You had been in the Amazon for about a month and you had finally acclimated to the intense heat and humidity. Well, as acclimated as you were going to get, anyways. You wiped the back of your hand against your sweaty forehead.
"I don't know how you can stand this, covered in all that fur," you said to the Demiguise you were feeding. Dougal looked up at you with wide eyes, reaching out and touching your leg gently. You smiled. "It's feeling better today, thanks," you said, patting his head.
It was late afternoon now. You had returned to the campsite to do the usual rounds with the creatures while Newt had stayed out a bit longer documenting some rare behavior he noticed the Fire Slugs display that afternoon. You headed back to the shed, passing by the Mooncalves and tossing them their dinner. You laughed as they gathered around you, cooing.
"Alright, alright, be patient," you chided them as they nudged your hand for more feed.
"How is everyone tonight?"
You turned at the sound of Newt's voice, surprised you didn't heart him coming. He was leaning against the doorframe of the shed, watching you. You smiled.
"They are all happy and well-fed, Mummy," you joked, walking towards him. You shook your head at his dress shirt and vest. "How you wear all that in this heat, I'll never know." He chuckled, stepping into the shed.
"I suppose I'm just more adaptable than you are," he said.
"Hah!" You watched him as he started rolling up his sleeves. "How many burns did you get today?" You asked.
"Not so many!" He said. You raised a brow at him and he grimaced. "Well, not as many."
"Let's see them, then." He turned his arms over as you approached, and you sucked in a sharp breath seeing the burns spotted over his forearms.
"They don't hurt, really," he assured you. You hummed, reaching for your wand.
"Ferula," you whispered, easing his pain away. You turned to the table, searching for the vial you'd made earlier. "Aha," you said, locating it and pulling out the cork. "Drink this, it should heal them."
Newt drank it without hesitation. You both watched as his burns slowly faded. He smiled up at you. "When did you find time to perfect a new potion?"
"Well, we don't know if it's perfect yet," you joked. "Let me know if you have any burning sensations in your groin."
"I didn't know I hired an apprentice and a comedian," he said, smiling.
"Two for the price of one, Mr. Scamander."
He opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by muffled shouts coming from outside the case. Newt looked at you warily. You went for the ladder.
"Wait," he said. "Let me go first."
"Don't be stupid," you said, climbing up.
You stepped out of the case and let the humid air wash over you. It was already dark. Newt climbed out next to you and for a moment you both stood silent, straining to hear. Suddenly, in the distance, you heard men talking. You couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but Newt's face drained of color. He started off in their direction.
"Stay here," he said.
"No way!" You hissed. He didn't fight you on it. The two of you followed the voices until you came upon a clearing and saw a campsite up ahead. Crouching behind a fallen tree you counted five men in total. Their campsite was littered with trash and they were all sitting around a poorly constructed fire. Newt's sharp inhale of breath caught your attention. Looking at him, you followed his gaze to see a large metal cage a few yards away from the men.
"Is that… a dragon?" You whispered. Newt nodded.
"A Peruvian Vipertooth, actually," he said, frowning, "but just a baby." His eyes darted to yours. "They must be transporting it for illegal breeding."
"Just a baby?" You said weakly. "It's got to be at least 6 feet long…"
"There's no way they can handle it," he said. "We have to try and rescue her." You gaped at him. He smiled sheepishly at you. "Any ideas?"
"Uh.." you said,wrapping your head around what he said. You looked back to the campsite. Could you even take five men? You exhaled. One way to find out… "Ok," you said turning to him, "Ok. Right. How about you go around and try to get the dragon, and I take care of the criminals?"
Newt stared at you. "That sounds incredibly dangerous and irrational."
"So you agree it's incredible?" You said, flashing him a smile.
"Autumn, there is absolutely no way I'm going to let you - "
"Stupefy!" You shouted, standing and taking out the man closest to you. You managed to fire off a couple more curses, hitting a second man before you had to duck back down behind the tree to avoid being hit. "Go!" You hissed at Newt. He looked like he wanted to strangle you, but nodded and began to crawl in the direction of the cage. You peeked back over the log, taking note of where the remaining three men were. You ducked as a particularly strong spell hit the tree in front of you. "Reducto!" You fired back, missing the man.
"Ok, three more," you said, leaning your head back against the tree. "Aha," you said, noticing a thick and heavy piece of wood by your feet. Concentrating on where you saw one of them hiding, you apparated.
"Hello," you said, hitting him across the face with the wood before he had a chance to register you. "Two more," you said. You peeked around the tree to locate the others.
"Don't move!" A voice behind you said. You froze. "Don't. Move." You let your arms fall limply to your sides. "Drop your wand," the man growled. In one quick movement you flicked your wand backwards in your hand.
"Petrificus Totalus!" The ground shook with the weight of him falling. "One more."
You glanced across the campsite to see Newt at the dragon's cage fiddling with the lock. Your heart lurched as you saw the last man sneaking up on him from behind.
"Newt!" You shouted. He turned towards you, seeing the man behind him and ducking just before a spell hit him. You ran towards them, knowing he wasn't quick enough to escape completely. The man was on him in moments, pressing his wand into Newt's chest. "Stop!"
You were on them now, a sick feeling churning in your stomach. The man turned Newt around roughly, sticking a wand into his neck.
"Stop where you are, girl," he snarled, and you froze instantly. You looked at Newt, realizing with surprise your face was wet with tears. He offered you a shaky smile. "Throw your wand over here," the man ordered. You hesitated for a moment. "I'll kill him," he warned. You threw your wand at the man and he bent over to pick it up, sticking it in his belt loop. "Get on your knees." You dropped down, grimacing as pain shot through your leg. The man threw Newt on the ground next to you, redirecting his wand at your head.
"Are you ok?" Newt asked you, voice watery.
"Shut up!" The man yelled. You raised your chin at him defiantly.
"That's no way to speak to a lady," you said. He regarded you for a moment, chuckling darkly.
"I like a woman with a mouth," he said. "I'm going to have fun playing with you later." He took a step towards you and you shuddered. "Maybe your boyfriend can watch," he whispered, nodding in Newt's direction. You could feel the anger radiating off Newt's body.
"Maybe you could give me a preview," you said said, raising a brow at the man. Both he and Newt turned to you in shock. The man smiled slowly, giving you a toothy grin.
"Not getting what you need from your man, are you, little lady?" He said. He took a step towards you, pulling you up roughly by the arm. "I bet I could satisfy you," he said. His breath smelled of booze and cigar smoke as he leaned into you. You let him kiss you, opening your mouth slightly and allowing him to snake his tongue in. As soon as he did you bit down, hard.
"Agh!" He screamed, falling backwards.
"Incarcerous!" You shouted, having grabbed your wand from his belt when he was close to you. You stepped over to him, spitting his own blood onto the ground by his head. "You're an awful kisser," you said. You turned to face Newt. "Are you ok?" You asked him.
Newt stared at you. "I… what... Merlin's beard," he said weakly. "Who are you?"
"Maybe if you had asked me more questions about my qualifications in our interview…" you started, stopping as a sharp pain shot through your leg. You hissed. You shifted your weight experimentally, surprised when your knee gave out and you began to fall.
"I got you," Newt said, suddenly at your side and keeping you upright.
"Thanks," you said, the adrenaline of the moment wearing off. You felt more exhausted than you ever had.
"For the record," he said smiling, "it wasn't really an interview as much as you begging me for a job."
"Admit it though," you said grinning, "I'm very convincing."
After safely sequestering the dragon to her own habitat in the case, Newt joined you in the shed. He had transfigured you a more comfortable chair and ottoman, ordering you to sit and keep your leg propped up. You had argued with him of course, insisting you were fine, but he would hear none of it.
"How's my patient?" He asked you upon returning.
"Bored," you said. He shot you a look, turning to his table and grinding ingredients. You watched him in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the way his brow furrowed when he was concentrating. He turned, holding a small bowl and kneeling by the ottoman. "What's that?" You asked.
"A salve," he said. "It should help with your pain and any swelling." He gathered some on his fingers, glancing up to you. "It may be cold," he warned. He placed a dollop on your knee, rubbing it gently into your skin. It was cold at first, but began to tingle and relax your muscles after a moment.
You hummed. "Thank you, Newt," you said. He paused his ministrations to look at you.
"I think you saved my life tonight," he said, "so it's the least I can do."
You flushed under his gaze, looking away. You focused your eyes on one of his framed photographs, recognizing the girl pictured. "I know her," you said absently, wondering why you'd never noticed before. His hand froze on your knee.
"Yes," he said slowly. "I imagine you would. She was in your house."
"You know Leta?" You said, looking towards him. His eyes were downcast.
"I knew her," he said, glancing up to you and smiling sadly, "a lifetime ago." You didn't have to ask what he meant. You recognized his look - it was the same one Cyrus had left you with. You laid your hand over his, squeezing gently.
"Sometimes I think people come into our lives to show us how much we can handle," you whispered, "and to teach us how strong we can truly be." You withdrew your hand and Newt smiled.
"You should get some rest," he said, standing. You closed your eyes and hummed.
"I think I can sleep right here," you said. You reached behind you, grabbing Newt's coat off the back of the chair and draping it over your body. "Goodnight Newt," you said yawning. He chuckled.
"Goodnight, Autumn."
