Cycles of Sun

Tina straightened her blouse and wiggled her shoulders nervously. A few seconds later, the lift dinged, the cool female voice announcing “Magical Law Enforcement including offices of the Auror department.”

She took a deep breath and stepped out into the corridor, trying to appear confident even if she was shaking in her boots. The thumb of her left hand automatically sought out the rough edge of her wedding band, lending her a wave of calm as the pad of her thumb moved over the intricate patterns.

“You have worked with most of these people before,” she muttered to herself, just outside the offices. “You are being silly and even Newt would think so.”

With that, she gave herself a little shake and stepped into the department.

“Morning Tina,” A chirpy blonde by the name of Esmerelda Boot called as Tina passed her desk. “Mr Scamander wants to see you in his office. Congratulations, by the way.”

“You get anything from the pot?” Tina asked with a light laugh.

“No,” Esmerelda grimaced, “I had Easter.”

“Ahh,” Tina nodded understandingly, starting to head towards Theseus’s office. “Sorry!”

She greeted several other people on her way to see Theseus, people she had worked with in other stays in England, helping them out while Newt worked in the department for the regulation of magical creatures. They all seemed happy to see her, shaking her hand or nodding from the far side of the room. There were a few new faces, people who watched her slow progress through the room with unabashed curiosity.

Finally, she managed to extract herself from the main room of the Auror department, finding herself in a bustling corridor, full of witches and wizards holding files with ink on their noses. Tina joined the current of people down the dark wooden corridor to the office doors littered throughout, having to duck and weave through the counter current to reach Theseus’s door.

When she had first arrived, the business of this corridor at half eight in the morning had unnerved her, and she would avoid travelling down this corridor at all costs. Now, however, she barely registered where she was placing her feet, moving expertly through the crowds and knowing it would dissipate into a trickle within moments.

Tina knocked smartly on the heavy wooden door, pushing it opened when she heard an entry called.

“Mr Scamander,” Tina said professionally, standing with her hands linked behind her back. “Good morning Sir.”

Theseus looked up in surprise.

“That’s going to take some getting used to,” he admitted, gesturing for Tina to take the seat opposite him.

“Yeah,” Tina agreed, sinking into her seat. “I mean, where’s the boundary? I don’t want you treating me any differently to anyone out there.”

“You are family,” Theseus reminded her, selecting a document and settling his glasses back on his nose. “But you don’t have to worry about being treated any differently. First things first, since you’ve married Newt, that makes you a British citizen.
Automatically,circumvents a lot of the rules. And since MACUSA had your transfer papers waiting to go after you vanished late September, your transfer has been one of the easier ones to facilitate.”

“You included my travelling?” She asked, accepting the parchment and glancing over the notes made on it.

“Of course,” Theseus replied. “Provided you keep writing magical law books Tina, you and Newt are cleared to travel.”

“Hey, if my marrying Newt made things a lot easier for you, paperwork wise,” Tina looked up at Theseus, “Why didn’t you just suggest we get married when I came to you before Christmas?”

Theseus settled back in his chair, pressing the tips of his fingers together.

“You’ve been with my brother for five years now,” he explained patiently, “In that time, has Newt ever done the sensible thing if he disagrees with it, especially if someone tells him it is the sensible thing to do?”

Tina smiled down at her transfer papers. She knew that Newt arrived to his own conclusions in his own time. They both did.

“And I learnt something about you as soon as we met you,” Theseus continued, “You don’t do what people tell you too. I was rather worried you’d encourage my brother. Its why we didn’t approve when you first came along. Somehow, and I don’t understand how, you and my brother balance each other out.”

“Solid words of approval there,” Tina replied dryly. Before Theseus could respond, Tina was passing him the papers. “Seems all there to me.”

“Another thing,” Theseus accepted the sheaf, setting them down beside his elbow. “Would you prefer being Scamander or Goldstein? Just to the other aurors.”

Tina sat back in her chair and considered it. Scamander was the name she wanted to claim instantly. She wanted to be proud, announcing “this is who I am”. But at the same time, she had spent years cultivating the name Goldstein. It was respected. She was respected. This was it, the final decision from an entire night spent pacing the veranda with Newt sitting waiting patiently because he wanted her to make the decision, for it to be her choice, always her choice. And suddenly, it was as easy as deciding to go with him, of marrying him. She wondered why she had been worrying.

“Scamander,” she said finally. “I’ll be Scamander.”

“Well then, Auror Scamander,” Theseus smiled at her, scribbling the name onto her warrant card. “Welcome to the Ministry of Magic.”

“Why thank you, Mister Scamander,” Tina beamed, looking down at her warrant card.

“I’d better introduce you to the new head of the Auror department now I’ve been promoted,” Theseus pushed himself up, sighing despondently as he regarded his desk. “All I do now is paperwork. Which makes Hippolyta happy but…”

“You miss field work,” Tina finished for him. “Yeah, I would too. And now, of course, I miss travelling.”

“Where are you planning to go next?” Theseus asked, opening the door for Tina and leading her back down the corridor to the line of cubicles.

“Far East I think,” She pondered, “Dougal’s getting lonely. We can’t rehabilitate him because he was bought up in that case, but maybe we can find him a friend.”

“Ahh,” Theseus nodded, pretending to understand, as he spent half the time doing conversing with his brother or sister-in-law about their creatures. “Just here, Dominic Pettigrew. I’d like to introduce you to your new Auror Porpentina Scamander.”

“Tina,” She corrected, holding her hand out to the small jovial man who’d emerged from the cubicle. “Tina Scamander.”

“Scamander eh,” The man twinkled. “Don’t go expecting any special treatment.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Theseus clapped his hand on Tina’s shoulder “She neither wants or expects it. Her file’s on your desk. She knows the ropes, she was here while you were in Scotland for the winter.”

“Then you’ll know we had better go for morning briefs,” Pettigrew pulled the door to his cubicle closed. He nodded to Theseus. Theseus nodded back, turning for his office. “Well, come on then Scamander.”

A few minutes later, Tina was squeezing into the breakroom, propping herself up against the filing cabinet and playing with her pendant, revelling in the familiarity of a briefing.

“Before we start,” Pettigrew waved a wand at a pile of files on the table at the front, the packets distributing themselves into the auror’s waiting hands. “We have a new member of our team, although I understand she has been a floating member for some time so
many of you will know her.”

“We knew her as something different then,” Esmerelda piped up from the back to general laughter. Tina shushed them good naturedly from the front.

“Auror Scamander has joined us officially from MACUSA,” Pettigrew continued as if Esmerelda hasn’t spoken. “Dawkins, show her the ropes.”

Dawkins was a thirty something man with a head of very thick black hair smoothed over to one side and a pair of thin spectacles perched on his thin nose. He waved from the other side of the room. Tina nodded back.

“Well, pleasantries over with,” Pettigrew clapped his hands. “We’ve got work to do people. Muggles in a village in Norfolk spotted a pair of hippogriffs circling at six fifteen this morning. Rapid response have already taken statements from the muggles and obliviated them. Stillwater, Myers, I want you investigating. Hallbrooke, get your arse down to Dover, we got smugglers using muggle boats, need you looking into that. Dawkins, show Scamander to her desk and get started on that potion problem we’ve got.”

Pettrigrew continued to call out assignments, greeted each time by a murmured “yes Sir,” until he dismissed them all to the days work.

Dawkins led Tina to the empty desk in the room. The one next to it was littered with files, scrunched up balls of paper, broken quills and Bertie Botts packets. A wooden frame held a picture of a woman with long dark hair, laughing at the camera and hugging a toddler close, the little boy waving his chubby hand.

“I hope you appreciate that my wife laughed at the breakfast table on New Year’s Day,” Dawkins started conversationally, leaning against the plain desk, empty but for the file Tina had just placed down and a small ink stand.

“I’ll bet,” Tina chuckled, “Newt and I got a laugh too, not many people had an elopement in the betting pools.”

“No,” he scratched his head, “Although, we shouldn’t have underestimated you. Well, this is you. This one here is me. I’ll let you get set up, then we can set up our case file and see what we got.”

“No, I’m good,” Tina glanced round the small space, noting the size. “I’ll just leave my coat here.”

She shrugged it off, reaching to hang it on a hook when a loud, angry chittering sounded.

“Charlie,” Tina sighed, hooking her finger into the pocket and hooking the bowtruckle out. Dawkins started. “Charlie you were supposed to stay with Newt,” She huffed, holding Charlie above her shoulder.

“Hey, I read your husbands book,” Dawkins squinted at Charlie, “That a…. bowt…bowtruckle?”

“Yeah, she’s called Charlie,” Tina smiled as the little bowtruckle settled onto her shoulder. “She kinda claimed me. Newt has one too.”

“She is rather cute,” Dawkins admitted. “Does Pettigrew know you have her?”

“She wasn’t supposed to be here,” Tina sighed, shooting her bowtruckle a stern look. “So, no, she’s supposed to stay with Newt when I’m at work.”

“Well, I’m sure boss won’t mind, just, put her in your pocket or something,” Dawkins shrugged. He pulled out his wand and waved it at the wall behind their desks. “Case board. We don’t get fancy offices like Pettigrew.”

“Oh well,” Tina pulled the case file out of Dawkins grip. “We best get started.”

“What do you want Scamander? The people or the potions?” Dawkins glanced over the papers they had.

“I’ll take the people,” Tina said decisively, “I don’t get much chance to practice on them nowadays.”

……………………………………………..

Newt peered carefully round the corner to the aurors department, hoping his wife was just round the corner. No such luck. He walked in confidently, waving at the blonde witch Tina had made friends with the year previously.

“Afternoon Esmerelda, is Tina about?” He asked, looking around for the gray jacket and black hair.

“Well look at you!” Esmerelda put her file down to smirk up at him. “Married and everything! How are you Mr Scamander.”

“I am very well Miss Boot,” Newt tried to hide a smirk. “And I’ll be even better when you tell me where my wife has got to.”

“Aw, so cute,” Esmerelda wrinkled her nose. “Last I saw she and Dawkins were still going over the file. They’re eight desks on the left.”

“Thank you Esmerelda,” Newt inclined his head, “How’s your young man? Edgecombe? Wasn’t it?”

Esmerelda smiled involuntarily, lifting her left hand to show Newt.

“Some men do things properly,” She teased, wiggling her ring finger. “We’ve settled on June. You and Tina are invited… if you’re in the country of course!”

“Congratulations,” Newt replied sincerely, admiring the Edgecombe family seal on Esmerelda’s finger. “I resent the implication Tina and I did anything untoward, Miss Boot. She did marry me after all.”

Esmerelda laughed, shaking her head slightly, “Get away with you,” she chuckled, “Some of us have work to do!”

Newt inclined his head in farewell before heading in the direction he had been told. Tina was sat reading through a stack of notes, scribbling things down on a pad next to her, her pencil clenched between her teeth. She was completely absorbed in her work, ink drops on her nose, Charlie dancing on a piece of parchment Tina had laid out for her.

“Knock knock,” he said softly, a soft smile on his face as she looked up in shock. “Thought we were going to lunch?”

“Not till two,” Tina said, sounding a bit dazed. She glanced around her. Newt chuckled, pulling out the chair opposite.

“It’s half past, did your pocketwatch break?” he teased “What are you working on with so much focus?”

“A potions smuggling operation, long haul project,” Tina sat back and rubbed her eyes, “I feel like I’ve barely made a scratch. It is really two already?”

“Day one of being on the taskforce,” Newt teased. He pulled a bag out of his pocket, passing her over a sandwich. “I bought you lunch up. You should eat, but I can leave if you want me to.”

“No,” Tina leant forwards, taking his hand. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Newt said firmly. “I’ll be here to drag you away at six. We still have to finish the garden before we can establish the creatures.”

“I’m sorry,” Tina sighed. “Hey, can you take Charlie with you? That’s the third picture she’s drawn me since twelve. I think she may be bored.”

“Come on Charlie,” Newt held his hand out, the bowtruckle shook off the remainder of her ink before hopping onto Newt’s hand. “I’ll be here at six,” he reminded her, leaning forward to press a kiss to her forehead over the table.

“See you at six,” Tina smiled, gripping the hand on her shoulder. Newt smiled at her, before walking out of the office. Tina pushed her hair away from her face, rubbed her eyes and picked up her pencil again.

It felt good to be working again.