The Life I Never Thought Possible

Chapter 4

"You'll have to go through me first."

"That will not be a problem."

Tina bolted down the corridor toward the front door; blood pumping furiously through her body, leaving her face a bright, angry red.

How dare that twisted, evil, cold-hearted, asshole threaten Newt!

Grindelwald would never have Newt while Tina was around. As she neared the exit, Tina slowed herself with a deep, steadying breath. For all the bravado she mustered, deep inside, Grindelwald's threats scared her to death. He was the most powerful wizard anyone had seen in a long time, and she...she was nothing but a newly reinstated Auror with a huge, disgraceful incident already on her young career record. She was nothing.

How can I possibly save Newt?

Tina stepped outside.

No answer came to her. In fact, no other thoughts came to her at all. For standing mere feet from her on the bottom of the stairs of the Woolworth building, was the most amazing sight to behold.

The wind whipped at his yellow, striped scarf and his faded blue coat was buttoned against the new breeze. His delightful freckles shone in the midday sun.

"Newt?" Tina whispered, her voice hoarse. Her shoulder bag slipped to the ground, unnoticed.

Newt Scamander looked up from the newspaper in his hand and gave her the most dazzling smile upon meeting her gaze. His cheeks turned an adorable shade of pink.

"Yes, hello, Tina," he stammered out. "It's good to see you. Queenie told me that I might find you here."

Tina found that all words had escaped her as she watched the magizoologist climb up the stairs towards her.

Upon seeing Tina's stunned, silent stare, Newt turned an even darker shade of embarrassment,

"I'm sorry, to show up unannounced," he mumbled quietly. "I should have written you...given notice of my arrival...I'm sorry...I thought to surprise you." Newt looked down at his shoes and muttered to himself, "I'm such a fool."

Tina's heart melted at the sight of him. A cool moisture pooled in her eyes as she finally found her voice.

"You came back?"

Newt looked back up at her from his position two steps below. His gaze was filled with confusion, not quite understanding her question.

"Yes...I did," he answered. "But if you need me to go..."

All emotion returned to her in that moment and in an uncharacteristic display of affection she nearly leapt the distance of the two stairs and flung her arms around his neck, squeezing him tightly. A few rogue tears slipped down her cheeks. Newt hesitated from surprise for only a brief moment before wrapping his own arms around her middle, returning the strength of her embrace.

"You are really here," she murmured happily.

"I'm here," was his returning whisper, breath warm in her ear.

They stood that way for a few precious moments before an indignant squeak of protest sounded from Newt's coat pocket. The pair broke apart quickly, but not too far away, to see Pickett pop up and send a nasty raspberry in Tina's direction.

"Well, hello to you too, Pickett," Tina laughed nervously and Newt joined her. She reluctantly took a step back to a more appropriate distance and shuffled awkwardly on her feet. She remembered her wet cheeks and swiped at them, letting out a nervous giggle.

"I'm sorry, I must look like a big mess," she murmured.

Newt took out his handkerchief and proceeded to wipe tenderly at her cheeks.

"Not at all," he stated with a soft smile and caressing stare. She believed him. It's another few moments of heated, but silent exchanges of eyes before Tina finally remembers where they are and begins to notice the bemused gaze of passerbys. With a thorough blush, Tina grabbed the bag that was dropped in her rush to hug him.

"I was just headed home for lunch," she informed him. "Would you care to join me?"

If possible, Newt's smile grew even larger.

"I would like that very much."

"I'm home, Queenie!" Tina called out as she pushed open the door, with Newt in tow.

"I'm here Teenie," her sister answered back and popped around the corner. She smiled upon seeing Newt enter the apartment. "I see you found her?"

Newt smiled and nodded.

"Good," Queenie returned, happily. "Lunch is almost ready."

"What are we having?" Tina asks, smelling air in famishment.

"Beef stew. Is that alright, Mr. Scamander?"

"It's perfect," Newt replied to Queenie, but his gaze remained on Tina.

The young auror felt her face heat up under his gaze, but she did not find it at all unpleasant.

Queenie cleared her throat loudly, startling the pair until bright pink hues covered their skin.

"Lunch will be ready momentarily, if you would like to have a seat," Queenie instructed and turned back to her stove. Tina sat down opposite of Newt and watched as he peered down at the fluffy pastries collected in the center of the table. He picked one up and inspected it closely, his eyes widening in excitement as he recognized the familiar shape.

"It's Dougal," Tina explained with a pained smile. She just knew Queenie would go down there this morning.

"Who made this?" Newt asked, his voice full of wonderment.

"Jacob did," Queenie answered, the smile in her eyes lighting up the room.

"But...how?" Newt could hardly contain his excitement. Tina could see eyes shifting, the possibilities of how this miracle had occurred filtering through his mind.

"We don't know," Tina responded, simply. "Mr. Kowalski is the only one, that we know of, who has regained his memories."

"He hasn't regained everything," Queenie supplied. "Some of his memory from the battle is still hazy but he remembers everything else before then."

"That is just wonderful!" Newt exclaimed, but his smile faltered upon noticing the thin line that was now on Tina's face. "You do not agree?"

"Tina does not approve of my relationship with him," Queenie, answered Newt's question in a pointed tone. Tina bristled at the word "relationship" and cringed when she saw Newt's saddened glance.

"I have nothing against Jacob, and you know it." Tina pointed her finger at Queenie, narrowing her gaze as she pinned her younger sister with a sharp stare. "We have been through this a hundred times, Queenie. It's against the rules."

"Teenie-" Queenie started but Tina shushed her before she could finish.

"I know you don't care about that," Tina huffed, turning quickly to Newt who opened his mouth to speak. "And I know you don't agree with the policy around Non-magics, but that's just the way it is. There is nothing you can do about it right now."

Tina sat back in her seat as silence reigned for several tense moments glancing between her two sour-looking companions. She felt the twinges of guilt creep along the exterior of her gut. This fight was nothing new between her and Queenie but she could tell her words stung Newt. Tina long suspected that Jacob was one of the few friends Newt had ever had. With a heavy sigh, Tina reached over and took her sister's hand.

"I want you to be happy...and safe."

"I am, Teenie," Queenie squeezed back with a smile. "You just worry too much."

"Only because you never worry enough," Tina replied with a laugh. She turned to look at Newt, who was still sitting solemnly. "If you would like, Mr. Scamander, we could take you, in the morning, to visit Jacob in his new bakery?"

Newt's smile reached his now bright eyes. "I would like that very much."

Tina's smile echoed his.

The rest of lunch went by far too quickly for Tina's liking. Once he felt more comfortable with the women, Newt was quite a conversationalist. He enthralled them with tales of studying the beasts featured in his book, and the crazy shenanigans of his niffler. His eyes met hers throughout the conversation and Tina could not help but drown in them. The sky had turned a darker shade of blue in the time they spent chatting away and both Tina and Newt were blatantly ignoring the arrival of night. Tina, however, did not miss the bemused smiles that Queenie made towards her. She knew her sister was dipping in and out of Tina and Newt's thoughts, and it caused a thick blush to coat Tina's cheeks. Newt cleared his throat and glanced out the window, his own cheeks covered in a bright tinge.

"I should be heading to my hotel." Newt stood slowly and bent down to grab his suitcase.

"You are more than welcome to stay in our guest room," Queenie offered, delighting in the overwhelming red coloring his skin. He murmured something about impropriety and politely declined moving to stand by the door. Queenie gave him a quick hug and wished him goodnight before leaving Tina alone with the anxious magizoologist.

"I could walk you to your hotel," Tina suggested, but Newt shook his head, hearing none of it.

"Well, how about I come by around nine to accompany you to Jacob's bakery?"

"I look forward to it," Newt answered, brightly, but quickly looked down at his feet as did she. Tina knew she should not feel so shy around him, but she had never felt this overwhelmingly excited and nervous before. Neither knew what to say to each other and it was growing awkward. Tina took a deep breath and gathered up her courage. She pressed a quick, but soft, kiss to his cheek.

"Goodnight, Mr. Scamander," she whispered, her voice taking on a flirtatious tone, that surprised her. But it was worth it to see the flustered wizard give her that smile that seemed to be only for her.

"Goodnight, Miss Goldstein," he replied with a wink and then apparated at her feet.