House: Slytherin

Year: 3

Category: Drabble

Prompt: [Event] Somebody coming home after an extended time away

Word Count: 584


Tina fussed a little bit more with the bottle of champagne. The Nifflers had persistently scratched at it until she'd banned them from the kitchen. Tonight, everything had to be perfect. Newt was finally coming back home after a year away in Indonesia.

They'd been apart before this but since the wedding and moving to England, Tina had never been away from him for so long. She re-arranged the napkins on their small table and lit the candlesticks with the flick of her wand. The last of the sunrays seeped through the window and bathed the kitchen in a warm orange glow.

She had made the effort to actually prepare all of his favourite dishes. There was a whole assortment from Yorkshire pudding and roast to Eton mess. It had taken her the best of two days to learn how to make the meal half decent and fully edible. After all, she intended to do her best not to let Newt see just how much she'd missed him at home.

From the radio in the living room, she heard the soft crooning of the young Celestina Warbeck's newest romantic ballad. To her relief, Tina had learned that British wizards loved Jazz as well as Americans, making music one of the comforts that dulled the loneliness over the past months.

With nothing else to do in the kitchen and anticipation brimming in her heart, she went out in the garden, sat on the steps of their small cottage and waited. Dusk was slowly edging its way over the sky. Blue was melting with the light orange and the breeze had a small chill to it. Dorset was a real change from the concrete and bustle of New York City. Here, they had made a place of their own, where Newt's creatures could roam freely and happily.

'If only he'd come back home already,' Tina thought anxiously, gazing at the apparition point at the edge of their garden.

Suddenly, over the chatter of crickets, the familiar pop resounded. The case appeared first and by the time she had ran to the gate, Newt stood there with a huge grin on his face. Tina threw her arms around him and nearly sobbed with contentment. He held her tightly to his chest and buried his face in her shoulder. She breathed in his familiar scent and felt the weight in her stomach lighten.

"I'm so glad you're back," she murmured against his shoulder.

He drew back to cradle her face in his hands.

"I'm happy to be back too. I've missed you so much," he said, kissing her softly.

"Come on," Tina reached for his hand, turning to head back to the cottage. "I've fed everybody and I've set our dinner out…"

"Tina," Newt protested quietly, drawing her to a stop. He looked into her eyes, twinkling with happiness and love, and wondered how he had stayed away from her for so long. "Can I hold you a little bit longer, right here under the setting sun and rising stars?"

"But the champagne…," she started, trying to be logical before her heart jumped again, in absolute bliss, from the yearning on his face.

"You got champagne?" he asked, stepping up to her.

"I wanted your welcome home to be special," she whispered back at him.

Anchoring his arms around her waist, he leaned down to press a kiss to her cap of hair.

"Tina, all I ever need to feel special is you. You are my home, love."