Extended Summary:
Maebh had never met anyone like her before. She had been deserted by her Muggle parents when she was eleven and a half – when they found out she had magic. After she was found on the streets by Jacob and unofficially adopted into the Kowalski family, she made sure to keep her powers a secret. But now, fourteen years later, Jacob introduced her to Newt, Tina, and Queenie. People like her. Now somehow, with little-to-no experience of using magic outside of Tarot readings and general fortune telling, she needed to help them save New York from a dangerous entity. Maybe she would find friendship; perhaps she would finally find love with someone she didn't have to hide from. Her whole world was different now; the possibilities were endless.
Welcome to my fic!
Hi everyone, I haven't posted a fic in yeeaaars. I have given up on my only other fic for now after just one chapter. At the time, I was very young and inexperienced. I didn't know how to continue the story. Now, reading it back there are a few cringy things that I want to rewrite and change – so I'll probably do that once I finish this fic. I'm more experienced in writing now – I'm doing a Bachelor's degree in Creative Writing, so hopefully I'll be able to write a great fic here for all of you to enjoy!
This is a story about my OC, Maebh (pronounced 'Mayve' for those of you who have an internal voice as you read), in the Wizarding World. Maebh enters the story during the film 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' (the first film). Maebh is 25 at the start of this story and is the adopted sister of Jacob Kowalski (details of this and the rest of her history will be explained throughout the story of course, but just wanted to get this straight with you first, so you're not too confused).
We start our story about thirty minutes into the first film, with Newt, Jacob, Tina, and Queenie in T&Q's apartment when Jacob is suffering the effects of the Murtlap bite. This fic will follow the basic outline of the first Fantastic Beasts film, but obviously, there will be slightly different dynamics and character relationships because of Maebh – so I'd say this is a 'somewhat AU' story.
I wrote this chapter in one day (initially), so let me know if there are any mistakes to fix. I'll be scanning for them myself so you might get update notifications when I've just corrected an error.
This first chapter is mostly going to be retelling the film but with a few mentions of Maebh throughout. We probably won't meet her until Chapter Two; so if you want to, you can probably skip this first chapter; but I think it's worth reading anyway as you do find things out about her through the mentions of her in this chapter. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story. Please leave comments; I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Author's Notes:
- A linebreak within the story indicates a jump in time. This can represent a small or large gap, but essentially, it's not directly continuing from the last bit.
- I'd typically indent every paragraph after the first one, but doesn't let me do that. If anyone knows how - please let me know in the comments, thanks!
Chapter One
Jacob stumbled through the door of Tina's apartment, closely followed (and supported) by Newt and Tina after narrowly avoiding being caught by Tina's landlady. Jacob quickly noticed the floating clothes-horse in front of the fire, drying ladies' clothes in various shades of pink. Jacob chuckled softly, confused and delirious from the bite on his neck.
'Teeny, you brought men home.' Queenie's soft tones floated towards Jacob like a summer breeze from the next room.
'Gentleman, this is my sister.' Tina sounded a little frustrated about this fact, Newt thought. But he decided it was best not to press for details. Jacob, on the other hand, was perplexed as to why anyone would introduce this woman without a parade to back them up. Reading Jacob's mind, Queenie bit her lip. That was one of the more wholesome thoughts about meeting her she had encountered for a while.
'Wanna put something on, Queenie?' said Tina, as she removed her hat and coat.
'Oh, sure,' said Queenie, and with a gentle swish of her wand, the navy-blue dress on the mannequin next to her floated up and wrapped itself around her body. Jacob had not stopped staring at Queenie since he first heard her voice. As the dress slid up Queenie's arms, his mouth fell slightly open, in awe of her beauty.
'So? Who are they?' Queenie questioned Tina.
'This is Mr Scamander.' Said Tina, as she collected some items of clothing from the floating clothes-horse. 'He's committed a serious infraction of the national statute of secrecy.' Tina started to walk to where Queenie was.
'He's a criminal?' Queenie said. Intrigued, she stepped forward to the opening between the mahogany doors that normally separated the two rooms.
'Uh-huh,' said Tina, taking off her shoes. 'And that's Mr Kowalski; he's a No-Maj.' Jacob waved at Queenie nervously, unsure of the social norms of these people that did impossible things.
'A No-Maj?' Queenie looked at Tina. 'Tina, what are you up to?' She whispered.
'He's sick,' Tina said quietly. 'It's a long story.' Tina looked up at Jacob and Newt and spoke at a normal volume again. 'Mr Scamander has lost something I'm going to help him find.'
Seeing Jacob become unsteady, Queenie reads his mind. 'Oh, you need to sit down, honey!' She rushes forward to help him as he collapses onto the wicker sofa behind him. Queenie's face was the picture of concern. 'He hasn't eaten anything all day, and… Oh, that's rough. He didn't get the money that he wanted for his bakery.' Suddenly, Queenie's face was covered in an ear-to-ear grin. 'You bake, honey?' Jacob tried to respond, but no words came out. 'I love to cook,' said Queenie.
'You're a Legilimens,' said Newt, suddenly interested.
'Mm, yeah. But I always have trouble with your kind – Brits. It's the accent.' Queenie said.
Suddenly finding his words, Jacob spoke to Queenie. 'Uh- You know how to read minds?'
'Ah, don't worry honey. Most guys think what you was thinkin' first time they see me.' Queenie said, clasping her hands together. 'Now, you. Need. Food.' Queenie twirled around to the kitchen and started to cook. She levitated ingredients and combined them in the air with her wand. Tina set the table using hers. Jacob couldn't help but be mesmerised as he got up from the sofa and sat down at the table. Newt looked out the window and saw his Billywig hovering just outside. Realising that Jacob, Queenie, and Tina are all busy or distracted, Newt tip-toed towards the door with his suitcase. Hearing his thoughts, Queenie addressed him. 'Hey, Mr Scamander.' Newt stopped in his tracks, expecting her to ask where he's going. Instead, she asked a different question. 'You prefer pie or strudel?' Queenie beamed at him.
'I… really don't have a preference,' Newt said. He glanced up at Tina, who wore a face of disappointment and looked back to the ground again.
Queenie sensed the tension about Newt's attempted escape and kept on topic. 'You prefer strudel, huh, honey,' she said to Jacob, who nodded as he tucked a napkin into his collar, both happy and amazed at what was happening around him. 'Strudel it is,' said Queenie, and floated all the ingredients above the dining table for Jacob to watch as she made the strudel before his eyes. The pastry wrapped up all the ingredients, cooked itself to perfection, and floated down to the table. Jacob breathed in the glorious scent now coming from the strudel and sighed.
'Well, sit down Mr Scamander,' Tina instructed, leaning on the chair on the far side of the table. Sensing what she thinks is Newt's trepidation, she tries to reassure him. 'We're not gonna poison you.' Newt stood still at the door. His Bowtruckle, Pickett, peeped over his lapel, and quickly shrank back down, unnoticed by the others. Newt looked to Jacob, who very sharply indicated with his eyes to the empty seat, willing Newt to sit down.
After they had finished their strudel, Queenie talked about her job at MACUSA. 'The job ain't that glamourous, I mean, I spend most days making coffee, unjinxin' the john.' She looks to Tina, full of pride; 'Tina's the career girl.' Tina looked happy for a moment, then returned to staring at Newt, in case he should try and make another run for it. Newt was rather more preoccupied with keeping his suitcase closed, as the latch kept popping open. Queenie heard Jacob think of his next question before he could vocalise it. 'Nah, we're orphans. Ma and Pa died of Dragonpox when we were kids.' Jacob frowned and exhaled slowly; his next words interrupted by Queenie again. 'Oh, you're sweet. But we've got each other,' Queenie said, as she looked to Tina.
'Could you stop reading my mind for a second?' Jacob said. Seeing that Queenie was embarrassed, he quickly tries to comfort her. 'Don't get me wrong; I love it.' Queenie giggled, delighted. Jacob continued; 'This meal – it's insanely good. I mean, this is what I do, I'm a- a cook, an- and this is like… the greatest meal I've ever had in my life.' He started to laugh, and Queenie joined in, happy that Jacob was happy.
'Oh, you slay me!' Queenie said and rested her head on her hand. 'I ain't never really talked to a No-Maj before.'
Jacob mirrored her actions. 'Really?' He said. The table fell silent for a few moments. 'You know who would love all this?' Jacob started. 'My sister, Maebh. She- She's into all this hocus-pocus, does fortune tellin' down at the park. Obviously, what she does ain't real. But, I know she'd be amazed if she knew some people could do real magic!'
Tina looked down at her hands. She knew Jacob would have to be obliviated. He couldn't share his knowledge of their world with any more No-Maj people.
Queenie heard her sister's thoughts and started talking to cover the silence. 'Maebh? That's a bit different from Jacob, ain't it?'
'Ha, yeah. Maebh ain't my birth sister. I found her on the streets near my Gramma's place when she was about eleven.' Jacob said. 'Dumped there by her family. She never told us why. I mean, understandably, she doesn't want to talk about it.' He sighed. 'Anyway, her parents were from Ireland. So, she's got an Irish name.' He smiled at Queenie, who nodded, she understood now.
Jacob glanced at Tina who smiled and then averted her gaze, catching Newt's expression… What was that look? She thought. Queenie heard her thoughts and looked at Newt too, trying to read his mind. She turned to Tina and mouthed 'concern' to Tina, who went wide-eyed, hoping Newt hadn't noticed their invasion of his privacy.
Newt got up and stood behind his chair, 'Miss Goldstein, I think Mr Kowalski could do with an early night,' he said, talking to Tina. 'Besides, you and I will need to be up early tomorrow morning to find my Niffler, so…'
Queenie scrunched up her nose and looked at her sister. 'What's a Niffler?' She asked.
'Don't ask,' was Tina's reply. Talking to the men, she said, 'Okay, you guys can bunk in here.' Newt just stared at her. Not knowing what to do, Tina stared back.
Jacob was sat up in bed, reading when Tina came in. When Tina offered him hot cocoa, he gladly took it. Tina slammed Newt's mug onto the bedside table. Covers pulled up to his chin; Newt successfully hid the fact that he was fully clothed in the bed. Newt thought he had also hidden that he was awake; however, it was clear by his total stillness and open eyes that he wasn't asleep. Someone who was actually sleeping would move at least a little, and probably have their eyes closed. From his angle, Jacob couldn't see that Newt's eyes were open. So, he spoke gently, trying to get a reaction from him for Tina; 'Psst... Hey, Mr Scamander, look – cocoa.' There was no response from Newt.
'Toilet's down the hall to the right.' Tina said, visibly frustrated. Jacob whispered his thanks to her and stared at Queenie through the closing doors until he couldn't see her any longer.
The second the doors shut, Newt jumped out of bed. He picked up his case, placed it in the centre of the room and opened it up. Jacob observed Newt as he started to climb into it and kept descending until he disappeared from view entirely. Jacob let out a loud, single 'Ha!' and then quickly looked back up at the door to make sure he hadn't given Newt away to the girls. After he heard no movement in the next room, he glanced back to the suitcase. Newt's hand appeared out of it and beckoned Jacob to him before it disappeared back into the case. Jacob leant back against the headboard, pondering his options.
After Newt realised Jacob wasn't coming, he stuck his hand back through the suitcase. 'Come on.' Newt said as he beckoned with his hand for a second time. This time, Newt heard Jacob place his mug on the side, so he continued down the ladder so Jacob would have room to follow him.
Jacob edged towards the suitcase. When he looked inside, he saw an odd wooden ladder that went down into a room of some sort; he couldn't tell what kind. Jacob shrugged to himself and stepped in. As he made his way down, his midriff got stuck at the opening of the suitcase. Clearly made for men like Mr Scamander, he thought. He jumped up and down, lifting the suitcase off the floor in the bedroom. Jacob thought that it would be funny to watch if there was anyone there to do so. Suddenly, with one last jump, he fell through the suitcase and down the ladder into Newt's workshop.
'You can sit down,' said Newt. Jacob found a stool near the ladder and sat on it. Newt approached him and looked at the bite on Jacob's neck. 'Yeah that's definitely the Murtlap,' said Newt, as he rummaged through jars and bottles on a shelf on the other side of the room. 'You must be particularly susceptible. See, you're a muggle. So, our physiologies are subtly different.' Jacob watched as Newt took some sort of pill out of a jar, plucked some leaves from a plant and rubbed them into a paste, filled a mug with water and came back to him. Newt licked his finger and used it to apply the paste to Jacob's wound.
'Ew,' said Jacob.
'Stay still,' said Newt, as he finished applying the paste. 'That should stop the sweating,' he continued. Newt put a pill into Jacob's hand and had already left the mug of water on one of the steps of the ladder. As he walked away, he said 'and one of those should sort the twitch.' Jacob looked down at the pill in his palm and back up at Newt, considering his options. With a slight shrug, he put the medicine in his mouth and washed it down with the water. Newt picked up a massive slab of meat and chopped it up into slightly smaller chunks with a knife; he chucked the meat into a bucket. 'Take that,' said Newt, handing the bucket to Jacob. Newt then turned around, picked up an empty vial, and started squeezing luminous blue fluid into it from what looked like a weird baby bat. 'Come on,' he said, trying to squeeze more fluid out.
'Whatcha got there?' Asked Jacob, unsure if he wanted the answer.
'This, locals call Swooping Evil. Not the friendliest of names,' said Newt, putting a stopper on the vial; satisfied that he'd harvested enough fluid from the creature. 'It's quite an agile fellow.' He held his hand out and let the beast hang. 'I've been studying him. I'm pretty sure that his venom could be quite useful if properly diluted; just to remove bad memories, you know?' Newt had turned his back on Jacob, and suddenly he launched the creature under his arm, and it unravelled and expanded into a giant flying beast with green wings, a blue underbelly and a partial exoskeleton face. Newt pulled back the Swooping Evil like a yo-yo, and half turned towards Jacob, wearing a mischievous smirk. Jacob was in a state of shock. 'Probably shouldn't let him loose in here though,' Newt said, clearly holding back. 'Come on,' said Newt, and walked out the door. Jacob followed, unsure if there was anything else he could do in this situation anyway.
Upon stepping through the door, Jacob stood at the edge of a vast, red desert, and was confronted with a giant, four-winged Eagle hovering and lowering itself onto a rock from the stormy skies above it. In front of the rock stood Newt, who held an almost invisible umbrella that he had conjured from the end of his wand. Newt was coaxing the creature down to land. As the beast landed, the storm dissipated slightly, though Jacob could still hear thunder. Newt put his wand away, took some grubs from his pocket, and reached out to the bird with his free hand. 'Oh, thank Paracelsus. If you'd have got out, that could've been quite catastrophic,' he said to it.
'So, he's the real reason I came to America,' said Newt, turning to Jacob, whose eyes were wide as a bush baby's. 'To bring Frank home,' Newt said and looked back to Frank. Newt notices Frank become agitated and looked back to Jacob, who was approaching them. 'No, sorry, stay there,' he said. 'He's a wee bit sensitive to strangers.' Newt calmed Frank down, saying, 'here you are, here you are,' in a soft voice. Talking to Jacob again, he continued. 'He was trafficked, you see. I found him in Egypt; he was all chained up. Couldn't leave him there. Had to bring him back.' Newt stared into Frank's eyes; Jacob could see they had a deep connection. 'Gonna put you back where you belong, aren't I, Frank? To the wilds of Arizona.' Frank screeched as if he was replying to Newt, and started to fly back up. Newt threw the grubs up in the air to him, which he caught in his beak and flew away to eat.
Newt jumped onto the rock, turned, cupped his hands around his mouth and started yelling into the distance. Newt jumped down from the rock and took the bucket of meat from Jacob who tried to gently swat some flying creatures from his face; he stumbled backwards and turned to see beetles the size of sheep rolling rocks to create a structure. Jacob wondered what they were building. Following the continued yelling, Jacob found Newt at the edge of some sandy plains. 'Alright, here they come,' said Newt.
'Here who comes?' said Jacob, concerned with what would turn up.
'Graphorns,' replied Newt. Terrified and confused, Jacob yelled as the Graphorn galloped towards them. Newt reached out to grab Jacob by the hand. 'You're alright, you're alright,' he soothed both Jacob and the Graphorn at the same time. 'Hello,' Newt greeted the Graphorn, which used the tendrils on its chin to feel Newt's face. 'They're the last breeding pair in existence,' said Newt. 'If I hadn't managed to rescue them, that could've been the end of Graphorns forever.' A baby Graphorn found Jacob and rubbed against him like an enormous cat. Newt threw a slab of meat out into the sand, and the baby bounded over and started to eat.
'Wha- Y-you rescue these creatures?' Said Jacob.
'Yes, that's right. Rescue, nurture, and protect them; and gently try to educate my fellow wizards about them,' said Newt. 'Come on,' he motioned for Jacob to follow him up some red painted stairs into a cave. As Jacob stepped in, the space around him seemed to shift and expand. Jacob stopped for a moment in awe, taking in his new surroundings before continuing through the cave after Newt. 'Right – Titus, Finn, Poppy, Marlow, Tom,' Newt called out to no one that Jacob could see yet. He held Pickett, a Bowtruckle, out on his arm. 'He had a cold, he needed some body-warmth,' said Newt.
'Aw,' responded Jacob; he had started to warm up to this world of strange creatures.
'Right, on you hop,' said Newt as he approached a tree of other Bowtruckles. He held out his arm with Pickett at the end, trying to get him onto the tree. Jacob was astounded by the little green creatures; he thought they were terrific. Pickett hadn't moved off Newt's hand. 'He has some attachment issues,' said Newt. 'Now, come on, Pickett,' he said, trying to swap Pickett onto each hand to get him closer to the tree, but Pickett just kept walking back towards him. 'Pickett. No, they're not gonna bully you, now come on.' Pickett clung to Newts fingers, desperate to stay with his human friend. 'Alright,' said Newt. 'But that is exactly why they accuse me of favouritism.' Newt put Pickett back on his shoulder and turned around. 'Oh no, Dougal's gone,' he said. Hearing the cries of baby beasts, Newt rushed to a nest of tiny, blue, green and purple patterned, dragon-like, snake creatures. 'Alright, I'm coming. I'm coming. Mum's here. Mum's here,' Newt said as he comforted the animals and reached into the nest to pick one up. 'Hello, you; let me take a look at you.'
'I know these guys,' said Jacob, finally feeling a little less out of his depth.
'Your Occamy,' said Newt, as he handed the creature to Jacob.
'What do you mean? My Occamy?' said Jacob, confused.
'Yes,' said Newt. 'Do you want to…'
'Oh- Oh wow, yeah sure' said Jacob, taking the Occamy in his hands carefully. 'Okay,' he said and looked into the creature's eyes like it was a little puppy in his hands. 'Hey,' he soothed, and went to pet it, but the Occamy bit his hand.
'Oh- no, sorry, don't- don't pet them. They um, learn to defend themselves early,' Newt said. 'See, their shells made of silver, so they're incredibly valuable.'
'Okay,' said Jacob, warier of his Occamy now. 'I think you should be called Maebh. You're a lot like her.' Jacob said to the Occamy.
'Their nests tend to get ransacked by hunters,' said Newt, reaching for the Occamy. 'Hello, Maebh,' he said.
'Thank you,' said Jacob, as he handed the Occamy back to Newt, who put it back into the nest. 'Mr Scamander,' said Jacob.
'Oh, call me Newt,' said Newt.
'Newt.' Jacob paused. 'I don't think I'm dreaming.'
'What gave it away?' Asked Newt, dryly.
'I ain't got the brains to make this up,' said Jacob. Newt smiled at his new friend's honesty.
'Sorry, would you mind throwing some of those pellets in with the Mooncalves over there?' Said Newt, and pointed behind Jacob.
'Yeah, sure,' said Jacob. He chuckled to himself.
'Just over there,' said Newt as he took up a wheelbarrow and wandered off. 'Bugger.' Newt huffed. 'Niffler's gone. 'Course he has, little bugger. Any chance to get his hands on something shiny.' As Newt passed a tree, what Jacob had thought to be autumnal leaves flew away and revealed themselves to be flying reptiles. They flew in a spiral up towards an extensive collection of lightbulbs; a few of them got trapped in bubbles. Jacob thought the whole scene was beautiful.
Jacob went to feed the Moon Calves as instructed, muttering to himself as Newt tended to some other creatures. 'What'd you do today, Jacob,' he laughed. 'I was inside a suitcase,' he chuckled a little more. 'Hey!' He said, approaching a misty boulder covered with what he could only assume was the Mooncalves. Jacob thought their silhouettes looked a bit like miniature Alpacas. 'Oh, hello, fellas. Alright, alright. Take it easy… Take it easy,' he coaxed them as they trundled down to him. Their eyes look like an owl's eyes, he thought. As he threw the pellets to them, they floated above their heads. Jacob couldn't tell if the food floated or if the Mooncalves were holding them in the air with their minds before they jumped and ate them.
Newt watched Jacob feeding the Mooncalves, but didn't interrupt. He was bottle feeding a baby Marmite – a large, tentacled creature that glowed blue. Satisfied that Jacob was doing well with the Mooncalves, he turned his back to return the baby Marmite to its home.
A breeze moved a sheet of tarpaulin behind Jacob, and he heard a sort of ominous, crackling wind. Although it didn't sound particularly welcoming, Jacob felt drawn towards the sound. Nothing he had met so far had proved to be a real danger to him, so he walked through the opening where the tarp had come loose and flapped in the wind. The sound came from a floating black thing. It looked like ink in water, suspended in mid-air. Jacob was still wary, but he couldn't see any teeth; so, he moved closer. Invisible energy was radiating off the creature. Is that even classed as a creature? Jacob thought as he continued to edge towards it. In a trancelike state, Jacob got close enough to touch it.
'Step back.' Newt's firm words scared Jacob out of his trance as he moved his hand to his chest to calm his pounding heart. 'Step back,' Newt repeated.
'What's the matter w-'
'I said, step away.' Newt stared at Jacob, standing at a distance from him and the floating thing. This was the first time Newt had really been serious with Jacob. It was weird, but he knew that must mean Newt wasn't kidding around, so he carefully backed away.
'What the hell is this thing?' Jacob asked.
'It's an Obscurus.'