Silence echoed around the house. It had, ever since Leta and Theseus left. The sun was dipping behind the horizon now, casting warm rays of sunshine filtering through the windows and spilling into the living room.
Queenie and Jacob were murmuring in hushed voices to each other as they set about preparing a meal- Newt had just left the living room in search of the other Goldstein sister, who had mysteriously disappeared after accidentally walking in on Theseus and Leta's row earlier that day.
He supposed he was just killing time- he didn't necessarily need to speak to Tina, but he had nothing to do, and being bored with someone else was more fun than being bored alone.
Newt had already checked the kitchen, his room, her room, the laundry and the study, all on the sly, as Jacob and Queenie were both worried that walking around too much could lead to further injuries. He sneaked as stealthily as he could, which wasn't much (because he still wasn't completely used to crutches, and almost dropped one on his way to the study), past the kitchen again.
Luckily for him, Queenie and Jacob both had their backs turned, discussing about whether they should let the pie bake for another few minutes or take it out. Newt had almost made it down the corridor when Jacob's artless voice followed him.
"Hey Newt... where ya' going?"
He cringed, but hid it well, then turned around. He met Jacob's gaze, quickly forming something in his head- he was an excellent liar.
"Just going to rest," Newt replied, schooling his expression into neutrality. Jacob nodded and wheeled around again, returning to the finer arts of preparing food. Newt breathed a sigh of relief. No problems.
Or until, he felt a jab of pain in his shoulder.
"What-" He looked down to find Pickett clicking madly at him, pointing to Tina and Leta's room. Newt knit his brows together in confusion.
"What?" he whispered hastily. Pickett sniffed, pinching him again. Newt batted him away. "Alright, alright. If it makes you happy."
He hesitated a moment before sticking his head around the doorframe, but the room wasn't empty.
She must've sneaked in after he checked her room for the first time, but Tina was now standing at the dresser, her gaze transfixed on the mirror in front of her. Newt frowned and craned his neck to glimpse what had snagged her attention- nothing.
The mirror was perfectly normal, yet here she stood, gazing at it with curiosity flickering in her eyes like fire. He was about to leave her be, when she suddenly snapped out of her reverie, glancing towards him. The dancing lights in her eyes faded slightly- instead, a small smile bloomed on her lips.
"Hi."
Newt offered her a somewhat awkward grin. A second of silence passed.
"I- um..." Tina began talking, then immediately looked as if she regretted it. Newt cocked his head to the side. "Have you ever seen this mirror do anything... odd?" she asked quietly, then cringed.
Newt shook his head. "I... don't recall seeing anything- uhh- strange, but..." he paused suddenly, thoughts chasing each other around his head, until a certain memory stopped him from finishing his sentence.
~~ Flashback (1926, December):
Newt had been trying to keep out of his family's way ever since he got back from New York. Especially Theseus, who had been pestering him for details ever since he mentioned that he met a girl. Unfortunately for him, there was no way he could weasel himself out of the situation when Leta suggested that he stay with them for a few days, just so they could all 'catch up on everything', and two days later, Newt found himself unpacking in in the spare room of his brother's house.
"Ugh."
Newt flopped backwards onto the mattress. He was tired, he'd just completed a round-the-globe trip, and he didn't feel like socialising with anyone just yet. It had only been three days since he got back- he had things to do. He hadn't even had more than one fleeting visit back to his own house- just to see his other creatures and make sure everyone was in good health.
A sudden streak of colour flashed in his peripheral vision. Newt sat up, then did a double take.
There was a mirror in front of him.
Newt frowned. His brother must've bought it before he arrived. He sat up, curiosity igniting inside him like a flame. Why would he get a mirror for a room that no one ever uses? He was only staying for a day- he wouldn't use it.
Newt got to his feet, stifling a yawn. He circled the mirror. It seemed a rather curious object, to him.
There wasn't a spot of dust on it, and the holographic, oval lens fit the rim perfectly- exactly the kind of thing Leta and Theseus would take a liking to. The frame was a pearly white- cloud-like. It arched over the mirror like a rainbow, in perfect swirls that closely resembled clouds curling around each other in fluffy wisps.
Newt decided that the new mirror was nothing more than a piece of furniture that had caught Leta's eye somewhere and fit her taste well enough for her to buy it. He sank back onto the mattress, trying to shake the strange vibe it radiated by pulling off his socks and deciding what to hastily throw on for dinner.
Newt had just yanked off the first grey sock when a glint of gold snagged his attention.
"Wha-?"
The surface of the mirror was rippling slightly, as if someone had dropped a pebble into a still pool of water. Newt squinted forward, trying to decide if he was hallucinating or not.
An image slowly faded into view, fizzling at the edges. His own reflection stared back at him, a mix of irritation and fatigue written into its features. Newt shook his head. It was just his reflection. He imagined everything else.
It's just a mirror, Newt. Calm down.
Yet, there was something peculiar about this item of furniture. He scanned it up and down, trying to decide what gave him the slightly uneasy feeling in his gut.
There. That flash of gold again.
Newt backtracked to where he first saw the tell-tale flicker. He froze when he glimpsed it again.
There was a golden band around his left ring finger.
A wedding ring.
Newt quickly looked down at his hand- nothing. There was nothing on his finger. Yet...
His reflection followed his gaze- looking at him. Newt blinked.
He was definitely hallucinating. Was he? Mirrors didn't just do whatever they wanted- he looked it up and down, but his mirror image just grinned at him, the ring catching the light once again.
His reflection almost seemed to understand what was going through his head, and Newt's mirror image lifted its left hand and wiggled its fingers. It was definitely there- a beautifully crafted golden band circled neatly around his ring finger. His reflection beamed.
Newt found himself smiling slightly back. He didn't know what was wrong with the mirror, but it didn't seem all that dangerous.
The surface rippled again, and he was left staring at himself- his actual reflection.
His gaze slipped lower, to its hands. The ring had disappeared.
He glanced down at his real hand- just in case. He wasn't wearing a ring there either.
It was as if it had never existed.
~~ End of flashback
"- Well... there was something- once, but..." he left his sentence hanging halfway, wondering if he should continue it or not."... It couldn't have been real, could it?" he finished uncertainly.
"Hmm." Tina nodded her head, her expression still somewhat vacant. "I don't know."
Newt quickly glanced down at his hand again, as if he would find a gold ring clasped around his finger. Tina didn't miss a beat.
"Did you see something in it?" she asked carefully. Deciding there was nothing to hide, he nodded. To his surprise, so did Tina.
"It's not an ordinary mirror, is it?" murmured Newt, moving closer so he could see the lens. Tina nodded her head again.
The longer Newt stared at the mirror, the more he could've sworn he glimpsed a giant beast flying loops in the sky through the window behind him. A whirlwind of wings and golden-white feathers... Newt whipped around.
The sky was empty. The window was closed. There was nothing behind him.
"What is it?" whispered Tina, squinting at the window. Newt suddenly felt stupid.
"Nothing."
"You saw something, didn't you?" she guessed. He turned around again and stared at the mirror, avoiding having to give an answer.
The creature outside hadn't disappeared- it was swooping and weaving patterns across the sky, when Newt realised with a jolt what he was looking at.
"Frank," he breathed, gazing at the Thunderbird through the mirror.
Almost in response, the beast let out a shrill cry that echoed through the earth, leaving a slight ringing in Newt's ears. He couldn't pull his eyes away from the mirror. He hadn't seen Frank in over a year...and yet here he was, twirling elegant loops through the clouds right before him.
"Newt?" asked Tina softly. He glanced back, unsure of what to say, then eventually settled on the truth.
"I saw Frank. In the mirror."
Tina didn't respond for a moment, then quietly said, "Newt, Frank's in-"
"Arizona, I know... it's just what I saw," he finished quietly.
A pregnant silence hung in the air.
"Newt..." started Tina quietly. He turned to face her again. "What do you think this mirror shows?"
He sighed, then glanced outside again, just to be sure. "I don't know, Tina. It could-"
He was interrupted by the bedroom door whipping open. Theseus stuck his head around the door.
"Whoops, looks like this room is occupied!"
Tina and Newt exchanged glances.
"Theseus! You- we didn't realise you were back- I... how did it go?" Newt stuttered nervously. Theseus' expression broke into a grin.
"Great! Well, actually, Leta's still a bit mad, but she'll come round. She agreed to come home, and that's something," he responded.
"You found her!" Tina's smile grew wider. Theseus nodded, then excused himself to go and talk to her.
As soon as he'd left, Tina turned to Newt.
"Want to go make sure they don't kill each other?"
"Yep."
The pair sneaked out of the room and across the hall to the brothers' bedroom.
"Technically, we're not spying. We're just looking after them," whispered Tina. Newt bit his lip, grinning.
They stayed as silent as they could, pressing their ears against the door to see if they could pick up any scraps of conversation. There were muffled voices for a few minutes, and the pair held their breaths.
"I can't hear anything," whispered Tina finally.
"They know we're outside," breathed Newt, trying to peek through the tiny crack between the door and the frame. "Don't... move... at all," he whispered, his voice barely audible. "Stay quiet... and they won't... hear us..."
Tina silently acquiesced, pressing her ear against the door.
They stayed like that for five minutes, until Tina heard the faintest trace of Theseus' voice- low and gravelly.
"Are we okay now?"
Tina quickly motioned for Newt to come closer, and he leaned over until their noses were almost touching, straining to hear any more of the conversation.
"Yes. It's okay. Your brother is still outside."
Newt immediately recoiled, his breath hitching, and Tina copied, their backs flat against the wall either side of the door. They glanced at each other-
They didn't kill each other: mission accomplished.
"We should... leave," whispered Tina.
"Mm-hm."
They silently (or as quietly as he could, in Newt's case) moved away from the wall and slunk back into Tina's room.
"Phew!" laughed Tina, collapsing onto her mattress. Newt laughed.
"That was almost a little bit scary!"
"No way, Newt. You were listening in on your brother's conversation!"
"Which is not a very nice thing to do."
"Even though we were just making sure they wouldn't start yelling again."
"It is for their best. You could look at it that way..."
Tina mockingly punched his arm. "You're a rebel now, Scamander!"
Newt swatted her arm away. "Nose down, Goldstein- spying on people is your job!"
Tina dramatically clutched at her heart. "I take a great deal of personal offence to that!"
Newt poked his tongue out at her, and she stuck her tongue out back.
There was a standstill moment in time where he stared at each her, the carefree smiles fading ever so slightly out of both their expressions. Newt's blood thrummed in his veins, he willed his heartbeat to slow- he'd be surprised if she couldn't hear it pounding wildly.
Fire flickered and danced in her eyes, willing him to lean forward... just an inch...
Newt leaned forward, so slowly he couldn't sense his own movement. He only realised what he was doing when Tina copied his actions, though, strangely, he didn't feel the urge to pull away.
His senses felt numb and entirely overwhelmed at the same time... the rest of the world melted away from around him.
The bedroom door whipped open. That was all it took to ruin the moment.
Newt and Tina jumped apart as Theseus shot into the room.
"Tina, Newt! I- oh... bad timing?"
"Yeah, kind of," Newt muttered under his breath. Tina bit her lip, staring at the floor. "Is there something wrong?" he asked, desperately trying to change the topic.
"Yes! Well, no! I- uh-" he stammered. Theseus paused, recollected himself, and started again. "An owl flew into the room while- um-"
"While...?" prodded Tina, a sly grin spreading across her face.
Theseus didn't respond.
"Your shirt is inside out," offered Newt helpfully. Theseus looked down, then back at them again, eyes wide. Newt and Tina swapped knowing smirks.
"We... that's not the point!" he snapped. "An owl flew into the room and..." not trusting himself to say any more, he held up a letter.
Their expressions immediately changed.
There was no mistaking the letter. There was no mistaking the purple ink, the perfectly folded envelope, the seal...
Theseus didn't need to add anything, but he did anyway.
"It's from the ministry!"
Dun dun duuunnn!
(not very exciting) cliffhanger!
I'm so proud of myself for publishing two consecutive chapters XD and I wrote a flashback. It's my first time doing a flashback, so let me know how I went.
And! The mysterious mirror returned!
And! Newt and Tina almost kissed!
And! Theseus and Leta have sorted things out!
Question: What do you think Tina saw in the mirror this time? 🤔
Random: I officially have over 1300 photos of Newt Scamander on my phone :p save me from myself
If you're interested, see if you can guess what the colours in the chapter title represent :)
Okay, I keep jumping between random topics, so here's another one. You might remember that cool new crossover idea I had? I started writing it. I'm so excited and now I'm writing three different fanfictions at once :''>
NEW TOPIC, HAHA!! It says my story is eligible for the Wattys...?
I don't even really know what that is... but it looks like a competition, so...
~ should I enter?
Cateye992, out!