A Moment in Time

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This is a continuation of Chapter 35 of Safe in Your Arms.

George Scamander was on his feet in an instant.

"You're what?" he demanded.

"We're getting married," Newt repeated. He slipped his hand into Tina's, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"When?" George said.

Theseus looked up quickly, rubbing his eyes.

"Yes, Tina," he said. "I must have misheard you because I thought you said Saturday."

Tina laughed slightly. "I did say Saturday. We're making arrangements to have a small wedding on Saturday. You're invited, of course. That's why we came over."

"But why so soon?" he protested.

"Because we want to get married and we don't want to waste time doing it. We don't want a big wedding so we decided we want to get married before next year which leaves us with Saturday," Newt explained.

George towered over them. "Newt," he said, his voice dangerously low. "Please follow me."

He turned and left the room. Newt gave Tina's hand another squeeze and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, aware that his mother was watching him critically. Then he let go of her hand and followed his father out of the room.

George closed the door behind them. They were in a second, smaller room and Newt was suddenly scared. He knew his fear was irrational, his father had never hurt him physically. He had only ignored him.

"Why are you marrying this woman?" he demanded.

"Why shouldn't I marry her?" Newt replied, keeping his head down.

"Well, for one thing, you hardly know her. She's an American. Who knows why she's here in England? And normal people don't get married so quickly."

Newt's face darkened. "First of all, I'm marrying her because I love her. And I do know her well. I've known her for a whole year and we've spent a lot of time together. Secondly, I know why she's in England. She was in Paris on a mission and things happened. She lost her sister so she didn't want to go back to New York. I offered her a place to stay."

"You mean you've been living with her?" George exclaimed.

"I don't like what you're implying," Newt muttered. "I've got three people staying at my house at the moment. Tina is sharing a room with another, younger woman named Nagini and I've been sharing a room with our friend Jacob."

"That doesn't change the fact that she's an American."

Newt straightened up. "And what's wrong with that?" he demanded.

"Americans have no values and they're far too strict. They've got some of the most ridiculous rules. For example, their rules about relations with Muggles," George said.

"I'll have you know that their rules about Muggles are there because they've been persecuted before," Newt explained. "Besides, just because that's what MACUSA believes doesn't mean that that's what Tina believes. Our friend Jacob is a Muggle and Tina has nothing against him. In fact, he should have been her brother-in-law."

"Who are her parents?"

"I don't know. They died when she was in school so it doesn't matter." Newt crossed his arms. He was standing up straight, making him a few inches taller than his father. "And why does that matter?"

"Because you are a Scamander. Our name is respectable and we can't just marry a nobody."

"Tina is not a nobody!" Newt exclaimed, his voice rising. "Why is it all blood with you? Just because she doesn't come from a well-known family does not make her a bad person. She's a very wonderful person. She's a very well respected Auror and was the best Auror at MACUSA."

Newt spun on his heel and wrenched the door opened, storming back into the living room. "Come on, Tina," he called. "We're going home. I'm sorry, Theseus, but I'll see you on Saturday." He turned to his mother. "You and father are welcome to come as well as long as you behave yourselves and don't say anything rude."

He left the living room, making his way along the hall. He began pulling on his coat. Tina appeared beside him. 

"What's going on?" she asked.

Newt didn't respond. Instead, he yanked on his gloves and grabbed Tina's coat off the hook, holding it up for her. She allowed him to help her into it. As she pulled on her gloves, he got his scarf and wrapped it around her neck. Then he opened the front door and hurried out into the street, quickly making his way to the nearest alley.

"Newt's what's wrong?" Tina asked, slipping her hand into his. He Apparated to the alley nearest his home and tried to start moving but she pulled him back.

"What happened?"

Newt was silent, his head bowed. She pulled him into a hug and he began to cry. He buried his face in her neck as she ran a hand over her hair. Eventually, his tears slowed.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he managed. "It's just-- My father doesn't-- He doesn't like you."

"What did he say?"

"He's just-- He doesn't like Americans, as I said, and he's not too happy because you're not from what he considers to be a 'good family'," Newt explained. "I don't understand. He never cared what I did when I was young. Why does he care now?"

Tina pressed their foreheads together. "You know it doesn't matter what he thinks. We love each other and that's all that matters."

Newt let out a shaky sigh and she pressed a kiss to his lips. He returned it but she pulled away a moment later, a worried frown on her forehead.

"You do love me, right?" she asked hesitantly.

Newt laughed slightly. "Yes, of course," he said. "And I hope you never doubt that."

He pressed his lips to hers again, pulling her close for a passionate kiss.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please vote and comment.

Look! I finally updated this book! Anyway, I don't really remember exactly how this chapter was supposed to go so it's not how I originally intended it. The thing is, I really want to write this book because I like some of the later ideas.

Anyway, I've got to go.

Have a good day!

Bye!

Written March 28, 2019.