Part 4:

Penelope and Harry:

"You seemed pretty excited to avoid Ron," Penelope noted. When they had arranged teams, Harry looked relieved to be paired with her instead of Ron and Hermione. Penelope knew she had to get Simon and Baz to talk but she was less than thrilled to be with someone other than Simon. Baz, who annoyed her sometimes, was a powerful wizard. Harry was smart but Hermione was clearly the brains.

"I don't know how to talk to Ron," Harry admitted. They had given up on flying and were walking through the tropical environment.

"Talk to him about what?" Penelope inquired.

"I've been dating his sister. I don't know how he will react," Harry confided. Penelope didn't have much advice or expertize on that. Instead, she shared the only relationship drama in her life.

"My boyfriend wants me to move to the United States. I don't know if I can leave Simon though." Penelope had been torn between the two in very different ways. Simon had spent his childhood an orphan. No one stayed in his life. It felt wrong to be someone else that left his life. She also couldn't hold a long-distance relationship forever.

"Have you tried to convince him to move here?" Harry asked.

"No. He would never agree to that."

"Well, it isn't fair for him to expect you to move. If you are more needed here than he is there he should come to you," Harry said.

"Thanks Harry. Look, Ron is your best friend. He may be mad at you but he will calm down. It'll suck but you just have to face him and tell him the truth. He may even understand."

Clary and Jace:

The unicorn was still bleeding. Clary was helping a centaur change the bandages while Jace was sprinting away from a centaur at full speed. He had accidently crushed the centaur's dinner trying to make dye.

Jace came to a stop causing the centaur to nearly collide into him. He jumped into the air turning and flipping before landing behind the centaur.

"I just want to be your friend. There are so little half man half horses in my life back at the institute," Jace said to the centaur sadly.

Clary tried to stifle a laugh. The last few days he had tried everything to convince the centaurs to like him. He'd even given their leader flowers who in turn yelled at him, angry he plucked flowers from his land.

Queenie and Jacob:

"You promised we'd leave." Jacob was packing his bags and moving toward the dense forest in front of them.

"Are you sure we should?" Queenie asked behind him. She had run out of reasons to keep Jacob safely where they'd started.

"Queenie, I know you're worried about me but you're going to have to trust me. Just because I'm not a wizard doesn't mean I can't help." Jacob rarely sounded angry but Queenie could sense the anger rising in him.

"There are magical creatures in there. Not just dangerous but magical. You won't be able to protect yourself if we get separated. It isn't safe." Queenie planted her feet in the ground refusing to move. Jacob glared at her clearly flustered.

"You want us to do anything?" Jacob asked.

"I want you to stay here," Queenie said truthfully. "I can manage fine on my own in there."

"That's not happening. We are both going in there," Jacob marched into the forest. Queenie followed him in angrily, hoping Newt's more dangerous beasts were anywhere but near them.

Hermione and Ron:

Hermione had admitted defeat. The water was too expansive to search. She had made Ron a calming potion to ease his nerves after his run in with the spider and now was preparing to return to the entrance.

"We can find everyone else and try to see if they have any leads," she'd explained. Ron was sure Fred and George would refuse to give their map over but it was worth a try.

Ty and Kit:

Night had fallen over Ty and Kit. The stars were covered by clouds making it impossible to work. Ty was flustered by this and had begun working one of Jules soft toys into a butterfly shape. Ty's hands always fluttered when he was stressed.

"There's a lake nearby," Kit began. Ty looked at him confused. "We could go for a swim?" Kit suggested. He suspected Ty would resist but he looked intensely at him for a moment before nodding.

Ty led them down the hill until they reached a blue shimmering lake. He gently put his toe into the water and jumped back.

"Cold?" Kit asked taking his shirt and pants off until he stood in his boxers.

"No. Warm. Kind of like a hot tub." Ty followed Kit's example and waded into the warm water. Kit joined him. The water was hot. It relaxed his muscles instantly. Ty was sitting against a large rock, his hair matting his forehead, his silver eyes illuminating the night. They had done this once before and had a magical time.

"I'm sorry about the stars," Ty said softly.

"It's okay. We'll see them again tomorrow."

"I'm confused as to why Newt wanted us to be here. Couldn't they just make an antidote and drop it in?" Ty asked.

"…I actually have no idea why they don't do that," Kit admitted. He had never thought of any solution other than finding Baz's original antidote.

Kit was staring at Ty again. Ty blushed a deep red and looked down, resting his head against Kit's. Ty was sensitive when it came to touch. A nuzzle from Ty meant a great deal. Kit gently pressed his lips against Kit's forehead. Ty jumped, at first thought Kit thought he had gone too far. Ty had moved his head level to Kit's and kissed him causing Kit to gasp as they kissed. Kit kissed back gently hoping to not ruin the moment. Ty kissed him longer than had ever before breaking away breathing heavily and smiling.

Fred and George:

George was silent. Too silent. Fred has spent the last twenty minutes impersonating all the Weasley siblings. They were hilarious but George was too distracted. He had been since they entered. Albus and Scorpius had pulled him aside when they were splitting into teams and explained in the Battle of Hogwarts Fred would die. Albus's dad wanted them go back and save Fred, that was their real mission not helping Newt. George had never gotten over his brother's death after the battle and Harry and Ron wanted to change history.

Their plan was simple. George needed to convince Fred to stay here until the battle was over. It would be happening in a few days and he knew his brother well enough to know that Fred would protest. There was no guarantee if they rewrote history this way what the ramifications would be. They couldn't be as bad as a reality without Fred though.

"You're awfully quiet," Fred said shaking his brother's shoulders grinning.

Newt and Tina:

"This is Will, Jem, and Tessa. Tessa got in a bit of trouble for a time enchantment that sent her back to the 1800's to visit Will. I bailed them out and now they live here. Well, until the Clave stops hunting Tessa," Newt explained.

"We'll be here forever is what he is saying," Tessa added.

"The Clave never forgave me for writing a song about demon pox and performing it live at a mandatory meeting. It was a dumb meeting and I livened it up." Will grinned at the boy sitting next to him. Both had black hair. Will had blue eyes and a clearly defined body while Jem was thin and tall, a dash of silver running through his hair. He looked like Cho Chang Tina thought.

"Will, I've told you not to perform live in large crowds. They always hate you." Jem was grinning too and Tessa was laughing at the memory.

"And this is my boyfriend, Aaron," Newt introduced Tina to his boyfriend. Aaron had dark skin the color of milk chocolate and a smile that illuminated his face. His body was more defined than Will's and he was almost as tall as Newt.

"This is my twin brother Ben," Aaron introduced him to his identical twin. Ben shook her hand and grinned at her. Tina just waved meekly, she was never great at flirting.

"My legs almost gave out too," Newt whispered to Tina.

"How did you meet?" Tina asked.

"Aaron is in Slytherin and helped me escape when I was expelled. He is a historian and helped me with my research a few years later and we have been inseparable since. Ben is a Ravenclaw who studies charms and is a professor at a school in Belgium. He has been here a few months helping me safety proof the world," Newt explained.

Magnus and Alec:

"I think the rocks have stopped coming down," Alec said peeking his head out the tent. The trolls had spent the last day hurdling boulders at them. The only reason they survived was Magnus's protection spells. Magnus was pale and had black circles under his eyes. His magic was exhausted.

"I can't move tonight. Sorry Alexander," Magnus said without his usual gusto. Alec grabbed his hand and squeezed it, lying next to him. He pulled Magnus on top of him and held his head close to his chest.

"I've got you," Alec murmured. "I'm sure everything will be fine. Just go to sleep."

"Everything will be fine. Baz…Baz has something up his sleeve. The animals here aren't even in real danger," Magnus confided, his voice raked with exhaustion. His fingernails were chipped and his usual bright cat eyes were dim. Alec drew the blankets tighter around him. "I'll be fine Alexander. I just need to sleep."

"What do you mean? And, I'm allowed to worry about you." Alec kissed Magnus's cheek reassuringly.

"Baz came up with this whole thing to talk to Simon and I agreed because I want to ask you something. Ty figured it out the instant he arrived but agreed to help anyway because he wanted to be with Kit. Penelope is a genius. I'm sure she knows. Albus and Scorpius are here to help George who is helping Fred and Newt just agreed to let us use his suitcased world after we arrived because Baz convinced him it would be best for Simon. Queenie reads all our minds so she knows and there is no way Hermione hasn't figured it out yet." Magnus grinned at Alec.

"So, it's a rouse? What do you want to ask me?" Alec was nervous. Magnus looked nervous. Magnus was never nervous. If Magnus was nervous that meant Alec needed to be nervous.

"Not now. I want to ask when I'm a little less exhausted."

Albus and Scorpius:

Albus and Scorpius had spent the day together in their tent avoiding the blizzard. The tent was warm and cozy. Albus didn't want to leave.

"Albus? Are we dating?" Scorpius asked.

"If you'll agree to be my boyfriend then yes."

"I agree," Scorpius grinned. "Will you be mine?"

"Yes." Albus grinned back and pulled Scorpius closer so he could kiss him

Simon and Baz:

Simon was crying in his sleep again. He hadn't talked to Baz since their fight other than saying good night. Simon let out another cry and sat straight up in his bed, his hair matting his forehead and sweat dripping down his chest. Simon slept shirtless which agonized Baz.

"Your hair is a mess," Baz noted. Simon's curls fell every which way in damp limp ringlets. "Are you okay?" He added.

Simon's blue eyes met Baz's black. "Nightmare."

"What about?" Baz hated when Simon was like this. Sure, he gave him crap all the time but he could apologize or Simon would explode at him and it would go back to normal. Whatever these dreams were they had hurt him and Baz had no control over it.

Simon gave a small shrug. This shrug meant he didn't want to talk about it. Baz moved to the edge of his bed facing the wall, making room for Simon. He patted the empty space next to him and moved his arm across the vacant pillow. Simon's eyes widened in surprise. Baz closed his eyes so Simon couldn't see he that it was more than a polite offer, he would be hurt if Simon said no. Minutes passed before he heard a rustle from across the room and felt Simon slip under the sheets next to him.

Baz pulled him in closer, wrapping his arms around his back to press Simon against him. "You're warm," he whispered to Simon, allowing Simon's body heat to warm him.

"You're cool." Simon nestled his head against Baz's shoulder. Baz could feel the tears yet to dry.

"What was your nightmare about?" Baz asked again.

"The orphanage," Simon whispered into his neck.

"Was there someone who bullied you there?"

"You're my only bully," Simon retorted. "The older you get the more people think it's weird you haven't been adopted. They don't know I spend my winters at a wizarding school. There is no one my age and we sleep in what is a prison cell. The doors are always locked and you can only go outside if staff are with you. It's prison basically. You're trapped alone."

"You have enough money to rent a flat. Why don't you do that?" Baz asked sensing he knew the answer.

"The Mage won't allow it."

Baz hated The Mage. The Mage was as close to a father figure Simon had and he was loyal to him. It was the reason they fought. His family hated The Mage and The Mage hated his family. Even if that loyalty was misplaced Baz knew better than to pick an argument. Instead, he rubbed Simon's back.

"I was thinking and the only reason to break Agatha and I apart if you didn't like her would be because you liked me," Simon stammered out.

"I'm holding you shirtless in bed in a cottage on a hill because you had a nightmare. I think it is obvious I like you Snow."

"How do you know I like you?" Simon asked. Baz looked down suppressing a grin.

"I would be shocked to learn that you didn't considering our current situation." Baz looked down again causing Simon to blush.

"Why are you mean to me?" Simon asked, meeting Baz's dark eyes with his blue.

"My family hates you."

"Your family hates everyone."

Baz laughed. It was the first time he had laughed in ages. "This is true."

"I like your eyes," Simon noted. Simon was rambling which meant he was tired.

"Thank you Snow."

"They're pretty."

"Thank you Snow."

"Is the reason they're dark because you're a vampire?"

"No Snow."

"Is the reason you're so pale because you're a vampire?"

"I'm Egyptian Snow. Of course, it's because I'm a vampire."

"Is the reason you're cool to the touch because you're a vampire?"

"Yes Snow."

"Do you like your fangs?"

"No Snow."

"When did you know?"

"I didn't like my fangs? I've always known."

"No. That you liked me."

"I've always known. When did you know?"

"I don't know." Simon shrugged.

"Use your words Simon." Baz knew he could coax an answer out of him if he was persistent enough.

Simon shrugged. Baz would have to try a different technique.

"Was the reason you were mad at me because you were jealous of me kissing Agatha?" Baz asked.

"No. I was jealous of her for kissing you and mad at you for kissing Agatha." Simon's eyes widened as he realized it. He had spent the summer thinking of Baz and not Agatha.

"I was jealous of her for kissing you and mad at you for kissing Agatha too," Baz repeated to Simon. Simon finally understood. They had spent years angry that they were apart not that they were stuck together in the same room.

"I'm an idiot. I make lists of things I don't think about which means I don't think about things I should already know," Simon stuttered.

"You're not an idiot. Do you think about me?"

"I can't not think of you," Simon replied.

Somewhere during their conversation their positions had changed. Simon was holding Baz tightly. His arms were wrapped around Baz's stomach and he pulled him into him, their legs interlocked around one another's. Baz leaned into Simon, grabbing onto the arms around his chest. Baz was starting to get hungry.

"You don't need to drink from the thermos," Simon said bringing his wrist up to Baz's lips.

"I'm not going to hurt you."

"I read it doesn't hurt," Simon countered.

"Where did you read that?"

"The Mortal Instruments," Simon admitted.

"I'm not going to bite you."

"Okay. I trust you though. If you need too. Baz?"

"Yes Snow?

"Can I kiss you?"

Baz exhaled, pressing his body harder against Simon's. "Yes Snow."