Scamander manor was bitter cold as they reappeared. The morning frost hadn't melted yet and the sudden temperature change caused him to inhale sharply in shock. However, it was nothing on Tina's reaction, which he viewed by the light of his wand, who promptly bent double and threw up what remained of her breakfast. Instantly he tried to pull Tina's slightly longer hair away from her face as she heaved again, letting out a groan as she tried to steady herself against his leg. She gave one last heave then remained staring at the floor as she drew in weighty breaths. Sensing she was done throwing up he vanished the mess and then used 'aguamenti' to provide her with some water.
"Do you feel any better?" Tina swallowed sharply then straightened, righting her leather coat with shaky hands,
"Much better, actually" He smoothed her hair and her lips pulled into a tight smile
"It's rather unusual for you to be this motion sick" Tina had always been a shaky portkeyer, but no worse than himself. A few deep breaths and she was more or less back to normal. She shrugged and exhaled slowly
"The food must not have agreed with me I guess"
Nodding in acceptance he took her arm again and they walked up to the familiar gate. Tina stroked the Hippogriffs beak emblazoned upon it in black metal and it bowed in greeting before swinging the gate open. Entering the wards did nothing to deaden the biting cold and the murky blue dawn sky seemed almost disheartened about their return.
They walked quietly up to the door but before they could knock it flew open and he was flung against one of the pillars holding up the porch. More than slightly winded and completely unarmed he blinked into focus the figure who had just pinned him back to see it was his brother
"Theseus you bloody prat! What in Merlin's name-" He looked over his shoulder to see his father holding Tina at wand point. She looked about to strike when Theseus asked quickly and harshly
"What was the last thing I said to you before you left?"
"What?" Newt spat back and Theseus tightened his grip and forced him harder against the post
"What was the last thing I said to you before you got on the boat?"
"Have you actually lost your mind?"
"Answer me, Newton."
Theseus' gaze was sharp and unwavering as it held his eyes and something in Newt's mind clicked.
Theseus wasn't being a mad man, he was checking they were who they said they were.
"That you had galleons on me and Tina being on the way to giving Cepheus a cousin" He ground out lowly, checking to see if Tina heard. She gave out a sharp laugh and called
"Well you've lost again I'm afraid"
He lowered his wand but kept his grip on Newt's arm as he turned to Tina partially
"And on our first meeting what did you do?"
Tina chuckled again and stated with relish, all fear gone from her posture
"Tied you to a chair"
Theseus sagged in relief and moved suddenly again. Only this time to pull him into a one crushing hug which almost certainly dislodged several ribs.
"Oh thank Merlin you're home" At his words Newt moved his arms from wedged by his sides to tentatively pat him on the back.
Once Theseus seemed suitably satiated with his hug he pulled away and looked at them both. His father was patting Tina's arm in his usual low contact way of greeting and once he noticed that Theseus had released him he strode across the bricks and ruffled his hair affectionately while sighing fondly
"Newton..."
"I'm sorry about that but we weren't expecting you back this swiftly. Certainly not today by any stretch of the imagination" Theseus stated as he pulled his sister in law into an equally constricting hug
"Yeah, but surely you realised that the moment we knew we'd come back" Tina argued against his shoulder. He released her with an indiscernible grin and replied
"Well, I hoped but most ministries aren't very quick when it comes to international travel"
"And if you think I'm not willing to lie to a ministry you clearly don't know me very well" Newt quipped and Theseus' eye roll made him grin
"Should have anticipated that really" He commented dryly then continued "Breakfast is on the table" gesturing to the open door and they entered the house.
It was considerably warmer inside and Newt let his smile widen at his parents' usually reasonably uninhabited coat rack, practically straining under the weight of coats, scarves and hats. Beside it was a row of every type of shoe ranging from Queenie and Leta's heels to Theseus' work boots to Jacobs's everyday lace-ups. They shed their layers and toed off their boots before placing the case on the floor with a muffled thud beside Theseus' pristine one.
"I honestly don't know who's going to be louder, Queenie or my mother" Newt whispered in Tina's ear as they let Theseus and his father lead the way into the dining room. From behind the door, they could hear hushed whispers but when Theseus entered they immediately silenced.
"What was the noise then? Who was it?" They heard Nagini exclaim in a low tone and Theseus remained quiet, causing his mother to pipe up desperately
"It wasn't Acolytes was it?"
"It is worse than that I'm afraid" Theseus stated gravely and Newt rolled his eyes just as Tina strolled forward pushed Theseus aside then exclaimed
"Stop being a Dorcas!"
Newt followed her swiftly and the dining room was silent in surprise.
"What, are you not pleased to see us?" Tina remarked jokingly and the group seemed to exchange a look before Queenie let out an ear-splitting squeal and launched herself at her sister.
"Newt buddy!" Jacob exclaimed, standing up from his chair and crushing him in a hug.
"Hello everyone!" Newt called over Jacobs's head and his mother replied over the growing hubbub
"Oh darlings, we weren't expecting you for another month!"
Tina had managed to manoeuvre Queenie so they were in more of a side hug and replied
"Theseus sent us a pretty vague letter so we thought we'd be more useful here"
"You most certainly will be." His mother confirmed and as Jacob released him, his mother brushed a gentle hand through his hair and somehow found tangles he was sure both himself and Tina had brushed out that morning. Then she pulled him into an embrace that was much less strong and desperate than the other two he had already endured and instead much more reminiscent of when he was young. When he limped home after falling out of a tree and he'd sit on her lap as she murmured healing charms onto his grazed knees.
"We're home now Mum" Newt murmured and her grip tightened
"Oh I know you are and I'm so glad for it"
"Now come on! Both of you are skin and bone!" His mother suddenly called and grasped his and Tina's arm, then pulled them to sit down at the ornate dining table. They both fell rather inelegantly and Newt found himself sitting opposite Credence and Nagini.
"Hi, Newt!" Nagini waved excitedly and Credence waved in turn, not looking much different but both seemingly having an air of confidence that couldn't be perturbed.
"Hello you two, how are lessons going?"
Great, just sounded like my mother
His grimace must have shown as both teenagers shared a chuckle and then offered him a mug of tea that they had been fidgeting with. He took it gratefully as well as the occamy swirl that was on the plate nearest to him. He may have eaten not too long ago but there wasn't an obstacle in the world that would stop him from sampling some of Jacobs's baked goods after so long away. As he took a bite of the bun he watched as Tina reached for the cafe press which had only had one mug's worth taken out of it, presumably in Theseus' cup, before loading it with cream and sugar and then downing it in one gulp. Only then did she fully regain the colour of her cheeks and let out a relieved sigh.
"You alright Tee?" Queenie asked from next to Nagini and Tina waved her off as she took a bite of toast
"I'm fine Queenie."
"I can read your thoughts Teen, that don't work with me"
"Also we aren't blind," Jacob called around a bite of Paczki
"What we had for breakfast didn't settle well" Newt supplied, knowing how Tina usually acted when confronted with illness and despite Queenie quirking an eyebrow they all seemed more or less disinterested as his mother came bustling around the table. She took the platter that Theseus was just reaching for and began pushing food onto Tina's plate. He smirked slightly at Theseus' pout, a smirk which deepened when he successfully dodged his brother's attempt to bruise his shin.
"Well that's what you get when you go too long without a proper meal."
"Helena honestly I'm fine" Tina murmured as his mother put another slice of apple onto her plate.
"Nonsense, get your strength back"
"Mum..." Newt began and to his slight dread, his mother she removed herself from Tina and began piling food on his plate. Food he did not have room to eat as, unlike Tina, he had both rather enjoyed breakfast and managed to keep it in his system.
He caught Theseus' gaze and tried to convey every thought running through his mind in a single eyebrow movement which by some miracle he understood. He rolled his eyes pointedly then asked
"Mum, I hope Newton's not having all of the bacon?" His mother paused mid spoonful and thankfully placed it back on the plate before moving back to her seat and handing Theseus the dish. Newt shot his brother a grateful glance and the only response he got from Theseus was a raised eyebrow which shouted 'you owe me' as he took a sip of tea. There was only the sound of cutlery as people sank into a comfortable silence, the natural agreement of leaving doomsday planning until at least the tea had gone cold. This was then subsequently broken by the clicking of heels echoing from the hallway.
"I'm assuming it was an owl or something as I haven't heard-" Leta called as she walked into the room. She was bouncing a much bigger Cepheus with each step before stopping dead at the sight of himself and Tina.
"Hello, Leta" Newt murmured, bobbing his head slightly in greeting and Tina waved with a piece of toast.
"I thought you weren't due back for another month!"
"We weren't but, we were needed here" Tina supplied and Leta nodded
"It's good to see you both, especially how things are once again"
Tina got up and gave her a one-armed hug before he watched her eyes drop to her nephew.
"Want to reacquaint yourself?" Leta asked teasingly and Tina nodded once again, reaching out as Leta shuffled him over. Seeing Tina's nod towards him he got up as well and Leta smiled with understanding before supposedly retaking her place besides Theseus.
Cepheus appeared to be eyeing up whether or not they could be trusted, with as much weight as an eight-month baby could muster, but Tina just pulled him close and appeared to tickle his side issuing a tiny giggle. Held in Tina's arms he seemed quite content to continue looking between them and Newt was content to observe. He had Letas colouring and dark eyes but a growing head of Theseus esc curls. He was dressed in a tiny shirt and trousers and he had some hand-knitted woollen socks on his tiny feet which he wiggled in delight. His face was pulled into a wide toothless grin which bunched up into his chubby cheeks, sprinkled with the same faint trace of freckles as his brothers.
"Hi Cephy, do you remember us?" Tina cooed, bouncing him slightly to emit yet another giggle.
"We missed you" At her words, Cepheus seemed to deem them both worthy and he leaned into her shoulder so that he could watch Newt with the same wide grin that had been pinned on his face since he arrived.
"Look at that" He heard his mother sigh and Tina turned to look at him, swaying slightly with each movement. She quirked her head down towards Cepheus' head of dark curls and Newt held out his arms in expectation as she removed Cepheus' chubby arms from her shoulder. There was a moment when Cepheus looked like he was about to scream at being removed from Tina's arms but as Newt slowly sank into the vacant seat at the head of the table and took Cepheus to sit on his lap the wide grin returned. The baby continued to gaze up at him in a kind of awe until Newt bounced his leg issuing a tiny giggle as Cepheus reached out for his hands.
"Hello young man" Receiving a babble in response he continued
"Now I don't know whether you remember me but you clearly remember something of us so I'm Uncle Newt and I'm rather unfortunately your Daddy's brother"
"Oi!" He heard Theseus protest and Cepheus only seemed to find it more amusing
"We've missed you though" Tina added as she crouched on the floor and Cepheus abandoned one of his fingers to instead reach for Tina. She complied and the baby seemed content to go back to his people watching as he and Tina continued to gush over him.
After the rest of the family had finished breakfast they stood up with all the joy of a funeral procession. They all knew what was coming next, preparation for the next wave of battles but suddenly the silence was broken by a delighted squeal coming from the child that was pressed up against his shoulder. He pulled away to see Pepper on the edge of his arm, clearly having climbed out of his breast pocket, and now butting his fluffy body against Cepheus' flailing hand. As he watched the exchange he was suddenly struck with an invigorating realisation.
"That's right! You'll understand now!"
"Understand what, Newt?" Jacob asked as they walked into the living room
"The creatures!" He sat down on the rug in front of the already roaring fire and placed Cepheus down with a muffled thump. The boy still seemed enraptured with the ball of fluff on his shoulder so happy that he was holding himself up he took Pepper off his shoulder and held her in his palm. Cepheus looked at her curiously before erupting into giggles as Pepper's wandering tongue made an appearance.
"This is a creature known as a Puffskein Cepheus and they are well known for their fluffy appearance, however..."
As he continued to ramble about the Puffskein's lesser-known habits, knowing that there were war talks to occur but also standing firm that the child should at least be adequately distracted, he missed the fond looks thrown across the room as well as the far off one directed from Tina.
"He's finally found a league of people he can identify with" Leta murmured as she watched on and Tina whispered back
"You do realise that Cepheus will know more about creatures by the time he's five than most people know in their lifetime"
"We're counting on it" Theseus replied, sparking chuckles throughout the room.
War could wait five minutes.
A/N We're home and as usual I couldn't resist family fluff.