Theseus thought Newt's owl was highly peculiar.

Theseus,

Meet me outside the back door of the Leaky Cauldron tonight at 9 pm. Don't tell any of your colleagues. Stay away from Queenie if possible, but if not, tell her that she mustn't say anything to Tina and that I'll speak to her about it later. It's important.

Newt

For Newt to want to meet his older brother was highly irregular. Usually, it was Theseus chasing after Newt, reminding him about birthdays and Christmases, and trying (and failing) to get him to come to dinner with himself and Leta. But this time, Newt was the one asking to meet. What extraordinary initiative.

It was also strange that Newt should send an owl at all. If Newt had something to say, he'd generally show up unannounced, make his statement, and leave before any societal niceties could be forced upon him. Or, he'd just write down what he wanted to say and sent it with the owl.

But this time, Newt was being mysterious; Theseus had no idea what he was on about. He just hoped it wasn't to do with smuggling illegal creatures into the country. And to meet in the alley behind the Leaky Cauldon? Highly suspicious.

The instruction to stay away from Queenie made sense. Even with Occlumency and a British accent, Theseus could never be sure whether the Ministry's newest secretary was reading his mind. But what did Newt care if Queenie knew that Theseus was meeting his brother tonight?

It turned out that it didn't matter anyway. Theseus was so overwhelmed with paperwork that he never left his office, and the only one offering him tea and biscuits that day was a house elf. At 8:55 pm, he set aside his unfinished safety documentation and made his way down to the Atrium to find a fireplace.

Newt was already waiting behind the Leaky Cauldron. He was seated on a rickety chair at a small table, on which there were two steaming mugs of Butterbeer.

'Hello Newt.'

'Hello Theseus.' Newt sounded nervous for some reason. Theseus hoped fervently that he wasn't about to propose some complicated and highly illegal scheme to bring in a dragon or something. Newt gestured at the mugs, 'I ordered Butterbeer. The bartender was kind enough to set up a table out here for us.'

Theseus rubbed his hands together to warm them. He sat on the chair opposite Newt and took a sip of his Butterbeer gratefully.

'So. Why did you want to meet me here?' Theseus asked, eyeing Newt carefully. Newt wasn't making eye contact, as usual, but glancing up from his untouched Butterbeer repeatedly. He didn't seem to know what to do with his hands – they travelled alternately to his mug and the edge of the table where his fingers tapped incessantly.

'Well, you see, Theseus, I need your help.'

Theseus suppressed a sigh of exasperation. 'What have you got yourself into now, Newt?'

'Nothing!' he said with indignation. 'Well, maybe something.'

Theseus raised his eyebrows and gestured for Newt to continue.

Newt took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak. But no sound came out. He tried again, and his sentence came out in one breath, all jumbled together, 'I-need-to-propose-to-Tina-and-I-want-to-make-it-special-so-I-need-her-out-of-the-way-but-she-can't-know-anything.'

Despite over two decades of decoding Newt's speech, Theseus still couldn't make this out.

'Come again?'

Newt took a deep breath and repeated himself more slowly. 'I want to propose to Tina, but she can't find out what I'm up to until I'm ready.'

Theseus' first reaction was relief. No dragons after all. His second reaction was a mix of delight, excitement and that bittersweet sense of 'my baby brother's all grown up'.

'Of course, Newt,' Theseus said with a grin. 'How can I help?'

Relieved that he'd finally told Theseus his intentions, Newt dove into his explanation with enthusiasm. 'Well, I want it to be somewhere special to us both, so I plan to create a separate space in the basement. I'm going to ask Queenie and Jacob to help me with it, but Tina can't know. So I need you and Leta to keep her occupied at work for the next week. Have her stay late or go out for dinner with the Auror department. Anything that keeps her distracted so she won't discover what I'm doing.'

Theseus nodded slowly, taking this on. 'So basically, your plan is to make her an enclosure like one of your beasts?' he asked.

It wasn't immediately evident from his tone that he was only teasing, so Newt panicked. 'No, not like that! Just a special space – like I said, Queenie and Jacob are going to help so you needn't worry at all, and – Theseus!'

Theseus couldn't help it. He burst out laughing, and Newt glared at him, annoyed.

'Don't worry, Newt, I'll help you,' he chortled. 'I'll tell Leta about it when I get home. You'd better get to Queenie soon though, or she's bound to find out from one of us at work tomorrow.'

Newt nodded, 'She's doing more Legilimency experiments with the creatures tonight. I'll speak to her now. Goodnight, Theseus. And thank you.'

Newt stood up and made to leave, but Theseus laid a hand on his shoulder. 'Come here, Newt.' Fulfilling his role as older brother, Auror and hugger, Theseus draped his arms around his little brother and pulled him into a hug.

'I can't wait to be give my speech at the wedding,' he whispered.

Newt was blushing when he finally pushed his brother away. 'Thanks,' he muttered, and Disapparated.