What Could Have Been...

The Message

Newt and Tina have been exchanging letters frequently since they parted ways at the docks in France and they have established a close friendship sharing more of their daily encounters and emotions with each other little by little. Almost 6 months have passed since they had seen each other last and many things had happened since then about which they eagerly wrote to one another. 

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Newt was just drinking his cup of tea in the morning, which he always had after he tended to his creatures in the morning, when he heard a gentle knock on his kitchen window. The guest was a brown great horned owl with a white mark on its forehead, it was Athena, Tina's bird, he recognised instantly. He jumped up from the wooden chair he was sitting on and opened the glass so the bird could fly in and he could take the package. He disentangled the envelope attached to its legs and let the owl rest up in his apartment.

He was overjoyed every day when he received Tina's letter because reading her sentences made him feel connected to her even though they were an ocean apart. Brushing his finger on her elegant handwriting "To Newt Scamander" on the back of the envelope he unfolded the paper with anticipation and started reading.

Dear Newt,

I'm very glad to hear that you were finally able to release Blaze back into the wild, I'm sure he is excited to soar high in the skies again. It is all thanks to you, and you should take the credit for it, because you invested a lot of time in his recovery.

Now, as for my work, it hasn't been too busy this week. The most exciting part was when I had to obliviate a group of no-majs because some reckless wizard forgot to look around before apparating. Obviously, they were quite confused when he disappeared but luckily this happened near MACUSA as I was leaving my office so I stepped in and cast the spell before things could get out of control. Anyways, other than this it's only been paperwork. There has been no action in terms of the Grindelwald case as he has been silent ever since Paris. Our investigating team is not resting though, we have been working hard on locating him. Alas, we did not have much luck so far. I'll make sure to update you when we know more.

Also, I visited Jacob again this morning, he is still quite sorrowful over Queenie, and talking to him over these months has helped both of us. He said that I am handling it surprisingly well, but the truth is that's because I've been focusing on my work and trying not to dwell too much on other things. He made sure to tell me that I gave you his greetings and he says he misses you dearly. His pastries just keep getting better, the Zouwu-shaped ones became the latest bestseller. You have to try it if you're ever in New York!

And how have you been lately? How is the second edition of your book coming along? I hope your days have been somewhat more eventful than mine.

I miss you a lot!

Yours sincerely,

Tina

"I miss you a lot" Newt read the words again and a smile formed on his face. He certainly missed her a lot as well. But wasn't she still dating an Auror named Tolliver? Though she never mentioned him in her letters, according to Queenie they were an item when Tina was in Paris. He quickly tried to get rid of the negative thought. All things considered, Tina and him were only friends and that was more than enough for him. Although he realised he did think about Tina more than he would have thought about any of his other friends or even Leta. Nevertheless, he couldn't quite understand what his feelings towards the American Auror meant.

Picking up a scroll of paper he was about to begin writing his response when a tiny bird slammed onto the table in front of him. It was a miniature owl that appeared to be quite exhausted as it was struggling to get up after the not-so-elegant landing. A second later Newt noted that a small envelope was knotted onto its legs and with curiousity he detached the parcel.