Some time long ago…

Newt was out of his element, but he still had to smile at the festive scene before him.

A Scamander cousin, Lenore, was getting married, and both Theseus and Newt's presence was requested by a very fancy-looking owl bearing an equally fancy-looking invitation. Newt figured whoever this fellow Lenore was marrying was rather wealthy. Theseus agreed, and pointed out the event would be well worth their time because of it. Newt knew that though Lenore had invited them both, she really meant for Theseus to be there. Theseus, the respected Auror. The War Hero. He was a worthwhile guest to have. Newt knew that he was merely a polite afterthought (not that he minded).

"Lenore had quite a few friends back in the day," Newt had said casually as the brothers fixed their ties and prepared to depart. "I'm certain many of them will be there. She was in my year at Hogwarts, remember?"

"Are you suggesting there may be girls at this wedding?" asked Theseus mockingly.

"Just being attentive to your interests," said Newt, clapping his brother on the shoulder before heading out the door to Apparate.

Newt hadn't been wrong. Several young women, dolled up extravagantly for the occasion, flocked around his brother. Broad shouldered and square-jawed, he was so unlike Newt. He seemed to enjoy the attention, and talked easily with them. The women laughed in unison at what must have been a very clever joke.

The band started playing, and a lively, brassy tune filled the hall. Couples paired up and took to the dance floor. Lenore, radiant in a shimmering white gown, swept across the hall in the arms of her new husband. The dancers parted, just long enough for Newt to spot a solitary, slim frame on the other side of the hall.

She was dressed in lilac. Black curls framed her face. Leta. They locked eyes for a long moment. Then, the dancers filled the space, and Leta was gone. Newt's heart was pounding. What was Leta doing here? He hadn't expected this… He glanced around desperately for Theseus, but his brother was busy being plied to the dance floor by a very pretty girl in pink. And then Leta was at his side.

"I thought that was you, Newt," she said.

"Leta," said Newt, eyes firmly fixed on her shoulder.

A small smile twitched onto her face.

"It's been a while. Too long. You've been keeping well, I hope?"

"I've been keeping busy," said Newt stiffly.

Leta smiled, but her eyes looked very sad.

"Busy and well were always the same thing for you."

"What are you doing here?" Newt blurted out.

"Lenore invited me," answered Leta.

"Hm. Did she?" said Newt, his voice still stiff. "I don't recall you two being particularly friendly."

Leta shrugged.

"People change," she said simply.

Newt looked at her curiously. She smiled at him, but she looked… sad.

"Look," she started, her voice uncertain. "Would you… would you dance with me? I'm here all by myself…"

Newt was rather taken aback by this, and his eyes grasped around the room.

"Leta… I—" Newt shut his mouth. Finally, his eyes landed on hers. Those familiar dark eyes which for years he could share secrets and jokes from across the room. She looked different than he remembered her. Softer. Sadder. Not a trace of the terrifying anger he remembered from their last encounter. "All right."

Leta beamed at him.

Just then, however, a pair of overly-bombastic dancers crashed into the table stacked with a pyramid of champagne glasses. The collision was thunderous, and a few people screamed. After the initial shock, the hall filled with laughter at the comic sight of the couple disentangling themselves from the mess on the floor. Newt and Leta both looked on.

Then Newt noticed Theseus. His brother was not laughing. In fact, he had frozen, and his face had gone pale. His hands fell away from the pretty girl in pink, who was looking rather miffed and trying to regain his attention. Theseus's hands flew to the side of his head. His eyes were wide and unblinking. Theseus pushed the girl aside, forced his way through the crowd and exited the hall. Newt blinked. He'd never seen Theseus act like that before.

"I'm sorry, Leta, I have to go."

"Newt—" started Leta, but Newt had already left her side. He hurried out the hall after his brother.

He found Theseus sitting on the side of a little knoll in the garden outside, knees drawn up to his chest, staring unseeing at the sprawling lawn of the estate. His hands were trembling. Newt stopped a few feet behind him.

"Theseus," he said slowly. "Are you.. are you alright?"

Theseus jerked around to look at his little brother.

"Oh, Newt," said Theseus in a distant voice. "Quite a show they put on, eh? Enjoying yourself?"

Newt didn't want to talk about the wedding. He wanted to understand why his brother had gone pale as a ghost and run out of the hall as if chased by an army of Dementors. Silently, he took a seat on the knoll next to Theseus. He couldn't think of anything to say, so instead, he rested a hand on Theseus's shoulder. Newt took it as a good sign that Theseus didn't brush it away. He didn't know how long they sat like that, but eventually Theseus's shaking subsided and his shoulders unclenched.

"Has… has that been happening a lot?" ventured Newt after a while.

Theseus stared at his feet and sighed.

"Now and again. Just since I got back."

"That was almost a year ago."

Theseus shrugged.

"Sometimes it feels like a lot less time."

Newt felt a lump forming in his throat. Theseus had kept this hidden from him for quite a while, kept it hidden from probably everyone.

The muggles had a word for it, Newt knew. "Shell shocked" they had called the waves of men who'd returned home with visions of war stuck in their head.

"It's… it's… sometimes it's like I'm back there, you know? Like no time has passed at all."

Newt didn't know. But he could understand. He had his own dark memories that sometimes came back to haunt him in his lonelier moments.

"It's just memories, Theseus. Surely you could, well… I mean, have you considered having them Obliviated?"

Theseus snorted.

"You think they haven't tried that on a few boys who came back from the war? They gave it a go. Doesn't work."

"It doesn't? Why not?"

"Obliviation charms aren't powerful enough. They can mask a memory well enough… But some things… just have a way of surfacing."

Newt pondered this for a long time.

"Look, Theseus, I say we've made an adequate appearance here. What do you say we go home, hm?"

Theseus hesitated.

"You sure you want to go? I thought I saw you talking to Leta Lestrange."

Newt's jaw clenched.

"Forget Leta," Newt said firmly. "Let's go."