January 5th, 1927

Dear Newt,

If you are going to insist that I call you Newt, I am going to insist that you call me Tina. No one calls me Porpentina, not even my parents when they were alive.

Also, I appreciate knowing you put a locking spell on your attic, make sure it is strong enough to withstand a well-placed alohomora.

I hope your New Year's celebration went well and that it was less stressful then your other holiday celebrations. Queenie and I went to watch the ball drop in Times Square. It's a no-maj tradition, but it is nice to be out with other people to celebrate. What they do is slowly lower a large iron ball that is wired with incandescent bulbs. When the ball is lowered at Midnight, it lights up and there is a huge fireworks show. It's pretty impressive, in its own right. While we might have strict No-Maj relations law, we can still appreciate the no-maj ingenuity. Maybe some year you'll be able to see it here in New York.

Queenie has been in much better sprits since I received your last letter. I, on the other hand, was very conflicted. While I recognize the good you did with your action to help Mr. Kowalski, I want to impress something upon you. You can never tell anyone else about this or we will both be in trouble. You'll be in trouble for aiding and assisting a no-maj whom we were expressly told to leave alone. I will be in trouble because I have hidden and personally endorsed your actions. I know, in my heart, you did the right thing for Jacob. He is a good man and deserves to live a good life. I know rules exist for a reason, but in this case, this is a notable exception to the rule.

Queenie has been in such a good mood that she took the feather you gave her, styled it into her hat, walked into MACUSA, and quit her job. She quit right after the New Year and frankly, I am flabbergasted. She said to Mr. Abernathy, her boss, that she didn't feel safe working at MACUSA anymore. That if Grindelwald could march into MACUSA unnoticed, unrecognized and almost kill me and you then she didn't feel safe working there anymore. She also said that she was concerned with security and if Grindelwald escaped, she thought that MACUSA headquarters would be the first place he would wreak havoc.

I will say this about my sister. She has got gumption. Of course, everything that she said was fair enough. There has been a lot of whisperings about Grindelwald around MACUSA. One thing that people keep saying is that even though he doesn't have a wand, he is still powerful enough to imperius a person. She just used the rumors she has been hearing to help find a way out of MACUSA. The rumors are even worse now that she left. People keep asking me if I tipped my sister off to something they should know.

However, I am slightly concerned what Queenie will do now. Most of her social life too place at work. We aren't well off, even if we aren't starving. She has never expressed an interested in working. Even as a child she never had a career or profession that she was interested in, unlike me. I knew that I wanted to be an auror from a very young age. I am sure I could support the both of us financially for a while, I'm just a bit concerned about what's going through her mind. It's the hard part about having a Legilimens as a sister, she always knows what you're thinking but you never know about what is going on in her mind. We have always been sisters and parents to each other and I guess I cannot help feeling like it is my responsibility to take care of her and her problems. Even thought I know I can't.

Sorry for such a depressing topic. I do have some good news for you. I can safely let you know that I am not assigned to Grindelwald protection team anymore. So, I hope that you will be able to rest better now, in the New Year. It seems that you were not the only person concerned about a potential revenge scheme. Madam President mentioned the danger of having me in the vicinity of his holding cell when she reassigned me. Then when Queenie quit she insisted that our address be removed from any MACUSA recorders, in case anyone, Grindelwald or any of his followers come to try to find us at home.

So my work as an auror has become a little less dangerous. I have been assigned to a new case, which I think you will find interesting. There seems to be a new breeder of Appaloosa Puffskeins in New York and since our last visit to the Blind Pig, my informant ring has shrunk. Funny how poorly a Goblin takes to being punched by a no-maj. Might you have any suggestions on where to start? If not, that is fine, I can find them on my own. I seem to have pretty good luck running into men with magical creatures.

However, I think what really got me removed from Grindelwald's security detail was your friend, Professor Dumbledore. He came to the city a few days ago to consult with Madam Picquary. He insisted that it was a private visit and that the only people who knew he was in New York, were myself and Madam President. He did say that I could write to you about his visit, as he felt that you would want to know. He was a very interesting man. I never expected him to come all the way to the United States, I assume he would just write.

We spoke at length about Mr. Graves and his time at MACUSA, the benefit of the continental knitting style, and of you and your upcoming book. He speaks very highly of you. We spoke of Hogwarts and Ilvermorny and the merits and pitfalls of magical education. I believe he might have even offered me a job, if I ever wanted to relocate. I was flattered, but I don't think there is enough adventure in education for me. He also told me you were a very good-hearted person, but I already knew that.

He does have a strange twinkle about him. I almost wonder if he is a Legilimens because at times it felt like he knew more then what I was telling him. I invited him back to our place for dinner but he turned down the invitation. He said that he knew our landlady didn't look kindly on male visitors. Did you tell him about Mrs. Esposito?

I must say thank you for the feather, it is too beautiful to use as a quill. It's also too beautiful for me to wear, so I have set it on my bedside table. It is the first thing I see in the morning. I thought it was only proper to send something back for you this time, since I am always sending things for your creatures. I started working on this after I received your first letter. I hope you don't find this too forward, but I made you a pair of wool socks. You already had a scarf, and when I thought about making gloves, that just didn't seem practical. I figured with your field work you probably need gloves of dragon hid, not wool. However, then I remembered that you wear boots and every good pair of boots needs a good pair of wool socks to go with them. I'm sorry they aren't more beautiful, I hand stitched this pair instead of using magic. Professor Dumbledore saw me working on them and he also thought socks were a good gift, and I hope he was right.

I hope they fit. I also put a temperature charm on them, so they will never get too hot or too cold while you are wearing them.

I have also included a few small things for some of your fantastic beasts. Please let Pickett know that this was the best I could do with it be winter in New York.

Yours warmly,

Tina Goldstein.

Newt rubbed the wool socks between his fingers and his eyes started to water. There was a tightening in chest. This was one of the most considerate gifts he had ever received. The socks were a light brownish gray. He unfolded them and for the moment he felt overwhelmed. He had never had a woman, who wasn't his mother, make him something special. He remarked to himself how this was a truly considerate gift. Suddenly, he stripped off his boots and pulled over his current, well-worn socks but paused before pulling on his new gift. He wanted to hold, and inspect them a bit longer.

His fingers ran over the small even stitches that made up the ribbed cuff of the sock. She had even knit a small decorative cable down the front of the sock. It was subtle, but he knew that little design added work and time to the knitting process. His own mother would use magic to knit scarfs for the hippogriffs she breed. It didn't matter how many time he told her that it scarfs would not affect their body temperatures or change their mating habits, however she insisted it made a different in their quality of life. Her favorite hippogriff stud got a beautifully knit cabled scarf every winter that he tore to shreds within weeks.

However, this pair of socks, this small cabled gift, was for him and him alone. He imagined the time that must have gone into them if Tina made them by hand. Knitting didn't seem like an out-of-place skill for Tina, as knitting was so practical. He wouldn't have been able to picture her tatting lace, or trimming hats, but knitting seem right. However, he could close his eyes and see Tina sitting with her sister after dinner in their living room, knitting while they listened to the wireless together.

He help the wool up to his noise and sniffed it. A side of him hoped to smell something…feminine, however all he smelled was wool. He rubbed the wool against his freshly shaved cheek. It was a very soft wool, unlike the itchy sweaters of his childhood. Gifts forced on him from great aunts, who only saw him at Christmas. He closed his eyes and tried to memorize the feeling.

He leaned back in his chair, opened his eyes and saw Dougal sitting across from him in their temporary attic home. The demiguise was watching him with is eyes full of kindness and curiosity.

"Oh Dougal, I didn't see you there" He felt himself blush. He was embarrassed to have been caught in a compromising situation. In the back of Newt's mind he knew that this really wasn't a compromising situation to a beast. They would not think that his behavior was off or out of line yet, he still felt like he got caught doing something embarrassing.

Dougal made his way slowly across the room to sit in front of Newt, looking up at his human friend calmly. Dougal pointed to the box that Tina had send, his eyes showed his curiosity.

"Oh, right, yes. Tina sent a box this time, with her letter." He said quickly, taking the box off his desk to show Dougal. The pair peered into the box and this time Newt saw something with Dougal's name on it. He reached in and pulled out a very large and very colorful lollipop.

The tag on it read "To Dougal, I hope you are allowed to have sweets. I saw this and for some reason, thought you would like it. – Tina"

Newt handed it his friend, who smiled almost shyly and blinked slowly up at Newt. It was moments like this he wished Dougal could speak, since he felt like his demiguise was trying to communicate something to him. However, the moment passed and Dougal turned and wandered away.

After watching is friend head back into the attic zoo, Newt turned his attention back to the box. Inside he found: Tulip Poplar sticks with a note for Pickett to share these with is fellow Bowtruckles, a jar of frozen roaches for the Occamy, and a silver dollar for his niffler. He smiled to himself. Tina's consideration of his creatures caused Newt to feel an overwhelming affection for Tina. He felt a personal affection for Tina but this was different, the fact that she cared about his creatures meant a lot to him. He was used to people around him humoring him or blatantly ignoring his interests. His parents tried in vain for several years to introduce him to a nice young woman, however all their attempts failed miserably. He believed that his parents had just given up on him meeting someone, which was fine by him since they stopped making him attend uncomfortable social events.

He picked up her letter again and reread the passage about the feather he had given her. His brow furrowed as he thought about how Tina had appreciated the feather, but wasn't going to wear or use it. Newt look back down at the socks laying in his lap and a small feeling of shame flared up in his chest. Tina had sent him such a useful and thoughtful gift and all he did was send her a feather what he had lying around his shack. Yes, he choose to send her a yellow one specifically because he coat was blue. He thought that the blue and yellow would look nice together. However in retrospect, Tina would want to keep her appearance quiet and subdued. It was important for Tina to blend in to her surroundings. Her ability to go unnoticed was also part of keeping her safe. That was her camouflage, Newt realized. Suddenly he felt even worse about his insensitivity.

What could he give her that would be useful? What was something meaningful, something that Tina could use and would enjoy? He sat lost in thought for a few moments before he realized that he was still sitting barefoot at his desk and worked needed to be done. He finally pulled on his new socks with a smile. He took a few moments to enjoy them, before he laced up his boots. His mind was whirling with ideas, as he grabbed the box of gifts from Tina and headed into his zoo.