______ woke up to something she hoped wouldn't become a habit: Morrow was jumping on her, excited and trying to lick her face.

"Eek!" she cried out, sitting up. Morrow only seemed to grow happier, his tails wagging as he put his head in her free hand. She sighed, petting the dog. "Why are you waking me up so early in the morning, boy?"

The dog jumped off her bed, and as she followed him out of the room, he pushed open the mostly-closed door to Newt's room. ______ stood outside the door, hesitant to go inside. Passing the window, she saw that it was barely even light outside, and she didn't expect that Newt would be up so early.

Morrow began to whine a little in the room, wanting her to follow him in. ______ drew in a sharp breath. "Not so loud!" she whispered. "You'll wake him up. I'm coming, I'm coming." She looked around, as if making sure no one would see her (even though she knew they were the only two in the house) and headed into the room.

Newt was still fast asleep in bed, his hair dangling in front of his face in his sleep. As she looked at him, it reminded her of back in New York, when she had come into his room that one time and heard him mumble her name in his sleep. I still want to know what that was about, she thought to herself. As Morrow made another small whine though, she turned her attention to him. "What is it buddy?" she asked.

Morrow went up to Newt's case and laid down next to it, as if trying to say he wanted something inside the case. Then it hit her.

Morrow wanted food, and Newt probably had all of it in his case.

She looked over at Newt. The only time she had been in his case without him was when he had told her to hide in there. She didn't want to intrude, but at the same time, Morrow needed to eat. "Sorry," she whispered to Newt. She looked at the case and opened the latches, stepping inside with Morrow following her.

Once inside, Morrow ran right over to where Newt kept some of the food, sniffing it and trying to grab at it with his paw. ______ laughed softly. "Alright, I'll get you some." Moving past Morrow, she opened the door to the little storage space, looking at all the food in front of her. Which one of these is dog food? She thought to herself.

"It's the round container," ______ heard a voice from behind her.

As she spun around, she saw Newt in his night clothes, jumping down the rest of the ladder. "Sorry!" ______ exclaimed, stepping away from the food and looking at him. "Morrow wanted food, and you were still asleep. I didn't want to wake you up."

"I'm not upset," he told her, smiling slightly. "I was just surprised. You left the case open, you know."

"Sorry..." she trailed off. "Anyways, good morning."

"Good morning," he told her. He kneeled down, grabbing the container Morrow had been sniffing and opening it, pouring some out onto the lid. Morrow ate it hastily, and Newt turned back to her. "Do you want to help me feed the rest of them?"

"I always do," she said excitedly. As Newt grabbed some of the other food, they went around, helping feed everyone else.

When it came to the Bowtruckles, Pickett came out from the pocket of Newt's nightshirt. He ran up to his hand, grabbing the food Newt had in his hands. "Pickett," Newt began. "Do you really not want to be with the rest of them? They're not going to bully you."

As if just to contradict Newt, the rest of the Bowtruckles began to hiss at Pickett. Pickett had a fearful expression on his face as he went from Newt's hand back onto his shoulder. Newt sighed. "This is why they think I pick favorites."

______ laughed softly watching the exchange. "You just don't have the heart to put him somewhere you know he'll be unhappy," she observed.

"Well..." Newt began, trying to find another way to put it. A way to explain it so he had solid reasoning, but he didn't really have any. "Yeah, there's no point putting him somewhere he wouldn't like."

"That's another thing to add on the ever-growing list of 'Ways Newt Loves His Creatures.'"

"Sounds like an excellent book idea. I can publish it along with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them."

"No, this one's a personal copy. My eyes only, after all, I would have to update it too often for there to be only one official copy. You prove it in different ways every day."

Newt laughed. "Everyone's fed now."

"Everyone but us," ______ told him. "Let's go make breakfast."

She took his hand in hers, causing a small, unnoticeable blush to come onto Newt's face. She finally knew her way around the suitcase, and she led them out. Newt remembered to close it this time, and they leaded into the kitchen.

As ______ began to get out things to cook with, Newt smiled a little and began to talk. "Did you know we could cook faster using magic?" he asked, looking at her with a small smile.

Her eyes lit up. "We can?" she asked excitedly. "Then why weren't Tina and Queenie using it the entire time they cooked while they were here?"

"They thought it might be a little more familiar for you," he told her. In all honesty, he thought it would be too. In some little part of his mind, he thought that maybe if he hand-made everything instead of musing magic, it would seem more familiar. That maybe there was a special something you'd get from hand-making it that you couldn't get with magic. Maybe it sounded silly, but he believed it.

"Can you show me?" she asked suddenly. "I mean, can you show me what cooking with magic is like?"

"Of course," he told her with a small smile, and as he pointed his wand, various things around the kitchen began to float. She stared in amazement as eggs were cracked in mid-air, bread flew around overhead, cups were pulled out of cupboards and drinks pulled out of the fridge.

In a matter of maybe thirty seconds or a minute, an entire breakfast was made in front of her, and already dished out onto plates. She just stood there for a moment, dumbfounded. She looked over at Newt, a half-smile on his lips as he put his wand away. "Wow," she said, looking at him. "And here I've been, cooking everything by hand. That was amazing."

"Maybe," he told her. "But it may not be as good as your cooking. You always have a special something you can't get from magic."

"And your magic has a special something you can't get from me."

They smiled at each other and grabbed a plate, heading to the dining table and beginning to eat. The Christmas decorations around them added a certain, home-like feeling that the place didn't have before. Newt hadn't been there in years, and at first, it still seemed so alien. Like the house was frozen in time. But with ______ there, everything seemed to light up again. There was life in the house, and it didn't feel like a fixed-point in time anymore. It felt real again, and it had everything to do with ______.

She made everything feel alive.

"It's Christmas Eve," he told her, and she looked up from eating.

"It is, isn't it?" she asked, a small smile on her face. "I still want to get your present."

"I want to get one for you too," he told her. "But I want to take you somewhere else too."

She gave him a questioning look. "Where?"

"There's this place I've always wanted to take someone else to ever since I was in school," he began excitedly. "Everyone loved going there when we were in school. I haven't been there in years, and I thought it might be fun for the two of us to go there."

"What is it?" she asked, a smile on her face.

"It's called Hogsmeade. It's an all-wizarding village, and they used to let us go up there on the weekends back in school."

"All wizarding?" she thought for a moment. "Are you sure I'd be allowed to go there?"

"Of course," he told her. "I mean, I don't see why you wouldn't be allowed to as long as you stick by me. It'll be lots of fun, what do you say?"

She thought for a moment. Newt seemed ecstatic about showing her this village, but she was worried. She didn't want to get either one of them in trouble, but like Newt's told her many times before, wizard laws here were slacker when it came to Muggles.

That doesn't mean all wizards like them, she thought, and almost subconsciously, her hand rubbed over her arm, where her scar rested.

Muggle.

She shook her head. She didn't want one bad experience to mark how she saw wizards, and she would not allow Maverick to dictate her life from beyond. She wouldn't become cautious and scared of other wizards just because of him. Maverick was evil, she thought. But that doesn't mean they all are. There are other wizards, wizards who thought like Newt.

Right?

After a pause, she looked back at Newt and nodded, smiling. "I'd love to go," she said. "But I also want time to get your present."

"Really?" He responded happily, his face lighting up. "Right then! We can leave around one maybe, that would give us time to get ready and go buy presents, wouldn't it?"

She nodded. "It should be enough time. We'll have to split up though, you're not allowed to see what I get you!"

"Alright," he said with a smile. "It's been a long time since I celebrated Christmas," he looked around at all their decorations they put up, a warm feeling spreading through his body. "I can't wait."

"It's exciting, isn't it?" she thought aloud. "My first Christmas in Britain, and my first Christmas with you." she smiled widely and looked at him. "I can just tell this is going to be great."

"So can I," he smiled at her. He stood up, grabbing his empty plate and hers. "Anyways, we should be getting ready then!"

As they washed up and got ready for the day, so many ideas for gifts passed through his mind. What did he want to get her the most? He could think of a million things he could get her, but he wanted to get her something special. Something meaningful.

Then he got an idea. Why not get her something that mixed perfectly?

As he got a picture for what he wanted to get her, he knew exactly where he would go first.

In the meantime, ______ was at a complete loss for what she wanted to get Newt. She wanted to get him everything, but she just couldn't settle on one thing. Maybe I can just hop around the shops until I find something, she thought to herself.

Newt and ______ met up in the living room, and Newt looked at her. "Ready to go to town?" he asked her with a smile.

She nodded. "Remember, we split up and meet back where we started in the afternoon," she told him. "That should be enough time to find what we're looking for, right?"

"Should be," he said with a smile. She held onto Newt, what seemed like normal now. Still, every time she wrapped her arms around him and he wrapped his around her, she felt like she was in the safest place she could be.

With a wave of his wand, they were soon in an alleyway in the heart of the city. As they looked out of the alley, they saw people walking, and Newt turned to ______. "Alright, twelve o'clock, right here."

"Exactly," she told him. "Since it's still present-buying season, there's going to wrappers everywhere. If they wrap the presents, then there's no way of spoiling the surprise."

"Sounds perfect," Newt said with a smile. They still had their arms wrapped around each other, and before they went their separate ways to find presents, he looked into her eyes. "Before we go..." he trailed off, leaning down and kissing her quickly on the lips. The kiss didn't even last a second before he pulled away nervously, his face red. It was the first time he kissed her without asking first, and there was a look or surprise but joy on ______'s face. "For good luck. May we find what we're hoping for."

She smiled, standing taller and kissing his cheek. "Hopefully," she told him. Even with the cold air around them biting them, his face was blazing now.

They let go of each other, walking out of the alleyway and going their separate ways. While ______ was bouncing from store to store looking for the perfect gift out of the ideas she had, Newt knew exactly where he wanted to go.

He snuck into another alleyway, and taking a deep breath, apparated somewhere he could use his own money.

Diagon Alley.

Arriving in the wizard shopping center, he smiled, the familiarity hitting him. I haven't been here in so long, he thought, beginning to walk. I bet this will be the same feeling when we get to Hogsmeade.

After two hours spent shopping and wrapping (or, rather, watching other people wrap), ______ headed back to the alley she and Newt agreed on meeting in. She finally found something for Newt, and she couldn't wait until he unwrapped it tomorrow.

He couldn't wait for her to see her present either. He had to apparate home, it wasn't a small box. She held hers, and upon seeing Newt already in the alley way, walked up to him. He seemed distracted, looking down the alley and fiddling with his hands. "Newt," _______ called out, and he spun around fast, making her laugh softly. "I'm ready to go. Are you?"

"Oh, yes," he told her. "I dropped my box off at home, so let's go drop yours. Then, to Hogsmeade!"

______ smiled at Newt's excitement. Seeing him so happy, she couldn't help but smile. He had a charm to him, and she always wanted to see him happy. Anytime she saw a smile on his face, or when he got excited, or when he started rambling about something he's passionate about, she couldn't help but smile and be happy with him. "Let's go then!" she exclaimed happily, wrapping her arms around him.

With a flick of his wand, they were back home, and Morrow was jumping at them, excited that they were back. His tails were wagging, and he whined softly for attention. Newt leaned down and started petting him. "We were just out," he told him. "And we're about to go again. We'll be back tonight, right at feeding time. Don't you worry."

"I'm going to go put this under the tree," ______ told Newt, gesturing towards her present. "Then we'll head off."

"Perfect," Newt said, not looking away from Morrow. "You're like Pickett, aren't you?" he said with a smile. "Attachment issues. Well, makes sense why you waited outside that castle all night when we first met." Newt stood up, and Morrow jumped up on his legs. "Come on boy, we won't be long, okay? We'll be back tonight." Newt reassured him, patting him on the head.

Just then, ______ came back from the living room. "Alright, I'm ready," she said with a smile. Newt looked over at her.

"Just one thing," he told her suddenly, going out of the room. He came back with his case, flicking the lock and opening the case. She was surprise to see actual objects in it, no longer a shadowed pit that she knew led to wonder. Before she could ask anything though, Newt pulled out a grey and yellow scarf, closing the case and turning to her. "Wear these," he told her, and he went up to her, gently wrapping the scarf around her neck, then proceeding to take off his jacket, hanging it over her.

"As much as I love wearing your clothes," she began with a small smile, slightly playing with one end of the scarf, "Why?"

"Remember how I said that some wizards claim they can sort of 'sniff' Muggles out?" Newt began, and ______ nodded. "Well, hopefully these will throw them off. Since I wear them all the time, they'll smell like me. Like wizard." He informed her, and then half-smiled. "I hope I don't smell too bad."

"I actually love the way you smell," she said impulsively. As soon as she realized what she said, her face started to change colors and she put a hand over her mouth before asking, "Did I just say that out loud?"

"You did," Newt told her, laughing a little. "You love my smell?" he asked, stepping closer to her.

"Anyways," ______ said, starting to change the subject. "What about the wizards like you? I mean, I remember you telling me that you can tell Muggles apart from wizards like a frequency. You can't trick a frequency, can you?"

"No," Newt began. "But you'll throw people off. You might be on a different frequency, but you'll smell like wizard. Plus, to boost, you're wearing my school's scarf. The wizard school I was telling you about, Hogwarts. So, at the very least they might think you're..." he trailed off. He didn't like using the word just because it had lots of negative connotations, but there wasn't another word he could think of. "A mudblood."

"A mudblood?" ______ asked. "What's that?"

"It's a wizard who was born from Muggle parents," he explained to her.

"That can happen?"

"Yeah, it happens all the time. There's a lot of people like that."

"Hm," she hummed. "Well, hopefully I can pass for one then. Are you sure this'll work?"

"It's just a precaution," he told her. "I'm sure you won't even need it."

"Won't you be cold?" she asked suddenly. "I mean, I am using your jacket."

"I'll be fine, we'll be indoors mostly anyways. I can't wait to show you everything Hogsmeade has to offer." He bounced a little. ______ smiled slightly and put her arms around him. Without his jacket, it's like he was closer than before. She rested her head against them, and soon enough, they apparated away.

Sooner than she expected, they were on the side of a snowy, busy street. She opened her eyes and looked around, watching as wizards were crawling the streets, the crunch of snow filling the air. She smiled, looking around at everything. For a wizard-only village, the commotion seemed... rather Muggle. She looked over at Newt, who was looking at her with a happy expression. "So," he began. "What do you think?"

"It seems... strangely familiar," she began. "But different. The air is different here. The commotion seems the same, but everyone's on a different level. It's hard to explain."

"That," he began. "Is what I meant by frequency. It's probably easier for you to feel now that you're the Muggle surrounded by wizards instead of me being the wizard surrounded by Muggles."

"Yeah," she nodded. "That's the word for it. Everyone's on a different frequency. This is how you feel around Muggles?"

"Something like that," he told her. "Only in a group. When I'm with you, it's different. You're not like others, I know that much. Even my creatures know that much," he told her with a small laugh, and Pickett stuck his head slightly out of his pocket. "Anyways," Newt continued on, letting go of their hug and taking her hand. "I know where to go first. Follow me."

Newt led her up the streets of Hogsmeade, and she couldn't help but stare in wonder at everything. Even though she was sure it made her stick out like a sore thumb, she didn't care. There was so much to take in, so much to pay attention to. She wanted to sink in every detail, she didn't want to miss a single thing.