Newt Scamander stood behind his wife of 3 days and wrapped his arms around her as they watched the Statue of Liberty slowly fade into the distance. He couldn’t believe the whirlwind of the last week, which had seen their engagement followed by their elopement just 3 days later. It really was remarkable how much his life had changed in the last year…
The letters became more frequent and detailed. Of course he couldn’t know for sure what she was thinking, but she did seem to want to see him again, possibly as much as he wanted to see her. Every letter ended with “when is the book going to print?” Finally, 6 months after leaving her on the docks that first time, he was able to write her back with a date of when he’d be back, with a special gift just for her. He could only stay for a week, but he hoped he might give her something more than a book…
At the end of the week, they again stood sadly on the docks saying goodbye. But instead of awkward conversation and tentative touches like last time, they were locked in a tight embrace, neither one wanting to let go. Their goodbyes were punctuated with soft kisses, and he was kicking himself for not having kissed her before last night. They could have had days of kissing! But at least he had done it before leaving. They knew where they stood now. He promised her he’d make arrangements for some American speaking engagements. A nice long holiday this time. And after one more lingering kiss, he had to tear himself away and board the ship…
2 months later he was back, having managed to arrange those lectures. Officially, that was only going to take 2 weeks, but he hadn’t booked a return ticket. He was going to stay here- with her- for as long as he could get away with it. 2 weeks turned into 4 which turned into 6 and he could no longer ignore the owls upon owls asking him when he’d be back. The ministry wants to revamp the Beasts Division and they need him back...the publisher has more book signings and lectures planned...various wizarding publications are requesting interviews...mum wants to know when she’d be seeing him again...he had to book a return trip, only this time, he booked 2 tickets…
One week before departure, heart beating out of his chest, palms sweaty, feeling faint, but it’s now or never…”Tina, Will you marry me?” “Yes! Yes! Of course!” And they’re kissing and laughing while crying tears of joy. And then, she is quiet for a moment and there’s a sadness in her eyes. “Even if it’ll be the last time we have to separate, you’re leaving in a week and I just don’t know how I’ll bear it”, she whispers in his ear. “No, this time you’re coming with me,” he tells her excitedly, “We can even marry before we leave, you know, if you’d like that.” Her face lights up and she agrees, “I’d like that- very much!” Neither of them have use for a formal affair, it’s better this way…
They marry 3 days later under the auspices of a MACUSA-registered officiant with only Queenie in attendance. The occasion is slightly marred by the fact that unjust laws prevent him from having his best friend by his side, but he focuses on his beautiful bride, the love of his life, as they’re bound for eternity according to the most ancient laws of magic. They are still able to include Jacob in the celebration later that day when the foursome comes together for a festive meal, capped by a stunning wedding cake of Jacob’s creation. The happy couple spends their wedding night in a local hotel…
And now they were off to their new life together. Not everything was in place yet. They hadn’t yet decided which country would be their primary residence; Tina had taken a few weeks of leave for this trip, during which time they’d have to sort that question out. They also hadn’t yet made their marriage public. They needed to inform Newt’s family in person first. But they had a 4 day transatlantic crossing in which they had absolutely nothing to do but enjoy each other. Tina missed her sister, and was a little nervous about her first-ever trip abroad, but she had her Newt by her side and nothing could make her happier.
When they disembarked in Liverpool, the couple soon had to separate at customs. Tina got on the line for foreigners, which was longer and slower than the one for citizens. Newt was waiting for her when they finally let her through. “Welcome to England, my love,” he said, gathering her in his arms and kissing her soundly. They stood there kissing for about thirty seconds when they heard a bunch of popping noises and registered purplish flashes of light followed by an acrid smoky smell. The couple quickly broke apart and stared, mouths agape, at the scene before them. A small crowd of witches and wizards, some with cameras, some with quills and parchment scrolls, had come to greet them at the docks. Well, they’d come for Newt, but got quite a bit more than they’d originally come for. This was sure to sell plenty of papers…
While Newt remained rigid with shock as the reporters began to bombard him with very personal questions, Tina snapped into Auror mode, grabbing his arm and leading him onwards. She used her heaviest, most no-nonsense New York accent in telling everyone to leave them alone.
“Mr. Scamander has no comment right now and will grant interviews on his own terms,” she asserted as she escorted him through the curious crowd, “now, out of the way before I hex someone!”
They made it to a quiet alleyway and Newt finally found his voice. “That was brilliant, darling! Now I’m afraid we must get to my family right away, or else they’re sure to learn about you from the evening edition tabloids…” He clasped her hand and they disapparated.
Tina had known that Newt came from an old upper class English wizarding family, so she knew to expect opulent surroundings. Still, the sight of the large manor and acres upon acres of immaculate grounds took her breath away. In the distances, she could make out stables, where she assumed the prize-winning hippogriffs Newt had told her about were kept.
“You sure they’ll approve of me?” she whispered anxiously to Newt as they approached the imposing main house.
“They’ll probably be a bit disappointed that we eloped rather than have a proper formal wedding,” he replied, “but they’ll be so eternally grateful to you for taking me off their hands that they’ll get over it. And I’m pretty sure they’re long past the point of caring whether or not you’re some debutante. Besides, it’s a bit late now, you are my wife whether they like it or not,” he smiled and tenderly kissed her cheek.
Tina chuckled and relaxed immensely. They came to the door, which was answered by a house elf.
“Master Newton!” she squealed, “and Master Newton’s guest!”
“Hello, Millie,”said Newt fondly, “where is my mother?”
“Lady Scamander is in the library, Master Newton,” and the elf scurried ahead to alert her mistress of the arrival.
She had definitely announced that he was accompanied by a woman; Newt could tell by the way his mother met them in the corridor rather than waiting for them to enter the library. Indeed, Lady Scamander was so eager to meet any woman who might possibly be attached to either of her bachelor sons that she only perfunctorily greeted Newt before blurting out, “My dear Newton, would I be getting my hopes up to assume that you have finally formed an attachment to a lovely witch?”
“No, mum, you wouldn’t,” he replied smiling shyly at Tina.
“Is it serious?” she whispered hoarsely, hardly daring to believe it.
“In a manner of speaking,” Newt replied bemusedly, “Mum, I’d like to introduce you to Porpentina Esther Goldstein Scamander.”
“Oh how lovely to-” she suddenly froze, as the full name registered, “d-did you just say…”
“Yes, mum,” he interjected. Then, sliding his arm around Tina’s waist and drawing her close to him, he continued, “Tina and I were married in a private ceremony at MACUSA in New York one week ago today.”
Lady Scamander was silent with shock for a few more moments, but seeing the young couple’s radiant smiles and adoring gazes, she quickly broke out into a warm smile of her own.
“It is quite the shock to hear such news,” she said while grabbing them both into an embrace, “but it is a happy shock, and I am absolutely thrilled, Newton, to see you so happy and to finally have a daughter! Now let us have some tea while you fill me in on all the things you’ve obviously left out of your letters,” she mock pouted while leading them to the parlor.
Suddenly, she stopped. “There isn’t any more...hmm...surprising news, now, is there?” she asked staring pointedly at the couple. Newt and Tina exchanged puzzled glances. “Eloping and all,” continued Lady Scamander, “it does appear-”
“Oh, Merlin, no!” exclaimed Newt as it suddenly dawned on him what she was implying, “no mum, nothing that would scandalize anyone. No, we just wanted to be married. I mean, once we decided we were going to marry, we didn’t see any reason to put it off and have a whole big fuss over a party.”
“Alright then,” his mother nodded, “now let’s go on and have our tea.”
******************
“Violet? Violet?” they heard a man’s voice echoing through the halls about an hour later.
“Lord Scamander’s back earlier than I expected,” remarked Lady Scamander, “I wonder what that’s about.”
Newt looked at the clock and swallowed hard. He could take a good guess as to what brought his father home earlier than expected.
“Violet, dear, did Newton by any chance mention in any of his letters-” Lord Scamander stopped short as he entered the parlor looking as though he’d just found out something very surprising, which Newt surmised he probably had; Theseus was with him, carrying two newspapers and sporting a very cheeky grin.
“Well, he’s right here, so you can ask him yourself,” Lady Scamander replied with a coy smile.
“Well, we already know one thing,” said Theseus, striding over to Newt and unfurling the papers he was holding, “it seems our dear Newt has found himself a lady friend while gallivanting across the pond. Well done, little brother, well done!” he exclaimed, clapping him on the back.
Newt and Tina looked at the two newspapers. One was the evening edition of the Prophet, the other was a rushed special exclusive of Witch Weekly. Both had blown-up photos of Newt scooping up Tina and kissing her as she emerged from customs. They looked at each other, then back at Newt’s family, both blushing fiercely.
“While I can’t deny that I’m glad to see at least one of my sons has found a potential match,” Lord Scamander began, “I do wish I’d have found out from you rather than from the gossip mill.” He sighed in exasperation.
After an encouraging smile from his mother, Newt took Tina’s hand and found his voice. “I do apologize for that,” he said calmly, “but there is one thing the gossip mill doesn’t know yet and which you will in fact hear directly from me: Tina and I were married in New York one week ago today, just before we set sail.”
Like his wife, Lord Scamander was momentarily frozen in shock. Theseus made the first move, scooping Newt into a big bear hug and congratulating him profusely. “I never thought you had it in you,” he teased, “but as I said before, well done! And an American to boot! Always needing to be different, you are!”
Newt grinned sheepishly and held Tina close while formally introducing her to the rest of his family. Soon, Lady Scamander excused herself from the party. “I do need to send a formal wedding announcement to the Prophet’s Weddings section before they fuel more rumor and speculation. Newton, now that we all know, may we officially announce it?”
“Yes,” replied Newt, “we’re going to have to visit the Ministry tomorrow anyway to register our marriage here, so please do make the announcement.”
“Wonderful,” she replied, “you all go ahead to dinner, I’ll meet you there after I post the owl.”
The following morning, Newt and Tina found Theseus at breakfast with several morning papers. There was the infamous photo again, prominently displayed on all of them, with headlines blaring the shocking news that the kissing couple was already married, with the Scamander family only confirming it the previous evening. Witch Weekly promised a full spread on pages 6 and 7. Newt quickly flipped there, and found an article about “Legions of Brokenhearted Witches Across Britain” and another one entitled “Bump Watch”; as his had mother implied the day before, their elopement had led to certain assumptions. Theseus snickered in delight while Newt groaned in irritation.
“Let them talk,” said Tina dismissively, “3 months from now when there’s no bump, they’ll all feel really stupid.”
Newt sighed, “I guess you’re right. Why do they even care so much anyway? All I did was write a book!”
“Oh Newton, don’t be shy now,” Theseus said grinning, “you know you’ve been one of Britain’s Ten Most Eligible Wizards ever since your first Season! Ah well, now it’s just lonely old me on the list, along with the Malfoy brothers and the youngest Black and the…”
“Never you mind,” said Newt, not wanting to hear the name “Lestrange” uttered in his wife’s presence; although she knew the full story and knew that Newt’s heart was hers alone, she still harbored a bit of jealousy over his first love. “Come on, love, busy day today, let’s go.”
They travelled to the Ministry by Floo. All the way to the Department of Registration for Marriages and Births, and then later to the Immigration Department, people stopped the couple to congratulate them. Newt had been deadly wrong about eloping avoiding a “fuss” over his nuptials; if anything, it seemed the decision to marry quickly and discretely had caused even more of a fuss. Well, there was nothing to be done about it now. Newt hoped they’d all find someone else to gossip about soon. They registered their marriage and also put in an application for British citizenship for Tina. They still hadn’t had the chance to really talk about where they were going to settle down, but did conclude that either way, it was best for them to both be citizens of both countries. After spending the morning with tedious paperwork and grueling interviews by immigration officials, Newt gave Tina the grand tour of Diagon Alley. America didn’t really have an equivalent, as the American community was much more discrete than their European counterparts and Tina was enthralled with the magical shopping district hidden in the heart of a No-Maj capital. Finally, just before tea time, they Flooed back to the manor and were greeted by Lady Scamander.
Something was up. Newt’s mother seemed a little too eager to see them home and she seemed hurried and distracted. “Is everything alright?” asked Newt.
“I’m making a proper wedding reception for you two,” she announced curtly, “The guests will start arriving at 6. I’ve got some lovely dress robes for you both, they’re waiting in your room, now go up and-”
Newt groaned loudly, “Mummy,” he exclaimed in exasperation, “this is exactly what Tina and I were trying to avoid when we eloped!”
“Yes, well, I’ve been waiting more than 30 years to marry off a son!” she huffed, “and now I finally see one of you married and you are NOT going to deny me a proper affair to celebrate it!”
Newt sighed resignedly. “That’s better,” his mother smiled, “now, Tina dear, do you know how to dance?”
Tina’s stomach dropped and she turned anxiously to her husband, “um, no.”
“I figured. Newton, when you go upstairs to get dressed, please teach her a few basic steps.”
“Yes, mother,” he sighed again, “come on, love.”
*******************
“You know, you never struck me as the type to dance,” Tina mused as Newt guided her across the floor of their room showing her the steps she needed to know.
“I’m not,” he said honestly, “but I had to learn for The Season,” he explained, grimacing as he said the word “season”.
“OK, can you please explain to me what this ‘season’ thing is?” Tina asked while Newt continued to gently guide her steps, “Your brother mentioned it this morning and now you’re telling me you had to learn to dance for it.”
“Ah yes, the London Season,” began Newt puffing his chest in mock pretension while still not missing a beat, “it’s a stuffy old ritual in muggle high society that wizard high society went and adopted. Basically, during the spring and summer, people come from the countryside to London to participate in a bunch of stuffy dances and parties so that rich men can make political deals, rich women can gossip, and their rich children can court each other and make advantageous matches,” he explained almost contemptuously.
“The end of the war actually coincided with my first official season, and from then on, I was supposed to show up to these parties and attempt to make a good match with a witch worthy of my family’s status,” he continued, “but I have skived off the last few years much to my parents’ chagrin,” he said with a mischievous glint in his eye.
“And who would ever have thought you’d end up with a brash and classless American?” Tina chuckled while trying to keep in time with her husband’s practiced movements.
“Listen, I didn’t think I’d ever marry, mostly because if I could even bring myself to talk to someone, my obsession with magical creatures would promptly scare her off! And last I checked, the erumpent mating dance doesn’t work on humans.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” replied Tina, sliding her hand down and playfully pinching his rear end.
“Easy there, love, or we might end up missing the party and upsetting my mother,” quipped Newt as he guided her hand back up and far away from anything that might indeed distract them from the task at hand.
“How do you manage to tolerate me, Mrs. Scamander?” he teased playfully, before giving her a final twirl and kissing her lips sweetly as soon she was facing him again.
“Well, I’m not sure myself sometimes,” she joked, “but kissing me like that certainly goes a long way…” she trailed off as she kissed him back.
6 o’clock arrived, and the couple came downstairs in their new dress robes. The staff of house elves had transformed the grand hall of the manor into a marvelous reception, and nearly a hundred guests were already milling about, with more still arriving.
“Oh no,” Newt groaned quietly in her ear, “all the top ministry officials, and all the old name wizarding families, my old professors and damn! More reporters...this is so embarrassing!”
Tina wasn’t exactly welcoming of the attention herself, but knew it was hardest on Newt, who really loathed being in the spotlight. She needed to hold it together for the both of them, so she squeezed his hand gently, “I’m right here,” she reassured him, “always and forever. Now let’s go get this ridiculous evening over with.”
“Thank you, Tina,” he whispered into her hair, “for everything. I love you.” “And I love you,” she replied. And off they went to face the world together.