A/N: This is a gift for Loes ([tumblr] savingpltravers) for Christmas. She has an idea that Mary Poppins is Newt and Porpentina's (from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) daughter. Here's the beginning of a story that I've been working on for her. Enjoy.
On the coldest first day of November that London had ever seen, a girl was born into the world already able to understand the wind and speak to the sparrows.
The girl was soft and sweet, but also knowing, for the birds and leaves spoke to her in her cradle.
In the days that she was left in her crib, the leaves told her about how the world was dangerous and sad, and how as you grew, you would slowly forget your memories of being able to understand. The girl didn't want to forget, and quick as she had decided that, a mystical wind blew into the room, blessing her. Her mother felt the wind, but the wind didn't speak to her. It only mussed her short black hair. The mother, Porpentina Scamander, had no idea what was to become of her daughter.
The girl's name was Mary. She resembled her mother a bit, but with a face that much more likely belonged on a Dutch doll. The girl's father thought she was the most perfect girl in the world. Both of her parents were rather good to her. They taught her simple magic, and they swore to never shun her for what she could do.
What her parents taught her, the breeze also taught her. No wizard she knew could talk to the wind, and when she finally asked the wind why she could understand, the wind simply whistled in her ear.
"Mary!"
Tina called for her daughter from the base of the stairs. Mary heard her and, as a ten-year-old does, quickly followed the sound. She slid gracefully down the banister, knowing that marching down the stairs might wake her father. Her father, Newt Scamander, was always writing and spending time in his case. Fantastical creatures lived within, many of which had taken a liking to Mary.
"Yes, mother?" Mary replied, now down the stairs. Her simple blue dress looked rather sharp with its silver buttons and white trim.
"A letter has come for you."
"A letter?"
"The letter."
Mary's eyes glistened with excitement. The letter. A wizarding letter. She joyously tore to the kitchen table where she found two. Puzzlement soon clouded her features.
"Two letters?"
Her mother strolled in after her with a smile. "Two letters, yes."
Mary then realized why. "Ilvermorny?"
There was a pause.
"And Hogwarts."
"Yes, dearest."
Mary carefully tore the letters open, Ilvermorny first, then Hogwarts. They both wanted her to come join them and be a student.
"Mother, how do I decide?"
Mrs Scamander simply smiled. "I wouldn't know. You have Dual Wizarding Citizenship, filed under both MACUSA and The Ministry. I wasn't terribly surprised when I saw two owls scratching at the window this morning."
A hearty laugh flowed into the room, carrying with it a tall man with wild blonde hair and the most smiling face you could ever see. Newt.
"Mary!" He was joyous in his voice. "You've gotten your letter!"
"Two, father."
"Two?"
"Ilvermorny and Hogwarts, Newt," Mrs Scamander explained.
"Oh." He seemed a little disappointed. A joke in their family was the idea of which wizarding school was best, Mrs Scamander, Tina, and Mr Scamander, Newt, having gone to different ones. Now, after years of jokingly claiming that Mary would go to their own alma mater, Mary was faced with the choice of which house she would be placed in.
Mary clicked the heels of her high-buttoned shoes in frustration. Tina gave a little frown her direction, for Mary was not the type of name they gave to a girl with impatience.
"It's up to you." Newt knelt down and took his daughter's hands in his. "We'll love you no matter where you choose to go, alright?"
"Alright."
"Are you sure you have all your things?"
"Yes, father."
Mary strolled happily in her soft green dress and pale jumper, her father insisting on pushing her cart. Her mother looked around, surprised at the number of people crowding the station. True, New York was busy and bustling, but Platform 9¾ was rather large.
"Do you have all your books? Your quills? Enough ink?"
"Mother, don't worry so much about me. I'll be fine."
It didn't seem to calm Tina too much as she glanced around. "Those boys over there are already changed into their Hogwarts uniform," she noted. "Should you be changed already?"
Newt shook his head. "There are places to change on the express," he reassured her. "My dear, you fret too much."
"I fret for good reason," she replied quickly. "Our adventures in New York are precisely the reason we need someone to worry for both of us."
"You suffer thrice that way," he quipped back.
Mary was used to their playful banter. It was how the Scamander family managed.
Newt and Tina were both career parents, but they both made time for their daughter. Newt taught his daughter the wonders in animals and beasts and nature, while Tina taught Mary the joys in people and children. And of course, Mary was Properly Brought up because Tina and Newt believed in manners and the importance of being respectable.
A boy with dark brown hair shot by the Scamanders, followed by a girl with the hair of the same shade. A stern-looking woman in a black coat followed them closely, chastising them for running off.
Mary had seen the children wearing sweaters with different colored badges. "Father, what house would you say I'm going to be in," she asked suddenly.
Newt readjusted his hands on the trolley and didn't say anything for a moment while he looked her over. "Well, you've got the best of all of them in you, so it's hard to say. You have the heart of a Gryffindor, the wit of a Ravenclaw, the ambition of a Slytherin, and the loyalty and kindness of a Hufflepuff."
Mary blushed rose-color. "But what if I'm not a Hufflepuff like you were," she asked worriedly.
"Then that would be fine," he told her earnestly. "It doesn't matter which house you go into. I just need you to let me know first thing so I can get you appropriate posters for your bedroom."
He laughed then. Mary gave an attempt at a laugh. Musical, her laugh usually was. Now it was laden with hints of doubt.
The train gave a long whistle and Newt quickly took her trunk and loaded it on the train. Tina had been carrying Mary's small pet barn owl, Persephone, but now handed it to her daughter. Steam filled the air.
Newt returned and ruffled his daughter's hair, which seemed to magically return to place. "We'll write you," he assured her kindly.
"Whenever you want," her mother added.
Mary nodded, put her owl down, and hugged them both around the middle. "I love you," she whispered.
Newt shed a single tear and wiped it with his handkerchief. Then, in a moment of inspiration, he gave it to Mary. "Here. To remember us by."
"You guys aren't dying," she reminded him.
"No," Tina replied, "but it's good to have a keepsake from home. Be good, Mary."
"I promise."
The train whistled a final time and Mary reclaimed her own and ran up the stairs and into the train to find a compartment.
A/N: That's it. The beginning. I hope you've enjoyed. Please review, and I shall see you for the next update!
-Beliefiisms
