"Ilvermorny is definitely not the best wizarding school!" a voice protested.
Tina emerged from the Erumpent environment, and found that, once again, Newt and Queenie were bickering light-heartedly about whose school was the best. Newt was sitting on a bench in front of his shed, preparing a bucket of feed while Queenie was leaning against the shed's doorway.
"Of course Ilvermorny is the best wizarding school. Right, Jacob?" Queenie glared at Jacob as though daring him to disagree.
Looking extremely nervous, Jacob, who was standing off to the side, took a step back and cleared his throat. "I think I'll stay out of this one..."
"I think you meant to say that Hogwarts, is the best wizarding school," Newt said, leaning over to grab some more feed.
Tina noted unhelpfully that he had taken off his jacket and coat, thus revealing his waistcoat and ivory-white undershirt, which had the sleeves rolled up. The muscles on his forearms danced as his arm moved. She flushed, embarrassed, and inwardly slapped herself as she dragged her gaze away.
"That's where you'll find yourself wrong, Mr. Scamander," she said. Tina's eyes widened as she took in what she had just said. Mercy Lewis, Tina! Don't. Just shut up. Don't try to be Queenie, you know you can't flirt. Oh God, why am I trying to flirt again?!
A voice in the back of her head reminded her, because you love him. Right.
Newt looked up, and he blushed ever so slightly. "Well, Miss Goldstein," he mumbled slowly, "you may be an Auror and all, but I think that this area might just be outside your range of expertise, because clearly, Hogwarts is the superior school." He grinned at her.
Tina felt as though her legs had suddenly turned to jelly, and the room suddenly felt like someone who was overly enthusiastic had just cranked up the thermostat to a couple hundred degrees above room temperature. The fact that Queenie had been reduced to giggles did not help much, either. Dragging her gaze away from his green eyes, she turned her blushing face away to look at Queenie.
Trying to keep her tone cool, she said, "Newt's talking nonsense. Ilvermorny is the best wizarding school, right Queenie?"
"Of course!" her sister exclaimed, her giggles now having subsided. "We'll just have to show 'em, won't we, Teen?"
It took a few seconds for Tina to realize what Queenie was getting at. Oh, no. Not the school song, please, anything but the Ilvermorny school song. It wouldn't be a problem for Queenie, as she had a gorgeous voice, but Tina, on other hand, thought that her singing sounded rather like a chicken being strangled by a poorly coordinated person.
Queenie, apparently having read her thoughts, said encouragingly, "Oh come on, Teen! You're not bad at all. Just this once? Please?"
Newt and Jacob were watching this exchange curiously. She felt it would be unsporting say no, so instead Tina heaved a reluctant sigh. "Fine."
As soon as the word came out of her mouth, Tina regretted it immediately. She was going to have to sing. In front of Newt. Queenie clicked her heel on the floor twice to signal the beginning of the song, and Tina wanted nothing more than to run into the shed and never come out again. Gathering herself, she closed her eyes determinedly as began to sing a duet with Queenie.
"Ca-caw, ca-caw! Brrr-brrr!" they started, with Tina's voice shaking slightly. However, when she found that no one was laughing, she opened her eyes hesitantly and clasped her hands together instead.
"We stand as one, united,
Against the Puritan,
We draw our inspiration,
From good witch Morrigan
For she was persecuted,
By common wandless men,
So she fled from distant Ireland
And so our school began!"
Tina's voice was growing stronger now, and the words flowed smoothly and easily from her mouth. Memories of singing the Ilvermorny school song on the first day of term came whirling back to her, and a small smile spread across her face.
"Oh, Ilvermorny-Massachusetts,
We choo-choose it,
We choo-choose it,
The wizard school supreme!
Your castle walls, they kept us safe
The days with you, a dream!
You taught us all our magic,
And now one thing's quite clear,
Where'er we roam,
Where'er we roam,
Our one true home
Our one and own,
Is Ilvermorny dear!"
The sisters finished the song with gusto, and a smattering applause broke out from Newt and Jacob, who were both grinning. Some of the creatures also appeared to have enjoyed the song. The Erumpent had poked its horned head around its habitat and was now stomping its feet vigorously, while the Occamies flapped their wings and chirped continuously. Queenie bowed dramatically, and Tina was smiled, shyly appreciative.
"I wanna be a wizard," Jacob sighed, a vacant look passing over his face as he stared off into the distance, supposedly day-dreaming about what he would be able to do if he was magical.
Tina felt the pricking sensation of someone watching her, and looked around to find Newt staring at her, apparently also lost in his thoughts. Her brown gaze met his green one, and only then did he seem to snap out of his reverie. Newt's head jerked a bit, as she noticed it often did whenever he was in an awkward situation, and averted his gaze, a blush blooming on his cheeks. Tina's face was heating up as well, and she found herself continuing to stare at him long after he'd looked away.
"Now do you believe that Ilvermorny is the better school?" Queenie persisted. "I mean, it even says that it's the 'wizard school supreme' in the lyrics!"
Tina snatched her gaze away from Newt, and turned to look at Queenie instead, hoping that no one, least of all Newt, had noticed.
"No, Hogwarts is still the best," Newt said, "no matter how great your school song is."
Tina snorted exasperatedly. "Ilvermorny is the greatest school," she stated firmly, "definitely not Hogwash."
Queenie furiously bobbed her head in agreement. Jacob had not joined the discussion; he was too occupied with his wizard fantasies.
Newt looked affronted. "Hogwash?" he repeated, amusement apparent in his voice.
Tina laughed, having realized how ridiculous it sounded. Newt seemed to be smiling uncontrollably. Queenie, as it seemed, was also feeling rather euphoric, because she was giggling again, eagerly watching the two of them with eyes stretched wide, as though they were some newly discovered species.
"Just admit Ilvermorny is the best," Tina prodded, insistently ignoring her sister.
Newt opened his mouth and closed it, debating whether to continue the bickering or to give in. He met Tina's sparkling brown eyes, and smirked slightly. "Fine," he said, shaking his head so that his unruly hair became even more messy. "I shall admit that Ilvermorny is the superior school, far better than Hogwarts."
He looked from Tina to Queenie, then back to Tina again. "Satisfied?" he teased.
Tina's mind was completely and utterly flustered, and she floundered around inside it for something to say. She had not expected such blatant teasing from the awkward and reserved Englishman. Or maybe she was overthinking it. Surely he would not want not flirt with her, because there would be no way he actually felt anything for her, if flirting was what he was even doing? Perhaps he was just making conversation. But Tina knew that Newt was not one for small talk, he'd prefer silence to idle conversation.
Luckily, Queenie rescued her from having to say anything. "Oh, I'm sure Teenie's very happy with your answer, Newt," she said with meaningful glances at both of them.
Tina groaned to herself. Why did her sister have to be embarrass her so much? Newt did not look any more at ease than she did. Queenie's comment seemed to have taken his boldness away, and he dropped his gaze as he returned to preparing the feed.
Queenie looked crestfallen. She hurriedly pretended to check her watch, which was nonexistent, and cried, "Oh, look at that! It's almost dinner time! I'd better go and fix something up if we're planning on eating tonight. Jacob, you're staying for dinner, right?" Without waiting for an answer, she dragged him up by his elbow and continued, "Great, you can help me. You two can just stay here, Jacob'll be enough," she added brightly over her shoulder as she led a very confused-looking Jacob into the shed and up the ladder.
Tina wanted to whack her head against the shed wall.
"She–erm, seems very excited about the prospect of supper," Newt remarked.
"Yes," Tina muttered darkly, "very excited."
Oh, she was to throttle Queenie later for putting her in this situation. She should have gotten used to her sister's attempts to push her and Newt together by now, but she hadn't, and everytime an attempt was excecuted, Tina felt like either murdering Queenie on the spot or sinking through the ground and never resurfacing again.
Although, they didn't all turn out bad. Being alone with Newt made goosebumps rise on her arms, and a warm, fuzzy tingling feeling was now spreading inside her.
Newt seemed to have something on his mind though. His eyebrows were furrowed, and his green eyes appeared hesitant, unsure.
"Is everything okay, Newt?" Tina asked, concerned.
Newt started, and looked up at her. "Oh. Erm, yes."
There was a heavy pause.
Newt seemed to be steeling himself. "So, I was–wondering how you would feel if I stayed in New York for a rather long time after the wedding?" he asked extremely quickly.
Tina could hardly believe her ears. Newt was going to be staying in New York for a long time? Her heart was racing, and the warm, fuzzy sensation from earlier strengthened until she felt as if she was standing in a golden ray of infinite sunshine. She looked him right in the eye. A smile bloomed on her face, and with a happy little laugh in her voice, she told Newt, "I'd like that. Very much!"
Newt grinned at her answer, and he nodded slowly. Tina could not bring herself to look away from him.
"I'm glad," he said, his green eyes sparkling.
AHHHH Newtina has set sail! It took twenty chapters to get to this point of fluffiness, but there's more coming up, so don't worry. I'm so pleased that this chapter had lots of Newtiness. The school song is from a deleted scene. Fun fact, Alison Sudol, who plays Queenie, co-wrote it with Queen JKR. Alison wrote the tune and our Queen JK wrote the words. Thank you for reading, and stay tuned! :)