Newt sat on his case, holding Charlie, his niffler, by the scruff of his neck. His wand was in his hand, and he leaned his chin on his knuckles, elbow braced on knee, and yawned.

He'd been waiting to be allowed through customs for six hours now. Everything had been going absolutely fine… until the customs officer's wedding ring had disappeared. After an awkward explanation of what a niffler was, a chase around the portkey office leading to the Destruction of Property, and a more thorough inspection of Newt's case, he'd been impounded.

"Mr Scamander."

Newt jumped, and silver sparks flew out of the end of his wand. He scrambled to his feet, certain that he was blushing bright red, and then froze when he came face to face with a smirking Percival Graves.

Tucking Charlie into his pocket, he levelled his wand at the other man.

"If I was going to curse you, I wouldn't have given you the courtesy of a warning," Graves drawled.

Newt grimaced. He eyed Graves' lapels – lacking scorpion pins; his shoes – which were scuffed just slightly, likely from fieldwork; and then his eyes – which shone with hidden mirth, and a hint of impatience.

"Not Grindelwald?" Newt asked, even as he tucked his wand away. "That's er, that's jolly good."

"Something that we can agree upon," Graves said dryly. "Now, Mr Scamander, I have just been embroiled in a lengthy argument with the President over whether we should even permit you into the country. Personally, I believe allowing you to set a single foot upon American soil is a dire mistake, however the President seems to think that we owe you for your assistance last year. The agreement that we have come to is that you may enter, as long as you permit me to add a selection of charms to your suitcase to ensure that nothing escapes it," here, Graves' gaze settled upon the pocket from which Charlie was desperately trying to escape, "harmless, or not."

Newt shuffled so that he was standing between Graves and his suitcase, and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "What charms would they be?"

Graves arched a brow. "Do you not trust me?"

Newt winced. "Er… not really?"

At this, Graves chuckled. "Wise, quite frankly. Rest assured, Mr Scamander, that the charms will be nothing more harmful than a selection of locking spells and perimeter wards aimed at containing your creatures, and alerting me immediately should one of them escape."

With reluctance, Newt stood aside.

"The niffler?"

Newt smiled sheepishly, and placed Charlie back into the case, Dougal catching the little rascal at the bottom of the ladder. "Be good now," he murmured, catching Dougal's gaze, who blinked in acknowledgement, then disappeared.

He watched silently, noting each of the spells Graves added, determined to find a counter for all of them, should he need it.

From the mildly amused glance Graves treated him with when he was finished, he was certain that his intense observation had not been subtle. Newt was fine with that. After all, Graves wasn't exactly a hardship to look at, regardless of the spells he performed.

"Please, allow me to escort you out of here," Graves offered.

Newt picked up his case, and inclined his head. "Thank you."

They walked together out of customs, and Newt couldn't hide his guilty wince as the customs officer whose ring Charlie had acquired glared at them. Fortunately, Graves' hand, heavy on Newt's shoulder, propelled him forward before he could make a fool out of himself by apologising yet again.

"You're friends with Tina, aren't you?" Graves said as the waited for the lift.

Newt nodded.

"She's a sensible woman, most of the time," Graves said. "Busy, now she's been promoted back up to Major Investigations."

"She can handle it," Newt declared with utter confidence.

There was a faint smile upon Graves' lips when he answered, voice low. "I dare say she can."

There was a gleam in Graves' eye that made Newt shiver, and he offered the other man a tentative smile. Perhaps he'd leave the charms on his suitcase… at least while he was in America.


Gift fic for the lovely Bex (DobbyRocksSocks)

Assignment #9

Duelling Task 2: Write about looking out for someone else.

Word count: 688