Disclaimer: I don't own Rose Granger-Weasley, Newt Scamander or any other character created by J.K. Rowling. My aim is merely to entertain and play around with them a little.
Chapter twenty-one: In which Rose and Leta have tea
Leta Lestrange patiently waited for Rose to pay for her books before she familiarly linked their arms together and started walking through Diagon Alley. Rose was tense, not really knowing what she should do, but while she let herself be steered, she observed her future 'sister-in-law'.
Leta was smaller than her, which wasn't such a surprise, since Rose had inherited the Weasley gene; she held herself with grace, chin held high and jaw set in the posh look that the red-head thought inherent to Slytherins; and also, she seemed sad.
Despite the ring on her finger and what Rose knew of her – not much, granted, but she was, after all, engaged to Theseus in what she'd been told was a love-match – there was an air of tristesse around the petite witch. One that puzzled her new companion.
They stopped in front of a teashop that stood in place of Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlour. Leta opened the door for Rose, smiled at the owner, and led her to a table near the back. The velvet-clad woman sat facing the door, leaving Rose to sit in front of her, her back to the rest of the customers.
She didn't like it.
Which Leta clocked immediately, apparently. She raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow and tilted her head slightly. "Uncomfortable?"
Rose shook her head. "I don't necessarily like having people at my back."
Leta nodded. "Me neither." And, apparently, her own comfort was more important to her than Rose's, since she didn't offer to switch places. Typical Slytherin. She grabbed her tiny purse and placed it on her knees, keeping her hand there. A jovial smile placed itself on her lips, but the Gryffindor facing her knew it was in parts fake. "I am glad we could finally meet."
"I still don't understand why you can't come to Newt's place," countered Rose after they'd ordered two Earl Greys and a plate of lemon cakes.
Leta's dark eyes darkened, if it was even possible. "Hasn't Theseus told you?" Without waiting for an answer, she continued. "Newt and I… We were friends. At school."
Rose's eyes widened. "Were?"
The Slytherin fidgeted, visibly unsure, then she plastered the same fake smile on her lips. "We'll talk about that later. First, we need to get to know each other." The red-haired woman didn't get how this particular topic wasn't, so to speak, getting to know Leta, but she let it slide. "I hear that you are a Healer."
Rose nodded. "I am. Which is handy when living with a hundred or so creatures in your basement."
Leta's smile turned more genuine. "Yes. Newt and his friends. I suppose it means that you are content with your housing?"
Rose's brow furrowed. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Many people have said in the past that Newt's way of living is insufferable. Theseus included."
"Theseus is too hard on Newt."
Leta's gaze turned calculating. "Is he now? Well, maybe he is. He wants his brother safe. Even from himself."
"Well, he doesn't have to worry, since I'm there." The waiter chose that moment to bring their order, and for a moment, they sipped at their tea, observing each other in silence.
After a few minutes, Leta put her hands back in her lap, and continued with her enquiries. "Do you intend to stay long?"
Rose almost spat out her lemon cake. The question meant several things, or at least she thought it did. Hadn't Theseus told Leta about her coming from the future? Did she think she was just being an opportunist in accepting Newt's help?
Seeing as she was not answering, Leta smiled again. This time, however, it was more….let's say, predatory than the previous ones. She leaned closer over the table. "I could warn you: if you harm either of them, or if you even think of doing it, I will make sure that you don't remain alive for very long." She twitched, as if wanting Rose to check her hands.
The red-head swallowed, unsure of what was happening, but when she peeked in-between the wall and their table, she saw that, in fact, Leta hadn't been keeping her bag in her lap all this time. She'd been pointing her wand straight at her the whole exchange.
Somehow, it made her angry. "I'm not here to harm anyone, let alone my brothers," she spat the word. "And before you try anything, snake," reverting to her usual insults for people of the same House, "know that I'm far from being helpless with a wand."
Leta chuckled, relaxing and sitting back, putting an emphasis on how she put her wand back into her sleeve while Rose still fumed. "Good. Then that's settled." She took another sip of her tea, before asking, "Would you want to go shopping with me sometime? I'm not certain that Newt has a lot of women's clothes in his house…"
Her acolyte kept wide eyes on her for a moment longer, not understanding a lot about those shifts in mood. Then, she supposed Leta had tested her with that trick, and that, bizarrely enough, she had passed. It was difficult to go back to calm and collected, though. She hadn't quite mastered that yet.
Rose gulped her tea in one go, and shrugged. "Maybe. Not today, though."
Leta acquiesced. "No, not today. I dare say this encounter has been too interesting. We'll need time to ponder." She waved her hand, payed the shop-attendant, and rose from her chair "Rose, it's been a pleasure to bump into you. Please, send me an owl whenever you'd like." She smiled again, and gracefully strode away.
Rose watched her go, puzzled in a way she hadn't been in a long time. She then noticed what had been hidden from her sight since they'd arrived: everyone in the tea-shop had been staring at them. Or, more specifically, at Leta. Not at her. At Leta. And as the gorgeous little witch exited the place, whispers started all around, with pointing fingers, snarls and looks of disdain.
What in Merlin's name?
When she got home, her books shrunk in her pocket, thoughts swirling in her mind, Rose's first instinct was to seek Newt out.
She found him showing Bunty how to feed the Occamies without getting bitten. The girl seemed as smitten as she'd been hours prior, and it put a small smile on Rose's face.
"Newt?" She waited until said wizard turned to her, giving her his full attention. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
He nodded, before turning to Bunty. "Keep feeding them. I'll be back." He shoved the bag of food into his new assistant's hands, not noticing the wistful sigh of the girl before he walked to his sister. "Yes?"
She stared at him for a second, then blurted out "I've met Leta today."
His green eyes rose so he could meet her gaze. A slight flush went to his cheeks, combined with a look of….sadness? "Did you?"
"Yes. She's quite weird, isn't she?"
"I haven't seen her in a long time," was his answer. He was about to flee, she could sense it, knew him well enough by then.
Which is why she stopped him by saying "She threatened me." Newt's eyes went back to hers. He was surprised. "She pointed her wand at me and told me she'd kill me if I hurt you or Theseus."
A small nostalgic smile went to Newt's lips. "Sounds like something she'd do."
"She did that in a public place." He didn't get what had her so flustered, she could see. "Newt, she threatened to kill me in a public place. Back where I come from, only certain people do that with the risk of hurting bystanders…" Death Eaters, she stopped herself from saying. He wouldn't know what they were.
"Theseus threatened you too," was his answer.
"And we were alone in a field."
"Rose." He met her gaze with a determined look, this time. "If you wish for me to say 'what a horrible person' or 'I'll write to her to ask she apologizes', I won't do either. Leta is…..an intense witch. And she'll protect Theseus with all she has."
"And you, apparently."
He didn't rise to the bait, and sighed. "I have to go back to work."
The conversation was over.
But Rose wasn't reassured. Leta Lestrange had threatened her in a place where collateral damage coming from a duel – or worse, a Killing Curse – would have been devastating; she'd claimed to want them to know each other better, but she hadn't really shared anything or dug deeper into who Rose was; and then, there was that look on the other patrons' faces when she'd gone.
Who was Leta Lestrange? Was she a threat to Newt?
The Gryffindor in her roared in her chest.
She got back upstairs as quickly as the many flights of stairs allowed her to, grabbed some paper and a quill, and started writing a letter to Queenie.