The day finally came for Newt's presentation. His fear had never felt so insurmountable, but Tina gave his hand a squeeze as they walked through the front door of Hogwarts, and then it didn't seem quite so frightening with her by his side.

Dumbledore was waiting to greet them. He shook their hands cordially. "Newt. Tina. It's good to see you again."

"You as well, Professor." Tina said. "I never did thank you for your wedding gift."

"I feel every couple living in England needs a teapot. Remind me, how long has it been?"

"Coming up on a year," she beamed at Newt, interlacing their hands. Newt offered her a small smile, shifting his grip on her hand to try to stop himself from shaking.

Dumbledore gestured up the staircase to their right, already starting up the stairs. "Ready?"

Newt looked at Tina, panicked. His grip on the case tightened.

She held his hand a little tighter, speaking to him quietly. "We can do this, Newt. You're going to be great. If you get nervous, just look at me, okay? It'll be just like we're in the case."

He nodded, moving up the stairs. She followed.

Tina took a seat at the front of the classroom next to Newt, who set the case between them. The Nundu roared faintly inside. "Quiet, you," she hushed affectionately. "Settle down, now."

Dumbledore rose in front of the class. "Good morning, everyone. Today we have a guest speaker. He wrote one of your textbooks: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I'm honored and grateful to have Mr. Newt Scamander and his wife Tina here with us today. Newt, they're all yours." Tina ran a reassuring hand over Newt's back a couple times as he steadied his breathing. Dumbledore sat down on Tina's other side as Newt rose.

"Good morning, everyone." Newt stared at a spot above all of the students' heads, trying his best to look confident. "Thank you for that kind introduction, Professor Dumbledore. I'm, erm, I'm honored to be here. You're all third-years, yes?"

The students nodded.

"So I take it you've begun your Care of Magical Creatures class?"

More nods.

Newt smiled. "That was my favorite class when I was a student here. It spurred on my love for magical beasts. I hope some of you will feel the pull toward-toward magizoology, just as I did."

He glanced at Tina, who nodded encouragingly.

"I suppose I should give a bit of background. In 1918, I was asked to compile a book about magical creatures, a rather daunting task. At the time, I was working a desk job at the Ministry and, to be honest, I jumped at the chance to earn a bit more money. I spent nearly the next decade travelling the globe in search of new creatures to include in the book. In 1926, I travelled to New York in the hopes of releasing a thunderbird that I had recently rehabilitated-an American beast, quite majestic-and that's where I met my wife, Tina. I completed my book the next year, and I suppose the rest is history."

A student timidly raised her hand. "Is it true you captured Grindelwald?"

Newt's eyes widened and he looked at Tina. She nodded.

"That was one of my creatures, actually, not me." He paused for a moment for any follow-up questions, then continued. "In fact it was the creature I'm about to show you. This creature is called a swooping evil. He's much less intimidating than his name suggests, I assure you."

The students waited eagerly.

Tina opened the case carefully, extracting the swooping evil with now-practiced hands. She handed it to Newt. "Thank you, dear."

The creature's tail looped around Newt's finger and it swung back and forth a little. "He may not look like much, but his venom has highly powerful obliviatory powers, when diluted properly, of course."

Tina's eyes sparkled like she was hearing him talk about his beasts for the very first time. It never got old, hearing him so excited about his creatures.

"This one was injured when I found him, and I've been rehabilitating him ever since. Unfortunately, I don't believe he will be able to live on his own in the wild again."

Pickett poked his head out of Newt's breast pocket. Newt passed the swooping evil back to Tina, then allowed Pickett to clamber onto his hand.

"You see, people hurt these animals because they don't understand how to care for them correctly, or they see them as inferior. I wrote my book to try to help wizards gain a better understanding of the majesty and dignity of these creatures. We share the world with them. It's only right that we should treat them with kindness. Now, this here is a bowtruckle. They inhabit trees with wand-quality wood. Th-they also pick locks, and, erm…"

One of the boys in the back of the class snickered at his stutter, and for a moment, Newt couldn't find the courage to continue. He tried to restart a couple of times, but faltered. He looked desperately at Tina, who mimed taking a deep breath. He followed her example. Breathe, then try again. It's okay.

They'd come up with this system relatively early on in their relationship. Newt had struggled with expressing his feelings toward her in the beginning, but she had been unfailingly patient with him. He got frustrated every time he stumbled over a word or phrase and couldn't quite get himself out of that cycle. She reminded him to breathe, then start again. The first time he'd said "I love you", he tried valiantly to get the words out in one fell swoop, but his voice betrayed him and his face had sunk into his hands, mortified. She had placed a gentle hand on his arm and said,

"Take your time, Newt. I'm not in a rush."

Her patience truly was something to behold. He knew he was not an easy man to love, and yet here she was, refusing to pressure him into rushing himself.

"How about we take a deep breath together and start again. How does that sound?"

He'd nodded, breathing in sync with her several times. Once he'd calmed down (she truly was a miracle-worker), the words seemed to come much more easily. She'd grinned and said she loved him too, and she'd kissed him like she could never get enough of him.

Now, Tina gave him a small smile. You're doing great.

He breathed in once more and began again. "So, you see, bowtruckles are incredibly skilled at picking locks-hence the name Pickett for this one." Pickett struck a pose, enjoying the attention. Tina stifled a giggle at Pickett's antics.

The sound of shuffling as the students began to pack up reverberated through the stone classroom. Newt checked his watch. "It looks as if we have run out of time," Newt sounded relieved. "Thank you all for your attention. I hope you gained a little appreciation for these beautiful beasts with whom we share our world." He shuffled back to sit next to Tina.

"Class dismissed!" Dumbledore announced. The students dispersed.

Dumbledore shook Newt's hand before following the students through the door.

Tina pulled him into a hug. "You were fantastic."

Newt shook his head. "That was disastrous. I couldn't seem to get the words out right for a moment there, and they were all staring at me… I've let you all down."

Tina kissed him hard. "You could never let your beasts down, and certainly never me. The kids were staring at you because they were fascinated, not because they thought anything of it. I am so proud of you for speaking up for them," she motioned to the case.

He gave her a half-hearted smile as he lifted the case off of the floor. "Thank you, dear."