oblivioni traditæ

Opus

So, I know there's a certain character that I said wouldn't show up again . . . but it turns out I lied.

Tina listened as Thompson droned on and on about the current situation with Grindelwald and the Wizarding World. She was trying her best to give him her full attention. The information was important and she needed to know it, but it was nearly impossible. She was certain she had never met a more boring man. He spoke in a monotone and took twice as long to say something than necessary. 

She was relieved to hear an excited voice interrupting Thompson's monologue to call her name.

"Goldstein!"

She turned to see Harper entering the room, grinning from ear to ear.

"I heard you were back!" he went on. "You are back, right?"

Tina offered him a smile. "Yes, I am. I—"

Thompson interrupted her with a pointed cough.

"Oh, hello, Thompson," Harper grinned. "Are you boring Tina?"

The man straightened up and gave Harper an affronted look. "I was bringing her up to speed."

"I'll take over from here. Come along, Goldstein."

Tina offered Thompson an apologetic smile. "Sorry to rush off. Thank you for explaining what you did."

He nodded and she followed Harper out of the room.

"I can't tell you how glad I am you're coming back."

"Not nearly as glad as I am to be back," she replied.

"I disagree. You've spent the last few months at home with the man you love. I've spent them working with the most obnoxious Auror on the team."

Tina grinned. "So that's why you wanted me back."

"Of course. I didn't miss you, I just missed not working with Tolliver," Harper teased.

"If that were true, you could have requested a different partner."

Harper's only response was a smirk. "So how's your husband?"

Tina felt her smile widen.  Even though it had been over a month, the thought of Newt actually being her husband still felt like a new and thrilling idea. "He's fine. He's currently upstairs. He had a meeting with President Picquery, but he wouldn't tell me what it was about. I don't think he knows himself." She turned to her friend. "Do you happen to know anything?"

He shook his head. "No. I didn't even know there was a meeting."

"Oh, well," she sighed. They reached her office and Harper held the door open for her, letting her enter before him.

"First things first, we need to get you up to speed," he acknowledged.

"That's what Thompson was supposed to be doing," she pointed out.

"Yes, but you'd rather I finished it."

She laughed as she took a seat at her desk. "You're very sure of yourself."

"I'm only kidding," he replied, dropping into a chair. "So how much do you know?"

"Quite a lot, I think." She pulled open a drawer and glanced inside. "I've been reading a lot of these files and digging through hundreds of newspapers from the last few months. I think I have a basic grasp of the situation, but I'm sure there's a lot more I can still learn."

"Right."

Tina pulled out a few of the files and they bent over them, Harper explaining anything he could.