Fantastic Beasts: Storm of the Thunderbird

Chapter 6

Tina gasped. Her first instinct was to rush to the case, but she turned to Aurelius.

"Do you think Newt would mind if I come? I've never seen a real dragon before." Tina smiled. She'd missed having him around.

"I'm sure he'd love to have you watch." She began descending down the ladder, with Aurelius not far behind. Newt was bustling around, sliding absurdly massive mitts onto his hands.

"Oh perfect timing! Would you mind opening the door for me? I can't have a dragon hatching inside a wooden shack." Newt said, not even noticing Aurelius. Tina didn't hesitate, running over to prop open the door as he lifted the large egg from the cauldron where it had been since they found it. A repetitive tapping noise was emitting from the egg as Newt rushed outside with it. Aurelius was hanging back, looking nervous. Tina nodded reassuringly, and gestured for him to follow her outside. She heard Newt gasp, and a small piece of eggshell went flying. She rushed forward.

"Is it alright? Do you need help with anything?" She asked. Maybe it was because she had found the egg, but for some reason Tina already felt a sort of connection to the hatching baby.

"I-" Newt was cut off by the shell shattering before their eyes, leaving a baby dragon no bigger than the baby Qilins from the election. It's scales were pearly and shades of blue and purple with hints of green. Most beautiful of all were it's eyes, which displayed many different shades and colors and completely lacked pupils.

They look just like opals. Tina thought. I guess that's why it's called an opaleye. Newt was completely in awe.

"She's a girl." He said. He bent down to the dragon's level very slowly. "Hello, Pearl." Tina smiled.

"Pearl? Is that her name?" Newt nodded, his eyes full of adoration as he gazed at the tiny dragon. Aurelius shifted.

"Newt? Look who came." Newt turned and his eyes widened.

"Aurelius? What are you doing here? We all thought you might be..." Aurelius shook his head.

"I thought I might die too. But somehow I pulled through." He shifted nervously again. "There was a night where, well, I was at my worst. I...I said goodbye that night. I wasn't sure if I would wake up. But the next morning, it was like I had been completely healed overnight. Albus thinks it has something to do with my connection to phoenixes."

"Phoenixes are reborn from their own ashes." Newt speculated. " That must be what happened to you. A kind of rebirth." Tina's heart broke at his emotional story. She had promised to protect him, and he had nearly died numerous times since then. Mercy Lewis, why am I such a failure?

"That must've been so frightening." Pearl made a squeaking noise, and Newt rushed over to her. But Tina could've leave Aurelius.

"I'm sorry." She said. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you. I promised I would protect you, but I didn't. You still ended up in Grindelwald's clutches, in repeated danger. You nearly died, and I didn't even know where you were at the time." Aurelius was shaking his head.

"But you did protect me. You saved me from Mrs Barebone. You put your career at stake just to help me. And when you heard I was in Paris, you came and you tried everything to find me. And even just knowing that someone truly cared for me meant so much to me. You were the closest thing to a mother that I ever knew, and even now that I've found my real father, I would say that's still true." Tina felt happy tears in her eyes, and doing something she hadn't been able to do for years, she pulled Aurelius into a hug. He melted into her, as if he hadn't been hugged in far too long.

"Thank you." He said. "I missed you."