The one thing I could get away with that included magic was my tent. On the outside, it looked like a small one-person tent that no one would blink an eye at. With a quick charm, no Muggle would want to enter a bit like the spells cast on Hogwarts.

"Fucking hell," a voice said interrupting my thoughts as I looked at the photo album I'd put together of Thomas-J and the Shelby's. The page I was currently on had a picture of Tommy next to a picture of Thomas-J and I'd been staring at them both wondering if we'd ever get to be our little family. "You gotta love magic, ain't ya."

It was no surprise to me that Alfie was slightly in awe of the magic of the tent. It was an upgrade from the one Papa, Hermione and Ron used when they were on the hunt for Horcruxes.

This one had been dad's - one of his great ideas to bring the family together, and he'd roped most of the aunts and uncles into it too. It had an open living area with kitchen and dining space and at the back was a master bedroom and four other double rooms. There were also three bathrooms and an area which held brooms and games. It was a bit much and I was still pondering why they even wanted me to take the tent in the first place.

Did they have a feeling I was going to get trapped in the past? Were they trying to bring me back? Did I even want to go back?

My God, I felt like one of those bloody Marie-Sue's or whatever she was called. Margret? Mary?

"What are you doing here?" I asked, no malice to my voice. I was generally surprised that he was here. He didn't seem like the sort of man to turn up in my tent in the middle of the night.

"Though I'd come 'ave a word."

Oh, great. He was probably here to break the news that I was going to be arrested for assaulting a doctor.

"Do I have to leave?" I asked, setting the album down on the coffee table. Alfie gave me a funny look as he strutted over to me and dropped down in dad's armchair.

"What you gotta leave for?" He seemed surprised. Wasn't I getting sent back to London and arrested for assaulting a man? "No."

"Did I say that out loud?" I said, biting my bottom lip as he gave a small laugh. "Merlin's Beard! Alfie, you know how to laugh."

"Err, listen here, love, we kinda got off on the wrong foot, aye?"

"By the wrong foot do you mean when you tortured Newt?"

Yeah, mate, I haven't forgotten about that.

"Now, look here, that was all a misunderstanding, right?"

"How was that a misunderstanding? He was tied to a fucking chair and had clearly been beaten," I snapped, rising from my chair and looking down at him.

To my annoyance, Alfie leaned back in his chair, arms resting over the chair arms and shoulders spread wide. His legs were spread wide, knees expanded as he made himself look large in the chair. It was an intimidation method and I could already tell that he hadn't even known he'd done it.

"Yeah well, you see, love, it was all a plan." He raised his hand to stop me from talking and I did like a little follower - is this what it felt like to be under Voldemort's thumb? Huh, I guess I shouldn't say that considering the bad history with the family. "One of our men he went and told the fucking Germans our plan, yeah, but we didn't know which fucker it was. See, your boy, Newton, yeah he had this idea of luring it out of them by pretending he had some very important information he discovered from the Germans."

I was almost distracted by the way he drew out his words. Instead of hearing Newton, it sounded more like Neeewtoon - if that made sense? His voice was gruffly and kind of a mumble at the same time. And he could talk for Britain.

"Why didn't Newt tell me?" I asked, dropping back into my chair and excepting the cup of tea that floated into my hands. Alfie took the teacup floating by him and sipped on the sugared tea. I hadn't ever expected him to be one to drink tea but each to their own I guess.

"Cause he got fucking beaten didn't he," Alfie grumbled, shaking his head as if he couldn't believe me. "Fucking fool managed to capture our traitor and then not barely a minute later you show up and take things the wrong way."

"Well I'm sorry, Captain Alfie, I was worried about my friend who had been missing for weeks. What was he even doing with you in the first place?"

"Well, I know him don't I." I stared at him blankly wondering what sort of world I'd gotten myself trapped in. How long did I have to put up with men that sort of love themselves but sort of deserved respect at the same time? "Our mams knew each other, didn't they. The best of friends."

Now I felt like he was being a smug prick.

"I guess it was your mother who was the witch then?"

"Aye, and she passed it onto my sister. Guess the magic didn't like me, take after me dad." He shrugged as if he didn't care and I could tell that he wasn't lying. Alfie didn't seem like the sort to be bothered about having magic or not. He seemed like a rather successful man without it.

"I also take after my dad," I told him, changing the style and colour of my hair, enjoying the way his eyes widened and his brows rose up. "Metamorphmagus' are kind of rare but I got the gene from my dad who got it from his mother."

"And your Veela side? That from your mother?"

"Yes, her mother's French and quarter Veela. There's not much of it in me, only really works on young lads at the peak of their teen years."

"And Ollie," Alfie said, running his hand over his forming beard. "He was smitten with you, he was."

"I'm flattered, but I've already got myself a man," I said, nodding down to the photo album between us where the photo of Tommy was on display.

Alfie leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees as he reached out and pulled the album closer. He took in Tommy's face, his eyes carefully roaming him as if he was trying to take in every detail. I was almost sure he could read Tommy's whole life story from the look he was giving the photo.

"This must be young Thomas-J." How did he know about him? "Newt spoke about him when I first got here. Told me not to mention anything that might upset you."

"My sister died giving birth to him," I said, flipping the album close to the front to show him a picture of me and Merry a couple of days before the birth. "I promised I'd raise him as my son. I feel guilty but I know it's the right thing. How could I ever abandon a sweet baby like him?"

"You know, I underestimated you," Alfie said, flicking through the album until he stopped on a more recent photo, his eyes resting on the picture of me holding Thomas-J above my head, pressing a kiss to his nose. It was the same photo I had in my locket. "I thought you were like all the other magic folk, all about blood purity and staying out of the Muggle world, but I see you here, saving our men and risking your life for a Muggle and I know you ain't like them."

"That's not a bad thing, Alfie, to be nothing like them," I said, giving a small shrug. It was different in the future. No one was as obsessed with pureblood as they were in this era. The only Malfoy's left was Draco, Scorpius, Rose and their children and they were no longer pure-bloods due to Aunt Hermione's blood. "There are more important things in the world than pure blood."

"Like fucking surviving this war."

July 12 1918

Tommy,

I'm sorry for not writing to you in the last couple of months. I'm sure it's been annoying reading letters from Ada instead of me.

I've been busy at the hospital and have even been helping Phineas out with something for the last couple of weeks.

Polly's even taken to keeping your letters from me so I won't become 'distracted'. Her words, not mine. I'm not sure what it is I'll be distracted from.

I've missed you.

I want this war to end now so I can hold you in my arms.

Thomas-J wants you, he calls out for you all the time asking where his da is. Are you ready for that sort of commitment, Tommy? Even if we don't work out, that little boy thinks you're his father and I don't want him to be hurt because you don't or won't be in his life.

He hasn't met you yet but he already loves you.

Oh, I meant to start this letter by saying it's been exactly two years since I sent you that first letter. Can you believe how fast it's gone?

I hope you're safe.

Sending you my love,

Always and forever,

Romy xx

About five days later, Alfie and his men were sent back out to the battlefield.

Part of me felt helpless as I watched him leave, but with a promise from him that he'd write - something I wasn't expecting - he left, leading his men hopefully through the last months of this war.

Newt had begun to help around in the medic tents, having been here for over two months, he'd picked up a few things with the help of Carol. It was kind of nice for him to be able to interact with the soldiers. In some sense, he was also a soldier and he knew what it was like to experience the battlefield, even if he was out there hunting dementors.

Three weeks after Alfie left things were going slow.

We were getting soldiers in and out but most of them were minor injuries, as hard as it was to believe, and they were discharged out of the medical tent within a couple of days, or even hours.

I was making my shift when two men came in carrying a man on a stretcher.

"Got a wound to the head, where do you want him?"

I waved to one of the spare beds, annoyed at the lack of worry that seemed to phase them. I understood that they saw thousands of men injured and probably seen many of them die on their way to us, but this was someone's son, father, or brother. They could show a little compassion.

I approached them, grabbing a few things on the way that I would need to help assist the soldier. It felt weird not being able to get my hands on antiseptic wipes or simply being able to heal them with magic.

"Is there anything else you can tell me?" I asked, rolling my eyes as they both left without another word. "Fucking fantastic." Huffing to myself, I wheeled a cart closer, setting my equipment on it before turning to look at my patient.

As cliche as it seemed, my heart skipped a beat as my eyes rested on the man in front of me.

"Don't be dead," I begged, resting my fingers on his neck, sighing in relief when I could feel his steady heartbeat under my fingers. "Thank fucking God." I grabbed some clothes and dipped it into the bowl of water I had and carefully wiped at his face. "I'm going to get you back home, John, trust me."

I couldn't believe I had stumbled across one of the Shelby boys and while I might have wanted it to be Tommy, I was kind of happy it wasn't him here in the hospital. Was it selfish that I was happy it was John and not Tommy?

I sure felt like it was selfish of me.

If there was one thing I could do for him now was convince those stuck up officers or whatever they're called to send John home. I wanted him home with his family. He deserved to be sent back home.

"I'm just saying, send him home," I said chasing after the man in charge. At this point, I'd given up trying to understand the rankings they gave each other. I think having Alfie as a Captain was a high as I was willing to go. This arsehole was proving my point.

"I'm not wasting my time sending one man back to England when he's capable of getting back up and fighting," the man fired back, turning to face me with a glare.

Okay, he wanted to play that way? I was more than willing to play ball.

I grabbed hold of his arm and turned on my charm. Like, I didn't actually know if this was going to work, I'd never used the Veela side of me before, but if I could have done anything to send John home, I would definitely try and use my Veela abilities.

"Hi." How was I supposed to go about this? My god, I was awkward. "Look, we don't need him on the front lines, let him go home." I fluttered my eyes and hoped he'd fall for it.

"Look, I don't know who you think you are," he started but I huffed out in annoyance and whipped out my wand.

"Imperio," I muttered, watching as he became dazed.

If there was one thing I was willing to do, it was using an unforgivable on him just to get John back home.

I just hoped Newt didn't find out about this.

How long had the unforgivable curses been unforgivable? Were they unforgivable in this time period? I wasn't too sure, but I knew it was something Newt would disagree with anyway.