Love is Patient

Chapter 27

Modesty looked up from the book she and Credence were looking through. "What's a Patronus?"

Newt looked up and ran his fingers through his hair. "A Patronus is a complicated, powerful defensive charm. It usually takes the shape of an animal."

"What animal?"

"It depends on the personality of the person casting the spell." Newt gave Modesty a tired smile before returning to his work. 

It wasn't usual for Tina to be on a mission without Newt, but sometimes she was assigned to go on a mission that didn't involve magical creatures and would have to work with other Aurors. This was one of those times. She had left two days before and Newt wasn't sure when she would be back.

Newt sighed and started working again. He was exhausted. He had been in the office for the majority of the day and he hadn't slept well the night before. He was glad it was almost time to go home.

A few minutes later, Newt set the finished paper on the stack of papers he had finished and stood up.

"Let's go home." He led Credence and Modesty out of the building and apparated them all home. Setting his case down,  he sank into the couch and sighed. 

They had been living in the house for just over two months, but today, it felt empty. Credence and Modesty had gone upstairs, but what really made the difference was that Tina wasn't there. Of course, she didn't live in the house, but she spent much of her time there and had occasionally fallen asleep on the couch.

Newt pushed himself up climbed into his case. He went around and fed all his creatures. He paused longest by the Niffler. It had gotten loose in the morning and had raided the living room. Thankfully, Newt had caught it before it got to the rest of the house.

The Niffler was busy arranging different shiny things in his den. It reached down into its pouch and pulled out a ring. Newt recognized it as a ring that Tina had lost a few weeks ago. He managed to pry it out of the Niffler's paws, before looking through the den and taking out any jewelry that belonged to Tina or Modesty. He let it keep the coins though.

Newt returned to his shed and started organizing papers on his workbench. A copy of his book lay among the papers. He picked it up and realized it was Tina's. The pages were filled with her notes and folded pieces of paper and parchment, covered in drawings of Newt's creatures. Many of them were Occamies, some of them moved, but all of them were beautifully done.

Setting the book down and climbing out of the case, Newt pulled the pile of jewelry out of his coat pocket. He realized the ring wasn't with it so he reached down into his pocket and felt around for it. Feeling something round, he pulled it out of his pocket. It was a quarter-sized piece of an Occamy eggshell. He set it down with the rest of the jewelry and shoved his hand back into his pocket. He finally found the ring and pulled it out.

He examined the ring and was reminded of a thought that had been at the back of his mind for a couple weeks. Newt had gotten so used to having Tina around, especially since Queenie had left and she had spent much of her time in Newt's house. He had begun to think of her less as a friend, or even a girlfriend, and more as a part of his family. 

He wanted her to be part of his family, but every time he looked at her, he felt like maybe she didn't want that. However, now that she wasn't around, he knew that he was just telling himself that because he was nervous.

Newt's eyes traveled to the little piece of Occamy eggshell laying on the table. His mind was made up.

"Credence," Newt stood in the door of Modesty's bedroom. "Modesty." 

Credence and Modesty looked up from their spot on the floor. They were playing a card game.

Newt shifted slightly. "I'm going to go out for a little. I should be back soon."

Leaving the house, he disapparated and made his way to a jewelry store. The jewelry store was the same one that he and the Niffler had wrecked on his first trip to New York. He had chosen to go there specifically because he felt bad for destroying everything and wanted to pay for even the tiniest bit of the destruction. 

Newt wandered around the store, looking at the different rings. He made his way to the counter and noticed a small pile of misshapen jewelry. 

The man behind the counter came up to Newt. "Good afternoon," he said.

Newt looked up. "Good afternoon."

"Wait . . ." The man took a closer look at Newt. "Are you Newt Scamander?"

Newt started. "How do you know me?"

The man extended his hand. "I'm Gerald Peterson. I've read your book. I really enjoyed it."

Newt shook Peterson's hand. "You've read my book?" It took Newt a moment to realize what that meant. He lowered his voice. "Are you a wizard?"

"Yes, I am."

"Oh. In that case, I can properly apologize."

"Apologize for what?"

"Three years ago, in December, there was a morning when you came here and found your shop completely destroyed. Am I correct?"

The man looked surprised. "Was that you?"

"Yes -- uh -- my Niffler --" Newt paused. "Sorry. When I first visited New York, my Niffler got loose -- well a lot of my creatures got loose. Anyway, while looking for them, I found the Niffler in this store and I ended up smashing up your shop. I'm sorry. I'm not usually that destructive. I was just in a hurry."

Peterson grinned. "It's not a problem. I was surprised, but nothing too valuable was missing and it was very quick to fix. Now, was there something specific you wanted?"

Newt felt himself blush slightly. "I -- uh -- I'm not really sure."

"I see. You know, if you're after a ring, and because you're Newt Scamander, I can make you a custom ring and it won't cost more than the cost of the materials."

Newt's blush deepened.

"Could you make a ring out of a piece of an Occamy eggshell?"

"That's silver, right?"

Newt nodded.

"Then, of course, I can. Do you have one?"

Newt pulled out the piece of shell and slid it across the counter. "I figured this would be enough for a ring."

"Yeah, it'll be enough. Do you want it to have any stones?"

Newt nodded again. Peterson gave him a handful of the misshapen rings and instructed him to pick the gems he wanted. Newt sorted through the rings. He quickly found three diamonds that he liked: two small grey ones and one larger white one.

Peterson took the two rings that the stones were on and the piece of silver and went into the back of the shop. A few minutes later, he came out and handed Newt a beautiful silver ring.

Newt thanked Peterson and paid for the ring. He left the shop and apparated home. When he was back in his case, he pulled out the ring and examined it.

Oh, Tina. I hope I have the courage to give this to you and I hope you like it because I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.

I decided to add a picture of a ring that is similar to the one I imagined. Of course, I didn't bother trying to find one exactly like it but this is close. Just pretend the two stones on the sides are grey instead of white.