Warning: This Chapter contains a major Lemon. If Lemons are not your thang, DO NOT READ ON. As always, thank you all for your incredible words of kindness and support!

"You know I can't talk about the Grindelwald investigation…" Theseus straightened his bowtie in the mirror, catching your gaze. "It's confidential."

"Of course," you said. "But I wondered if Hector Fawley had finally began to take Grindelwald's rise to power seriously - "

"The Minister isn't running the investigation," Theseus said, turning to face you. "As head of the Auror department, that falls to me. And you can rest assured that I am doing everything in my power to stop Grindelwald before he hurts anyone."

"Anyone else, you mean."

"Anyone else," Theseus agreed. "Now, not to cut this short, but I think you have a party to get ready for?"

"Alright," you said, "I know when I've pushed too far." Theseus smiled at you apologetically.

"If it's any consolation, I wish I could tell you more."

"I don't need your condolences," you said shaking your head. "How much time have I got?"

"Five minutes?"

You winced. "OK, five minutes." You waved your wand over yourself, transfiguring your dress into something more formal and setting your hair. Theseus let out a low whistle.

"You clean up well, you know that?"

"I do," you said, charming on some lipstick and eyeliner. "Let's go, war hero."

The party was being held in the great room of the Scamander house, and you gasped as Theseus led you through the doorway. The ceiling had been charmed to look like the night sky filled with glittering stars, and as you looked about the room you noticed candles floating gracefully throughout the air.

"It's just like Hogwarts," you said smiling. Theseus grinned down at you.

"Yes, we are quite a nostalgic family," he said.

"Congratulations, Theseus."

You looked up to see a rather severe looking man in front of you.

"Thank you, Alexander," Theseus said. They shook hands briefly.

"And who is this?" The man's eyes narrowed on you, the corner of his mouth ticking up in a forced smile.

"My name is Scarlet Littlewood, reporter for the Daily Prophet."

"A reporter?" Alexander arched a brow at Theseus. "I would think it would be a conflict of interest for the head of the Auror department to be socializing with a reporter."

"Oh, we aren't…" You stopped as he looked over you slowly.

"Well," he said, bowing his head. "That is a relief." He turned back to Theseus. "I'll leave you to your other guests. It was a pleasure."

"Who was that?" You asked Theseus as soon as he was out of earshot.

"Alexander works as an unofficial advisor for the Minister," he said slowly. "He's from a very old and prestigious family."

"He gives me the creeps." Theseus laughed at you, bending down to whisper in your ear.

"Don't worry, you're safe with us." He looked to his right, waving at a woman dressed elegantly in blue. "You must excuse me," he said, winking at you. "Duty calls." You laughed as he stepped away from you.

"Just like his father," Mrs. Scamander said, stepping to your side and handing you a glass of champagne. "A real charmer."

You smiled at her. "Thank you for allowing me to be here tonight."

"Nonsense," she said. "It's my pleasure." The two of you stood in companionable silence for a moment, watching the people in the room mingle. "Newton tells me you're quite good with the creatures."

You blushed at the mention of his name. "Oh… I don't know about that. I don't have much experience."

"He says you're a natural." She gave you a knowing smile as she sipped her champagne.

"Well, he's a very good teacher," you said, avoiding eye contact.

"Ah, here he comes now. Newton!" You tried to look as uninterested as possible as Newt made his way over to you and his mother through the crowd. "You look miserable," she admonished.

"Yes," he said wincing. "There are more people here than I thought there would be."

"Well, try to have a good time, at least. Oh, look! There's Mrs. Easley. Excuse me." Mrs. Scamander walked away, every bit the gracious host.

"You do look miserable," you told him, smiling and touching his cheek gently. He gave you a small smile.

"How long do we have to stay before we can leave?"

You chuckled and were about to answer when a tap on your shoulder distracted you. You turned, eyes widening a bit when you saw it was the same man from before.

"Miss Littlewood," Alexander said, eyeing you up and down. "May I borrow you for a moment?"

"Oh…" You looked back to Newt. He clenched his jaw a bit, but forced a smile.

"I'll be here," he said. You gave him a small smile and let Alexander lead you away.

"Miss Littlewood," he said, as soon as you were out of earshot. "I have to say I'm concerned with your involvement with the Scamanders."

You felt your face flush. "Excuse me?"

"I know your reputation," he said disdainfully. "You don't come from a good family. You have no influence. The Scamander name means something to people, Miss Littlewood. Mrs. Scamander has enough to worry about, what with that peculiar Newton running about, without you - "

"I'm sorry," you said, voice shaky. "Say what you will about me, but you have no right to talk about Newt. He has more to offer in his little finger than you have in your whole body."

"I don't know what you're up to," he said, "but if you're trying to get at Theseus' money - "

"I must stop you there," you interrupted. "You have absolutely no idea who I am, or where I've been. You can't possibly - "

"I know a common slag when I see one."

Before you knew what you were doing, you had reached back and slapped Alexander flat across his face. For a moment he stared at you in shock, but very quickly his face morphed into one of anger.

"You little - "

"What's going on here?" You turned to see a very upset Newt. He was standing straighter than you'd ever seen, lips pressed so tightly together they were white. He took a step towards you, locking eyes with Alexander.

"I demand you that you have this horrible woman removed from this house immediately," Alexander spat.

"I'm afraid it's you who will be leaving," Newt said. His voice was uncharacteristically harsh.

"Excuse me?" Alexander was beside himself with anger. "You don't have the authority to - "

"Actually," Newt said, "I do. It is my house after all." Alexander stared at him, stone faced. "I assume you don't want to cause a scene?"

"Theseus will hear about this," he said, turning on his heel. You watched him storm out, nearly toppling over a waiter in his wake.

"I'm sorry, Newt, I just - "

"I heard what you said." You met his eyes, surprised by the unguarded look he gave you. He reached a hand up and brushed his thumb across your bottom lip. "I've never had anyone stand up for me before."

"Well," you said, smiling. "I hope I didn't cause Theseus any unnecessary drama."

"Theseus will love the story," he said. "He might even suggest you put it in your article. It's bound to make headlines." You laughed and took his hand, lacing your fingers with his.

"Let's go," you said. Newt smiled and nodded, pulling you behind him as he made his way through the party.

You watched Newt feed the Occamys with wonder. The way they responded to him was incredible - you could feel the love and trust they shared.

"Would you like to hold one?" Newt smiled, catching your eye.

"Can I?" You approached the nest slowly, looking in at them. Newt reached in, cupping his hands and allowing the smallest one to slither into his grasp.

"This is my newest addition," he said proudly. You cupped your hands and he tilted his so that the Occamy could slide into your open palms. "She was just hatched yesterday."

"She's beautiful," you said, marveling at how she felt. She was soft and delicate, curling around you for warmth. "She has a good mum," you said, offering Newt a smile.

"She is very loved," he agreed. You lowered your hands back to the nest and she slid off gently.

"I can't believe you made all this," you said, standing and sighing. Newt blushed a bit.

"Well, it didn't happen overnight, of course." He grabbed his feed bucket and walked back to the shed, throwing a handful of pellets to the Mooncalves as he passed. Stepping inside, you kicked off your shoes and sat down heavily on his cot.

"I snuck us a bottle of champagne," you said, pulling it out of your purse.

"I see you know some expansion charms, yourself," Newt smiled, impressed. You winked at him and pulled out two glasses from the depths of your bag.

"Sit," you said, pouring a glass and offering it to him. "I know you don't normally drink, but tonight calls for a celebration." He sat on the cot next to you and took the glass.

"And what are we celebrating? Theseus' heroism?"

"No," you said quickly. "No, tonight we are celebrating you."

"Whatever for?"

You clinked your glass against his and drank. "Do I need a reason to celebrate you, Mr. Scamander?"

He gave you a shy smile. "No, I suppose not." He took a drink from his glass and placed it on the shelf behind him. "Tell me something about yourself," he said. You grinned.

"Ok." You closed your eyes and thought for a moment. "I keep a book of all the places I'd like to travel to." You opened an eye to see Newt smiling at you.

"What are your top three?"

You hummed. "Egypt, Thailand, Mexico… I'd go anywhere, really."

"I've been to Egypt," he said. You looked at him in surprise. "It's true," he nodded. You shook your head.

"You've done everything, haven't you?"

"Not everything," he said, meeting your gaze. You felt your stomach lurch as he leaned in and kissed you gently. His lips were slightly chapped and tasted like champagne, and when he parted them slightly you let your tongue dip into his mouth to touch his. He gasped, his hand coming to rest on your hip while pulling your body closer. You let your teeth graze his bottom lip and he let out a soft groan, pushing you back until he was on top of you, his knee resting between your legs.

He kissed you again, harder this time, his own tongue snaking past your lips as your hands worked the buttons on his vest and shirt. He was supporting himself with one hand, the other ghosting along your side from your hip to the bottom of your breast and back again.

"Newt," you whispered, tugging his shirt around his shoulders. He broke from you momentarily to shrug it off, returning to plant open mouthed kisses along your neck and collarbone. You gasped as he hit a particularly sensitive spot near your clavicle, arching into him and making him groan. He sat back on his heels, pulling you up with him and kissing you again. You felt his hands playing with the zipper at the back of your dress, unsure.

"We don't…" he looked at you, cupping your face gently. "We don't have to - "

"Please," you said, surprised at the desperate lilt in your voice. Newt bit his lip and pulled the zipper down, letting the dress pool at your waist. His eyes darkened as he took in your slip. He bent down, pulling the strap off your left shoulder and kissing your exposed skin. His other hand pushed the right strap down and you felt the garment fall, exposing you completely to him. He pushed you back down again, kissing you with a new intensity as his hand came up to cup your breast. You hissed, arching your body into his calloused hand. Your whole body felt on fire - you couldn't remember ever feeling this heady with want. He brushed his thumb over your nipple and you keened, heat pooling low in your abdomen. Your hands flew to his belt, and as your hand brushed over the hardness in his pants he groaned and bit into your shoulder.

"I won't," he said desperately, helping you to remove his belt, "I'm afraid I won't - "

"It's ok," you said, kissing him. "It's ok." You felt his hand slide from your knee up to your inner thigh and you gasped. He looked at you for permission and you nodded, thoughts completely foggy. He pulled gently on your underwear, sliding it down as you raised your hips. He pulled them off along with your dress, leaving you completely bare underneath him. He exhaled and looked up at you.

"You're beautiful," he said, lowering himself onto your body. You sighed at the feel of his bare chest against yours. You kissed him, slowly at first, but more and more frantically as the heat in your body grew. The feel of his hand returning to your inner thigh sent a shock through your system, making you gasp into his mouth. His thumb was drawing quick circles there, drawing nearer and nearer to where you needed his touch most.

"Please," you whispered. You grabbed the back of his elbow, pushing his hand higher. "Please…" You both groaned as he touched you. He was timid at first, watching you and gauging your reactions with an intensity that made you want him even more. Almost on accident he brushed his thumb over your most sensitive place, causing you to throw your head back in pleasure and buck up into his hand. He bit his lip and repeated the action, making a strangled sound as you hissed. "Newt," you begged, hands going back to the front of his trousers. "I need you…"

"Yes," he said, helping you unbutton the placket on his pants. He stood, kicking off his shoes and pulling the rest of his clothing off quickly. He lowered himself to you, kissing you gently. "I don't know how long I'll last," he said quietly. You kissed the tip of his nose.

"Me either," you said truthfully. He gave you a small smile, and you groaned as you felt the tip of him at your entrance. He looked at you again and you nodded, gasping as he sunk into you. He didn't move for a moment, and you watched as he clenched his jaw and wrenched his eyes closed. You leaned up and kissed him, and he responded so urgently you thought your lips might bruise. Slowly he pulled out from you and sank back in, making you both groan. "Oh, Merlin…" You clawed at his back. "Newt, please…"

"Yes," he breathed, finding a rhythm. "Yes…" You could feel your body winding tighter and tighter with each of his thrusts. Newt was kissing you everywhere he could, moving faster inside of you. "I'm can't.." he panted, kissing your shoulder, "I'm going to…"

"Yes," you agreed, arching up to meet his movements. "Yes…" He reached between you, circling your bud with his thumb and you exploded. White hot pleasure shot through you, causing your entire body to spasm. Somewhere in the distance you heard Newt call your name and stiffen, but you couldn't focus on his voice through the ringing in your ears. When you finally came down, Newt was lying on top of you, breathing heavily and kissing your forehead. You leaned up and caught his lips in a lazy kiss, resting on his chest as he collapsed beside you. You traced the light scars on his torso with your fingers as he caught his breath.

"Tell me something about yourself," you said quietly, placing a kiss on his shoulder. He laughed breathlessly and ran his fingers through your hair.

"Promise not to laugh?" He asked, leaning down and kissing the top of your head. You nodded. "Scarlet has always been one of my favorite colors." You hummed, smiling into his skin.

"Thank you, Newt," you said, yawning.

"What for?" You could heart the question in his voice, but you were too tired to look up at him.

"For everything…" You were drifting off, falling asleep to the rhythmic beating of his heart. You couldn't remember the last time you had slept with someone - actually slept with someone; but deep down you knew there was nowhere else you'd rather be.