Crescendo: A Fantastic Beasts Newtina Fanfiction

Chapter 3

       "Yes, thank you, that would be fine."

       She grabbed Newt's arm, ready to Apparate from the docks to the front of the brownstones. He pulled away quickly. "Erm, if you don't mind, maybe we could walk there? They hate it when I Apparate," he said, holding up his case.

       Tina blushed, embarrassed. "Oh. Of course. This way," she directed, taking the lead. Her hands now hung limply at her side. She shoved them into the pockets of her gray coat, not knowing what to do with them. It was raining harder now, and neither of them had brought umbrellas with them. They couldn't use their wands either, as the street was full of No-Majs. The rain was starting to seep through her clothes, and the chilly wind made her shiver. But she couldn't complain, winter was her favorite month after all. Everyone thought she was crazy, but Tina liked the cold, and the snow, even the harsh, bitter winds.

       They headed up the street, towards the Goldsteins' residence. "How long are you planning on staying in New York?" Tina asked.

       "Just a week. I'll be heading back to England on the 27th."

       She felt a twinge of dissapointment. Of course, she hadn't been expecting him to stay for long. But a week? That felt way too short. Sighing, she trudged on through the rain, with Newt beside her.

       "Is everything alright, Tina?", Newt asked in his quiet voice, glancing at her out of the corner of his eyes.

       He'd had heard her sigh. He's as observant as ever. "Oh, no, I was just...thinking," she replied, trying to sound upbeat. 

       Newt glanced at her once more, an unreadable question in his green eyes, but he didn't press the matter. Tina met his gaze for a moment, and a shiver of electricity passed through her. Oddly enough, she no longer felt cold. 

       They resumed their trek through the rain in silence. Newt was taking in his surroundings, his head turning at all the sights that he was not used to. Dozens of colorful shops lined the street on both sides, and the road was full of cars, honking their horns as they passed by in a blur. Steam could be seen hissing out of manholes, and the chatter of others blended into the air around them.

       Tina noticed that Newt's appearance hadn't changed at all since the last time she saw him. His mop of messy auburn hair still hid part of his face, and he still walked his awkward gait, his calf-high boots hardly making a sound on the concrete sidewalk. Self-consciously, Tina made an effort to step lighter, embarrassed by her feet that seemed to clomp along as if they were attached to dumbbells. 

       As they turned the corner, a whole block of brownstones came into view, standing on either side of the road. She led Newt to the second one down, and turned to face him. "Okay, so here we are. Now, I'm not allowed to have men on the premises, so–"

       "If she asks, you're alone," Newt finished her sentence, grinning slightly. He clearly remembered the last time that he'd been here.

       Tina couldn't help but smile back. She entered the building, and they were just walking up the stairs when she heard a voice. 

       "Tina?" Mrs. Esposito, the landlady, called, "Is that you?", her voice had a slight accent to it.

       "Yes, Mrs. Esposito!", Tina was used to this procedure. Mrs. Esposito tended to be a bit paranoid, and everytime Tina entered the building, she would make sure it was her.

       "Are you alone?"

       "I'm always alone, Mrs. Esposito!"

       She heard Mrs.Esposito's receding footsteps, and the sound of a door closing. During the whole time, Newt had been impeccably quiet. Tina'd hardly heard his breathing. They continued on, and within moments, they arrived at the door to where the Goldstein sisters lived. 

       The American witch fished in her pockets for her key, and inserted it into the slot. As the key clicked into place, she pushed the door open, and a blast of warm air hit them.

       "Welcome to the Goldstein residence, Newt," she said with a smile. 

      He blinked nervously and smiled back lopsidedly. Newt followed her inside. The place hadn't changed much. Everything was tidy, but still had a homey feel to it. The fire in the fireplace was roaring. He silently thanked Merlin that there weren't any undergarments drying in front of it this time. 

       "Teen! You're back!" Queenie appeared poked her head around the kitchen doorframe. "And hello, Newt!", she smiled warmly at him before glancing mischievously at Tina. Her sister raised her eyebrows and glared at her, and Queenie giggled before disappearing again. "Dinner will be ready soon!", she announced over her shoulder.

       Newt was thoroughly confused by this exchange between the sisters, but he decided to ignore it. 

       "Alright, you can bunk in here for your stay," Tina told him, gesturing to the bedroom in which he'd stayed last time.

       "Thanks," He walked into the bedroom and set down his case gently before lifting up the lid to check on his creatures. "Are you all behaving yourselves down there?". His question was answered by a jumble if calls, roars, and hisses. "I'll take that as a yes then," he muttered to himself before snapping the lid shut and returning to the dining room. 

       He arrived just in time to hear Tina asking, "When will Jacob be here for dinner?"

       "He should be here anytime now," her sister replied. 

       "Jacob?" Newt inquired.

      Tina turned around at the sound of his voice. "Oh yes, apparently he wasn't Obliviated properly," she explained, beaming, "When Queenie walked into his bakery the other day, he remembered everything."

      Newt inwardly smacked his head. Of course! "The Swooping Evil venom cures only bad memories, memories that you would want to forget," 

       Queenie sighed happily, "Well, whatever happened, I'm just glad he's back," she said, smiling radiantly.

       He was suddenly aware of Tina staring at him, still beaming radiantly, her dark brown eyes boring into his own green ones. As he gazed at her, unaware of any thing else, he felt himself being transported off into another world, another life, another time. He looked away first, and stared at the ground awkwardly, fiddling with his coat sleeve. A tingling shudder traveled down his spine, followed by a hint of an unknown feeling he'd never experienced before, a feeling that he couldn't put into words.

Well, this is the second chapter that I've published today, and this one was surprisingly smooth to write. You know it's a better chapter when you can easily knock out 1.7k. I hope the switch between Tina's POV to Newt's in the middle of the chapter wasn't too confusing, I tried to make it as smooth and unnoticeable as possible. Although I am having a hard time making Newt talk more like, well, Newt. Anyways, be an angel and leave a vote/star or a comment, and you'll have made my day. Thank you for reading, I'll update soon :)