A heavy thump made Tina look up, just in time to see a tawny owl sliding almost comically down the window. She hurried over, startled, but the owl had already recovered and now hovering dazedly. She hastily opened the window, and the owl swooped dizzily in. Its creamy feathers were rumpled from the crash, and its wide eyes seemed to be crossed.
To its leg was tied a smoking red letter, which Tina recognized all too well as a Howler. She suspected that she knew exactly who it was from. With a feeling of great caution, she untied the letter and gingerly held it, as if it were a bomb that could go off at any second.
"Newt!" Tina called. "I think there's something for you."
Just then, the scarlet envelope exploded with a loud bang, and a voice emanated from it, making her ears ring.
"NEWTON ARTEMIS FIDO SCAMANDER!" Florence shrieked. "YOU HAVEN'T VISITED ME FOR ONE WHOLE MONTH! YOUR POOR OLD MOTHER IS DYING OF HEARTACHE OVER HERE! YOU GET YOUR BUTTOCKS OVER TO THE HOUSE TODAY, OR I'LL CURSE THEM OFF MYSELF!"
The message was simple and to the point, but Tina had already backed up against the wall with her fingers plugged into her ears. The flaming letter ripped itself to pieces that floated down to the floor, where it became a pile of cinders and ashes.
Tina became aware that Newt had entered the room, and was standing there rubbing his face with his hand. "She needs to stop sending Howlers," he groaned.
"No kidding," Tina agreed.
The owl seemed to be of the same opinion, and hooted before flying out the window. Thankfully, it was successful in exiting the house without smashing into the window.
"I suppose that means I ought to visit, or else she'll be here to curse my buttocks off," Newt muttered.
Tina laughed, having no doubt in believing that Florence Scamander was more than capable of doing so. "I'll come with you, if you want," she offered.
Newt perked up. "Would you?" he asked. "Oh, thank Merlin. Then we'll be able to get away quicker."
"Your mom isn't that bad," she giggled.
"Yes, she is," he insisted firmly. "She raised me, I should know."
"Let's go and get it over with then," Tina said.
Newt nodded in agreement and they Apparated with a faint, crackling pop. Spinning onto the corner of the his parents' block, Tina set off at a brisk pace behind Newt. The house loomed ahead, looking bright and friendly.
"This should be exciting," Tina said.
"Let's hope not. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my mum doesn't lose it this time around," Newt replied.
Tina elbowed him playfully. "Don't talk about your own mother like that!" she scolded.
Newt winced and rubbed his ribs where she had poked him. "It's hard not to. You would too if you've known her for 30 years," he argued.
"You say that, but I know you love her," Tina said, grinning. "She is your mom, after all."
"Mum," he corrected.
"No, it's mom," she said.
"Not here, it isn't. It's mum."
"Mom."
"Mum."
"Mom."
"Trust me, it's mum."
Tina opened her mouth to argue, but was silenced when Newt slipped his hand into hers. He twined their fingers together, and she couldn't help but smile.
"That's cheating," Tina said. "You think you can shut me up just by holding my hand?"
"No," Newt said innocently. "But I thought you might be cold."
Tina rolled her eyes. "This argument isn't over, Newt," she warned.
"As long as I'm holding your hand, it is," he said.
Tina laughed and shook her head helplessly. "I hate it when you win."
"Well, seeing as I don't win very often, it shouldn't be bothering you," he replied, grinning cheekily.
"It's not," she admitted. "But I'm letting you win right now. Don't think holding my hand will work in the future, because I'll be immune to you then."
"I wouldn't dare think that," he grinned.
They turned onto the pathway and Tina wriggled her hand away from his. She missed his warmth already, but wanted to avoid another scene with Florence.
"So your mom doesn't start getting all – um, let's say enthusiastic," she explained.
Newt nodded. "But I still won the argument, though," he teased, his green eyes twinkling.
"This time," she said. "Next time, we'll see who wins."
They stopped at the door and Newt raised his knuckles to knock on it. It immediately flew open and the pair was greeted by the beaming face of Florence.
"Newton!" she cried, pulling her son into a bone-crushing hug.
Newt looked as though he was having all the air being squeezed out of him, and Tina was somewhat nervous when his mother turned to face her with her arms spread wide open.
"And Tina!" Florence exclaimed excitedly. "How lovely to see you!"
Tina felt a pair of thin but strong arms wrap around her, momentarily rendering her unable to breathe. She marveled at how Florence, despite her age, could still easily give hugs that slammed the breath right out of you.
Florence seemed especially fond of Tina, and was giving her a rather longer hug then necessary. The brunette could feel herself running out of air, but thought that it would be rude to pull away. Thankfully, Newt appeared and gently prised his mother off of Tina, letting her catch her breath again.
The American witch shot a grateful look at him, and he grinned before turning to his mother.
"Well, I'm here," he announced to her.
Florence eyed him beadily, her warm aura dissipating immediately at these words. "And it only took you a month," she said drily.
Newt took a wary step back, and swallowed. "Yes, um, well I was quite busy," he explained.
This response didn't seem to satisfy his mother. "My own son didn't bother to visit for an entire month," she snapped, her eyes narrowing dangerously.
Newt backed further away and held up his hands in surrender. "I'm sorry, mum, I really am –"
"DO YOU KNOW HOW IT FEELS TO BE IGNORED BY YOUR OWN SON? YOUR OWN DEAR SON THAT YOU RAISED FROM WHEN HE WAS A TINY BABY IN THE CRIB? THAT'S RIGHT, NEWTON, YOU DON'T!" Florence yelled, and her curly orange hair seemed to crackle with energy. "I HAVE NEVER, IN MY ENTIRE 60 YEARS OF LIFE, BEEN MORE DISAPPOINTED!"
"Well, actually, I have," she muttered to herself as an afterthought. "There was that one time when Buttercup the Hippogriff ate all my birthday cupcakes. Oh, how I loved those cupcakes...They were banana and kale flavoured!"
"BUT BACK TO YOU, NEWTON!" Florence's voice rose to a scream again. "IT TOOK A HOWLER FOR YOU TO VISIT ME! WHAT IF I'D DIED BEFORE THEN? I BET YOU HADN'T THOUGHT OF THAT, HAVE YOU, NEWTON! WHAT IF YOUR DEAR OLD MUM HAD DIED OF – ERM, BANANA-AND-KALE-CUPCAKE-DEPRIVATION-ITIS?"
"Mum," Newt said hesitantly. "That's not a real sickness–"
"DID I GIVE YOU PERMISSION TO OPEN YOUR MOUTH, NEWTON? NO, CLOSE IT, BECAUSE I MOST CERTAINLY DID NOT! BANANA-AND-KALE-CUPCAKE-DEPRIVATION-ITIS IS A SICKNESS IF I SAY SO! I KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING, BECAUSE BACK IN MY DAY, I USED TO BE A HEALER MYSELF! I CURED BAJILLIONS OF PEOPLE WITH BANANA-AND-KALE-CUPCAKE-DEPRIVATION-ITIS! BAJILLIONS!"
"Mum," Newt said reasonably. "You were a breeder of fancy Hippogriffs, and a bajillion isn't even a real number."
Tina was watching all of this and trying very hard not to collapse onto the floor and roll around with peals of laughter. She met Newt's frantic green gaze, which was begging for her to help him, but she shook her head and muffled a laugh into her fist instead.
"NEWTON! WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY IS THAT I AM EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED IN YOU FOR EATING ALL MY DELICIOUS HOMEMADE BANANA AND KALE BIRTHDAY CUPCAKES! Wait no, that's not right. Wrong speech, sorry, that was the one I gave to Buttercup," Florence muttered, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "ANYWAYS, YOU NEED TO KNOW HOW TO VISIT YOUR MOTHER! AND NOT JUST EVERY MONTH! IN FACT, I'D GREATLY APPRECIATE IT IF YOU CAME ON AN HOURLY BASIS!"
"Mum!" Newt exclaimed. "I couldn't possibly visit you every hour!"
"SILENCE! FROM NOW ON, EVERY HOUR IT IS! OTHERWISE, I MIGHT JUST DIE OF A VERY CONVENIENT AND LIFE THREATENING HEART-ACHE ATTACK!" his mother shrieked.
"A heart-ache attack also isn't real," the Magizoologist said.
Tina saw Florence positively inflate. Feeling obligated to rescue Newt, she quickly stepped in and said, "Mrs. Scamander, why don't you take Newt and I to the Hippogriff stables? He told me that you were marvelous breeder back then."
Florence's face immediately broke into a proud smile and she shot a bright look at her son, who was fidgeting nervously. "Did he, now? Newton always was sweet," she gushed. "Oh well, then, come on. The stables are round the back."
She beckoned imperiously with a hand, and spun on her heel to flounce out of the room. Tina and Newt followed more slowly, and the Englishman sent her a grateful and relieved glance.
"Thanks for getting me out of that sticky little situation there," he murmured under his breath.
"Don't expect me to do it again," Tina teased playfully. "You mom's scary enough as she is."
"Oh, you're telling me?" he huffed.
Florence swung open the back door and walked outside, trailed by Tina and Newt. The backyard was large and spacious, and at the back, a row of long wooden stables lined the grass. Feathers and talons could be seen through the gaps, and occasional squawks emitted from them.
"These," Florence announced proudly, sweeping her arms grandly toward the stables, "are my Hippogriffs!"
Tina was just about to reply when two people appeared from behind the wooden structures, laughing and linking their arms together. One of them Tina recognized. He was tall and had dark hair, and was obviously Theseus. The other was a woman, who was on the slightly shorter side. She was stunningly pretty, with dark eyes and thick, wavy, short brown hair that fringed her face perfectly. She moved with a careful elegance, and everytime she blinked, Tina could see her long, dark eyelashes flutter even from where she was standing.
Leta Lestrange. The name popped into her mind, despite Tina never having met her before. A cold, writhing feeling came to life within her, and it felt as though as mass of endless coils were squirming around continuously. She distantly recognized the feeling as jealousy, and she swallowed hard, crushing it down.
I should have no reason to be jealous of her. Sure, she's pretty, but so is Queenie, and I'm not jealous of her. Leta hasn't even done anything yet. Remain neutral, Tina.
Still, Tina couldn't help but feel envious. She didn't know the whole story, but she knew enough to know that Leta had been close friends with Newt at Hogwarts, up until something horrible happened. She thought that Newt had been hurt in some way by her, and instinctively stepped closer to him, all of a sudden very protective.
Newt had stiffened rigidly beside her and was staring at Leta, his usually sparkling green eyes lacking all their luster. Instead they were cold and hurt. His jaw was set into a firm lock, and he stood frozen to the spot.
"Oh, hi Leta!" Florence chirped, unaware of the atmosphere.
"Hello, Mrs. Scamander," Leta replied. Her voice was as smooth as silk, and mesmerizingly so.
"Newt!" Theseus said. "I didn't know you were coming."
Tina watched as Leta's shining brown gaze shifted to Newt. The brunette's eyes narrowed slightly, and she shook her suspicions away. Don't judge people before you know them, Tina scolded herself.
"Newt," Leta said. Her tone was clearly uncomfortable, but it hadn't lost its silkiness.
"Leta," Newt acknowledged curtly, with a cold nod.
Leta looked slightly taken aback at his icy behavior, and she looked even more startled when she spotted Tina, who was still planted firmly beside him.
"And you are...?" she questioned, tipping her head to the side.
Tina felt herself prickle at her tone. "Tina," she said, trying the sound as polite as possible.
Newt glanced at her and blinked. He hurriedly slipped his hand into hers and added, "My girlfriend."
Tina's eyes widened in surprise, but she felt comforted, too. Newt was clearly not going to forget about her. Up until this point, the brunette hadn't even realized that was what she had been afraid of. She imagined herself being cast off to the side in favour of Leta, and her breath caught. But then she felt Newt's hand in her own, and relaxed again, sighing audibly.
Newt heard her, and turned to give her a questioning glance. His green eyes radiated with concern. He blinked at her, seeming to ask if she was okay. Tina smiled and gave him a confident nod, pleased that he had been so thoughtful as to consider how Leta might make her feel.
"Are you sure?" Newt whispered out of the corner of his mouth. "We can leave if you want."
Tina gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "I'm fine," she murmured back.
"If you're done talking," Theseus interrupted, though he wasn't unfriendly. "I don't believe Leta's met Tina before."
Leta gave her fiancé a withering glance, which he didn't notice. She grimaced and stepped forward with her hand extended, clearly reluctant. Tina shook her hand, which was icy cold.
"Hello," the American said.
"Hello," Leta replied shortly.
They let go of each other's hands, and Tina was quite glad to reclaim Newt's warm one. Its calloused exterior felt comforting and familiar beneath her own, and she felt herself relax more.
"Oh goody," Florence said with childlike enthusiasm, clapping her hands. "Now we all know each other!"
"That's wonderful, mum," Theseus said, rolling his eyes and smiling at Leta, who smiled back, though distractedly.
"Newt, can I talk to you for a second?" Leta said abruptly, after some visible indecision.
"Oh," Newt said, his eyebrows flying up. He glanced at Tina, who stared back. "Um – if you must. All right, then."
Neither Florence nor Theseus seemed to think this was odd, though the older Scamander brother was looking at Leta with a furrowed brow. She walked lightly off to a spot several meters away, and Newt trailed reluctantly after her. He glanced over his shoulder at Tina, and she nodded, telling him to go on.
Every muscle inside her was telling her to grab Newt and tug him back beside her, but she fought down the urge and forced her mind to focus on Florence and Theseus instead.
"Leta is a wonderful young woman," Florence sighed. "I'm proud of you, Theseus."
"Mum," he moaned. "Please, not now!"
"Oh fine!" Florence said. "Tina, how are you? I say, Newt is quite lucky to have you too..."
She trailed off into a mindless rambling, and all Tina had to do was nod and smile at the right moments. She couldn't help but hear snippets of Newt's and Leta's conversation, and despite herself, found her ears straining to hear more.
"Newt, I don't understand why you're being like this."
"Because – and I'm not going to lie – you hurt me, Leta. And whatever we had in the past, whatever it was that was between the two of us when we were at Hogwarts, is over."
"That's not what I'm trying to say. I know it's over. I'm not even sure if it existed in the first place, Newt. Maybe it had just been you. But I'm not here to debate about that. What I really want to know is why you're ignoring me all of a sudden. It's as if I'm just a stone sculpture."
"Leta, I don't want anything to do with you anymore. Not even friendship. You have my brother, he should be enough for you. And I...I have Tina. She's more than I could ever dream for. I know all you're asking for is forgiveness, but right now I can't give that to you. I don't think I ever can. I'm sorry."
There was a silence, and Tina was left to delve into her thoughts. I have Tina. And she's more than I could ever dream for. She kept on replaying those words in her head, and her earlier jealousy vanished. Of course she had no reason to be jealous of Leta. She had her strengths, and Tina had her own. She felt Newt's support and care for her even from here, and Tina smiled softly. She should have never doubted anyone.
She was shaken from her thoughts by a gentle touch on her arm. Tina turned around, startled, to see Newt standing behind her.
"Let's go," he murmured.
Leta was standing a long distance behind him, her arms crossed and looking upset. Tina thought she could detect a trace of regret and sorrow on her features, and felt a twinge of pity for her.
Newt's hand once again found hers, and Tina gripped his tightly. They walked together around the house, heading to the sidewalk. Florence, thankfully, was still enraptured in her own misty-eyed rant, and was oblivious to them.
"Newt?" Tina said hesitantly. "I...I just wanted to say thank you."
For just now. For the past. For everything.
Newt seemed to know what she was talking about, and gave her a gentle smile. His hand squeezed hers, and he murmured softly, "She was a taker. I needed a giver, and I found you. You're my giver, Tina. My one and only true giver."
This chapter was almost 3k words! I'm sorry I didn't upload yesterday, but I hope you liked this one. I didn't want to make Leta too mean or snobby or anything, but I felt like she needed to be a bit like that for the purpose of this chapter. I'm actually really excited to get to know her in The Crimes of Grindelwald, though. But if she gets between Newt and Tina, I will kill her! You?