It's not mine and I make no money from this.
Title from Shelley's Masque of Anarchy (1819)
Rise, like lions after slumber
In unvanquishable number!
Shake you chains to earth like dew
Which in sleep had fallen on you:
Ye are many - they are few!
The ye and they have various options on who they are:
Many creatures in comparison with wizards,
Many ordinary folk in comparison with Grindelwald's followers,
Wizards to those actively wanting to do them harm,
Good to evil, perhaps.
Another note, a few birthdates have been slightly edited to match things up correctly. Newt is now slightly younger than he is in the film as I've given him a birthdate of April, 1900. Also, I've read somewhere that it was Newt lying about what happened with a jarvey that got him expelled, but it's slightly different in this story.
There will be vague mentions of mpreg along the line, because this story wasn't originally a serious one, but the story has changed as I wrote.
I've also used Latin translate on google in places when I couldn't find the words for a spell.
"Newt?" Leta's soft voice permeated the bubble that Newt had been trapped in since he had dismissed from Professor Scrimgeour's office. "Newt?"
He lifted his head enough to watch her stop and tuck her long skirt against the back of her knees as she crouched down. It was more habit than necessity, he mused blearily as he kept his gaze on her knees; there was no one around to trip over any trailing clothes. He was sat pressed against a corner in a corridor just down from the Headmaster's office and he had no idea how long he'd been there.
"Newt? What happened?" She reached out and raised his head further up, her pretty face filled with worry. "Is the headmaster going to owl my family?"
Newt took several deep breaths, his eyes shut as he fought to compose himself. "I got expelled." He croaked out, his breath coming in pants again as he suppressed a fresh bout of tears. "I thought I'd get caned or something… not… not-"
"Newt." Leta whispered, her hand tangling in his scruffy hair. "You said nothing?"
He shook his head murmuring, "I promised."
"Oh!" Leta's own breathing hitched as she whispered, "Fuck propriety!" and threw herself into his arms.
New curled into his best friend, finally allowing tears to fall. "I have- have to come back tomorrow. They're sending for someone from the ministry to come." It was easier to speak with his face hidden, the slightly musky scent of the Slytherin dormitories clinging to Leta's robes was more comforting than he cared to admit.
"What are you going to do?" She asked softly, her hand coming up to come through his hair as though he were one of the kneazles that lived in the forest.
"Owl my brother." He didn't want Theseus getting word from Professor Scrimgeour that he had been expelled. Maybe he could word an explanation better himself. "I need to tell him what happened?"
"What are you going to say?" Leta had tensed up in his arms, but he simply pushed his face more firmly into her neck.
"I'm going to tell him that the squid is no threat!" he growled, before his irritation caused him to pull back and glare at her. "I'll tell the ministry the same thing! I'll happily take credit for releasing him into the lake!"
"I feel bad you taking all the blame." She said softly and he softened his gaze. "I was there too."
"Credit, my dear. Credit." He dropped his eyes and pulled himself up, wiping his face. "Anyway, they shouldn't have been tormenting him so."
Leta looped her arm through his as they hurried through the castle to the owlery.
"So, what are you going to write?"
"The truth, as far as I may. Though I shall leave you out. I'll tell him that during our winter visit, I found an infant cephalopod in a beck near Hogsmeade, that I brought it back to school and nursed it back to health, but when some others found I was keeping it in the old boathouse." He stopped and glared out the open window, furious with himself again.
"It should have been safe." Leta whispered, but the self-recrimination was evident in her own face. They'd agreed to keep the squid in the boathouse as it was typically only used at the start of the year. They must have been followed going down there.
"I'll tell him that I charmed the boathouse to stop him escaping, but when Devlin and his gang attacked him to teach me a lesson, he was unable to escape and attacked them in response, so I lifted the charm and asked the merfolk to keep an eye on the poor creature."
"Will he believe that? You can't swim?"
"I can cast a bubble-head charm, and I am learning. Professor Moffett is teaching… me… was…" He trailed off as he realised that the charms teacher would no longer be able to help him.
"So they will be able to think you did this on your own?" Leta checked, her arms crossed over her chest as she faced him, looking oddly vulnerable.
"Your family won't know from me." He promised earnestly.
She nodded her head and smiled weakly. "You're the best, Newt. I always said Hufflepuffs are the best friends a girl could ever want."
"You only say that because the rest of your house find you odd." He joked back, but the words were automatic rather than genuinely amused and he collapsed to the floor to start his letter. "I feel sick."
"You want a drink? Or do you want to talk about something else? Umm … Do you think you'll end up in the war?" asked Leta as she settled next to him. It was usually a comfort that she lacked social grace too, but this time he wished she hadn't spoken. He didn't want to think about his future at the moment.
"I don't know. They didn't take my wand from me." The two had researched the last few cases that people had been expelled for, as well as cases where people had been disciplined after another person had nearly died. The governors seemed to have been harsh in actually expelling him in comparison with the one other similar case there had been, but that had occurred nearly 300 years ago.
On the other hand, as he had said, he still had his wand. Other students that had been expelled had had their wand snapped as soon as they had been informed, to prevent any retaliation or desperate acts.
Maybe Leta was right, maybe he was going to have to go and fight. He could imagine being sick to his stomach at actually hurting people on a battlefield, but the idea seemed distant and farfetched.
"You might be too young." Leta suggested as Newt tried to explain how he'd been unable to leave the young, injured squid that had ended up in the beck so far inland. "You've only just turned sixteen and you haven't sat you O.W.L.s yet. Maybe they'll send you off to help in a way that won't involve fighting."
Newt didn't reply, he was trying to think of a way to say the students had wanted to make him miserable without sounding like a weak child who was unable to stand up to bullies. Newt really didn't care what other people thought of him, and he never had got the hang of social cues.
"You should mention that they always steam up." Leta said as he frowned at the parchment.
He rubbed at his nose and looked up, "You think?" He really didn't want to sound pathetic.
She grinned at him, "I'll vouch for you."
Newt snorted softly and went back to writing. Her need to seem like a proper pureblood was part of the problem; the fact that her family needed her to be the perfect child… she was supposed to be building relations with the other pureblood families, not hanging out with some Hufflepuff half-blood.
Leta looked over at him and scowled, "I mean it. Take it fighting and don't let those vile old guvnors say what happened."
Newt signed off his letter and rolled it up, before standing and heading over to his owl, "I don't think I'll be here when you've finished sending this. Stay with Theseus until I come home?"
She hooted and nipped him affectionately. "Good girl."
Eyes burning with tears that were once more welling up, Newt took her over to the window and watched as she left. He took a moment to compose himself before speaking again, "Anyway, I'll be fine. It's you I'm worried about."
"Me?" In many ways, Leta was a taker. Their relationship very much revolved around what she wanted to do, but sometimes she didn't always consider herself when things happened. It was this glimmer of humanity behind the bossy nature that had kept Newt around.
"You're not going to have friends here anymore." He turned to look at his only friend. "I don't want to come back from the ministry to find you and Florence Flint have hexed each other into St. Mungo's."
"If I end up cursing that silly moo, it won't be St. Mungo's she ends up in." she declared. "Now come on, you need to say goodbye to the centaurs."
"Yes." His shoulders dropped again as reality washed back in. "It took a long time to earn their trust and I don't want to ruin everything by leaving. It would be terribly rude."
"That's the ticket. Who needs sleep anyway?"
"I get to work with dragons?!" Newt was unable to keep a sombre tone as he looked up at the ministry official.
"This is not a reward, Master Scamander. You will be working with Ukrainian Ironbellies to keep them from joining the fighting. You are to help keep them subdued, and in the event that this is unmanageable, you are to help exterminate them. Am I understood?"
"Kill them? Humans bring war to their natural habitats and you want to kill them if they object to this?" Newt's face flushed as he glared up at the man.
"Minister Evermonde has passed legislation that forbids us from joining the war. We are attempting to keep the International Statute of Secrecy! Dragons are a problem and Ironbellies are hard to kill as it is!"
Newt startled, "That was actually passed?" He hadn't expected that; many wizards had gone off to join the muggles. There were only a few exclusive wizarding villages left in Britain so many witches and wizards had muggle friends and family. His own brother was off heading off to France soon.
"I'm sure there will be those who ignore it, but we must do what we can, where it is appropriate. You are not of age in our world, Master Scamander, never mind the muggle one. You're too young to fight."
Newt stared out the window as he tried to think. "I…"
"You wouldn't even be going to do anything for the ministry if Dumbledore and your brother hadn't argued for it." The man huffed, but Newt didn't look back at him. He crossed his arms over his chest and listened. "We should have snapped your wand and sent you back to your parents, but Dumbledore insists you are good with animals and Theseus has sent several letters, despite the fact that the ministry hasn't even told him of the decision to expel you yet."
"I…"
"You have no qualifications, Master Scamander. You'd be wise to accept this post."
Newt curled in on himself slightly, feeling the intense scowl upon him. "I understand." He picked at the yellow thread on the hem of his robe.
"Now, the house elves should have gathered your belongings and you've had ample time to say goodbye since you were informed of the governors' decision."
With that, the man snapped his fingers and a house elf appeared with Newt's school case.
"We'll be flooing straight to the ministry." He held out the powder for Newt.
Hand trembling, Newt took his case off the elf and whispered, "Thank you, Tilly." Then he stepped forwards and took a handful. Casting a last glance around the office, he threw the powder into the flames.
"There we go, girl. Nice and easy."
Newt shut his eyes as the dragon landed. His wand was in its holster and both hands were gripping the harness she wore. She knew what wands were for and wouldn't allow anyone near her if they held one.
"You know, I think that rock might be a third egg." Foley mused as Newt scrambled down. "It's small, but she always makes sure it's covered."
Newt stepped back and pulled out his wand, "It's half the size." He argued, "Protego Totalum. Her other eggs are massive."
"That one might be a runt? Two sickles!"
"Huh?"
"Two sickles says it's a runt!"
Newt pulled a face, but nodded anyway. Foley wasn't put off by his terrible way with people, so Newt tended to agree to things anyway. Theseus had told him to at least pretend to get along with people when working closely with others in a dangerous environment. He'd found agreeing was the best way to do that.
"Shame you're not old enough for fire whiskey, I usually use fingers of that in betting on stuff out here."
"I don't like fire whiskey." Newt muttered. He had liked the taste initially, but the burn that came afterwards was unpleasant. The other men out here had laughed at his gagging, but none of them were willing to risk wasting anymore on him if he didn't enjoy it.
Instead, he began to cleave the meat they had caught earlier. The dragons were only allowed to fly if they had a rider on their back, and they weren't allowed out just to catch food. Not that a rider could do much more than concealment charms and nudging the dragons in a certain directions, but keeping them cooped up didn't work either.
Newt was often the one riding the dragons as they flew. He had been absolutely terrified of heights at first, but was at least adapting now. The dragons trusted him more than the other men working here, a combination of his age and his charm work in endearing them to himself. He was also the best at casting a flame freezing charm.
"Here we are." He murmured to the nesting female as he cast a feather-light charm on the barrel and brought her dinner over. "Good girl, just let me in close."
As she shifted around, Newt tried to catch a glimpse of the rock that might be an egg. It was small, but it wasn't the same dull grey as the rocks around. She settled over it again, and his view was cut off.
"Never mind." He sighed as he tipped the barrel. "We'll find out based on whether or not it hatches, huh?"
They couldn't even get close when Newt had her out. She was too volatile to risk leaving their scent inside her nest. He turned and headed over to the next enclosure. This one was a male, recognisable from his smaller size and proportionately larger wingspan. They had two females in this camp and five males, but the females had to be kept as far apart as possible since they were both nesting.
Really, in the year and a half since he had left Hogwarts, Newt had actually found life bearable. They had little to do with the war out here, the muggle-repellent charms working well and no one had bothered them. There were occasional rumours of wizards going missing from camps in the middle of nowhere, but these were little more than rumours. The disappearances were typically chalked up to desertion or a stray enemy.
The male was twisting in his restraints, mouth wide to let out a roar that had been silenced. He had not fathered any of the eggs and so was forever fighting, desperate to show some dominance to the females. Newt simply levitated his dinner in, he wouldn't bother getting close until he settled down. The next male was already sleeping, his handsome body curled as small as it could go, if he had been out in the mountains, it would be very easy to assume he was just a rock.
The next three males were awake, but they were fairly calm. Two had already been out flying today and Newt would be taking the third after his own supper. The other female hadn't moved off her eggs for four days now. They were near hatching, so she wouldn't likely leave anytime soon. She needed to be there when they emerged to ensure they knew who their mother was. The young man grinned as she shifted to face him, allowing him a glimpse of the eggs.
"Here we are, girl." He said softly, picking up her barrel and heading into the enclosure.
He was the only one allowed in the enclosure now, the others stressed her out too much. Dint had claimed she viewed Newt as a youngling, which was why he was near, but Newt didn't care one way or the other. She was beautiful.
He'd loved to observe them in the wild; to see if the females were still as reluctant to leave their nests during this time and simply went hungry, or if they risked their eggs to gather enough food to keep their strength up.
"Good girl." He murmured as he backed away. "There we are."
He watched her for a moment, before heading over to the tents near the centre of the camp. He had a fair bit to add to his journal.
A week later and Newt dreamed of being back with the dragons, watching the females breathe flame on their nests then settle on top. Unfortunately, it was no longer an option. Their camp had been taken in the night by wizards, and most of the Brits had been knocked out before they'd gotten around to defending themselves, Newt included. They weren't there to fight, and hadn't expected anyone to attack a site when dragons were being held there.
The men holding them were German, but they didn't seem to be soldiers. The men appeared to be researchers, as the room the Brits were in had a large window in it, from which they were observed by different solemn looking men throughout the day. The men were not exactly cruel, each of the prisoners had a cot to sleep on, two meals a day, an hour of exercise and several methods of entertainment, which ranged from books to knitting; Newt was currently trying to work out how to make a scarf, but he'd never knitted anything before in his life and his companions weren't much better.
All they had to do in return was drink the potions they were given.
Newt did as he was told. He was uncomfortable enough with people watching him every hour of the day, he really didn't want the added stress of arguing with people when he hadn't heard them speak a word of English.
It had been nearly a month since they arrived when their routine changed. They were moved to individual cells with no windows, and lumos was cast at random intervals, making it difficult to settle into a regular sleep pattern. Newt was being given an extra potion every other day and one of the researchers came in at unspecified times, waved with wand at the young man as he cast a non-verbal spell and then would leave again.
After another month of this, Newt was beginning to struggle with the isolation. He had never considered himself a people-orientated person, but whenever the door was opened, he could hear chatter and laughter… he could recognise English words in the babble. Worse than being alone was being alone and singled out. The thought that the other men he had worked with were happily chatting away to each other, were laughing when Newt hadn't seen anyone other than his expressionless researcher in so long hurt.
His stomach began to develop cramps, and Newt couldn't begin to guess the cause. Was it the potions? The spells? The paranoia? Was it something they were feeding him? Or was it simply his fickle emotions?
The young man soon refused to participate in what they wanted. He curled up on his bed, under the single blanket he had and refused the potions. He refused the food. He refused to show his face.
Instead of getting angry, the researcher brought another man in to speak with him. This man spoke English, but Newt still refused to look at anyone.
"Come now, my boy." The man's eager voice hissed, with very little hint of a German accent as he spoke.
Newt didn't care. He wasn't going to roll over and show his back, but he wouldn't open his eyes. He tried to think about flying instead.
"Stand up and let me see. There are changes happening to you and I want to see what they are."
Theseus used to take him flying, many years ago. He had faint memories of Theseus holding him as they hovered just above the ground, how strong and impressive his brother had seemed.
"No? We'll see tomorrow then." Footsteps, and then he was alone.
Keeping his mind away from what changes might be occurring, Newt remembered trying out for the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team in his first year. He hadn't flown badly, but he hadn't gotten a place either. It had been his second year when he had been made a reserve seeker, then third year when he had been placed on the main team. Fourth year, he recalled, there had been an amazing second year by the name of Turner who had taken his place and Newt had gone back to the reserves.
Fifth year he had quit the team, determined to focus on his career.
He fell asleep dreaming of being a healer; but the people who came to see him were all merged with creatures. Many had never seen the light of day, and when he took them to the window to allow them to see the sun, his mother had been sat upon a hippogriff that he didn't recognise, lamenting the effort they had put into raising him. Disappointment had filled him, and his office began to flood, but his mother simply flew away as he drowned.
It had been a relief to wake up.
It wasn't a relief when his cell door opened sometime later though, and a pale man stepped into the room. He had blond hair, and an intense stare that unnerved Newt.
He stepped forwards and bobbed down by the bed, his back straight as he squatted down, "Feeling anymore talkative today, boy?"
Newt glared at his hands; he may have been desperate for company, but this man rather well frightened him.
"No? If only you would help, then you could leave. I have set these men a task to do. If their purpose has been achieved, then there is no need for anyone to be here."
Purpose? Newt lifted his head slightly, "What-?" but he cut himself off. He didn't want to talk.
The man leaned in, a charming smile on his face, "It's nothing evil, my boy." He leaned out to brush Newt's hair back from his face. The young man flinched. "Nothing bad."
Newt shook his head and lifted his knees to hide his face.
"We are simply trying to create life. Fertility is something we wizards need to concern ourselves with."
Newt couldn't help the whimper that escaped. He didn't want to hear this; and yet he wanted to know what had been done to him.
"Tell me, boy. You went to Hogwarts, yes? You are British and a fairly young wizard so you must know Dumbledore? Do you not think he would make such an effort to support the enemy if his own child was involved?"
The young man raised his head, perplexed by the other, "Professor Dumbledore doesn't have any children."
"Imagine if he did. Do you suppose he would love muggles so much if they posed a risk to his own child? Do you really think any witch or wizard would?" His voice had darkened with anger, his eyes wide as he rose to his knees and loomed over the prisoner.
The man had to be insane. Newt's fought to keep a neutral expression on his face as he pressed back against the wall. He didn't understand why they were talking about his school teachers, "No, please. Just… no!"
Newt shut his eyes and wrapped his arms around himself as the other stood; he ranted loudly about right and wrong and what was best for wizard kind; he asked Newt whether it was acceptable for wizards to hide for fear of muggles when they were so much more powerful; he complained that the statue of secrecy caused so many problems, and he snarled in anger when Newt didn't agree; as his mood settled back down, he had an odd comment about needing to understand every inch of a subject to call yourself a master of it.
Thankfully, a harried looking man stuff his head into the cell and yelped in German at Newt's captor; they both left in a rush and Newt pressed his face back into his knees, slowly beginning to relax.
A short while later, the door to Newt's cell unclicked and it swung slowly open.
"Anyone in here?" The words were English, and the voice as familiar. "Hello?"
Newt didn't lift his head. His mind drifted back to playing quidditch with his brother, learning to throw and catch without falling off?
"Merlin's Beard! There's someone in here. Guys, in this one!"
Hands touched Newt's shoulder, but he didn't lift his head. That voice… he had to be dreaming.
"Come on, my friend. Still alive? Percy, in here."
"He alive?" This man was American, the accent jarring enough for Newt to lift his head.
There was a gasp by his side, but Newt's eyes were blurry from being pressed down so firmly.
"Newt?!" The English soldier threw his arms around him, but Newt flinched and hid his face again. "Newton? It's me! Come on!"
"Back up a bit, Theseus." The American spoke again, but he was closer this time. Newt lifted his head again to stare at the man. There was a kind smile on his face, and when he offered a hand, Newt allowed himself to be pulled up.
"Newton? Come on, little brother." The concern in the other soldier's voice made Newt flinch again, so he kept a grip on the American and stepped closer to him. "Newt?"
"Let's just wait till we're out of here. I'll take him back to camp and you meet up with the others. See what was going on here."
There was a reply, but Newt tuned it out. He was getting away. Relief made his knees weak and he stumbled into the man, who wrapped an arm around him before stepping to disapparate.
When he stirred several hours later, Newt was in a camp of American wizards and he was still curled up on top of the man he'd been rescued by. As a warm hand rubbed slowly up and down his back, Newt watched as the one man in more traditional wizard robes stood awkwardly at the tent entrance.
"Newt?" He sounded unsure as he took an awkward step forward.
Newt lifted his head in surprise, "Theseus? I thought you were a dream."
"I… no. Is that why you only wanted Percy?"
"Percy?"
"Me." The hand on his back stopped as the man spoke. "And it's Percival, not Percy."
Theseus couldn't quite hide his smirk, "You've been with him all this time and you didn't ask?" But Newt didn't reply. Reality still only seemed to be returning in little shards. "Gather your strength, little brother… and your mind. I'll be back soon enough. I have to owl the ministry."
Newt had planned to ask his brother why he was in a camp full of Americans, but the hand had started rubbing again and he drifted back off to sleep.
"You needn't worry, my dear boy. It's all been arranged." Albus Dumbledore was smiling down at Newt as he sat in one of the small offices at the Ministry for Magic.
"I'll be able to graduate?" He had no idea how this had come about, but he honestly didn't care. "But… I didn't even take O.W.L.s, never mind my N.E.W.T.s, sir."
"You have gained some… leniency for your part in the war." Dumbledore smiled encouragingly at him, but it was a little strained now.
Newt rubbed at his nose with his wrist before glancing briefly up at his former transfiguration teacher. He wanted to ask if his part was his work with dragons or something to do with the madman who had experimented on him. He couldn't work up the nerve to ask though, instead focussing on other important areas, "Do I have to go back to school? I would be graduating by now…"
"No, my boy, you would have evening classes to help you catch up, but you did excel at a number of your classes so I believe you are quite capable of doing this."
Thoughts of Leta crossed his mind. They had written to each other regularly while he had been working with dragons, but then he had spent months in captivity and several more recovering; it was summer now, and his year group would be languishing about waiting to go home for the final time. "I've not had any time to prepare though, sir."
"You won't be sitting them now, Newton. You would work during the day and study on an evening. It would be less time studying than you would have had, but if the work you do is not overly taxing then you should be fine." Dumbledore paused a moment, ducking his head to try and catch Newt's eye, which he managed for a short moment. "If, at the end of say… two years, you feel you are not advanced enough, then I will support you in sitting your O.W.L.s, but I believe you can make the jump. You were more than ready for those exams before you were expelled."
"Can… can I take time to think about it, sir? I don't even have a job or anything sorted yet." His brother had told him not to worry, but then he had then kept mum on what he was doing to help.
"Owl your brother. You will be able to study while working the job he has lined up for you."
"Yes sir."
"And this book is for you, a bit of extra study over the summer. Working at the Ministry, I'm sure you understand what you need to do if you choose to pursue this particular branch of transfiguration."
"Yes sir!" But this time, there was definite enthusiasm in his voice.
"I'm sorry, Healer Parker, but you do not have any right to Quincy." Newt was staring at the parchment in front of him as the healer ranted.
"That house elf should be mine! It came from my estate!" he concluded, glaring at the younger man.
"You signed him over to the Shafiq family, Healer Parker." Newt began listing the main ingredients of a shrinking solution, the abuse this 'healer' had put his house elf through both angered and sickened Newt.
"He's served my family for generations."
"And you lost a card game and so lost your house elf in the process!" he snapped in response, scowling at the now crinkled parchment that he held. "I won't help reverse a process when Quincy is happier where he is now. Mrs. Shafiq treats her house elves well."
The healer spat on the floor before storming out and Newt folded his arms on his desk and hid his face in them.
"Knock knock, brother." Theseus announced his entrance as he stepped inside. "How's your research going?"
Newt sighed and lifted his head to smile wearily at the older man. "Slowly. I can't wait to be finished with my exams."
"I've been looking into things for you when I've been out the country. I've a few ideas for where you should go once you've exhausted the available books and notes on this island."
"I might ask Mr. Worme his opinion. I think I want to go and actually look at the creatures in England before I go anywhere. I don't want to just accept anything as fact without checking it. I was going to check in with a crup breeder near in Yorkshire and then north of there are some marshlands where I want to look into the trolls that reside up there."
Augustus Worme had commissioned Newt to write an up-to-date book about the magical creatures that reside throughout the world. He had come to the young man two years previous, when Newt had sent a forceful letter demanding to know why Obscurus Books didn't have any current material that could be used when studying Care of Magical Creatures; it was easier to be forceful about things when you didn't have to look them in the eye, and it had given him chance to think his words through before sending it. Even so, the man had requested a meeting, asked about Newt's mother and then asked if he would like to be the one who wrote the current material. After agreeing that Newt could finish his exams first, he had given the young man all the information he had in his bookshop and Newt had set out collecting documents and accounts of creatures from around Great Britain during his admittedly rare free-time.
However, Newt was now coming to the end of his N.E.W.T.s and Theseus was helping him prepare to travel through Europe and collect more material for his book. Unfortunately, his brother's help mainly seemed to handing him permits to fill in and explaining the laws of each country in far more detail than Newt cared to hear. Still, maybe his most recent help would be something he could actually use.
"I have maps." Theseus stated, which had to be in the stack of documents the man held to his chest. "I have shaded parts where you can expect to find if not the actual creature you are looking for in the region, then folklore and help in locating it."
"Thank you." Newt tried to look calm as he accepted the pile and knocked it into disarray as he searched for the aforementioned map. He quickly looked to Germany, looking for the Black Forest; he'd heard rumours about erklings out there are was looking forward to his chance to explore.
"Do you have many exams left to sit?" His brother seemed intent on chatting now that he had delivered his information, sitting down in the chair opposite Newt.
Newt's attention barely strayed from the map, "Uhh... Herbology and… a pogrebin? I wonder what that is… and, um, charms."
Theseus sighed softly, "Two left. At least they're nothing that I have to worry about you failing then. I still need you to promise me that you'll sleep though, or I'll take these back until after your exams."
Newt hummed in response, but he was looking through the rest of the parchment; it seemed his brother had sent someone out to gather written accounts of the different tales that were floating about in different countries.
"Don't forget you've still got a job here that you need to do for the rest of the day." Theseus mentioned as he got to his feet. Newt didn't answer, his attention on what he was reading. "Good day, little brother."
Newt collapsed to his knees as he arrived in the harbour.
"Well, that was… huh, I didn't expect that."
"Never again!" snarled Alice, wrenching her arm from his grasp. He had grabbed her to disapparate when he had realised what they had been fighting.
"But… we're only in Wales, and it's early afternoon. Don't you find it curious that they are out and about now? Maybe we should find out." He looked imploringly up at her, but flinched away at the ferociousness in her expression.
"No, Mister Scamander, I do not. I think we should go back to the ministry, make our report and allow the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures to take over." She twisted on the spot and disappeared.
Newt followed.
"Vampires are beings, not beasts. The Beast Division cannot do anything to them." He argued, hurrying after the woman, her clammy skin and slight tremble giving evidence to her fright.
"The aurors, then! Newton, they nearly killed us!" she roared, and Newt reminded himself that it was fear that fed her aggression.
In his twenty three months in the Beast Division, Newt had found that there was a lot of paranoia, and an alarming willingness to kill anything they did not understand. "It's not the beginning of a vampire uprising."
"Merlin help me if you are about to start talking about expected behaviours and habitats, Mister Scamander. I have to go to Egypt with you next month to look into these underground rings that Gringotts think are being used to traffic animals and take trade from them. I can't focus on my work when I'm trying to ignore the urge to stupefy you."
Alice Nott was his partner in the Beast Division of the Ministry for Magic. She came from a pureblood family and resented having to work with Newt, whose father was a muggle. It probably didn't help that he didn't like to edit who he was to match who he was with; she found him highly annoying and he couldn't bring himself to care. He could actually hear her grinding her teeth sometimes, most noticeably whenever he stopped to note things for his book; which meant that the next few months would be a real test of her patience. He'd never been to Africa before and he was looking forward to it immensely.
"Just put it out of its misery, Scamander!"
"He's not dead! Come on, boy. Here we go. Shh… Shh…"
Newt stepped closer to the creature, his case still clasped tightly in his hand as Alice guarded the entrance.
"Merlin's balls, Scamander! Get a move on!"
He crouched down and ducked his head, trying to look submissive while keeping eye contact. He had no idea what creature this ragged thing was, but he'd grown up with hippogriffs and when he didn't know what to do, he always went back to what he had learnt first.
"All is well, my boy. I won't leave you here." He cooed gently, ignoring Alice's claim that she'd leave them both soon enough.
The bird leaned his head into Newt's hand before allowing himself to be pulled into the case. Newt shut it quickly and got to his feet. They had to leave now.
"Got him, but he's been so maltreated that I don't even know what he is!" Newt told her as several men broke through their wards.
"You bastards!" cried Alice, flinging hexes at them. She was rough, but she did hate people who were so cruel to undeserving animals; it had kept the two civil throughout their partnership.
"Come on!" he grabbed her and they began to run. There was an anti-apparition ward in effect, so they couldn't simply disappear.
"Confringo!" She shouted before Newt swung the door to the room shut.
"Colloportus!" He said, twisting his wand in the hope that the locked door would slow them. "That way?"
There was a crack in the wall, but rather than hurrying through it and into the narrow passage, Alice pressed Newt up against the wall beside it while whispering, "Calamitatus." Newt held still, feeling distinctly awkward and badly wishing he had once listened to Dumbledore when he had given him that transfiguration book. Now was not the time to do something that would get him arrested. He should have registered...
With the disillusionment charm cast, they slipped out of view; this meant that they went unnoticed by the men, who rushed quickly past.
"Now," she murmured softly, still pressed close, "we get out of here, so straight to the boat and leave this place behind. You'd better have our documents safe in there because I think we should get a muggle ship."
"Assuming Frank didn't accidently ruin anything when he fell in, they should still be safe."
"Frank?"
"I may not know what he is exactly, but he does rather need a name." Newt flushed slightly, but stood his ground on this. His mind had done some panicked thinking while they had been hiding.
"Let's just go."
"Tell me you didn't bring one back with you, Scamander."
"I didn't bring one back with me."
Alice put a hand over the parchment to stop him from writing. "If you have got a kappa in that case of yours, I will gut you."
"I don't have a kappa." He repeated blandly, trying to think of how to phrase the method that Japanese wizards had developed to survive an encounter with the fascinating creature.
"Look me in the eye and say 'I promise, Alice Nott, that I have not brought a monstrous creature back with us'. Say it now."
"Of course I haven't. And they aren't monstrous; extremely difficult to handle and somewhat dangerous, yes. But not impossible."
"That was too easy. What else have you got in there that I don't know about?" She narrowed her eyes.
Occamy eggs, but none of them were hatched and wouldn't be for at least another eighteen months. Their mother had been killed and they needed protecting so he kept his eyes down and lied, "Nothing new. I'm still busy trying to heal Frank. He's definitely a Thunderbird, and I'm hoping that once the damage to his wings has fully healed then he'll be able to fly again."
"A Thunderbird?" The comment distracted her. "Wait, you've still got Frank? That nearly two years ago that we found him."
"Sometimes, animals with long lives are slow to heal… and there was a lot of damage done to him. He can at least stand comfortably on both his legs now, but his wings seem to be resistant to my magic."
"Is it just yours? Do you… want me to have a try?"
"I don't have people in my case, sorry. Anyway I'm usually proficient enough at healing spells so there may simply be a natural resilience." In the four years they had been working together, not once had Alice wanted to enter his case; he wasn't going to shake things up now. He also had a pair of Streelers that she didn't know about, several Billywigs that had entered of their own accord and a herd of Mooncalves.
"So what's this I hear about you putting in a whole year's leave next spring?" She dropped down at her desk and pulled her lunch out of a drawer.
"Mr Worme is funding me to go travelling. Theseus is helping me compile a list of places to go."
"For your book." He'd never heard such disdain in a phrase, and wondered if he'd told her about it too often.
"Yes. I'm going to finish with Arizona. I've heard Thunderbirds are native in that particular region, and hopefully he'll be healed up enough by then."
"In another two years? I bloody well hope so." She scoffed, but then her face did something unfamiliar – it softened. "Make sure you come back in one piece. I've gotten used to you."
Newt hid a smile. "Yes, well… I'm not going yet." He resisted making a comment about pureblood and their ability to admit to friendships; he wasn't confident that what they had was an actual friendship, and thinking about it made him miss Leta, who didn't write back to him anymore.
"It's fine, I've got you." Newt whispered as he curled around the demiguise.
There was an uproar from the tents nearby as they realised the cage was open, but Newt simply strengthened his charm work and petted the creature's back comfortingly.
Heavy footsteps thundered past, and Newt held his breath for a long moment before looking down into the calm eyes before him.
"Come on. We need to go." But the creature stopped him stepping out. Another man crept along the grass, right in front of Newt. He held still again, body tense as his charm held up and the man's eyes slipped over them; moments later, the two were walking side by side as they moved beyond the wards.
"Are you well enough for me to apparate us?" He was not sure how much these creatures understood, but he didn't want to scare him. "Here. My case is in the town. You'll be safe in there and I have plenty of food that I can give you."
The demiguise held up his arms to be carried again, and Newt couldn't help the pleased smile that spread over his face as he stepped forward and sent them both into the town.
"Let's get you some dinner." He mumbled as he checked his wards and opened his case.
The group that had been holding the creature had been clever; rather than killing the demiguise for his pelt straight away, they had been planning to find another one and mate them. Not that this one was in any state for mating at the moment; he was malnourished and there was a trembling that Newt wanted to look into as it could be from weakness and hunger, or it could be from an illness.
Now, they had no demiguise and an unfortunate fire had ruined all the hard information they had had on anymore.
"Get rid of it."
"Sir, they really aren't violent creatures. It's ju-"
"Do you know the embarrassment that thing has caused me? I'll be lucky if the countess doesn't discredit me amongst our peers for this."
"He just can't help himself. It's in their nature."
"I had the housekeeper put poison down to get rid of it, like I do any pest. Do you know what we found? A puddle of poison on the floor and the silver bowl had gone."
"Yes, well… if the bowl was shiny then-"
"The only reason I haven't blasted it apart with magic is that it's so damned fast. Your brother told me you can help. Take it from here or I'll get some real beasts in here to kill it for me."
"I understand."
"For you." The aged man whispered, holding his cupped hands out to Newt.
"I am so sorry." Newt croaked in response, hands grasping tightly at his elbows as he drew back. "I honestly thought… I am so sorry."
"For you." He insisted, nodding encouragingly as Newt dried his eyes and his nose on his sleeve.
He was given an egg-sized chrysalis, green in colour and covered in spikes. His eyes widened, "Is this?"
"Swooping Evil." The answer was given in a hushed tone, respect for the dreadful beast evident in his tone.
"Well, he's going to have to change his diet." Newt stated, before realising he'd spoken aloud. "I mean, thank you."
The man nodded calmly and they stood.
"I… I'm sorry again about the girl. I wish… I'm so sorry."
"We all learn with experience." He said in a voice that was not unkind.
Newt nodded, but he left soon after. While there was nothing left to say, Newt still stopped at the edge of the village. On his travels, he'd encountered so many different ways of life, but some places where almost beyond his understanding. This young child had such a complete denial of her magic that an obscurus had formed, and yet the next village over lived an old man who, while not a wizard himself, lived in harmony with the magic world, capable of using and accepting what parts of it he could, such as magical beasts.
It truly broke his heart.
Fighting for composure as he began to head west for Chad, Newt accepted the thought that neither of these creatures would be included in his book. He would make notes, but somethings were too painful to make public. He may have set out with the sole purpose of discovering creatures and understanding them, but that changed when the child had been involved. He wasn't entirely sure what his purpose had changed to, but he was certain of one thing:
He had failed.
Of all his creatures, only Pickett had spent any time out the case on the way over to America. He was still claiming to be unwell and while Newt wasn't convinced by his act, it was nice to have to company when surrounded by so many other people.
"Nearly there, Frank." He mumbled as they approached New York. "Travelling over land is far quicker."
It also interested him far more. The ship had not slowed down to allow Newt any chance to explore the oceans, and he still wasn't a confident swimmer. One day though he hoped to get the chance to see what other creatures existed.
As a large number of passengers hurried over to see the Statue of Liberty, Newt noticed one of his latches open. No claws emerged as he pulled the case into his lap, and Newt leant over his case to soothe his demiguise, "Dougal, you settle down now, please. It won't be long."