Newt held the part of his head that had been hit, blinking a few times before he picked up his case, trying to find out where the Muggle had gone. He ducked out of the alley and began to walk after the Muggle, hoping to catch up to him and not look too suspicious to the other non magical people walking the street in their daily lives. The woman that Newt had run into before was there, just in the corner of Newt's eye. She drifted closer to him as she walked, when they collided they both apparated into an alley. Newt tried to dart away, but she grabbed his lapels like he had done to the man only moments earlier. "Who are you?" she asked, her voice was slightly airy and had a touch of an accent, but not one that Newt could place immediately.
"I'm sorry," Newt replied, he felt his accent grow thicker as he spoke to her. He leaned down for a moment, trying to get rid of the sick feeling from apparating against his will.
She was still breathing heavy, as if the apparating had taken out a lot on her too, "Who are you?" she asked again, this time the accent was more faded back, as if she was trying to repress it.
"Newt Scamander," he replied, still trying to duck away from her and back into the street. "And you are?" he asked, irritation laced into the words.
"What's that thing in your case?" she asked, ignoring the inquiry.
"That's my Niffler," he replied, a sense of pride welled in his chest, though it was soon followed with a dose of disappointment as he thought back to the antics that had just occurred. "Sorry, you've got something on your…" he trailed off, lifting his hand off to wipe off the offensive yellow mustard that had been on her lip when he had first seen her. She backed away, obviously untrusting of him.
"Why in the name of Deliverance Day did you let that thing loose?" she asked, exasperated.
"I mean to," Newt quickly explained, "he's encourageable, he sees anything shiney and he's all over it."
"You didn't mean to?" she asked, clarifying his ramblings. Newt only nodded his head in affirmation, thinking that it was best to keep quiet while interacting with the witch. "You could not have chosen a worse time to let that creature loose? We're in the middle of a situation here! I'm taking you in," she finally said after a moment, she swayed towards the wall before taking a small brown leather wallet out of her trench coat pocket.
"So you're taking me away?" Newt asked, amusement high in his tone.
"Magical Congress of the United States of America," she said, flashing her badges.
"So you work for MACUSA," Newt replied, annoyance taking over where the amusement had been. "What are you some kind of investigator?"
She stopped fidgeting with the walet for a moment and looked at him her mouth opened and shut as if she was going to say something, but chose not to, "At least tell me you took care of the nomaj?" she asked, avoiding his question.
"The what?" he asked.
"The nomaj," she repeated. He stood there with a blank expression for a moment, letting the silence creep in before she spoke again. "The no magic! The Non Wizard!"
"Oh," he said, lolling his head to the side, "Sorry, we call them Muggles."
"You wiped his memory right?" she asked, the fear rising in her voice. "The nomaj with the case?" Newt began to speak but stopped himself, looking down at the ground guiltily. Her shoulders and face fell with each other, as well as her hands finally falling down to her sides with disappointment. "That's a section 3A Mister Scamander. I'm taking you in." With those last words, she turned sideways and grabbed his arm, getting ready to apparate. This time, Newt was ready for it and came with her willingly, less he get sick.
They found themselves in front of another bank-like building before Tina dragged him over to a small side door that none of the nomaj's could see. She kept a tight hand on Newt's arm, not allowing him to escape, even if he wanted to. He felt his muscles tense underneath the strong grip for a moment, as if trying to test how strong the grip was. She tensed and her dark eyes darted over and looked the British wizard up and down. She stopped in front of the doorman and puffed out her chest, trying to make herself look more intimidating than the man dressed in black. "I have a section 3A," she said, her voice stern and slightly upset. The man nodded and opened the gold-lined door. They entered the building.
From what Newt could see through the doors, the building changed vividly when they entered through the fake door. The nomaj building had been bland and boring, plain grey marble and sandy carpets covering the floors closer to the rooms than the entrance. The wizard building, on the other hand, was larger than the other building and it was made out of white marble. There was a large clock that told the different levels of danger that the Wizarding world could be in. The dials changed as Newt walked under it, and he didn't care enough to look back at it. There were different colors of robes and suits that walked by them, several people glanced at them from the corners of their dark eyes. They stopped at a golden framed elevator where a house elf stood grumpily, waiting for the next person to get onto it and create work for him. Tina walked into the elevator, still tugging the British wizard sternly behind her. "Major Investigations Department. I've got a section 3A," she said her voice still stern, but with a shimmer of excitement.
"But I thought," the house elf began, she looked at hers with eyes that seemed to be on fire.
"Major Investigations Department," she said again, interrupting his words with her own, as if she was trying to stop him from saying something that she didn't want Newt to hear. The elevator closed and they began to fall downward at an alarming rate for something that nomaj's had made. They finally got down to one of the lowest floors and then the golden doors opened again. They stepped out, but Tina's steps became more and more hesitant before she squared his shoulders and puffed out her chest again, she walked in with her head held high. They walked through an open door and into a conversation that Newt was not expecting to happen. They seemed to be talking about one of the men that his brother had fought with along with several other men in the war, the same brother that he was almost always being mistaken for. The conversation stopped and all eyes were suddenly on them, he could feel the panic and anxiety coming off of the black-haired girl. She opened her mouth and then closed it again, seemingly too terrified to speak. Finally, she managed to get her voice box to work and while she spoke, her normally steady voice wavered and almost tried to break. "I caught a-"
She was quickly cut off by a dark skinned woman who had her blond hair tied up underneath a beige colored head wrap that had beads stitched onto in such a way that they managed to sparkle in the dim light of the room. There was another man who made the hair on the back of their necks stand up straight. The American wizard shrank back as words were barked at her from the other woman, "Miss Goldstein. How many times have we told you not to interrupt our meetings. After all, I believe that you are no longer an auror?" Tina seemed like she was going to cry, and she turned, not allowing the others to see the tears welling in the corners of her eyes as she quickly jogged away from the room. They walked back down the dark halls till they reached a flight of stairs, which Tina finally calmed down and stopped walking as quickly.
"What was that all about?" Newt asked, glancing behind his shoulder at the door that closed off the stairwell from the rest of the office. Tina hung her head and leaned against the sturdy wooden railing. She sniffed and ran her pale white hand underneath her nose. She shook her head and then looked up at the ceiling, tears still welling in the corners of her dark eyes. She shook her head again before she took a deep breath in through her mouth and then back out. She squared her shoulders and puffed out her chest again before she continued down the stairs, making it evident that he was supposed to follow. Newt looked back at the door and a fleeting thought of just turning and bolting away from the apparent ex-auror crossed his mind. He shook it off and walked down the stairs awkwardly, holding the case tightly in his hands. His head began to peel off of his shoulder as he walked, with no one else around him and the intensity of Tina holding his arm, he finally rid himself of the nervous tick.
They walked down on flight of stairs before Tina turned to the door and opened up another dark black door, heavy with magic enchantments. She held it open for him to walk through and as her eyes finally darted back behind her, he could see rows upon rows of desks all stacked with half done and completely undone paperwork. A sign hung from the ceiling, it read in perfectly formed gold words. It read: 'Wand Inspection.' They walked back to the desk that was second from the back of the room, where almost all of the paperwork was half done or completely done. Tina took off her hat and ran a nervous, shaking hand through her squashed black locks. "Do you have a license for that thing Mr. Scamander?"
"Oh, uh, I was meaning to get one before I came-" he stopped talking as Tina ducked under her desk. Panic written all over features.
"Goldstein?" a voice called from behind them, the voice was angry and unpleasant. Newt grimaced as the man walked up next to him, standing there with a firm underbite and a glare that could kill. "Did you interrupt the Major Investigations Department again?"
She stood up from behind her desk, her eyes downcast like a small child who was getting scolded for ruining their appetite before dinner. Her hair fell over into her face and stuck awkwardly onto her lipstick. The horrible man allowed his shoulders to drop and he turned around and walked away, leaving her to take care of Newt by herself. She shuddered as soon as he was out of earshot and she dropped down into her chair, her hands flying to her temple as she stared at some of the half done paperwork. "What was that all about?" he asked, placing his case down on the desk.
"He knows that I was around the Second Salemers. But that's not important, give me that case," she ordered, standing back up awkwardly in her heels, which were obviously just higher than the ones that she normally wore on a day to day basis. Newt chewed on the side of his cheek and felt his head drift over to the side for a moment anxiously.
"Who are the Second Salemers?" Newt asked, watching over her shoulder as she opened the case. The leather case opened and instead of the opening to the menagerie, there are assorted baked goods. "Jacob has the other case," he mumbled, his eyes growing wide with fear for the other man and his animals.