All week Tina had to deal with Isa and do charm after charm to places until her elbow was sore. Wand elbow, she called it. After the papers on Monday, Isa had become increasingly intolerable. She was 20, so she was actually not working, just interning. She was annoying and obnoxious and haughty. Tina also had to redo many of Isa's very complicated charms. It wasn't fun. Also, weirdly enough, every time she looked at the strange auror, he or she looked away. This was the only assignment she could get, and she didn't want to lose her job, but this was only for aurors because they were the only ones that could do these spells. She should have been out hunting Grindelwald's followers.
It was the weekend. Finally. It had been a long week. She had slept in, much to the annoyance to Pickett. Newt had let her sleep in because he had seen the exhaustion on her face. Feeding the creatures had taken a little longer, but a tired and grumpy Tina was not preferred to a well-rested one.
Tina woke up. Yawning, she sat up in her bed. She looked over to Nagini's bed, but it was neatly made up and her dress was missing from the hanger. She must have woken up already. She got up and headed to the dresser. It was Saturday, so she chose a more casual pair of grey trousers and a long-sleeved white blouse. She walked to the dining room, smoothing down her hair with a comb. Jacob was sitting on the couch, trying to make sense of the Daily Prophet. Nagini was in the basement playing the with the baby occamys. Newt was sketching out a magical creature, but Tina didn't know what it was. A plate of scrambled eggs and a mug of cocoa sat on the table. With a flick of her wand, she warmed it up. As she sat down to start eating, a barn owl flew through the window. She untied the letter from its talons. It waited, presumably for a reply. The letter was addressed to Newton Artemis Fido Scamander. She handed it to Newt. He read it out loud.
Dear Mr Scamander,
We would like if you could come to Flourish and Blotts for a book signing later today, maybe at 2:00. We know it is a bit abrupt, but a different signing that was supposed to happen today got cancelled. We would be very grateful if you could come.
-Flourish and Blotts
"Oh, alright. I guess I will. We haven't gotten out of the house at all, and it will be nice to show you Diagon Alley. Actually, wait. Jacob won't be able to see it. Neither will Nagini, I presume. You two wouldn't mind not coming with us would you? There is a very nice museum, the British Museum about a fifteen-minute walk away from Diagon Alley. I have money for tickets if you would like." Newt said. He started to write a reply. Nagini had come up the stairs and had been listening to Newt.
"That would be great. We can meet you outside the British Museum at, say, 4:45?" Jacob asked.
"Alright. Though Nagini might want to change. It is quite chilly outside, and you might want to blend in a little more." Tina put in. She had scarfed down her breakfast and was now beckoning Nagini to come to their room. Donning the no-nonsense tone she had used with Queenie when they were younger, she said,
"Alright. You can borrow an outfit from me today, and we can pick up some clothing for you at Diagon Alley." She proceeded to pick out an outfit for Nagini. She knew that Nagini didn't normally wear her type of clothing, but they were good for now. To her surprise, at the bottom of her luggage, she found a long navy and silver floral print skirt and a ruffled cream blouse. She assumed Queenie had snuck it in there. She wouldn't wear it, but it was good for Nagini. She handed it to Nagini, and Nagini beamed.
"Thank you so much! I've never had clothing this nice before." Nagini said.
"It's really no problem at all. You might also want to do up your hair to a more English style. I can do it for you if you would like." Tina offered.
"That would be great, I'll go change now." Nagini walked to the bathroom. Tina sat on the bed and thought, this is like when I had to take care of Queenie. She had to be a mom for her younger sister, even though she was definitely too young. One of the professors had offered to take care of Queenie for the upcoming two years when their parents died, but she had refused because they had to be together.
Nagini had come back. She looked nice.
"Sit on the bed, let me do your hair," Tina said. Nagini did just that. Tina proceeded to use her wand to style Nagini's long hair into a simple bun at the nape of her neck like she had seen many women do. It took about two minutes. When Tina was done, Nagini admired her reflection.
"This looks so good! Thank you so much." Nagini beamed again.
"I've had a lot of practice. Now, come on, let's head back to the living room. I'll conjure you some shoes." Nagini headed to the living room, and Tina conjured an elegant pair of blue flats in Nagini's shoe size. Then she headed after Nagini.
They had all pulled on coats and were ready to leave. Newt took Jacob's hand and Tina took Nagini's, and they apparated to an alleyway close to the British Museum. Newt gave them tickets, and they headed their separate ways.
Walking through the cobbled streets of Diagon Alley, Tina felt a sense of wonder. New York didn't have a whole sort of shopping centre like this. Each shop was specifically for witches and wizards and it was incredible. She couldn't stop looking at every little thing there was. Newt, on the other hand, looked down and hid his face, presumably because he was famous, and he didn't like attention. They entered Flourish and Blotts from the back entrance. Even Flourish and Blotts was amazing. It was filled to the brim with books of every genre and topic. There was a table set up that said, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them book signing. The manager came up to Newt.
"Mr Scamander, customers will come in about twenty minutes and we are a bit short-staffed currently, can you and your partner" he gestured to Tina "help me collect all the copies of your book?" He asked.
"Yes, of course," Newt replied. They quickly got to work. There were a lot more books than it looked originally, but they made quick work of it with about seven minutes to spare. Newt took a seat at the table.
"Ma'am, I never got to ask your name. And pardon me for asking, I don't want to be rude, but who are you?" the manager asked.
"Oh! I'm Porpentina Goldstein. Nice to meet you. I'm an auror, I work for MACUSA. I'm on assignment here. I'm also Newt's friend, I'm staying with him currently." She replied.
"Nice to meet you, Miss Goldstein. You're Newt's friend, huh." The manager winked.
A couple of minutes later, customers and fans started streaming in. The line suddenly went from nonexistent to ridiculously long. She had to stand in the corner to avoid being bombarded by people. She was surprised at how many people had come. Newt had mentioned he was famous, but Tina didn't realize he was this famous.
Possibly around half an hour later, (Tina had lost track of time), she saw an oh so familiar face. One she thought she would be free from for the weekend. Isa. Isa was wearing a short orange dress, too short in Tina's opinion. Her hair was pulled up into a pretty braided hairstyle. She came up to Newt and flashed a winning smile. A knot formed at the pit of her stomach. Is this what jealousy feels like? She thought.
"Hello! I'm Isa Evans. I'm a big fan of yours. Could you please sign my copy?" She fluttered her eyelashes. Newt, a bit took aback by this sudden display of affection hastily signed Isa's copy.
"What do you think about aurors? I'm one myself." Isa said.
"I'm not a big fan of them. There's only one I like." Newt was too embarrassed to say which one. Tina was suddenly annoyed. She walked up next to Newt from her little corner behind the table.
"Hello, Miss Evans. Nice to see you around. I'm sorry, but you are holding up the line. There are many other people that deserve to have their book signed." Tina said, with an annoyed expression on her face.
"Oh, Ms Goldstein, sorry about that, let me leave now." Isa flashed one more smile at Newt and left.
After all the book signings were done they had about forty-five minutes to spare before they had to meet Jacob and Nagini so that was when they decided to shop. Newt led her to Madam Malkin's, where they sold robes and other clothing, such as dresses. Tina found clothing for Nagini quickly. One dress, two blouses, and two skirts. Plus a pair of black flats and a red woollen sweater. Tina then realized that Christmas was coming up soon, and picked up a beautiful silver gown for Nagini as her Christmas present. After paying for them, she walked over to Newt, who was looking at a rack of suits.
"Why are you looking at suits? Are you going to a party or something?" Tina asked, confused. She frowned.
"Well...um...well..." Newt struggled to find something to say. "You see, I got this invitation from Theseus and my mother inviting me to go to their annual Christmas party. Theseus wanted to call it off because of Leta, but my mother insisted they have one so Theseus could get to know some more "well-bred" people. Also known as wealthy socialites. You told me you didn't like parties so I decided not to tell you. I'm sorry." Newt replied, awkwardly. A small, gentle smile graced her lips.
"Newt, I would love to come with you to the party if it would make you feel better. I wouldn't want you to be awkward at a party without being joined by an equally as awkward person. I'll pick out a dress." Tina said. "How about you go catch up with Jacob and Nagini and I'll come later after I get a dress." She finished.
"Alright, would you want me to take Nagini's clothes? I can give them to her." Newt offered.
"Sure! See you soon." She waved goodbye, and he apparated.
Now, to the topic of picking out a dress. Really, how did Queenie do this? She didn't particularly like dresses, but this was special. She started the most logical way. What colours did she like? Blue and black and green. It was a Christmas party, after all, so green seemed like the best choice. Many people had been buying Christmas dresses, she could tell, so there were only three green dresses left on the rack. The first one was a light, forest green, which was a nice colour, but it had a scoop neck. A really, really low one. That one was out. The second one was covered in lace and it was too small. Also out. The last one was dark green, almost black, and had a high neckline and long sleeves. It was made out of a soft, silky material. The skirt was long, and it brushed the floor. There was no detailing except for a little green dragon embroidered by the waist. She recognized it as a Common Welsh Green from Newt's book. It was perfect. She picked out a pair of green velvet flats to go with it. She couldn't stand heels.
She paid and apparated back to Newt's home. She walked to her room, where she saw Nagini trying on the clothes.
"Do they fit? I can alter them with magic if they don't." Tina offered.
"No, they fit perfectly. These are all great!" Nagini replied. "Show me what you got." Tina laid out the dress on her bed.
"It's beautiful! Newt's not going to be able to function once he sees you in this dress." Nagini said, playfully.
"Oh stop it, let's put away this clothing," Tina said.
"Are you going as friends or dates?" Nagini asked curiously.
"Nagini, of course, we're going as friends," Tina answered.
"Yes, alright, just friends." Nagini rolled her eyes.
"Why, do you think we're not just friends?" Tina asked.
"We'll, Jacob and I have seen the way you two act around each other, and it's pretty obvious you like each other. I don't know why you don't see that." Nagini explained.
"Nagini, I'm still dating someone else," Tina said softly. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked down.
"Sorry. We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." Nagini said.
"Alright. Maybe later." Tina said.
A/N:
Sorry for the abrupt ending. I was struggling to find a way to end this part. I have a couple of things to say. 1. Wow, over a hundred people have/are reading this! Thank you so much, everyone. 2. I just heard two songs (for no particular reason), Unconditionally by Katy Perry and Somebody to you by The Vamps and I was like THIS IS SO NEWT AND TINA! Listen to them if you haven't heard them (pay attention to the lyrics) and you'll see what I mean. That's all for now, bye! (And if you were wondering if Achilles Tolliver is going to be in this book he will be.)