Chapter 1: The Reason We Wear Helmets

Hiding behind a pillar, he admitted that the thing Newt had in his case looked bigger up close. With a large luminescent horn and an even larger body, the creature, which he had heard Newt call an Erumpent, knocked down the iron gate to the hippo enclosure and made its way inside. Diving behind pillars and brick rubble, Jacob and his new wizarding companion, Newt Scamander, kept their distance from the Titian as it approached an understandably frightened hippopotamus, confusing the smaller creature for one of her own. Newt, digging in his pockets, produced a rather large vial, the corkscrew lid opening with a slight pop.

"What's that?" Jacob asked in a hoarse whisper, absentmindedly fumbling with the chinstrap of the helmet his companion provided.

"Erumpent musk- she's positively mad for it," Newt explained, dabbing a few drops on the inside of his wrists. "Let's hope it works."

The ginger haired man, with a faint smile on his face, closed the lid and handed the bottle of smelling liquid to Jacob without saying another word, the aspiring baker fumbling with the object in his clammy hands. Incredulous, Jacob watched as Newt walked towards the Erumpent without any sign of fear before he set down his beloved case at his side and opened it slowly.

Without warning, an odd sound split the air like a whip, the No-Maj jumping and causing the vial of Erumpent musk to slip slightly in his short fingers. With wide eyes, Jacob Kowalski could only watch as Newt performed a type of jig that he couldn't quite place and quickly realized that the strange sound brutally assaulting his eardrums was coming from no other than Newts open mouth. He stifled his laughter at the performance, trying to keep the Erumpent's attention on Newt, who seemed to be winning her over with his courtship calls and dancing. With a crooked smile, Jacob looked down at the black bottle and wondered what the Erumpent musk smelled like if it was able to attract a creature such as that. Uncorking the vial, the dark haired man sniffed the edge of the bottle, then pinched his nose and turned away.

Disgusting!He thought as his eyes watered at the smell, How cananything be attracted to that?

At that moment, something fast and hard smacked Jacob on the back of his head. With a cry of surprise, his hands flew up to fend off the next attack and in the process the bottle of musk slipped out of Jacob's hand and landed on the ground, shattering on contact with the icy cement. He turned to glare at the culprit: a seal who had just escaped his enclosure with the Erumpents rampage through the zoo. At Jacob's side lay the seals weapon of choice: a stinking rotten fish, its dead glassy eyes staring blankly into New Yorks cloudy sky. Barking, the seal quickly scampered away, disrupting a pile of broken bricks in his mad dash for safety.

Still confused as to what had occurred, Jacob turned back to Newt, only to find that the Erumpent was now looking intently at him from across the opening, mist sprouting from flared nostrils. With a small squeal of unbridled fear, Jacob turned and ran from the spot, the heavy tread of the Erumpent following in close pursuit.

Still screaming, the No-Maj baker dashed through the demolished buildings, the following Erumpent disrupting the rubble with her over-sized horn even more. He ran through the fallen arch of what used to be the entrance and out into the falling snow, the white power sinking in up to his knees. He stumbled along, waiting for the creature to catch him from behind until his foot caught on a root and he tripped unceremoniously face-first into the snow. With a grunt, he rolled over in time to see the Erumpent bearing down on him, huge feet throwing up fistfuls of fresh snow. Jacob threw his hands over his head in a final act of self-defense, knowing that he was about to become the world's largest Jacob-shaped pancake in a single step.

However, to his surprise, Jacob Kowalski felt nothing. After a moment of letting the snow seep through his thin suit, he quickly realized that he wasn't dead and shakily lowered his hands.

He felt his jaw go slack. There, high above his head, was the Erumpent floating effortlessly off the ground, legs still waving as it passed slowly overhead. It gently floated over him and landed on the other side of him with a tremendous thud, making Jacob sit up with a yelp and a start. Blinking at the snowflakes clinging on his eyelashes, Jacob spotted Newt standing at what once was the entrance to the zoo, gently lowering his wand.

"Great job, Newt!" Jacob called to his friend, brushing off the cold power that clung to his leather padding.

Newt nodded nervously, offering Jacob a shaking smile. "You, too, Jacob. You too..."

Newt tried not to think about the incident again after that, letting Jacob believe that he, Newt Scamander, had levitated the Erumpent in Central Park, ultimately saving Jacob's life.

But Newt knew better than that.

Time passed in a blur, and before they knew it, Jacob, Queenie, Tina and himself were standing in the rubble of one of New York's many subway stations, the ceiling of the tunnel blasted away to reveal the lingering stars in the night. Everything, it seemed, was an absolute mess. MACUSA hadn't listened to his words and in turn, the Obscurus and Credence had been destroyed, along with most of New York City in their warpath.

The magical leaders and the quartet stood in the ruined train station, watching the gentle rain fall, no doubt washing away the No-Majs' memories of the wizarding community on the street above.

After repairing the roof to the subway with a flick of her wand, Madam Picquery turned to the motley quartet in front of her.

"Is that No-Maj still here?" She asked in a loud and firm voice.

Everyone turned to look as Jacob stepped from behind Queenie and raised a shaking hand in greeting.

"Obliviate him." Madam Picquery ordered as she turned, "There can be no witnesses."

"Actually, Madam," Newt began, but Picquery raised a hand, interrupting him.

"No exceptions, Mr. Scamander."

"If you would please just listen for a moment, Madam-."

"I will not hear it, Scamander."

"But, if you please just-."

"I'm sorry, but his No-Maj has-."

"Jacobisn't a No-Maj!"

The silence of the subway was deafening as every witch and wizard turned to look at Newt before gazing at the now wide-eyed Jacob behind him.

"Mr. Scamander, what do you mean?" Picquery inquired, her eyes flickering between the two, "Tina herself said that he possessed no magical abilities."

"He doesn't," Tina said, giving Newt a firm look, "Jacob Kowalski is a No-Mag. Simple as that."

"He didn't," Newt corrected her. "Not until he was helping me to re-capture my Erumpent in Central Park."

"Newt," Jacob said, taking a hesitant step forward in their direction, "What are you talkin' about? I didn't use magic. I don't even have a wand."

Newt, however, ignored his argument, stepping closer to the President of MACUSA. "Madam, just before the Erumpent could step on him, Jacob Kowalski levitated the creature over his head, setting her down safely on the other side of him. This, it seems to me, is a display of accidental magic, the kind a wizard makes when displaying their powers for the first time."

"Newt." Jacob murmured, swallowing the lump gathering at the Presidents weighted gaze, "I saw with my own eyes when you lowered your wand. You levitated the Er-Eee-Erump-what it's..."

"No, Jacob." Newt murmured, taking a hold of Jacob's shoulder, "That was you."

In no time it seemed, Picquery had called a conference with all of the Ministers from around the world for, annoyingly, the second time that week. Most of the witches and wizards were all askew, each barely having an enough time to pull themselves out of bed and ultimately, together. The room was fairly loud and busy, the men and women bustling and buzzing with anticipation before Picquery, cool, collected and confident as ever, hit her gavel against the podium, calling the meeting to order.

"Why are we all here... again?" The Norwegian Minister for Magic was the first to speak. "Didn't we just end this problem?"

Tina shifted uncomfortably at the implications of the wizard and her hands momentarily shifted to her wand only for Newt, lips pressed to take her hand in his own and shake his head.

"We have taken care of that Obscurus, Minister," said Picquery, quieting the growing whispers from the gathered crowd, "but it seems we may have uncovered a...second one."

"Another Obscurus?" Chimed in the Ugandan Minister as the voices rose again, "Where is it?"

"It is here in this room," Picquery continued, headpiece glimmering in the candlelight. Her eyes shifted to the back of the room, where four wooden chairs were placed, each occupied by a nervous man or woman.

"Jacob Kowalski, please, step forward."

At the sound of her voice and the rustling of robes as the people turned, Jacob's dark eyes widened, and he looked at Newt and Queenie, who were sitting on either side of him. Queenie gave him a sad smile and motioned for him to step towards the center of the room with an encouraging nod. Clearing his throat and straightening his suit, Jacob stood and made his way to the center of the council's room and, ultimately, the center of attention.

"Jacob Kowalski," the President started, loud enough for all to hear, "did you knowingly perform magic in Central Park this night?"

"No, I- of course not!" Jacob stumbled, face growing hot. "I didn't even know that I could do magic!"

"I see," Picquery murmured, shifting the papers in her hands. "And has anything... unusual ever happened to you before, Mr. Kowalski? Something you couldn't explain?"

After a moment, Jacob shook his head. "Never, Minister."

Whispers and muttering surrounded him and Madam Picquery raised her hands for silence to return to the floor, "Mr. Kowalski, it is my belief that you have, unknowingly, suppressed your magical abilities and have developed an Obscurus. The only question now," she continued, ignoring the growing voices and the sudden loss of color in Jacob's face, "is what to do with you."

Newt started to stand, but Tina dragged him back down by the edge of his blue coat.

"Sit down!" she hissed, eyes dark, "You'll only make it worse!"

"We have only one option," Picquery proclaimed, after the voices died again, "we must remove the Obscurus by force."

"Removing it by force would destroy him!" Newt burst out, before Tina could stop him. He marched to stand in front of Jacob, "By now, the Obscurus is likely to be very powerful, and will not be willing let go of Jacob so easily. To get the Obscurus out in such a way, we would have to destroy both the Obscurus and the Obscurial." He paused, "There is only one way to safely remove the Obscurus. Gradually."

"And how do you suppose we go about that, Mr. Scamander?"

"To gradually remove the Obscurus, Jacob Kowalski must be taught in the ways of magic."

Suddenly, the room exploded in a burst of sound. Loud shouts rang across the room as every Minister began speaking at once, arguing with Newts new proposition with each other. Picquery had to bang her gavel onto the desk several times to regain order.

"We will take a vote," she said. "All in favor of teaching Mr. Kowalski magic, in the hopes of lessening the Obscurus to be removed?"

Newt, Tina, and Queenie raised their wands the highest and were soon followed by about half of the Ministers in the room.

"All in favor of removing the Obscurus by force?"

The other half raised their wands high above their heads, each staring at the aspiring baker with red faces and narrowed eyes.

After counting, Picquery clapped her hands together, giving the ensemble a plastic and strained smile, "Very well. It seems we have a tie. I propose a compromise. Someone, a skilled witch or wizard, preferably, will take it upon themselves to teach Mr. Kowalski magic in hopes of diminishing the Obscurus. They will have one year in which to teach Mr. Kowalski all of the magic he needs to know to survive in the wizarding world." She surveyed the congregation. "Are there any volunteers for this task?"

Silence dominated the room for several moments, before one shrill voice rang out, "I will teach Jacob!"

Jacob could have cried with relief, for the voice, he quickly realized, was Newts. The freckled magizoologist briefly looked over his shoulder, shooting Jacob a soft and reassuring smile.

"And I," added Queenie stepping forward and taking Jacob's hand in her own. He looked at her, cheeks rosy and under her golden locks, she peered back at him, smiling.

"Very well," Picquery said, eyes flickering briefly over the pairs silent exchange, "We will have an Auror accompany you to send reports to MACUSA on Jacob's... condition."

"I will volunteer," Tina said immediately, heels clicking against the tile, "If this pleases you, Madam." She added afterward, drawing a bit from her boss' intense gaze.

"Very well. If there are no objections...?" She waited for a beat, tapping her manicured nails on the podium. At the silence, she nodded, waving her wand above her head, summoning parcel and a pen. "Then Mr. Scamander and the Goldsteins will teach Mr. Kowalski magic within a year from today, December 6th, 1926."

"What if we don't make the year mark?" Jacob asked, softly, his voice almost drowned out by the rustling from the wizards in the room.

President Picquery, golden headpiece glittering as she tilted her head, gave the quartet of young witches and wizards a thin, icy smile, "That's when we would step in, of course..."

Her eyes roamed the crowd of witches and wizards in an almost challenging way as the quick-write spell on the new document finished, gazing down at Jacob once more, "I speak for all of the Ministers of the Wizard World when I tell you: Good luck, Mr. Kowalski."

And with that, Picquery banged her gavel thrice against the desk, the baker already feeling the sand of his hourglass falling heavily on his head.