─── THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC DIDN'T SEEM TO CARE about the sudden return of Tyne Ayers and Theseus found himself appalled at their reaction. It meant that her father had lied to them directly about her death and it was more than possible that Tyne had to face something horrific over the years when people had long forgotten about her. However, the Ministry had made it more than clear that the only matter of importance surrounded the whereabouts of Gellert Grindelwald and nothing more. Torquil had made that abundantly clear when Theseus approached him about the matter, asking what they should do about Fraser Ayers.
"He's already in Azkaban, Mr Scamander, what more is there to do?" he replied harshly. "I won't hear any more about this selkie nonsense. She's alive, celebrate while you can but I'll hear nothing more about it."
It was true in a sense, there wasn't anything else they could technically do to Fraser Ayers, that hadn't already been done in Azkaban. If Theseus remembered correctly, he had already received the dementors kiss and was currently just rotting away for his crimes. However, Theseus just felt as though the Ministry could have shown that they cared more. After all, they had failed to do their job, obviously, Tyne was still alive when they had written her off as dead. Perhaps they could compensate her in some form or fashion, but they made it clear that it didn't matter whether she returned or not.
Finding himself frustrated with the entire situation, Theseus decided he was going to take it upon himself to keep Tyne safe. For years, he had blamed himself for ever letting her walk away from him in the train station when they were children. He knew that at the time he really didn't have a say in the matter, but it was the way Tyne's father had approached them, he wished he would have said something then.
The idea of saying something and preventing her disappearance had haunted him for so long, but it was like he was given a second chance to make things right. It had to be some form of fate that Tyne had shown up and he had been called to the case, although he was sure that many would just write it off as a pure coincidence. But he didn't believe that to be so, how could he? After all the time that had passed and yet, one of the first things that Tyne had written to him was an apology about never responding to his invitation to come to his home almost two decades prior.
She had nothing to be sorry for and Theseus wanted to prove that to her, he wanted to reassure her that she was safe despite whatever had happened to her. But in order to help her as much as possible, Theseus had to know the details of where she had been and what had happened to her that caused her to disappear for so long. However, that part of his job was going to be a lot more difficult than he anticipated.
"Are you capable of speaking?" he had asked her after they had gone back and forth with him asking questions and Tyne writing down her answer. It had been so long since he had heard Tyne speak, he was curious as to what she sounded like as an adult. She peered up at him with the "puddle" gaze before nodding her head.
It left him to chuckle slightly, seeing as she still held onto her sense of humour but he watched as she wrote something else down on the piece of parchment.
Can you please say my full name?
Needless to say, the request caught him off guard, but he obliged. Of course, he watched as her finger pointed to where she had written down her full name priorly, but he didn't need to look down. He knew her name, it was one he could never forget.
"Tyne Darya Ayers," he said and watched as a golden light seemed to flicker around her throat and around her head, taking a form of what appeared to be a muzzle before disappearing. Immediately, Tyne began coughing, attempting to clear her throat. A raspy sound escaped from her lips before Theseus quickly leaned over and grabbed her a glass of water.
She took a couple of sips before holding the glass in her lap and looking down at it. Quickly growing impatient with the slight desperation to hear her voice, Theseus was about to prompt her to speak again, but she beat him to it.
"Hello, Theseus."
Her voice was as soft as he remembered it, very similar to her smile that just offered instant comfort. There was a difference to it, of course, as time had gone on, her voice had matured, but still, it was easily distinguishable as Tyne's voice. And yet, to hear it and then remember that seconds before she had removed what appeared to be a silencing spell on her, left him to wonder who didn't want her speaking.
"Who put that curse on you?" he instantly questioned, bringing Tyne to instantly look away. He didn't mean to be so forward but he needed answers. Didn't she want to give him answers so that he could bring people in to receive the justice they deserved? Even if other members of the Ministry were too preoccupied with other matters, he wasn't going to just brush it off to the side.
Obviously, someone or something had caused Tyne harm, he could see it with the scars, he had witnessed it with the burns. Someone had wanted her to remain quiet as well by casting a curse over her so that she couldn't speak. The only way to unleash it was by speaking her name. If she had been taken by someone to a place where no one knew her name, she was bound to silence. It killed Theseus internally to think of what she had been through and he was only going based on theories because she had yet to reveal the truth.
But rather than answering his question, Tyne simply shook her head at the question, she wouldn't tell him. He didn't know what to make of that, he was willing to help her, but it was like she didn't want that sort of help.
"Tyne, if more people were involved, if people were hurting you, you need to tell me who they are," he said, " they need to be brought in for their crimes. You can't just let them get away with it! Look at your scars, did you do that to yourself?"
"No."
"Which means that someone else did? Someone else hurt you. Don't sit there and allow them to get away with it. They can't hurt you, I promise. I'm going to keep you safe but you have to give me some information or I can't do my job. If those people are out there, if they're not hurting you, they could be hurting someone else. What about...what about your mother?"
Wrong move.
Almost instantly, Tyne broke into sobs as she buried her face into her hands. He didn't mean to upset her, the last thing he ever wanted to do was to make her cry. Apparently, Tyne was not ready to open up about what she had faced and judging by how hard she was crying, Theseus had a sinking feeling in his chest that things had not ended well for Nineve Ayers. Slowly leaning forward on the hospital bed, Theseus opened up his arms attempting to give her a hug.
He was hesitant to move too fast, not wanting to scare her, so he remained still and allowed her to come the rest of the way. Eventually, she looked up again and saw him holding out his arms awkwardly with a look of slight discomfort on his face. Rather than leaving him hanging, she leaned forward as well, only she didn't wrap her arms around him. Instead, her forehead came to rest on his chest and she remained completely still.
His arms eventually came down and rested on her back lightly as he allowed her to stay in place. It pained him more than anything to see Tyne in such a predicament because what he remembered about her from his childhood was her being the kindest person in the world. He wasn't exaggerating either or at least, he didn't think he was. But he remembered how Tyne had told him that he was going to change the world and he always believed that she wanted to help the world.
"I'm sorry," he apologised again, " we can talk about it when you're ready."
As Tyne stared down at the buttons of his shirt, she wished she could tell him that she was more than ready to disclose all the information he needed, the problem was she physically couldn't for a reason she couldn't say.
✦✧✦
St Mungo's really had no reason to keep Tyne in their care after healing her, she appeared medically sound and even for a person that had been reported missing for so long, she appeared emotionally stable. The fact was she didn't appear as a risk to herself or others, allowing her to be free to leave. However, she faced the dilemma of having nowhere to go. Her childhood home was long gone and she didn't have any relatives outside of her parents that she knew of that would be willing to take her in. But, of course, Theseus was acting as her rescuer and invited her to come stay with him.
She wondered out loud if it would be considered awkward to have her stay with him, but he saw no reason as to why it would be. He reiterated more than than anything that he just wanted to make sure that she was going to be alright. So when he extended the invitation, after missing out on one almost twenty years ago, she quickly took him up on it.
Curious to see how Theseus lived, she started coming up with her own little theories, based on what she knew about him in Hogwarts. She imagined his flat to be very neat, bed made, all clothes folded or hanging in his wardrobe. There wouldn't even be water in the sink. His fire mantle would be dusted, clean enough to run a white glove over it for inspection. She had always known him to be very neat when they were children.
Remembering the times where she actively played Quidditch and how sometimes she would come back completely muddy from practice. Theseus would practically have a heart attack or he had a handkerchief on him at all times, whenever she had a speck of dirt or even ink on her, he was quick to clean it up. It always made her laugh, even though some of the other children had teased him about it when they were in their earlier years.
But he had such a way of keeping things neat that sometimes while she was in Hogwarts in her own dorm room, she would find herself making her bed. She would even do it at home when she was in her room for the summer. Subconsciously if her mother had something on her face or hands, Tyne would move to quickly clean it away. She always shook her head and smiled when she caught herself doing it.
However, there was no telling if Theseus stuck with the same habits, perhaps he had turned into a slob over the years. She doubted it judging by the way he was dressed so neatly, but there was a possibility that he just kept up with his appearance because he held a high Ministry position. That was another thing that warmed her heart, to hear just how successful Theseus had become. She always knew he was going to do great things, she didn't know what they were specifically, but he had certainly done it.
When they arrived at the flat, Theseus was still holding onto her Selkie skin and Tyne questioned to herself if he thought she was going to try and make a break for it if he handed it back to her. She had no plans on doing so since she really didn't have any place to go but she didn't say anything either. Instead, as he opened the door and allowed her to walk in first, she couldn't help forget about her selkie skin for a few moments as she observed her surroundings. To her delight, she had been correct that Theseus had remained as neat as he was back in their Hogwarts years.
She couldn't resist as she walked over to the fire mantle and raced her finger over the top of it. Her finger came up perfectly clean, which brought her to cry out in delight before looking over at Theseus. He seemed puzzled by her actions but he forced a smile to his lips. It was then that Tyne realised that she was probably coming across as slightly mad.
Lowering her hand to her side, she blushed slightly before tucking her hands behind her back. "Sorry, I just remembered you being so neat and tidy back when we were in school. I remember when you told me you dusted the fire mantle off one night because it drove you mental. I just wanted to see if you were still like that."
"Oh," Theseus clapped his hand over his face, stiffling a laugh, "oh, you still remember that?! Of all things, Tyne!"
"No, no, it wasn't a bad thing!" she exclaimed, waving her hands in front of him. "I always thought it was great. I remember when I used to come out in the mornings and if my collar was a askew or if my skirt was wrinkled, you were always there to help me. I always looked incredibly sharp everywhere I went as long as I had you there."
He appeared flattered as he further entered his flat, removing his outer robe and making his way to the kitchen. He offered to make something if she was hungry, but Tyne didn't find herself with the biggest appetite, she mainly just found herself feeling tired. However, she didn't want to keep sleeping, even if that was what everyone kept telling her to do. The Healers advised her over and over to get as much rest as possible, but finally becoming free after so long, sleep seemed like such a waste of valuable time.
Instead of sleeping though, she took him up on the offer of food, hoping it would allow her to feel more awake. Sitting at the kitchen table after Theseus pulled the chair out for her, she watched as he disappeared into the back with her selkie skin and when he returned, he no longer had it in his arms. Tyne bit the inside of her cheek to keep from saying anything about it, believing that she was just being paranoid.
He offered to make her a full meal, even though Tyne would have just settle for a basic bowl of soup. She didn't wish to trouble him, but Theseus wasn't really taking no for an answer. Sitting quietly at the table, she lightly tapped her fingers against the wood as she looked around.
"Will Newt be coming over any time soon?" she asked, hoping to bring up a topic that would ease into another conversation. Even with his back turned though, Tyne could see that Theseus had suddenly grown tense. She quickly started praying that nothing horrible had happened to Newt over the years or that she hadn't brought up a sore subject.
"No, I don't think he is," Theseus answered quietly, " I've been trying to get him to come over for dinner for quite some time now. He usually has better things to do it seems. He's busy and in the recent months, he's been really busy."
Yes, she had definitely touched upon a sore subject, leaving her to scold herself internally.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude—"
"You weren't, Tyne," he interrupted her, " really, there's no need to apologise. Maybe now that you're here...maybe Newt will make some time to come and see you at least. He always liked you."
"We hardly ever met besides a couple of times at the train station," she said.
"Yes, well, I told him about that one time where you fished that bowtruckle out of the lake. Remember when Darcy Adams threw it in to see if it could swim? He was forever grateful once he heard that story."
"Darcy Adams, I remember her," Tyne said leaning her elbow on the table, " she was so foul all the time. I guess there is one in every bunch but I never understood what led her to be so mean all the time! I mean, she was in Hufflepuff for Merlin's sake, it's stereotypically the friendliest house! I swear the Sorting Hat made a mistake with her."
"Oh, and where would you have sorted her?" Theseus asked in amusement.
"Outside...far away from the castle. Perhaps in one of the caves in the mountains," she replied, " what happened to her anyways? Do you know?"
"Surprisingly enough, she ended up marrying Professor Dacanay, who I remind you was thirty years her senior at the time. Had four kids with him and then they divorced. She now works in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes."
Tyne's jaw practically hit the table with how open her mouth was in shock. While she never truly enjoyed Darcy's presence while they were in school, she would never wish such horrible things on her either.
"Professor Dacanay, that's who she decided to marry but... but he was so weird!" she cringed while shaking her head. "He ate his earwax in front of the class! Please tell me you're joking, Theseus."
"I wish I was. Trust me, I was in just as much as you are now. But I even got an invitation to the wedding."
"Did you go?!"
To tease her, Theseus only gave a mere shrug of his shoulders, but she begged him to tell her if he had actually gone. Just as he was about to tell her what a circus it had been, the sound of the front door opening to the flat brought both of them to look over.
Tyne turned her head to see a flustered looking woman come in, her magenta robes a bit out of place as she looked as though she had raced there. Her eyes were wide until she spotted Theseus and then made her way over to him, completely missing the other woman at the table.
"Theseus, what is going on? I heard that you were in St Mungo's all day and when I came there, they said you had just left. Are you alright? Were you hurt?"
"Leta, I'm fine," Theseus said, stopping her before she asked any further questions, " no I wasn't hurt. I was called in to Folkestone Harbour this morning and it led me to go to St Mungo's but it was for me. It was for her."
He looked directly at Tyne, bringing the woman named Leta to look over as well. For a few seconds, Tyne felt incredibly small under the woman's gaze, having no idea who she was. The woman appeared just as curious about her as well before Theseus moved her to approach the table.
"Leta, this is Tyne Ayers," he began the introduction, " Tyne, this is myfiancée , Leta Lestrange."
The awkward became quickly overwhelming in the air, like a thick blanket, strong enough to smother a roaring fire. The two women looked at each other for a few stolen moments in complete silence before Leta was the first to speak.
"You're Tyne Ayers? The one who went missing all that time ago..."
"Uh yes, that would be me," Tyne said, standing up going to offer her hand, but as she reached out, Leta had looked away right to Theseus for a further explaination. Quickly, Tyne pulled her hand back and rubbed the two together nervously. Never one for awkward encounters, Tyne suddenly felt the urge to leave making her way out of the kitchen by backing away slowly.
"Well, it was very nice meeting you, Leta, and it was nice catching up with you, Theseus, but I should really be heading out. Um...congratulations on the engagement, that's wonderful. You'll have to tell me all about how the two of you met sometime. Anyways, I best be off."
Theseus looked away from Leta, who wore a bewildered expression at the situation. However, he had little time to explain as Tyne was looking to leave right away. He hurried around Leta and made his way to the front door to stop her and as he reached the outside corridor, Tyne had already moved towards the stairs.
"Tyne!" he called after her as he leaned over the railing. "Tyne, just wait a minute! Where are you going?!"
"I don't know," she said, "but I...I didn't know you were getting married, Theseus. I didn't know you were engaged. I can't stay with you."
"Why not?"
"Because..." she looked down at her feet before throwing her head back and looking at him, " it's just odd, that's all. I'm sure your fiancée doesn't need the added company in your flat. I can figure something out, I always do."
"Stop, Tyne!" he called after her as she went to hurry out and almost like he had cast a spell on her, she remained still. Theseus paused for a moment, not thinking it would be that easy to get her to listen. But then he remembered that the Selkie skin was still in his possession. He made his way down the steps and came to stand in front of her on the lower step.
"You can go if you wish," he said, " but please, let's just sort this out before you go running off. You need a place to stay, Tyne. You need food, clothing...you don't even have a wand on you, do you? I'm not going to be comfortable with you just trying to fend for yourself out there. These are the safest of times to be roaming around. Just, please come back upstairs, we'll figure out where you can stay, alright?"
Truth be told, Tyne didn't want to leave, she wanted to stay in Theseus' company as she felt comfortable for the first time in forever. However, she wasn't going to stay there and intrude on Theseus' life with his fiancée that would be too much.
"Sure, fine," she said, giving in, "whatever you want, Theseus."
Little did she know that all Theseus wanted was for Tyne to be safe and happy.