For the Houses Competition. Please note that I know the logistics of this story would be a nightmare in reality and that I also know nothing about how fast boat travel is. Be gentle on me, it was too much research to get it exactly right.
House: Ravenclaw
Year: 6
Category: Standard
Prompt: Travelling around the world
Word count: 1308
Newt had always loved travelling. Wizards so often felt confined to their own countries, either put off by the complications of magical cross-country travel, or too afraid to use Muggle transport lest they get caught. Newt, though, loved to travel with the Muggles. He found it far simpler than having to go through the Ministry's many levels of bureaucracy to get a travel permit which he'd probably be denied anyway, given his track record. Besides, although Muggle trains or boats were undeniably much slower than Floo powder or Apparating, they were calming, in a way. No one stared at him suspiciously or looked at his case with disgust because, to them, he was just another traveller. It was...freeing.
In any case, Muggle transport was really the only way he was ever going to be able to get on with his business without the Ministry interfering in one way or another. He hadn't technically done anything illegal yet, but Newt knew he would always be on their radar, not least for being expelled from Hogwarts despite Dumbledore's many arguments in his favour.
Of course, it didn't help that Theseus worked there, and so would always be able to keep an eye on him, but Newt supposed that he had turned a blind eye to some of Newt's more...interesting expeditions. There had been that time with the dragon in Catalonia, and of course when he'd accidentally let loose some Cornish Pixies in Venice.
Perhaps it was useful to have a brother in the Ministry after all.
The blasting of the ship's horn alerted Newt to the fact that they were almost at his first destination. He'd managed to secretly plan a month away from England to run some errands of the utmost importance - first, to Munich where he'd heard rumours of a branch of Bowtruckles coming under threat. Next, Denmark, where a group of Red Caps were wreaking havoc on some unsuspecting Muggles. And, finally, to Arizona, where Frank could at last go back home.
Newt hadn't really known all that much about Germany before he'd left, but quick glances at some Muggle newspapers before he had left on his trip caused him to realise that perhaps this wasn't the best time to be travelling here. Especially not for an English wizard. On the face of it, it didn't really seem all that bad, but Newt had a bad feeling about the place, and he'd learned to trust his feelings.
He tried to keep his head down as he wandered the streets whilst still keeping an eye out for any potential Bowtruckle hideouts. Eventually, after a few hours of searching (Bowtruckles were notoriously difficult to find) and several near misses with some annoyed Germans (he really must learn to pay attention to people when he walked), Newt spotted a small copse of trees next to a river - perfect for Bowtruckles.
Newt approached quietly, watching closely for any sign of movement. He found none but, fortunately, Pickett, who had been riding around in his breast pocket almost since he had first found him, jumped up onto his shoulder and started tugging at his collar. Newt looked down and noticed him pointing excitedly to a tree to their left. Newt smiled and headed in that direction, making sure to tread softly so that he wouldn't scare the Bowtruckles or make them think he was attacking their home. They could get very aggressive when they wanted, and Newt didn't want to get on the wrong side of a Bowtruckle.
Not again, he thought fondly, sparing another glance at Pickett.
The Bowtruckles, when he eventually found them, were all huddled together on one branch. They had been wary of Newt when they first saw him, one of them even threatening him with his clawed hands, despite his many promises that he wasn't going to hurt them. They only warmed up to him when they spotted Pickett on his shoulder, then allowing themselves to be moved into the nest Newt had set up in the case.
He left Pickett down there to get his new friends settled, painfully conscious of needing to be on his way shortly. Much as travelling with Muggles had many benefits, it was also often frustratingly slow, and the trip from Denmark to America would mean he would need to stop off in England first. The boat was also docking in New York, meaning Newt would have to find another way to get to Arizona if he wanted to let Frank loose there.
He could only hope that his jobs in Denmark and America would go as smoothly as this one had.
He found the Red Caps terrorising the area where the Battle of Dybbøl had taken place in 1864. Thousands had died and been injured, which made it the perfect Red Cap territory. Fortunately, they hadn't inflicted any great damage by the time Newt got there, mostly just tripping a few Muggles and destroying some people's flowerbeds. He managed to subdue them with a few well-aimed spells, although he took great care not to actually harm any of them. Red Caps, while nuisances, were just like every other creature Newt had come across in the respect that they didn't deserve to be killed or hurt because of their nature.
It took just a few minutes for the Red Caps to slink back into their holes, with a stern warning from Newt not to do anything like this again. He expected that their promises they wouldn't would only hold for a couple of years or so before they were back to being menaces to the poor Danish citizens of Dybbøl, but at least it was something. Besides, Newt would be glad to come back here in the future. It really was quite lovely.
The journey to America was long, but Newt managed to entertain himself by marvelling at the wonders of Muggle transport. No matter how many times he used it, he would never quite get over how intricate and clever their engineering was. It really was amazing how they managed to live without magic.
He also found the motion of the ship on the water quite calming, a welcome relief after his worries travelling through England again. He'd been anxious that he would get seen by someone from the Ministry, perhaps even Theseus, and then all his plans would have gone up in smoke. He might have gotten away with just going to Germany and Denmark, but Newt knew they wouldn't like his plans for America, and not even his brother would be willing to give him a pass this time.
Nevertheless, he'd arrived on the boat undetected, and now his goal was in sight, the New York dock beginning to become clear on the horizon. Newt smiled and went the grab his case, then frowned in annoyance as he noticed the clasp had popped open again. It had been doing that more and more lately, probably because even Undetectable Extension Charms had their limits and Newt was rather pushing them, but he hoped that setting Frank free would somewhat help that problem.
Half an hour later, the ship docked and Newt wandered into New York City. It was so incredibly different to everything he was used to in England, and he hoped that Arizona would be less crowded than this. Frank needed open plains, not busy streets.
Newt was just about to find arrangements to travel to Arizona when he got distracted by the women on the steps of the bank. So distracted, that he didn't notice one of the Nifflers escaping until it was too late, and all hell had already broken loose.
He should have known his travels had been going too smoothly. Newt took off after the Niffler, and prayed that whatever happened, it wasn't so bad that the Ministry would hear about it.
