Lovers (A Newtina Fanfic)

Part 1

Tina's sleep was plagued with nightmares. Bad memories of her life. They flashed by in quick succession, but they didn't have any less impact. She saw herself, as a thirteen-year-old, holding her eleven-year-old sister, stroking her sister's blond curls as they both grieved. Then, when she was eighteen, proudly clutching her scholarship to become an auror, and another classmate saying she didn't deserve it. And then every time at the beginning of her career when people put her down because of her gender. When she got demoted for helping someone. When she got locked up in a sewer in Paris.

And then the flames. Blue flames engulfed her mind. Through the haze, her mind replayed the night in Paris.

Aurors disintegrating in the flames. Leta disintegrating in the flames. It happened quickly. Too quickly. One by one, people were picked off to the whims of Grindelwald.

And then she spotted her sister in the crowd. She watched as Jacob pleaded with her, though she couldn't hear over the roar of the fire. As Queenie started to walk towards the flames, she ran. She was fueled with adrenaline. She ran as fast as she could...

But it was too late. Queenie walked through the flames and she could do nothing but scream,

"Queenie!"

Newt woke to the sound of a scream. Donning a pair of pyjama pants, he rushed over to the source of the scream.

Tina and Nagini's bedroom. Nagini was standing worriedly by the door.

"I was going to fetch you. I don't know what's happened with Tina," she whispered. "Please go in."

"Oh, um, yes," he whispered back.

"I'll go to sleep on the sofa. Don't mind me." It was quite dark, but if Newt had turned a light on he would have seen Nagini's grin.

Newt slipped in the room. He flushed a little, as manners had always told him never to enter a ladies bedroom. Nagini had given him permission, so he figured it was fine.

"Tina?" he whispered gently. His eyes adjusted to the dim light, and he saw Tina lying stock-still on her bed, eyes open. Newt sat down on the edge of her bed and she shifted a little to make room for him. With a little help from Newt, Tina managed to sit up. Newt bent down, picking up her little stuffed animal thunderbird. He placed it in Tina's hands, and she took it and gripped it in her arms. Newt placed his arm around her, drawing her a bit closer to him.

"Nightmares?" Newt asked, quietly.

"Queenie," Tina said.

"We'll get her back. We know she's a spy, and with that information, she could have always been acting every time you ran into her. She's a legilimens, so she can act better because of your expectations. And if we ever end up meeting with Queenie, she'll explain," Newt said. Logic had always comforted Tina, and some of her panic subsided.

"What if she doesn't come back?" Tina asked though she wasn't expecting a sure answer.

"That's something we don't know. We can hope. But worrying means you suffer twice, at least for me, so try to get some sleep. You've got to go to work tomorrow, early," Newt said, a bit like a parent to a child. Tina crawled back under the sheets, still clutching her thunderbird.

"You never told me, but what's the name of your thunderbird?" Newt asked.

"This is kind of embarrassing, but it's Birdie," Tina said quietly, glad Newt couldn't see her blushing.

"I think it's nice," Newt said, without being patronizing. Tina had settled under the covers, so Newt tucked them under her chin. He lightly kissed both of her eyelids shut, and stood up to leave.

"Please stay," Tina mumbled. And so he did. Laying down under the covers next to Tina, he whispered,

"Is that alright?" Tina nodded. Newt wrapped his arms around her, drawing her a little closer, and she whispered,

"Better."  Safe with Newt, she had never felt better after a nightmare.

"Goodnight, Tina."

"Goodnight, Newt."