Tina woke to the sound of her cell being opened. She looked up to see Conrad pushing the door open.
"Come on, Scamander," he said. "President Picquery and Hardin want to see you."
Tina got to her feet wordlessly and started towards Conrad. When she reached him, he grabbed her by the upper arm and escorted her up to one of the interrogation chambers. President Picquery and Hardin were both behind the desk and off to one side was . . .
"Newt," she breathed.
Conrad released her and she ran over to her husband. He pulled her into a hug and kissed her. She kissed him back desperately. Part of her wondered how this was possible. She was a prisoner and had been, she assumed, brought here for questioning. Newt didn't work as an Auror and only Aurors questioned prisoners. Besides, even if he was an Auror, as her husband, it would be illegal for him to question her.
Hundreds of questions swam around her mind. She finally decided to ask what was going on but when she pulled away what she said was, "Are you still going to England?"
"Yes, Tina, but-"
"I thought so," she mumbled. "I had hoped you'd be here for the trial."
Newt pushed her hair out of her face. "No, Tina. You're coming with me."
"What?" she gasped staring at her husband.
"Ms. Goldstei- Mrs. Scamander," President Picquery said. Tina turned, still clinging to Newt. "Many of us know you're innocent but it will be safer for you if you're out of the country. It will be easier for us to work on proving your innocence if you're not here. You're going to have to escape."
"But if I escape it will just make me look guilty," Tina pointed out.
"That's true, but with you in England they can't do anything about it and it will buy us the time we need to prove your innocence."
"How am I supposed to escape?" Tina asked sounding slightly resigned.
"Conrad will explain the plan since he came up with it."
Conrad stepped forward. "We've scheduled your trial to take place tomorrow, just when the boat for England leaves. Two Aurors - myself and one other - will be escorting you. When we reach the main entrance to MACUSA, you are to seize my wand and stun both the other Auror and me."
"You?" Tina frowned.
"Yes, it has to look convincing. Once you've stunned us, you need to run out of MACUSA, stunning anyone who tries to stop you. The guard at the door will hopefully be someone on our side but you'll probably have to stun him anyway.
"Once you're out of MACUSA, you'll Apparate to the docks. Mr. Scamander will be waiting for you there."
"Where exactly will you be?" Tina asked her husband.
"The same corner we Disapparated from when I returned to New York."
Tina nodded and smiled. Resisting the urge to kiss Newt again, she turned back to Conrad. "But what about your wand? How will you get that back?"
"I won't be holding my wand." The Auror pulled a wand out of his pocket. "I'll have this wand. It's one that belonged to a criminal who was executed several years ago. Nobody will notice if it's missing." Conrad offered the wand to Tina. She took it gingerly. Gripping the handle, she brought the wand down through the air, red sparks trailing from the tip. She shuddered and handed it back. She hated the feeling of the wand but she knew she could use it.
"How morbid," she murmured.
"It is, a bit. Feel free to snap it in half and chuck it in the ocean once you're on the boat."
Tina frowned slightly. "But I won't have a wand."
"I have your wand, sweetheart."
Tina turned to her husband who pulled her wand out of his pocket. She nodded and breathed a sigh of relief. Then her worried frown returned.
"And what if this doesn't work?"
"Mrs. Scamander," Hardin said. You are our best Auror. If it wasn't for this incident, you'd have been made the Director of Magical Security." Tina gasped quietly at this. "There are many of us who would risk losing our job and reputation to help protect yours."
Tina felt herself blush slightly. "Thank you."
"Come," President Picquery motioned towards Conrad and Hardin. "Let's give these two some privacy."
The two Aurors nodded and Conrad said he'd be waiting outside. The three of them left, leaving the Scamanders alone in the room.
"Oh, Tina," Newt breathed, gently pushing her hair out of her face. He kissed her softly and she let herself relax. She tried not to think about the fact that this might be their last moment together.
Tina broke the kiss and rested her head on Newt's shoulder, burying her face in his neck. "I'm worried," she mumbled. "What if something goes wrong? What if something happens to me . . . or to you?"
Newt reached up to stroke her hair. "Just remember, worrying means you suffer twice."
Tina smiled weakly and let out a quiet chuckle. Newt pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
"Everything will be fine," he murmured. "We'll be fine and we'll be on our way to England before we know it."
They stood together for several moments, neither one of them wanting to move away. Tina was crying softly. She knew she needed to go but she didn't want to leave. Eventually, she pulled back and wiped her eyes.
"I have to go," she murmured. "I love you."
"I love you too," Newt replied. "I hope you know that you're the only person I've ever really loved."
Tina nodded and pressed a quick kiss to his lips before turning and quickly making her way to the door, pulling it open before she could change her mind. Conrad grabbed her gently by the arm and led her back down to her cell.
The next morning, Tina was pacing back and forth in her cell when Conrad and Reese reached it. They opened the door and pointed their wands at her.
"Come!" Conrad barked. Tina slowly approached the two Aurors who grabbed her by the arms and escorted her to the elevator. The ride up was tense. Tina was nervous and she could tell Conrad was too. Reese was the only one who seemed relaxed.
When they reached the main entrance to MACUSA, Tina carefully kept an eye on Conrad. They made their way towards the center of the room. A moment later, Conrad inclined his head slightly and Tina knew that was her signal to go.
She lunged towards him and snatched the wand out of his hand. Pointing it behind her, she stunned Reese without looking. She felt bad about stunning her; they had worked together several times.
Shaking the guilt from her mind, Tina pointed the wand at Conrad and stunned him. She started running towards the exit. Spells flew past her. She shot a stunning spell at everyone who she was firing spells at her. Judging by the sounds, many of her spells were finding their marks.
Tina reached the door. The guard was raising his wand. She stunned him then jumped over his body and burst out of the building. She ran as fast as she could, nearly crashing into No-majs. She knew she must have looked suspicious, running through the streets of New York, clutching a thin stick. People were shouting and she could hear some of them beginning to chase her.
A couple of people up ahead looked ready to intercept her. Time to get out of here, she realized. She dove headfirst into the nearest alley and Disapparated.
Newt jumped at the sound of someone Apparating. He looked up to see Tina appear. She dived out of thin air, rolling a few feet on the ground before coming to a stop. He rushed over and helped her to her feet.
"You made it," he breathed.
"Yes, but we might want to make it onto the boat in case anyone shows up."
"Right." Newt grabbed her hand and led her out of the alley. They kept their heads down as they made their way through the crowd. Quickly making their way up the gangplank, they handed their tickets to the officer and found their room.
Tina decided to stay in Newt's case until they were well away from land. Once Newt informed her it was safe to come out, she made her way up to the duck and leaned over the railing, staring out across the dark water. It was getting dark and there were very few people on the deck so she pulled out the wand she had taken from Conrad and pointed it at the waves. She fired a few spells, making the water splash up each time one hit.
She felt Newt approach. "Here's your wand," he said, handing it to her. She took it and slipped it into her pocket. Then she took the other wand in both hands and snapped it in half. Newt winced.
They must have snapped his wand in half when he was expelled, she realized.
She offered her husband half the wand. He took it gingerly and Tina gave his free hand a squeeze as they threw the wand halves far into the night.