Hanging On

The Scamander House

Tina was acutely aware of her son's eyes following her as she packed his things. Nick was sitting cross-legged on his bed, an open book lying forgotten in his lap. They had told him he would be spending a few days with his aunt and uncle. Much to her surprise, he hadn't asked why. She suspected it wouldn't be long before he did.

In just a few hours, she would be meeting Newt's parents for the first time. He had gone to make the arrangements that morning and had managed to tell his parents to expect another guest without telling them anything about her. 

Tina had made the arrangments with her sister. Queenie had accepted readily—before she had even asked. They had talked briefly about how Newt's parents might react, but since neither of them had actually met them, they could only speculate. All Queenie could add was that Theseus was worried about it too. This hadn't made Tina feel any more confident. Eventually, she had taken her leave, after agreeing to her sister's request that they be careful.

Now, she was putting the last few things in Nick's suitcase as he continued to watch her. She was just about to close the case when he spoke.

"Mum, can I ask you something?"

She glanced up at him. "Of course. What is it?"

"When are you and Daddy going to tell me what's wrong?"

Tina lowered her gaze and let out a sigh. She shut and latched the suitcase before replying. "I don't know, Nick."

"It scares me when you and Daddy are so worried. I can feel it and— and it scares me."

Abandoning the suitcase, she climbed onto the bed beside her son. She removed the book from his lap and set it aside. Then she pulled him into her lap and hugged him.

"I know it does, honey. I know. I wish I could keep those feelings from you, but I can't. You were born with a unique talent, and I wouldn't take that away from you, even if I could." She absentmindedly ran her fingers through his hair. "You're still so young, Nick. There are things in this world that you shouldn't have to learn about until you're much older. Daddy and I are worried, yes, because something is happening that, at the moment, is out of our control."

Nick turned to look up at her. "But what is it?"

She shook her head. "It doesn't matter, honey. All I want you to do is trust that your father and I are working on the problem. Let us do the worrying, and try to have a good time with your cousins. Do you think you can do that?"

He shrugged and nodded. "I can try."

"Good." She pressed a kiss to his forehead. "That's all I can ask. Now, we need to get going. Your aunt is expecting us to join them for lunch, and we're already running late."

Nick climbed out of her lap and slipped off the bed. Tina got to her feet as well. As she helped her son into his blazer, she said, "Maybe while you're there, your aunt can help you get better at controlling your Legilimency."

"You mean, I'd actually be able to understand people's thoughts?"

"Well, I was thinking more along the lines of helping you learn to tune out thoughts and feelings when you need to," she explained. "Come on."

She picked up his suitcase and led him out the door. Then they made their way downstairs where Newt was waiting for them.

It was a short walk to the Kowalski's bakery. When they reached it, Queenie took Nick up to the room where he'd be staying. Once he was settled in, they all sat down for lunch. Queenie and Jacob had prepared a wonderful meal, but Newt and Tina had a difficult time enjoying it. They were both too distracted by their worries about what might happen later that day.