disclaimer: I own nothing
Author's Note: Thanks to Katherine for reviewing again. So that you don't miss any chapters -I post them about every 2 to 4 days, depending on when I remember, because this is a prewritten story that I'm editing before I post. Hope that helps :).
Tina beat him to making breakfast two days later. Newt walked into the kitchen, finishing buttoning his vest to find her cooking the Muggle way. She was getting better at it and Newt had a feeling she was doing it this way to give herself something to do.
"Good morning." he greed.
Tina glanced over her shoulder. "Morning."
Newt noted she was wearing one of his shirts. He doubted that much else fit at this point. They talked over the meal, both of them at ease.
"Would you like to go to Diagon Alley?" Newt asked.
With Bunty coming it to care for the creatures today, Newt's day was wide open.
Tina nodded. "I think that would be nice."
After Bunty arrived, they left, though Tina stopped to find a shirt that wasn't his. This proved difficult and Newt felt he probably shouldn't have laughed at one point, but Tina didn't seem to be truly mad about it.
They walked to Charing Cross. It was a nice day, a bit chilly, and they certainly weren't the only ones on the street.
Once they had reached it, Newt led Tina to the Leaky Cauldron, which the Muggles passed by without a glance. The pub was so gloomy when they were inside that they both paused to let their eyes adjust. Tom was standing at the bar as usual, but for the most part the pub was empty this early.
"Newt!" the barman greeted cheerfully.
"Hello, Tom." Newt said as he and Tina walked further in.
Tina was looking around. The Leaky Cauldron was quite a bit different than any speakeasy in New York and Newt doubted she'd ever been in a British pub before.
"Care for a drink?"
"Not at the moment, Tom, thank you." Newt said.
Tom noticed Tina.
"Who is this?"
Tina turned her head. "Tina Goldstein."
"American."
The comment was not derogatory -more of an observation.
"Born and raised." Tina said with a small smile.
"What are you doing in England?"
"Living with my husband."
Tom laughed at this. Newt wasn't entirely certain what was so funny about the concept of him having a wife, but said nothing regarding that.
"We'll see you later, Tom." Newt said, leading Tina through the pub to the courtyard out back.
"He knows you." Tina remarked.
"Tom hardly ever forgets a wizard that passes through his pub." Newt said, drawing his wand.
He tapped the bricks in the right order and stood back to watch the archway form. Tina looked a little surprised. From what Newt had seen in America, passing into wizarding places was much smoother.
They walked through and entered Diagon Alley. Even early in the morning, the alley was bright and busy, with the snowy mass of Gringotts towering over the shops at the far end of the alley.
"Do they have anything like this in America?" Newt asked, smiling a little at the expression on Tina's face.
"Not quite like this."
Newt had to agree with this. He didn't think much could compete with the magical chaos that was Diagon Alley.
They simply wandered for a bit, Newt giving Tina a narration of the shops. She laughed when she saw his book still displayed in the window of Flourish and Blott's, next to the somewhat awkward looking author photograph.
"Why do you always look like that in pictures?" Tina asked. Her tone was genuinely curious.
Newt shrugged.
"I don't really like being in the spotlight." he said.
Tina smiled and squeezed his hand gently.
They moved on. They got into a brief, light argument about wandmakers when Newt declared that Ollivander's was the best. Tina, naturally, seemed to think that American wandmakers were superior. They enjoyed the argument, even when Newt suggested they go in and what the wandmaker had to say about Tina's wand. Tina declined this, though she did seem interested in some of the magical creature shops.
The typical fair in America was owls, cats, toads, and other such animals and the shops of Diagon Alley had a somewhat more exotic variety, though they couldn't compete with anything that Newt had in his case or basement at home. Tina seemed interested despite this and Newt was reminded she wasn't used to the wizarding world being quite like this, with the Americans being even more underground that the British.
They wandered for a bit and purchased a few necessities before finally returning to the Leaky Cauldron for a drink.
Newt bought a butterbeer and Tina drank some cider. They spent some time at the bar as the pub gradually became busy, then exited back into Muggle London. The wind had picked up somewhat.
"Well, that was exciting." Tina said, sitcking her hands into her coat pockets.
They started walking, not exactly heading home. They had made it several streets and turned on to an empty one when Newt nearly ran into a glove floating in midair.
"What is that?" Tina said as the glove gestured and pointed to a nearby roof.
"Oh dear. I know what this is." Newt was actually surprised that it hadn't happened sooner. "Hold on tight." he told Tina, holding out his hand.
Tina grasped it tightly, though she looked a little confused. Once she had, Newt grasped the glove. There was the sensation of Apparating and then they gound themselves on the rooftop the glove had pointed at. Newt heard Tina breathe in sharply and turned.
She had released his hand and was staring down the street, one hand on her stomach.
"Are you all right?" he asked, concerned.
Tina looked up at him. She looked sick.
"Now I know why they say you shouldn't Apparate when you're pregnant." she said.
Newt wasn't entire sure what to do about this. He wasn't certain if he'd heard that before.
"Well, if you're going to vomit, you probably shouldn't do it over the edge."
Tina gave him an irritated look that would have worked better if she hadn't looked so nauseous. Glancing down, Newt edged around the statues, making his way to another part of the roof. Tina follwed cautiously.
She seemed a little nervous about the height, but when they gout around the corner, they found a man in a coat and hat staring out over the city.
"Dumbledore." Newt said.
The man turned to look at them, looking like he was about to smile.
"Were the less conspicuous rooftops full, then?" Newt asked, not moving any closer.
Tina stayed just behind him. The edge of the roof didn't off much else.
"I do enjoy a view." Dumbledore said, turning back to his previous position. He drew his wand and pointed it at the rooftops. "Nebulus."
A stream of fog flowed from the tip of the wand and started to fill the city. Dumbledore stored his wand back inside his coat and turned to face Newt and Tina fully.
"That should keep us safe from prying eyes." Dumbledore moved closer to them. "I thought you would have been alone. My apologies for interrupting your day."
"You didn't interrupt much." Newt said as Dumbledore stopped in front of them.
He smiled at Tina.
"You must be Porpentina." he said, holding out his hand.
Tina shook it.
"And you must be Dumbledore." she said with a small smile.
Newt had told her all about Dumbledore quite a number of months ago.
"I do apologize for the Apparating." Dumbledore said.
Tina laughed a little, crading her belly briefly.
"I survived it."
"Then I hope you won't mind one more trip."
Tina looked queasy at the prospect, but she shook her head. Dumbledore Apparated. Newt held his arm out to Tina. She grasped it and Newt followed Dumbledore back down to the street.
Once there, they started walking through the fog.
"Has the Ministry spoke to you yet?" Dumbledore asked.
"Not since we cam back." Newt said.
Dumbledore nodded.
"It's only a matter of time. And now that Tina-" Dumbledore inclined his head towards Tina slightly, who smiled slightly at her nickname. "-is here, transfering from Macusa and no longer attached to them, they will want to speak to her as well."
"I can handle talking to the Ministry."
Tina said.
"I have no doubt that you can." Dumbledore said, smiling a little.
"I spoke to them before I left. Briefly." Net admitted as they turned a corner and approached statues of lions that were shrouded by the fog.
"And?" Dumbledore asked, looking around as if the city interested him immensely.
"They were convinced that you sent me to New York at the time."
"You told them I didn't?" Dumbledore asked as they passed by the statues.
"Yes."
Dumbledore tilted his hat to two men as they passed.
"Even though you did." Newt finished.
Tina made a noise at this and Newt ducked his head a little. That was probably something he should have told her, but when she had been attached to Macusa, he hadn't wanted to put in a difficult position. Newt thought of the things he had been wanting to say to Dumbledore for months.
"You told me where to find that trafficked Thunderbird, Dumbledore. You knew I would take him home and you knew I'd have to take him through a Muggle port."
"I've always felt an affinity with the great magical birds. There's a story in my family that a phoenix will come to any Dumbledore in desperate need. They say my great-grandfather had one. And that it took flight when he died, never to return."
Newt was slightly annoyed by Dumbledore veering so far off subject, as was his habit. It might make sense why he had days or weeks or even months from now, but currently it was just making Newt feel a little weary of the conversation.
"With all due respect, Professor, I don't believe for a minute that's why you told me about the Thunderbird." Newt said, giving Dumbledore a look.
Dumbledore seemed amused.
"You shouldn't be complaining too much, Newt. If I hadn't, you would never have met your lovely wife."
Newt didn't even ask how Dumbledore knew that he and Tina were married.
"You sent Newt to New York?" Tina asked Dumbledore.
Dumbledore chuckled a little at this.
"You'll get the chance to reprimand your husband, my dear. At the moment I need to speak to the both of you."
Tina nodded. Newt wondered if this was going to circle back to be their first argument as a married couple, because there were quite a few things he hadn't told Tina.
"As I said before, the Ministry will want to speak to the both of you." Dumbledore said, tone completely serious now.
"By why?" Tina interrupted. "Macusa didn't charge Newt with anything. They didn't even give him a fine. Our supposed crimes were the result of Grindelwald trying to illegally execute us. Why would the Ministry of Magic want to challenge that?"
"It's not what Newt's creatures did in New York. It is what the two of you did."
"Which part, exactly?" Newt asked.
"You apprehended Grindelwald." Dumbledore said gravely. "And have been the target of revenge from his followers."
Tina's hands went to her swollen belly and Newt noticed it was more of a protective gesture than anything else.
"But Grindelwald is in custody, Dumbledore. Macusa is eeping him as locked up as humanly possible. They shift the guards so that none can be influenced by him. Not to sound callous, but Grindelwald is no longer our problem."
Newt took Tina's hand and squeezed it.
"All of those things are true, Newt." Dumbledore agreed, nodding. "But the Ministry still wants to interrogate you, write down ever detail of every single thing you did in New York. Even though it was so many months ago. When you were in New York, they could not touch you. But they will only give you a brief amount of peace. They know you're both here and Tina's ambition to join the Auror department. They know what led you back here. And they will not respect your privacy if it means they get what the desire."
Dumbledore paused, looking seriously at the both of them. They began walking again a moment later. Tina looked queasy again at Dumbledore's last two sentences.
"Is there anything we can do?" Tina asked.
Dumbledore looked at her.
"I'm afraid that all you can do is tell them what is in your best judgement. If there are certain things that you feel the Ministry should not know, then I caution you not to say them. Especially if what I fear comes to pass."
Dumbledore's gaze became distant, fixed on some point ahead of them.
"What is it you fear, then?" Newt asked.
Dumbledore looked at him again and at that moment Newt knew he was not going to get a straight answer.
"The less you both know, the better. But when the Ministry speaks to you, I ask you not tell them we have spoken."
Newt wouldn't have thought to say anything to the Ministry about this. Tina also said nothing. As an Auror, she was well versed in how the Ministry would respond. And the would, in a way that might end up with all three of them in neighboring cells in Azkaband.
But Dumbledore seemed to be holding back in what he truly wanted to say to them. Newt wondered why and glanced around, though it was hard to tell if there was anyone listening to the conversation thanks to the fog.
"Why would they care what Grindelwald's followers have done?" Tina asked.
She was paler as she said this and Newt knew she was imagining the possibility of the Ministry making her recount the rape.
"They want to know everything they possibily can about Grindelwald and what his followers are doing in his absence. And you are the ones who now the most, as little as that may be." Dumbledore paused as a Muggle brushed by Tina and waited until he was gone. "New York, the Obscurial -it was only the beginning. I fear what may come to pass."
The words sent a chill down Newt's spine. Neither of them asked anything about this -it was clear that Dumbledore was not going to say what he feared. Dumbledore turned to face them again.
"It was a pleasure to see you again, Newt. And to meet you, Porpentina. I must be going now."
Dumbledore inclined his head to them, starting walking away and Apparated. Newt and Tina stayed there in silence for a few moments.
"So Dumbledore is-" Tina started.
"Annoyingly vague? Strange?" Newt interrupted.
A smile flickered across Tina's face.
"I was going to say cryptic." she said.
"That works too." Newt agreed.
They started walking through the fog that showed no signs of dissapating any time soon. Tina was silent, no doubt going over everything that Dumbledore had just said to them. They would talk about it, of course, but Newt knew one thing for certain. He had no desire to speak to the Ministry any time soon.
XXXXXX
The Ministry had still made no effort to speak to Newt and Tina a few days later. Neither of them spoke of it, but it was a possibility that hovered in the back of both their minds.
Newt was with Bunty in the basement, not paying much attention to what he was doing. His mind was on Tina. The past two days she had become increasingly quiet and withdrawn again. Her nightmares were persisting. It seemed she was backsliding somewhat and Newt was worried about her. He'd tried to speak with her, but it was clear Tina had no desire to speak more than a few sentences in a conversation.
Newt would be the first to say that Tina needed more help than he could off her. He loved her, yes, but this was a situation where that alone was simply not enough. But what had happened to her -especially her subsequent pregnancy- was something that was rarely spoken about. It happened, but not many acknowledged it openly or even behind closed doors.
Newt knew no one this had happened to. No one Tina could speak to or reach out to. Perhaps she simply needed to speak to a woman. That was another department he was sorely lacking in. It wasn't as if she could speak to Bunty. They hardly knew each other and he knew Tina wouldn't want to pour out everything that had happened to her to someone she'd just met. What she really needed was Queenie.
Newt had, feeling guilty the entire time, searched for the letter Tina had mentioned she'd gotten from Queenie, hoping for some sort of return address. He hadn't found it at all and hadn't gone through Tina's more personal things. That had just felt wrong.
He didn't broach the subject of Tina writing Queenie and either telling the truth or asking her to come. It would have the same end result, but Tina had seemed so guilt ridden by the thought Newt hadn't dared say anything. In his opinion, Tina had every right to need her sister right now, but TIna had made her choice. He had to respect that, as difficult as it was for him to do so.
"Newt." Bunty said his name as if it wasn't the first time she'd said it.
"What?"
He turned his head and blinked as Bunty.
"Should I prepare some food for the Erumpet?"
"No. She won't eat until later."
Bunty nodded. Newt wiped his hands off on a rag. They had pretty much done everything they needed.
"You can take a break now, Bunty. Come back this evening." Newt said, starting up the stairs.
He didn't hear Bunty's response.
Newt found Tina sitting in the living room, reading his book. She seemed to enjoy it, but she was fingering the corner of the page restlessly, looking as if she couldn't focus on it.
"I could find you a better book." he said, sitting down across from her, making a weak attempt at humor.
Tina looked up at him.
"I like this one." she said quietly.
Newt said nothing for a moment. Tina's free hand was resting on her belly in an absent way. Newt cleared his throat, feeling a little awkward.
"We need to start thinking about a room." he said.
Tina looked back up at him, eyes slightly wide. She looked blank.
"For the baby." Newt prompted gently.
Tina closed her eyes briefly. Newt shifted forward in his seat slightly. They needed to talk about it. There was no way that they couldn't.
"Tina, we can't just keep ignoring it."
He felt like he was overstepping a boundry. But it was one he had to cross. This was his wife. This was his child. This was his family. And if he was somehow hurting Tina by bringing it up instead of letting her do so, it was an injury he had to inflict.
"I know." Tina whispered, closing the book and setting in on the table beside her.
She stood with a little difficulty. She seemed a little agitated. She pressed her hands into the small of her back, shaking her head a little. She let out a shuddering breath. Newt stayed hwere he was, wishing there was something he could do to make this conversation easier.
"I know. But. . . . . . .what are we supposed to talk about, exactly, Newt?" Tina turned to face him, one hand resting on her stomach briefly. "You're my husband, Newt. And this baby. . . . this baby is the child of the man who-" Tina broke off, letting out another shuddering breath.
Newt stood up here and stood in front of Tina.
"I don't care if it's mine, Tina. It's yours. And that makes me its father."
He placed his hand beside hers on her belly. Tina looked like she was about to burst into tears at his words. Newt was slightly alarmed about this. He hadn't intended any such thing. The pregnancy was making Tina much more emotional than he had ever known her to be. He knew talking about the rape probably contributed to it, but he never like to see her in tears.
And Newt felt despite her resolve not to cry, she was going to for a while. And that wasn't a bad thing. He mostly saw crying as a way to get the pain out, but Tina seemed to view it with a different perspective. Tina blinked several times and let out a deep breath. The tears were gone by then. Newt felt the baby move beneath his hand. Tina place her hands over his.
"I know, Newt." she murmured. "I know, but some days. . . ." She closed her eyes for a moment. "Some days are harder than others."
"I know, Tina."
It was all he could say. It felt useless, but it there was only so much he could give Tina here. He wanted to bring up Queenie then. But he wasn't going to bring up two hard things in one conversation.
"But we need to talk about this. We don't have a lot of time left."
Just under three months in truth, but when they hadn't even talked about it, it wasn't a lot.
Tina nodded at this. They were quiet for a moment. Newt vaguely realized this was the most Tina had said in three days. He wasn't sure why this conversation hadn't made her retreat back into her shell, but he was glad it didn't.
"The one across from ours."
Tina's voice didn't hold a large amount of emotion, but at least she was talking. It took Newt a moment to realize she had circled back to talking about a room for the baby. He nodded.
"That's probably for the best."
His own voice was quiet, matching Tina's tone. There wasn't much to do in preparing a baby's room. Especially when it would probably be sleeping in their room for the first few weeks. It was about then that Newt realized that he knew an incredibly amount about creatures but incredibly little about babies. Apparently Tina felt the same way.
"We'll figure it out." Newt told Tina.
She nodded. Newt stood there, not sure what else to say. He was afraid that if he said the wrong thing, Tina might go back behind her walls. He wanted to ask her what had made her do it again, but knew that it wouldn't be right. There were some things in this he neede to let her come to him with, as hard as it was. When she was ready to talk to him again, she would tell him. But Newt knew that right now he had made the right choice in bringing up the baby.
They needed to talk about it and finally Tina wasn't balking or refusing to talk about it. There was more to talk about regarding the baby. But Newt gave Tina a moment to think again. She looked like she needed it.
"I'm scared for this baby, Newt." Tina whispered.
For, Newt noted. Not of.
"Why?"
"I don't now, exactly. But I am. And how am I supposed to be a mother? I have no clue how to be one."
"And I have no clue how to be a father."
Tina laughed a little, but not out of amusement.
"Newt, I've seen you with your creatures. You're more prepared to be a father than most people ever are."
"I'm not so sure about a father." Newt said quietly. "But the Occamy aren't complaining about their mum."
Tina laughed, as she was supposed to. Newt wanted to pull her into his arms and just hold her, but he sensed that was something she wouldn't accept at the moment. He once again felt useless, knowing that there were things that Tina needed that he couldn't provide. That she probably didn't know how to ask for even if he could.
When pain was so deep inside, it was hard to know what you needed to feel better. Newt held Tina's gaze.
"We'll get through this, Tina. I promise you."
Tina nodded. For a moment it looked like she was going to smile, but didn't.
"I know."
Her voice was soft and she held his gaze for another moment before she pulled away from him and walked away.
Author's Note: Shamelessly stole and altered the scene from the Crimes of Grindelwald with Dumbledore, but with my altered timeline, I felt like it had to be in there instead of a weird amount of time later.
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