"Aunt Tina."
After Tom greeted her with his usual playful grin, Fleur offered a polite greeting of her own.
In terms of age, Tina could easily have been Tom's great grandmother. But given the chaos of generational titles on his side, Fleur simply followed his lead.
Tina smiled warmly. "Fleur, it's lovely to meet you. Tom mentions you often on WhatsApp. Welcome to our home."
She paused, then shot Tom a look. "Actually, you're here because of this rascal. From now on, treat this place as your own home. No need to be shy."
Her tone was not truly reproachful. It was more the faint helplessness of someone suddenly reminded of a certain young man's colorful romantic history.
Men like Newt were becoming rarer by the day.
Tom, having no idea what had earned him that glare, wisely chose to play dumb. Tina led them inside.
After asking Fleur a few questions about her background, Tina nodded to herself in quiet assessment.
Yes, there was a slight disadvantage in bloodline. No matter how stunning a half Veela might be, it was still considered a dilution of wizarding heritage in the eyes of many. Yet the Delacour family had been established in France for three centuries and had not declined. Most importantly, the girl was composed and mature beyond her years.
Tina's mindset was hardly unusual in the wizarding world. Prejudice toward mixed blood ran deep, regardless of type.
She did not object to Fleur dating Tom.
But if one were to rank them…
Fleur would not be first.
Strangely enough, Tina felt a degree of goodwill toward the unseen Miss Greengrass. Pure blood. Proper status. A future that could provide Tom with solid support.
Tom, blissfully unaware that Tina had already begun arranging invisible seating charts for his future, would likely laugh himself breathless if he knew.
Daphne had nearly been spoiled rotten by him. She spent her days pouting and acting cute. Eldest sister material? Hardly.
After chatting for a while, the two women quickly grew familiar.
No matter the age, when women gathered together, gossip was inevitable. And what gossip was more explosive than the recent scandal of Rouse abducting Solenne?
Tom had already told Fleur the rough outline. Rouse and Solenne were both North American wizards from prominent families. Naturally, Tina had heard whispers. The two women grew increasingly animated until Tom could not help joining in.
"Aunt Tina, didn't Graves cause a scene with the Carusos? This wasn't just a slap to the face. It was practically a boot to the throat."
Even Tom had found it outrageous when he heard. Not loving Frank was understandable. Even having an affair after marriage was hardly unheard of. But running off openly with Rouse?
Rouse had not originally intended to flee far. He believed remaining in Britain would be safe. North American influence could not reach that far. Resign quietly and lie low for a while.
Tom, however, had insisted he go farther. Rouse was simply too chaotic. Watching him made one's head ache.
Next term, perhaps Lupin should take over. At least he was steady and unlikely to cause another international scandal.
"How could there not have been trouble?" Tina glanced at Tom before continuing eagerly. "There was nearly a duel. Twenty or thirty wizards from both families drew their wands. MACUSA sent dozens to mediate. If they had truly clashed, at least a few would have left in coffins, and a few more would have been buried quietly afterward."
"But then the heads of the two families handed over their wands, went into a bedroom, talked for half an hour, and came out reconciled."
"Reconciled?" Fleur's voice warped in disbelief. "How is that even possible? Did someone use the Imperius Curse?"
"You silly child." Tina patted her hand gently. "MACUSA's Aurors are not fools. They checked. Graves was not under control. The two families reached an agreement."
"Solenne Caruso's cousin became engaged to Frank. No, correction, they're already married. There was some monetary compensation. And most importantly, Solenne was expelled from the Caruso family."
Tom nodded in understanding. "That makes sense."
Expulsion from a pure blood family was no small matter in the wizarding world. Even Voldemort respected such measures.
Sirius Black had openly opposed him. Yet because the Black family had cast Sirius out, Voldemort never retaliated against the Blacks as a whole. He even treated Sirius's brother as a trusted subordinate, convinced to the very end of his loyalty.
No matter how furious the Graves family might be, their grievance would now fall solely upon Solenne. The Carusos as a whole were spared.
"And the Wilkinsons?" Tom asked, thinking of Rouse's family. "Did they just stand aside and watch?"
Tina shook her head. "Aside from two Aurors serving in the Ministry, the rest of the Wilkinsons retreated to the West Coast. Graves would not dare attack Ministry officials, and he cannot find the others. So he can only swallow his anger."
Tom clicked his tongue.
A family capable of producing someone like Rouse would naturally carry a streak of recklessness in their bloodline.
With the gossip thoroughly exhausted, everyone seemed satisfied.
Tina led Fleur upstairs to prepare the guest room. Tom returned to his own room for a much needed nap.
He only came downstairs near dinnertime.
Rouse was in Britain with his parents. Newt was still traveling, bringing back a rare magical beast. For now, only Tina was home. But that evening she invited her sister over for dinner.
It was Tom's first time meeting Queenie, the natural Legilimens.
Like Tina, time had softened but not diminished her beauty. Her temperament was even more elegant. Where Tina was fiery and straightforward, Queenie was gentle, sentimental, and quietly fragile.
"Aunt Queenie. Uncle Jacob."
Tom greeted them properly with Fleur at his side. He even summoned Grindelwald out to greet an old acquaintance.
There had once been no small measure of enmity between them.
Yet this time, Grindelwald did not spit venom as he had upon seeing Newt. Instead, his expression was complicated.
He had once genuinely valued Queenie's gift.
The ability to read minds was terrifyingly powerful. It allowed him to sense the direction of hearts, identify traitors within his ranks, and discern truth from deception with chilling ease.