"Won't they just kill you both immediately?" Jones asked. You were all crouched in the forest just out of sight of the prison, watching the movement of the guards.
"Yeah," Thompson said, "what makes you so sure you can get them to 'capture' you and not just kill you on sight?"
You smirked. "They're all men, right?"
Bones snickered and Theseus turned towards you, giving you a pointed look.
"I'm sorry," Newt said, "but what does that have to do with anything?"
You gave him a small smile before pulling off your shirt, leaving you clad in only your bra. He immediately reddened. "Newt and I will get caught, then we'll take out the two men on the inside. After, we'll send a spark up as a signal and each of us will take a man in the towers. You'll have to take care of the men on the ground yourselves, but we'll join you when we can."
"Good luck," Theseus said. He turned to Newt, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Take care of each other, little brother." Newt offered him a weak smile.
"See you on the other side, General," you said, taking Newt's hand and pulling him away gently. "It's time," you told him. He nodded.
You and Newt snuck closer, keeping hidden in the trees until you were just a few yards away from the first man.
"Alright," you said, shoving your wand in the band of your pants, "get on top of me."
Newt coughed. "What?" You let out a quiet chuckle.
"If we don't die doing this," you said, laying back on the forest floor, "remind me to tell you the exact moment I fell in love with you." You grabbed his arm, pulling him down on top of you and kissing him passionately.
He made a surprised sound but instantly fell into the kiss. You shifted your body so you were on top of him, letting out a loud moan.
"What was that?" You both heard a voice say. Suddenly you felt a hand fist in your hair, and you yelped as you were yanked up by the scalp. Your eyes flicked down at Newt as a second man pulled him off the ground, pinning his arms behind him roughly.
"You picked the wrong place to get off," the second man snarled into Newt's ear.
Your attacker turned you around, looking at you with dark eyes. "What do we have here?" He said, eyes flicking over your bare chest. "I think we just found tonight's entertainment," he said. His breath was thick and hot on your face.
"Should we kill this one?" The second man asked, gesturing to Newt.
"Please," you said, making your voice watery and frightened. "Please, I'll do anything you say, just please - don't hurt him!"
The man holding you grinned. He put his lips by your ear as he ran his finger down the valley of your breasts. "Anything, love?"
"Don't touch her!" Newt spat. The man holding him kicked him in the back of the knees, and he fell to the ground.
"Anything," you said, nodding.
"Might be fun to make him watch," the second man said.
"Alright," your attacker said, pushing you towards the prison. "Lead the way."
You and Newt had been taken down into the dungeon and your wands had been removed. You had both been placed in cells immediately, separated from each other by a wall of iron bars. You could hear the men talking to one another just out of sight. The two men who grabbed you in the forest must have been of a somewhat higher rank, because they sent the two men inside the castle to take their place as outside guards while they had their fun.
"We promise to leave some fight in her for you later," they had promised. You took in your surroundings.
"Are you ok?" Newt whispered at you from between the bars. You gave him a smile.
"Trust me," you said. Newt returned your smile, though he looked shaken. Both of you turned to look as your cell door opened. The man who had attacked you walked in, smiling at you.
"We drew lots," he said smugly, "and I won the first go." He looked you up and down. You scooted back in the cell until your back hit the bars separating you from Newt.
"If you hurt her, I swear to Merlin - "
"Shut up!" The man snarled, interrupting Newt. He looked down at you. "Stand up," he said. You rose, hissing as a pain shot through your knee. "Turn around." You turned, facing Newt and meeting his eyes. His expression was unreadable. The man came up behind you, putting his hands on your hips. "I want him to watch us," he said. He slid his hand up your back and pushed you, bending you forward. You closed your eyes. Now or never…
You stepped back hard, slamming your heel onto his foot. He yelped out, doubling over in pain as you side-stepped out from underneath him. Grabbing the collar of his shirt you pulled him forward as hard as you could. His head hit the metal bars of the cell with a sickening thud, and you let his body crumple to the floor.
"What the hell is going on in here?!" The second man swung your cell door open violently, wand drawn.
"Accio!" You called, watching as his wand flew from his hand to yours. He gaped at you in surprise.
"Rotten luck," you said to him. "Stupefy!" You watched in satisfaction as he fell to the floor.
"Wandless magic?" Newt said in disbelief. You shrugged.
"I can only do it with Summoning Charms," you said, pulling the shirt off of the fainted man. Newt raised a brow at you. "I'm not going to save the day shirtless," you explained.
You and Newt had regained your wands and silently made your way to the rooftop. You were crouched down, hiding at the base of the East tower. "Ok," you said. "You give the signal to the others. I'll take the this tower and disarm the guard here. You take the West."
"Ok," Newt agreed, squeezing your hand. "Autumn," he said, getting your attention. "If we live through this, remind me to tell you the exact moment I fell in love with you." You smiled at him.
"That was my line," you said.
"I know," he smiled. "I just want us both to have something to live for." You grinned, leaning over and kissing him.
"I love you Newton Scamander," you said. He offered you a lopsided smile, standing slowly.
"Ready?" He asked. You nodded. Newt raised his hand to the sky and you both watched as red sparks burst from the tip, illuminating the night. You heard the familiar sounds of battle explode around you. "Be careful," Newt said, giving you one last look. You nodded, watching him take off towards the West tower.
A curse exploded on the ground beside you, and you jerked up to see the East tower guard.
"Expelliarmus!" You shouted, missing him. You ducked behind the tower, cringing as he flung a curse at you and it exploded off the stone.
"Come out to play!" He said, casting another curse your way. You looked up, freezing when you saw a rope hanging down from the tower window. You gave it an experimental pull, smiling when you realized it could support your weight. You hoisted yourself up and began to climb.
"Retire from Auror training, they said," you mumbled, hissing as your knee gave a sharp pang. "Have a more relaxed life, they said." You looked down, watching curse after curse explode in the spot you had just climbed up from. You finally made it to the window, groaning as you pulled your body in. Crouching you crossed the room, looking down from the other side and seeing the wizard below still firing curses at the same spot. "Idiot," you said, pointing your wand at him. "Reducto!" You called, watching him fly back and hit the ground unconscious.
You wanted to check on Newt, but you knew there wasn't time - you had to make it to the ground to help the others. Four people against eight were not good odds, even with Theseus there. You made it out and ducked immediately, barely missing being hit by a stray spell as it whizzed by your head. You could just make out Theseus in the distance - he was fighting two men at the same time, but struggling. You ran toward him.
"Confringo!" You shouted, knocking one of the men back off his feet. You turned as Theseus overtook the other man. He smiled at you, breathing heavily.
"Thanks," he said. You nodded. "Where is - "
Theseus was cut off by a spell hitting him square in the chest, blowing him backwards. You jerked around just in time to be hit with the Crucio curse. You yelped, falling to your knees. Suddenly the pain stopped.
"I know you," a voice said. You looked up, insides freezing as you saw the man. You recognized him immediately. He looked pensive. "I recognize your scream." His eyes raked over your body, stopping on your knee. A slow smile grew over his face. "I thought you died," he said, amused.
"I wouldn't give you the satisfaction," you said, breathing heavily.
"Crucio," he said, watching you with a bored expression as you twisted and howled in pain. When he stopped the spell you were drenched in sweat, heart pounding in your ears.
"It's such a pity," he said, taking a step towards you and placing his boot on your injured knee, "that such a powerful witch is wasting away at the Ministry." He stepped down and you cried out in pain. "You could accomplish so much more with us," he said, grinding his heel. A sob wracked through your body.
"I would rather die," you said, shaking, "than join you." He smiled.
"Very well," he said, raising his wand. "Avada - "
"Stupefy!" You watched in shock as the wizard above you flew backwards, landing on the ground with a loud snap. You jerked your head in time to see Newt lower his wand and rush to you, kneeling at your side and scooping you into his arms.
"Theseus," you said, pointing towards his body.
"I'm getting you out of here, first and foremost," he said, lifting you. He apparated you to the campsite, setting you down by the fire. "I will be back," he said.
"I'll go with you - "
"Autumn," he said, interrupting you. "You can't walk. You have to stay here." He cupped your face, brushing your tears away. "I will be back," he said again, kissing you. "I promise."
It seemed like Newt was gone for hours, though the rational part of your brain knew it was minutes. Bones, Thompson, and Jones were the first to return to the camp.
"Autumn!" Bones said upon seeing you. "Are you ok?" Your eyes flicked down to the gash on her arm.
"Are you?" You asked.
"We're alive," Jones said. He had a split lip and a cut down the side of his face.
"Where's Newt?" You said. Thompson opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by the sound of Newt and Theseus apparating into camp. Theseus collapsed almost immediately, groaning as he slumped to the ground.
"I told you not to stand on it!" Newt hissed at his brother.
"Stop, you sound like mother," Theseus said, rubbing his leg and wincing.
A strangled sob escaped you, and everyone turned to look at you. "I'm sorry," you said, eyes overflowing, "It's just been a very long day." Newt joined you on the ground, hugging you fiercely and rocking you back and forth. You clung to him as if your lives depended on it.
Theseus looked to the Aurors. "Go and round them up," he said. "Take them to Azkaban." They nodded and set off. He was quiet for a moment, watching you and Newt. "A storm is coming," he said finally. "I hope we can weather it."
You looked at him, noticing for the first time how hard he looked. "We will beat him," you said confidently. "Grindelwald can't hide forever." Theseus looked at you, surprised. You met his gaze, slowly smiling when he began to laugh.
"You are a truly special woman," he said. "Crazy," he smiled, "but special."
"I'm taking that as a compliment," you said, resting your head on Newt's shoulder. Newt chuckled.
"I should have known you'd be my brother's type," Theseus said. "Difficult, just like him."
"I'm not difficult," Newt said, amused. He furrowed his brow. "Am I?" He asked you.
"You're perfect," you said, kissing his cheek.
You couldn't sleep that night, the throbbing in your knee keeping you awake. Newt had offered the make you a Sleeping Draught, but the idea of having no dreams somehow seemed more terrifying than having nightmares. His back was towards you, and you were suddenly overcome with the urge to touch him. You reached your index finger out and traced his spine from the base of his back to his neck. He hummed and turned towards you, catching your hand and pressing it to his lips.
"I'm sorry," you said, blushing. "I couldn't help it." Newt smiled sleepily, reaching up and brushing the hair out of your face. "It hurts sometimes, you know. How much I love you."
"I know," he said. You were quiet for a moment, listening to him breath.
"So when did you know you loved me?" You asked.
"Ah, I was wondering how long you'd wait." You smiled at him.
"I think I was pretty patient, actually," you said. He hummed in agreement.
"I think I always loved you, from the moment you let yourself into my office... but I didn't fully realize it until I had to be without you in London." He looked at you, smiling. "It was like a piece of me was missing. Nothing tasted right or functioned properly without you there."
You smiled, kissing his nose. "That makes sense, I do everything for you," you said. He shook his head at you, chuckling as he pulled your body into his. You buried your face into the crook of his neck and signed.
"And when did you love me?"
"I think," you said mumbling into his neck, "I knew I loved you the first time I read your book."
He pulled back to look at you, surprised. "My book?" You nodded.
"I look back across the years to the seven-year-old wizard who spent hours in his bedroom dismembering Horklumps and I envy him the journeys to come," you quoted. You placed a hand flat against his chest, over his heart. "When I was seven, I would dress up in my mother's clothes and pretend to be an Auror. My Kneazle was usually the criminal, you see." You caught Newt's eye and smiled. "We're dreamers, Newt. It's what I admire most about myself, and what I love most about you." You reached up and kissed him softly.
Newt smiled down at you, placing a kiss on your forehead. "I don't envy my younger self, anymore, you know. I rather think he should envy me."
You smiled. "I think you may have some journeys left in you, yet, Mr. Scamander."
"I think I might," Newt said, lowering his mouth to yours. "I think I might."