Chapter 144: It's Almost Christmas
This morning, after organizing things at our camp for our absence, Elise and I used my [Travel] ability to reach the Scamander house. Newt was waiting for us there, as we had informed him of our arrival, to welcome us.
Tina was also waiting for us with breakfast prepared. Despite telling her not to bother and that we had already eaten, we had to finish it anyway. After eating, the couple gave us a tour of their house, at least the areas where Elise could fit.
I had been here several times for my studies, but not like this. I hadn't really explored much before, and I didn't realize how big this place is. I should have guessed, we're talking about Newt himself.
There were various creatures here and there, from large to small. In addition to researching and learning about them, Newt took care of and treated them, so calling him a kind of magical veterinarian wouldn't be entirely wrong, but not entirely accurate either.
In addition to a fairly large plot of land, Newt had his own workspace where he provided special care for the fantastic beasts. I didn't see his suitcase, but I'm sure it must be somewhere.
We also saw a bit of the interior of the house, which seemed more like Tina's territory. I suppose that's how they divide things between them: the yard and workshop for Newt, and the rest of the house for Tina. It's logical, I have no doubt that Newt would fill the house with animals if it were up to him.
Elise admired the entire place with curiosity. Although she has become familiar with human things thanks to me, she rarely saw the inside of houses like this. Along the way, she asked me if we would also have a house like this in the future and what she needed to learn to not make mistakes.
I had to calm her down; she seemed to take the idea of learning to live the human life in order to stay by my side very seriously. The couple didn't understand what we were talking about since we hadn't yet laid down the pillars, but they could tell that Lys seemed nervous. I briefly explained what was going on without going into too much detail, and they also offered her comfort.
At the end of this initial light tour, they took me to a room in the house where I was supposed to stay. However, when I realized it was a common room where I couldn't be with Elise, I immediately rejected that option. Both of them also realized the mistake.
Except for some small animals, creatures don't usually rest inside the house and have their own habitats in the backyard. They also didn't think we would have so much trouble sleeping apart. Sometimes they forgot that we weren't just a unicorn and a strange child, but a couple.
There was a slight discussion about what to do in this situation. I offered to sleep outside with Elise, Newt wanted to modify the room to make it suitable for both of us, and Tina was in favor of us spending some time apart, even if it was just for sleeping.
In reality, I think Tina wanted to keep us slightly separated. It wasn't about breaking the bond between Elise and me, but rather about keeping a young couple in separate rooms to avoid any awkward situations.
She wouldn't deny that we loved each other, as she had witnessed it and could even sense it at first sight. However, even though she had given us "the talk" and knew we were serious about that matter, she wasn't comfortable with the idea of an 11 or 12-year-old child and their magical creature couple having so many possibilities to explore that aspect. It wasn't just about a relationship between different species, but also about the issue of age.
In the end, Newt partially won. The room would be slightly modified, but there would also be a place in the backyard for us to use. It was something acceptable to everyone, I believe. Anyway, we didn't plan on spending much time here.
Once settled, while talking with Newt, I took care of setting up the pillars so that Elise could communicate. Newt explained what he did here and also asked about these portable pillars and if it would be possible to use them on other creatures, which would be a discovery of astronomical proportions.
We discussed it a bit. The pillars themselves are not expensive, but what is needed to make them work is the ritual magic that I use. That piqued our curiosity, so we wanted to investigate if it would be possible for me to teach those rituals.
In my mental library, I had countless rituals, some of which had specific requirements, including ones that only wizards could perform, but I was interested in the others.
So we delved into a deep magical research on rituals. We immersed ourselves so much in that research that Tina had to forcefully stop us and bring us home for lunch.
Throughout the rest of the day, Newt and I continued the research as much as we could, but we were interrupted by Tina. She scolded us for spending these festivities working and for the fact that this was the first time Elise and I were visiting their house.
Elise wasn't very happy either that I was so absorbed in the research. She didn't have a problem in our own home, but this place was unfamiliar to her, and she didn't feel at ease without me being attentive to her.
Nevertheless, she was more focused on learning about human life. After getting the crystals to work, she spent most of her time with Tina, trying to learn everything she could. Tina seemed very surprised by that, but when she heard the reason, she took Elise with her to teach her everything.
...
We had arrived at the Scamander house several days before Christmas, as Tina had requested, so we had plenty of time for various things, but the circumstances changed.
With Elise eager to learn, Tina changed the plans to make this Christmas even bigger than planned. In addition to the time she allowed Newt and me for research, the rest of the time we had to take care of many Christmas activities.
With Newt, I traveled to various places to get ingredients and gifts for the guests who would come. We visited Diagon Alley and other magical parts across Europe.
Newt had several acquaintances everywhere, and, as Tina wanted, we had to send letters, greetings, and gifts personally. It wasn't bad, the old man is kind and charismatic in his own way. He always introduced me kindly to others, hoping that I would establish connections while enjoying the trip.
Meanwhile, Tina was teaching Elise about customs and cooking... oh God, the cooking... I'm sure both Newt and I gained several pounds in these few days. I don't know how Tina managed to help Lys cook, but the amount of different dishes we tasted every day, prepared by both of them, was overwhelming.
I won't deny that I had a good time; it was something different from what Elise and I were used to. She experienced a lot of stress from being so focused, but my caresses and congratulations for each of her achievements made her jump with joy, infecting all of us.
The only thing that didn't satisfy me at all was that Tina forced me to continue with my lessons during these days.
...
Elise and I were decorating the house without magic, unlike the Scamander couple. Almost everything was ready for the celebration; it wasn't Christmas yet, but it was just around the corner, and today the first guests would also arrive.
I wouldn't have my study session today, luckily, and I could spend some alone time with Elise, something we didn't have much of. Even though we had only been here for less than two weeks, Elise had learned a lot and... she tries. She still has some issues with human common sense, but that's what I love about her.
We had lunch like every day, but both Newt and I, who were guinea pigs for our wives' cooking, didn't enjoy it as much as in the beginning. We simply ate and hoped that what was on our plate would be the only thing we had to swallow.
It got late, and the guests arrived. They were Newt and Tina's children, along with their respective partners and children. We watched as they affectionately greeted the elders, but as we understood, they had three children: two boys and a girl. It seems that the youngest son would arrive directly for Christmas.
The Scamander couple's children were Elian, Aurora, and Griffin. All three had their own lives, whether here in Great Britain or in the United States, but they still came to spend Christmas with them most of the time. Some of them would come with their own children as usual, but so far I haven't seen Rolf... Luna's supposed future husband. Perhaps he hasn't been born yet or he is the child of that son who hasn't arrived yet.
The family gathering was very affectionate and pleasant until the visitors discovered that there was a unicorn in the room alongside a very red child.
Newt and Tina's grandchildren were neither too young nor too old, but they were still fascinated by Elise and approached her, making her nervous and causing me to intervene by standing between them. They seemed very comfortable with magical creatures in their grandparents' homes.
Both Aurora and Elian thought their father had brought another creature to the house, as was common during their childhood, but they soon realized it wasn't the case when Elise spoke. This left the children in awe and surprised their parents a bit.
Newt and Tina introduced both parties, and the newly arrived Scamander family was amazed to see that both the red-haired child and the unicorn were guests for this Christmas.
I did my best to introduce myself alongside my partner, although not as such, but I didn't like so much attention. The children were astonished by Elise and the fact that she could speak, and she hid behind me, using me as a shield while sighing.
With a bit of tea and cookies, everything improved. Newt had time to explain, and although it seemed very strange to them at first, a scolding from Tina made both adults lower their heads and try to be as cordial as possible.
Their children weren't much different in age than mine, so they quickly tried to strike up a conversation with me and Elise. It wasn't the first time they had seen a unicorn, but it was the first time they had seen one as beautiful as her and that could speak.
As I answered some of the children's questions, I also caught the attention of their parents. They found out that we lived in the Forbidden Forest, and they wondered what their father had gotten himself into this time.
Elise was the most affected by this; she wasn't used to having the attention of so many unfamiliar people, but she handled it quite well. She made her introductions as Tina had taught her and also answered most of the questions. In case she couldn't or didn't feel confident, she asked me for help.
Another surprise the visitors had was when night fell. This house was huge and had enough rooms for everyone, but they were very close to each other, so they saw Elise and me enter one.
They were curious but didn't ask; they had seen enough. Another "funny" thing about our room was that it had no soundproofing spell. Tina said it was in case of any "accidents" and to be alert to help, but that wasn't her true intention.
Inside the room, Elise and I talked during the night, just like possibly every couple in this house was doing right now. Lys asked me how her day went, and I congratulated her, which made her very happy and led to a playful kissing match. That intense smooching would have continued if we hadn't been interrupted by the third Scamander generation.
It seems they were more curious than I thought, and they came to talk to us now that their parents were sleeping. I wouldn't shoo them away; I didn't want to complicate things before Christmas, so I would indulge them and talk to them for a while... This was going to be a long night.