Five

"I'm sorry."

Tina turned her head towards Newt so quickly that her neck cricked a bit. They had been walking, arm-in-arm, for about a block in silence. Cold fear gripped her heart as she tried to ask non-chalantly, "Whatever for?"

I knew he would regret that kiss, it was so unexpected, so out of the blue, so unplanned, where the hell does that leave us now, oh Mercy Lewis, he'll want to forget the whole thing –

"That this had to be your first view of London," replied Newt, sweeping the hand that held his case around them. The street that they were on was still a street that looked anything but tended or well-kept.

The relief that Tina felt was so powerful that she laughed and unconsciously squeezed Newt's arm. "Oh, don't worry about that," she said happily and sincerely. "There are some streets that I've been on in New York that I wouldn't bring my greatest enemy to. And, compared to some of those streets, this is nothing. Besides, it looks like it gets better in another block. Am I right?"

Newt nodded, half a smile on his face, and they fell into an easy silence again.

The area did indeed improve as they walked along, and the streets soon filled with people going about their lives. Newt and Tina wisely remained silent as they walked, knowing that most (if not all) of the people around them were No-Majs (Muggles, Tina corrected herself, at least while I'm on this side of the pond). However, Newt did speak once while they waited for the clear signal at a crosswalk:

"You've changed your hair."

Tina was surprise, and was momentarily at a loss. But then she remembered: her hairstyle had indeed changed since the last time they had seen each other in person.

"Oh, yes, I did," said Tina, self-consciously smoothing over her new bangs. "Only a few weeks ago, actually. Queenie got a raise at work, and the first thing she did was drag me to this new salon. She got a new hairstyle, too; her curls are lighter and sleeker. I didn't think I wanted a change at first, but I liked this new cut once I saw it. And it helps that it's very easy to maintain."

Tina stopped herself when she realized that she was crossing the line from talking to babbling. The crosswalk became clear, and the two crossed it. Only when they were on the other side of the street did Newt lower his head to murmur shyly in her ear:

"Well, it suits you…very nicely, Tina."

Tina's cheeks flamed again, and she only responded by pressing her cheek to his shoulder for a moment, her arm still firmly linked to his. She caught him smiling from the corner of her eye as they made the rest of their journey in easy silence. Tina soaked up the sights of London around her. In some ways, it was very similar to New York, it being a large metropolis. But she could already tell that London had a unique flavor all its own. The air she breathed felt different too, and she instinctively knew it was because this was the air of a different island, a different continent, a different world.

A world that she wanted to experience more of. Because this world had produced the man beside her.

Though he had that awkward air and way of walking that she remembered so well, Newt seemed to walk a little taller than he once had. Perhaps it was because he was in his homeland.

You and what you two just shared might have something to do with it, too, Teenie, Queenie's voice sounded in her mind. Tina brushed it aside, though she gained a tiny bounce in her step.

When Newt brought them both to a halt, Tina found that they were standing before the grubbiest looking bar – no, pub, she really needed to get a handle on these British slang terms – that she had ever seen. When she saw that everybody else walking by them passed the pub without so much as a glance at it, Tina knew that they had to be in the right spot.

Newt held the door open for her, and he followed her inside. The interior was just as dark and grubby-looking as the outside. There were only a few patrons inside, all of them sitting in the dark corners, drinking from large mugs and smoking long pipes. Tina wondered if it was only at night that this place would have some life, like "The Blind Pig" and other hidden magical speakeasys back home.

The two of them walked up to the bar, where a middle-aged, balding man was cleaning a row of glasses with a rag. He looked up when the two of them reached the bar; he nodded at Newt and smiled at Tina. "Evenin', Mr. Scamander the younger. And who's this lovely lass you've brought?"

Newt cleared his throat before he spoke. "Good evening, Paulie. Um, this is Tina – excuse me, Porpentina Goldstein. I believe that she has a room reserved here for the next two nights."

Smirking at Newt, Paulie summoned his ledger over to him from under the bar and opened it. After scanning down a page, he nodded. "Yessir, there she is." He turned his attention to Tina with a smile. "I've put you in room number 2, lass. Very nice and all ready for you. Follow me."

After grabbing a key from a drawer, Paulie walked out from behind the bar and led the two newcomers through a small hallway and up a flight of stairs. They ascended and came to a long hallway with many numbered doors. Number 2 was the first door on the right, and Paulie opened it with the key that he had brought upstairs. The room itself was simply furnished, with a single bed, washstand, dresser, and a door that led to a small bathroom.

Paulie handed Tina the key after all three had entered the room. "Need anything, I'll be downstairs. The bell above the bed will summon me or a member of staff."

Tina thanked him, and Paulie left the two of them with one last smile – or was it a smirk? Once the door was closed behind him, both Tina and Newt set their respective cases down and their eyes met. Immediately, they looked away, an awkward tension filling the air. Of course, Tina thought, considering what happened the last time we were alone together…

When she couldn't bear the awkward silence anymore, Tina abruptly broke the silence with the first question that she could think of: "What time is it?"

This wasn't an unreasonable question for her to ask. After all, she had just traveled to an entirely different time zone.

Seemingly relieved, Newt fumbled for his pocket watch and opened it in his hand. "It's, um, about half past five."

Tina nodded. She'd left New York shortly before noon, which meant that she was now five hours ahead of home. Queenie was probably eating her lunch right now.

Speaking of food, the sound of Tina's grumbling stomach filled the room. Tina, her cheeks red with embarrassment, covered her stomach and gave a self-conscious chuckle. Thankfully, Newt just smiled and said, "Well, I suppose that answers the question of what we'll do first this evening. There's a lovely little restaurant just off Diagon Alley. After that, I can show you some of the shops."

Tina nodded. "That sounds lovely. Only…"

"Yes?"

"After that, would you take me…could we go down into your case? I would love to see it again, and how all of your creatures are doing. Would that be alright?"

Sweet Morrigan, why did she sound so timid and shy? Where was the Tina Goldstein that was the valedictorian of her class, the top duelist of Ilvermorny, the dedicated and competent auror of M.A.C.U.S.A.?

But such thoughts were expelled from her mind as a bright smile spread across Newt's face. "Oh, yes, that would be…that would be very alright, Tina."

Tina returned his smile. "Good!" Tina then remembered the dress that Queenie had made for her which was neatly folded in her case. "Um, Newt…would you give me a few minutes to…uh…freshen up?"

"Oh! Of course, I'll, um –" His cheeks flaming, Newt turned towards the door, turned back, picked up his case, walked to the door, then turned to her. "I'll just be at the bar, downstairs. Take as much time as you need."

"Don't worry, I won't be long," said Tina.

Newt nodded, and then left her alone in the room.

Alone for the first time on this side of the Atlantic, Tina's first impulse was to collapse onto the bed and truly process what had happened with Newt (and by process, she meant commit every moment to her memory). But she wouldn't keep him waiting. She wouldn't waste a moment that she was able to have with him while she was here. She would do her best to make sure that he wouldn't come to regret the moment they had shared.

And she could only hope that that moment would only be the first of many more to come.