Their Life

Fugitive Part 3

The ship arrived at London in the evening. It was slowly getting dark as they made their way off the boat. When they got through customs, Newt led Tina to a corner and helped her down into the case. She wasn't wanted in England but they didn't know what kind of connections Clayton might have in there and they didn't want to risk anyone recognizing her.

Newt snapped the case closed behind his wife and picked it up. Glancing around, he Disapparated, appearing at the end of his street. He made his way down the row of buildings until he reached his house. Then he climbed the steps and dug in his pocket for his keys. As he raised the key to the lock he heard a crack behind him. He spun around. Two people stood in the darkening street. He gasped quietly.

"Queenie? Jacob? What are you doing here?" he stammered as he made his way down the steps.

"Visiting you," Queenie replied, pulling him into a hug. "Your letter said you were arriving today. We assumed you'd be here by now but you just got here."

"We arrived a little later than estimated," Newt said. He gave Jacob a hug.

"Where's Tina?" Jacob asked. "Your letter said she'd be coming."

"Uh -- In my case," Newt replied, gesturing to the object in question.

"What do you mean she's on the run from MACUSA?" Queenie gasped. Her shocked expression turned into a scowl and Newt thought he heard her murmur, "That crook."

"I'll explain once we're inside," he said, mostly to Jacob. They climbed the stairs and Newt grabbed the handle of the door. He turned it and pushed. The door swung open.

Bunty must be here, he thought. He led the Kowlaskis to his living room. It was a small room. He had never needed it to hold more than two people.

"It's not too small, honey," Queenie said, cutting through his thoughts. "You have a lovely house."

"Thank you," Newt replied. He started to crouch down to set his case on the floor but a slight commotion from a door off to one side caused him to straighten up. His assistant stumbled into the room, her wand raised.

"Newt!" she gasped.

"Hello, Bunty," he said, offering her a smile.

Bunty quickly lowered her wand. "I didn't know you were coming," she stammered. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Newt frowned. "I wrote a letter saying I was arriving on the sixteenth. Didn't you get it?"

Bunty looked embarrassed. "Oh, right," she mumbled. "I got it. I just didn't realize today was the sixteenth."

She glanced behind Newt. "Who are they?"

"Oh -- uh -- right. This is Jacob and Queenie Kowalski. They're from New York but they live in London now." He turned to his brother and sister-in-law. "Would you like some --"

"Tea?" Queenie finished. "We'd love some tea."

"Uh -- Bunty, is there any tea in the house?"

"Yes, I'll go get it for you," she offered.

"That's not necessary. I can get it myself," Newt protested.

"No, it's not a problem," Bunty insisted. She turned to leave.

"Bunty," Newt called after her. "Do we have any coffee?"

Bunty gave him a confused look. "No. I don't drink it and I thought you didn't either."

Newt shrugged. "That's alright."

Bunty vanished from the room and Newt set his case on the ground. He opened it and looked inside. Tina appeared at the bottom of the ladder.