Chapter Text
"Ah, you see, that is the story of how I got expelled from Hogwarts."
Tina's face fell. "We don't have to start with that one," she said.
"No, no, it's fine. I don't . . . I mean . . . you should hear it at any rate," said Newt. "I'm not really sure where to start though."
"Well, tell me what exactly did this?" she asked tracing the little divots.
"Um, an exploding cauldron . . . ?" he said, then he waited for her reaction. It seemed her interest was piqued so he went on. "The official story is that I was attempting to brew liquid luck that I would then sell, for profit, during exams week."
"Newt! That's not true is it?!" Tina was aghast. That sounded nothing like the man she knew.
"No, of course not," he said. "You see, I only had one friend in school and I was her only friend there as well."
"Leta Lestrange," said Tina. She'd been slightly jealous of that woman since the moment she set eyes on that stupid picture.
"Yes. We were both . . . different from everyone else, so we only had each other. Leta was constantly getting in trouble because she didn't care about breaking the rules and I was constantly getting in trouble because I couldn't figure out how to stop. Seemed like everything I did was against some ridiculous rule. Couldn't take two steps inside that castle, or out of it, without someone yelling."
Tina snorted. That sounded more like him. He carried around that case of highly illegal magical creatures because he believed in what he was doing, that he was right and the law was wrong. He knew from experience that the law was not always just but he refused to allow it to bend him into someone he didn't like just because it had the power to do so.
"We'd both nearly been expelled several times before that. She would usually calm down afterwards, for a few months at least. I didn't know what got into her that year. She came back from summer holiday and she was just different. I only caught her brewing that potion on accident. When I tried to convince her to stop . . . she sort of . . . went mad, started ranting about all sorts of things I didn't really understand. She didn't notice when the cauldron began smoking. I did though and I was mostly sure it wasn't supposed to do that. I managed to pull her away just before it all blew up." For a moment Newt was lost in the memory of blinding golden light and pain. Tina leaned in closer to him.
"The next thing I remember was waking up in the hospital wing. She wasn't there and I panicked, thought maybe I didn't pull her away in time, maybe she was dead. So I snuck out. No one realized I was awake yet anyways so it wasn't that hard except it hurt quite a lot. Healing wounds from a failed liquid luck potion is apparently a very unlucky task," Newt chuckled. "I was caught eventually though. The headmaster was very unamused but highly impressed that I'd gotten as far as I did. Turns out Leta was fine. Not a scratch on her."
"Once they started asking me what had happened, I didn't see any reason to lie. I figured she'd told them some story but there was no way I'd be able to guess what it was so I just didn't speak. And I refused to speak at all until they let me see her," he paused there. Not sure how to explain the next part.
"Leta's father was . . . not a nice man. He maintained, loudly, in front of Leta on multiple occasions, that he was not her father. That her mother had been unfaithful. I don't know if it was true. He was cruel though. When they finally let me see her, I found out that he gotten quite drunk at one point that summer, went too far. I won't share the exact details but what he did was . . . unforgivable, if you catch my meaning." Tina's eyebrows shot up and she looked questioningly at him. He couldn't mean . . . on his own daughter?!
"Yes," Newt said. "I guess that was why she seemed so different. Like nothing mattered to her anymore. If she was treated the same by him, no matter what she did, then she thought she could do whatever she wanted. She didn't realize what she should have been doing was trying to stay at school. She was safe from him while she was there. If she was expelled, I really have no doubt that he would have killed her and I couldn't just do nothing. Couldn't let that happen. So I confessed. Told the headmaster it was all my fault and that Leta was trying to stop me and all that. It didn't take much to convince her to go along with it. She was finally properly terrified of incurring her father's wrath. I guess that, seeing me get hurt like that because of something she'd done, must have knocked some sense into her."
They both sat there in silence for a few minutes. Tina was taking it all in. She wasn't sure how she felt about Leta now. But she was definitely in love with Newt.
"Thank you for sharing that with me. I know that must be difficult," to her horror, her voice cracked.
"Tina? Are you crying?" Newt asked incredulously.
"No," Tina hastily wiped her eyes and hid her face against his chest.
"You are . . . what for?" he asked. That was farthest from the reaction he expected.
"I'll tell you later," she said, wiping her eyes one last time before standing up. Newt looked at her skeptically. "I will. But I think I need to check on Queenie and Jacob. They've been down there for a while."
Newt was confused but he took it in stride. "Okay . . . I think I'm going to go have a bath if that's okay. I must have sweat a lake full last night." Tina nodded.
"Can you make it?" she asked.
"Yes I think I'll be fine. You're welcome to come join me after if you'd like . . . oh god, no, I don't mean in the bath. Just . . . I meant in that general area . . . of the flat. I could tell you another story." Newt was back to that wonderful shade of red that made Tina's heart soar. She laughed.
"Okay." She leaned down and kissed him once, very sweetly on the lips before heading down into the suitcase.
Newt realized suddenly what he'd done. Idiot. You're so desperate for her company that you volunteered to share more personal information. He was doomed.