oblivioni traditæ

Spera

Tina carefully made a note in the margin of a newspaper before picking up the next one and comparing it to the last. Newt was sitting across the table from her, reading the most recent one. Groaning, she shoved a few files away to check something else. 

"You know, you could tell me things," she pointed out. "You know what I knew about Grindelwald. You could tell me what I'm missing." 

"I could–"

"Then tell me," she begged. "What do I need to know?"

Newt sighed. "I'm not sure." He set down the newspaper and began a clumsy explanation of Grindelwald's movements, trying his hardest not to forget anything so that he wouldn't make things confusing by having to backtrack.

Tina listened carefully, occasionally jotting down a note in the margin of a newspaper. When Newt finally said he was finished, she frowned at the papers in front of her.

"What in the name of Deliverance Dane is he trying to do?" she demanded.

Newt shrugged. "That's what you were trying to figure out. Some people said he's recruiting but you and Madame Picquery were convinced there was something more to it."

"Well, there is," she said, picking up a page and running her eyes down it. "I need a map," she decided. She went into her room and rummaged around the drawers of her desk. Finally, she found what she was looking for and returned to the table where she spread the map across the surface.

"Help me fill this out," she said, picking up her quill. "First Grindelwald was sighted in New York where he was looking for Credence." She marked New York with a tiny '1' inside a circle. "And then Paris, looking for Credence," she went on, marking Paris with a '2'.

"And then in Germany," Newt went on. "Berlin." He pointed to the city on the map.

"Right." Tina marked it with a '3'. Newt continued listing cities and Tina marked each one. When they had marked each city, she pointed her wand at the map and glowing lines, as thin as a spiderweb appeared, connecting the cities in the order they were marked. She bent over the map, studying the pattern the lines had formed on the page. Then she let out a frustrated sigh and pushed the map away.

"Please tell me that pattern means something to you," she said, knowing full well that it didn't.

Newt just shook his head slowly and she groaned.

"I don't know what I'm even supposed to be looking for."

"Your job was to gather information and use it to try and predict Grindelwald's next move," Newt explained.

"And how was I supposed to do that?"

"You didn't even know if it was possible," he admitted. "But you kept trying anyway."

Tina sighed and moved a few papers around, glancing briefly at each of them.

"I've been staring at these files for a week," she muttered. "And even the new ones you brought haven't helped me understand what's going on."

"Tina, you'll be fine," he soothed. "You'll figure this out eventually. Just promise me one thing."

"What?"

"Don't overwork yourself. You're still recovering. We don't want you making things worse again."

She let out a sigh and placed her elbows on the table, resting her head between her hands and staring at the map. 

"You're right," she admitted. "I should take a break." She pushed her chair back and looked up at Newt. "Can we do something together?"

"Of course we can. What do you want to do?"