Burned Into Glory

Big News

The Café Schwarze Katze was a No-Maj restaurant on a broad boulevard in Vienna. Queenie nervously sat at a wrought iron table outside the café and watched as No-Maj automobiles drove by. She patted at her wand inside her black coat and cleared her throat anxiously, fingering at her gloves. A No-Maj waiter came up to her and asked her something in German that she didn't understand. Queenie's mouth fell open, and she said cautiously,

"Ich bin Amerikaner. Sprechen Sie Englisch?"

"American? English, of course." The waiter gave her a tight sort of smile. "What may I get for you, Miss?"

"Well, I'm waiting for someone. For my sister and her... her friend," said Queenie, feeling more nervous than ever. "She should be here real soon; I'm sorry."

"It is not a problem. Would you like some coffee while you wait?" asked the waiter, and Queenie grinned.

"Yeah, coffee would be great. Thank you. Danke."

The waiter walked off, and then suddenly Queenie heard footsteps from behind her, and Tina's voice said softly,

"Hello, Queenie."

She whirled in her chair to see Tina and Newt holding hands as they walked up to the table. They took seats opposite her and beside one another, not letting go of each other, and Queenie stared into Tina's dark eyes. She immediately felt her sister's thoughts.

Wonder if she saw the ring or if she's going to make me make a big announcement about it.

Queenie struggled to contain her emotion. The waiter came back and put a cup of coffee in front of her, and Tina ordered herself and Newt some coffee, as well as three pieces of Sachertorte for all of them. Queenie bit her lip once the waiter walked off, and she asked,

"So what's this big news, Tina? We aren't going to talk about any of the bad stuff that's happened between us, are we? And we aren't going to talk about why we disagree, huh? We're just gonna be sisters today. So, tell me your big news."

"Well, first of all, I want to tell you that you looked absolutely gorgeous at your wedding, sis." Tina's eyes shone, watering a little, and beside her, Newt rubbed awkwardly at her shoulder. He stared at Tina, at her eyes, and Queenie reached into his thoughts.

Her eyes really are like salamanders', especially when she gets to tearing up. Then more than ever.

Queenie scowled. Salamander eyes? Newt was insane, she thought. Adorable, but insane. She sighed, and Tina continued,

"You may not have been marrying a man that I like very much... at all... even a little bit... but you did look absolutely beautiful. And you seemed happy. And I just wanted to tell you congratulations, Queenie."

"Well, thanks, Teen." Queenie paused then, for the waiter came back with a little cart. On it were two coffees for Newt and Tina, as well as three slices of Sachertorte. Queenie dug into the chocolate cake as soon as the waiter left, and when she took a bite, she savoured the rich flavour. But she also knew she could make a better version of this exact cake. She set down her fork and asked again, "What's the big news?"

Tina smiled at Newt, who turned his face to Queenie and stammered in his hesitant way,

"Well, you see, it had already happened before Rome. It... it happened in England. I asked her in glen down in the basement of my house, which was rather a foolish thing to do, as I nearly lost the ring to the Nifflers, which have grown so much, but -"

"Newt asked me to marry him," Tina blurted, "and I said yes. We're engaged."

Queenie broke into a massive grin and nodded her happiness. She blinked through the sudden tears that came to her eyes, and she said,