Return to New York

London

Tina moved through customs nervously. She had never done this before but it went smoothly enough. This was her first time out of the United States and she was in England, in London. 

As she began walking through the city, she pulled her coat tighter around her. London was colder than New York and it was drizzling. She pulled out a slip of paper from her pocket and read the address again. She knew that the only way she was going to get to that address was if she took a taxi. Moving towards the street, Tina hailed a taxi. When it stopped, she showed the address to the driver and asked if he could take her there. He said he could and she climbed in.

When the taxi finally came to a stop, Tina paid the driver. She had been given enough British No-Maj money to get around and some British Wizard money so she could get a place to stay. She climbed out of the cab and looked along the street. The address she had been given was really just the name of a street. She began walking along it until she came to the building she was looking for. It was a small, neat building with a sign hanging above it. The sign said 'The Leaky Cauldron'. 

Tina glanced around. None of the No-Majs seemed to see that this building existed. She wasn't too surprised. It was nestled between a bookshop and an antique store. She ducked into the building, finding herself in a dimly lit pub. Making her way to the counter, she asked if she could spend a night.

The woman behind the counter nodded, pulling out a book. 

"Please fill this out."

Tina took the quill and began writing. The page asked for her full name, gender, age, birthday, height, eye color, hair color, and a few other, stranger details. It asked how many nights she was staying so she wrote '1'. Then it asked for the date. She knew that they wrote the date differently in England but she couldn't remember how. Glancing at the entry before, she remembered. 

Right, it's day then month, not month then day.

She touched her quill to the paper and carefully wrote the date.

18/8/27

She handed the book back to the woman who came around and motioned for Tina to follow her. She led her up the stairs and to a small room.

"Here you go," the woman said. "Here's your key."

"Thanks," Tina murmured, taking the key. She entered the room and dropped her case to the floor. Then she flopped on the bed and fell asleep.

Tina woke up with a start. She had been dreaming . . . about Newt. They had been together, hugging, about to kiss. And then she had woken up. She wished she was still sleeping, still dreaming, but she knew it was over. Even if she went back to sleep, she wouldn't have the same dream.

Sighing, she climbed off the bed and straightened her coat. She slipped out of the room, locking the door behind her.  Then she left the pub and glanced along the street. She could see a number of tall buildings so she quickly found a hidden corner and Apparated to the top of one of them. 

Tina sat on the edge of the building, letting her feet hang over the street. She leaned back on her hands and let out a sigh. The city lay stretched out below her, the lights twinkling in the darkness. She heard a clock strike the hour. It was midnight. 

Suddenly remembering what the date was, she felt a tear drip down her cheek. 

"Happy birthday to me," she muttered. 

Tina sat on the roof of the building for a long time, staring out across the city. This was London.

Newt lives in London.