Hanging On

Anne Monaghan

Note: Welcome back to anyone who was reading this a year ago! If you are one of those people (if they even still exist) I recommend going back and rereading the first two chapters before reading this one because a) you may not remember everything that's happened and b) I've changed a few things recently. 

Newt was kept very busy during his first few days back in London. It always surprised him how many things needed to be taken care of after only a few months away. Bunty was an incredibly capable assistant, but there were still some things she couldn't do for him.

Queenie, as usual, insisted he joins them for dinner most evenings. He didn't mind since it meant he didn't have to bother cooking for himself after a long day. However, he had declined one evening in order to pay a visit to his brother. 

He and Theseus had become much closer in the last few years than they had ever been in their life. There had been years when they had never spoken, but the events in Paris had changed all that. Theseus had lost the most important woman in his life, and Newt had been the only one who could offer him comfort.

Newt had stretched himself thin those first few years. He had found himself trying to comfort his brother, his best friend, and the woman he loved, all while dealing with the loss of two of his closest friends himself. But it had only strengthened his relationships with each of them. 

He and Tina had gotten married a little over a month later. He had been living in New York with her since then and Nicholas had been born a year later. He was the greatest thing that had happened to them and had helped distract them from everything they had lost.

Jacob had also returned to New York after everything that had happened in Paris and had tried to get his life back together. Newt wasn't sure if Queenie's betrayal had been worse for him or for Tina. But either way, just as they had begun to move on, she had returned.

It had been mid-January of 1929 when she had turned up on their doorstep at two in the morning. Tina had been furious. She had been ready to throw her sister out, but Newt had never been able to leave anyone or anything out in the cold. So they had brought her in, but Tina had refused to let her stay.  Her trust had been broken, and it would take time to earn it again.

MACUSA had placed Queenie under constant guard for the first few months. Eventually, she had proved herself and relationships had begun to mend. It hadn't been long before she and Jacob decided to move to England so they could get married.

Tina took much longer. It was several years before she would let her sister anywhere near Nick. Even now, the atmosphere was always a little tense when the sisters were in the same room.

However, though Newt's relationship with his brother had improved drastically in the last eight years, he was still surprised when Theseus knocked on his door in the middle of the day.

Newt stepped aside to let his brother into his house. "What brings you here? Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"Yes, but I needed to talk to you."

Something in his tone of voice put Newt on his guard. "Why don't I make us some tea?"

Theseus hesitated for a moment. Then he nodded. "But be quick. I've got to get back to work."

Newt led his brother to the kitchen and quickly prepared a pot of tea. Though he held with the belief that tea was always better when made the Muggle way, he knew Theseus was in a hurry so he used magic to make it almost instantly.

Theseus stirred sugar into his tea and sipped it slowly. Newt waited apprehensively for him to explain why he was there. He didn't have to wait too long.