Author's note: Enjoy!
Disclaimer: The following characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and this story derives from her original works, storylines, and world. Please do not sue me, I can barely pay tuition.
Hogwarts: Assignment #4, Beauty Therapy, Task #7 Write about increasing something
Warnings: NA
An Eight to One Victory
Tina Goldstein-Scamander knew who she'd married, and so she knew that the first thing Newt would want to do when he got home from his trip was kiss her square on the lips and ask her to follow him into the suitcase. She knew this so well that she had kept her bulky walking boots on when she'd got home from work, even if her plans were simply to sit at the kitchen table, drinking a cup of tea and watching the hands on a clock tick and tock by. It wasn't that she didn't have news to tell him herself or that she wasn't dying to spend time with him—she was just being realistic. She knew who she had married.
And surely enough, just when Tina had expected him to be back from his latest expedition, Newt swung in through the front door—tousled curls flopping around and lanky limbs just a little bit clumsy. He put the case down to free up his arms for a hug, which she was happy to receive. She kissed his cheek before he kissed her lips.
"I missed you," she said.
"I missed you too," Newt agreed, resting his forehead against hers. She felt his eyelashes flutter against her cheeks and his thumbs ran up and down her waist as he held her in that nice, soft, familiar way.
"I have something to show you," Newt said. "There's an addition to the menagerie you really ought to meet… It didn't increase too much during the trip, I promise, but you really should meet this lot..."
"Of course," Tina smiled.
She didn't bother to even offer Newt a cup of tea, they'd get to that later, and followed him into the sitting room where he put down his case and opened it up. They stepped inside and he led her through the little gamekeeper's cabin where he prepared his creatures' meals and any healing potions they might need.
He took off his coat and hung it there, rolled up his sleeves and picked up a bucket of peeled and cored apples. Tina wasn't quite sure whose diet they were designated to compose, she just knew he looked quite handsome in his shirtsleeves and suspenders, and was quite happy to take the hand he offered her and follow him through the various biomes and habitats his creatures inhabited—down paths, up hills, through patches of trees, following riverbends…
"Here we are," Newt said, pulling through a particularly dense patch of trees that the albino bowtruckles were particularly fond of.
"My word," Tina breathed out when she saw the enclosure. It was a simple wooden fence surrounding a patch of grass that wouldn't keep the beautiful creatures inside bound there, it would only make them feel secure. If they wanted to go anywhere, Tina knew they would.
"Injured unicorns, from Brittany," Newt said. "Well, only the grandmother of the herd was injured but they're very closely-knit social circles, so it wouldn't have done to seperate them…"
"They're beautiful," Tina said breathlessly, looking at the herd of eight creatures. Their coats ranged from frosty whites to stormy greys. The creatures' horns were all the size of her forearm, intricately sculpted and razor sharp.
"I've never seen any before," she admitted.
"They're quite friendly, for unicorns," Newt said. "Come on, you can meet them…"
He climbed the fence, whistling a soft ballad to announce his presence. When he tossed an apple in the herd's direction, he got the creatures' interest. The injured herd matriarch would have been easy to identify, even if her flank and back leg hadn't been wrapped up in bandages. That mare had the longest main, shot through with gold in the same way that an old woman may grey. The youngest creature in the herd seemed to be only a foal that was just tall enough to hit Tina's waist, its horn still a stub growing in.
The unicorns seemed intrigued by the possibility of apples and they came to Newt willingly—the foal first, of course, with the mare with the spotting that most resembled it, perhaps its mother, following closely. She had a slate grey coat, speckled with black like coal dust, and deep brown eyes. Tina hadn't even known that unicorns could have such dark coats but the creature was quite beautiful.
"Here," Newt said, wrapping Tina's hand around an apple. "Hold it out, fingers nice and held together so that they don't accidentally bite, then… If they take the whole apple, keep your hand outstretched and they might signal for you to pet them…"
"Right," Tina said.
She did as he instructed, and the foal's mother came to her, seeing that its child was busy catching apples that Newt tossed it. Once the unicorn had finished its snack, she lay her head against Tina's palm and rubbed back and forth. Then she looked up at Tina, as if evaluating her. She carefully stepped closer, making sure to keep the sharp edge of her horn far away as she rested her head against Tina's midriff.
"Wonderful," Newt said. "It really took a liking to you. That's really rare behaviour for unicorns, you know, they only do it when members of their herd are…"
He turned his head to the side when he said it, as if something was just now hitting him. He hadn't been making much eye contact with Tina but at these words he made a distinct effort to look at her, trying to guess at the truth before he really asked.
"When members of their herd are what?" Tina asked.
"Expecting," Newt finished.
Tina didn't answer, just continued looking at him. Then she broke and smiled.
Newt dropped his bucket of apples, to the foal's delight.
"Porpentina Goldstein-Scamander," Newt said very seriously. "Are you..?"
"It appears you're not the only one increasing this family," she said.
Newt's eyebrows shot up, nearly disappearing into his unruly brown curls, and his forget-me-not blue eyes widened.
"You're having a baby?" Newt repeated, as if he wasn't trusting the conclusions he was reaching.
Tina nodded and couldn't help but laugh as her poor husband stood there in shock. She'd had a month to process this news, which had come to her just after he'd left for his trip, which included all the shock, fear, adrenaline, overwhelming joy, incredulity, disbelief, and pleasure that Newt was processing all at once.
She walked back towards him, wrapping her arms around his waist. His clumsily found their way back around her. Tina's newfound unicorn acquaintance followed her, anxious to make sure they'd gotten the message, and also determined to get chin scratches based on her insistent nuzzling.
"Eight unicorns, one baby…" Newt mused in Tina's ear, his arms around her tightening. "You win."
Stacked with: MC4A; Shipping Wars; Hogwarts
Individual Challenge(s): Hufflepuff MC; Seeds; Baby Mine; Buzzing Bee; Old Shoes; Themes & Things A (Family); Themes & Things B (Surprise); Themes & Things C (Suitcase); Themes & Things F (Honesty); Ethnic & Present; Neurodivergent; Rian-Russo Inversion; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux
Word Count: 1125
Shipping Wars
Ship (Team): Tina Goldstein/Newt Scamander
List (Prompt): Fall Medium 2 (Accidental Confession)