More than a Friend (A Newtina Fanfic)

Part 18

For the next couple of days after Christmas,  things were going suspiciously well. And because of that, all the aurors at the Ministry were on edge. That night would be New Year's Eve, and they were all but certain Grindelwald would show up. They had gotten an anonymous tip, and though they did not normally trust anonymous tips, they were a bit desperate for anything. Any lead at all. The Wizarding World was growing more panicky by the day and something needed to be done. The annual Wizarding New Year's celebration was where they were told Grindelwald would strike. It seemed a likely target. Hundreds of wizards and witches would gather on top of Buckingham palace to watch fireworks. Magical fireworks, cloaked from muggles, of course. To not arouse suspicion, the aurors would join in the celebrations, while actually looking out for trouble. That was the direct command from the Minister, word for word. And then there were further instructions to dress appropriately, and things like that, from Theseus. Jacob and Nagini had no idea that there was a plan, as the aurors were to tell no one. Newt had at first protested against going - he hated parties and large gatherings of any sort - but he agreed once Tina told him the situation. Technically, she was breaking the rules by telling him, but she trusted him. Very much. Nagini changed into the silver dress she had gotten for Christmas, New Year's being the best opportunity to wear it. Tina was told to "blend in" in terms of what she was wearing, so she tapped her wand lightly to her blouse and turned it silver. The men wore bow ties. Newt's was a dark violet, and Tina remembered, with a small smile, that it was the exact same one from the Blind Pig. Jacob had packed snacks, even though they had eaten supper. You know, just in case. Pickett was in his regular spot, Newt's pocket, and was feasting on a cookie that Jacob gave him. It was way too big for him, almost the size of him, really. A collection of crumbs were surrounding Pickett's small mouth.
"Pickett, don't eat that entire cookie. You'll get a stomachache," Newt chastised. He got a rather loud raspberry in response. There was about one fourth of the cookie left, and Newt dutifully plucked it away from the bowtruckle. Pickett pouted, and disappeared in the dark grey of Newt's pocket. 
"Shall we?" Tina gestured towards the door. They apparated away, into what could or could not be a trap. No one was sure. 

They landed on the roof of Buckingham palace and were surrounded by people. Witches and wizards milled around, chatting, with bottles of butterbeer in hand. Silver and gold robes and outfits stood out, shimmering and glinting when hit by the light. It was quite a celebration. Tina started to search for the other aurors. Right away she saw Theseus standing by the table of butterbeer, and proceeded to walk over to him, with Newt, Jacob, and Nagini following.
"Theseus! We're here!" Tina called out. Theseus waved back, gesturing for them to come. As they got closer, Tina noticed that Theseus was talking two other aurors, a woman and a man. The woman was from MACUSA and the man was from the Ministry. 
"Hey, Tina!" The woman to the right of Theseus said, waving. 
"Nice to see you here, Kathleen! And you too, Hector," Tina said, making sure to pretend she didn't know that they would be at the celebration. They had to keep up appearances, of course. Jacob and Nagini grabbed butterbeer and walked over to the edge of the roof. Tina motioned for Newt to go follow Jacob and Nagini, and he did. She had to talk to the aurors. Once Jacob, Nagini and Newt were at a safe distance, the aurors began their conversation.
"Do you see anything suspicious?" Kathleen asked, jumping a little to see over Tina's head. Tina moved over. 
"Not particularly. But Grindelwald wouldn't be that obvious if he were to attack," Theseus answered. It made sense, but it was quite annoying. 
"How should we go about searching for Grindelwald? It can't be a proper investigation, or we shall frighten the people here," Hector added. 
"I say we should sort of wander around like most of the people here. That way we can keep an eye out for things. It won't be as efficient, but it's the best we can do," Tina said, and Theseus nodded. It was decided. Kathleen, Hector and Tina parted ways, and Theseus told the rest of the aurors, most of who were just coming in. Tina took a butterbeer, to further blend in. Also, butterbeer was quite tasty. As she walked around, she didn't see anything suspicious. The thing is, not seeing anything suspicious made things more suspicious. It was paradoxical, but it made sense. She passed by other aurors doing the same thing as her, and they casually and quickly greeted each other. It became a routine, but an effective one. No one suspected a thing.

It was becoming later in the evening. The breeze had picked up, and it was rather chilly. The heating spells intensified, so no one was freezing, but scarves were still tightened and hoods were still put up. Still nothing suspicious. Tina walked over to the edge of the roof, where Newt and Nagini were sitting, legs dangling just over a window. Nagini was asking questions to Newt, and it seemed as if it was on the topic of his baby nifflers. Jacob was standing just a little further ways from them, staring at the slightly cloudy night time sky. Tina could see it from the look on his face that he was thinking about Queenie. His face was melancholy and bitter, but trying to be joyful. Best to leave him alone for the time being. She joined Newt and Nagini, gracefully sitting down next to Newt. 
"How is socializing treating you?" Nagini asked.
"Meh," was all Tina replied with. 
"The fireworks will start soon. Have you seen anything interesting?" Newt asked, innocently. To Nagini, it was just, well, that, but Tina understood what he was trying to say, which was about the Grindelwald situation. She shook her head. Newt's face got slightly more panicked, though he concealed it very well. 
"I will leave you two lovebirds alone, and go see if I can cheer Jacob up," Nagini announced, standing up and walking over to Jacob. Newt and Tina significantly reddened and looked away from each other at the mention of them being called lovebirds.  
"We were told Grindelwald would be here, but he's not," Tina said to Newt. She was admittedly a little disappointed, because Grindelwald needed to be behind bars as soon as possible, and each moment he wasn’t was more time for him to harm the No-Maj and wizarding worlds. 
"Well, I doubt he would be here in the beginning. I think that, if he were to strike, he would do it when everyone would be distracted watching fireworks. So don’t beat yourself up about it,” Newt soothed, noticing she was becoming more agitated as the time went by. It wouldn’t calm down just anyone, that reassurance, but with Tina, it worked. Her shoulders, which had been tense the entire time, visibly relaxed. 
"Alright. I just want Grindelwald to be behind bars. And it's not happening soon enough," Tina said, sighing. 
"Tina. I know. But it'll happen eventually, and we just have to wait. Ok?" Newt said, taking Tina's hand. Tina gripped it, hard. It reminded her of when she and Queenie would do that with each other, after their parents died. It was reassuring to have someone there with you. Suddenly, a loud whooshing noise filled the air. The fireworks were starting. Tina shifted to sit closer to Newt, still clutching his hand. First, twin spirals of shimmering light traveled up, up, up, and exploded into a burst of light. Wizarding fireworks were truly spectacular, much better than the No-Maj versions. Next were fireworks that were shaped like things from the Wizarding World. There was a scarlet phoenix and a cobalt Cornish pixie,to name a few. Newt smiled appreciatively at the creatures displayed, always the magizoologist. Then came the more classic fireworks, large displays of silver and gold, showering over the audience with little sparks that made your skin tingle when touched by them. All throughout the display Newt and Tina held hands, almost subconsciously keeping their fingers intertwined. And for those ten minutes, Grindelwald was forgotten.

The fireworks had ended, and everyone was apparating home. But the aurors stayed. 
"Grindelwald isn't here."
"And this celebration is over."
"What do we do?" were the main things filling the air. Loud, panicky questions. Then, a hooded auror stood forward. 
"We were told that he would be here. And he wasn't. Doesn't that say something? We've scared him and his followers off. Or he won't attack because he knows how protected and secure the Ministry is. I think we're all overthinking this. Let's all calm down. We'll discuss it in tomorrow's meeting, alright?" The auror said. Everyone calmed down, except for Tina. She wasn't letting her guard down one bit, unlike the rest. The hooded figure was very persuasive, and everyone was falling for it. Maybe it was the desperation. It had to be. Tina would be keeping an eye out. Like Jacob with his snacks, just in case. 

A/N
Hi! For starters, I want to say that this chapter kinda sucks, I haven't been writing as well as I could be. Also, I want to apologize for being so late. Lately a lot of family stuff has been coming up, and I've had to muddle my way through it. Also, I'm going through a bit of writer's block, which isn't helping. So, again, I'm super sorry. Oh. And also, there might be grammatical errors. If there are, I'll fix them as soon as possible. Have a nice day!