Newt was in a strangely foul mood during the days leading up to the Yule Ball. Meanwhile, you were pleased to find that Adrian was positively charming, and would take every opportunity (whether it was in front of Newt or not) to tell you how good you looked on that particular day, even if he'd said it every day before.

"Who would have guessed Adrian Knight would be so... so... charming?" Arthur sputtered after a run in with him in the hall, which had left you flushed and embarrassed.

"Certainly not me." You breathed, pressing a hand to the spot on your cheek where Adrian had kissed it.

"(Y/N), can I talk to you for a second? In private?" Newt blurted out suddenly.

Taken aback, I glanced at Leta and Arthur before replying, "Sure."

Newt's eyes scanned the surrounding corridor until they landed on a door to our right. "Here," he gestured.

"We'll see you in the Great Hall." You told Leta and Arthur, who seemed happy to oblige.

Newt opened the door for you, which revealed an unused classroom. You stepped inside, observing the surroundings before turning to look at Newt.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" You asked innocently, setting my book bag on a nearby chair.

Newt seemed uncomfortable in the way he was around people he didn't know. He swallowed nervously, scanning the room with his electric eyes and fidgeting with the hem of his hogwarts blouse.

"Newt?" You probed gently.

Newt's head snapped towards me, as if suddenly noticing I was there.

"What is it you wanted to talk about?"

Newt swallowed again. "Oh, it's nothing, really-" he sighed, ducking his head. "I-I don't like Adrian."

You blanched in surprise. Of everything you had thought might have come out of Newt's mouth, those words were not it.

"You don't like him? Why?" You wrinkled your nose.

"Because... he just..." Newt rubbed his forehead. "He's just so..."

"So what?" You raised an eyebrow, crossing your arms over your chest defensively.

"So perfect!" Newt bursted, throwing his hands in the air. "I don't like it. I don't like that- that stupid little smirk he wears, and all of his compliments-"

"Newt what are you-"

"Not to mention he's a Slytherin!" Newt cried, his hands wringing in anxiety. "He can't possibly be good for you!"

"We're more than our houses, Newt." You crossed your arms and gave him a forlorn look. "I thought you'd understand that more than anyone."

Newt sighed, running a frustrated hand through his hair. "That's- that's not the point!"

"Then what is the point? Because all this looks like to me is you being jealous!" You retorted.

Newt's face flushed red. "I'm not jealous. I just-"

"-Don't want him going to the Ball with me?" You finished his sentence. "And who would you rather see me go with? No one?"

Newt sighed. "No," he grumbled.

"Then really, Newt, what's the point of this? I like Adrian. Why should it matter to you?"

He was silent. Your anger grew. You were finally moving away from all of the soulmate rumors concerning Newt and you, and here was Newt, trying to start them back up again after he'd denounced them time and time again.

"Why does it matter?" You asked again, my tone becoming increasingly angrier.

You were met with more silence.

You huffed and grabbed your bag. "I'm going," You grumbled, making your way towards the exit. Before you could reach it, though, Newt grabbed your arm and pulled you to his chest, crashing his lips onto yours.

You gasped into the kiss, stumbling away in shock. Newt looked up at you imploringly, his eyes blazing with concealed desire. Your eyes flickered to his lips, an invitation to a feeling you'd been denying yourself since your first year at Hogwarts.

You rushed to him, grabbing the collar of his robes and pulling him to you again. His lips moved against yours with a surprising ferocity, his hands cradling your head. He pushed you back against the desk, making you shiver in delight. You tangled your hands in his hair, running your hands over every inch of him you could reach. Your body was on fire, electrified with the feeling of Newt close to you.

But Adrian.

You pulled away with a start, stumbling against a chair. "(Y/N)?" Newt asked, reaching for you in concern.

"Y-you said you only cared about me like a friend-"

"What do you mean?" Newt furrowed his brow.

"All this time, you said you didn't care about me that way, when I-" you swallowed back the words. When I had loved you all this time.

"I lied," Newt murmured, a smile coming onto his face. "(Y/N), I care about you so, so much..."

Your heart drilled holes into your intestines with the ferocity of its beating. "I- I don't understand-"

"I don't like Adrian because he's the one taking you to the Ball, not me. He's the one who gets to kiss you on the cheek and make you all embarrassed. He's the one who gets you."

You shook your head. "Why didn't you say anything before now?"

Newt blushed. "You know me. And you seemed so adamant it was just a coincidence..."

"What's a coincidence?" You asked, feeling like you were watching everything from a cloud. You should have been happy, but all you could feel was confusion.

Newt's eyes came to rest on the scar on your forearm. A blush appeared on his cheeks as he said softly, "W-we're soulmates."

You blinked. Your head felt hazy, like it was full of bees. You felt slightly mad at Newt; if he'd bothered to confess before then that he liked you you wouldn't have said yes to Adrian. You wouldn't have started to like Adrian.

"I said yes to Adrian," You murmured. "I-I can't just abandon him... he's been so nice..."

"Does it matter?" Newt said softly, taking your hands. "(Y/N), you and I are meant to be together..."

You furrowed your brows, staring at your intertwined hands. This was what you wanted, wasn't it? What you had always wanted? "Of course it matters. Adrian's feelings matter... I can't just blow him off when I already said I would go."

A crestfallen look came over Newt's face. He dropped your hands like they were stone. "S-so you're not going to... to come with me instead of him?"

You wrapped your arms around your torso and glanced out the window. "I-I want to," You admitted. "But I can't. I promised Adrian."

"But-" he sputtered. "I mean, we're-"

"-soulmates," You finished with a sad smile, meeting his eyes again. "I'm sorry, Newt." You pressed a fleeting kiss to his cheek, your nose lingering near his for a minute before you pulled away and left the room, feeling utterly breathless.

~~~~~~

"(Y/N), you're being so unreasonable!" Leta scolded you. Although it was a sunny, beautiful day, with a breeze rustling the oak trees, all you'd been able to feel was dreadful chills. You were torn between more than Newt and Adrian: You were torn between the desire to do what you wanted at the expense of someone else or sacrifice your feelings to spare someone else pain.

You were almost sure that you would just have to deal with it and go with Adrian when Leta brought up an interesting point: "Don't you know you're hurting Newt, too?" She pointed out, settling down to rest against a tree trunk. "Either way, someone is going to be hurt. So why not just do what you want?!"

You sputtered for a moment as you sat down next to her. There was truth behind what she said. "But... what about..." Finally, you gave up with a sigh, leaning your head back against the tree. You dragged your hands down my face, feeling defeated.

"I don't know what to do! I'm just trying to be the best person I can," You mumbled, tears prickling the corner of your eyes.

Leta's demeanor changed instantly. Putting a comforting arm around your shoulders, she squeezed tightly. "Oh, I'm sorry, (Y/N)," she sighed. "You just... do what you feel is right. Besides, you still have time to make up your mind; Newt still doesn't have a date."

"But the dance is tonight," You simpered, rubbing your cheeks. "It would be even worse to ditch Adrian today,"

"Like I said, just do what feels right. Because in ten years it's not going to matter who you went to the dance with, is it?" Leta said softly.

"I guess..." You murmured.

"It'll matter if you're happy. And with Newt, I can tell that you're happy."

~~~~~~

You were dressed in striking silver that shimmered in the waning sun. Leta told you that you looked like a faerie, her eyes sparkling with delight. You had to admit, the color suited you.

You didn't have much time to take it in, though; You'd made your decision, and you had to hurry.

Bursting out of the Hufflepuff common room, you ran out of the concealed corridor into a hallway crowded with Hufflepuff students heading for the ball. Wasting no time to dwell on the fancy clothing of your classmates, you sped down the hallway towards the Great Hall (with many apologies to the poor Hufflepuffs you happened to run into). That was where he would be.

Skidding around a corner, you nearly tripped and had to steady yourself on a nearby column. You hadn't realized how nervous you were; your thumping heart wasn't just from the running, but from the choice you were about to make.

Glancing at a nearby clock, you started up again, taking a slower pace. He wouldn't mind too much if you were a few minutes late. Besides, it was still five minutes to eight and you could use the time to calm yourself down.

It seemed that by slowing down your pace, time had decided to speed up. You made it to the front of the Great Hall in record time. And, as if the universe had granted your wish, he was there.

"(Y/N)," he greeted you warmly, bending down to kiss your hand gently. "You look absolutely stunning."

You couldn't help but blush. "Adrian," You greeted back. "You look very handsome yourself."

Adrian held out his arm for me to take. "Shall we go in?"

You were about to take his arm when you looked up at the grand staircase and saw Newt striding down the stairs, robed in deep emerald that shone like a supernova. His eyes met yours and your breath hitched. You had never been more in love with him than in that moment, you decided. He was utterly captivating.

You looked at the scar just peeking out of his sleeve.

He was meant to be yours.

"Actually... I'm so, so sorry, Adrian. I really am, you have no idea. But..." You took a deep breath, squaring your shoulders. "I can't go with you tonight.

Adrian blanched, his arm dropping to his side with a dull thud against his dress robes. "What do you mean you can't go with me?" He questioned.

"There's... someone else... who I thought I could ignore. But I can't. And... I'm meant to be with him." You breathed, feeling like a weight had been lifted off your chest.

Adrian's eyes flickered darkly and darted to the lightning scar on your forearm. "Scamander." He growled. He turned to the staircase

You swallowed and nodded, feeling a seed of dread sprouting inside you. "I'm sorry," You apologized. "I never wanted to hurt you. I was just confused-"

"That absolute prick! I'll have his neck for this!" Adrian roared, barreling past you towards Newt.

"Adrian!" You shrieked, aghast. You ran after him, drawing your wand from a clasp you held that you'd placed an Undetectable Extension Charm on.

Adrian burst through the open the doors to reveal Newt and Arthur standing at the bottom of the stairs, conversing. Newt started when Adrian barreled towards him, looking very frightened and confused.

"Scamander! You lying, stinking, thieving, bastard-"

"Petrificus Totalus!" You yelled, pointing your wand and shooting the spell directly towards Adrian's back.

A look of shock came over his face just as the spell hit. With a groan, he toppled forward, stiff as a board and unable to use his arms, and fell to the bottom of the steps at Newt's feet.

Newt looked at the petrified Adrian, then gaped up at you with awe.

Your chest heaving with adrenaline, you stuffed your wand back into your clutch and marched towards Newt, stepping over Adrian's fallen body. By now, there was a crowd of people watching (including a few teachers) but nobody seemed to want to interfere.

"Newt Scamander!" You said, your voice booming. You must have looked like a sight in all your anger, because Newt looked more terrified than he was when Adrian charged towards him to hear his name spoken from your lips.

"(Y/N), what's going on?"

You came to rest at the bottom of the steps. Still taking large lungfuls of air and feeling liberated, like you'd finally found the happiness you deserved, you grabbed Newt's and pulled him into a hug.

"I don't like him," you stated. "Not the way I like you. You're meant for me. I know it." You pulled back with a smile, looking into Newt's surprised but sparkling green eyes.

"(Y/N)-"

Pulling him towards you, you crashed your lips onto his. He made a noise of surprise, pulling away. His cheeks turned bright red, his eyes darting to the crowd. You followed his gaze, an equally strong blush on your face.

The crowd of students started cheering.

"Finally!" Molly yelled in your ear, tackling you with a hug. You laughed, fending her off.

"I hate to admit it, Molly, but you were right! It was just a matter of time." You smiled at Newt, who grinned sheepishly back.

He brought his hands to your jaw, pulling you in for another kiss. Wrapping your arms around his neck, you nestled into his chest, feeling completely whole for the first time in your life.

~~~

ok so if there's any mistakes it's because I originally wrote this for Harry in the golden trio era last year and never ended up doing anything. I just edited it and plugged in newts name so if y'all see Hermione pop up... that's why

We're stuck in Breckenridge rn. It's not fun. I just want to go home and sleep on my own bed

hope y'all are having a good holiday. love y'all!

-Elise