~The next day~

Newt woke up early in the morning and went into his suitcase. After he finished feeding all his creatures, he ate breakfast from the kitchen in the hotel he was staying in.

He had been thinking about Porpentina since last night. Her smile was nice to look at, her eyes were also beautiful. It was a surprising encounter, but a pleasant one. Who knows, he could actually see her again sometime.

Newt wanted to go to the library again just to see her, but he stopped himself. Probably she won't be there 24/7, she might have other jobs to do.

Newt tried his best to concentrate on Frank the Thunderbird, about how to help him get to Arizona. But the way he and Porpentina had been close while she tapped at his back….. Control yourself - Newt tried to focus again.

He absentmindedly walked along the streets near the central park. His eyes wandered about the big trees there, and the birds chirping and flying from one branch to the other. Flowers were also seen blossoming , traces of dead flowers beneath Newt's feet were giving out steady noises, 'mch...mch.."

Then he saw her. Tina was right in front of him, buying ice-cream from a portable shop beside the railings of central park. Newt approached her without thinking and said, "Hello Ti-Tina."

She turned her head, the sign of familiarity in her eyes as she warmly smiled at him. "Good morning Mr. Scamander. Would you take ice-cream too?"

Newt slightly blushed and hesitantly nodded. He said, "Err… Vanilla with a chocolate topping if you please. And Tina, you can… Uh...call me Newt, I mean if you don't…"

Tina chuckled, "Great choice Newt, tell you what? He gives the best flavours here. By the way, what brings you here today?"

Newt said, "Oh, I was just…. Just passing… Sorry I…. Thank you for helping me find the books yesterday Tina. I never saw you after that."

Tina replied, "Oh yes, I had to hurry home to give Queenie, my sister, the project I've been doing for her. Thank you for helping me there though."

Newt asked, "So it wasn't your project? Is your sister very young then?"

Tina laughed, "Good gravy! No no. She is only four years younger than me. She is 21. Actually this project, is for one of her favorite students, whom she teaches."

Newt smiled, "You shouldn't ruin children by doing their hometasks, should you now?"

They both laughed while having their ice-creams together. They were now walking the streets aimlessly, more interested in getting to know each other, than to reach a particular destination.

Newt was asking, "What do you do for living? Sorry the question is not exactly inconvenient in our country. Bu-but if you.."

Tina held a hand up reassuringly and gingerly answered, "Not at all Newt. I'm an Auror at MACUSA."

Newt choked on his vanilla cream, "You're, err what? You….."

Tina smirked, "Why? I don't look so tough?"

Newt frantically shook his head, "Of course not Tina. That was ce-clearly not what I me-meant. It's just that...erm…. You're extraordinary then!"

Tina blushed at his promptness, but she also noticed how innocently impressed Newt was. He wasn't flattering after all.

Tina smiled and tried to change the subject, "Would mind asking me what you do?"

Newt shook his head happily, "Of course not. I'm a magizoologist. I have a suitcase, with undetectable enlargement spell. It has unlimited inner space you see, with various climates within ; to provide natural habitats for all my magical creatures. Oh so sorry, am I boring you?"

Newt stopped talking, thinking that he was going a bit ahead of himself today. But Tina seemed to bring out the best in him. So Newt easily forgot how much he had already confided in her.

To his immense surprise though, Tina was very much interested in his creatures. "Don't be silly, it sounds incredible! Will you please show me inside of your case one day? Please?"

Newt's eyes glistened, "Wo-would you like to? Well, why not? S-Sure." He was overwhelmed to find a companion in this foreign country, who was not only interested in his creatures, but also not judging him for being himself.

Newt suddenly raised his hands to Tina's lips, "Oh you've got something in your…" He immediately stopped and blushed. But Tina didn't seem to mind, so he reached out again and ever so softly, brushed away some cream from her upper lip.

Tina blushed too, but didn't say anything. They kept talking about both of their early lives.

"Pardon me, but why on earth did your sister ask you to do that project?" Newt was laughing.

Tina laughed too, "I know! She can be very childish at times. I don't mind though, she has been this way since our childhood. We've only got each other."

Newt's smile faded as he tried to understand what exactly she meant. "Our parents passed away from Dragon pox. Aww don't look so sad, that was ages ago Newt."

Newt's face fell immediately, he couldn't help the immense grief that was consuming him. He imagined two little girls taking care of each other, without any hand above their heads. He couldn't hide the sorrow from his face.

He looked down at his knees and asked softly, "So… You are the elder sister...and you had to take care of Queenie since childhood."

Tina nodded, weakly smiling to cheer him up. But Newt didn't notice as he was feeling terrible, "Ti-Tina, if there's anything I co-could do….you know…. te-to help… I'm so sorry, do-do you want to talk about anything?" He looked up at her hopefully.

Tina's eyes were moist. It wasn't because of her own sad fortune,no, she was used to this life for over 15 years now. But the genuine sympathy and affection Newt showed was so pure, Tina was overwhelmed. She didn't know that anyone possessed such a warm heart.

She pressed her lips to hide her teary eyes and said in a broken voice, "Newt I…. Thank you." That's all she could say.

Newt gave her a smile and hesitantly held out a hand, which Tina instantly took. They tightened the grip on each other's hands and started walking again.

It was Tina who started talking again, now in a cheery voice, "You're a true Hufflepuff Newt." She pointed at his yellow-grey scarf that Newt was proudly wore to sport house pride.

Newt broadly grinned at this, "I am a proud Hufflepuff. But how do you…."

Tina said, "Hogwarts is popular here. At my school, Ilvermorny, people fuss a lot over which Hogwarts house they could've been in. I could be a Gryffindor I guess, as in Ilvermorny I'm in Thunderbird, for the record."

Newt nodded knowingly, "Adventurous would be a suitable criteria for a brilliant Auror like yourself, I believe. " Tina could hardly miss the pure adoration and pride in his tone, and her stomach gave her a funny flutter. She scratched her head to hide the blush and hotness of her face.

Newt suddenly slowed his pace and started stammering, "Err… I was wondering.. I mean I understand if you...uhm...don't want to...b-but… Are you busy right now to...erm…"

Tina laughed, "I am not at all busy right now. What is it that you want to ask?" She forced him to look into her eyes while talking, and immediately regretted. She realized that she was mesmerized by his deep, hypnotic gaze. The strange thing was, that it was impossible to make out his eye colour. It could be bluish green, but it had a yellow light of it. She could also see a greyish glow around his faded blue pupil. She was hypnotised.

Newt cleared his throat and nervously smiled at her, "I was just...asking…. Would you maybe like to have something with me...err...in that…. I mean there? Or anywhere else if you'd rather…"

Tina could make out from his babbling that he was pointing to a coffee shop. She happily nodded, "Sure Newt." She didn't let him say anything else, and practically dragged him into the shop, holding his hand.

They sat across each other, talking, laughing , drinking and sometimes just shyly watching each other. Newt ordered two pastries without telling her, as a mild surprise. He couldn't quite explain his sudden rush of affection towards Tina, because he couldn't put his fingers on what he felt.

Tina understood by now, that he was a socially awkward and introverted person. But extremely friendly and likable, once he eases up.

"Why aren't you allowed to befriend or marry a muggle in America?" Newt was asking.

Tina sipped her coffee and replied, "First of all, it's a bit of a problem to adjust with a person for a lifetime, who can't even summon a simple spoon without having to walk all the way to the kitchen. And don't judge us too harshly Newt, we are terrified of nomajs. There are many of them who would like to kill witches and wizards at first chance."

Newt was listening carefully, he nodded when she mentioned the terror of killer nomajs. "Yes, that's how obscurials are grown in the first place. Of course everyone is afraid. But many of them are pretty nice people…"

They left the coffee shop hand in hand, talking and roaming around the whole city for hours on foot. When finally the sun started setting, Newt realized that they had been wandering for almost the whole day.

Newt said, "Tina, I'm really sorry for wasting your whole day today. I didn't realize…"

"Don't be silly Newt, I lost track of time too." Tina smiled and kept walking, swinging their joined hands care freely.

Newt laughed, "As much as I'd love to walk you home, don't you think it's….err….too far?"

Tina stopped midway and turned around to face him. She chuckled in sudden realization, "Oops! Of course Newt, I'm sorry. We should… uhmm.. disapparate. So...alright." She let go of his hand. They were now in a dark deserted alley, so that muggles(nomajs) don't see them.

"Well, shall I see you again?" Newt asked half-heartedly, his confidence leaving him. He made a sudden funny movement, as if unsure whether to hug Tina or not. Tina, getting that, threw her arms around his neck and smiled, "Obviously I'll see you around. Goodbye." She let go, and gave a final smile before disapparating.

Newt smiled to himself and scratched his neck. A proper hug from a new friend after ages, made his day ten times better. Now that he thought of it, he spent almost 7 hours without his creatures, to be with Tina. None of them had really wanted to let go. Newt could be himself with Tina, a connection he both embraced and feared. A human relation with an opposite sex, Newt was anxious about this.