It was the morning of 24 of December.
"Mum?" Newt called out.
"Yes, dear?!" Joanne yelled back.
"Where in the name of Merlin are you?!" Newt looked under the dining table.
"You ought to know, Newton!! It's Christmas Eve morning!!" Joanne coughed.
Rolling his eyes, Newt walked into the living room & wasn't surprised to see his mother halfway up the chimney.
"Will you please stop trying to catch Saint Nick?" Newt laughed, shaking his head.
"I'm going to catch him this year!! I know all the tricks now!! I've been doing this science your father & I got married. I didn't want some freak in a stupid red suit breaking & entering into my house!!!" Joanne's voice was muffled.
"Good morning." Tina entered the room yawning & stretching. She suddenly noticed Joanne in the chimney. "What in the name of Deliverance Dane are you doing up there?!"
Joanne emerged from the fireplace covered in soot. "Hello, Tina, dear!! Did you sleep well?"
"Y-yes." Tina stuttered. "Just-just curious, what were you doing up there?"
Newt laughed.
"You see," he explained, chuckling. "Mother thinks that old Saint Nick is rather disturbing."
"And creepy!!" Joanne interjected. "I mean, come on!! He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when your awake. Am I the only person that finds that creepy?!"
"Happy Christmas everybody!!" Leta & Theseus arrived in the living room. Arm in arm.
Tina's jaw dropped. Leta had just woken up & she looked magnificent.
"Leta?" Tina stepped over to her. "Did you use any magic this morning?"
"No, I accidentally left my wand in here last night." Leta turned around. "Oh! There it is!!" She picked it up, off the armchair.
"So-so you woke up & just looked like that?!" Tina stuttered.
"That being good or bad?" Leta raised an eyebrow.
"Good, of course!! Your hair is all neat & silky, your skin is glowing, you look wide awake even though you woke up..."
"5 minutes ago" Leta smiled. "I just brushed my teeth, washed my face, slipped on a dressing gown & here I am!!!"
Tina groaned. "Look at me though!! My hair is a dinosaur nest-"
"Don't you mean birds nest?" Theseus inquired.
"I wish." Tina muttered.
"I think you look beautiful." Newt came up behind her & put his hands on her shoulders.
Tina looked up at him.
There was a moment. Where everyone in the room disappeared. Only them two in the world. Nothing but each other. Surrounded by bright light. It was the closest thing to heaven either of them had ever had.
"Awwwwwww!!!" Everyone else suddenly reappeared.
"Come on then," Leta beckoned the American. "If he thinks you look beautiful now, he's going to be in utter & complete awe after you comb your hair."
The two of them left, giggling like schoolgirls.
The others were left chuckling slightly.
"What is it that you needed, Newton?" Joanne wiped some soot off her face.
"Oh! Yes, well....I have some friends coming over to stay today." Newt began.
Theseus laughed. "Friends," he muttered, shaking his head.
"Ignore him, Newt. I'm sure you have many friends!!" Joanne waved her wand & cleaned the rest of the soot off.
Theseus laughed louder. "Tell us, Newt. How many friends do you have? Or is there too little to count?"
Joanne shook her head & steered the conversation back on topic. "Who are your friends, dear?"
"Well, there's only a couple of them. There's Jacob & then Queenie-" Newt started.
Theseus's expression changed almost instantly. From laughing to serious in about 0.5 seconds.
Joanne nodded imploringly to Theseus.
Yet again, the eldest Scamander brother produced a piece of parchment & a quill out of thin air.
"How close are you & this 'Queenie'?" He asked suspiciously. "Does she know Tina?"
"Well, me & Queenie are rather close." Newt laughed softly.
Joanne gasped & clutched her heart while Theseus looked downright offended.
"And Tina does in fact know Queenie." Newt continued. "Seeing as they're sisters......"
Joanne & Theseus couldn't have looked more relived.
The three of them started to laugh. And laugh. And laugh.
If the day had started out this well, nothing could ruin it. Right?
Wrong.
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"A ball?" Tina paced up & down Newt's room.
"Yes. You repeated that 107 times now." Newt winced.
"I need medicine for my headache." Tina sighed before spotting a drawer labeled: REMEDIES.
"May I?" Tina glanced over to Newt.
"Sure." Newt agreed before seeing what drawer it was. When he did...
"Tina, wait!!" He scrambled over the bed. "Don't open tha-"
Tina turned around with a bulletin board in her hands. It was upside down.
"Wow!! What's this for?" Tina examined the huge board. "How did you fit this in your drawer?!" She stopped for a second, a flash of realisation her eyes. "Wait....that's just an extension charm! I feel so dumb!!" She smiled a bit.
Flipping over the board, she was overtaken with emotion.
Every inch of the board was covered by letters. Her letters. In the middle of all the letters was a different picture of Tina. It was full body & she was wearing a coat similar to Newt's blue one while laughing brightly.
"Where did you get this picture?" Tina felt herself blushing.
"Queenie sent it." Newt looked at his shoes. "When was it taken?"
"2 days after you left, last year. I saw that coat in a store." Tina looked down, face red. "It strongly reminded me of you, so I bought it. I wore everyday until you said you were coming. I didn't want you to see it. I-I was embarrassed."
Tina finally had the guts to look up. "Why did you put it here?"
This time, Newt had to gather the courage to look up. "I kept the board on my wall so I could read your letters & see you when I liked. Which was quite a lot. In my spare time, I usually found myself staring dumbly at this board."
Newt looked down again but, feeling Tina's gaze on him, he looked up again. "I'm sorry if you feel uncomfortable about this, I can get rid of the board but I'm afraid I'm keeping the letters & the picture-"
Tina kissed him.
A/N
The ball's next chapter!!
Queenie & Jacob are also arriving next chapter.
See ya then!
- Fangurl_700
PS. Chapter 30!! Wow!! I've come so far!! *Eyes water with gratitude*