Credence didn't know what he was doing here.

Actually, by all accounts, he didn't know what he was doing alive.

He didn't know how, under God's grace, he survived what happened underneath New York's subway station and he didn't know how — or when — he arrived on this massive ship leaving New York. His memories were filled with nothing. Nothing except raging wisps of darkness until, suddenly, he found himself staring at the sun setting in the horizon.

He was on a boat.

A boat leaving New York.

A boat leaving America.

A boat taking him God only knows where.

Nausea bubbled wickedly within the pit of his empty stomach. Had one of the witches or wizards from the subway transfigured his belly into a cauldron? If they had, surely they must have been brewing something evil.

Credence had never left American soil before. He'd never even ventured outside his own neighborhood.

The only ocean he knew wasn't the Atlantic.

No, it was that greedy parasite that had somehow burrowed within him without his knowledge, suckling on his magic like a newborn babe. It suffocated him. Drowned his existence underneath a swirling sea of endless night with no escape. Trapped inside those raging waters, Credence had nothing — no one — except himself.

And he wasn't exactly pleasant company.

Swallowing thickly, Credence averted his eyes to the dull reflection captured within the old leather of his shoes.

He nearly laughed at what he saw. His hand-me-downs were in better condition than the tatters that were his own life. He was homeless. Penniless. He had no friends that he could rely on (although, Credence admitted to himself, that wasn't new) and his mentor had betrayed him. His family had been torn apart and his mother—

Credence gripped the ship's railing tightly, focusing his attention on the receding skyline of New York and not on— Not on that.

Instead, his thoughts wandered in the direction of something far less disturbing: he had nearly died.

If he was being perfectly honest with himself, a part of him had died. He was a monster amongst monsters. A creature that even the wicked feared.

A pathetic whimper nestled in his throat, making itself at home with his despair. He closed his eyes tight enough to see stars flickering on the backs of his eyelids. Credence's ever-tightening grip on the rails turned his knuckles bone white.

Credence loved magic.

Loved it like nothing else found in this imperfect yet beautiful world. He knew that it was sinful. Knew that it was wrong. Knew that it went against God's design.

And yet… something unspoken, unnamed, had pulled him into the direction of witches and wizards and underneath Mr. Graves' guiding hand. He had been content with becoming a member of the Damned because he had been happy. He had purpose. He had belonged.

But, he didn't, did he? Belong amongst such wonders.

He didn't deserve to be alive. He was the Devil's Spawn: an unholy demon forged in the depths of Hell. His only purpose was to spread death and chaos to everyone that crossed his path. There was no magic in his world.

The rails cracked around his hands — the metal bars bending and snapping underneath the incredible weight of his untrained power.

And as he watched New York disappear behind the horizon, Credence sobbed.


It wasn't often that Newt Scamander found himself speechless.

Breathless? Of course, many times.

He was often enraptured and awed by his magical creatures to the point where his lungs could scarcely function and his legs gave way underneath him. There were times when even his tongue glued to the top of his mouth rendering speech near impossible. Nevertheless, he still managed to continue the day uninhibited.

But, shocked so hard to the core that he was rendered without thought or reason?

Today was the first for that.

Gripping tightly onto his beloved briefcase to keep himself from dropping it, Newt silently stared with his mouth agape. There, on the ship's edge—

Credence.

It wasn't much of a surprise per se that the poor, unfortunate Obscurial that was Credence Barebone had survived. Back underneath that wretched subway, Newt had spotted (and, conveniently, not mentioned) something peculiar. A curious wisp of gray slinking away as if it still possessed some form of consciousness keen on nothing else except its continued survival.

He wasn't sure how it was possible. The Obscurus had all but been obliterated but... somehow, he just knew it wasn't going to be last time he saw Credence.

However, Newt hadn't expected to find him here.

If Newt had learned anything from his creatures, though, he knew that now wasn't the time to approach. So soon after what happened, he'd likely only scare the poor boy off.

So, instead, Newt forced himself to pivot on his heel and return downstairs to his cabin.

He wouldn't mind catching up on his work. There were enrichments that he had to assemble for his creatures. Not to mention getting ahead on their meal preparation for the long journey ahead. There was always something he could find to do where the care of his beasts was concerned.

But just as he was becoming lost in his thoughts, something caught his eye and a wondrous, fantastically splendid idea sprouted. Even though he knew he couldn't — shouldn't — approach Credence right now... perhaps he could send something his way that would—

Well, it wouldn't fix anything.

But hopefully it could cheer the boy up… even for just a moment.


Credence was doing everything within his power to keep himself from falling apart.

He cried for the life he had lost. He cried for everything that he had done. He cried for everything that had happened to him. But, most of all, he cried because he didn't know what was to come next. He was alone and didn't have anyone to rely on for guidance.

He had never had that type of freedom before. Or was that freedom a curse?

The rails continued to warp underneath his grasp. It twisted and curled into and around itself until, what used to be a protective row of metal bars, resembled a piece of abstract art more than it did as an integral part of the transatlantic ship.

His magic extended forward. It rippled the water underneath the propellers, causing the ocean to boil and churn and rock so violently that Credence nearly fell overboard.

Credence felt the Obscurus within him reacting to his pain. It gorged on his despair and the power, however deplenished it may have been, that emanated from some invisible core hidden deep inside his soul.

A small part of him realized that he needed to calm himself down lest he do something rash. Something… destructive.

But he didn't know how.

As if sent by God from the Heavens itself, he felt a sudden fluttering against his hands. Credence froze and cautiously lifted his head.

It was just a butterfly.

A pretty, ivory-colored butterfly gently resting against his knuckles.

Slowly, Credence uncurled his hands from its death grip. Cautiously, bit by bit, he opened his palms, the half-moons of his scars bared to the world.

The butterfly fluttered inside.

It wasn't a real butterfly at all; although, it certainly moved like one. It was charmed with magic. Simply paper made to move and think like a butterfly.

For half a second, Credence's heart skipped a beat. There was a witch on this ship. A witch that knew who and what he was. A witch that had deliberately sent this abomination—

He froze.

If the paper butterfly was an abomination, then what was he?

Credence stared at the butterfly cupped within his hands and thought it over. If it had been sent by one of the people who had tried to kill him—

Nonsense.

They would've tried to kill him already. His guard was down. They could have easily taken him by surprise and finished what they started in that subway.

No, this magical creature... was sent by an ally. A friend?

Credence's eyes widened.

He turned to search for the witch or wizard who sent this and found—

No one.

No one was there.

But, Credence suspected, that he was not alone.


Greetings, my loveliest lovelies and darling-iest darlings ! I'm your author, Frankie, and I'm honored to present to you my first fic on here in about a half a decade ! I first got my start here on Fanfiction, and everything has changed since then, so who knows whether I'll be staying here or posting exclusively on Ao3? Either way, I'm very excited to be cross-posting my fics here to reach a broader audience. Technically this fic has already reached its completion on Ao3, but since I'm currently editing, I thought it'd be fun to post it chapter-by-chapter here !

Please leave your comments and constructive criticisms below ! All comments, big and small, are welcome here !

I am also edelweissroses on Ao3 and darthpricklypear on Tumblr.