Newt gazed through the fog, up at the castle which stood tall with the pride most British architecture had.
He hadn't returned since he'd been expelled, he wasn't entirely sure why. Nerves, he supposed. He was never ashamed of taking the blame for Leta, but he didn't like talking about her, it hurt too much. Newt felt like an outsider all of his life, Leta was there for him when things got tough. But things changed, and now she had joined Grindelwald. Dumbledore was a great man, but Newt suspected that the real reason he had invited him to do a presentation was because he wanted to talk about Leta.
Newt gazed into the lake, remembering the first time his curiosity got him into trouble at Hogwarts. As if she had heard his thoughts, a mermaid came to the surface, the most beautiful melody escaping her lips, just as she had in his first year.
Newt had never seen a mermaid back then, so he tried to follow it into the lake. He almost drowned, but instead of reprimanding him, Dumbledore simply smiled and gave him some Gillyweed. 'Curiosity should never be punished, only encouraged.' He pat Newt on the head with a twinkle in his grey eyes.
The mermaid started to swim around the shore, her hair flowing behind her gracefully. She seemed impatient, Newt realised, and grinned.
'That's not going to work, I'm much older now and I've seen stranger creatures than you.' Newt informed her. Suddenly the mermaids song turned into screeches, she was glaring at him through scaly, emerald eyes.
'Oh- I'm sorry! I didn't mean to offend – you are still very interesting. Come on, there's no need to be rude.' Newt's words were soft, which seemed to calm the mermaid down. Just for a second, Newt swore she had smiled, but it faded rather quickly and in a flash she was gone.
'Glad to see you haven't changed. Still sweet talking the merpeople I see.' An amused voice echoed from behind him. Newt turned around to see Dumbledore, who was frowning at where the mermaid had been.
'Yes, sir.' Newt said, taken aback. 'You see, they may come across as aggressive, but I find they're actually quite – sir?' Newt stopped as he realised the teacher was still frowning at where the mermaid had been, as if he was trying to solve a puzzle. After another minute, Dumbledore came out of his daze and beamed at him. 'It's good to see you Newt! Please, no need to call me sir. You work for the ministry now, do you not? I tell all the staff about you, how I let you take your exams despite being expelled.' Newt didn't know what to say, so he just smiled out of the corner of his mouth and nodded.
Dumbledore showed Newt to his dorm, which was surprisingly similar to those that habited students. A four poster bed draped with crimson curtains stood against one of the walls and a large glass window revealed the star lit Forbidden Forest. Newt wandered into that forest many times as a child, usually chasing after Hippogriffs and Jarveys. Newt thought he ought to take a visit into the dark forest again while he was here, the climate and natural beauty of it was the perfect breeding spot for unusual wildlife. Dumbledore told him he should come down to the great hall for dinner in an hour, where he would be formally introduced to the students.
'Oh no! I mean thank you! But I don't want an introduction...' Newt swallowed as he remembered the last time he spoke to a large group of people. He was in America, and his words had given him a death sentence. Of course, now his name was cleared, however he did not feel comfortable being the centre of attention. He would prefer to get to know at least some of the students, one on one. It would be better for everyone's nerves, he decided.
Dumbledores brow raised, but he did not question Newt further. 'As you wish. Still, I believe they are serving fire whiskey to the staff as a celebration. You'd be mad to pass down that.' And with that, Dumbledore left the room, the door still open behind him.
Newt was about to leave for the great hall when something curious caught his eye outside. All his life Newt had been skilled at noticing strange creatures, but this was beyond odd, this was suspicious. Because beneath the shining moon, a large stygian dog was heading towards a hole underneath a gaping tree, followed by a stag which appeared to have a rat perched on its back. This was most unusual behaviour, so Newt made a note to follow the hole after the feast was finished.
The great hall was buzzing with loud voices and laughter. Just as he had remembered it, the tables were decorated with charmed candles, underneath lay piles of wonderful food. At the end of each table stood a gleaming banner. One was green with a serpent on it, which Newt had always found unfair. Slytherins did have a bad reputation, but he couldn't help feeling that giving them a slithery, scaly creature did not help give them a positive approach to life. The next banner was to represent his own house, a golden yellow colour with a badger in the centre. Again, Newt felt like Hufflepuffs were stereotyped with this cute, fluffy animal. However, Ravenclaws banner didn't make much sense, as logically it should hold a Raven, but instead an Eagle is swooping down the ripples of the blue fabric. The last banner was crimson, and seemed to make the others look small in its glory. The Gryffindor's symbol was a lion, painted against a crimson background.
Newt smiled as he looked around the room, but it slowly faded as he noticed a boy a few foot taller than the people sat around him. They seemed to be ignoring the boy, who was playing with his pet mongrel. 'Queer.' thought Newt, he didn't think that dogs were an option when it came to choosing your learning companion. He decided to go and sit beside the towering boy, who looked down at him, his brows burrowed in confusion.
'What an interesting friend you have there..' Newt pointed to the drooling dog, raising his eyebrows.
'What? Fang?' The boys voice boomed, with a strong norther accent. This was when Newt realised why nobody was talking to the boy. Tall and broad with a thick, loud Northern accent, and hair sprouting all over his young chin despite appearing to have not yet hit puberty: the boy must be half giant! 'How exciting!' Newt thought.
'Fang? That's a fitting name, what's yours?'
''Agrid.' He bellowed, petting his dog uncomfortably. Newt looked up the boy, seeing himself in him. He was an outcast, and clearly interested in beasts, just as he was. Newt made the decision quickly, he unlocked his case and fiddled around until his fingers wrapped around a silver, spotted egg.
'Hagrid, I'm going to trust you with this. I warn you it will be challenging to look after, but I believe in you.' Newt placed the egg on Hagrid huge knee, and the boy looked shocked. Like himself, he knew Hagrid had never been believed in before. 'Don't worry, take it. But be very careful, most teachers here won't approve of you having it. And if you get caught, please don't link it back to me. I find I can get into enough trouble without Hogwarts judging me as irresponsible.' He smiled up at the giant, and he smiled back with his eyes filling with tears. Newt felt a warmth inside him as he left the table, knowing he had helped someone.
The next person Newt noticed was sat in the corner of the Slytherin, with long, jet black hair hiding his face in a book. Newt frowned as he realised this boy reminded him of Leta. He felt the urge to help this student, who was being pointed at and laughed at by a group of Gryffindor's.
'You like potions?' Newt asked as he sat down beside him, taking note of the book he was buried in. The boy remained silent, but Newt took it as an invitation to continue rambling at him. 'You know; I know quite a few potions. Most are useless, but I do have a collection of rare ingredients..' The boy looked up, and for a second he could see curiosity in the boys eyes. They seemed broken somehow, like he had lost all hope. Newt was saddened by this, so he reached into his robed and pulled out some dragon scales and thunderbird feathers. Newt opened the boys fingers, dropped the ingredients in his hand, and then closed the boys fingers back around them. The boy simply dazed at the ingredients, thn up at Newt, and then back at the ingredients. 'Tha-Thank you.' He whispered so quietly that Newt could only just hear. 'You're welcome.' Newt replied smugly.
Suddenly Newt remembered the odd sight he had spied out of his dorm window, and bounced out of his chair. He hastily made his way out of the hall, almost running to the strange looking tree outside. He was on a mission to find out more about the stag, the dog and the rat.