of the road, the car screeching at the sudden halt. Before Newt could get out a word to ask what was going on, they whipped around, a ready wand already in their hands. "Stupefy!" he shouted, and a blue beam of light turned and hit Newt.

He was unconscious in seconds, barely able to register he had been hit with a stunning spell before he fell over.

The driver payed no attention to the fully conscious ______ who sat there, her mouth hanging open. Before she had time to properly react, she saw what the driver's next move was: he was taking a lunge for Newt's case.

"No!" she shouted, diving for the case and grabbing it before he could. The driver, or whoever this really was, became agitated. "You stupid Muggle!" he shouted. "Let go!" As he pulled out his wand to stun her too, someone else came along. Someone who had been there the entire time.

Pickett jumped out of ______'s pocket, lunging himself at the wizard. As he hit the wizard's face and began clawing his eyes, the wand was pointed elsewhere in the car, and ______ just barely escaped getting stunned. In this brief moment while Pickett attacked the wizard, she turned towards Newt, shaking him. "Newt, you have to wake up! We're in trouble, he's going to take your-"

She didn't get to finish her sentence.

The wizard had pried Pickett off his face, blood oozing from the scratches, and one of his eyes looked like he'd never to be able to see out of it again. If he wasn't already mad before, he was infuriated now.

And he planned on taking it out on someone.

Throwing Pickett to the back of the car, Pickett let out a small, heart-breaking whine. "You!" the angry wizard shouted. "You and that case are coming with me."

"Over my dead body!" ______ shouted back. She hadn't thought of her words, they just came out, the adrenaline pumping through her.

"That can be arranged."

As those sinister words left the wizards mouth, he grabbed ______ by the neck, and swished his wand, apparating away.

fun.