Baby Scamander
The next morning, an owl was perched on the back of the chair as the dawn had barely broken over the horizon. Tina disentangled it carefully, offering the owl a treat and asking if the owl wanted to rest with their own post owl. Their post owl was a new acquisition, mostly for convenience when in the UK, and partially in expectation of Jacob and Queenie moving to the country. The eldest Scamander’s owl was a haughty tawny owl, ruffling his feathers importantly. He was stuck up, a little like Theseus and definitely Hippolyta could be. The owl hooted importantly and took off out the window.
Tina reached out to pet the small owl of their own. She’d been an odd-looking owl, with patches of feathers of different colours all over and a strange way of looking at people. She didn’t fit with the superior attitudes of the other owls, and when Newt and Tina had walked in to buy an owl, she had been trying to climb onto the back of a cat, curiosity in her eyes. They had purchased her on the spot and named her Lolly. Lolly had spent the past fortnight with Diana, and looked incredibly relieved to be away from the other Scamander owls.
Tina looked up as Queenie entered, her face pale, hair pulled back off her face, Aurie settled on her hip. Tina slid the steaming mug of tea over without a word, raising her own in a silent salute. Jacob entered next, smoothing his tie against his chest. They sat at the table, exchanging small talk, steadfastly ignoring the letter addressed to “Poole Cottage, Briantspuddle”. Newt ambled in a few minutes later, stopping short at the whole family being sat there waiting for him.
“Jacob’s a baker,” Queenie answered his thoughts, leaning over and buttering toast for Aurie. “We’re early risers too.”
“Right,” Newt nodded slightly, walking slowly to his seat next to Tina. “How are you feeling?” he asked, kissing her forehead as he sat down.
“About the same as when you asked me an hour ago,” Tina rolled her eyes, pushing the letter towards him. “Come on, open it. We need to know if we’ve got a niece or nephew.”
Newt picked up the letter, opening it quickly. His eyes scanned a shaky hand, before he looked up and smiled.
“A girl,” he announced, “Theseus says Hippolyta and the baby are doing fine, but there was a bit of concern that she wasn’t reacting well to the potion they gave her for the pre-eclampsia.”
Tina let out a sigh of relief. She and Hippolyta had started off with differences she hadn’t thought could be overcome, but now, Hippolyta was just an older sister with a superiority complex, and they got on well. She was glad she was ok.
“And the baby?” Queenie asked, “She got a name yet or are we just calling her baby Scamander for a while?”
Newt scanned the letter again, before alighting on the information sought.
“Helena,” he announced with a chuckle. “They’re staying with the Midsummer theme apparently. Helena Demeter.”
“Aw,” Queenie said. “That’s cute. Having a theme.”
“Well, pureblood families sometimes do that,” Newt said offhandedly, slipping the letter back into the envelope. “I mean, in my family, Perseus is from Greek Mythology, as is Theseus. Newton doesn’t really fit though. And, Hippolyta has a sister called Titania and a cousin called Oberon. Oberon Malfoy’s son, however, is called Abraxas, so who knows what theme they’re going with now.”
“This is a legitimate pureblood practice?” Queenie checked, looking unconvinced.
Newt nodded, “Well, some pureblood families want to steer clear of muggle names, so they tend to go into mythology or the stars or history,” he informed her, wondering why she was finding this so supremely interesting.
“Are we doing that?” Tina asked warily, her hand ghosting her stomach. “Because you’re looking at a Porpentina and a Regina.”
Newt hadn’t thought of the fact they would actually have to name their child. They’d have to pick the name they would carry for the rest of their lives and that was a little terrifying.
“I er, hadn’t thought that far ahead,” he admitted, ears turning pink. Tina huffed a laugh, dragging a piece of dry toast towards her and biting into it experimentally. “We’ve got months for that.”
Suddenly, he registered what she’d said, and turned to Queenie in surprise.
“Your full name is Regina?” He asked, “where does Queenie come from?”
“Regina means Queen,” Queenie giggled, “It was a nickname from our parents and I didn’t want to ever give it up. I feel more like a Queenie than a Regina.”
Newt nodded in understanding, surprised he was still learning information about his wife’s family after five years.
“When can we visit?” Tina nodded at the letter, amused with the turn of the conversation, but much happier when the talk was on other people’s impending families and not her own. That still terrified her.
“Er, tomorrow,” Newt said, “Give them some time as a new family. Mum and Dad will go in the morning, if we visit later in the day to avoid overcrowding that’ll probably be better.”
“Look at you,” Tina smiled, resting her head against his shoulder, “Thinking about wizards like your creatures. I’m proud of you.”
Newt blushed.
………………………………………………………….
Theseus and Hippolyta lived in a fine mansion-like house that bore little resemblance to the country-home esque style of the Scamander Manor. It was a square, imposing block of pale stone in the Cotswolds with a sweeping drive and impressive hedges in neat patterns swirling around it. Inside, everything was dark wood, and designed to impress. This was their home and it was a statement. Sometimes Tina forgot that Theseus and Hippolyta were impressively ambitious people. Since they’d given up on Newt being part of their plans, they hadn’t pressed any further ambition on Newt and Tina, content to just let them muddle along.
The sitting room was done up in rich burgundy hangings, and dark sofa’s. Hippolyta looked pale, nestled into the green leather armchair with the little white bound bundle sleeping in her arms. She greeted them all with an exhausted smile.
“I’m so glad it’s you,” she sighed in relief, dropping her head back. “I don’t want to have to be nice anymore. Honestly, the day someone gives birth is not the day to go visiting, I now am aware of this.”
Queenie grimaced in sympathy, setting a sleeping Aurie in the other armchair.
“How many visitors have you had?” She asked, sitting down on the sofa next to Hipployta.
“Well, mum and dad came this morning to help us,” Hippolyta started listing, adjusting little Helena in her arms. “Then several of the ladies of my acquaintance arrived to see the baby apparently but they merely wanted to gossip about Chancellor Fudge’s supposed mistress and what do I know? I’ve been pregnant forever. They never seemed to leave. Then some colleagues of Theseus’s and their wives came and, if I have to have visitors this afternoon I am terribly glad it’s you.”
Tina shuffled awkwardly, glancing at Newt.
“Hey, we can go,” Tina said gently, worried they were just going to exhaust Hippolyta further, unnecessarily. She would hate having to be on display the day after she’d given birth.
“Don’t you dare,” Theseus said from the doorway. “If you are here we can turn away other guests. I’ve put a notice on the door.”
“Oh Merlin,” Hippolyta adjusted the baby in her arms and winced. “Can someone take her? I need some feeling in my arms again.”
Tina stepped forward hesitantly at Theseus’s nod, awkwardly taking the newborn from Hippolyta’s arms. Hippolyta sat back in relief, pain lancing her features. Queenie rubbed her arm soothingly while Theseus poured her a flagon of juice with a liberal dose of a pain-numbing potion. She took it gratefully.
The baby had soft downy and pale hair, a strange mix of Hippolyta’s light blonde and Theseus’s tawny red. She was tiny and Tina felt afraid she’d break her in a way she’d never been afraid with Aurie. Helena was delicate looking, like a doll made from the finest porcelain. She could feel Newt’s nervousness at her shoulder. They were having one of these? They’d break it.
“This is your Aunt Tina,” Theseus told the baby sternly from Hippolyta’s side. “You listen to what she says. She’s a scary auror. And that’s Uncle Newt. He will probably let you near far too many dangerous creatures and you’ll probably adore him. I’m sure Aunt Queenie will be after a cuddle soon as well.”
Queenie looked up, smiled happily. Hippolyta patted her hand but said nothing.
They passed the baby around, commenting on how her nose looked like Theseus’s and her ears stuck out strangely but it looked adorable. They had passed her back to her tired but bursting with pride father when the door rang. A moment later, a voice could be heard in the hall, high, stern.
Hippolyta tensed instantly, pulling herself upright with a wince and pushing the blanket to Queenie. Theseus quickly settled the babe in his wife’s arms, his shoulders tense and jaw set. Queenie acted quickly in response to whatever their thoughts were, ordering Jacob upright and out of the room, leaving a sleeping Aurie next to Newt, who was instructing Tina to sit up slightly.
A moment later, the door swung open and a woman stalked in, her hair silver, her eyes like ice trained on the woman sat in the chair. Tina was amazed to find she barely recognized the cold-looking couple, Hippolyta with her chin up, the only betrayal the white of her fist under the baby’s blanket that she was feeling anything other than cool.
“Hippolyta,” The woman announced, eyes sweeping over the room, lingering on Tina for a moment before discarding her. “I was informed you had the child. A boy?”
“No mother,” Hippolyta said, her usual defiant sneer gone. “A girl. Helena we have named her.”
Hippolyta’s mother, Mrs Malfoy, sniffed disdainfully.
“A girl is not an heir,” she reminded Hippolyta, “And Helena is a muggle name. You should name her after my mother, or after a notable woman in our house.”
“We considered Diana, after my mother, Mrs Malfoy,” Theseus informed the woman, his hands clenched tightly behind his back and his words clipped. “There are many Helena’s in our house, and it is not too different from Helga. A modern name for a modern child.”
Mrs Malfoy’s eyes swivelled to Theseus, dismissing his comments with a sniff.
“Next time, Hippolyta, an heir for the great name of Scamander would be appreciated,” Mrs Malfoy said, and it was only Newt’s tight grip on Tina’s wrist that stopped her from jumping up and informing the woman where she could shove her name.
“Newt and Tina have the opportunity to continue the lineage, mother,” Hippolyta pointed out tiredly, “I am not the only one.”
Mrs Malfoy’s eyes fixed on Tina, surveying her, judging her, finding her wanting.
“We would not want to spoil the family line, would we?” she asked, her voice iron wrapped in silk. “No dear, you must hurry and produce an heir before it is… too late.”
“Yes mother,” Hippolyta half sighed. Tina wanted to curse the straight backed woman. Her daughter had just had a hellish delivery and this woman was berating her for the gender of her child? “Would you like to see Helena?”
The woman made no motion forwards to see her grandchild. Instead she sniffed, drawing a silver and green wrapped gift from her bag and setting it on the sideboard.
“When the child is older,” she said arrogantly, “For now, the child is … young.”
Then, will as much ceremony as she arrived, Mrs Malfoy swept out of the room leaving chills in her wake.
As soon as the door closed, Hippolyta slumped back, Theseus disentangling her hands from the baby and passing her over to Newt. Newt held the baby tightly, rocking her and whispering soothing things to the awake child as Theseus comforted his wife.
“Nice woman,” Tina said drily, no longer able to stay quiet. “Your mother.”
Hippolyta snuffed a short, sharp laugh.
“I can’t go through another pregnancy,” she said in a wavering voice. “Helena nearly killed me, another certainly would.”
“We aren’t having another one,” Theseus promised her, “Your mother will have to accept that.”
“And you certainly didn’t fail,” Tina pointed out, “Have you seen your kid? She’s gonna be amazing and she’s gonna be nicer to people than your mom.”
Hippolyta smiled gratefully as Queenie and Jacob came back into the room. Aurie stirred, the tension in the room filtering into her dreams.
“You got all of us,” Tina reminded Hippolyta, “And your kid is gonna have a few playmates down the line and they’re all gonna be great kids. Promise.”
“We’re a family,” Queenie reminded her, “And we stick out for our sisters in this family. And brothers, sorry Theseus.”
It wasn’t much, but right then, it was all they could give. And right then, it was all Hippolyta, exhausted from her pregnancy, and Theseus, exhausted from fear, needed to hear.