Stories of Our Life: The Second Volume

1: Murder!

"Hey, Newt. Want to go out for a quick lunch?" Theseus asked as he approached his brother in the Ministry Atrium.

Newt merely grunted in response, face empty, arms crossed, and his eyes steady on something. Theseus stared at his brother for a while, confused. He followed his line of sight to see what he was staring-glaring-at.

When he finally saw what he was looking at, Theseus nodded. "Ah."

Across the Atrium stood Tina Goldstein and a man clad in a brown leather coat. He identified him as one of the American Aurors sent to Britain for the joint force against Grindelwald. He looked familiar to him, though. What was his name again? He wondered. Thomas? Thompson? No, that's not it...Ah! Right, Tolliver!

The two Aurors were casually talking about something, laughing and smiling now and then. Theseus watched as Tina lightly shoved Tolliver, a grin gracing her features. Must be something he said. They looked like they were having a good time talking, catching up with each other, or something. They looked happy, they looked like they were good friends.

Yet, that somehow affected Newt in a...negative way.

Theseus scratched his head, wondering how two good American friends affected his brother so much. Yes, he knew that Tina had some sort of "past relationship" with Tolliver, according to what Jacob had told him a few months back. It was pretty evident that Tina likes (loves?) Newt only-seriously, Theseus has witnessed the overly sweet public displays of affection back home, and can still picture it very clearly to prove it. And, besides, she and Tolliver seemed to be entirely good friends.

For the next five minutes, Theseus and Newt stood there, watching the pair of American Aurors chat. Neither said a word.

Theseus cleared his throat, breaking the silence. He looked at Newt, arching a brow. "You're...really quiet today, Newt," he stated. Quieter than usual, I wonder why.

"Nobody plans a murder out loud, Theseus," Newt muttered darkly, his eyes not leaving the American across the Atrium.

The older Scamander brother gawked at him. "W-what?" he sputtered. "M-murder?"

Newt only nodded in reply.

Theseus sighed. He's jealous, he thought. Better get him out of here before he strangles someone. Nothing good ever comes out from an angry, let alone jealous, Newt. If he were being honest, he has never seen Newt this jealous in his life. The last time he saw him this jealous was when one of their cousins had a pet kneazle that Newt always wanted. And Theseus knew that a jealous Newt can lead to a very angry Newt.

He checked his watch. Merlin, I forgot we have a meeting with the international Aurors. So much for a quick lunch. He turned to Newt, opening his mouth to say something when there came a pop, and, suddenly, a girl materialized between the two of them. Theseus let out a loud yelp and jumped, falling back unto his haunches.

Newt, however, was not phased at all. He continued to glower at Tina and Tolliver from across the hall.

Primrose replaced Theseus beside Newt, now standing in between her fallen eldest brother and a still jealous Newt.

"What'cha talking about?" she chirped as soon as she appeared out of thin air, grinning. Giggling, she leaned forward to see Newt's stoic face. "Hi, Newt!" she greeted brightly with a small wave. Then, she looked around, her cheerful expression morphing into a confused one. "Where's Theseus?"

A hand tugged at the hem of her dress, making her glance downwards to her right. From the floor, Theseus glared at their youngest sister. "Right. Here," he scowled.