[3 years later]

Dear Léonie,

It is so much easier to put words on paper than saying them to you. Where are you hiding? I've tried your Paris mansion and the Lestrange Manor in England and both times I was not granted access, are you scared of me? This is why I never wanted to tell you, but Tina convinced me and now I'm paying the consequences. I told you, I'm not getting married ever. Like you said, you're my first choice, and I don't want a second one. I'm sorry if that makes you mad, but that's how I feel.

Please don't take this the wrong way. I don't want to force you to do something you don't want, I just want to remain friends if that's what you want.

I'll be waiting for your reply,

Newt

I've read his letter a million times during the past three years. By the time I was ready to reply, a year had already passed. I'm a coward; Slytherins are definitely not known for their courageousness. I've been trying to reply to his letter but every time I stare at the blank paper in front of me, I can't muster the courage to reply. Has he given up on me? I don't know what I would do if that was the case.

Of course I still love him but he is not cut for the Lestrange experience. He's not cut for the Pureblooded society, even though he is a Pureblood himself. Us being together would never work; people expect things from me as a Pureblood female. I might not completely agree with all their ideas, but I do like the little game us Purebloods play. Newt would never agree with them and that is just one reason why I love him.

I'm all in for preserving the culture and traditions, even the 'outdated' idea of being a Pureblood. But, I'm also all in for change; changes I agree to, of course. Newt cares for his creatures, and though the idea of taking care of less privileged beings appeals to my ego, I could not spend my days researching for new ones. I could never expect Newt to be a househusband and my happiness cannot be compromised, I'm selfish enough.

And what about my past relationship with Grindelwald? Yes, he was defeated at some point by Dumbledore but the fact still remains; I agreed and still agree with some of his ideas. Muggles are definitely inferior and they should be the ones treading lightly in our society and not the other way around. If we were in power, they would benefit greatly and there would be no need for stupid wars. But alas, here I am, still hiding.

Even if I were to reply to Newt's letter, what would I even say? I got a suitor now, and we'll get married soon. Yes, being the sole Lestrange from my side of the family's tree was not as advantageous as I had hoped; I did manage my side of the fortune and enjoyed as much freedom as a non-married, pseudo heiress witch can have. But being an heiress did come with some responsibilities. One of which I had to comply with very soon.

My future husband wasn't a brilliant wizard; our inbreeding practices had gotten to him and he could barely do any magic. His poor influence in our family had made it easier for me to accept his proposal. It didn't hurt that he was handsome enough, even though he was my second cousin once removed. I guess we could make some cute, hopefully, magical children. He was the perfect choice if I wanted to keep my fortune to myself and my offspring, and not be controlled by said husband. We will live separate lives, and only pretend to be a real couple when facing the public; just another Pureblooded couple, nothing different.

Sure, I'll never be truly happy, but this way, we'll all be happy enough.

"Mistress..." one of the elves popped up. "Letter from Master"

"Father?" I said while taking the letter from her skinny hands.

Ever since he lost his status as 'head' of our family's side of the tree, he has been a recluse and kept to himself in our Mansion in Paris. I was surprised because he had sworn to never speak to me again. Not that I really minded his decision; it made my role as heiress apparent much more easier to handle. I dismissed the elf and opened the letter. I should have known better.

Dear Léonie,

I don't even know why I'm writing this letter to you, or if I even have the courage to send it to you after all these years of silence from your side; but I needed to try one last time before you really are out of my reach. I wrote to you for a year, almost every day, wondering if you'd read at least one of them. I'm not even sure if this letter has even reached you; Tina made me realize you probably had me blocked and I had to send this letter as if I were your father, hopefully it works.

Since this letter might not even reach you, and you'll be married by tomorrow, I have to express my feelings the correct way, the way you didn't want to hear the last time we saw each other...

I love you Léonie, it happened over the years. It's never been easy, your mood swings, my complete obliviousness to any opportunity that we might have had, and that I never acted upon, your outrageous ideas on what a Pureblood woman should be and what a Pureblood means. I know I can never agree on them but I love the way you defend those ideas, it makes you special; you don't exactly agree with the old Purebloods but you don't completely disagree. It's so confusing and exciting at the same time. I feel like I can be myself around you and though you might not always agree with what I'm doing, you always stay by my side. I can't express how lonely I felt over the years that we grew apart. I wish we could go back to those Hogwart years where you didn't have to play the Pureblood game. Where you could stay with me while I kept babbling about a new creature.

Did I miss my chance? Is that why you ran away from me? Was the idea of me loving you so disgusting you couldn't even look at me? I'm not sorry for what I've been feeling throughout these many years, I still feel it every day. I don't know how we could have worked this relationship out, but I would have given my best to keep you with me.

You're free to do whatever it is you want to do, marry him, not marry him. Just know that I'll keep my hopes up until you do marry him.

Love you always,

Newt

"Minnie!" I shouted. The little elf popped up again. "Bring the wine from the cellar and a glass"

I bawled my eyes out as soon as she was gone. Why do you keep being your adorable self? Why do you keep on hoping?

"Should I even reply, Leta?" I asked out loud, knowing no one would answer me. "He's such a masochist" I complained. "I'm a masochist too, I shouldn't have finished reading that letter, I should have put it down as soon as I figured my father hadn't written it..."

I poured myself a glass of wine and drank it whole. Can I really marry my cousin without talking to Newt first? Can I really be that cruel?

I grabbed a piece of parchment and wrote down my new address, he'd know what to do.

"Do remember, it's my wedding day, I need to look radiant Minnie"

Minnie was helping me to do my hair. In a couple of hours I would be married, Newt hadn't come yet.

He's not coming.

Usually it would be the bride's mother and siblings taking care of the bride's preparations, but Leta had died and my mother, I couldn't even remember her.

Why isn't he coming?

I couldn't even picture my Father coming, I would walk to the aisle alone.

"Minnie, I'm not expecting anyone today, so please, send away any visitors" I made up my mind; even if he dared to come, I couldn't face him anymore. I couldn't watch his face as I told him that…

"Not even me?"

Curse him!

"Minnie, leave us" I ordered. "Glad you're here, you can help me finish doing my hair"

"You know that's not why I'm here"

"Pity, why are you here then, Newt?" I asked, knowing full well what his answer would be.

"Are you really not going to address it?"

"Oh Newt, I'm doing you a favor" I said "Besides, everything's been forgiven" I said turning to meet him. "You can attend my wedding, thanks for coming"

"Are we pretending everything's fine now?" he asked "Is that really what you want, Léonie?"

"What do you want me to say Newt?"

"I came here to talk, if you're not even going to consider it, then, I have to leave..."

"Fine" I caved.

"Were you disgusted by me?"

"Newt, I could never be disgusted by you" I said "it was just... unexpected" I said "You have to look at it from my point of view, I only ever saw you staring at my sister, being uncomfortable around my sister and all of a sudden it wasn't because of her" I sighed "It just caught me off guard"

"Why didn't you ever think I was staring at you and being uncomfortable around you?"

"It just never crossed my mind"

"Well, now you know"

"I do, so can we go back to the way things were before?"

"No, I need to know your feelings"

"You know me Newt, I don't have any feelings to share" I said "Now, can you help me with my hair?"

"Can you make an effort, Léonie?"

I sighed. "I can't have you Newt" I tried "It would never work, you won't be happy with me"

"Why not?"

"Because!" I shouted, he was really pushing my buttons here. Why couldn't he take a hint? "I love being a Pureblood, I love the games, the cunning, all of it" I said "You want freedom, you want to explore, you'd be happier with any other witch that isn't me"

"I don't care about that Léonie, I thought I had made myself clear in my letter"

"But you will Newt, you could never survive the society I live in" I tried again "Your worst fear is being shackled to a Ministry desk, I'm the sort of witch that marries that sort of wizard, that's how it always is"

"You're a disrupter, you would never settle for such a boring man"

"Ugh can't you see I'm trying to get yourself out of this fucked up life?" I yelled.

"What about you Léonie? What do you want?"

"I want you to go, you're uninvited" I pouted, trying to relieve some tension out of my body.

"I'll go if you tell me how you feel about me"

"Why do you keep asking me that?" I angrily asked "I already told you we won't work out"

"Because that's the most important thing in a relationship" he replied "I can comply to some of your needs, you can comply to some of mine, it's called compromise" he smiled at me "but I need to know I'm not alone in this"

"I don't harbour any feelings, Newt, you know that" I tried to sound as nonchalant as possible.

"Then why are you crying Léonie?"

He was right. My treacherous heart had betrayed me. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. I cleaned up my face, I didn't want to retouch my makeup, the wedding is still on.

"I'm feeling emotional, it's my wedding day" I excused myself.

"Do you now?" he said mockingly.

He had come up to me, almost cornering me to the mirror. I took a step back, great choice, now you can't even get away. When did he get bolder? Normal Newt would be a red bundle of nerves.

"Yes, I am"

"I don't believe you"

"I don't care if you believe me or… what are you doing?"

He was invading my personal space. Really, when had he become so audacious? His forehead was touching mine and his eyes weren't backing down, he stared at me profoundly.

"Please step away from me, Newt" I demanded.

"I don't want to"

"I'm not afraid to hex you Newton!" I warned him.

"Just tell me why were you crying Léonie"

"I already told you..."

"And I already dismissed that answer, tell me the truth and I'll step away"

"Why can't you see I'm doing this for you" I said "I've been keeping myself at bay, I've been protecting you.."

"When did I ask for your protection?"

"Newt, you're as docile and naive as they come"

"Would a docile man do this?"

And just then, without a warning, my deepest desire came true. His kiss was forceful at first, it caught me off guard. His arms were caging my head and his body pinned mine. It was everything I had ever wanted and more. I couldn't help myself, I can have this at least, can't I? And I did, I let myself enjoy this fleeting moment of lunacy. I let myself taste him. I let my hand get lost in his copper locks. I even let a moan or two out. I poured my locked feelings as much as I could into that desperate kiss. And as soon as it started, it also ended.

"You've had what you wanted, can you let me go now?"

"I can't, do you really expect me to leave after confirming what I suspected?"

"I have to go, there are still some preparations left to go over" I said "I have to go check on the elves, not even mentioning that Mudblood who is in charge of the seats"

"Léonie can you stop ignoring what just happened and focus on what comes next?"

"There's nothing coming next, Newt, now you know, so what?" I said "We're not in a fairytale, I'm not some princess in need of rescue and you're not a prince coming for my aid"

"Now I'm not, I'm just a wizard trying to make you happy for once"

"We could never be happy Newt, I can't give up who I am, and I would never want you to give up who you are" I said "Let's just leave it at this, we can both continue our lives now not wondering 'what if'"

"I'm not asking you to give up your life, I want you to keep it" he said "why can't you give us a chance?"

"You'll be unhappy"

"Let me decide that"

"You're a masochist" I said "If I say yes to you, I'm going to be as selfish as I can be" I warned him "I'll want your undivided attention when you're not attending to your creatures, I'll want it all..."

"The kids, the mansion and the husband?"

"Something like that"

"I know you have it in there, you little rascals" I complained "Don't make me come down there and rip it off your cute little paws!"

"Baby Nifflers?" Newt asked once he saw my disheveled appearance.

"Baby Nifflers, again" I complained "Go down there and retrieve my hairpin"

"Why?"

"Hmm, let me think..." I mockingly said "Well first, they're your baby Nifflers, second, you just gave me that hairpin as a gift for our anniversary and third, I'm eight months pregnant with your child and he's being a total Scamander right now, he can't wait to get out and explore the world with his father"

"Uh, hazards of being married to one" his ears turned red.

He hasn't gotten used to me implying we're married and having wonderful marital sex, yet. His unexpected bravado had not lasted very long after I decided we'd give us a chance and he had reverted back into being his adorable, awkward, introvert self. Of course I had to cancel the wedding, he had given me no choice in the matter. I got back at him and made sure he took care of the consequences.

Though I was not blasted away from the family tree, Newt was not recognized as a member of the family and was not invited to other Lestrange mansions that did not belong to me. He didn't really care, but my relatives were petty. The same relatives that were waiting for us to show up. It was our second anniversary as a married couple, and they were still holding on to the feeble chance I would divorce and marry my cousin.

It certainly was not an easy marriage, and we're still compromising on a lot of things, but I'm happy. I'm truly happy. Newt would go out on an expedition, a short one, not even lasting for a full month; and I would accompany him for the last few days before we would go back home. He would accompany me to some parties, not every party, and then he would find an excuse for both of us before we would apparate back into our bedroom. He will stay until the baby is more conscious of itself and then he will go to another expedition.

Like I said, we're still finding ways to compromise.

"Here it is" he said "And, just so you know, they're in the punishment corner, but I don't know how much longer they'll stay there..."

"Better go downstairs then, I have to warn the guests" I smiled at him "You better not have planned this Newton!" I warned "I know you don't like parties, but this one was obligatory..."

"How could I even dare?" he mocked my tone "I'm a Hufflepuff my love, I live to stay by your side"

"We'll see..." I kissed him briefly, just enough to make his ears turn red. "We must get going, they're waiting for us"

"Must we?" he complained.

"You'll be rewarded afterwards..." I taunted him. His face was full red now.

"Ok..."