Just one more time before I go
I'll let you know
That all this time I've been afraid
Wouldn't let it show
Nobody can save me now, no
Nobody can save me now
-Imagine Dragons
Skylar gulped down the tequila shot in her hand and looked up at her friends with a grin. "Alright. That was the last one."
"Aw, come on, Skylar!" Everybody began booing her.
"Stay for one more drink," Isabel Wade, a model Skylar had worked with several times, said, pushing another shot in front of her. All her friends agreed and began cheering "Shot! Shot! Shot!"
Skylar stood up and shook her head. "I've got a shoot tomorrow morning and I don't think they'd love it if I showed up hung over."
Kallie York, who had the same modeling agent as Skylar, rolled her eyes. "Fine. Go be boring."
"You call it boring, I call it professional." Skylar stuck her tongue out playfully before grabbing her jacket and prancing away.
"You better stay out tomorrow night! You're only young once, Skylar!" Isabel called after her before turning to her boyfriend as he handed her another drink.
Skylar laughed as she pulled on her jacket and left the club. She'd been in New York City a few weeks now and she couldn't ever imagine leaving. Skylar stuck out her hand and hailed a taxi. A yellow cab stopped in front of her with a loud screech, and Skylar quickly hopped inside.
"Where to?" The middle-aged driver turned to look at her expectantly.
"Home," Skylar said with a yawn, giving him her address. She leaned back in her seat, smiling happily out the window, watching the city streets zoom past her. Skylar thought back to the day she'd finally left Hogwarts. Her dad had nearly had a heart attack when she had showed up at their house with her bags in hand.
"Skylar Elizabeth Grey, what on earth are you doing here?" Jonathon Grey had demanded. "Why aren't you at school?"
Skylar had told him that she had left Hogwarts, had told him about all the girls tormenting her about Alexander, had told him that she'd lost her faith in magic and the magical community…
Much to her surprise, her father hadn't fought her. He'd begrudgingly called Melissa and asked her to let the school know that Skylar would no longer be returning. Melissa had nearly fainted when she had heard the news, but after several arguments, she finally agreed to contact Hogwarts.
After that, Jonathon had insisted Skylar stay home with him for a week. Skylar had fussed over him, forcing him to eat more and take better care of himself. Jonathon had lost a lot of weight since the last time he'd seen Skylar and he was more tired than usual. Skylar knew he must have been working too hard and not taking care of himself like he should've been.
After about a week, Jonathon had finally agreed to take Skylar to New York. He'd helped her find an apartment in a safe part of the city and met with her agent to ensure all her jobs were respectable. He then took her out to dinner, told her to be careful, kissed her forehead, and then got on a flight back to England.
Since then, Skylar's agent had booked her with different gigs. Her life consisted of diets and workout routines and catwalks and photo shoots. Skylar's new life contained hardly any magic and she hadn't met any witches and wizards since arriving in New York. The only witch she knew in New York was her agent, Loretta, who worked with both magical and muggle models. Loretta had told her there was a secret magical town hidden in New York City, much like Diagon Alley, but Skylar hadn't really bothered looking it up. She'd been too busy exploring the muggle parts of New York City and making new friends with all the models.
The truth was, Hogwarts felt like a distant memory. Since Makenna's death, Skylar had lost her love for magic. She knew she had let down Victoire and Grace when she dropped out but she couldn't stay at Hogwarts any longer. With Alexander gone and the torture and humiliation of having to face her classmates every day, it was just too hard. She had to go.
Skylar had written to Grace and Victoire once she'd settled in her new apartment in New York. She'd told them she was doing well and she was happy. She'd promised them she'd keep in touch and that she'd visit them as soon as she could.
On her first day alone in New York, Skylar had received a large package by owl. Inside, Grace had crammed several scones and biscuits from the Hogwarts kitchens because she knew Skylar could not cook to save her life. At the bottom of the package, Grace had also sent her the wand Skylar had left behind at Hogwarts with a note attached, saying magic would always be a part of her. Skylar wasn't sure what to do. She didn't really use magic as much now that school was out, but it was nice to have it with her in case something ever happened.
The cab came to a halt and the driver turned to look at her. "We're here."
"Thanks," Skylar muttered, handing him several dollar bills. She slid out of the taxi and made her way into her building. It hadn't taken Skylar long to get accustomed to the American culture. She was amused by their accents and their funny slang and they seemed to love her English accent. It was all definitely different from England, but Skylar figured she needed a change. Change was good sometimes.
Skylar reached into her jacket pocket to pull out her keys and yawned. She was glad she had come home early. A night out with the girls tended to end wild, and Skylar knew better than to stay out with them the night before she had a job.
After unlocking her door and opening it, Skylar stepped inside. In the dark, Skylar could make out a large figure standing in the kitchen. She screamed and reached for her wand before realizing she'd left it on her bedside table.
"Looking for this?" Teddy asked as he waved Skylar's wand lazily and the lights flickered on.
"What the hell is the matter with you?" Skylar demanded as she breathed heavily. She could hardly believe her eyes. Teddy Lupin was standing in the middle of her kitchen in her New York City apartment.
Teddy handed her back her wand. "We need to talk," he told her gravely, his hazel eyes serious.
Skylar crossed her arms. She was sitting across from Teddy in her tiny, cramped living room. "Who the hell sneaks into somebody's apartment in the middle of the night like that?" she finally snapped.
Teddy raised his eyebrows. "What were you going to do? Scream me to death?"
"If I had had my wand—"
"But you didn't." He glared at her. "How many times have I told you never to leave without your wand."
"Well, I didn't think I would need my wand at a club with my friends!" She huffed. "But what was I thinking, right? Of course I should've expected an intruder in my bloody flat!"
Teddy nodded. "That's right. You should've."
"I was being sarcastic."
"It doesn't matter. You should never leave yourself unprotected."
Skylar gave him a wary look. "When did you get so stern and serious, anyway? Remember when you used to be fun?"
"Everyday I go to work and watch innocent people get killed." He stood up. "Do you think I want to go to work one day and find that one of those innocent people killed is you?"
Skylar took a deep breath. "Alright. Fine. No need to get worked up. I'll start taking my wand with me everywhere."
Teddy hesitated. "Actually, I came to ask you to do the opposite."
Skylar threw her hands up in frustration. "Then what the hell have you been yelling about for the past ten minutes?"
Teddy gave her a serious look. "Things have gotten worse, Skye."
"So I've heard." She rubbed her temples, tired. "Teddy, what are you doing here?"
Teddy looked out Skylar's window, where you could the lights of the city and the skyscrapers. It had started raining since Skylar had gotten home. Teddy glanced back at Skylar. "I think it's time you went into hiding, Skylar."
"What?" Skylar spluttered.
"You've got to keep a low-profile. A magic-free life. Disappear into the muggle world, become one of them."
Skylar stared at him, stunned. Teddy had always been an attractive guy. He was tall with a muscular build. He had beautiful hazel eyes and light shaggy brown hair. Perhaps the most attractive of Teddy's feature, though, was his smile. It was the kind of smile that came easily and had an endearing sincerity about it. Skylar realized, however, Teddy hadn't smiled once since he'd arrived.
"What about my family?" Skylar finally said, blinking.
"Melissa and Vincent refuse to go into hiding. They're going to stay and fight." Teddy ran his fingers through his hair. "And don't worry about your dad. Melissa had us place the best protection on him. Your house is undetectable as of right now and he will no longer be going to work. We wanted to relocate him but he refused."
Skylar stared at him, her eyes wide. "Teddy, you can't be serious. Just tell me this is all a joke, that Finn's hiding in the other room and this is all just some sick joke you two idiots think is funny."
Teddy paced around the apartment. "I've placed the best protection charms around this apartment and I ran background checks on all your new friends and co-workers here. So far, everybody's checked out." He turned to look at Skylar. "But you've got to comply, Skye. No more magic. Hide all your potions and books. Lock up your wand and Witch Mirror. No more apparating unless it's an emergency. Live your life as if you were a muggle. Go off the magical radar completely."
"And what if there's an attack?" Skylar demanded. "What if I need to use my magic?"
"There shouldn't be any attacks on you if you lay low. Besides, if anybody tried to hurt you, the guards would intervene. And you should disapparate immediately if anybody tries to hurt you!" he added. "Remember only apparate in emergencies."
Skylar stared at him. "Guards? You mean there's still a bunch of ruddy people following me around?"
"Two," Teddy said. "They're on rotation."
"Shouldn't this be something you told me sooner!"
"Why? You never noticed them, did you? They're supposed to go unnoticed. They're not supposed to interfere with your life in any way unless there's a threat."
"So, are they how you got a hold of all the people that you needed to run background checks on?"
"They were one of our sources."
Skylar's head was spinning. She clutched her stomach. As angry as she was with magic, she could never imagine giving it all up completely.
Teddy, sensing her panic, sat down beside her. "Hey," he said gently, "it wouldn't be forever, Skye. Just temporarily. Just until we get rid of the death eater threat."
Skylar looked at him. She was finally getting a glimpse of the Teddy she knew. "Hey, Teddy, can you do me a favor?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you smile?" she asked softly.
Teddy grinned and almost laughed. "Careful, Skye. I hear my smile is irresistible to the ladies."
Skylar let out a half-sob, half-laugh. "An arrogant comment from you was just what I needed."
"It was?" Teddy said, giving her an odd look.
"I wanted to make sure the old Teddy was still in there somewhere."
Teddy sighed and took her head. "Look, Skye, I'm sorry. I know I just threw a lot at you. It's just…things have been stressful at work. I live in fear every day that something will happen to you or Victoire or Findley or Sienna or Grace or Luke or my family…"
"You're asking a lot from me, Teddy. You're asking me to give up magic entirely."
"But not forever."
Skylar gulped. "You promise my family's safe?"
"Absolutely."
"And Vic and Grace?"
"They're at Hogwarts. They're safer than anybody else."
"Finn? Sienna? Luke?"
Teddy smiled at her. "Skylar, I promise I will not let anything happen to anybody we love."
Skylar took a deep breath. "Okay then. I'll give up magic. I'll go into hiding."
Skylar took a deep breath and gently stroked her wand one last time. She felt like she'd taken her wand for granted all these years. What was she supposed to do without her wand? How was she supposed to live, to survive?
"Skylar…" Teddy said quietly beside her.
Skylar closed her eyes. "I know. I know." She took a deep breath before carefully placing her wand in the brown wooden box in front of her.
Teddy handed her the golden key. Skylar gazed at her wand one last time before slowly taking the key and locking the box.
Teddy grimaced before waving his wand. The box disappeared, along with all her potions and magical ingredients. The large books of spells and charms Skylar had brought her also disappeared into thin air a moment later.
Skylar glanced sideways at Teddy. "Where'd you send them?"
"Somewhere safe," Teddy assured her.
Skylar looked down at her hands. She suddenly felt naked without her wand. Even though she'd taken to leaving it in her apartment whenever she went out, she always knew it was at home safe. Now, her wand was gone from her. Just like magic was.