Set in August 1945.

Phoenix – 14 (just finished 3rd year at Hogwarts)
Linnet – 12 (just finished 1st year at Hogwarts)
Leo – 10
Wren – 4

A/N: Reminder that, at four years old, Wren's vocab is of course going to be limited/repetitive – so if it seems like she's repeating the same words, that's why.


The argument had been over something rather silly, really – but in that moment, it seemed perfectly reasonable for her to be annoyed at her husband's complete lack of self-preservation.

"Damn it, Newt, it could have taken your arm off!"

Newt was rather unconcerned as he patted his bandaged shoulder. "It wouldn't have done that – I was fully in control, Tina, I assure you-"

"I had to stun a fully-grown Nundu," Tina seethed. "And you say you were 'in control'? Mercy Lewis, Newt, I come home from work to find the kids screaming and you with half your arm torn off! You could have been killed."

"The Nundu's been living in my case for decades," He disagreed. "He wouldn't have actually tried to kill me…it's my fault, really, for intruding while he was taking a nap-"

"Yes!" She snarled, clenching her fists. "You're a Magizoologist – you should know not to go into a dangerous creature's habitat while it's sleeping!"

Newt frowned at her. "I had no choice, Tina, he's sick and needs help; the only time I've been able to get close enough has been while he's sleeping. I don't see why you're so angry."

"I'm angry because you nearly lost your arm," Tina snapped. "All four of our children saw it – Wren is probably going to have nightmares, and the other three were terrified. What do you expect me to do, Newt? Pretend that it didn't happen?"

Her husband just shook his head, looking somewhat annoyed. "Alright, yes, perhaps I shouldn't have let the children near the Nundu's habitat while I checked him over; I admit that it was a slight misjudgement on my part. But you're overreacting just a tad."

"Don't you dare accuse me of overreacting!" She bit out, glaring at him. "The Nundu had your arm in its mouth, your shirt is covered in blood, and I had to spend half-an-hour calming down a crying four-year-old. I love you, Newt, but you're so infuriating sometimes!"

"Tina-"

"You don't think about these things," Tina interrupted angrily. "We have four children – did you once think of them when you were entering the Nundu habitat? You can't be so cavalier with your life anymore; you could have lost your arm – you could have died!"

Newt exhaled heavily, clearly rather irritated. "I wouldn't have died – I don't make such a fuss when you go out on missions, do I? And you could certainly have died on one of those!"

"It's my job-"

"This is my job!"

Tina was about to retort when there was a loud sob from the hallway; anger quickly fading, the two of them quickly rushed out of the front room to see what was the matter. They were both surprised to see their youngest daughter curled up outside the door, face buried in her knees as she wailed.

"Wren, honey," Tina's voice was much softer as she bent down to take her daughter into her arms. "What's the matter?"

The girl just shook her head, struggling to pull away. "Can't…hurts, Mummy…"

Newt was on his knees in an instant, carefully looking over her for any injuries. "What's wrong? Come on, let me take a look at you…"

"It hurts," Wren choked out, and she was clutching her head. "Heard you fighting, so I came down and…and it hurts!"

"Maybe we should take her to a Healer," Newt muttered, watching as his wife tried to hold their daughter still. "Perhaps she fell coming down the stairs…I didn't hear anything though…"

To be fair, we were arguing rather loudly.

"Too loud," Wren cried, shoulders shaking. "It hurts, Mummy, it hurts!"

There was the sound of footsteps on the stairs and then their older three children appeared, looking somewhat dishevelled and shocked. Linnet immediately jumped from the second step, kneeling down by her sister worriedly.

"What's wrong, Wren?" She asked, hesitantly putting a hand on her sister's shoulder. "Did you have a bad dream again?"

But then Wren screamed, kicking out and trying to back away. "NO! STOP!"

Phoenix was gnawing on his lip anxiously. "Is she gonna be okay?"

"Is she dying?" Leo questioned nervously; he had rushed down the stairs so quickly that he had forgotten his glasses, and he had to squint at his parents to see them.

The four-year-old suddenly pressed herself into Tina's chest, burying her face into her blouse and clenching her hands into fists. "You were so angry, Mummy," She stated tearfully. "And…where is Daddy going? He…You…"

Newt was about to suggest taking her to see a Healer again when he noticed Tina freeze; she looked utterly horrified all of a sudden, and her grip on their daughter tightened significantly. "What? What is it?"

"She…" Her voice was weak, as if it didn't belong to her. "When we were arguing, I was thinking about how, if you'd been seriously injured…I'd have been left alone with four children."

"I don't understand. How could she have…"

And then it hit him.

"Merlin's beard."

Wren's sobs were quietening now into sniffles as she pressed herself against her mother. "Still hurts, Mummy – don't want it to hurt!"

Phoenix and Linnet both looked rather puzzled still, but Leo's mouth was pressed in a firm line as he looked down at their sister. "She's like Auntie Queenie, isn't she?"

"We don't know that for certain," Newt said quickly, but he looked rather uncomfortable. "You three should go back to bed now – your Mum and I have this under control."

"That's what he said about the Nundu," Phoenix muttered under his breath, but he started to retreat up the stairs with his brother nonetheless.

Linnet was still on the floor, looking worried. "I wanna make sure she's okay, Dad."

"I know, but she'll be fine," He reassured her, helping her up. "Come on now, leave this to me and Mum – your sister will be up shortly."

The twelve-year-old still didn't look particularly happy about being sent to bed, but she went back upstairs all the same. Once he was certain she was gone, Newt turned back to his wife and younger daughter hesitantly.

"Tina…"

"Queenie had an episode just like this when we were kids," She murmured, and her eyes were glistening. "We heard our parents arguing once, and she just started screaming. They didn't know what was wrong with her, and they had to take her to a doctor… They only suspected at that point, but…"

Wren lifted her head, looking up at her mother with wide eyes. "You're hurting, Mummy," She whispered. "And now I hurt too."

Tina looked like she was about to burst into tears; Newt gently placed a hand on their daughter's back, trying to coax her to look at him. "Alright, Wren…I think perhaps a mug of hot cocoa might make you feel better."

Her face lit up at the mention of hot cocoa. "Okay!"


Wren seemed to calm down considerably after a mug of hot cocoa, though she still looked rather pale and sad. Newt watched her as she finished her drink, silently debating as to what he could say to possibly make things seem better.

"Mummy was upset with me," His daughter announced suddenly.

"She wasn't upset with you," He disagreed. "I think she's more upset about…other things."

Like the fact our youngest daughter is most likely a Legilimens.

She wrinkled her nose. "What's a Le..Legil…"

"Don't worry," Newt said quickly. "It's not important… How are you feeling now?"

"Okay," Wren mumbled, looking down at the table. "You were both really angry. It hurt."

He sighed, wondering how he was going to explain this to a four-year-old. "I know. I'm sorry that it made you feel that way. We didn't think…We thought that you four were all in bed."

She shrugged, tracing a pattern on the wood of the table with her finger. "Am I in trouble?"

"No, of course not," Newt assured her, forcing himself to smile. "Your Mummy and I are just glad that you're okay now."

Wren looked at him, somewhat curiously, and frowned. "You were fighting; Mummy was sad and worried 'bout you because you got bitten. It hurt my head."

"I'm sorry," He apologized, feeling his heart sink. "We didn't mean to hurt you. We didn't know that it would…well." He gave a sigh, rubbing his temple; it was so much to take in, but he had to keep a clear head for her sake now. "I think you'll feel better if you get some sleep."

She nodded, hopping down from her seat and letting him take her by the hand; she was quiet as he led her upstairs and to her bedroom, simply watching him with wide eyes. He tucked her in, making sure she had her favourite stuffed bear by her side, before pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Night, Daddy," Wren yawned as he went to leave. "Love you too."

He stopped in the doorway for just a moment, unable to help the sudden gnawing feeling that had formed in his stomach; if the way Tina had reacted was any indication, things were not looking good at all.


Tina had retreated to the front room when he'd taken their daughter to the kitchen, and she was still there now when he came back downstairs; she had her knees brought into her chest, and she was looking at the floor miserably from her perch on the sofa.

"She's back in bed," Newt informed her quietly, pausing before taking a seat beside her. "I have to say, this was…unexpected."

She started to gnaw on her lip, clearly anxious. "Queenie used to get awful headaches," She muttered. "It took a long time for her to be able to cope with big crowds…her first day at Ilvermorny, she nearly collapsed because it was too much for her." She gave a small sniff. "I don't want that to be Wren, Newt. I don't."

"No, neither do I," He agreed weakly. "But it appears that we don't have a say, really."

"I can't watch her suffer like that," Tina said sadly, shaking her head. "I watched Queenie suffer for years before she managed to have some control over it – I can't watch Wren get distressed like that too…the headaches, the breakdowns…and some of the things she would hear…"

Newt couldn't help but feel unwell at the thought; he was aware that many men had thought inappropriate things about his sister-in-law, how she had seen the very worst of people, and it made him feel sick to imagine their daughter having to experience the same thing. "I know, Tina, I know. We'll take her to a Healer as soon as possible, surely they'll have a potion or something to help her-"

"We can't put a four-year-old on those kind of potions," She disagreed, less angry than distraught. "Queenie took one at Ilvermorny for her first year, and they apparently made her feel like her eyes had been pulled out…she felt so uneasy and depressed and…and she wasn't herself at all."

He thought of Wren – curious, happy, bubbly little Wren – and had to supress a shudder at the thought of her taking a substance that would change her in such a way. "Yes…I suppose that's true. We'll still bring her to a Healer, though, if only to give us a proper diagnosis." He hesitantly put a hand on her shoulder, wanting to offer her comfort but somewhat unsure as to how even now after several years of marriage. "Queenie only had you, really, didn't she? But Wren will have both of us and Queenie – we'll know what to look out for in advance, so perhaps we can make things easier for her."

"Yes," Tina admitted. "I suppose that's true. I just…I wish she wasn't, Newt. I don't want her to suffer."

"I know, love," Newt sighed, putting an arm around her. "Neither do I."


Perhaps it was silly to want to check on the children before she went to sleep, but Tina couldn't help it; it had become a routine for her, quietly making sure they were safe and sound before heading to bed herself. She was more than aware that she was being paranoid, but at the same time it gave her some comfort to just see for herself that they were safe and well for herself.

It was nice to have Phoenix and Linnet back from Hogwarts for the summer; they both loved school, of course, and she enjoyed reading their letters home…but she did miss them when they left. The house had been quiet with both of them gone and no longer bantering, and she knew that Newt became withdrawn whenever they left because he felt the same.

Phoenix, fresh from his third year at school, was nearly as tall as Newt – and already so grown-up. His voice had broken sometime between Christmas and the Summer holidays, and she'd been more than a little surprised to hear him speaking with a deeper voice when he'd come home; to add, he was starting to fill out somewhat – he was hoping to try out for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, he'd told his parents. When Tina went to check on him that evening, she smiled somewhat sadly as she brushed a hand against his cheek; he had the barest hint of stubble already, another sign that he would be a grown man before too long. Part of her wished that he could have stayed small and sweet forever – it was something her sister had shared about her own eldest son, Toby, and it was only now that Tina was really starting to understand.

Linnet, having just finished her first year, hadn't gone through those kinds of changes just yet – but it wouldn't be long at all. She still wore her hair long, pulling it back whenever she was thinking hard, and there was still a childish stubbornness to her: Tina was thankful that she hadn't changed too much, not yet. She brushed back the strands of hair from Linnet's face and pressed a kiss to her cheek before moving on.

Unsurprisingly, Leo was asleep still wearing his glasses and with a book clasped in one hand; Tina couldn't help but smile fondly when she noticed that it was none other than Fantastic Beasts. She carefully removed his glasses from his face, putting them on his side-table, took the book from his hand to put beside them, and then used her wand to dim the lamplight. He twitched slightly but didn't wake when she brushed the messy ruddy hair from his forehead and kissed him goodnight.

Admittedly, part of her was somewhat afraid of entering her youngest daughter's room now; she knew that there was nothing to be afraid of really, but the fact that her youngest child was a Legilimens was disconcerting on a number of levels. All the same, she quietly opened the door to look into the bedroom; Wren was curled up in bed, knees tucked to her chest and hand tightly clutching her favourite teddy. There were a number of books and toys left on the floor; Tina stepped into the bedroom and started to point her wand at the various things, sending them floating back to shelves and drawers.

"Mummy?"

She jerked at the sudden voice; the books that had been moving through the air tumbled to the floor with a loud clatter. When she turned to look, she saw that her daughter was sitting up in bed and watching her curiously. "Wren…I was just… What are you doing still awake?"

"Couldn' sleep," Wren mumbled, looking rather miserable. There was a long moment where she paused, clearly thinking to herself hard, before looking up. "Mummy…do you hate me?"

"What?!" Tina frowned, taking a step forwards. "Wren, what would make you think that?"

She hunched her shoulders, looking down at the floor. "Because…you were angry, and then when I was crying and I told you 'bout hearing you thinking, you got really sad and hurt. I know because I hurt too."

"Oh…Oh, Wren, no," She sighed, sitting down on the bed beside her. "Of course I don't hate you. I'm sorry if I got angry or sad earlier, it's just that…that things are difficult sometimes."

"I did something wrong," Wren mumbled, wrapping her arms around her mother. "I know I did, because otherwise you and Daddy wouldn' be so unhappy."

"No," She denied, pulling her into a hug; it reminded her of what she had done with Queenie so many times as children, comforting her and assuring her. "No, Wren, you haven't done anything wrong at all; Daddy and I still love you very much, and we always will."

The four-year-old was quiet for a moment, sniffling as she pressed herself into her mother. "I'm scared, Mummy. I don't understand it…everything feels too much. It makes my head hurt."

"Yes," Tina agreed. "It probably does. You know what, Wren? I don't really understand everything either, but that's okay because we'll work on it: you, me, Daddy…and Auntie Queenie will help too."

Wren sniffled, nodding somewhat uncertainly as she clutched at her. "O-Okay. I love you, Mummy."

Her stomach felt like it was made of lead as she pressed a kiss to the top of her daughter's forehead and closed her eyes. "I love you too. Don't ever think that I don't."


I'M SORRY PLEASE DON'T KILL ME

Maybe it's unbelievable that Wren would be a Legilimens like Queenie, but…as far as we know, neither of the Goldstein parents had it. Perhaps it's a recessive gene? I don't know.