I was awoken from a deep sleep the next morning by the feeling of something gently moving along my back. In and out movements that started up by one shoulder blade and moved down my back before repeating on the other side.

I let out a sleepy sigh and opened my eyes to take in my surroundings. I was lying on my stomach in bed, facing the nightstand and the window, where sunlight was streaming into the room. One of my arms was curled above my head with my hand resting on the pillow. My opposite hand was tucked up near my chin. The sheets were pooled around my waist, exposing my back, where I felt fingertips still lightly brushing patterns into my skin.

I lifted my head and turned to face the other way, inhaling sleepily before letting it out in an equally as sleepy sigh. Fred was lying beside me, his head propped up on a fist as he used his other hand to continue touching my back, still moving in the same pattern that I had now guessed was the shape of wings around my scars. My angel wings.

"Hi," I murmured, my voice still filled with sleep.

"Hi," Fred whispered, his own voice slightly groggy. He smiled at me as his movements came to a stop and he dropped his hand, flattening his palm against my back and lightly rubbing his thumb back and forth. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

I shook my head. "It felt nice."

The two of us lay there in silence for a bit before Fred spoke. "How'd you sleep?"

"Like a rock," I sighed, pulling the covers back up around me and snuggling closer to Fred.

Fred laughed as he wrapped an arm around me. "I thought so. Yesterday was a long day."

"Mm," I agreed with a breath of laughter, resting my head against Fred's shoulder. "What time is it?"

"Just after eleven," Fred said, his voice quiet and still a bit sleepy.

"What time did we even fall asleep?" I asked, rubbing my eyes with my free hand. "Three? Three-thirty?"

"About that time, yeah," Fred said.

"And that's after we already were out until after midnight in London before coming here," I snorted, letting out a groan and dropping my head back down to the pillow.

"That's the price you pay for celebrating the new year twice," Fred said jubilantly, leaning down to kiss my forehead. "Now come on, get up. We've got some sightseeing to do."

"Five more minutes," I sighed, closing my eyes.

"Nope, now," Fred chuckled, leaning over and kissing me on the lips this time. "Come on," he said kissing me a second time. And then again. And then three more times in quick succession.

"I can't when you're doing that," I mumbled.

"What, this?" Fred asked, kissing me again.

"Mhm," I answered sleepily.

"Come on," Fred said, giving me one last kiss before pulling away and getting out of bed, while I covered my head with the blankets. I heard Fred moving around the room. Then, he appeared at my side and placed a hand on the mattress on either side of me. He pushed down and bounced the mattress a few times as I groaned. "Get up, sleepyhead. You'll have time to sleep when we're back in London."

"Will you even let me do that?" I asked, lowering the blankets from my face.

"I swear," Fred promised. He bounced the mattress a few more times and laughed before backing away and heading for the bathroom. "Since you don't want to get up, I'm getting the first shower. Don't go back to sleep!" he called over his shoulder.

I sat up, grabbing one of the pillows and throwing it at him as hard as I could. Fred yelped and dodged it as he ran into the bathroom and slammed the door, leaving the pillow to bounce off the wall. I let out a cry of frustration mixed with a laugh before stifling a yawn. I ran my hands through my hair, using my fingers to work out some of the tangles. And then I stretched again, trying to motivate myself to get out of bed. Part of me thought about a full day ahead of sightseeing around New York City and didn't know how I'd be able to do it. Between the late nights both in London and here, traveling between continents, jet lag, and everything else that happened, I felt completely exhausted. But we were in New York. There was no way I could pass up seeing the city.

With a tired groan, I got out of bed and began collecting all of my clothes that were lying in various places around the room.

"Merlin's beard," I muttered as I located my knit hat draped over one of the lamps across the room.

I folded all my clothes from the day before and tucked them back into my bag before pulling out new ones and setting them aside for later. In the meantime, I pulled on the pajamas I'd packed so that I'd have something to wear while I was waiting for the bathroom. I straightened up the room a little bit, and yanked open the curtains to let more of the sunlight in, smiling when I saw the now unobstructed view of the city. It was still just as beautiful in the daytime as it was at night, even without the lights.

I grabbed my coat, slid open the sliding glass door and stepped outside, shivering in the cold air as I zipped the coat up. I stepped up to the railing and looked out at Times Square. The sun glinted off of the buildings and I squinted a bit at the brightness. I looked down towards the ground and smiled slightly when I noticed that all the confetti and streamers and other trash had been picked up and cleaned, just like I'd thought. No one would ever know anything had happened here the night before.

I stood there on the balcony, looking down at the street and the small-seeming people going about their lives, until I heard the door slide open behind me and Fred step outside.

"Glad to see you didn't go back to bed," he joked. "And that you picked up the pillow that you threw at my head." He smiled. "Although, that was quite a throw by the way."

"Thank you," I said loftily, tossing my hair over my shoulder. "I, on the other hand, am glad to see you're out of the bathroom. You were hogging it and I need to tame the bird's nest on my head." I gestured vaguely to my hair.

"I've never seen you look better," Fred commented with a laugh.

"Oh, shut up," I answered with a short laugh of my own as I swatted him.

He laughed again and rested his elbows on the railing as he looked downwards as well, watching all the people walk by, just as I had. "They look so small," he said.

"Mm," I agreed, looking down at them as well. I glanced over at Fred after a moment. "So, what do you have planned for today? Any wild adventures I should know about?"

Fred shrugged and shook his head. "I didn't really plan anything. I just thought we'd wing it." He looked over at me wryly. "But if we're going to do anything, you'd better go get ready. Weren't you the one who said I was hogging the bathroom and you were glad I was out?"

"I did say that, didn't I?" I asked.

Fred nodded and reached out to playfully swat my behind. "Go on," he said.

I scoffed and reached out to shove his shoulder before turning for the door. I pulled it open and paused for a moment, turning back and looking at Fred, who was still standing at the railing, but with his head turned towards me as he watched me leave.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing," I whispered. I quickly stepped back towards him and stretched up on my tiptoes as I slid my hand to the back of his head and pulled him in for a gentle kiss. "I love you," I murmured.

Fred smiled. "I love you too," he said, leaning forward and quickly kissing my nose.

I smiled again and backed up, letting myself back into the room, where I slipped out of my coat and headed for the bathroom. I shut the door and turned for the mirror, letting out a sigh of disgust at my appearance. My eyes still looked and felt slightly puffy from crying last night and also the lack of sleep. My hair was tangled and messy, but actually not as bad as I'd been expecting.

I splashed cold water on my face and then stood there with my hands resting on the vanity as I looked at my reflection in the mirror again. I wasn't sure if I had expected to feel any different this morning or not after I'd told the version of Eric that lived in my head to shut up. I guess a part of me thought I'd feel more liberated this morning-freer. And I did. I'd just overcome another hurdle that had been stopping me from living my life the best way I could after everything that had happened. But I knew that I wasn't suddenly going to become the normal girl I'd always wished I'd been. I didn't think it was going to be that easy. I knew I still at the very least had nightmares to deal with. But last night had been one small victory-one small step closer to overcoming my fears and not letting them chain me down anymore. Even if I had some lasting effects from what I went through, I knew that one day, at the very least, I would no longer be held back by it. At least not to the extent I had been.

As for the nightmares, I'd only had one in the week since Christmas Eve. I hadn't ended up mentioning the nightmare to Fred, even though he'd made me promise to talk about it. He hadn't brought it up and I was just hoping at this point he'd forgotten. I couldn't talk to him about it. I couldn't tell him I'd seen him lying on the ground with a knife in his chest. I couldn't tell him about the one I'd had in Salem either, where he had been the one to kill me. I didn't want to talk about it or re-live it. That just made it worse. I just wanted the dreams to stop.

But I knew they wouldn't stop. I knew they would come back. Maybe they'd come less frequently now that I was feeling better, but maybe they wouldn't. There was no way of knowing. And I couldn't control my subconscious.

Letting out a sigh, I turned on the shower and let the water warm up before climbing inside and letting the water rush over me. I cleaned myself off and once I was done, I turned off the shower, wrapped myself in a towel and stepped back out in front of the mirror. I dried myself off and got dressed before using my wand to dry my hair quickly. I began brushing it, staring absentmindedly at my reflection as I did so. I began thinking of things I'd heard about New York that I'd like to see or do. Central Park was probably a must, and perhaps the Empire State Building. But there was so much else to see and do, I didn't know how we'd manage to narrow things down to just one final day.

I was jolted out of my thoughts by Fred tapping on the bathroom door. "I hope you're not taking a nap in the bathtub," he called.

I laughed. "No, I'm awake."

"Glad to hear it," Fred said. "Finish getting that bird's nest out of your hair and let's get a move on."

"Aye, aye, captain," I called back.

"Damn right," Fred retaliated, eliciting another laugh from me. "Seriously, though, hurry up. I want to see more of New York."

"I'll be out in fifteen," I said. "It'll be ten if you leave me alone."

"Walking away now," Fred called through the door, his voice growing fainter as he walked away. I smiled and shook my head before looking back at my reflection and letting a puff of air out of my mouth. I stared at myself for another few seconds before picking up my brush again and going back to work on my hair.

Fred and I decided to tackle Central Park first. The place was massive. There probably wasn't time to see all of it. But Merlin, was it beautiful. I found myself struck by the contrast of being in a park surrounded by trees and grass and to have that surrounded by tall skyscrapers in every direction. It was a little patch of nature in the middle of miles of concrete. I was thankful Fred had brought my camera with him, because I couldn't seem to stop snapping photos.

"This place must be beautiful in the spring and summer," I said as we came to a stop on a bridge that crossed over a narrow, frozen stream. I leaned forward on my elbows and looked over the side before turning and leaning against it backwards as I looked out at the park. The trees were bare and everything was sort of bleak now, but in the nicer weather, I could only imagine all the bright colors.

"We'll just have to come back and see for ourselves," Fred said, leaning against the side of the bridge next to me.

"You mean that?" I asked with a smile.

"Yeah," Fred said simply, shrugging his shoulders. "After we've seen all the other places you mentioned wanting to see. You've mentioned Paris...and I suppose I do owe you a trip to a tropical island since I brought you somewhere cold this time."

I smiled. "I don't mind being here in the cold. We're walking around a lot, so I don't feel it much. But I wouldn't say no to that island. Or to coming back here in the nicer weather."

"It's a deal," Fred said. "Better stock up on your beauty rest now."

I laughed. "I'll be sure to do that."

After Central Park, Fred and I visited the New York Public Library, the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, and I even managed to drag Fred into an art museum. At some point in the middle of all that, we ate pizza for lunch when we realized just how hungry we were. We re-visited Rockefeller Plaza again to look around at things besides the ice rink. And while we were there, we went up to the observation deck that was at the top of one of the buildings. It was seventy stories up and nearly the whole city was visible from the top.

"I think this is it," I said with a sigh, turning in a slow circle as the cold wind whipped my hair around my face. It was freezing, but I barely noticed.

"This is what?" Fred asked in amusement, shoving his hands deep into his pockets as he watched me.

"My favorite place in the city." I hurried to the edge of the observation deck and peered out at the city. The sun was lowering in the sky, stretching its golden rays across the deepening blue sky and illuminating what clouds there were in colors of gold and pink.

"Yeah?" Fred asked. "Here? Why's that?"

"Fred, are you serious? It's beautiful," I breathed out. "And look, we can see the Empire State Building from here." I beamed as I began snapping photo after photo with my camera. "This is amazing." I kept snapping photos until I realized Fred hadn't answered and he hadn't come to stand beside me yet. I lowered my camera and turned to see Fred standing back where I'd left him, his hands still in his pockets as he stared at me, a soft smile on his face. "What?" I asked.

Fred simply smiled wider and shook his head. "Nothing," he whispered. "It's just nice to see you so happy."

I smiled back at him, fiddling with my camera for a moment. Finally, I let out a giggle and tilted my head, gesturing for him to come stand next to me. "Will you stop staring at me and just come here? Come look at this view instead of at me. I promise it's worth it."

"I like looking at you, though," Fred commented. But he still came to stand beside me at the railing. His smile changed to a devious smirk. "Besides, you are the--"

"No," I said, laughing and holding my hand up, waving it dismissively in front of his face. "Stop. That's the worst line in the history of lines."

"You used it on me just last night!" Fred protested with a laugh. "How is that fair?"

"I was saying it mostly to be funny because I knew it was bad," I answered. "And even then, I didn't know just how bad it was until I said it."

"I was saying it to be funny, too," Fred said.

I shot him a look. "Maybe mostly. But why do I feel like you were at least partially serious?"

"I'm never serious, so I don't know why you'd think that." Fred shrugged innocently.

I rolled my eyes and looked back out at the city. "It really is beautiful," I whispered. I looked at Fred out of the corner of my eye. "Say it's beautiful, Fred."

Fred propped his chin up in his elbow and smiled cheekily at me as he met my eyes. "It's beautiful," he said.

I shot him a playful but frustrated look as I raised an eyebrow. I pointed out at the sun setting over the skyscrapers. "I'm not leaving until you admit it."

"I did," he laughed.

"You didn't," I answered.

Fred shut me up by leaning sideways towards me, keeping his elbows still resting on the railing, and gently kissing me. I returned it as my resolve weakened and so did my determination to turn his attention away from me. I let out a quiet sigh as I pulled away slightly, keeping my forehead against his and my eyes closed.

"You're right, it is beautiful," Fred whispered. "Happy?"

"What is beautiful, Fred?" I asked, smiling slightly.

"The city," he answered. "The sunset. And you."

"You just had to throw that last one in there, didn't you?" I whispered. But I was unable to stop myself from smiling wider.

"Can't help it," Fred whispered back, closing the small space between us and kissing me again.

Just then, my stomach growled and I pulled away from Fred with a half laugh, half groan.

"Hungry?" He asked with a laugh of his own.

l nodded. "The only thing I've eaten since last night is that pizza we had for lunch. It was very good, but it clearly didn't hold me over."

"Let's go find somewhere to eat then," Fred laughed, turning for the exit and holding out his hand for me. I took it and let him lead me towards the stairs with a smile.

We ended up walking down Broadway, looking for somewhere to eat.

"Next time we're here, we should see a show," I said, gesturing to the many signs around us advertising various theater productions.

Fred let out a pained groan. "A musical, Sophie? Really? The ice skating wasn't girly enough to torture me with?"

"Oh, come on, Fred," I huffed. "Plenty of men go ice skating. Did you not see them while we were there? Boyfriends, husbands, fathers with their kids."

"I saw them," Fred said with a shrug.

"Maybe they don't all go because they love ice skating, but they go because they love the other person," I said, looking up at him pleadingly. "Haven't you been saying how much you love me?"

Fred tipped his head back and groaned. "This is manipulation!" He protested with a laugh.

"Wouldn't you do anything for me?" I went on. "Because you just love me so much?"

Fred lightly shoved me sideways. "Shut up. Do you see anywhere you want to eat yet?"

I chewed my lip as I looked around. We had stopped on a corner, waiting for the signal to cross the street and I looked down the street to our left, where I saw a bright sign reading Stardust Diner.

"Let's go," I said, tugging on Fred's hand. The walk symbol had lit up for us to cross the street and I pulled Fred along with me as I hurried through the crosswalk.

"Merlin's beard, Soph," Fred said as I slowed down once we reached the sidewalk and headed towards the restaurant. "We just talked about how I wasn't exactly dying to do anything girly and now you're dragging me into a place with the word stardust in the name?"

"It's food, isn't it?" I asked. "We're both hungry, so why do you care?"

"It's not like our options for food are exactly slim out here, Soph," Fred pointed out.

"In any case, since you put up a fight about going to see a Broadway show and going ice skating again, this is going to have to do. Now come on." I tugged harder on his hand and pulled him the rest of the way towards the restaurant.

There was a short line of people outside the building waiting to get in, but we didn't have to wait all that long before we were being led inside and to a table. Once we were in, my mouth dropped open in awe. The place was busy, and fairly noisy as well. There were two levels of seating with a big open space in the middle, where there was currently a member of the waitstaff standing up on a narrow platform, wearing bright green sunglasses and singing into a microphone. A disco ball hanging from the ceiling twinkled above him. I didn't recognize the song, but I did almost stop in my tracks to watch.

"What the fuck is happening?" Fred muttered from beside me, staring at the performance as well.

"I think it's kind of the whole theme of the restaurant," I explained as I let out an amazed laugh. "I kind of love it."

"I didn't think this was exactly your kind of place," Fred said. He spoke loudly to be heard over the music as we sat down at our table, which was just on the outskirts of the open area where the waiter was still singing. "It's loud--and not to mention crowded."

"I think I'm used to this kind of thing now," I answered, looking around. "Probably thanks to Rachel."

"Speaking of Rachel," Fred said, shrugging off his coat as I did the same, "she would love it here."

"Wouldn't she?" I laughed. "She'd probably try to get up there and sing something herself, despite not being employed here."

"She'd probably try to convince Tom and Martha to adapt this at the Leaky Cauldron," Fred laughed. "In a few months' time, you could be getting up on a table and doing that." He tilted his head towards the waiter, who was walking up and down the platform, still singing in his neon green sunglasses and waving his arm wildly.

"Oh, Merlin, no," I groaned. "Maybe we shouldn't tell Rachel about this place. We can't give her any ideas."

Fred smirked at me. "How's your singing? I hope it's better than your skating."

"Hate you," I teased, looking at him in exasperation and shaking my head as he laughed.

"Love you," Fred replied, shooting me an angelic smile as I laughed. "Anyway," he went on, "luckily for you, Tom definitely would never go for it. He'd burn the Leaky Cauldron down himself before he turned his precious pub into this." He smiled and leaned back in the booth, resting his arms across the back of it as he looked around. "Although, I do have to admit...this place is pretty cool. Better than I expected. The whole stardust thing had me thinking it would be the American version of Madame Puddifoot's."

"What was that?" I asked incredulously. "Are you saying that I was right?"

"No," Fred said slowly.

"Sounds like you are," I teased as I smiled proudly.

Fred rolled his eyes and shook his head as he leaned forward on the table. He looked around and surveyed the restaurant for a bit. The waiter had gotten down from the platform and someone else was just taking his place. A girl this time, wearing a Happy New Year headband and glasses in the shape of the year 2000.

"Fine," Fred admitted, looking back at me. "You were right." He laughed and rolled his eyes again. "Now wipe that self-righteous smile off your face."

I shook my head and only smiled wider. "No way."

A waiter appeared at our table, introduced himself cheerfully as Derek, and asked to take our drink orders. After we'd given them to him, Fred asked, "Are you going to get up there and sing at some point, too?"

"Of course," Derek said. "I'm supposed to be on in the next twenty minutes, actually. Can't tell you what I'm singing, of course. Have to keep the surprise."

"I'm not sure I would know it anyway," Fred said, glancing at me and smiling. I knew he just meant that he didn't know very much Muggle music, but Derek didn't know that.

"You know we don't just sing Broadway tunes here," Derek said. "At some point, one of us will do a song you recognize. Guaranteed. We're very well rounded here."

"I'm sure," Fred said. He smiled at me again. "Not what I meant," he mouthed so that Derek couldn't see. I smiled and hid my laugh by turning my face into my shoulder.

"You know, all of the waitstaff here want to make it on Broadway one day," Derek explained. "That's our goal. I'm taking tap lessons right now, actually."

"Tap lessons?" Fred asked in confusion.

"Tap dancing," I clarified.

"Oh dear," Derek sighed, shaking his head teasingly at Fred and laughing. "Not a fan of the arts, are you?"

"I like art," Fred insisted. "I just...like sports more."

"Which ones?" Derek asked. "All of them? One in particular?"

"Uh," Fred said, looking at me in a panic. There was obviously no way he could say Quidditch and he didn't really know any Muggle sports.

"Basketball," I said quickly, looking up at Derek. "He's tall enough for it, so that's his thing."

Derek nodded. "Well, see? I wouldn't know the first thing about basketball, so you've got me beat there." He smiled. "I'll be right back with your drinks."

Fred let out a relieved puff of air as Derek walked away. "Little does Derek know, I don't know the first thing about basketball either," he muttered. "I hope he doesn't ask questions about it."

"You're usually quick on your feet," I said. "You'd figure something else out. Or you could start talking about what you do for a living. You love joke products too. That would be easy. Muggles have jokes, too, you know." I smiled teasingly.

"How would I explain ninety five percent of the items at the shop to him?" Fred asked. "To anyone here?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, he looks like he's got a sense of humor." I laughed as Fred reached over and swatted me with his rolled up napkin.

"Cheeky," he scoffed. "That's not what I meant and you know it. I meant because he's a Muggle. He's not going to understand the sheer genius behind You-No-Poo."

"The constipation sensation that's gripping the nation," I recited.

Fred beamed at me. "That's my girl," he teased.

I let out a giggle as a faint blush colored my cheeks. "Anyway," I said, "maybe Derek won't make much more conversation, so you won't have to worry that way." I shrugged. "I'm sure he's busy. More so than most waiters would be. They're all kind of multitasking here." I tilted my head towards a waiter walking by us carrying a tray of food balanced on one hand and singing backup vocals into a microphone with the other.

Fred laughed. "This place is wild."

"Aren't you glad we came?" I asked.

Fred turned to me and studied my face for a moment before breaking into a smile. "Yeah, I am, actually. Really."

"Tell me again I was right?" I asked.

"Not a chance," Fred answered, swatting me with his napkin again, this time over the head.

"Fine, fine," I said, holding up my hands. "I'll have to live with just hearing it once."

"Yes, you will," Fred agreed with a decisive nod of his head.

I leaned forward and rested my chin in my hand as I looked at him. "So, I also just wanted to say thank you," I told him.

"For what?" He asked, looking up at me in slight surprise.

"For everything. The last few days have been incredible, but also thank you for everything before that. For actually being one of the first constants in my life in a long time." I smiled. "Can I be cheesy for a moment?"

Fred considered that before nodding. "Go on."

"If you were a city, you'd be this one," I said. "It never sleeps and neither do you, apparently." Fred laughed quietly and so did I before continuing. "This place is always filled with light and action and...places like this." I looked around the room before looking at Fred. "So much excitement, so much noise, and constant, unwavering light. Which was exactly what I needed. Something--someone--constant. Unwavering. Bright."

"Did you just compare me to a city?" Fred whispered.

"Mhm," I nodded. "I told you it was a little cheesy."

"Yeah," Fred admitted with a laugh. "But I'm flattered that you think so highly of me."

"I do," I said earnestly. "You saved my life, Fred. I mean it."

"I never felt like I was any of those things," Fred said. "Bright, unwavering, constant. Not around the time I met you, anyway. So I think you've got it all wrong. I think you were my constant. You were my light. Even if you felt lost in the dark yourself."

"Well," I said slowly. "I don't think bright things can see their own light. "I don't think places like this city can see how bright it is, but that doesn't mean it isn't. Everyone else can see it just fine."

"It's a city, Sophie," Fred whispered, looking at me and trying not to laugh. "It can't see anything."

"Shut up," I said, bursting into laughter. "I'm trying to be poetic and you have to go and ruin it."

"You're starting to sound mental," Fred insisted. "Going on about inanimate objects not being able to see their own light." He let out a breath of laughter. "Honestly."

I leaned back in my seat and crossed my arms. "I was just trying to thank you, you know." I raised an eyebrow and tried to fight back a smile.

"You've thanked me a hundred times," Fred said quietly, a soft smile lifting up his lips. "Possibly more."

"I'd think your overinflated ego would want to keep the gratitude coming," I quipped.

"I didn't say I was complaining," Fred shrugged. "Not about the gratitude anyway. You just sounded a tad dramatic. Maybe you should be on Broadway." He paused. "You might have to tap dance first, though. Right here in front of all these people."

I scoffed and looked away as I rolled my eyes. "In your dreams, Fred."

"I appreciate the sentiment, though," Fred said, leaning over the table and pressing a kiss to my forehead. I closed my eyes and sighed as I felt his lips make contact with my skin. Fred pulled back and grinned at me before opening up his menu with a flourish. "I don't know about you, but I'm hungry enough to eat one of everything offered on this menu."

I laughed as my own stomach growled again. "My stomach might actually agree with you. Right now, at least. It might not if we actually attempted that."

"In any case, we should pick something so we don't hold Derek up too much when he comes back. He's got places to be and songs to sing after all."

I snorted from behind my menu and I felt Fred lightly kick me with his foot underneath the table. I kicked him back and he let out a curse word as I only laughed harder and went back to studying the menu.

When Fred and I arrived back to the hotel room later on, I immediately fell back onto the bed with a sigh and closed my eyes. My cheeks were flushed from the cold and from the alcohol I'd had at the restaurant. I'd had a piña colada, which Fred made fun of me for, until I'd coerced him into trying a sip-a sip that had turned into more of a gulp. It would've even turned into more than that if I hadn't let out a cry of protest and tugged the drink from his hands, telling him to get his own if he liked it so much. He didn't, but convinced me to order a second drink, which he also took a large gulp of. There had been a moment of terror when Derek had asked for IDs, but Fred disguised a Confundus charm beneath a cough and took care of it, eliciting a look of amusement from me.

Now, Fred flopped onto the bed beside me and sighed contentedly.

"Don't tell me you're getting tired," I commented sleepily, keeping my eyes closed and tilting my head towards him.

"No," Fred answered, but his voice came out in a sleepy whisper.

"That's a relief," I mumbled.

"Why's that?" Fred asked.

"Because just a few hours ago, I compared you to the city that never sleeps," I said. "If you get tired now, it's all a sham and you'd be a fraud."

Fred snorted and rolled over onto his side so that he was facing me. I felt him tug off my hat and run his fingers through my hair. "So, what, I'm not allowed to sleep ever again?"

"Nope," I whispered, shaking my head. "You'd have to watch everyone else sleep for the rest of your life."

"That sounds like a shit deal," Fred said, his voice also still a whisper.

"Mm," I agreed vaguely, already feeling myself starting to fall asleep and not even fully processing what he'd said.

"Come on," Fred said, pushing himself off the bed and then grabbing my hands to tug me to my feet. "Take your coat and shoes off and get ready for bed. I'll even let you use the bathroom first."

"Thanks, you're the best," I yawned, grabbing my pajamas and heading past him into the bathroom.

"I know," Fred said, lightly smacking me with a pillow as he began to turn down the bed.

I swatted him away and he said something about payback for throwing the pillow at him that morning, but I drowned him out by firmly shutting the bathroom door.

I got ready for bed and yawned again before opening the bathroom door and heading out into the room. "Fred, you can use the-" I stopped short and smiled softly as I saw that Fred was lying on the bed, in his pajamas, but on top of the bedsheets, and already fast asleep.

I tiptoed closer to him and used my wand to lift his legs without jostling him to much so that I could pull the sheets and blankets over him. I leaned down and kissed his forehead before going around to the other side of the bed and crawling in beside him. I leaned up to turn off the light and snuggled down under the covers, where I fell asleep in under a minute.

Moonlight shone through the trees, providing just enough light in the darkness for me to only see a few feet in front of me. I ran barefoot along the ground, twigs snapping beneath me and scraping at my feet and ankles. Surely they'd be bloody when I looked at them later. But I was already bloody enough, so what was a little more.

I was wearing a sleeveless, knee length, white dress made of light, chiffon material. It almost seemed to glow in the moonlight. And patches of it were covered in blood. Mostly the back, where the two lines carved on my skin burned and stung with pain while blood soaked my skin and my white dress with color.

My heart pounded in my chest and I could hear blood rushing in my ears, mixed with the sounds of my own heavy breathing that was coming out in high pitched gasps as I pushed myself to run as fast as I could.

More twigs and branches snapped around me and wind rushed through the leaves, but I kept running. I heard a noise from behind me and I turned to look over my shoulder. And in that split second, I tripped, falling hard to the ground on my stomach. Pain shot through my stomach, my ribs and everywhere else along the front of my body. The breath was knocked out of me with a quiet oof.

I turned to see what I had tripped over. Noah. Bleeding, bruised, pale, and dead, his wide eyes staring at me through the dirt and blood that was smudged on his face. I screamed and pushed myself to my feet, ready to run again, but when I turned, I stumbled to a stop, my scream caught in my throat as I stood there panting.

Eric was standing in front of me, roughly holding Fred to him and pinning a knife to his throat.

"Come back to Salem with me or he dies," Eric said menacingly.

"No," I whispered tearfully, shaking my head as the tears spilled from my eyes. "Please."

"You really want his blood on your hands?" Eric asked. "That's already where Noah's blood is." He gestured with his chin to my hands. I looked down at them as I lifted them from my sides, holding my fingers spread apart and turning my hands back and forth as my eyes went wide. They were covered in blood. I let out a strangled cry and tried to wipe them clean, but nothing worked.

"Come back to Salem, Sophie," Eric said. "Come home."

"It's not my home!" I screamed. "Let Fred go! Or I'll--"

"You'll what?" Eric asked, mock sympathetically. "It doesn't matter much what you'll do. You can't escape very fast on foot, can you?" He sneered as he looked me up and down. "You have no wand and thanks to me, you lost your wings, too." He laughed almost manically. "Thanks to me, your pretty little back is permanently damaged. Thanks to me, you've lost your mother, you've lost Noah, and you're about to lose Fred. His family will blame you. They'll never speak to you again. So you have nothing left. Why not come back to Salem with me?"

"No!" I cried. "I can't go back. I won't!"

"Sophie,"Fred panted, struggling slightly against Eric. "Do what he tells you."

"What? No!" I insisted.

"He'll kill me if you don't," Fred went on. "Is that what you want? Eric's right. It'll be my blood on your hands just like Noah's."

"It wasn't my fault," I groaned. "Please, Fred..." I reached out to touch him, but Eric pulled him away and dug the knife harder into Fred's neck. Fred winced and I recoiled.

"Go back to Salem," Fred said again.

"Go back to Salem." Footsteps had appeared to my right and George emerged from the trees, staring at me stonily as he crossed his arms over his chest and went to stand by Fred. "Fred wouldn't be in this position if it wasn't for you. He wouldn't have a knife currently held to his neck. You put him in danger by coming to London. You put us all in danger. My sister was attacked because of you."

"Go back to Salem." I turned to the left and saw Angelina this time. She went to stand on Fred's other side and turned to stare at me. "If Fred had never met you, he'd have married me. He loved me. He was going to propose one day."

I shook my head frantically as I sniffled. "That's not true. By the time I met him, your relationship was over. You were with Oliver."

"I could've changed my mind again," Angelina said. "Fred could've changed it. He's very convincing." She slipped her hand into his and my eyes flicked downwards as I stared at their now intertwined fingers.

"He loves me," I whispered.

"Not like he loved me," Angelina said. "You will never have what we had. He will never love you like he loved me. You're a damn mess, Sophie."

"No!" I cried, closing my eyes and clapping my hands over my ears. "That's not true! Fred, tell her it isn't true!"

"Of course it's true," Fred scoffed. "It's always been true."

"See?" Eric sneered. "I was right all along. No one will ever love you."

And then he slit Fred's throat.

My legs gave out from beneath me and I screamed.

I flew up in bed to a sitting position and turned on the light. My scream died in my throat and was instead replaced with a loud gasp and a hoarse whimper. I was trembling worse than ever and gasping for breath. The hair at the nape of my neck was sticking to my skin with sweat. Still gasping, I turned to the side and noticed the empty spot in the bed next to me.

"Fred," I gasped, my hands going to the empty spot on the mattress and feeling around frantically. I didn't know what I was looking for. Fred clearly wasn't there. "Fred," I gasped again, looking frantically around the room for him to no avail. "Fred!"

Hurriedly, I kicked off the sheets, letting out a cry of frustration when my legs tangled in them. I wrenched them off with my hand and stood up, rushing for the bathroom. I couldn't breathe, couldn't get air into my lungs.

"Sophie!" The door to the bathroom opened and Fred raced out in front of me. We almost collided and he grabbed my upper arms as he stared at me in terror. "What happened? What's going on?"

"Nightmare--I woke up--you were gone," I panted, looking at him with wide, terrified eyes.

"I had to use the bathroom," Fred said, a note of panic in his voice as he stared at me in horror. He tried to pull me to him, no doubt to try and comfort me, but I pulled away from him with another gasp and stumbled back with the momentum.

"Don't," I gasped, bending over to out my hands on my knees. I felt so unsteady that I wouldn't have been surprised if my legs collapsed under me right then and there. I had seen that Fred was okay with my own eyes, but I still couldn't calm down. "I...can't--can't breathe."

"Sophie, listen," Fred said urgently. I could tell from his tone that he was fighting to stay calm, but he was borderline panicking himself. "Listen to me. Breathe. In through your nose, out through your mouth. Do it, Sophie, breathe!"

I was crouched to the ground at this point, gasping for air in huge gulps. But I did as Fred said and managed to pull air in through my nose as much and as slowly as I could. I held it, then released it. Over and over until I could stand up. I was still shaking and panting slightly, and I also felt a little lightheaded, but I kept trying to breathe as Fred said. I wrapped my arms around myself and fought back a shiver.

Fred swallowed and slowly took a step towards me, reaching out with both hands--hands that I noticed were trembling--and gently took my face between his palms.

"Breathe," he whispered, meeting my eyes. "You're okay."

I reached up and closed my fingers around his wrists as I shut my eyes and kept breathing. Slowly. In and out. After a moment I opened my eyes again and stared into Fred's face. I moved my hands from his wrists to his chest, searching to feel his heartbeat against my skin. I found it rather quickly--his heart was racing. My fault. I stared aimlessly at my splayed fingers as my breaths continued to come out shaky and ragged.

Once he was sure I'd started to calm down, Fred pulled me into his chest. "Come here," he whispered, sliding one arm around my shoulder blades and placing his other hand at the back of my head. He held me close as I buried my face into his chest and started to cry, clutching his shirt in my fists as I did so.

"It's okay," Fred murmured, his head bent over mine. He pressed a long kiss to the crown of my head. "You're safe. You're okay."

Little did he know, it hadn't been me I'd been fearful for.

After another few moments where all was silent except for a few sniffles, I pulled back just slightly. Fred's head was still angled down towards me and I felt his lips on my forehead a moment later as I stared at the fresh tear stains on his shirt. I swallowed and sniffled again before carefully slipping out of his arms and turning for the bathroom.

"Soph," Fred whispered, keeping his fingers threaded through mine, his arm extending with me as I pulled away, as if he were afraid to let me go.

"Just--I just need a minute," I said, squeezing his hand reassuringly. "I'll be okay." And then I dropped his hand completely and locked myself in the bathroom.

"Sophie," Fred called. I could hear him standing right outside the bathroom now and I heard a quiet thud as he placed his hands on the door.

I rested my hands on the vanity and lowered my head, turning it just slightly to look at the door. "Fred, I promise you, I'm okay. I just need a--"

I was cut off by the sound of a knock at the main door to the room. My breathing stilled and so did the rest of my body. It sounded as if Fred had done the same until I heard him move away from the bathroom door and open the door to the room. I held my breath as I tried to listen to the quiet conversation happening beyond the bathroom wall.

I picked up the words noise complaint, screaming, and just checking in, and I immediately turned my head away from looking at the door, keeping it lowered as I squeezed my eyes shut. This was mortifying. Between the argument last night and my shrieking just now from the nightmare, other guests probably thought we were insane. They'd reported it to the hotel. My eyes suddenly flew open as I realized something. What if they thought Fred was hurting me?

I turned towards the door to go out and tell the person from the hotel that everything was okay. My hand was on the doorknob when I heard the voice of the man from the hotel. "...come in and have a look around? Talk with you both? Procedure--you understand, I'm sure..."

I quickly gripped the doorknob and turned it, ready to fling the door open, but then I heard a stretch of silence from outside and then the man from the hotel spoke again: "Have a good night, sorry to bother you."

I leaned my head against the door. Fred had done something. Probably Confunded the poor man. And for my sake, too. So I wouldn't have to go out and talk to anyone. I wasn't up to it, and I was now embarrassed on top of it that other people in the hotel had heard my screams. I found myself feeling grateful for what Fred had done.

I heard the door shut and I waited another minute before slowly opening the bathroom door and walking out into the room. Fred was sitting on the bottom edge of the bed, his elbows on his knees and the tips of his fingers pressed together and resting against his mouth. He was staring intently at the dresser across from him, but he didn't look like he was actually seeing it.

I quietly walked over and slowly lowered myself to the bed beside him. I sat there with my hands in my lap, staring down at them and not saying a word. Until: "Thanks. For getting rid of that guy. I would have talked to him--to defend you. Us. But I'm glad I didn't have to face him. I'm mortified enough as it is."

Fred didn't move and he didn't reply. Another ten seconds went by before he did speak, and he did so without looking at me. "What was it this time?" He asked. "Eric chasing you? Catching up to you with the knife?"

"Not exactly," I said, continuing to stare down at my hands. "It was Eric, but he wasn't using the knife on me this time."

"Noah?" Fred asked

I shook my head. "He was there, too. But already dead. This time, Eric killed--he killed you. I watched him this time, unlike the nightmare from Christmas Eve. In that one, you were already dead."

Fred swallowed thickly as his face paled. "Soph..." He closed his eyes and sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "You promised we'd talk about that nightmare," he finally said, his voice slightly accusatory. "The one from Christmas Eve. We never did."

"You think it's something I look forward to?" I asked. "Or something I even want to do? Talk about these nightmares instead of trying to forget them?"

"I didn't say that," Fred said. "I just--if you're having nightmares about me being slaughtered--"

"Fred, really?" I asked in disgust, finally glancing over at him just to wrinkle my nose. "Slaughtered?"

"Well, I'm just saying," Fred said, finally sitting up straight and looking at me. "I'd just like for you to tell me. We've talked about this before. About being open with each other. And weren't you the one saying just last night that the price you pay when you love someone is that you end up sharing their burden? If you're going to share mine, let me share yours." He paused. "What else happened in the nightmare from tonight? Anything?"

I paused. "I..." I looked back down at my hands and fiddled with them anxiously. "I don't--I, um--" I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes. My hands were starting to shake slightly again and I squeezed them into fists.

"Sophie," Fred said, his voice firm and holding a hint of a warning note. When I looked up at him, he was staring at me firmly, silently demanding that I tell him.

"Fred, please don't make me do this," I finally whispered, tears welling up in my eyes. "It was bad enough going through it once..."

Fred shook his head. "I can't let this go on any longer. You didn't see the look on your face--the look of pure terror. I'm trying to help you, Soph."

I swallowed and nodded. I knew he was trying to help me. I knew he was trying, in the best way he could, to relieve me of some of the heaviness I always felt after a nightmare. And I knew he wouldn't back down this time until I started talking. "You want me to tell you the whole nightmare or just the--?"

"All of it, Sophie."

I stared down at my hands again. They were trembling even harder and I squeezed them together again to try to get them to stop. A second later, Fred's hand appeared in my line of vision and worked its way in between my palms, gripping my left hand with his right.

"Please..." he whispered. "Talk to me."

I swallowed and glanced up at him and then back down again. And then I told him everything. From the beginning. Me running through the woods, same as always. But this time wearing the white dress and being covered in blood. The conversation between me and Eric. Fred telling me to go back to Salem. And then George appearing and telling me the same. When I got to the part about Angelina, I faltered.

"What happened next?" Fred asked. His voice still held the note of firmness, but he spoke quieter this time, in almost a whisper.

"Then...Angelina showed up."

Fred scoffed and looked away. "Her again," he muttered. "Honestly, it's like I'm spending the weekend with her and not you."

I looked at him in annoyance. "I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that."

"Sorry," Fred sighed, shooting an apologetic glance my way as his demeanor softened again. "Go on."

"Angelina told me to go back to Salem, too," I whispered. "She said that if I hadn't shown ip in London, you would've gone back to her. You would have convinced her to leave Oliver and that nothing you and I had would ever be like what you had with her. You would never love me like you loved her."

Fred had let go of my hand and was back to leaning forward on his knees and staring at the dresser. "That's ridiculous, Sophie. Ridiculous and completely untrue."

"I know it is. But I can't control my dreams, Fred."

"Isn't this what we just talked about last night? Comparing ourselves to Angelina? I thought you'd understood--"

"I do!" I exclaimed. "I know. I get it. Look, Fred, what happened between us last night was big for me. It may not feel that way for you, but I felt like I overcame a hurdle. I moved past one more thing standing in the way of me letting go of the past as much as possible. This morning, I felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I silenced my fears and silenced Eric's voice that was living in my mind during the day, but I can't control what happens when I'm asleep. A lot has happened in the last few days alone and I guess I have to finish processing that subconsciously. My dreams are just that-a subconscious manifestation of things my mind is processing or still afraid of. Just because I dreamed all that of Angelina doesn't mean I believe it while I'm awake. Hell, I didn't even fully believe it in the dream."

"Yeah, but you still dreamt it," Fred said.

"Tell me, Fred, do you consciously get to decide what you dream about?" I snapped.

Fred didn't answer right away. "No," he finally muttered. "I didn't after Percy died. And Merlin knows I had some unsettling dreams back in October that involved you staying in Salem. You leaving me like Angelina did because you'd found someone else who wasn't messed up." He swallowed and turned to me. "Sorry," he said. "I just-I want to leave my past behind as much as you do. I don't want our relationship to be all about Angelina."

"Neither do I," I snorted. "Believe me."

"Like I said, she's not still thinking of me. That's a given."

"You mean to say that she and Oliver aren't jealous of our relationship?" I giggled, getting Fred to laugh as well and nudge my leg with his.

"Most of all," Fred went on, "I want you to be happy. I don't like seeing you like this. It's-it's terrifying." He let out a short laugh and ran a hand through his hair. "My heart was pounding so hard."

"Your heart?" I asked with a laugh. "What about mine? I thought my lungs were going to shrivel up."

Fred sighed as his smile faded and he put a hand over mine. "Forgive me?" He asked.

"For what?" I asked in surprise.

"For acting like you have some sort of say in what you dream about," Fred said. He shook his head. "And focusing on Angelina. I accused you of focusing on her again as if you had a choice. And when in reality, I was the one who still got upset over it. I went back to being the nuttier who can't keep it together even hearing her name."

"It was more than just that," I sighed. "I get it, Fred. You're trying to move on. You're trying to have a relationship with me, entirely separate from your past relationship. And I did keep comparing, because like I told you last night--I felt jealous of every chance the two of you did manage to get that were normal and without baggage. And for that, I'm sorry. But I can't control my dreams."

"I know," Fred whispered. "Also, I had no reason being so upset about Angelina being in your dream. Her role in that nightmare was far from the worst."

I snorted. "Yeah, I had to watch you be, what was the word you used? Slaughtered?"

Fred groaned. "Sorry, that was a terrible choice of word."

"I'd say so." It was quiet between us for a moment. "It scared me," I finally whispered. "Seeing you like that in the nightmare."

Fred looked over at me, studying the side of my face as I looked down at the floor. "I can imagine," he finally answered. "And I meant what I said earlier--the look on your face..." He swallowed. "You looked frightened. Really, truly frightened. And that scared me. I love you, Soph. And hearing you scream the way you did, and then seeing you running at me with that look on your face as you hyperventilated right in front of me..." He trailed off and shook his head. "So, again, forgive me for being a bit harsh earlier and for making you talk. I love you and I was scared because you were scared. You were scared and I'm once again powerless against what's scaring you."

I looked over at him again, giving him a soft smile as I suddenly leaned in to gently kiss him, placing my hand on his cheek as I did so. I pulled away slightly and rubbed my thumb along his cheek before lightly kissing him again. "I know. You were trying to help me in the only way you could think of. It's just that reliving the dreams by talking about them is so unbelievable difficult. But after the fact...I do feel a little better."

Fred shot me a tiny smile as he leaned in for another quick kiss.

I pulled away from him completely and flopped backwards onto the bed, resting a hand on my stomach and the other behind my head as I stared at Fred's back. He put a hand on my knee and rubbed his thumb back and forth over it as he stared at the ground, looking lost in thought.

"What are you still thinking about?" I asked. "The wheels in your head are turning. I can see them. You're about to start smoking at the ears."

"There has to be a way to get the nightmares to stop," he muttered. "There has to be."

"Well, let me know if you find it," I snorted.

"There's a sleeping drought," Fred muttered, lying back on the bed beside me as we both stared up at the ceiling. "But--"

"Fleur mentioned that," I said. "I told her I was unsure about taking some sort of potion every night and there was no way to predict when my nightmares would happen, so I couldn't plan for it."

"There are some potions that some people can get too dependent on because they work so well and they take it more and more--more than even once a day, because they think they need it that often."

"You think that'll happen if I took a sleeping drought?"

Fred shrugged. "Not exactly. You'd only take it to sleep, which would mostly be at night. I don't expect you'd suddenly be desperate to sleep during the day. I was talking more about pain reliever related potions. But a sleeping drought can be pretty strong. Even a drop knocks you right out for a while. And if there was ever a case where you'd have to wake up in the middle of the night in a hurry-an emergency-it would be hard to do so. You'd pretty much be dead to the world for the night. Longer if you accidentally took too much."

"What kind of middle of the night emergency are you planning for?" I asked, raising an eyebrow and turning my head to look at him. "All of the immediate danger we were facing is gone."

"Yeah, but what about other common emergencies?" Fred asked. "A fire, a regular break in? If something happened with Tom and Martha's health and you had to contact St. Mungo's..."

"Okay, Mr. Doom and Gloom, I get it," I muttered, turning to look back at the ceiling.

"All I'm saying is, it might not be the best," Fred said. He pushed himself up on his elbows and scooted back so he was fully on the bed, propped up by the headboard. He curled one arm behind his head and rested the other on his stomach as he continued to frown at the ceiling. "There has to be something else."

I let out a breath of laughter and pushed myself up next to him, stretching out alongside him and turning my body into his. My head found its way into the crook of his neck and my hand went to his chest as his own arm moved down from behind his head and came to rest on my lower back.

"You don't have to find an answer now," I said. "It can wait. We've got time, like you always say."

"You typically go to sleep once a day, don't you? Once every day, you're potentially subjected to nightmares like what you just had. I'm not sure we do have time."

"Well, I also hang around you, so maybe not sleeping won't be any issue after all. The personification of the city that never sleeps." I sighed dramatically and placed my hand on my own chest. "The brightest light in my world. My skyscraper. My--"

"Shut up." Fred let out a snort of laughter and lightly pinched my side. I let out a squeal and swatted his hand before resting my own hand back on his chest.

"You're still thinking too hard," I whispered a moment later as I lightly traced my finger in random patterns across Fred's shirt. "I can practically feel your brain overheating now."

Fred turned his head and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "Sorry," he murmured.

"No, you're not," I replied, stifling a yawn.

Fred didn't answer, but he began gently brushing his fingers back and forth across my lower back. The soft touch of his fingertips and the slow repetition of the movement was enough to lull me back to sleep.