As Natural As Breathing

It's a strange thing how everything can seem so normal as if nothing ever happened after coming back from something so life-changing. It shouldn't feel ordinary or mundane. Everything should feel different and out of place, but to Hope, it was as though nothing had changed.

It was unsettling.

As if everything that had happened had been a dream and not reality.

With a sigh, Hope settled onto the cushy carpet in front of the fireplace of Albus' office. She'd been staying near heat sources the past few days, and despite her lips and complexion turning to their rightful hue, she still felt a sort of chill inside that would take more time to completely thaw away. 

Newt and Albus sat on the floor as well, and between them lay a large platter of breakfast items. Fried eggs and toast and beans with bacon and potatoes, as well as hearty bowls of porridge that tasted amazing after Hope's hiatus from eating solid foods. 

It had been so terrible keeping the potion down her appetite had been ruined for a while after. Now that she had her strength back and realized just how hungry she was, she didn't hesitate to eat bite after scalding bite.

"So, Klaus wants to moonstone?" Newt asked, frowning.

She and Albus informed him of their conversation moments after he'd fallen asleep.

Hope nodded, swallowing a bite of toast. "It's all about breaking the curse- to become a hybrid. There's a ritual he has to do to complete the process." She cringed, recalling the story as she sipped her creamy coffee.

"What kind of ritual?" Newt asked, cutting into an egg.

Chewing her lower lip, she glanced at them. They returned her gaze curiously but didn't push.

"Remember when I said I know he's done things I don't always agree with?" 

They nodded grimly, stealing a glance at each other.

Taking another sip of coffee courage, she sighed softly. "Well, to break the curse, he had to use the Moonstone in a ritual that required three sacrifices. A werewolf, a vampire, and the Doppelganger. The Moonstone is known among some vampires and werewolves as a way to break the curse of The Sun and The Moon…"

Albus nodded. "It's in the History of Magic books here. About the Aztec Shaman…"

"Ah," Hope smiled, holding up a finger, "but that history is false because that's what my dad wanted people to think. Or I guess wants. Hard to think about being in a different time," she paused and shook her head, "either way, the whole story of it deriving from Aztec lore is fake. My dad wants that stone so badly to break the curse that he set out that story so everyone would be searching for it. If someone else were to find it, he'd find them and…" she paused, glancing at Newt, "well, he'd redecorate their walls to get it."

Newt swallowed his juice harshly.

"But the thing is, the balance of nature wouldn't allow it. I think I told you before, but after my dad broke the curse with the sacrifices, it turned out that he could break the curse. Still, to make an army of Hybrids like he wanted, he needed the blood of the Doppelganger, which he…"

"...already killed," Albus finished, brows raised.

Newt frowned. "So Sylvia wanted The Moonstone to give to Klaus?"

Biting her lip, Hope nodded. "I can only assume he found his way to her. Used her skills to get closer to The Moonstone, which just makes me wonder if my dad thinks you have the stone." 

"I don't," Albus confirmed with a shake.

"Don't worry," Hope smiled, "I know where the stone is, and it isn't at Hogwarts."

They chuckled but didn't press. Some timeline secrets were better left unanswered.

Sighing, she shook her head. "Sometimes I feel like a horrible person, you know? I know it's a terrible thing what my dad did. He killed them for his own gain, but if he hadn't, I wouldn't have been born." She shrugged. "And then-" Hope stopped short as she felt sudden heat behind her eyes. She took a long drink of coffee to ebb the sensation away.

Newt frowned with furrowed brows. "You can tell us, you know." He whispered in a tender voice.

Meeting his eyes, she forced a small smile and nodded. "It's just hard," she swallowed, glancing down at her half-empty mug, "in my time he's dead and long gone, but here…here he's alive," she shook her head, "he's alive here, and if I threw all caution to the wind and didn't regard the rules of messing with time I'd be able to see him again, but even if I did I know he wouldn't be the same person he was when he left me." Hope blinked away the beading moisture in her eyes. "That's hard, ya know? Being so close, but knowing the man he is this time isn't the man I'd want to call a father."

They sat in silence for a long moment. It was a comforting silence, almost as if letting her mourn for the father she missed. Even for just a second in time.

She continued when they didn't speak.

"And then I keep thinking what might be happening in the time I left. Are Rebekah, Freya, and Kol looking for me? Do they think I've gone into hiding or died?" She shook her head. "It's conflicting because I want to be here. I want to be," she looked at them each in turn, "here with you. Because I love you both, and I've never felt this way before, but at the same time, it kills me not knowing what they might be facing right now. If…if they're in mourning for me. But is it wrong to not want to go back?" She frowned. "Is it a betrayal to say I want to stay when my family has vowed always and forever?"

The silence that followed felt more like being swallowed by snow. It was deafening, and Hope, for once, wished someone would say something. Anything.

"Hope," Albus was the first to break the silence, "I don't think it's wrong for you to choose what you want from life. If this is where you want to be, that's your choice. If you decide to return, provided you ever have the chance to… our love for you extends further than keeping you to ourselves." His voice ended in a soft murmur, barely heard above the fire. "I've loved and lost, but if I've learned anything in my years, the ones you love the most are those you would do anything for. Even let your own heart break so that theirs can heal."

She took a soft, shaky breath and gazed into his blue eyes. Eyes that held so much truth and conviction brought a new wave of emotion through her. Newt's matched the same sincerity, and she couldn't help but smile.

"I do love them, and I always will, but, and this might sound terrible, but I think I can live without them. I could still be happy here while they're not with me," she closed her eyes to force back the emotion, "I don't think I could find happiness where I can't find you."

Newt pressed a soft kiss to her palm, and she couldn't help but smile softly, the shimmer of his eyes caressing her soul.

"Hope, this might sound absolutely dreadful to say," Newt murmured, "but I understand your fear. Feeling ashamed for being happy for something. I feel the same about you because if you hadn't been sent from your time to hear, despite all the grief it's given you…you wouldn't be here with us. We wouldn't have you, and we wouldn't have…" Newt looked over at Albus, who smiled affectionately. "We wouldn't have admitted our feelings for each other." Newt looked at Hope again, a burning passion in his eyes now. "You brought us together, Hope, and while I wish it hadn't caused you pain, I couldn't imagine feeling this way for anyone else. To feel whole the way that I do. Understood…" Newt shook his head. "I've often never been understood. It was always my creatures that I felt the most comfortable with. They were what drove me every day, and now, yes, I love them, but I've found a different kind of love I've never experienced before." Newt swallowed hard. "I can look into your eyes, Hope. That isn't something that comes naturally to me. Yet with you…" he looked at Albus, "with you… it's as natural as breathing."

As natural as breathing, Hope smiled at the thought.

Hope leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to his smiling lips.

"Hm, I do sincerely love you, Newt Scamander." She gave a side-eye to Albus, who raised a brow with a smile. She couldn't help but grin. "Have you something to tell me?"

Albus laughed and reached forward to take her wrist and pulled her to him, holding her to his chest as he touched his nose to hers. "I'll love you both- passionately stubborn and undeniably quirky," he smirked at Newt, "till my last breath. And even after that."

Grinning, she brushed her lips against his.

"Even when we get on your nerves?"

With a chuckle, he nodded. "Especially then."

Hope smirked mischievously and sat down in his lap. "That's a relief because, guess what?"

Raising a skeptical eyebrow, Albus glanced at Newt before asking. "What?"

A flutter erupted in her belly as she picked up a strawberry from the tray and took a small bite. "I had a grand time watching your little show."

Both men paused and exchanged a glance before staring at her with raised brows.

"I couldn't exactly leave the moonlight room, and to be honest, I didn't really want to," Hope smirked, "but don't worry. You weren't the only ones to have an orgasm that night." She winked, making Newt's ears turn red.

"Is that right?" Albus asked, raising a brow and smirking at Newt, who was now completely red. Hope had a feeling it wasn't from embarrassment but rather the idea of her watching him have his ass pounded.

Nodding, she grinned. "I would love more front-row seats."

"I think we can arrange that." Albus chuckled.

"Good," Hope glanced at Newt and smirked, "and by the way, if you don't peg him first. I will."

Newt nearly spat out his tea and had to quickly wipe it off his shirt before it seeped too far while Albus burst into a fit of laughter.

"That was crass…" He chortled.

Hope shrugged and grinned as she stood to her feet. "What can I say? I'm crass with a nice ass."

"I agree." His hands took hold of her hips while his fingers dug into her flesh. He looked up at her with a flash in his blue gaze of something butterfly-inducing. "I'm not sure I'm finished with my breakfast yet."

Hope tilted her head and smirked. "Missing some protein?"

"Actually, I'm craving…peaches."

A quivering tingle suddenly soaked her.

"Peaches," Hope reiterated with a hard swallow and a growing grin, "sweet peaches?"

Albus smirked, slowly lowering her so her ass was on an empty spot of the breakfast tray, and slowly began pulling her pajama pants down, followed by her panties.

"I'm craving peaches so juicy it drips down my chin…" He murmured. Taking her knees, he pushed them apart, spreading her wide. He revealed her- pink and already dripping with need.

The moment he lowered his head was the moment Hope knew she was done for.

Her eyes rolled back as he set on devouring her like a ravenous carnivore. She squirmed her hips, sucking in sharp breaths and cursing his name before her lips were taken hostage by Newt's.

He swirled his tongue inside her mouth, stroking her jaw as Albus' fingers stroked inside of her while his mouth continued its assault on her quivering pussy.

"We've missed you," Newt murmured, stroking his thumb across her pebbled nipple.

"So I heard." Hope gasped, toes curling as she released a wave of arousal into Albus' mouth. He licked his lips, beads of herself dripping down his beard.

Just as he requested.

By late afternoon, Hope couldn't walk.

She lay on Newt's chest, part of her body pressed against Albus' side. Hope had missed this, being intimate in every way. To relax.

Though while her body was content, her mind wasn't.

"He can worm his way through Hogwarts without anyone even knowing," she murmured softly, "the candle is just the beginning."

Hope had told Newt and Albus about the candlestick and how she'd discovered it did, in fact, have an owner. Just one they couldn't see. The man in the cloak could manipulate space and time in some bizarre way that even Hogwarts, which could keep out intruders, couldn't access.

"He's everywhere all at once. Watching and waiting, but why," Hope frowned, "what does he want from me? What did I ever do to him?"

"Maybe it's something you will do," Newt murmured sleepily.

Hope lifted her head and looked down at him with wide eyes.

Frowning, he glanced at Albus, who pursed his lips but didn't meet Hope's gaze. Finally, Newt sighed. "I know it might be difficult to hear, but maybe…since he manipulates time, whatever has happened between you and him hasn't happened. Maybe…"

"Maybe I do something to deserve it." Hope swallowed hard and nodded slowly. It wasn't the worst theory; it was just one she wished wasn't true.

She didn't want to actually deserve what was happening.

"Ah fuck."