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Newt Scamander did not like ships.
They swayed too much and he could never have a good night’s sleep on them. His creatures hated them too.
But something about a certain young lady had convinced him that he needed to sail across the pond to the New World again, to give her a copy of his book that she could certainly find in some wizarding bookstore close to her residence.
The young woman was very special, but he did not know why. He had tried to write to her as much as possible; in fact, he wanted to write her every day for hours on end if he was permitted to, but she would probably be quite terrified of him if he did so. He thought back to the piles of unsent letters in his case and felt himself go red.
That would be mighty pleasant if she saw all those.
Something about her drove him mad.
As they neared the harbour, he could not help himself but look for her on the docks. But he did not find her and tried to suppress his disappointment.
It isn’t her fault, you were the one who sent an owl just this morning. And she’s probably busy with her Auror work anyway.
The New York skyline disappeared from view as the ship docked. Eager to disembark, he filed behind the American men as they stepped onto the familiar port in which Newt had last seen her more than a year ago.
When it was his turn, he handed his muggle passport to a friendly faced customs officer.
“British, eh?”
“Yes.”
“First time in New York?”
“No.”
“Anything edible in there?”
“No.”
Newt looked up, gazing past the officer. The customs officer asked him something, but he could not hear him. He was too distracted by an all too familiar figure standing solitary to the gathering crowd.
She was wearing her grey coat, hands stuffed in its pockets, looking just as he remembered. She was smiling, dark hair blowing in her face, and Newt could not help but stare in wonder. He could not begin to fathom how she could be so beautiful and felt the wave of strange enticement surge over him that he had not felt since he had last seen her.
“What’re ya lookin’ at?”
Newt was snapped out of his reverie by the customs officer. “Sorry, so sorry…” He blinked a few times awkwardly as the officer turned to Tina’s direction.
The officer turned back to him, smirking smugly. “Haven’t seen ya girl in a while, huh?” He gestured towards Tina with the passport.
Newt felt his ears heat up in utter embarrassment. “Er, well um, she’s not actually…” He trailed off, mumbling, shifting his case from one hand to the other uncomfortably.
The officer smiled knowingly. “I know how a man looks at a girl when he’s in love with’er.” He must have seen the horrified expression on Newt’s face and chuckled. “Don’t worry about it, friend, and best of luck to you.” The officer handed back the passport and laughed again as Newt promptly filed out, eager to get away from the embarrassing situation as soon as possible.
His heartbeat accelerated as he saw her standing only a few meters away from him, and looked away. He wanted to run to her, to hold her in his arms so tightly that they would eventually melt into one. He wanted to breathe in her sweet scent, to trace her perfect edges and bends, to make sure he hadn’t forgotten a single thing. It was only then that he realised just how much he had missed her, how hollow he felt without her.
He approached her slowly, attempting to hide his silly smile behind his fringe. He stopped in front of her and summoned the courage to look at her.
She was smiling, and Newt noticed the special little dimple on the right side of her lips.
“Mr. Scamander.”
His felt his heart sink. She was being demure, too polite. Was she not as excited as he was for their reunion?
Well, of course she wasn’t. He was just a strange, awkward British magizoologist, how could he compare to a charming, skilled wizard in the auror department of MACUSA? He was merely her friend. How could he expect her to be excited to see him at all? He was lucky to have her even as a friend, to have her even come all the way to the harbour just to see him. He did not deserve her attention anyway.
But he could not hide his disappointment and hid behind his fringe again.
“Miss Goldstein.”
A moment passed as the wind blew in their ears. He expected her to curtly take his arm and ask him polite questions like how his trip was, and usher him away.
But to his astonishment, he heard her laugh. Her laughter was like a melody, an effortless song. He wanted to raise his head and look at her face, her radiant face, but before he could, she was crashing into his arms, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. Caught by surprise, he stumbled back a few steps, regaining his balance. He caught her gently around the waist and held her; gingerly at first, but then with such tightness, he felt as if they were one.
As he was a few inches taller than she, she was on her toes, resting her chin on his shoulder. He breathed in her aroma; she smelled sweetly of coffee beans and her apartment, of fresh parchment and old books. Newt felt soft wisps of her hair brushing against the side of his face and the feel of her hands around his neck, and felt a peculiar tingling sensation overwhelm him.
“Newt.”
She whispered his name softly in his ear.
His name, so stupid and silly sounding, somehow sounded so eloquent and complex on her lips. Why was everything better when they were associated with her?
“Tina.”
He breathed her name gently into her hair, speechless.
Her name was simple, just two syllables, yet so enigmatic and wonderful and brilliant all at once. It was intricate and delicate, like a question; a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering.
He never wanted to let go. She was like a fleeting butterfly, something that once you caught, you could never let go because if you did, you would never be able to catch it again.
Tina loosened her hold, landing back on her heels, resting her head just below his shoulder. They stayed this way, wrapped in each other’s arms until Tina turned her head to look him in the eye, and Newt was surprised to find that a tear had rolled down her cheek. He wanted to gently wipe it away but thought better of it. She was laughing, smiling so fully that even her eyes were smiling, and the dimple in her cheek had become prominent. He could not wipe the expression of fascination and awe off of his face as he stared at her, eyes wide, mouth slightly ajar. Her eyes were dark, with so much depth to them, so mysterious, it was as if you could see into her soul. Eye contact with people was usually such a hard task for him, but he knew he would never get tired of hers.
“I got your message an hour ago and came as fast as I could. Lucky I was doing the paperwork today, or I would’ve missed you…”
She kept talking, but he could not hear the words. Newt nodded absentmindedly, still helplessly gaping at her. He watched her talk; how her jaw moved and collected her words one by one as they spilled from her lips. He didn’t deserve them.
“Um…Newt?” She smiled, cocking her head to the side in question.
He snapped out of his daze. Realizing what he had been doing for the past minute or so, he blinked a few times awkwardly, feeling the blood rush to his face. She had stopped talking a while ago, but he had not realised. He had been too distracted at how close she was, how their faces were centimeters apart. Newt couldn’t help but stare; he wanted to take it all in, etch it into his mind so he would never forget a single facet. The speckles of gold in her brown eyes, the smooth curve of her lips, the way the sunlight hit her face and highlighted the delicate features of her face…
This is not the time to gawk at her, Newt.
“Oh, sorry. I um…brought you your book.” He fished through one of his coat pockets and took out a small red book, handing it to her. “There,” he said proudly, “The first copy ever printed.”
Tina’s eyebrows shot up, her jaw dropping. “Really? Wow, that’s special, I ain’t never got my hands on an original copy of a book before.” She scanned the book with a look of curiosity, and Newt felt a surge of pride. He had not fully realised why, but she was the one he really wanted to impress.
“Wow, Newt…you should be real proud. This is…just…wow.” she stroked the cover tenderly, and looked at him with a genuine expression of pride and joy. With this, he felt himself being pushed over the edge with longing.
“Open it.” he blurted uncontrollably, and Tina looked up at him questioningly. “The, um, third page.”
He didn’t know what to expect, so he watched her through the strands of his hair. She turned the sheer pages of his book and he saw her eyes flit across the page, soaking in the words, and saw them light up. Relief coursed through his body as he saw the joy bloom on her face, and when she glanced at him again, and Newt could see that she was crying.
The third page was for dedications. He had dedicated the book to a special few, to his mother and his family, Mr. Worme, Professor Dumbledore, and lastly, “to Miss Porpentina Goldstein, a dear friend in America whose courage and heart has inspired me greatly.” He knew that questions and rumours would arise, but he could not resist. He thought she deserved all the praise in the world, but he knew she did not receive it frequently.
Tina hugged him again, giggling, this time even closer. The mere feel of her slender frame pressed against his body was enough to drive him wild with tenderness and desire.
She loosened her hold to look at his wonderstruck face, smiling. “Thank you Newt, that was very flattering of you.”
He gazed at her, eyes wide. “Anytime.” He said breathlessly.
She blinked a few times, smiling, and a few tears rolled down her cheeks. Before fully realising what he was doing, he was reaching for her face, hand trembling. He approached her slowly, giving her time to back away. He did not want her to be uncomfortable, he wanted her to like this as much as he would. The smile slowly faded from her face, but she did not back away. If anything, she looked sad, like she did when he left her the last time.
Carefully, he cupped the side her face in his palm and gingerly ran his thumb across the tender skin of her cheek, wiping her tears away. The moment his finger touched her skin, he felt a small electric shock of some sort buzz up his arm.
His hand lingered awhile, as they gazed into each other’s eyes, hearts fluttering. He let his hand back away, and Tina smiled shyly, averting her gaze, reaching up to touch where his hand had been.
Tina took a deep breath and embraced him again.
“I missed you.” She said faintly.
Newt could not help but smile; this was more than he could have ever wished for. He wanted to tell her how much exactly that he had missed her, how he had felt as if there had been a gaping hole in his heart without her. But he settled for a simple “I missed you, too.”
“I thought I’d lost you, I thought you forgot about me.” she said softly in his ear.
Newt was slightly appalled at the outrageous thought of him forgetting about her. It was impossible; she had never left his mind since he had boarded the boat that last time.
“Trust me, I would never forget about you.”
They slowly released each other and smiled, awkwardly affectionate.
“Well…shall we?” said Tina, taking his arm and looking at him expectantly.
“Oh yes, of course. If you’d lead the way…” Tina smiled sweetly at him and ushered him into a dark alley, and the two promptly disapparated together.
Upon arriving in a small street between two brownstones, Tina giggled, catching her breath. “C’mon.” she pulled on his arm and led him out of the dark to the brownstone on the right, which Newt immediately recognized as her residence.
“Oh, I can’t wait to see Queenie’s face when she sees you.” she gushed, bounding up the steps to the entrance of the building.
Newt raised his eyebrows. “You haven’t told her?”
“Of course not, I only heard at work today, remember?”
“Oh, right.” he mumbled sheepishly.
They ascended the steps of her apartment warily in case of the landlady’s notice, but fortunately, she did not appear. Tina pressed a finger to her lips as she pushed open the door to her apartment. Immediately, soft music was heard, and Newt heard the voice of Queenie.
“Hey Teenie, how was work?” he heard her singsong voice as she hummed the song to herself, too distracted to hear Newt’s thoughts outside the door.
Tina replied, a cheeky smile on her face. “Everything's fine. More than fine, I'm great. There's someone here." she looked to Newt, motioning him in before Queenie could read her mind.
Newt walked awkwardly into the apartment, fidgeting with the leather on his case. He saw Queenie’s jaw drop open.
“Hello,” Newt said, smiling a little.
Queenie slid out of the kitchen and moved slowly toward Newt, her eyes upon his freckled face. She stopped right in front of him, her lips slightly parted, her eyes wide. Newt gave another uncomfortable smile.
Queenie launched herself forward and started punching every inch of him that she could reach.
“Ouch – ow – Miss Goldstein – OW!”
“You – complete – ass – Newton – Scamander!”
She punctuated every word with a blow: Newt backed away, attempting to shield his head with his case as Queenie advanced.
“You – crawl – back – here – after – months – and – months – and – just – leave – my – sister – hanging – without – any – word – at – all – and – “
“Protego!” Tina yelled, and an invisible shield erupted between Newt and Queenie: the force of it knocked Queenie backward onto the floor. Infuriated, she leaped up again.
Tina took the chance to say something. “Queenie, calm-“
“I will not calm down!” she screamed. She was out of control and frankly looked quite demented.
“Queenie, will you please –’
“Don’t you tell me what to do, Porpentina Esther Goldstein!” she screeched. “Don’t you dare! And YOU!” She was pointing at Newt in dire accusation: it was like a malediction and Tina could not blame Newt for retreating several steps.
“My sister kept trying to get to you! So many times she sent you owls! And you wouldn’t, just wouldn’t reply!?”
“I know,” Newt said. “I’m so sorry, I really-“
“Oh, you’re sorry!” She laughed, a high-pitched, out-of-control sound. “You suddenly show up after months – months – and you think it’s all going to be all right if you just say sorry?”
Tina interjected. “It doesn’t matter, he’s here now and that’s all that matters-“
“I don’t care!’ she screamed. “I don’t care that he’s back now! And why are you on his side? He randomly appears out of nowhere after months and leaving you all sad and depressed and miserable and that’s just all gone now?!”
“Queen, I wasn’t miserable-“
“Who’s the one who has to listen to your thoughts every day?!” she shrieked, and with that, Tina silenced.
Newt did not know whether to be flattered by Tina being “miserable” without him, or whether he should be defending himself. He wanted to tell Queenie that he was busy with his book work, but he knew that she would know the truth sooner or later however embarrassing it was. He summoned the thought of the piles and piles of unsent letters all stacked up on his desk and invited Queenie into his mind.
Hearing the loud thought, Queenie turned to him, a look of pure ferocity on her usually lovely face. Just as she opened her mouth to yell shrilly at him again, Newt felt Queenie enter his mind, and he saw that she had frozen mid-speech. Immediately, she returned to her usual sweet, girly demeanor and giggled.
“She’ll find out sooner or later, ya know.”