The Unspeakables || N.Scamander

The Seer

Lake Hallsea was a few hours' travel by usual muggle transport and since there were no Portkeys available, they decided to make the trek by muggle train even though it would take them twice as long. Not wanting to impose her problems on the said magizoologist, Lila had stated that it was fine if she went alone since this had nothing to do with him in the first place. But Newt had adamantly refused and instantly protested that this was as much his business as it was hers, and that there was no way in hell he was going to leave her out there when she didn't even come from here. Heck, she wasn't even from this time. 

Lila had secretly been relieved, for while she acted as though nothing scared her, this did. She was in a place where she didn't belong, a place where anything could happen and nobody would know. What was even happening back in 2020? Had Faolan realized she'd disappeared? Did time go by and move just as it did here? 

"Lila?" Newt's alto suddenly pulled her out of her mid-morning daze and Lila blinked, realizing that her uneaten toast was still on the way to her mouth, lingering in mid-air as a result of her distraction.

"Sorry," she mumbled and finished her breakfast in silence. 

Two knocks sounded on the door. Newt frowned, getting up and unclasping the lock just in time for the said door to fly open and almost knocking him over in the process.

In the doorway stood a tall, slim woman with short hair cut right underneath her jaw and an expression that resembled anger.

"Tina," she heard Newt's voice choke up, "What are you--"

The woman with the dark brown eyes, so dark that she could barely make out their pupils, swivelled over the room and came to a rest on her figure. A frown scrunched up her eyebrows. 

"Newt?" Tina asked, voice brittle, "who is she?" 

"She's--This is Lila. She's a--a friend of mine who came to visit and--" 

"A friend, you say?" Tina eyed her curiously with such an intensity that Lila had to force herself not to flinch. This was not someone that Lila would want to get into a pickle with. She seemed intimidating. Too intimidating for her. 

The short-haired woman strode up to her with a confidence that she found alarming, before reaching out for a handshake, "nice to meet you, my name's Tina Goldstein."

Tina Goldstein? Lila frowned. She had heard that name before. But where?

"I'm an auror for the British Ministry of Magic," Tina cocked her head, thin lips stretched into a faint smile, "and you are?" 

"I'm--I'm Lila," she stuttered and took Tina's hand. She noticed that her grasp was firm, like she knew exactly that she had power, knew how to use it too, "nice to meet you." 

If Tina noticed that she purposefully avoided mentioning her occupation, she didn't give it away. Instead, her eyes flickered to Newt's, who still had a face like a puppy that was about to get beaten by its master.

"Are you here for a visit?" Tina settled herself at the breakfast table, completely ignoring the way Newt's eyes widened in alarm. They had a train to catch. Who was this woman and why show up at seven in the morning?

"Yeah, I guess you can say that I am." 

"Where do you work?" 

"I--" Lila's breath caught in her throat before her dark orbs flitted towards Newt for a second. What she found in his eyes made her say, "I work with Magical creatures too. Specifically the ones found in Asia."