Fifth Year

August

Newt had been so excited to visit Theseus at the Ministry of Magic that he did not sleep very well the night before. He tossed and turned, tried counting hippogriffs, but not even waiting for the chance to catch a glimpse of the brownie that lived under the stairs helped him calm down enough to go to sleep. His parents had laughed at him during dinner, stating that he was far too excited for such a boring trip.

"You aren't going to see anything but the inside of an office," Newt's father had said. "It isn't as if you are going to catch a dark wizard on the streets."

Which Newt knew, but the knowledge did not dime his excitement. Theseus had promised to show Newt the Beast Division.

Newt's father dropped him off at Theseus's apartment the next morning, and together, the brothers used floo powder to enter the Ministry of Magic. It was not what Newt had been expecting, and Theseus laughed at his expression. Newt had known that the Ministry of Magic was underground, but it was darker that Newt had imagined, and it reminded him of sewers more than magic underground offices.

Theseus gave Newt a visitor badge, and then started to lead the way to the Auror Department. They packed themselves onto the already full elevator, and the elevator zoomed to the right and then up before letting out some of the occupants. The elevator flew up and then left, then down again, and more people left, until it was just Newt, Theseus, a stranger with a hat, and two people -a man and a woman - who had just walked into the elevator.

Newt, although he had never met them in real life, knew who they were immediately. They were Leta's parents, the Lestranges. Leta was the spitting image of the woman who stood beside Newt, ignoring his existence, and Leta had her father's nose. The Lestranges stood awkwardly still and composed as the elevator zoomed one way and then flew the next. Newt could not place the uneasy feeling in his stomach, and he knew that it did not come from the sensations caused by the elevator. He followed Theseus's lead, and did not speak while the Lestranges were there. Part of him wanted to greet them, to make them understand that their daughter was talented, smart, funny, and loyal. Another part of him wanted them to know that he knew how they treated her, that they had failed at keeping their actions towards Leta a secret.

Theseus's jaw was set like stone until the Lestranges left the elevator.

"Nasty people," said the stranger in the hat.

"Their daughter is kind enough," said Theseus. The answer surprised Newt. Theseus had never judged Leta for being in Slytherin, or for being a Lestrange, but it had always been obvious that the two never gotten along.

"Might seem nice enough now," said the stranger. "But that family has been a Pure-Blood for too long, they grow up into monsters. It's in their blood. Like a curse."

Theseus shrugged. "Curses can be broken."

Newt loved him for that.


September

The beginning of school came with a nasty surprise. Newt, with Mitts at his heels and Leta practically skipping beside him in her excitement, made his way towards Rushhook's enclosure after the first day of lessons.

They found it empty.

"Rushhook is a solid flyer these days," said Leta. "Let's just wait a few minutes to see if he comes back."

Rushhook did not come back, and despite Leta's cheerfully telling newt that he was overthinking it, Newt knew that something was wrong. They waited a good two hours, before Newt was able to convince Leta that Rushhook wasn't coming.

The next day Newt had Care of Magical Creatures, and he dawdle after class until Professor Kettleburn was alone.

"How was your break, Mr. Scamander?" Professor Kettleburn asked, when he noticed that Newt had not followed the rest of his classmates back up to the castle for lunch.

"Where is Rushhook, sir?" Newt asked.

Professor Kettleburn became very busy at re-stacking a pile of rolled up parchments, notes and drawings that Newt's class had done during the lesson.

"I'm afraid, Newt, that Rushhook no longer lives at Hogwarts."

"Rushhook isn't old enough to be excepted into a flock yet, sir," said Newt. "My mother -"

"I know about your home life with hippogriffs, Newt, and I have never doubted your knowledge." Kettleburn still could not meet his eyes. "Rushhook has not joined a flock, he was simply passed on to another home for the next two years. Hogwarts was becoming rather crowded for him."

This did not make sense to Newt, either. Hogwarts had more than enough room to house multiple young hippogriffs.

"To be honest, I think Rushhook had gotten everything he could get by living here," Professor Kettleburn continued. "He is in better hands now."

Better hands.

Newt felt has if he had been slapped. Without another word, he turned towards the castle. Professor Kettleburn did not call after him. Newt had raised Rushhook. He had made sure that the hippogriff had been exercised, socialized, and cleaned. He had been there for Rushhook's first flight. To not even be aware that Rushhook was no longer at Hogwarts, after everything Newt had done, seemed like a betrayal.

But that was human, to do something that hurt others without taking their feelings into account. Maybe it wasn't Kettleburn's fault. Maybe Newt had put too much trust in other people being able to think about someone else. Humans were selfish creatures, a fact that Newt had somehow forgotten. A fact he would try hard not to forget again.

"He did what!" Leta exclaimed, when Newt found her at lunch. "And he didn't even tell you?"

Newt shrugged. "Rushhook was technically his, Kettleburn didn't owe me anything."

"You spent almost every day with that hippogriff! Which is more than Kettleburn ever did." Leta had not looked this angry since Sophia had spilled a potion on Newt in class years ago.

Newt did not defend Kettleburn again. It felt good to hear someone be as angry as he felt.


October

It was October before Leta remembered that Newt had been given a mysterious egg to care for over the summer. The egg, which had been left on his bed with a note and no name, had grown almost twice in size over the last few months.

"It's huge," said Leta, holding it carefully as she sat down beside Newt in their usual library spot. "And really heavy."

Newt had very quickly grown accustom to the weight of the egg in his bag. He took it with him everywhere, wrapped in a warm blanket and stowed carefully in a side pocket on the inside of his book bag.

"It's dense," said Newt, "but it isn't always heavy. It changes, depending on its mood."

"The egg has moods?" Leta asked, her eyes trailed the almost scale like crust of the egg.

"Whatever is inside it seems to at least enjoy certain things over others," said Newt.

Leta raised a single perfect eyebrow. "How can you tell."

Newt dug through his stack of books and opened one at random. "If he likes something, he becomes light. If he doesn't, he becomes very heavy."

"You're joking."

"No."

Leta scowled. She carefully passed the egg across the table back to Newt. He wrapped it back into its blanket and placed it into the nest like pocket in his bag. The egg felt light in his hand.

"He likes the blanket, and he likes the sound of my voice, so if I keep it with me he stays happy and near," said Newt. "It's a win-win."

Leta reached over him to pull out her own random book. "Except you have to keep it hidden."

"I don't want anyone to try to steal it."

"Does it like Mitts?" asked Leta.

Newt frowned. "Yes. Sorry. But it was with Mitts all summer. You're new."

Leta did not seem to find that as an acceptable answer, and returned to her book.

They were trying to figure out what kind of egg it was. So far, they had had no luck. Newt knew that if he could identify what creature lived inside, that he would be better able to give the egg what it needed. He could not figure out why its owner had given it to him without any instructions. Unless the owner wanted it back before it hatched.

So far, Newt had discovered that the egg was happiest slightly above room temperature. It liked to be wrapped in its blanket and it seemed to enjoy the moments went Mittens would curl around it and sleep. It liked being talked to, and it liked to be carried around. Newt had once left it safe on his bed for a day over the summer to help his mother with the hippogriffs, and the egg hadn't forgiven him for days. It had stayed so heavy that Newt couldn't move it until Newt had promised to keep the egg close from then on. Newt didn't know if the egg was attached to him, or if it simply didn't like being alone as a natural response created so that it would not be attacked by predators.

"Do you know who might be able to help us?" Newt asked, his voice blended with the other hushed whispers in the library.

Leta did not look up from her book. She flipped a page.

"Don't ask Gwen."

Newt sighed. Gwen was at the top of the year, and seemed to know no amount of random information. Newt had not yet spoken to her since returning to Hogwarts, not even in Transfiguration lessons. He missed her friendship, and blamed himself for messing it up. As a Ravenclaw, Newt shared his common core lessons with Gwen, which made it so that some days he saw more of her than of Leta. He missed competing with her in Transfigurations, or having her listen with interest to his added notes during Care of Magical Creatures.

Gwen was currently still dating a boy named Henry, who was the year above them. Darren often told Newt that he was a fool for letting Gwen slip through his fingers.

But then there would be moments when Leta would smile at him, white teeth on dark skin, and Newt would forget what Gwen looked like.

"She can keep a secret," Newt said.

Leta looked up from her book. "Don't ask Gwen."


November

Addie Newell, the Hufflepuff Keeper, quit.

The current team captain, a Seeker named Jaime Cook, set up new try outs within the hour of Addie's walk out. Jon and Marissa, the other two team Chasers, groaned when Jaime slapped the poster calling for opening try outs in the Hufflepuff common room. Ryan and Lucas, the team Beaters, hung their heads.

"What's the big deal?" Newt asked, not understanding his team's discomfort.

"Try outs are the worse," said Lucas.

"And just wait," added Ryan. "Jaime will want us there, you know, to make sure the new person gets along with everyone on the team."

"As long as they are a good Keeper, I don't care if I like them personally or not," said Marissa. "I'm here to win, not to make friends."

"We aren't going to find a brand-new Keeper that has enough skills to block Ravenclaw when we go against them," said Jon. "What's the point. Let's go Keeper-less."

"Plus the whole of the house will try out," said Ryan. "Makes for a long and boring day."

The next weekend, Ryan turned out to be right. About half of the house showed up to tryouts. Including Darren. Darren had been nicer and more outgoing towards Newt since open try outs had been announced. Newt had already warned him that he had no sway over who Jamie asked to join the team or not, but Darren had not seemed to take Newt seriously.

"Sure," Darren had winked. "Of course you don't."

Jaime ended up picking a surprisingly talented second year named Ashton Bee. Darren had never looked so sour. Newt had a feeling that Darren wouldn't talk to him for days.

After try outs, on his way back towards Hogwarts, he spotted Gwen sitting with Henry, building small snowmen. Making a split decision based off Leta's absence, he turned on his heel and headed towards her. She looked extremely surprised to see him, despite the fact that they shared half of their classes.

"I was wondering if you could help me?" Newt asked.

Gwen blinked, stared, then blinked again. She shook her head, as if trying to clear her brain, then said, "Sure. Of course, Newt. What do you need?"

Newt led her away from Henry, much to the boy's annoyance, and checked behind his shoulder before pulling out the egg from his bag.

"I'm assuming this not for common knowledge," said Gwen, automatically lowering her voice.

Newt nodded. "But I can't find out what kind of egg it is, you wouldn't happen to have any guesses, would you."

She studied the egg in his hand, careful not to touch it. "Well, look at it Newt! It looks rather obvious to me."

Newt traced his fingers over the scale like crust of the outer shell. There were many, many creatures that had scales, and almost all of those made scale like eggs. Researching in the library had only made Newt aware of the hundreds of different creatures that created eggs like his.

"I'm been looking in the library, but none of the egg descriptions in the books match exactly," said Newt.

Gwen rolled her eyes in the playful way she used to do in Transfigurations. "Of course not. No teacher is going to put a book in the school library about Drake eggs."

"You think it's a drake?" Newt tucked the egg carefully back away. "A non-flying dragon, drake."

"Well, look at it."

Later that night, while he and Leta played wizard chess in the Great Hall, Newt would tell her that he thought it was a drake egg. He did not mention Gwen.


December

Professor Spruill, the head of Hufflepuff house, woke Newt up at one in the morning on a Wednesday. Newt's first reaction was to make sure the egg was tucked under his blanket, his second was to check to see if his sudden flinching had woken Mittens, and his third was to ask, "What's wrong?"

"Get dressed," said Professor Spruill, who Newt had never seen look so serious before. Tonight, she reminded Newt of a worried hen. "The other boys in the dormitory will pack up your trunk and we will send it to you later."

Which meant that Newt was going home, although it didn't explain why. Knowing that Darren was still upset about not getting on the Quidditch team, Newt made sure to tuck the egg under the arm of his robe as he dressed and left the dormitory.

"I'm being sent home?" Newt asked, as he stepped into the common room.

Professor Spruill nodded. "There was an accident."

The blood drained out of Newt's face. Theseus. Theseus had been in an accident.

Without a word, Newt fled from Professor Spruill and practically ran to the Slytherin house entrance. When Professor Spruill found him, she told him to wait a moment, then went inside and returned with Leta. Newt pulled Leta into a hug before she could even step all the way out into the corridor. Out of view from Professor Spruill, he passed Leta the egg.

"It's going to be okay Newt," Leta said. "It will be okay."

When Newt felt slightly calmer, he pulled away from Leta. He could see her struggle to make it look as if she wasn't hiding a very heavy egg between her bathrobe and her pajamas. He let Professor Spruill lead him away, towards the Headmaster's office.

"I'm here for you Newt," Leta called after him. "Whatever you need. I'm on it."

Professor Spruill was oddly quiet as they made their way towards the Headmaster's office, where Newt would be using floo powder to meet his parents at St. Mungo's hospital.

"Last I heard your brother was stable," said Professor Spruill tired. "He should be fine, but your parents want you home."

This did not cheer Newt up in the slightest.

Newt was halfway to St. Mungo's before he realized that he had left Mittens on his bed, asleep at Hogwarts, where she would be forgotten and alone over winter break. On the bright side, Newt reasoned with himself, he had seen the boggart form of Theseus dead or injured so many times, that surely he was partly prepared for the real thing. Yet when his parents led him to Theseus bed, Newt did not feel prepared.


January

Newt had spent his winter break with Theseus, who was already back to full health and hated having his little brother trying to take care of him. Along with dealing with a sick Theseus, who had broken a few bones on an Auror assignment, and had been badly cursed, Newt was also worried about Mittens. His loyal cat had been left alone at Hogwarts all break. What if she hadn't been able to feed herself? What if she had wandered into the Forbidden Forest, looking for Newt, never to find her way out again? What if she couldn't get outside to eat some snow, would she be getting any water?

His worries, however, vanished as he stepped into the Great Hall, fresh off the Hogwarts Express, and saw Leta. She was holding a small black cat in her arms. Newt had never wanted to kiss someone as much as he wanted to kiss her then. He hugged her, instead.


February

Ashton Bee, the newest member of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, was extremely small. Dark skinned and dark eyed, the only way to spot him in a corridor full of people was to look for his cloud like puff of hair. Not only was he thin, he was also very short, and he looked younger in the face than almost all the first years. Most of the team called him by his last name, Bee, out of affection and because of his size. Despite his appearance, however, the second year was a reasonably talented Keeper, and Hufflepuff had yet to lose a match this year. Even so, Jamie made sure they had more practices now that a new member had joined half way into the season.

Leta had bonded with the mysterious egg over winter break. It now sat as light in her hands as it did in Newts. Leta said that having Mittens around over the break had helped.

"Has anyone asked for it back?" Leta asked one morning at breakfast, when Newt slumped down beside her, tired from morning Quidditch practice.

Newt shook his head, and reached over the table to scratch Mittens behind the ears. The cat purred.

"Well someone asked me about the egg today," said Leta.

Newt's eyebrows rose. His excitement boiled. The mystery was about to come to an end.

"Who?"

"Gwen," Leta said. "How does Gwen even know about the egg."

Months. Months had gone by since Newt had shown Gwen the egg, and she hadn't said a word. Now, out of the blue, she brings it up to Leta. Newt's excitement dissolved.

"She saw it in my book bag in Transfigurations once," said Newt, but it was obvious by Leta's arched eyebrow that she didn't believe him.

"Do you still like Gwen?"

Newt wanted to tell her no, that the only person he truly liked that way was her. That when someone mentioned how pretty Gwen was that it was Leta's face that came into view. That it wasn't Gwen's, but Leta's smiles that sent butterflies around his stomach. It wasn't sweet Gwen whose words and voice he wanted to waste days listening to, but Leta's firm, funny, and witting lyrics. He wanted to tell her that she had ruined him the day she had kissed him and told him that his kisses belonged to her.

"No," Newt said. "Gwen and I are barely friends these days."

Leta's deep, rich eyes, the ones Newt felt could read his every gesture, studied him long and hard.

"Good," she said. She nervously tucked her hair behind her ears. "Not good that you aren't friends, or course, but good that, you, you know, never mind."

Newt's heart soared.


March

Mittens was missing.

"I'm sure she is fine," Leta told Newt.

But Mittens had never disappeared before. Unlike most of the cats that came with students to Hogwarts, Mittens usually stayed close to Newt's side.

"The last time I remember seeing her was when she followed me down to the Quidditch pitch," said Newt. He couldn't remember if she had followed him back up to the castle. "What if she is stuck somewhere, under one of the seats."

Leta led the way down to the pitch and helped him look under every seat in the stadium. The cat was nowhere to be found.


April

When Newt returned to his dormitory after morning lessons, there was something in the middle of his bed.

"Mitts!" Newt flung the bed curtains aside, but it was not his cat. It was a small box, and a note.

He read the note first.

Dear Mr. Scamander,

Thank you for looking over my egg, I prefer not to keep it in the company of my own creatures. As it will soon hatch, I have for the moment taken it back. Thank you for taking such wonderful care of it. Do not worry, I am sure this creature will return to your life.

Again, the note was not signed. Newt looked into his book bag. The egg had disappeared from its normal nesting spot sometime during morning classes without his notice. With both the egg gone, and Mitts still missing, Newt felt hollow in the empty dormitory. He reached for the box under the note and opened it. Piles of sweats and a book about magical creatures had been jammed inside. Newt felt as if this was a poor thank you.


May

It was, to Newt's surprise, Professor Kettleburn that found Mittens. He tapped Newt's shoulder during dinner.

"You might want to come with me," Kettleburn said. Frowning, Newt and Leta got up and followed Professor Kettleburn out of the Great Hall and towards his office. He stopped in front of the door. "I don't know how to tell you this."

Newt felt as if he already knew. His eyes began to water. Leta took his hand.

Kettleburn cleared his throat. "I was walking close to the Forbidden Forest tonight when I found her. I'm afraid your cat, well, she traveled a little too close the forest."

Newt could not find his voice.

"Where is she?" Leta asked for him.

"The body is in my office," said Professor Kettleburn. "You don't have to see her, if you don't want to, Newt."

He did want to see her, Newt felt as if he owed her that.

"She isn't pretty," Kettleburn warned. "You must remember her as what she was."

Newt could only nod, and still holding Leta's hand, entered Kettleburn's office. Mittens's body was wrapped carefully in a blanket. Without opening the blanket, Newt scooped the small cat body into his arms. He started to cry.

"What did this?" Leta asked, again, for him.

Professor Kettleburn sighed. "It seems as if the oucu in our forest has not forgotten you, Newt."