This is set in the same universe as my story Cosima Scamander and the Chamber of Secrets and is the tale Tina tells her children over Christmas dinner. Please note this fic will be definitely be classed as AU: my Theseus will definitely not be going near Leta Lestrange; he's got Newt's back.

Newt Scamander watched the sun rise over New York with a content smile, his hands wrapped around a steaming mug of tea. He'd risen early, as always, to ensure that all the inhabitants of his now-infamous suitcase were fed, content and – most importantly – still where they ought to be.

He'd petted the mooncalves, chatted with the bowtruckles, smiled fondly at the enclosure which had housed the now-free Frank and had lost himself for a couple of hours in the all-encompassing love which swelled in his chest like a balloon whenever he was around his beloved creatures. No matter how celebrated and feted he had become following the Grindelwald incident, these fantastic beasts would always be his life's truest joy and his greatest purpose.

Now though, he sat by the window of his small flat and watched the cold winter sun slowly creep over the gargantuan, intimidating buildings of the New York skyline, bathing the concrete jungle with its warm orange glow.

It had been six months since Newt's first adventure in America had come to its dramatic conclusion and led to the capture of Gellert Grindelwald - anti-muggle fanatic and the darkest wizard of the age. Since then, he had returned to Britain and published the culmination of all his studies and travel: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. It had been an instant hit! To his bemusement and dismay, he'd become something of an instant celebrity; not a particularly rewarding circumstance for a man who wasn't all too keen on creatures of the human variety at the best of times.

After some weeks of being pestered for autographs any time he went to Diagon Alley, being hounded by reporters for quotes for the Daily Prophet, and being treated like a friend by witches and wizards who had never given him the time of day before, he decided that it was really only fair that he returned to New York. After all, hadn't he promised to deliver Tina Goldstein's copy of Fantastic Beasts in person? And didn't he owe it to Tina, Queenie and indeed MACUSA to try and help with the ongoing fallout of the incident he'd technically started when his niffler wreaked havoc on a bank? He'd made a mealy-mouthed explanation to his boss at the Ministry about wishing to study pukwudgies in greater depth and promptly boarded the boat back to New York.

Unused to people being genuinely pleased to see him, he'd been rather moved by the warm welcome he'd received from the Goldstein sisters (he blushed as he remembered Tina's enthusiastic hug), who had insisted that he stayed with them again. He couldn't possibly have imposed in such a manner though, and had consequently taken a small garret apartment reasonably near MACUSA and within walking distance of Jacob Kowalski's bakery.

He'd been overjoyed to find that his muggle friend had regained his memory – something that Tina and Queenie were taking care to keep from their colleagues at MACUSA – and the four of them had spent many happy hours over dinners at the Goldstein apartment or pastries at the bakery. Being liked, and what's more liking other people, was still such a novel experience for Newt and he found himself basking in it like a child at Christmas.

His treatment in MACUSA was much more enjoyable this time around as well. Madame Picquery had actually apologised to him and Tina for their close call with death, and he found that he was treated with no small degree of respect by many of the aurors and administrators. Percival Graves – the real one, who had been discovered shortly after Grindelwald's incarceration – had become a good friend.

It was, in short, the happiest period of Newt's life and if he could only move his mother and his brother to New York too, he would have absolutely nothing in the world to wish for!

The sun was climbing steadily higher now, soaring into the air like a phoenix and bringing with it the flurry of movement in the streets below that signalled that all those without a hoard of magical creatures to care for were now up and about.

Stretching like a contented nundu, Newt drained the last of his tea, vanished his mug and then donned his coat. He checked Pickett was secure in his pocket, grabbed his case and then headed down the stairs and into the streets to buy breakfast from his favourite muggle.

He was just finishing a delicious pastry shaped like a niffler and filled with orange crème patissière when he bumped into Tina and Queenie at the entrance to MACUSA.

"Newt, hey!" Tina smiled brightly at him and Newt felt a pleasurable warmth spread through his chest at the sight of her. Tina had such a lovely smile. He wished he could see it always; wished he could get up the courage to hell her how he really felt, but the very thought made his throat close up in alarm. When he'd returned to New York, he'd secured Queenie's promise that she would never try to read his mind. That was turning out to be rather a relief, given the amount of time he found himself thinking about her sister.

He felt a blush creeping into his cheeks and hurriedly snapped himself out of it, realising that he had actually missed part of what Tina had been saying while they had been walking into the grand entrance hall of MACUSA.

"…and you were right, the leads we've got have indicated that Thunderbird trafficking is still going on. Mr Graves is going to give us an update – he said to go to his office as soon as we arrived."

Newt and Tina parted ways from Queenie, who strolled off towards her own team, and got into the elevator to travel up to the floor which housed the auror's offices. Tina, much to Newt's pride, had been rightfully restored to the office she had occupied before her demotion, which she shared with a tall, friendly Latino man called Martinez. It had become a familiar place now, after so many weeks in New York, and was generally the place in which Newt based himself when he was in MACUSA.

The elevator doors sprang open and Newt and Tina started off down the corridor, still deep in conversation about Thunderbirds. They were unexpectedly stopped however by one of the Auror department's secretarial staff.

"Hey, Mr Scamander, there's a letter arrived for you this morning from England," said the woman cheerfully, handing over an envelope. Newt took it, a little puzzled – only a handful of people know that he had gone to New York, and he certainly wasn't expecting much by the way of correspondence. He peered curiously at the parchment before he spotted the neat, even handwriting that was almost as familiar to him as his own.

The letter was from his big brother.

Newt felt fervent relief course through him. He'd hoped to see Theseus when he was back in Blighty, but his brother had been in deep cover on a months-long mission in Austria, trying to crack Grindelwald's inner circle alongside Patroclus Janvier, the French ministry's chief auror. However, if Theseus was now able to write to him, it must mean that he was now safely returned home.

It had been disappointing to have missed him; Newt and Theseus were as close as brothers could be, and always had been so. At Hogwarts, though he'd never fitted in, few people had been brave enough to be actively unkind to Newt when his fierce elder brother had been around to protect him – especially after that incident when one of the meaner Slytherins had locked him in a quidditch equipment cupboard in his second year. How Theseus had not lost his prefect badge after he'd broken Gaius Avery's nose in the muggle fashion and had to restrained by his friends before he could do worse, Newt had never quite found out!

It was thanks to Theseus that he even had a job in the ministry in the first place – having been expelled from Hogwarts before you could sit your OWLs didn't really endear one to employers! Theseus, freshly back from the War in France and covered in glory thanks to his actions on the Somme, had made enquires with the Department of Magical Creatures and the Ministry had been unable to refuse the hero of the hour.

The letter was a fairly brief one.

Dear Newt,

Just got back from my mission in Austria and hoped to catch up, but I find you're now the Prophet's flavour of the month and have since buggered off back across the pond!

Got the letter you left for me, and frankly you can be glad you were out of throttling distance when I read it. I came this close to sending a howler! HOW DO YOU MANAGE TO KEEP GETTING INTO THESE INSANELY DANGEROUS SITUATIONS?! I mean, you've gotten yourself into some pretty bloody daft scrapes in the past, but getting sentenced to death and duelling the darkest wizard of our age in a single day takes the cake even for you!

Since you've run off to New York again, I will have to come and catch up with you over there. Have got a few weeks leave from the Ministry and they want me to drop off some classified documents to MACUSA anyway. I should be arriving on 4th of December.

Try not to get into any more trouble before I get there!

Theseus

Ah, yes. There it was – the one bone of contention in the brothers' relationship. Theseus, while always Newt's biggest supporter, was decidedly not fond of the way in which his brother seemed to attract danger. Why on earth had he been silly enough to write down a full, detailed account of all the danger he'd been through? Merlin's beard, Theseus was going to kill him. And the fourth of December was just two days away...

"Newt, is everything ok?" asked Tina anxiously. "You've gone kinda pale!"

"Oh no," Newt groaned, more to himself than to Tina. "I am in so much trouble!"