Supper at the Manor
“Hey man,” Jacob called, waving from just inside the gate. “How you doin’?”
“I’m just getting this done and I promise I’ll be in to shower before dinner with my parents,” Newt replied absently, wrestling with an adolescent grindylow that didn’t appreciate Newt’s attempts to give it a health check. The bubble of water
surrounding the grindylow pulsated, the adolescent inside lunged for Newt’s hand again before bobbing, a stream of bubbles issuing from its mouth. “Language,” Newt muttered, frowning. A few seconds later, his face was drenched and the grindylow was doing some sort of laugh.
Newt lifted his wand, sighed and immobilized the grindylow to complete the health check.
“Why dintcha you do that in the first place?” Jacob asked curiously, hands in pockets.
“I don’t like to immobilize them, it means they’re less likely to trust me next time,” Newt sighed, finishing his check and flicking his wand. The grindylow made a rude gesture and swam off angrily. “That one is just a pain though. I’m thinking of
releasing him as soon as possible. He’s an alpha-type unfortunately.”
“Right,” Jacob said, just nodding, not really understanding. “Queen sent me in, said she wanned to talk to Teen without me hovering. You nervous about tonight?”
“About telling my parents that they’ll be getting additional grandchildren?” Newt checked. Jacob nodded. Newt shrugged. “Are you?”
“Little bit,” Jacob admitted, still a little awed when Newt simply produced a towel out of thin air and began to furiously towel dry his hair. “Newt I thought you were goin’to shower, why bother drying it?”
Newt paused. Blushed. Lowered the towel. Maybe he was more nervous than he thought.
“Yes, right, I’d better do that,” He grinned, starting towards the gate, clapping a hand to Jacob’s shoulder.
“But you’re nervous right?” Jacob checked, following him out.
“Bloody terrified.”
………………………………………………………………
“You ok?” Tina fussed over her sister, pressing golden curls away from her head. Queenie chuckled, resting a hand against Aurie’s back as her daughter reached across the table for a pencil crayon.
“Teen, I’m fine,” Queenie reminded her, “We both have every right to be tired you know, not just me. Will you sit down?”
Tina grimaced, glancing down at the milk just out of Aurie’s elbow reach. Queenie glanced down too, “Oohhh,” she said slowly, “Sorry I don’t even notice anymore, that parts passed for me.”
“Don’t you dare take her milk away,” Tina said sternly, moving towards the sink and glancing out into the garden where Newt was just latching the gate. “I just… won’t breathe through my nose.”
Queenie grimaced in sympathy, feeling her sisters nausea mingled with nerves. Aurie set her pencil down quietly, sliding the mug towards herself and proceeding to drink it all carefully. Then, the toddler climb down from her chair, wobbled across
the room to offer the empty cup to Tina.
“Better now,” she insisted, bumping the cup against Tina’s leg, “better Aunt Tina.”
Tina crouched down, damp eyes, taking the cup from Aurie. She smiled, “Yeah, better now Aurie. Thank you princess.”
Aurie nodded, her little cheeks dimpling before she ran back over to her spot at the table and carried on colouring. Queenie chuckled.
“I think our little Aurie is destined to be a healer,” She said softly, worried eyes watching her daughter as the other ghosted her barely there bump. There was an unspoken reference to Aurie’s growing legilimens abilities. “She’s a fixer. Just like her aunt.”
Tina smiled sadly, thinking “just like her mum too,” instead.
“No Teen,” Queenie smiled sadly, “I could hear exactly what people thought they needed, try and fix that but you would just try and fix everything. Every little problem, every little cut or bruise. If you could, you’d fix every problem in our world.
You’re a giver, and you just keep trying to fix everything.”
“Don’t succeed,” Tina reminded her, bringing her Tai tea over to the table and sliding a mug over to Queenie.
“But you try,” Queenie countered, “You always try, even if it means putting yourself in danger.”
Tina looked away.
“You’re worried about the baby,” Queenie stated, “You’re worried that you and Newt are both fixers, and you wanna fight. You wanna help people. And you’re worried that people are gonna think you should stay at home with the baby after its born
and you already know you don’t wanna do that.”
“Please Queenie,” Tina said firmly, “Outta my head.”
“I’m giving birth, what, a month? Two? Before you. So, when you’re ready to go back to work, whenever that is, I’ll stay at home, I’ll look after the babies,” She chuckled sadly, “I ain’t no career girl Teenie and I ain’t got no place in this Ministry. I don’t want to either. I want to look after the kids, away from other people for a bit.”
Tina processed what her sister said for a moment, before settling on the reason behind it.
“We can talk about it when the babies are nearly here,” Tina agreed, hearing the shower shut off. “Come on, we better get Aurie cleaned up for dinner at the Manor.”
Queenie nodded slowly, watching as Aurie promptly put her pencil down and climbed down off her chair, waiting for her mother to follow.
…………………………………………………………..
Hippolyta had never felt quite so incapable as she did getting dressed while pregnant. Honestly, everything was a hundred times more difficult just by the sheer inflexibility of her stomach. She would have charmed her laces to tie themselves, but that would require seeing her feet to do so. Theseus or a house elf had to tie her bloody shoes. Muggles may still use ladies maids, but honestly wizardkind had risen above that years ago. Spells were more efficient but only if you could cast them.
She just wanted the baby out already. How did women do this more than once? It had been the most exhaustingly awful eight months of her life and she was glad she was practically too old to go through it again. She shifted uncomfortably, trying to relive some of the pressure at the base of her spine waiting for Theseus to finish dressing so he could dress her. She was too hot.
"Hey," Theseus placed his cool hand against her cheek, and Hippolyta nearly pressed it into her face trying to absorb as much cool as possible. Queenie had reminded her that she wouldn't be pregnant over summer, which was something, but she was always still so hot. And her head ached. It was probably to do with the heat. "We don't have to go, I'll owl mother and father."
"Don't you dare Theseus Scamander," Hippolyta glared at him, a voice in her head that sounded suspiciously like her mother aghast at the thought of cancelling a dinner invitation, even if it was with family. "Tie my shoes and we can go."
"Baby is nearly due," Theseus reminded her, lacing her shoes with practiced fingers, "I don't think anyone would blame you for not wanting to go."
Theseus turned exhausted green eyes onto her, and a part of her realised that Theseus was asking is they could turn down the invitation without invoking his mothers ire. A part of her mind registered this, but not quickly enough for the insistence that they attend, that she proved to all she hadn't let a pregnancy beat her, escape from her mouth.
"Well then," He said, tired, but smiling and holding out a hand. "We best be off then."
.........................................................................
When Queenie, Jacob and Aurie first arrived, Diana had wavered on making them stay in the Manor, but had stood firm on the idea of a weekly dinner where all of her children would be fed and watered to her husbands satisfaction. Perseus had spent the day humming in the kitchen, cooking enough food to feed them and then some, taking the phrase “eating for two” seriously with two out of three daughter-in-laws pregnant and the other an auror.
Diana was finishing up an emergency in her hippogriff enclosure when she saw a group walking across the grounds towards the house. One waved their hand, Diana returned the wave, slipping into the house, her wand already cleaning the smell and dirt of the hippogriff enclosure off and transforming her overalls into a smart pair of robes and setting her hair. The enchantment had just trickled to her toes when the door opened and Newt’s tousled head appeared around the door.
“Hello mum,” he greeted, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek and moving down the corridor. “The griffs ok?”
“You’re not allowed to check on them till after dinner,” Tina reminded him, kissing Diana’s cheek after her husband. "Hey Mom."
Tina looked tired, stressed, sporting a similar pinched look to her fair-headed sister. Jacob entered last, Aurie perched on his hip. He offered a hand to Diana, she pressed a kiss to his cheek and then Aurie’s.
"Your father has drinks waiting in the sitting room," she informed them all, clapping her hands and pointing down the hall. She held out her arms for Aurie, adding to Queenie, "Plenty non-alcoholic beverages for you. I remember you saying you didn't like the taste with Aurora here. Queenie smiled gratefully. "Now, you all go ahead now, I'm sure your brother and sister can't be too far behind. Aurie and I will greet them."
"Ok then," Tina said, turning and walking down the corridor, Newt following behind closely and followed by Jacob. Queenie hovered for a few seconds, anxious eyes trained on her daughter. Diana could sympathise. A few days ago Aurie had been threatened, it was understandable that Queenie was having trouble letting her out of her sight. Queenie started, glanced at Diana, smiled awkwardly and hurried off down the corridor very deliberately.
"Now then Miss Aurora," Diana jostled the rosy cheeked little girl, pulling faces that the little girl reciprocated gleefully. "Are you looking forward to being a big sister?"
"Baby!" Aurie cried out, laughing, Diana joined in, just as a knock rang through the door.
Theseus and Hippolyta looked nothing short of exhausted. Diana did wish he would take a break, if only so he could spend time with his anxious, pregnant wife. Hippolyta smiled wanly, her eyes a little glassy. She didn't look at all well.
"Hello mother," Theseus greeted, removing his hat and keeping his hand firmly at the base of Hippolyta's spine. Diana greeted them, following them down to the hall where Perseus had set up dinner.
Dinner was a more sedate fair than usual. Queenie and Jacob maintained polite, stilted conversation, but Newt was jumpy, Tina's focus was trained on Newt, Theseus was bone tired and nearly asleep in his roast fowl and Hippolyta was... antagonistic but quiet. Finally, Diana had enough. She put her knife and fork down very deliberately and sat back.
"What is with you all tonight?" she complained. "Theseus dear, if you were so tired why didn't you cancel, I wouldn't have minded. And... Newt did you leave a creature in need because I haven't seen you so distracted in a long while."
Newt looked startled. He glanced at Tina with wide eyes. She stared back at him for a few seconds, doing that strange communication thing they sometimes did.
"I'm pregnant," Tina blurted out suddenly. Diana had to blink, let the words sink in before she clapped her hands together gleefully. Tina and Newt blushed furiously.
"Oh!" Diana cried, "How wonderful! Three for three!"
"Mother," Newt chastised, his ears even pinker than the rest of his face. Perseus chuckled, congratulating the happy couple with a raise of his glass.
"No, this is wonderful news!" Diana continued, "Tell me, how did the creatures take it?"
Seven pairs of eyes blinked owlishly at her several times.
"Well if Newt and Tina persist in treating those creatures like children, then I will ask how they told the creatures," Diana huffed like it was the most obvious think in the world.
Hippolyta snorted, those snorts turned into a giggle. Queenie joined in and before long the entire table was laughing.
"Mercy Lewis," Tina realised, eyes going wide. She turned to Newt. "What's Bennie going to do when he realises he has to compete with a baby? He can't stand Charlie because she sits in my pocket!"
"Honestly darling," Newt grinned, "If baby looks like you, Bennie will be far too lovestruck to do anything but stare and try to steal it."
"Baby" Aurie cried, eager to get involved.
"Children are diamonds," Diana announced, "They hurt like hell on the way out."
The table erupted into laughter again and the earlier exhausted atmosphere began to dispel. Hippolyta shifted in her chair, grimacing.
"Stop making me laugh," she ordered, "It's making my back cramp."
Diana and Queenie fell silent, turning to Hippolyta in unison.
"How long have you been having back pain for?" Queenie asked, eyes wide and a little distanced, directing her legilimens at Hippolyta.
"Four months," Hippolyta replied petulantly. Queenie shook her head as if clearing it.
"Honey, you've been having real sharp back pain all day and you didn't tell anyone?"
"It's just back pain," Hippolyta huffed, "It's not like it's labour. My mediwitch told me the muggles call them Braxton Hicks."
"Yeah those feel like the real deal to me," Queenie commented, eyebrow raised. The table fell completely silent, even Aurie.
"Oh," Understanding dawned on Hippolyta's face. "OH!"
Queenie nodded.
Dinner was postponed.