-AN All rights reserved to JK Rowling.
House: Gryffindor
Theme: Discovery
Prompt: Sisters
Word Count: 1654
Beta: SecretFruits
"What are you doin', Tina?" Queenie asked.
Porpentina Goldstein struggled to find a response. She knew that Queenie wouldn't read her mind. "I'm helping Mr. Scamander find his creatures. Then we will heal the no-maj and everyone can just go back to normal."
"Normal is boring! What do you think of our guests?" Queenie asked. "They are quite interestin', I think."
Tina sighed, "Don't you go getting attached, Queenie."
Queenie frowned. "I won't, I promise. But they're just so fascinatin'. Mr. Kowalski is the first no-maj I've ever got to have a real conversation with."
"From what I saw, your conversation was you reading his thoughts and him responding in flirtatious grunts and rambles," Tina snarked.
Queenie promptly whacked her older sister on the shoulder. "He was not flirtin' with me. He was a perfect gentleman compared to the pigs I work with down at MACUSA." She mimicked, "'Queenie, here I dropped this quill on the ground. Be a doll and bend down and pick it up for me so I can stare down your dress.'"
"If you don't like being treated like an object, maybe you should do something about it," Tina challenged.
Queenie waved her hand to dismiss the thought. "I'll deal with it. Besides, it's not so bad. They think all sorts of things around me. I've got all sorts of information if it ever comes in handy," she said.
"I'm an auror, Queenie. I can't condone my own sister being so blasé about potential blackmail."
Queenie reached out for Tina's hand and gave it a squeeze. "You're not an auror anymore, sweetie," she reminded her.
Tina shook her head to clear her thoughts, "Yes, yes of course. But we are both employees of MACUSA. We need to toe the line and not break any rules."
Queenie smiled secretively, "I'm pretty sure harborin' a British wizard who let a case full of creatures loose in Manhattan and a no-maj who knows about magic in our spare bedroom is breakin' a few rules, Teenie."
"Yes, well," Tina argued, "I'll fix it all quickly and no one will have to know."
"Maybe they can stick around a few days?"
Tina sighed, "It's not even a possibility, Queenie. You know the law."
"I know," Queenie acquiesced. "We aren't supposed to even befriend a no-maj. But Tina, haven't you ever been curious? I mean, we live right next to the no-majs and we can't do more than say hello or gesundheit."
"Of course I'm curious, but the law is the law. I'm in enough trouble with MACUSA without stirring up more for violating Rappaport's. The no-maj will have to be obliviated as soon as he's healthy again," Tina stated definitively.
"Fine," Queenie said, "but while he's here, I'm going to get to know as much about him and other no-majs as I can." She hurried into the kitchen with Tina on her trail, "Now where did we put the marshmallows?"
Tina arched an eyebrow at her sister and asked, "Marshmallows?"
"I'm going to make our guests some cocoa. I want to learn all about them while they're here. I'll bring them some hot beverages and we can have a bit of a party. Mr. Scamander can tell us all about his creatures while you make moon-eyes at him-"
"-I will not make moon-eyes!" Tina sputtered as Queenie continued talking.
"-And Mr. Kowalski can tell us all about life as a no-maj," Queenie rambled in her excitement. "We can stay up all night just talkin'."
"This is a bad idea, Queenie," Tina said. "We should just let them sleep and get a fresh start on putting things right in the morning."
"But Tina," Queenie pleaded, "Don't you want to know? This may be our only chance to learn about no-majs. It would be a waste to let the opportunity pass us by without exploring it. Where did your Thunderbird spirit go?"
Tina had to hand it to Queenie; her sister knew just what buttons to push, and appealing to Tina's adventurous side had merit. "He still has to go back when this is all done, you know that right?"
Queenie, sensing she had won the argument, beamed. "I know. But while Mr. Kowalski is here, I'm going to discover everything I can about the no-majs." With her wand, she quickly boiled water in a kettle and poured it into mugs with the cocoa fixings. "Do you think no-majs like cocoa?" she pondered.
Tina stared point- blank at her sister and deadpanned, "It's chocolate. Everyone likes chocolate."
With a quick nod of her head, Queenie said, "You're right. It's just there's so much we don't know about them. That we haven't been allowed to know about them."
"When did you get to be so curious about no-majs, Queenie?" Tina asked. She had never seen this side of her sister before.
Queenie shrugged, "I guess I've always wondered what it would be like to be one of them. I can't imagine what it would be like to not be able to do magic. To not even know about magic. They're just always there, on the outside. I hear them think when I'm walking to work or dashing over to the corner shop for a pastry."
"What do they think about?" Tina asked.
"Oh, this and that. Their jobs, their relationships, their families, and their problems. They ain't so different from us, really," Queenie said.
Tina considered that for a minute. "I suppose no-majs would have to contend with nosey neighbors like Mrs. Esposito, too. And disappointing career setbacks. And persistent sisters who push until they get their way," Tina added sarcastically.
"You're just as curious as I am, Teenie," Queenie said with a smile as she tapped her head signally that she had read the thoughts passing through her sister's mind.
With a huff, Tina scooped up two mugs, placed them on a tray, and walked to the door to the spare bedroom. She knocked, announcing, "Mr. Kowalski? Mr. Scamander?" The no-maj happily accepted the cocoa but the standoffish Brit remained curled in his bed, under the covers. Tina plunked his mug down on the table with a little extra force and left the room, shutting the door behind her as she went.
"Well?" Queenie prompted.
"It does not appear that our guests will be joining us this evening," Tina said and observed her sister's shoulders droop. "Come on, Queenie. I'll keep you company tonight."
With a sad smile, Queenie replied, "Thanks Tina." She brightened and asked, "Did Mr. Kowalski say anythin'?"
Tina shook her head, "No, but I did notice he was reading one of your books."
"Which one?" Queenie asked.
Tina laughed, "Cassandra and Her Cat Gustavus."
"Oooh, Cassandra!" Queenie exclaimed, "Do you think he's interested in divination?"
"I'm sure he is," Tina said with certainty. "We've always known that no-majs existed. He just found out about us. I'm sure he's interested in everything."
Queenie bounced up and down on the balls of her feet with childlike excitement. "So let's tell him all about it!"
"No, Queenie," Tina said firmly. "We can't do that. He doesn't need to know any more about magic than he already does. It will just make things more complicated when he's obliviated."
"But Teenie," Queenie whined, "it's not fair! I want to know all about him and the no-majs. And maybe I want him to know about me, too!"
Tina sighed, "The law says-"
"I know what it says," Queenie interrupted. "But it's still not fair. There are so many things to learn, and see, and experience and we're just cut off from them. It's not right that we are so separated."
"It's for everyone's protection," Tina said with a sliver of doubt. "The law keeps both us and the no-majs safe. We can't change it." When Queenie's pout turned into a frown, Tina continued gently, "What's going on in your head Queenie? You know I can't read your mind."
"I guess I never realized what it all means," Queenie reasoned. "Sure, I could always hear 'em and know what they were thinkin'. But it's different to actually talk to Mr. Kowalski. I just don't understand what the harm could be to be friends."
"That's the Pukwudgie in you, Queenie," Tina replied affectionately. "You want to heal and bring things together. It's who you are."
Queenie was quiet for a minute as she considered that. She wasn't a career girl like Tina was. She had never been particularly ambitious in school or at MACUSA. But maybe she was meant to do this; to help heal the divide between the magical and the no-majs. She had the perfect chance to start the healing process sitting in her spare bedroom drinking hot chocolate and gosh-darn-it she was going to seize the opportunity.
"I'm going to start the healing tonight!" Queenie announced before she was shushed by her sister.
"Does it seem a bit too quiet to you?" Tina whispered. Suddenly, a look of horror fell upon Tina's face and she raced to the spare room. She threw open the door to find the two beds empty. Tina ran passed her sister to track down the escapees.
Queenie stared into the empty room and sighed dejectedly, "But we made 'em cocoa."