April 1928
The Department of Magical Law Enforcement of MACUSA was practically a ghost town as Tina and Queenie sat together in comfortable silence eating sandwiches at the Auror's desk. Most of her fellow colleagues were away at lunch, opting to spend their allotted hour outside in the spring sunshine instead of in the stuffy interior of the Magical Congress building. The open space was unusually quiet, and Tina was glad for the empty desks surrounding her – it granted her and her sister a peaceful environment to finish their meal in each other's company.
Tina had a habit of keeping her workspace free of any excess paperwork, giving the sisters space to eat their homemade sandwiches without fear of ruining any of her documents. It wasn't often her beautiful, blonde sister ventured all the way from her basement office to share a quick bite; mostly due to Tina's tendency of working through her breaks. Queenie had been adamant that morning that the two of them find time to spend together - on account of Tina's forthcoming departure to England that same afternoon.
Newt's unexpected invitation asking the dark-haired witch to join him for his brother's wedding had arrived over a month ago, and Tina still found herself weary of the entire notion. It was with no small amount of bribing – more like threatening – from her sister that she was eventually coerced into accepting the unprompted invite. Even so, the idea of it all still loomed over Tina ominously, as she reminded herself that she was somehow willing to journey thousands of miles away to surround herself with an unknown multitude of strangers. Truthfully, the only part of her that wanted to go was the part that yearned to see Newt again. His letters over the past months had offered her some amount of solace, but remained only a shadow of what could be by having him near. The thought of seeing his freckled face and striking green eyes in person was the only facet of the trip that was keeping her from staying in New York. As for everything else, she supposed Queenie was right; they were all just excuses Tina had been using as a crutch to get out of going. The mileage didn't matter, and neither did the people; Newt wanted her there and that was what mattered.
Nevertheless, Tina, hadn't taken to the premise that her trip meant she would be leaving her sister home alone for a few days. That was the thought that was inflicting the most strain. Ever encouraging, Queenie remained resolute. She made a point of often reminding Tina that she had her fiancé to look out for her while she was away with Newt.
That was something else to burden Tina.
Her No-Mag friend, Jacob, would soon become her brother-in-law – a poignant truth that overwhelmed Tina with both joy and dread. The stout baker felt rather like a brother to the dark-haired witch, which was dangerous with the wizarding laws the way they were. All the same, Jacob loved Queenie, and she him. Tina knew in her heart that the man would always do right by her younger sister, and that was genuinely the only thing she could ask for, given the situation. Their marriage would be secret, illegal, but their love, beyond any doubt, would continue to bloom endlessly every day with overflowing swells of devotion.
With a haggard sigh Tina took one last bite of her sandwich, feeling the weight of her sister's gaze upon her. It was a glance that was characteristically Queenie; one her older sister had learned to read from a young age. She pushed her thoughts deeper into her mind, but it was too late.
"Promise me you'll at least try to enjoy yourself while you're gone." Queenie almost scowled when she spoke; the doll-like features of her face twisting into a cold frown. For someone who, to the eye, appeared so meek and mild, the blonde witch had a gift for vehement glares.
Tina mustered a shadowy side-smirk. It wasn't forced, but still lacked the luster she figured Queenie was hoping for.
"I promise," she assured her sister.
Her blonde sister's heavy leer fluttered back to its usual luminescent sparkle – Queenie believed her.
Somewhere within the empty space around them a clock ticked on, gradually counting down to the moment of Tina's departure. The Auror had spent all of her free time engrossing herself with the necessary preparations for her brief vacation - if only to keep her mind from actually focusing on the trip itself. The most arduous of the tasks was undoubtedly upgrading her Floo Pass to international status. Finding wizards and witches to cover her shifts was a walk through the park – new recruits were always eager for some field action. Queenie made certain that she would be able to watch their apartment; leaving Tina's method of travel the only thing to create an issue. MACUSA's laws on upgrading passes were rigid; reserved for department heads, politicians, and for specific persons – titles she didn't hold. With that knowledge, she'd been more than a little surprised to find a telegram from the Department Head of Magical Law at the Ministry on her desk one afternoon, insisting MACUSA grant her the special clearance. Once that had been sorted, everything else fell effortlessly into place. Packing was easy, as was finding something to wear – thanks to her talented sister. Queenie guaranteed the dress she'd made her (which Tina wasn't to see until she put it on) was esthetic and tasteful, and above all, promised the frock would make her feel beautiful. She didn't doubt her sister's ability to conjure a breathtaking gown. Tina did, however, hold a skepticism that she would look beautiful wearing the piece.
"What time you leavin'?" Queenie wondered, sipping her bottle of Coca-Cola.
Tina left the question linger like an ugly, dark cloud over her. She finished her own soda and tossed it artlessly in the bin by her desk along with the rest of her trash before she found the words stuck thickly in her throat.
"Quarter after twelve." She recounted, eyeing the clock upon the wall balefully. Queenie turned on her swivel seat, swinging a quick glance at the time. "Oh!" there was an obvious amount of enthusiasm in her quip that Tina found herself envying. "That's so soon!" There was a shimmer in her crystal blue eyes as she delivered her sister a delightful grin. Tina couldn't garner a matching response.
It was soon. She realized - fifteen minutes and counting. Her luggage sat alongside her desk, a melancholy reminder of her impending journey. Perhaps her apprehension about the trip stemmed from the location. There wasn't a hint of uncertainty in mind that if Newt's brother had chosen to get married in Central Park, she wouldn't have thought twice about attending. Tina had scarcely been out of New York, making traveling to England quite a leap. Venturing across an ocean to attend a man's wedding - a man she'd never met no less - remained such a strange notion to her. Then why do I want to go so badly?
Queenie shook her head, ringlets bouncing playfully, rolling her eyes with an affectionate simper which turned a curl on her lips as she listened to her sister's inner monologue.
"Shut up, Queenie." Tina muttered as she stood.
Her sister rose fluidly, dusting the slew of crumbs from her skirt. "I ain't sayin' a thing, Teenie."
Tina shrugged into her coat and snatched the suitcase by her desk as she motioned for her sister to follow her to the elevators.
Newt had thankfully written her a reminder illustrating the capricious nature of the English weather during the spring, while urging her to pack accordingly. As such, the dark-haired witch opted for the familiar long overcoat she usually saved for winter. The Magizoologist's counsel was inexplicit but helpful nonetheless; Tina just hoped that the weather wasn't notoriously glum the entire time she was visiting.
MACUSA's main concourse was teaming with wizards and witches returning from their lunch dates as Tina and her sister stepped off the elevator. On some scale, the Auror envied them. She loved her job and couldn't shake the feeling leaving meant she was betraying her colleagues to go to a party (a party she had to keep reminding herself she wanted to go to). The sisters continued their casual stroll in silence, expertly dodging the throng of people with skill. The Floo Room – as it was unofficially dubbed – was settled in the rear of the grand lobby, past the gilded eagles and the Salem Memorial, and was quite literally a room chock-full of mammoth fireplaces. Just outside of the wide arched threshold sat a rather bored looking house elf with a clipboard.
"I better get back downstairs…" Queenie sighed before Tina fell into line to have her pass checked.
"Alright." Tina's voice gave her away her, shaking as she spoke. "You take care of yourself, okay, Queenie?"
Her younger sister lunged; flinging her arms around Tina's shoulders and squeezing her tightly – almost uncomfortably so. The dark-haired witch revealed in the sensation that whirled through her, holding her little sister so close. She breathed her in like a breath of fresh air. The perfume of rose oil trickled into Tina's senses, and she quickly committed the smell of her to her memory.
"I will, don't worry 'bout me…or the apartment, or anything. You just go relax and enjoy yourself, honey. It'll do ya some good." The wide grin tugging at her pink lips couldn't steal away the glistening of bittersweet tears brimming her eyes.
It was the first time since Tina had left to go off to school those initial couple of years that the two of them were saying good-bye on a grandiose level. Queenie was spending more and more days away (at Jacob's) from the apartment she and Tina had called home for so many happy years, but those short-lived farewells had never been anything to fret over. Tina was now trekking so much farther than a few blocks to a bakery.
"You know me," Tina chanced a joking tone as she valiantly fought back her own tears she could feel starting to well. "I'll always worry."
Queenie giggled weakly and pulled her sister into one last hug. "Tell Newt I said 'hi'."
"I will," Tina promised pulling away. The two of them held their heartwarming gaze for a generous amount of time before the oldest sister squared her shoulders and brushed loose hair from her eyes. It wasn't until she took her place in line with the other traveling wizards that the blonde witch ambled away. Tina didn't dare peel her eyes from her sister as she watched Queenie venture back into the workplace frenzy. When her blonde curls vanished from sight Tina swallowed the thick lump in her throat, sucking in a deep breath. She wasn't even going to be gone three whole days, yet it was enough to make the dark-haired witch miss her sister.
"Pass please." The house elf seated on the stool with the clipboard requested in its soprano tone when Tina's turn came.
Without relish, she handed the documents to the creature, who silently took to checking boxes on the papers tethered to the board in its hand.
"You have been granted approval to travel to the Ministry of Magic, Miss Goldstein, and are issued to return from the Ministry to MACUSA between 5:30 am and 6:00 am on Sunday."
Tina nodded to the elf, already well aware of the information being presented to her. The Floo Attendant elf supplied the witch with her papers once more and snapped its fingers in a silent spell, causing the gate to swing open.
She found herself taking confident steps across the burnished marble floor of the obtusely lit auditorium of fireplaces; she knew precisely which one would get her to the Ministry. She and Newt had discovered it those months ago in December when her heart was heavy with the bittersweet flair of their last farewell, when he'd so suddenly been called back to Europe and away from her. The faintest glint of a flutter stirred in her belly as she recalled the feel of his soft lips linger on her forehead, and she bit her lip in a smile. Her stride carried her slightly faster, feeling a newfound hankering to be around the eccentric, messy-haired wizard. This time the room wasn't vacant and quiet like it had been before; sporadic puffs of smoke and green flame shot from various fireplaces with angry phwoars as she drove past them, as foreign wizards arrived. As she dove deeper into the hall of hearths, the witch idly wondered what business brought them to MACUSA and away from their home countries.
The brass nameplate was hardly visible at the top of the stone work, clouded in a thin veil of swirling smoke – a residual haze – but she knew the hearth staring back at her was the final barrier she had to cross in order to see Newt again. Tina had memorized the sturdy masonry of the structure as well as its placing in the room when she watched through soggy eyes as he stepped into it – vanishing in violent flames.
It took her several moments to work up the courage to step forward into the piling cinders of the fireplace, and her gut twisted as she contemplated turning tail and running back to the safety and familiarity of her desk. There was a sudden twinge of heartache that festered at that notion, and the twist in her stomach shifted into a pull. Tina had made a promise to him to be there, and she never wanted to be the person who shied away from their word. Just imagining the look in Newt's olive-green eyes – smoldering and heavy with the weight her absence caused him – was enough to urge her into the mammoth fireplace with a handful of the magical powder. Being the reason of his theoretical pain wasn't something she was proud of, and with the toss of the Floo Powder a green burst of fire engulfed her. The next thing she knew, Tina Goldstein was standing in the Ministry of Magic.
A/N: This originally started out as a 3 chapter story, but the chapters are so long, I'm gonna split them into shorter chapters to buy myself some time to finish this story as a whole. Chapter 2 will be uploaded on Tuesday May 2nd.
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