It was the middle of November, and you were drinking some tea in the courtyard outside your common room. It was late, but you liked the feel of the night air against your skin. You sighed into your cup, thinking about Newt. You were just beginning to admit to yourself that maybe he was more than just your tutor, but you weren't ready to face the implications of that quite yet. You hummed, enjoying the moment of solitude, listening to the wind whistle through the corridor of the castle.

You weren't sure if you heard him first or simply felt his presence, but when you looked up you were met by Newt's approaching form. You were mildly surprised to see him on your end of the castle, but it now seemed normal to see him out this late at night. You smiled as he got close enough to see you, and his smile back made you think he expected you to be outside waiting for him.

"Out tending to the flock, shepherd?" You said playfully as he approached you. He didn't register your joke, instead grimacing as he adjusted his bag. Your smile faltered. "Are you ok?"

Newt half-smiled. "Yes, yes. Yes, of course." You watched him as he gazed off to the right and knew he was lying.

"Newton…" you warned. A flash of guilt crossed his features before his eyes looked down to his forearm. You followed his gaze and gasped. "You're hurt!" You instantly reached out, turning his arm over and inspecting the gash there. He had tried to stop the bleeding, but the wound needed to be cleaned and bandaged properly.

"Just a little," he confirmed, smiling and meeting your eyes sheepishly. "I got a bit too close while feeding the Thestrals." He looked down at his arm where you were holding it. "I-it doesn't hurt, really."

You sighed. "Well...follow me," you said, tugging him towards your common room. He didn't move.

"Where are we going?" Newt asked uncomfortably.

"I know some healing spells," you explained, "but I'll need my kit. Come with me," you added. "Everyone will be asleep by now - we Slytherins need our beauty rest." Newt swallowed thickly, but nodded and walked with you.

You opened the common room door, allowing Newt to cross over the threshold. You motioned for him to follow, noting that the room was, as expected, silent and still.

"Sit," you instructed, pointing to a large armchair by the fireplace. Newt sat, uncomfortably. "Wait here," you said, "I'll be right back." You gave him a small smile before turning to run upstairs to get your healing kit from your room. As you returned, you stopped momentarily to appreciate Newt's profile by the fireside. He was looking into the flames, hands on his knees. You smiled.

"I'm back," you stated, kneeling in front of him. "Hold out your arm please." Newt scrunched his nose but did as instructed. "Hmmm…" you hummed, inspecting the gash there. "Tergeo," you whispered, cleaning out the wound. Newt raised an eyebrow at you.

"Where did you learn to do that?" he asked, softly. You smiled up at him.

"My mom is a healer," you explained, rummaging in your kit. "She used to heal me a lot as a kid. Growing up I was… a little wild….so I was destined to learn, eventually." Newt smiled at you.

"I can imagine that." He said gently. He watched you as you pulled out several silver strands of hair. He furrowed his brow. "Are those… unicorn hairs?"

"Yes," you said, taking out a needle and some bandaging. You wrapped the bandage around his arm gingerly, stitching it closed using the unicorn hair as thread. "This will keep the bandage tight and allow you to heal faster," you explained. Newt watched you work intently, occasionally clenching his jaw. You glanced up at him and caught his eye, momentarily freezing in place. You were close enough to him to notice the lines at the corners of his mouth. You wondered absently if they got there from laughing, and who could have put them there. A crackle in the fireplace brought you back from your thoughts, and you shook yourself, turning red. "All done!" You said, too brightly. Newt had turned red too, and was staring at the fireplace. You sat back on your heels and followed his gaze.

His voice surprised you when he spoke. "D-do you want to be a healer, then? After school?"

You thought for a moment. "I don't know what I want to do after school," you said slowly. He studied your face as you watched the fire dance. You smiled sadly. "I envy you sometimes, Newt."

Newt coughed. "Me?" He asked, incredulously. "How… why would you ever…"

"I envy your passion," you said, turning to look at him. "I envy that you know who you are and what you stand for. I know I'm smart. I know I'll be okay. But the problem with being good at a lot of things means you're not really great at any one thing." You looked down at your lap. "You know what you want, and you always go after it."

"Not always," Newt said softly, and you looked up to meet his gaze. You watched him slowly raise his hand, reaching out to you, hesitating momentarily before brushing your cheek softly. You closed your eyes at his touch. You were still for a moment together, listening to each other breath, and when you opened your eyes his hand had returned to his lap.

"It's late," he said simply, and you nodded. He got up to leave and you followed him to the door. As he stepped out he turned back to you, eyes downcast. "Thank you, Penelope." You smiled.

"It's an easy spell, Newt. I can teach you, if you'd like. It would probably come in handy for you, quite frankly." Newt clenched his jaw and met your eyes.

"I...I wasn't talking about the spell," he added, voice barely above a whisper. You swallowed as he turned away from you.

"Goodnight," you said, hoping he could feel that you meant more than that.

"Goodnight," he returned, looking at you one last time before disappearing into the corridor. You shut the door quietly behind him, feeling very warm indeed, and not at all because of the fire.