The Past

As a young child, I was pretty okay. Everyone told my father Phineas and my mother Rowena what a lovely child I was, so smart and kind. I got along well with the two brothers across the road, the Scamanders. I would often play Aurors and robbers with Theseus, look for creatures with Newt, and go on adventures with both of them in the forest near our houses'. Once I was old enough, I would zip around the backyard on my broom with dreams of playing Quidditch.

When I got older, I got sick a lot, but no one ever thought anything of it. Just colds and cases of the flu, 'back luck' they would say. But it was nothing some rest and a potion couldn't fix.

Fast forward a few more years, and I was on my way to Hogwarts. I was in Theseus' year; he was sorted into Hufflepuff, and I was sorted into Slytherin. I thought I would have been in Gryffindor because I often did stupid, albeit, brave stuff like climb trees to the highest branch. But the hat told me that the ambition within me was strong. Except for a few prejudiced Slytherins (most of them being my immediate or close cousins), the house was filled with friendly people. Besides I wasn't too far from the Hufflepuff common room where Theseus was. Despite being in different houses, we still hung out frequently.

A few years later, the year Newt entered school, I joined the Slytherin Quidditch team as a Chaser. The youngest female Chaser the school had ever seen. I became very close with the team who were all very nice and open minded people, but I still made time for the two Hufflepuff brothers. I took all the classes I needed in order to become an Auror. At some point during my 5th year, Quidditch started to take a toll on my shoulders, I frequently had to visit the nurse because I couldn't lift my quill. Newt would often bring around his small creatures to the hospital wing to keep I company. Leta Lestrange would often shoot me annoyed glances from the hallway, but I tried to ignore them.

"This one's name is Pickett," said Newt cheerily as he pulled a Bowtruckle out of his pocket. I hold my hand out for Pickett to hop onto, but he is hesitant. "He's very shy but-"

Pickett without warning crawls onto my hand and crawls into my sling that held the ice on my shoulder in place. Newt looked overjoyed. "Well, he seems to like you!"

I passed my owls with flying colours, and took 6 N.E.W.T. level course; Transfiguration, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Charms, Herbology, and Care of Magical Creatures. Theseus was now in all of my classes but one so it was very nice to see more of him.

It wasn't until my 7th year that things started to go wrong. I was on the train sitting in a compartment with my fellow 7th year Slytherin Quidditch players when my stomach started to hurt. I ran towards the bathroom and stayed there, feeling very dizzy.

"Linda are you alright in there? I've been in there for an hour, and we're nearly there," called one of my friends through the door.

"Yes," I said weakly. I stayed on the train until everyone cleared off because I couldn't move from my spot. Professor Dumbledore and Nurse Buffay had to come and take me off of the train. Dumbledore carried me to the Hospital wing.

That was the first time I stayed in the hospital wing overnight. I woke up feeling mildly better, but my whole body was sore, everything was fuzzy. Professor Dumbledore sitting at the end of my bed slowly came into focus.

"I must say, having to carry a student off the train is a first. You gave us quite the scare there Miss Black," said Dumbledore.

"What was wrong with me?" I croaked out.

"The nurse said that it was an infection of the kidneys, it'll take a few days of rest, but you should be back to normal in no time," he replied.

I nod. Dumbledore was somewhat right. Things did return to a partial normal once I got out of the hospital wing. But I was constantly more tired, I slept more, and my joints screamed at me every time I played Quidditch.

Not too long into the Quidditch season, I had to quit. It was too much. However I didn't want to tell everyone the reason why I quit, so I told everyone I just wanted to focus on school and didn't enjoy it anymore. Which was a total lie, I missed it with every bone in my body.

"Linda!" said an out of breath voice from behind me. It was Newt. "Linda, I heard some people saying I quit Quidditch! I told myself I don't think that's right because-"

"No they're right I did," I answered.

"Is it you're shoulder again? Pickett and I can keep you company again in the hospital wing if you want, I don't mind doing my homework there." Offered Newt.

"I just don't like it as much anymore." Lie.

Newt looked at me in shock, that didn't sound very like me. "But you love Quidditch Linda," he said as an almost question.

"Not anymore Newt, not playing it at least," I said as I walked away briskly.

Newt didn't bring up me playing Quidditch again until many years later.

I pushed through the rest of the year, and despite losing touch with most of my Quidditch friends, and managed to graduate just fine. Theseus and I went on to doing Auror training together. I bought a flat together and became roommates. As we neared the end of our training year, Theseus and I began to grow discontent with the war growing in the mainland and the lack of ministry action. We were told that it was a muggle war, however, the Central Powers had many wizards. It was an unbalanced fight where too many lives were being lost. So naturally, we did what any bright eyed, bushy tailed idealist Auror's would do; we went to war. During that time the two of us grew up fast, and grew closer. After a year, we were called back to Hogwarts.

"Newt I cannot believe you got expelled!" shouted Theseus. "Linda and I leave for overseas for a year, and you go off the walls! And you only had one year left too!" Theseus dramatically left the room leaving only I and Newt.

"So who did it?" I asked calmly.

Newt swallowed nervously. "I'm sorry?"

"I know it wasn't you Newt," I stated. "I've seen you deal with Jarvey's your whole life. So there's no way it was you who caused the incident. So who are you covering for?"

Newt thought for a moment about the possible repercussions of telling me but told me anyway. He explained that he took the blame for Leta because he felt that she would be better off continuing her education than he would with his. I thought about reming him out, but I ultimately decided that Theseus had done good enough of a job at that.

"I hope she's worth it Newt," I replied.

By the time Theseus and I were ready to return to the front lines, the ministry had decided that it was a good time to get involved. They saw the lives that Theseus and I had managed to save —I think they just wanted to improve their relations with the muggle government— but they began to conscript witches and wizards. Newt ended up in a dragon unit (of course) while Theseus and I returned to the front lines.

After the war things changed once again. Theseus and I were being followed around by the press, all wanting to get comments from the 'Great Two'. We were regaled as War Heroes as stories began to circulate about the opposing wizards and witches we faced. It all became a bit overwhelming, but things began to settle. Newt got a job as a mazoologists assistant and bought a flat not too far from me and Theseus' meaning that he frequently came over. One night when Theseus and I were sitting around reading Newt burst through the door with excitement.

"Guess who got two tickets to see the Hollyhead Harpies tonight?" Newt said as he flashed two tickets into the air to show them to me.

I ran up to Newt and looked at the tickets with fascination, "Where did you manage to get these? I know I've been trying to get my hands on some, but they were all sold out!"

"Turns out that old mazoologist has some connections," he replied triumphantly.

I turned to Newt in excitement and planted a kiss on his cheek, "I think I love you!" I exclaimed, and Newt turned about ten different shades of red. "Let me go get my coat!"

I ran into my room quickly. Once I was out of earshot, Theseus turned to Newt.

"How did you really get those tickets? Linda has been asking around for them for months, and suddenly the mazoologist has tickets?" asked Theseus from behind his newspaper.

"I told you-" Theseus gave him a pointed look, so Newt confessed, "Okay I bought it from someone off the street. It cost my whole month wages," he quickly realized how bad that sounded and backtracked, "I mean I would have spent it on more creatures anyways, and I already have enough of those."

My footsteps began to grow louder, and Newt begged his brother, "Please don't tell her she would feel so bad if she knew."

"I won't, and I won't tell her that you're in love with her," teased Theseus.

"Thank I," said Newt in relief, before he fully registered what Theseus had said, "Wait a minute..." But before he could refute what his brother had said I had come back into the room.

"Does this jacket look alright with my dress?" I asked Newt.

"Yea, um," he gulped nervously. "I look beautiful." I couldn't see, but behind me, Theseus was teasing him. Not long after the two of us were off to the game. I loved it. Some of my old Quidditch friends were playing as well.

This continued for a while, Newt would come over and hang out with Theseus and me, and occasionally Newt and I would go out.

Theseus and I were dueling in the Ministry for practice like we usually did, and something was off. My shoulders ached like they did when I played Quidditch, my wand felt like it weighed a hundred kilos, and my mind was foggy.

Theseus could sense that I was a bit off and was going easy on me. He had been for the last month. Nevertheless, he managed to hit me with a simple stupefy, which sent me to the ground.

He walked over to me and grabbed my hand to pull me up.

"Again," I said with determination on my face.

"No that's enough," Theseus retorted. I shook my head. "Linda I've been besting you for the past month. You usually kick my arse, but I've been having to go easy on you. What's going on?"

"Well don't go easy on me then," I snapped.

"Linda if you don't tell me what's going on then I will go upstairs and report you as unfit for Auror duty," he threatened.

"You wouldn't dare!" I shouted.

"I would do it, Linda. Because if you're out there and I get hurt because I can't defend yourself, that's on me, I will never forgive myself," he warned.

I stood in silence for a moment as I assessed his threat. Eventually, I decided to come clean, "Fine. Do I remember when I got really sick in 7thyear, and I also quit Quidditch?" He nodded. "Well, that's why I quit. Because I wasn't getting any better. It got better after I quit, but it seems to be getting really bad again." Theseus considered what I had said. I both decided that it would be a good idea if I took my vacation days and worked from my flat for two months.

Of course, I didn't tell Newt and made Theseus swear not to tell him. But naturally, it seemed to Newt that Theseus and I had become very secretive. He had no idea why and when questioned, neither of us would divulge anything. Which I think lead Newt to form his own conclusion that the two of us were in a relationship but Theseus didn't want to tell him because Theseus knew about Newt's feelings for me. So when Newt was commissioned to write a book and travel around the world to gather research, he said yes. He was supposed to leave the next day, so he came over to my flat to tell his brother and me.

I was completely shocked. I would miss my best friend. Not to mention that my heart ached due to the feelings I had for him, "I'm sorry Newt," I apologized. "If I knew beforehand I would have gotten you a present. Oh, wait a minute," I pondered. "Well I do have something," I said as I went into my bedroom and pulled out a suitcase from under the bed. "This was supposed to be for your Birthday, but seeing as you'll be gone then, now seems as good a time as ever."

I handed him the suitcase, and he opened it gently. It looked like a standard suitcase, a very nice one at that. "Thank I so much Linda, it's beautiful."

I laughed, "You haven't seen anything yet." I closed the suitcase and flipped a switch before setting it on the ground and re-opening it. This time it was no normal suitcase, but an opening with a set of stairs down to a workshop. I motioned for Newt to follow me down and he looked around in awe.

"Where did you get this?" he wondered.

"It was an item that I confiscated from one of the illegal potions rings that Theseus and I thwarted," I replied. " I figure you could use the workshop and extend it, add some different pastures so you can bring creatures with you. Maybe a savannah there, and a forest over there-"

"And a tundra over there," we both said at the same time. I rushed up to give Newt a hug. "Don't forget me Newt," I bawled.

"Oh Linda I don't think I could ever forget you," he said affectionately. "You know I'm not really much of a hugger," he joked trying to lighten the mood.

"I'm not sure you get a vote," I laughed through tears. Later that night Newt was gone, and I wouldn't see him again for six years.

During that time, the Daily Prophet liked to photograph Theseus and often speculated about if the old partnership was more than that. Helena Skeeter, a young reporter fresh out of Hogwarts took particular interest in the two of us. After all we did live together, and it made quite a good story I suppose. Two friends from childhood become crimes fighters together and fall in love.

However, this was not the case for us. We would often go through the paper and be amused by the gossip section. We became even closer. Previously, I think Newt had been my best friend in one way, but Theseus was my best friend in a partner kind of way. It had always been the two of us, and I honestly wish it always was the two of us. We fell into a rhythm, hunting returning home, repeat. You would think I would have grown tired of him, with us spending so much time together but I never did. We both considered dating just out of sheer connivence, I think it was just because of all of the papers getting in our heads. But we decided it wasn't the best idea because of my past feelings for the absent Newt, and I learned of Newt's previous feelings for me.

Soon after, Theseus started dating Leta Lestrange, Newt's old girlfriend who he got expelled for. She had showed up one day looking for Newt. I was very sceptical of her, I still am, because I'm worried she is settling with Theseus because Newt is gone. However, I did feel terrible for Leta because her boyfriend was currently living with another woman that the papers liked to circulate rumours about. But on the other hand I felt fericly protective of my best friend who had become completely enamoured in such a short time.

I had a trip to Saint Mungos. They couldn't seem to figure out what was going on, but they knew how to help out a bit when it got nasty. Theseus wasn't aware either, and him dating Leta kept him from noticing.

Of course, I had no idea exactly when Newt was supposed to return. Until one day when I answered the door, "Theseus have you forgotten your key again?" And there stood Newt, case in hand, soaked by the rain. I quickly latched onto him and didn't let go for a while. And of course, he pulled out two tickets to see the Hollyhead Harpies. And even though I had just had my trip to the hospital, I wanted to go bad. Not only because of who was playing, but because of who I was set to go with. The man I had harbored feelings for had just returned after six years. But when he came back it wasn't the same. I wasn't sure if what I felt was accurate anymore. I was disappointed. Our dynamic was off. Don't get me wrong we were still best friends, but it felt like that could be all.

Theseus and Leta sat me down next to me on the couch one day to talk about how he was going to tell Newt about they were engaged.

"When are you going to tell him? He needs to know Theseus. I can't hide it forever. You need to tel him—"

"Tell me what?" said Newt curiously. He had just walked in the door of our flat.

"Theseus is engaged," I divulged. Theseus and Leta shot me a glare.

Newt looked disappointed, "Oh well I suppose congratulations are in order you two. I guess the papers were right," he said the last part mostly to himself.

Theseus and I look at each other in horror, but that horror soon morphed into laughter. Leta looked also mortified. Newt looked between the two of us, not understanding what the two of us found so funny.

"We're not engaged Newt," confessed Theseus. I held out my hand to demonstrate the fact that there was no ring. "See no ring. I'm actually engaged to Leta..." And Newt quickly took off out the door without a word.

I didnt blame him. The woman he was in love with enough to get expelled didn't talk to him for nearly 9 years and resurfaces only to be engaged to marry his brother. Theseus shot me a disapproving look for telling Newt like that, but I decided to take off down the street after Newt.

It was raining and cold but I didn't care. I held my coat close and called after him. Eventually he turned around. "Newt please don't be mad at your brother, I shouldn't have told you like that. I know you had feeling for Leta but I didn't realize—"

"It's not about Leta," Newt answered sadly. "It's about you." I gave him a look of confusion. "I thought that you and Theseus were together. And I felt very deeply for you, in an non-friend kind of way, but I thought..."

"Felt?" I asked referring to the past tense of the word.

"I thought that you were with Theseus. So I left. And it took me a long time to stop thinking of you like that. But that stopped when I met someone... Tina... I'm sorry."

My heart sank. "Ah the infamous Tina from your letters." I said. But I didn't want him to know. So I did what I was best at and made a joke, "So you're not mad at Theseus for being engaged to your ex-girlfriend?"

He laughed, "Okay maybe it is a little bit about Leta. I'm quite mad about that. And confused to be honest. I don't think I'll be over for dinner anytime soon. I didn't even realize she was there until I felt her staring at me rather intensely, to the point it made me uncomfortable. It's just a weird situation. My brother and Leta? That's going to take a lot of getting used to."

I agreed, it was an odd pairing, but Theseus was happy. To make matters worse at Newt's book launch the papers thought it was Leta and Newt who were engaged. Skeeter was definitely somehow that because she enjoyed writing about Theseus and I. But to make matter worse when you looked at the picture you believed the title. Leta stared adoringly at Newt, and closer to him than Theseus while I was on the other side of Newt and smiled at the camera. That made Newt even more uncomfortable around Leta. So he never really came around to our flat anymore. I always had to go to his.

—————"...fast forward a month after that paper came out and now I'm in here," she says."Honey, I just asked you if you were feeling okay. Not for you're life story," replies the nurse amusedly, as she tucks in Linda's bedsheet on her hospital cot.

Linda apologizes.

"It's fine honey don't worry about it. The potion you were just on was pretty strong, but I'll be back in a bit once you're a bit less loopy."

A while after the first nurse leaves to go do some work another nurse comes over to where Linda is. "So you really know that handsome man who just released that book?" she asks slyly. Linda nods. "And his brother?" She nods again. "Oh my, the things I would do if I were in your shoes." Linda's eyes grow wide.

Another nurse chimes in, "Don't pay any mind to her sweetie. I think it's so romantic how you fell for your the boy who stayed with you while you were in the hospital wing at Hogwarts." She pauses before speaking again, "Why not the other one though?" Linda begins to choke on her tea. "Because I personally love those columns that the Skeeter woman writes for the prophet it all seems so fairytale like!"

"And what was it like to live with a man you're not married to?" asks sly nurse.

"And what was war like?"

The nurse from earlier stops the others from barraging Linda with anymore questions."You young girls leave her alone now. She's got a lot on her plate now with everything." The two nurses leave.

"You're free to go," says the first nurse who hands Linda a file of papers and her normal clothes. "But remember what I said. You have nine months. But if you have any problems before then come straight back," says the nurse sternly.

"Nine months. How could I forget?" replies Linda. She gets dressed into her work outfit and heads out the door of the well lit recovery area, papers in hand.

"That poor girl," replies the sly nurse.

"My heart goes out to her," replies the other. "Could you imagine? Living like that? I can't."