Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Queenie!” yelled Tina, trying to get her sister's attention, to stop her from Disapparating, but to no avail.

The roaring blue fire pushed her back a step and she brought down her wand to combat it; she held fast even as she glimpsed through her orange magic and the flames what was going on: Grindelwald was facing Newt and Theseus, but everything was a little blurry.

Suddenly the ground opened up beneath her feet and she fell through darkness — she tried to scream, but couldn’t — Newt was on his stomach at the edge of the crevice, reaching towards her — she reached up and hit the ground—

Tina jolted awake and in a split second she was sitting up in bed, a sticky sweat covering her body. She was breathing heavily, and tears formed in her eyes.

Damn it! she thought. No. I’m not crying. I’m not crying. I won’t cry. I’m not a baby. Nope! I’m not crying! I’m not! I’m not. I’m not... It was no use. I’m supposed to be stronger than this.

Tina threw the blanket off of herself and walked to the door of the room, opening it slowly in an attempt to not make any noise. She delicately walked to one of the few bathrooms in the house and closed the door, locking it.

Placing her hands on the counter on either side of the sink, she leaned forward. In through your nose, out through your mouth. In through your nose, out through your mouth. Atta girl.

Tina looked at herself in the mirror and rubbed her face. Why did everything have to go wrong? Not everything. Just a lot of things. Think happy thoughts, observe, and make a plan. You’ll find her and get her back.

*

“Mama, may I have cocoa?” a young Tina asked sweetly from her position on the couch — she was laying on it, her head on a pillow, swaddled with blankets.

Her mother kneeled down in front of her young daughter, a small, sad smile on her face. She brushed a lock of young Tina’s semi-curly brown hair behind her ear.

“No...” she whispered her answer to little Tina. “Then you’ll never get to sleep, salamander.”

Salamander: a lost nickname Tina’s parents had given her. They’d originally called her chameleon, as she would go from serene to fuming in a heartbeat; she even looked like a different person depending on the lighting of an area. She could “change like a chameleon.” But she absolutely despised chameleons (apparently), so she’d requested a new nickname. She’d suggested unicorn (as she was obsessed with the dazzling animal, as well as cocoa. Funny story: Tina’s unofficially married to a cup of cocoa and a unicorn stuffed animal), and her parents had told her they would consider it.

Her parents had started calling her salamander instead after the family of four had found one in the fireplace. Her father had told her that her eyes looked just like it: the same vivid orangey-brown.

“Mama, pleeeeease?” young Tina requested softly. “It’ll help me sleep!”

"No, it won't, and you know that."

"Awwww..." Tina attempted doe eyes and stuck out her bottom lip, causing her mother to give a little tinkle of a laugh.

A fairy must've been born right then, the laugh had been so beautiful. Adult Tina choked back a sob as tears formed in her eyes, threatening to spill over. Right now, any memory of her family induced uncontrollable crying. The memory continued to play in her mind, and she attempted to suppress her emotions.

"No cocoa, but I know something that might help," her mother suggested.

Tina's mother uncovered her daughter from her cocoon of blankets, the young girl reaching out her arms. She picked up Tina, who wrapped herself around her mother, and carried her to the bathroom, setting her down on the toilet.

A short while later Tina was sitting in the bathtub, which was brimming with bubbles.

"Watch this," said her mother with a smile, taking out her wand and waving it continuously.

Some of the bubbles came together and rose up in the shape of a unicorn and started galloping around Tina, making her giggle softly. The bubbles dissipated when the young girl yawned.

Tina stared at herself in the mirror, tears rolling down her cheeks. She didn't see the mangled, broken woman she was. She saw the proud, adventurous little girl that she used to be. Perfectly curled hair, blue Sunday dress that was slightly worn out from years of playing with the other children of her age and, "special," disposition, along with an impossibly bright smile with a couple missing teeth.

She pushed herself away from the counter and looked at the bathtub, contemplating a bath or a shower; she could sob her heart out without anyone the wiser if she showered, but she could take a long relaxing bath instead. Her mother had told her once that a bath or a shower might help her sleep if she needed it. Mostly so she wouldn't bother her in the dead of night, but also so she'd know that for her future years at Ilvermorny. Time to put that information to the test once more.

A short while later Tina was sitting in the bathtub, which was filled to the brim with bubbly water, just like in her memory. She tentatively scooped a pile of bubbles into her hands and brought it close to her face. Two fat teardrops fell into the mountain of bubbles, leaving two holes in it. She drew in a shaky breath and blew the bubbles out of her hand, which swirled together in the shape of a unicorn.

What she wouldn't give to be the one kneeling next to the bathtub, giving an adorable, giggling child a bubble corn bath instead of doing it for herself. It was a simple wish, really, a passive yearn. It would mean that all was right, that Queenie was back, that Tina's family was whole once more.

She'd never really thought about it—well, that was a fib, she'd given a certain part a fair bit of thought. But her family. Family . Before, she had only applied it to her and Queenie, but after New York—specifically between Newt's very personal departure and then Tina's heart breaking, (which, strangely, she had come to a placid conclusion about. Her brain must've filed the rest of her reaction away, saving her energy for freaking out for and about Queenie) she had found herself thinking of Newt as—dare she even think it now!—family. Even Jacob, really. Her sister had seemed to be implausibly infatuated with the portly baker, in a way that Tina had scoffed at, saying she would never understand. ;)

Just one more reason to find Queenie: so Tina could babysit her and Jacob's eventual child/children and give them a unicorn bath (with Newt by her side, although she adamantly refused to admit this to herself).

A perfect future to fight for.

Tina sighed dejectedly and laid back her head. Just because I believe in a future where Jacob and Queenie are together doesn't mean I actively support it. I can't.

She closed her eyes, and another memory resurfaced.

"Queenie Goldstein!" The headmaster's voice rang out across the grounds of Ilvermorny, amplified by magic.

Tina watched as her younger sister flounced across the stage to the headmaster and saw Queenie accept her wand. She had to resist the urge to shout, "That's my sister!" she was so proud. She nervously bit her lip, waiting for the ceremony to be over so she could see Queenie and congratulate her.

She found her talking to some of her friends by Slytherin's tree and waited underneath its flowering branches for a few moments until her sister realized she was there. Excusing herself, Queenie walked over to Tina, practically skipping.

Teen enveloped Queenie in a tight hug, spinning her in a circle as best she could.

"I am so so so so so so so so proud of you, Queen!"

"I know! And thank you for not shouting that I'm your sister when I was walking across the stage," she said, lightly perusing her sister's thoughts, thanking her, and pulling away.

Happy tears formed in Tina's eyes and she pulled Queenie into another hug, this time swaying a bit to the sides, instead of chastising her for using her Legilimency like she normally would have done.

"Mama and Papa would be so proud of you," she whispered.

"They'd be proud of you just as much," Queen whispered back, hugging her sister tightly.

She pulled away slightly and wiped the tears from Tina's face with her thumbs.

"Hey, don't be sad," she told her older sister. "We're gonna have a great life together. You'll become the best Auror MACUSA's ever seen. And one day, we'll each meet a guy who loves us for who we are on the inside, OK?"

"You're such a romantic," Tina chided half-heartedly, forcing a small, teary-eyed laugh.

"I'm serious, Teen. One day you'll be standing at the altar and I'm gonna tell you I told you so. I promise."

Tina had changed into a white blouse and a long black skirt, making no attempt to go back to sleep. The bath had helped to relax her, but she was afraid of having another nightmare and waking up alone again, even if she wouldn't admit that to herself. She wasn't used to it. Every other nightmare she'd had she could've talked it out with Queenie. She never had, but just seeing her across the room and knowing that she could was all she'd ever needed.

But Queenie was gone and Tina was in London, staying at Newt's house with him, Jacob, Nagini, and Yusuf. Theseus was living in his own house, and Newt visited frequently to make sure he wasn't throwing away his life because of Leta's death.

Everyone had their own problems to deal with. Tina didn't need to burden anyone with hers. She pulled on a pair of long, fluffy socks. Did she plan on leaving? She didn't know. She decided to leave off her shoes. So, no , she decided.

Quietly opening the bathroom door, she padded her way down the hallway and through the door at the end, ending up in Newt's modest living area. The door to Newt's basement was closed, but meager rays of light peaked out from the edges.

Newt'd told Tina and everyone else that if they needed him for something he'd be in the basement. Despite there being a bed on the first floor. Looking at it, it seemed that Newt hardly ever slept in it.

Tina walked over to the kitchen and looked around in the cupboard for cocoa powder to sate her strong desire for her favorite drink (even more than coffee!), but didn't turn up with anything in her quick search.

Damn it. Now I really want cocoa...

She bit her lip and made the decision to go out and buy some powder to make cocoa because she was craving her comfort drink so much. Queenie'd always had the girls' apartment stocked with the ingredients for whenever the mood struck.

If Tina was going to leave, she realized that she should probably leave a note for Newt so he'd know where she was in case he needed her for something. She went to grab her coat from her room and shrugged it on, along with her favorite boots, walking back to Newt's living space and standing in front of the door to his basement.

She didn't know what was down there.

Does he have a bedroom down there? It doesn't seem like it, since he has a bed up here, yet I don't think he actually sleeps in it, so maybe.

Tina opened the door slowly, and walked onto the landing, closing the door behind her. She timidly made her way down the concrete stairs to a third landing, which was covered in snow, and she was glad she'd put her coat on.

She looked around in awe, doing a complete 360. She let out a little breath, the same type as she had when she'd explored Newt's case for the first time.

"Tell me the truth: is that all of them?" Tina had asked Newt in the attic of a Macy's, panting, gripping a teapot in her hands and Newt covering the top with an ill-fitting lid. The sound of the occamy crunching on the roach inside could be heard.

"That's everything," he'd answered back, looking into her eyes intensely, also panting. "And that's the truth."

She'd allowed herself to relax a little then, a smile gracing her lips as she stared at the interestingly awkward British man. She trusted him with her life. After all, he'd given the rest of it to her just hours before.

"Erm, Jacob, could you grab the case for us?" Newt asked, turning his head to look at the No-Maj.

'Us...' she'd thought.

"Yeah, sure."

When he looked back at the teapot, Tina was attempting to blow a lock of her hair away from her face. Newt's fingers twitched, but he didn't do anything.

"You can take a hand off the teapot, you know," he suggested to her. "To get it away from your face. Nothing horrendous will happen."

Her cheeks felt hot and she looked down to the floor, carefully dislodging her right hand from its death grip on the handle of the teapot to brush her hair away from her face.

They still held the teapot and lid an arm's length away from themselves, even though it was beginning to tire their arms.

Tina ventured a look at Newt but noticed that Queenie was giggling some ways behind him. 'Oh no, you did not just read my mind, you did not just do that,' she growled the thought at Queenie. 'I'm gonna kill you, I swear.' She gave her sister her best death glare, and the Legilimens quickly flounced away to find Jacob.

After an extremely uncomfortable silence and a record amount of eye contact aversion, Jacob returned with Newt's case and Queenie in tow, Dougal the Demiguise holding each of their hands.

"Could you just set it down there? Yes, perfect, thank you," Newt requested, Jacob complying instantaneously. "OK, just hold it like that..." He'd taken Tina's now free hand and placed it on top of the ill-fitting grey lid.

He moved over to his case and unlocked it, and turning back to Tina, he gently removed the teapot and lid from her grasp. He obviously hadn't planned this out very well, and embarrassedly had to ask Tina to actually open the case for him, which she did silently, trying to ignore the fact that fireworks had pretty much gone off on her skin, spreading throughout her body, when they'd touched Newt's.

The magizoologist carefully went down into his case, Dougal and Jacob eagerly following him. Queenie was standing behind it, hands clasped behind her back, humming innocently. Tina stood up, taller than Queenie even when her sister was in heels, and crossed her arms threateningly.

'Oh, hell no! Queenie, did you hear that thought about the fireworks?! Stop reading my mind or I'm going to tell everyone at MACUSA that you're a Legilimens! I don't even have any feelings for him!'

"You sure?" Queenie asked lightly, casually, testing her normally closed off sister.

Tina didn't answer, just gave her sister another death glare. Just then, Newt popped his head out of the case, his curly hair almost flopping over his eyes.

"Are you two coming?" he asked, almost rhetorically. "I'm going to need your help with the occamy, Jacob's already left to go round the case with Dougal." He directed the statement at Tina.

"Sorry," she murmured and followed Newt into the case after his head popped back down.

Tina looked around the now-familiar little shed with no less curiosity than the first time, and her eyes came to rest on Newt, who was rummaging around in his cupboards for something.

"Where are the rest of your beasts?" she asked, unnecessarily tucking her hair behind her ear nervously.

Queenie was climbing down the ladder.

"Outside," he answered nonchalantly as if that answered her question.

"What?"

He looked up at her shocked expression confusedly for a moment before smiling awkwardly. His eyes skittered around the room, unwilling to meet hers.

"Outside the shed, through the door," he elaborated, gesturing to the door behind him with his thumb.

"Oh! I thought you meant outside the case and I got confused because you put them all inside--” Tina bit her lip to stop herself from rambling.

'Keep it together, Teen. Keep it together!'

She could practically sense Queenie's hidden smile behind her and sighed, frustrated. 'No!'

"Did I say something?" Newt asked worriedly.

"No! No. Just thinking," Tina replied quickly.

Queenie squeezed past Newt to the door and left the shed to explore his case. An awed, "Wow!" was heard a few seconds later and Tina wondered what was outside that was so wonderful. Well, there were a bunch of beasts out there.

"Oh. OK," he murmured. Newt took out his wand and muttered, "Accio!"

Putting his wand between his teeth, he deftly grabbed a jar of insects that came flying out of the cupboard and took a couple out.

"Hold out your hands," he told Tina and placed a couple of dead insects on her palms. "I'm going to take the occamy out of the teapot, OK?"

"Yeah..." the dark-haired witch replied uneasily.

Newt walked over to the teapot and took off the lid. Using his magic, he floated an insect above the opening, and sure enough, out came the occamy, snatching it up with its beak. He offered his hands to the occamy and it slid onto them, coiling up in a circle. Newt gently brought the occamy over to Tina, and their hands touched (electricity seeming to happen between them somehow. 'Is my hair static-y now?' she thought in passing) as he let the occamy slide from his to hers; it shrank a bit to fit more comfortably in Tina's smaller but no less caring palms. They both watched with adoration as the occamy snacked on the two insects in her hands, and he looked to the door and back to Tina and the occamy.

"The nest isn't too far away if you'd like to take her there," he asked with his usual awkward shyness, a hint of defensiveness? No... Protectiveness? Maybe...

Ah! Yes, yes, yes! Protective of the world he had inside his case, yet just as protective of the surprisingly kind-hearted Auror he was just starting to let in!

'I don't need to be protected. On second thought, maybe I would, though. I mean, he does have some creatures that most certainly could be dangerous.'

Newt cleared his throat and Tina realized she'd been staring into his green-gold eyes (her description), lost in thought.

"I'm so sorry... I'd love to carry her to the nest," she answered, pointedly observing the occamy instead of his reaction.

"Alright, just watch your step on the stairs..." he said, awkwardly moving away from Tina and the occamy, his mannerisms changing to those of constant vigilance.

He opened the door and held it for her letting her walk through it into the wonderful world inside his case. She was about to look around when Newt's voice from behind her caught her attention:

"...nest is this way, Tina."

He closed the door behind him and walked down the stairs, waiting for Tina to catch up. She peeked at the floor and stepped down the stairs carefully; when she made it down the few steps, Newt grabbed her arm lightly and directed her towards a twig nest on the outskirts of a bamboo forest-y area.

"The floor's a bit uneven, so just step carefully," he advised Tina, and she bit her lip in concentration.

When the two made it closer to the nest she risked a look at him, but he was too focused on the occamy and keeping her steady. Newt glanced behind him and let go of her arms (he'd inadvertently grabbed her other arm while they were walking), moving off to the side of the nest. She walked over the slight incline to the twiggy home and awkwardly outstretched her arms towards the nest. The occamy slid into the nest from Tina's hands, tickling her palms as it went.

Newt was standing, his hands in his coat pockets (long, peacock blue coat ditched for a short, refined brown one), as he observed Tina's delicacy with the occamy, and, satisfied with her accomplishments, wandered off into the depths of his case. Jacob had walked by with Dougal, who'd climbed into his swinging chair by using the man.

Tina was finally able to get a good look around the case, and she let out a small breath of awe. Looking around herself, she spun in a slow three-sixty, just amazed at the contents of the awkward British wanderer's inconspicuous case.

Chapter Text

Tina'd ventured down the numerous flights of stairs in Newt's basement and ended up in a little area that seemed to be his home within his home. Wandering towards a cluttered desk, she scanned it for ink, a pen, and a blank sheet of paper. She moved a few pieces to the side and found something quite interesting: a sketch of herself holding the zouwu's cat toy.

Is Newt drawing this from memory? It's fantastic!

Picking it up, she studied it for a few seconds before setting it back on the desk and resuming her search. Suddenly something tapped Tina's elbow and she jumped a little, letting out an "Eep!"

As it turns out, it was just Dougal, Newt's Demiguise.

"Oh! Dougal! You scared me."

He just stared up at her with his big eyes and Tina decided to ask him where some blank paper was.

"Hey, Dougal," she started, crouching down to his level. "Do you know where I can find some blank paper?"

He gave a long nod and looked back up at her. He shuffled away and she stood up, slowly following him towards Newt's extraordinarily tall wooden shed. Dougal stopped for a moment and turned back to Tina, causing her to stop. He put a tiny finger over his small mouth and pointed to the left. She let her gaze follow the direction his finger was pointing and she noticed a figure sleeping on a hammock.

Newt , she realized, and she felt her gaze soften and her body relax; she hadn't realized how tense she was. Dougal tugged on Tina's hand and she realized she'd been staring at the peaceful figure too long. She looked back to the wise demiguise and followed him the rest of the way to the shed.

Once inside, Dougal walked over to a more organized desk and picked up a blank piece of paper and a pen, turning around and handing them to Tina.

"Thank you, Dougal," she said kindly, and he seemed to give a Dumbledore-like smile and left the room, tugging the door closed behind him.

She scripted a quick note for Newt in her loopy handwriting, explaining where she was going and why:

 She stood up from the desk and intricately folded the note, walking over to the door and slipping through it. She gently stepped over to the sleeping figure of Newt on his hammock and realized that an incredibly small and cute niffler was sleeping in the hammock with him.

One of the baby nifflers!

Tina delicately lodged the note inside Newt's hand, but the baby Niffler sniffled and shifted, opening its too-big eyes and looking at her.

"Oh, hey, little guy, why don't you go back to sleep, ok?" she whispered, crouching down so her face was at about the same height as the baby.

It looked at the brown-haired witch with a penetrating stare and scrambled over to the edge of Newt's arm and jumped off, latching on to Tina's necklace as she stood up.

"Eep!" she said, a little too loud, and bit her lip, scooping up the baby Niffler and her necklace in her hands.

It stared at her again and sat up, stuffing the end of her necklace in its miniature pouch, daring her to make a move. She remembered Newt's explanation of how to get valuables out of a Niffler's pouch and turned the baby upside down. She held it by the legs and tickled it on the tummy, and the end of her necklace fell out.

Smiling, Tina let the Niffler rest on the palm of her hand, and crouched back down, setting her hand on Newt's arm for the Niffler to crawl back into the crook of it. Instead, it crawled up her arm and curled up at the crook of her neck and she bit her lip to stop a laugh (it tickled!).

Awwwww... It can't stay there, though, I'm leaving... Newt must have someplace for the Nifflers around here...

Tina looked around the area and managed to spot the cage for the Nifflers. She tip-toed over to it and silently unlocked the cage, gently scooping the baby from the crook of her neck.

"Tina?"

She whipped her head to the side, hair bobbing, hand resting on the cage door. "Oh! Newt. I didn't mean to wake you." She delicately set the baby Niffler inside the cage and closed the door, locking it.

"It's nothing," he replied as she did so, watching her every move with avid interest.

Tina stood up to her full height and turned to look at Newt, who fidgeted with her note. He looked bedraggled, his shirt untucked from his pants, and his curly hair, which (to Tina) looked like it had once been red but had been toned down to a dull brown-with- reddish-streaks after years of travel, was sticking up in different places.

"Er, your note said—It said—" He seemed to be held back by something and gave up on finishing the sentence.

Tina understood what he was asking.

"The Niffler woke up and tried to take my necklace," she said as she fingered the golden locket.

They were both silent for a moment, and she rubbed her arm.

"Um, I do—I think I actually have—some, uh, cocoa powder—upstairs," he managed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Oh! Um, thank you," she voiced timidly as Newt tucked his shirt in his pants, buttoned his shirt all the way, and grabbed a pair of suspenders, putting them on.

Tina walked over to his desk with the drawing of her on it so she wouldn't watch him get dressed. She picked up the drawing and turned to Newt.

"Newt, is this from memory?" she asked, and he walked over, untwisting a suspender, wand in hand.

"Um, yeah," he answered, blushing, and Tina let him take it and place it back on the desk and cover it up with other papers.

She snuck a glance at Newt and they both immediately looked away.

"Cocoa!" he blurted out.

"Right!" she agreed.

Newt led her up the numerous stairs in the basement back into his bachelor residence and over to the small kitchen area. Pointing his wand to the space above the cabinets, a small bag of cocoa powder floated down and a couple of mugs filled with hot water. Some spoons stirred in the cocoa powder along with a little sugar and a mug floated to each of the pairs.

They each sipped their cocoa, avoiding each other's eyes.

"Would you like to sit down?" Newt asked, his eyes briefly meeting Tina's before skittering away.

He pulled out a chair at his small table for her and she sat down, taking another sip of her cocoa. He pulled out the chair opposite and sat down, also taking a sip of his cocoa.

"So," Newt started nervously, and Tina looked at him expectantly, "why can't you sleep?"

She averted her eyes and stared penetratingly into her mug, tracing the rim with her finger. Newt's eyes bounced around the room, and he feared that he had angered Tina.

"Nightmares," she murmured.

She untied the cinch of her coat and took off the dark blue garment, which then proceeded to float back to her room.

"Of Perè Lachaise?" he pressed, attempting to suppress his worry.

"Yeah." She paused as if contemplating something. "Of Queenie," she added softly.

There was a silence, not uncomfortable, but not lax, either. Newt tapped his fingers on his mug a few times before stopping himself.

"Do you want to talk about her?" he asked gently.

Tina shook her head slowly, avoiding his eyes and attempting to hide her tears. She remembered the look on her sister's face as she crossed the flames: agony. Yet Queenie had still done it; still betrayed Tina, and Jacob, and Newt, and everything they believed.

Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts. Salamander eyes! Salamander eyes?

"You said I have—you said my eyes... are like fire in dark water. That they look like a salamander," Tina stated awkwardly, changing the subject.

"Er—yes," agreed Newt, wondering why she had brought this up.

"My father... he—" she stopped and collected herself, but instead of trying to finish the sentence, she took out her wand.

With a small, wordless, circular wave, pearly-white colored magic seeped out of the tip and formed an image: one of Tina's childhood memories.

Six-year-old Tina was wearing a floral patterned dress as she lay on the floor of a room in front of a burning fire, playing with a fluffy unicorn stuffed animal. She casually glanced at the fire only to have another pair of eyes staring back at her.

"Papa!" the curly, brown-haired girl shrieked as she stumbled away, backing into a couch and clutching the unicorn stuffy to her chest.

A tall, panicked man with Tina's brown hair rushed into the room, alongside a woman with short golden hair with a young girl with the same color hair in her arms.

"What is it, Tina?" asked the man, clearly Teen's father, as he inspected his daughter for any injuries.

"There's something in the fire, Papa!" she answered, pointing an accusatory finger at the dying fire.

He looked over his shoulder, squinting as he perused the dying embers. He moved over to the fireplace and smiled, letting out a laugh.

He murmured something about peppers to his wife and she set down Queenie, who walked over to Tina and gave her older sister a much-needed hug.

"Teen, look," said the girls' father, who was holding an orangey-brown salamander in his hands. "It's just a salamander."

He accepted some peppers from his wife and fed one to the salamander. He moved closer to Tina and Queenie and kneeled in front of them.

"Your eyes are exactly the same color," he proclaimed happily. "Like fire in dark, angry water."

Little Tina apprehensively reached out and pet the salamander at her father's urging.

Tina sniffled and Newt broke away his concentration from the memory and looked past it at the woman beyond the pearly white cloud.

"So that's how—that's how you knew to say—to say salamanders? Back in Paris?" he asked, vision a little blurry with tears.

She just nodded her head a little, and a tear ran down her face. He frowned worriedly and made a decision. Getting up from his seat, he took a chair and moved it next to Tina, sitting down. She scooted over and wiped the tears from her face.

"I'm really sorry, Tina."

"What for?" she managed.

Neither of them looked at each other.

"That you lost your parents," Newt elaborated.

"You remember that?" Tina asked, looking at him through her teary eyes.

"Of course! Your parents died of dragon pox when you and Queenie were kids, right?" he checked gently.

She nodded. "I was seven, Queenie was five. September of 1908."

"How could I not remember? That was one of the most awkward dinners I've ever had," he admitted with a slight smile.

Tina reciprocated and Newt continued.

"Queenie and Jacob couldn't keep their eyes off each other."

Neither could we.

Whatever happiness he had given her in those few moments left, and her eyes filled with tears again and spilled over. Desperately, she tried to hold everything in but failed.

"I don't want to cry, Newt. I'm tired of crying. I just want my sister back."

He grabbed Tina's hand as she started to cry and pulled her close, despite how uncomfortable it made him. She settled her head in the crook of Newt's neck, and he saw the magical memory image she'd created change.

Tina was sitting at the kitchen table in her and Queenie's apartment, writing something on a piece of paper when Queenie walked in, soaking wet. The blond-haired witch dried herself off and Tina immediately stood up from the table, crossing her arms.

"Where have you been?" she asked, her words laced with anger.

"Out," Queenie answered casually as she took off her coat.

"With Jacob?"

Queenie paused and winced.

"How many times do I have to tell you? You can't be with him! It's against the law!"

Queenie snapped and turned around to face Tina.

"What if I told you that I don't care about your stupid laws?! That I'd break them a hundred times to be with the man I love?!"

"If you keep going out with him you'll get caught by Macusa..."

Queenie cut her off, saying, "Enough about how MACUSA's gonna find me! If they were going to, they would've already!"

"That's not true! They could still — "

"SHUT UP, TINA!" yelled Queenie.

The apartment was eerily silent. Queenie was fuming, breathing heavily, and Tina stood still, shocked at her sister's outburst.

"You know, you have been horrible to me about this since you saw that magazine article about Newt being engaged to Leta Lestrange, but just because he BROKE YOUR HEART, DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN TAKE IT OUT ON ME!"

"Queen, I — "

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT JACOB AND I HAVE — YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO LOVE SOMEONE AND BE LOVED BACK! You know, I don't blame Newt for choosing Lestrange over you! At least she's not a control freak! IF YOU LOVE HIM SO DAMN MUCH, MAYBE YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD HIM THAT BEFORE HE WAS TAKEN!"

Tina's eyes were filled to the brim with unshed tears as she stormed past Queenie and grabbed her coat, shrugging it on and pulling open the door. She slammed it shut before she even had her cinch tied, and was down the stairs in a flash. The brown-haired witch stormed past a surprised Mrs. Esposito into the rainstorm outside.

Tina was full-on crying by now, sobs wracking her body.

"The last—thing I told—her—was that I was thinking—of—her. In a postcard I— sent her from—Paris. I never even—apologized—for what I said," she managed between sobs. "I can't—lose her too—Newt. She's all—that I have left. I—don't want—to be alone —in the world..."

Newt hugged her closer as she fell apart in his arms.

"You're not alone, Tina. You're not alone. Jacob and I are here, we're all here. We're all going to stick together and get Queenie back. Dumbledore will find a way to destroy the Blood Pact. Everything will be alright, we just can't lose hope. You'll be able to apologize to Queenie and hug her and tell her everything when we find her, OK? I promise: you'll never be alone."

She wrapped her arms around him and took deep, calming breaths. Newt hadn't realized how broken Tina was, nobody had. She'd just locked everything up inside herself. He realized that Queenie joining Grindelwald had probably been the last straw for Tina and that she had probably been denying herself a good cry since that night at Perè Lachaise.

But even through all of that, one thought played in the back of his mind on a loop: She loves me.

Chapter Text

“QUEENIE! NO!” Tina yelled at the top of her lungs as her sister collapsed to the ground after being hit by a bright green spell.

The brown-haired witch sent a surge of magic outwards around her, disarming the people attacking her and Newt. She attempted to sprint off to her younger sister but his arms wrapped around her and held her in the area.

“Tina, no!" Newt yelled at her.

“LET ME GO!”

She struggled wildly against his arms, feral instinct and need taking over.

“If you go over there, you'll die!”

“I don't care! I need to see if she's alright!”

Newt tackled her to the ground as a spell flashed by, and Tina blocked a few more wordlessly with her wand as she and Newt backed up to a wall. Suddenly dementors swooped into the degraded area (how did they get here?!) and a few of them targeted the two.

“EXPECTO PATRONUM!” Newt and Tina yelled at the same time, a corporeal patronus appearing from both of their wands.

Newt's was a porcupine and Tina's was a salamander, and together they chased away the dementors, partially clearing a path to Queenie's body. Looking at each other, panicked expressions on their faces, Tina sprang up and attempted to run over to Queenie's body again.

Newt scrambled up and sprinted after her, grabbing her hand and pulling her close to him behind the cover of a pillar, protecting them from a slew of spells. He reached into his pocket and withdrew his Swooping Evil, throwing it towards the wizards trying to attack them. He ducked back behind the pillar, pulling Tina closer to himself, and looked back around the pillar after he heard the sound of the Swooping Evil blocking spells. He whistled and summoned it, gripping Tina's hand as she pulled him along. Newt ran with her, looking behind him and sticking out his hand, catching the Swooping Evil and catching up to Tina after lagging behind a couple of feet. She pulled him behind a broken wall, checking for danger over the top of it.

"I'm gonna Apparate us into the middle of the courtyard and use the ground as a catalyst for an ice spell, OK? You get to the ground and make a shield," she commanded, eyes flitting around the area.

She crouched back down and looked at Newt, their hands still clenched together.

"Are you ready?" Tina asked, hair a little messy. They were both breathing heavily.

"Ready as I'll ever be," he replied, shifting his weight.

She gripped his hand tighter and Apparated them into the middle of the courtyard. Tina kneeled on the ground and stabbed the pavement with her wand, sending ice shooting across the ground, which would suddenly shoot up into enemies, freezing them. Newt turned away from Tina, sitting on the ground, his back against hers, and pointed his wand at the sky.

"Protego!" he yelled, creating a magical dome around the two.

An avalanche of spells hit the barrier and Newt gritted his teeth, holding the shield together so Tina could keep the spell going. Suddenly the ice from her spell shot back across the ground towards her and was sucked back into her wand. She reached back and grabbed Newt's arm, Apparating them over to Queenie's body. 

She knelt on the ground before the body of her sister, tears filling her eyes and threatening to spill over.

"Tina, we can't stay here! We have to move!" She didn't respond. "Tina?" Newt shook her shoulder. Still no response. "Tina," he started, cupping her cheek with his hand and making her look at him, "we need to go. We are going to die if we stay here. Queenie wouldn't want that, Tina, would she? She needs you to live—I need you to live." She put her hand over his on her shoulder and grabbed Queenie's wordlessly, stifling a sob and gasping for air. Newt Apparated the group to a safe area and stood up, putting up protective enchantments as Tina mourned.

When he was done, he knelt back down on the floor next to Tina, who was still holding Queenie's hand in her own. She held it so tightly her knuckles were almost white.

"Tina..."

Everything was blurry and seemed off...

"Tina..." Newt whispered again, and she shifted against him.

Her eyes fluttered open and she squinted up at him, suddenly sitting up in her chair.

"Are you okay? You were moving a lot..." he asked worriedly, grabbing her arm as she grabbed his for support.

"I'm fine," Tina mumbled, looking around the room, making sure that what she had dreamed about was just that: a dream. "Just a dream..." she murmured.

I must've fallen asleep on Newt last night. The thought gave her goosebumps, and she wasn't entirely sure why. Is it morning yet?

"What time is it?" she asked him.

"About six-twenty," he answered, checking the clock on his wall. "I should go feed the creatures." He looked at her worriedly. "Are you sure that you're okay?"

Newt looked at her nervously, and Tina put on a small smile that she hoped would placate him.

"Newt, I'm fine. Go feed them."

He frowned, but obeyed, standing up and putting the chair back in its original spot at the table. Tina grabbed her wand from the table and waved it, sending the mugs of cold cocoa over to the sink, where they started washing themselves. Newt ducked under one of the mugs and walked over to the door to his basement, reaching out and grabbing the doorknob. 

He stopped.

His mind was racing with words, scrambling to form a coherent sentence to voice his magnificent idea:

"Would you like to feed them with me? The beasts, I mean," he asked Tina, turning his head to look at her.

She had her head in her hands and raked her hand through her short hair, making her bangs pop up and then fall back down.

"I'm sorry." He seemed to be saying that a lot recently. "You probably need some time alone."

Newt turned back to the door and opened it, but Tina stood up and clasped her hands together, facing him.

"Actually, I'd like to help you. It might get my mind off... certain things," she said, looking at the floor.

Newt couldn't help but smile a little: Tina in his world of beasts was a dream come true.

"Come on, you can feed the Nifflers and the Mooncalves if you like. They're fairly easy."

She followed him down into his basement, no less awed than the first time she'd gone down. He showed her most of his creatures and she helped him feed some (in addition to recapturing a baby Niffler or two), welcoming the distraction.

A young Tina, perhaps eight years old, grasped her sister's hand as she peeked through a crack in the door, watching avidly as a healer bustled around the girls' bedridden parents, tears in both of their eyes. Queenie was drinking in the sight from Tina's mind as it unfolded, and a sob escaped her lips, causing the brown-haired witch to squeeze her sister's hand.

The healer cast a spell and started packing up his belongings, exiting the room shortly after, causing the girls to jump away from the door. He crouched down to the girls' height and took a deep breath. Queenie started crying softly, having read the healer's mind, already knowing what was coming, and Tina pulled her sister to her side, hugging her with one arm.

"I'm sorry..." was all he was able to say before Tina broke down in sobs too, clinging to Queenie as if her life depended on it.

The sisters cried in each other's arms and sank to the floor, the healer looking on despairingly. Someone knocked at the door and he went to answer it, talking quietly with whoever was there. He stepped aside, allowing a woman with toned skin to walk inside, and then he left the apartment.

She had her brown hair done in a fancy updo, and she elegantly walked over to the girls, kneeling before them, a delicate tremble in her lips. Tina sniffled, and looked at the woman, wiping tears from her face as Queenie continued to cry in her sister's arms.

"Hello," the woman said, forcing a smile, her voice wavering. "My name is Eualie Hicks. I was a friend of your parents, before they... Your parents were my friends." She swallowed a lump in her throat and continued. “I’ve come to help you, now that they’re gone.”

Miss Hicks held out her hand for Tina to shake, and the distraught girl gripped it firmly, tears still welling up in her eyes.

“Teenie,” Queenie started, wiping the current batch of tears away. “I wanna say goodbye.”

“Me too, Queen. Me too,” the brown-haired girl whispered, pulling her younger sister into another hug, a few tears streaking down her face.

“Come, then. I would like to say farewell, too,” Miss Hicks told the girls.

The young woman stood up and held out her hand to Tina, who took it. The brown-haired girl shakily stood up, pulling Queenie up beside her. Miss Hicks led the girls to their parents’ bedroom and stood behind them as the girls’ cried for their parents at the bedside.

After who knows how long, the sisters had cried their hearts out, Miss Hicks trying her best to provide what little comfort she could. She guided them towards the door, requesting that they dress themselves for the September weather, and then went back to their parents’ bedroom. The young woman came out with a small back that she gave to Tina.

“Some of your parents’ possessions you should take with you,” she explained to the young girl.

With that, Miss Hicks grasped the girl’s hands and Apparated the three of them away from the apartment.

After an hour or so, Tina’s stomach grumbled for a long-forgotten breakfast.

"Just one more to feed," Newt mumbled in his usual fashion as he chopped some food up and put it in a bucket.

"Here. Could you hold this for me?" he asked, handing it to her.

"Sure,” she murmured, but he was already gone, climbing up the stairs two steps at a time. She followed him, close behind, going one step at a time, unlike Newt.

He stopped two landings up and turned to Tina, who stopped abruptly, almost colliding with him.

"Newt!" she chided on reflex.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "Anyways, stay here, and, well, you'll see. Also, you may want to use a water-repelling charm." He went to go back down the stairs, but she caught his arm.

"What are you—what are we feeding?" Tina asked feebly.

"A kelpie!" Newt replied with child-like enthusiasm, and she wrinkled her nose slightly.

"Isn't that the seaweed-horse thing?" she asked, and he nodded, making her wrinkle her nose again in polite disgust before sighing. "Ok."

“Why?” the Magizoologist asked suddenly.

The Auror didn't answer immediately, looking at the floor.

"It's stupid..."

"Nothing you say could be stupid," he replied wholeheartedly.

"I just—I really hate seaweed," Tina admitted.

A few moments passed in silence before the wizard said anything.

"Oh. Well, that's not so bad. I won't make you do anything you're not comfortable with."

"Thanks," she replied meekly.

"...are unnecessary," he supplied with a small smile, looking in her eyes for a split second through his fringe.

Suddenly she was acutely aware of the fact that she still had her hand on his arm, and she let go, almost as if stung.

"Right. Water-repelling charm," she started, and Newt nodded, heading down the stairs to the edge of the concrete.

Tina cast the charm on herself and observed the Magizoologist as he took off his layers of clothing with practiced ease, until he was wearing only his white shirt and his pants.

"Are you ready?" he called up to the Auror, looking towards her; his fringe was blocking her view of his hazel eyes.

"I'm ready as I'll ever be, Newt!" she replied with forced enthusiasm.

With no warning whatsoever, the crazy Magizoologist pencil dived into the water, making a small splash. Tina leaned over the edge of the landing and grabbed the railing for support, looking for any sign of him. She saw something huge moving in the water, and a sudden fear gripped her: she absolutely hated seaweed and pretty much everything ocean-related. Ok, she said, "hated," but what she meant was, "scared of."

The water level quickly rose to the height of the landing Tina was worriedly waiting on, and she backed away from the edge a few steps.

Suddenly the big thing, which looked greenish and like seaweed, leaped out of the water with Newt on its back! The kelpie quickly dove back underwater, taking Newt—was he grinning?—with it. A few seconds later the kelpie resurfaced violently, the Magizoologist having temporarily tamed the beast. He directed the kelpie over to the landing using two long strands of seaweed-mane and looked at Tina through his sopping wet fringe, a wide grin ( A grin? Yes, a damn cute grin , she thought wryly) on his face.

“So, what did you think?” he asked, breathing heavily as he lifted a hand to brush his fringe out of his eyes.

“I think you should've used the Bubble-Head charm. You could die doing that, you know. I was worried for your safety.”

Evidently, that was not the answer Newt was expecting, because the grin fled his face to be replaced by a blush in his cheeks.

“I didn't mean to worry you,” he replied, avoiding her eyes as he hopped off the kelpie. He grabbed the bucket of feed from Tina and risked a glance into her eyes. “I'll use the Bubble-Head charm next time if you'd like.”

“Thanks,” she murmured, and he suddenly broke eye contact, turning back to the waiting sea creature.

“Well, you're technically correct—I could die trying to tame it if the kelpie held me underwater too long, I suppose. But I've dedicated my life to Magizoology; I'm fairly certain I can tame it without dying. This wasn't my first try, Tina.”

He patiently waited for her response as the kelpie snacked on the bucket-feed, adjusting his grip.

“I know,” she finally answered dejectedly. “I just can't help but worry. You seem to be the reckless type; you simply go along with your thoughts and feelings in a particular moment without pausing to think of the ramifications. See, you found a Thunderbird and decided to bring it to America, where you would release it in Arizona. But instead of taking the time to fix the lock on your case, or traveling here to drop off all of your other beasts, you just took a boat from Equatorial Guinea straight to New York without researching our laws, and, well, you know what happened.”

Newt was silent for a moment before the kelpie pulled away and ferociously dove down into the water. He stood up to his full height and sent the bucket away as the water level sank to the floor.

“I see your point,” he admitted, sounding somewhat ashamed as he dried himself off with his wand. “But, I couldn't actually leave my creatures here because I didn't have anyone to take care of them back then. I didn't meet Bunty until my book launch at Flourish and Blotts.”

The Auror seemed confused at the mention of his assistant. “Bunty?” she repeated questioningly.

“Yes, Bunty. My assistant. She helps me handle my creatures. I'm sure you've met her—yes, I introduced you to her when we arrived here!”

“Oh! I remember. I was sort of in my own world then; my memories are sort of hazy from that time period,” she finished awkwardly.

“I understand,” was Newt’s underwhelming response. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say. “You're correct. About me being reckless. I reckon I've always been that way. You know, you almost sound like my mother right now.”

If it was even possible, he blushed a deeper shade of red, obviously embarrassed of what he just said. The tips of Tina's ears turned pink underneath her hair and she studiously observed the floor instead of looking at the freckled man.

“Uh… thank you…?” she voiced with uncertainty.

“You're welcome...” he murmured awkwardly, worrying his hands.

The awkward pause stretched longer and longer until Tina's stomach grumbled loudly.

“Oh! So sorry, you must be starving—I always eat snacks while I work and I forgot to offer you anything!” Newt took a step closer to her, taking one of her hands in his and apologizing profusely.

She only managed to cut him off by putting her index finger over his lips to shush him. She lifted an eyebrow and took away her hand, letting it fall to her side.

“You need to let the lady speak before you go on one of your rambles,” she told him teasingly, lips turning up in a smirk.

The Magizoologist gave the Auror a small smile in return and met her eyes through his fringe. Suddenly they were both aware of the fact that they were almost holding hands, but neither of them let go—wait, no, after a moment they dropped their hands to their sides as if they'd touched hot coals.

“I'm sure everyone else is up by now, and Jacob's most likely started on breakfast,” Tina said matter-of-factly, staring intently at a button on Newt's shirt.

“Most likely,” Newt repeated. “I reckon he has by now, it's nearly eight. Shall we head upstairs?”

“I'd like that. Breakfast sounds wonderful right about now.”

Queenie and Tina stood in front of their parents’ grave, Eualie Hicks standing silently behind them. All three were dressed in black, and Queenie held a small bouquet of flowers in her hands. A few tears slid down her cheek as she kneeled down and placed it in front of the tombstone. When she stood back up, she grabbed her sister’s hand, lacing their fingers together. The blonde girl started crying quietly, and Tina pulled her into a tight hug, tears streaming down her face.

It’s December, and the girls are still mourning the deaths of their parents. Tina’s closed herself off from everyone at the orphanage, and Queenie just wants to see her older sister again. The blonde witch approaches the door to her sister’s bedroom apprehensively. She has a plan—a weird plan, but a plan nonetheless.

She takes a deep breath, knocks on the door three times, and starts singing softly.

“Teenie? Please, I know you’re in there… People are askin’ where you’ve been… They say, ‘have courage,’ and I’m tryin’ to, I’m right out here for you, just let me in…” Queenie takes a deep breath, tears forming in her eyes. “We only have each other… It’s just you and me… What are we gonna do?”

The young girl slides to the floor, sitting against the wall, a tear slipping down her cheek. “Do you wanna build a snowman?” she sings, her voice cracking at the end.

The hallway is quiet for a few moments, and the sound of the other children playing outside can be heard. Suddenly, the door to Tina’s bedroom is unlocked, and the brown-haired witch opens it with a creak. She sniffles, and her sister looks up from her position on the floor.

Tina offers a hand to her sister, who takes it, and she pulls her up. They embrace in a hug, sad smiles gracing their lips, cementing their strong bond as sisters. From this moment onward it was Tina and Queenie vs. the World.

Chapter Text

“Queen, honey! Well, I’m just curious,” Jacob starts, upset, chasing Queenie down the cobblestone London street just outside Newt’s house. “When were you gonna wake me up? After we’d had five kids?”

His feeble attempt at a (woefully misplaced) joke prompted the livid blonde witch to spin around and face him.

“Why is wrong to wanna marry you?” she asks with an audible wobble in her voice.

She looks at him intensely as he looks around, a little frustrated at the repeat of an argument they’d already had back in New York.

“—okay—” Jacob tries to interrupt, but Queenie plows on.

“To wanna have a family?” She bounces impatiently on the balls of her feet. “I just want what everyone else has, that’s all,” she says, her voice softening at the end.

She observes the portly baker, a small flame of hope in her eyes, but when no response comes she sighs frustratedly and turns away to stalk down the street. She knows he’ll follow.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Jacob says, walking after Queenie. “We talked about this, like, a million times. If we get married and they find out, they’re gonna throw you in jail, sweetheart. I can’t have that,” he says tenderly, and the blonde witch sighs heavily, avoiding his face with her eyes. Jacob’s hands are placed on her shoulders, forcing her to stay and talk to him. “They don’t like people like me marryin’ people like you. I ain’t a wizard. I’m just me.”

Queenie bounces on the balls of her feet again, desperate to convince him that she’s got the right idea as his hands leave her shoulders.

“They’re really progressive here, and they’ll let us get married properly.”

The baker looks at her lovingly, desperate to convince his love that he has the best approach to their problem.

“Sweetheart, you don’t need to enchant me. I’m already enchanted.” He nudges her golden curls with his index finger affectionately. “I love you so much.”

“Yeah?” she questions softly.

“Yeah,” he confirms, sure that he can convince her now. She gazes at him lovingly, and he searches for the right words. “But I can’t have you riskin’ everything like this, you know? You’re not givin’ us a choice , sweetheart.”

Queenie starts, upset at his words. “You’re not givin’ me a choice! One of us had to be brave, and you were bein’ a coward!” Her voice started to fade at the end as if she realized what she’d just said.

Jacob looks at her, offended. “I was bein’ a ‘coward’?” he repeats. “If I’m a coward, you’re—” He stops himself from saying the word that came to mind. He knows how much she hates that word, and that many people told her that she was that word when she was younger.

It takes her a few seconds to say it. “Crazy…” she finally whispers, her eyebrows high and her mouth agape slightly.

She was being crazy, but calling her that—or almost calling her that—wasn’t the way to reconcile.

“I didn’t say it…” he trails off feebly, his words laced with regret and sorrow. He knows Queen won’t forgive him for thinking that.

“You didn’t have to,” she tells him, masking her emotions with a cool, angry mask.

“No, I didn’t mean it, sweetheart.”

“Yeah, you did.”

“No,” he begs as she bends over to pick up her suitcase, which had been lying on the ground, forgotten in the heat of the argument.

“I’m gonna go see my sister,” Queenie tells him, half-hoping that he’ll beg for her to stay as she turns around and starts walking away.

“Fine! See your sister!” He gestures hopelessly with his arms, taking a few steps back.

“Fine!” she nearly yells, and Disapparates.

“No, wait! No! Queenie! I didn’t mean it! I didn’t say nothin’...” he whispers, tears pricking his eyes.

Thunder rumbles above him, and it starts to drizzle, building up to pouring rain in a matter of minutes. Jacob lets the rain wash away his tears as he stands outside, not caring about getting wet.

•

Theseus strides out of a meeting room towards Leta, and she walks with him towards his destination.

“What’s happening?” she asks avidly.

“Grindelwald’s rallying. We don’t know where, but we think it’s tonight,” the Auror replies briskly, mind set on reaching his goal.

Leta grabs his arm and pulls him towards her, leaning in for a kiss. His arms find her waist as their lips meet briefly, and hers cup his cheeks. She goes in for another short-lasting kiss before looking into his eyes.

“Be careful,” she tells him, worry lacing her words.

“Of course,” he tells her, gazing into her eyes.

“Promise me you’ll be careful,” she asks intensely, her thumb ghosting along his cheek below his eye as if memorizing his face.

“Of course I’m gonna be careful,” Theseus tells her softly as she does so. “Listen, I want you to hear this from me. They think that Credence boy might be your missing brother.”

“My brother is dead ,” Leta enunciates.

“I know—”

“He died .”

“I know, and the records—”

“How many times , Theseus?” Leta interjects, getting worked up.

“The records will prove that,” Theseus finishes and pauses, grabbing his fiancée's hands. “Okay? They can’t lie.”

Just then, Travers calls his name, and he glances at his superior before looking at Leta apologetically. He walks over to the other Aurors, trailing his hands away from hers.

•

Nagini creeps into an alleyway towards Credence, a loaf of bread in her hand. She sits on the ground against the concrete wall opposite of him, using his leg to steady herself. She promptly rips the loaf of bread in half and holds a piece out to the young man.

He takes it in his own hands and is about to bring it to his mouth when something catches his eye. Blue snake scales are beginning to show on Nagini’s hand, and he tries to take it in his own but the Maledictus recoils, embarrassed. Credence carefully reaches out and takes her hand in his; they stay like that, hands pressed together, for a few seconds before he slowly brings Nagini’s hand to his lips.

The kiss lasts only a couple seconds, and the young man proceeds to look down and rest his forehead against her hand as she looks on peacefully.

•

Jacob woke up early, and, knowing that going back to sleep wasn’t an option, decided to start on breakfast early. He changed into day clothes, brushed through his hair, and brushed his teeth, an early-morning drowsy expression on his face all the while. He yawned and stretched in front of the mirror in the bathroom, which smelled faintly of lavender—he remembered Queenie telling him that she’d bought Tina some lavender soap for Christmas last year. The baker assumed that the Auror had taken a bath earlier this morning, which was no surprise, seeing as almost everyone here was plagued by nightmares. A full eight hours of sleep was a rarity—except for Yusuf and Newt, who seemed to be largely unaffected.

After rubbing some sleep from his eyes, Jacob headed into the kitchen of Newt’s bachelor residence just as a couple of mugs slid themselves neatly into their cabinets, deciding to make assorted pancakes. Unfortunately, the Magizoologist didn’t actually have the ingredients, so Jacob made a rough plan to go out and buy them—just, not until after his cup of coffee. Which he substituted with hot chocolate because Newt didn’t actually have the necessary components to brew coffee.

With a sigh, Jacob sat down heavily on one of the chairs at the table, sipping his cocoa. The floorboards nearby creaked, notifying him of an approaching person, but he was too tired to care much who it was. Theseus walked into the small kitchen and waved his wand, assembling a cup of tea in seconds.

“Morning,” the Brit murmured sullenly, sipping his tea and sitting across from the No-Maj.

“Mornin’,” Jacob responded with. “Do you know any good places to buy food?”

“Erm… not in this area. I could take you to a nice place if you’re up to Apparating,” the Auror offered, taking another sip.

“Sure. I’ll let you finish your tea.”

An awkward silence ensued, and Theseus decided to break it.

“I’ve just realized that I don’t actually know your name,” he stated.

“Oh! Jacob Kowalski!” the No-Maj answered, shaking the other man’s hand. “I’m a No-Maj. Muggle, as you would say. Newt’s friend. We met in New York last year.”

“Ah. I’m Theseus Scamander, Newt’s older brother.” A pause as he sipped his tea. “How did you two meet?”

Jacob gave a small smile and delved into the story of what happened in December of 1926, trying his hardest not to leave out any details. Theseus laughed when he described Newt’s crazy Erumpent dance, groaned when Jacob told him that the Niffler escaped into the bank—and groaned again when the No-Maj actually described what a Niffler was to him. He pursed his lips when Jacob talked about them being thrown in a jail cell in MACUSA, and when the baker told him about Newt and Tina being sentenced to death—which, as it turns out, Theseus already knew from the incident reports sent over from MACUSA. The New Yorker even swore he saw a few tears prick the Brit's eyes when he told the man about him stepping into the rain and being obliviated.

Jacob went on to explain what happened—well, as much as he knew—about what led to the events at Pere Lachaise. By the time he was done, it was about seven, and both men had drained their mugs.

“That was a heavy story, Mr. Kowalski,” Theseus commented, gifting a small smile to the other man.

“Please, call me Jacob. And you said it. Are you prepared to leave now, Mr. Scamander?” Calling Theseus that felt quite weird to the No-Maj, as it made him think Newt instead of Theseus .

Luckily, the Auror seemed to think that calling him by his first name was sufficient, and the two separated for a few moments to put on their coats before heading outside. Theseus gave his wand a flick, and a quill scratched a note onto a piece of parchment that proceeded to settle onto the table. The Brit offered his arm to Jacob, who took it warily, and the two Apparated away to buy the ingredients for pancakes (and also coffee components).