A/N If you're still reading, welcome back!
And if, like me, you need a refresher after such a looooooong time without updates:
When we last saw our heroes, Grindelwald, Rosier and Abenathy had followed them to Newt's home in London. Abenathy went down early but after disarming Newt and using the Cruciatus curse to imperious Tina, Grindelwald used her to take Jacob hostage and tried to use him to force Queenie to use her legilimency on Newt to find the blood pact. What a mess. But Queenie is brilliant, so she actually used it to help Tina throw off Grindelwald's Imperious curse and once she was free, Tina gave Jacob the knife she'd been using to hold him hostage and he went to town on Grindelwald, who was too busy watching Newt pretend to be resisting Queenie's mental probing. Tina took down Rosier, but couldn't finish the job because she was wounded and so Rosier escaped, taking a grievously wounded dark wizard with her. Jacob saved the day and Tina blacked out.
Ta da! Welcome to Chapter 7! (please don't hate me)
Downtime
"Wait, Newt. She's comin' round."
Queenie?
Tina woke to rough hands on her face and the taste of beets, iron and dirt on her tongue. The hands fell away when she frowned and swallowed, running her tongue along the roof of her mouth and moaning plaintively when the taste lingered. She tensed to roll over to find water, but a warm hand on her shoulder stopped her.
"Easy Tina. Don't move just yet," Newt's voice was soothing and Tina froze.
"Newt?" She opened her eyes to find Newt and Queenie on either side of her, concern creasing their brows. She looked around and found herself in a red brick alcove just off a huge room with a ceiling at least two stories high. She was lying on a small cot in the corner and the room immediately beyond was what looked to be part laboratory, part kitchen, filled with shelves of bottles and various potion equipment. The place smelled of hay and pine, with undertones of animal droppings and the earthy spice that she'd come to associate with Newt.
"Where are we?" Tina asked, her eyes darting around the room. She noted that a light wool blanket had been draped over her and Newt held a vial of dark red liquid.
"My menagerie," Newt explained. "This was hardly how I planned to show it to you but my medical supplies are all down here."
Tina shifted to look and froze with a hiss when hot pain seized her left thigh.
"It's probably best if you don't move yet. It's going to be painful until I can make up some willow bark extract," Newt said apologetically. "It seems my assistant used the last of it while we were in Paris."
Tina remembered it now, the suddenness of Grindelwald's arrival, the twisting agony of the Cruciatus curse–again–and Grindelwald seizing her control, forcing her to stab herself, to capture and almost kill Jacob. All in the name of manipulating Newt because he thought Newt still had the blood pact. All made possible because they'd cursed her locket and used it to track them to England and then render her helpless, useless to defend the people she loved. She'd been used. Tina's heart clenched.
Oh Morrigan… she thought.
Shame settled over Tina and she closed her eyes and let out a slow breath, on the verge of tears. A heaviness that made it difficult to breathe in again settled in her chest. It was entirely her fault. She'd led them here…to Queenie…to Newt…to Newt's home—to Newt's creatures! And worse, she'd been subdued like a helpless child, all because she was blindly attached to her locket. How could she have been so stupid?! Fury clenched Tina's heart and she let out a shuddering breath. Her right hand went to her locket, where it lay cold on her chest and she pulled it off, ready to hurl it across the room.
Hearing her sister's thoughts, Queenie seized Tina's fist and squeezed it gently to stop her.
"Shh, Teen," Queenie said with a gentle shake of her head. "Don't. We're alright. We're right here and we're all fine."
Newt's eyes darted between them as he realised that Queenie was reacting to her sister's thoughts. Guilt raced through him. Of course, he thought, she's in pain again. He'd given her the locket. He'd said that he'd never let her be tortured with the Cruciatus curse again—and it had happened, not two days after he'd promised to protect her! Grindelwald was right; he hadn't learned from the night before. How could he expect her to ever forgive him?
Newt couldn't meet her eyes, but he placed a gentle hand on Tina's shoulder, "I'm so sorry, Tina. I promised you both shelter in this house and I failed. I couldn't protect you."
Tina's eyes widened in shock and her mouth dropped open, "No Newt, I'm sorry! I was so stupid! I led them right here and I was so…useless!"
"Stop it! Both of you!" Queenie interrupted. She looked between them reprovingly and huffed. "You both need to stop blamin' yourselves. This wasn't your fault. We're all fine."
"But–" Newt and Tina started at the same time.
"No buts!" Queenie snapped firmly. "Newt, it ain't your job to protect us. We're big girls; we can take care of ourselves. And Teen, you said they wrecked the whole house. How were you supposed to know she'd cursed your locket too?"
She had a point and both Newt and Tina paused their self-flagellation. Conceding the point, Tina opened her fist and released the locket onto the mattress. She wouldn't hurl it across the room, but the thought of touching it right now made her skin crawl.
But Queenie wasn't finished yet. "Besides," she continued, dropping her head to look at her hands, "the only reason she did it is because I told her how important it is to you. On that first awful day in Paris. She gave me tea and asked me 'bout my family. I was so stupid, babbling on about how you're this big-time Auror and how proud our folks'd be if they was here, and how you carry ma's locket with you to keep them close… So if anybody should be sayin' sorry, it's me."
She looked up at them sadly and Tina grasped her hand.
"You couldn't have known she'd do this, Queenie. You didn't even know who she was," Tina said softly.
"Of course, Queenie," Newt added, "there's nothing to apologise for."
"Yeah? Well okay then. If you can forgive me, you can do the same for yourselves," Queenie said.
"I guess we've all made mistakes," Newt conceded. "Except Jacob. I think his actions tonight have bought us time."
"Oh! Jacob!" Tina gasped. She squeezed Queenie's hand. "Is he okay? I tried to stop Queenie. I tried so hard but he was too strong and… it hurt… so much. I couldn't–" She looked away in shame. None of her fellow Aurors-in-training had succeeded in imperiousing Tina during her training—and none in MACUSA had been able to do it after she graduated from the program. Until tonight, she'd been justifiably proud of her willpower. "If you hadn't helped me Queenie, I would've–" her voice hitched and she stopped, suddenly unable to finish the thought.
"No, Teenie. You wouldn't have," Queenie shook her head. "And you didn't. You beat his curse."
"No, I wasn't strong enough," Tina said. "I couldn't—not without you! But Queenie, how did you do it? You were in Newt's mind and mine at the same time…?"
Queenie chuckled and shook her head, "Nah, Mr Scamander here is a super actor, is all."
She gave Newt a wink, "Maybe you should be in the pictures, honey!" Newt blushed a fiery pink and Queenie grinned before turning back to Tina. She quickly explained her idea to have Newt pretend that she was probing his mind to distract the dark wizard while she used her legilimency to help Tina focus long enough to throw off the Imperious curse.
As she listened, Tina's heart flushed with pride at her little sister's cunning. It had saved the day—again—and she quietly considered Queenie with new perspective. The woman beside her seemed somehow older, more mature than the bubbly, albeit sulking, sister she'd left behind in New York. Back then, they hadn't been speaking; Tina was hellbent on protecting her sister from the law and Queenie, young, impulsive and (Tina now realised) dizzyingly deep in love, was determined to be with Jacob. But the events of the last 10 days had changed that and Tina felt a stab of sadness at her sister's forced maturation.
"Thank goodness for you two," she said. She looked at Newt, "You saved the day."
"I think you'll find that it was a group effort," Newt said with a small smile. "You and Jacob played no small part in this."
Queenie nodded, "Yeah, I had no plan after getting you outta his curse, Teen. After what happened last night, I figured alls I had to do was set you loose and you'd fix the rest—and you did!"
"Jacob did! Where is he?" Tina asked.
"Upstairs with Theseus, keeping an eye on Abenathy," Queenie said.
"The Ministry's sending Aurors to question him and then escort him to Azkaban," Newt said. "They're also sending a healer from St Mungo's to examine your leg."
Tina frowned, "Why?".
"It's bad Teen. We had to bring you down here to fix you up. Newt managed to stop the bleedin' but it's still gonna take a while to heal," Queenie explained, looking down at Tina's leg.
Under the blanket, Tina tentatively ran her hand from her waist down her left leg. She froze mid-thigh when her pants suddenly ended in a ragged edge and her fingers grazed an inch of skin before meeting the coarse cotton of a bandage. She cast wide eyes from her sister to Newt, already blushing furiously at the expanse of skin she realised Newt must have seen. Blushing, the magizoologist scrambled to explain himself.
"We had to cut them Tina. You lost a lot of blood in a short time and they were, well, they were soaked in it. The wound was deep; worse than an ordinary dose of dittany could fix. I had to…take further measures," Newt glanced at Queenie for backup.
"There was so much blood Teenie! And Newt couldn't see to fix the wound—but don't worry, it's only one leg and I'm gonna fix you a new pair as soon as you're back on your feet!"
"Please be assured Tina that your modesty was preserved," Newt said awkwardly. "It was really just for me to tend the wound."
"It's fine," Tina said, her flaming cheeks belying her calm words, "but…it can't be that bad. What did you have to do?" Tina asked, lightly running her fingers over the bandage. A ripple of pain ran up her leg when her fingers brushed the area above the wound and she pulled them back.
"I suspect the knife was enchanted in some way; I've never seen a wound like this bleed so much," Newt said. "Nevertheless, it was clearly not poisoned because I was able to stop the bleeding eventually. I learned basic field medicine during the war; it proved quite useful during my year abroad. The healing properties of dittany can be enhanced if it's mixed with murtlap essence and unicorn hair, so I stitched the wound closed as best I could and applied a unicorn hair compress soaked in the mixture. It should hold until a more accomplished healer can examine you."
"Thank you," Tina said. She caught Newt's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. It was a strange new feeling to have someone care for her in this way—to have someone other than Queenie concerned about her—but it also left a warmth in her heart that made her breath catch slightly in the back of her through when she said, "How long was I out for?"
"'Bout an hour," Queenie said. "You were shivering somethin' terrible Teen." A note of fear crept into her voice and Tina didn't need her sister's ability to know that she'd scared her. Queenie knew about what happened to Aurors in the field, but had never witnessed the immediate aftermath firsthand. By the time Queenie saw her after a bad tussle, Tina'd usually seen a healer already.
"You were in hypovolemic shock for a while," Newt explained. "Some blood replenishing potion fixed the worst of it, but there's still a way to go, which reminds me: are you able to sit up?" He indicated the vial of red liquid in his free hand. "We were just trying to give you the next dose."
Tina nodded. She gingerly brought her hands to her sides to push herself up. As soon as she lifted her torso, white-hot pain shot from her fingertips and toes and ran the length of her body, finally smashing into her heart and shooting up to her head and bursting her eyes. Tina squeezed her eyes shut and took a ragged breath, falling back onto the pillow.
"Oh Teenie," Queenie gasped in concern.
"'s okay," Tina groaned as she used her right leg to push herself up against the back of the cot.
Newt place an extra pillow behind her back and cast Queenie a worried look over the top of Tina's head.
It's aftershocks from the torture curse again, she projected into his mind.
It seems worse than before, he thought as he met her eyes and tipped his head to the side in query.
It is, she confirmed. Like before, her sister's mind was whirling with pain and her heart ached to make it stop.
Tina noticed the looks between them and realised immediately what was happening. She opened her mouth to protest but was interrupted by the sound of footsteps on the staircase that led down into the huge space.
"Newt?" Theseus called. "Professor Dumbledore is here. And Healer Woodhouse from St Mungo's."
Moments later, he reached the bottom of the stairs and came into view, followed closely by the professor in question and an older witch in a thick tweed coat who carried a medical bag. Newt handed the potion to Queenie and went to greet them. The healer nodded a greeting to Newt and went past him to Tina.
"Newt," Dumbledore said warmly.
"Dumbledore," Newt nodded.
"How is she?" Theseus asked, looking past Newt to Tina.
"Awake now. And better," Newt said. "In pain, but better."
"Glad to hear it. Well done little brother. I'm going with Barker to take Abenathy in," Theseus said. "Smith and Whitehead are upstairs. They will stay for the rest of the night; I've asked them to keep an eye on things until we move to a safer location."
"I'm not leaving my creatures," Newt said firmly, frowning.
"It's not safe here Newt," Theseus said.
Newt's eyes drifted to Dumbledore and he replied sullenly, "Nowhere is."
Theseus sighed and failed to stifle a wide yawn, "Now you're just being dramatic. We'll discuss this when I get back." He nodded to Dumbledore, "Professor."
Dumbledore inclined his head and gave a small smile, "Theseus."
He turned back to find Newt staring at his feet and chewing the inside of his cheek, clearly agitated. Newt met his gaze.
"It's two o'clock in the morning, Dumbledore…why are you here?" he asked irritably.
Dumbledore was taken aback, not used to this side of his former student.
"Theseus contacted me. Newt, I'm so sorry. When I brought you into this, I did not believe that Grindelwald would realise your involvement. I had no idea of the lengths to which he'd go to pursue you so directly," he said. "He obviously didn't realise you'd already returned the pact to me."
"No, he didn't," Newt kept his eyes down, angry.
"Why didn't you tell him?"
Newt looked up, "Because Grindelwald discards what he cannot use. And both times, Tina was… he had…," he paused, looking back towards the alcove, "he had her…". Newt's voice trailed off and his eyes drifted as he remembered the pain in her eyes and the quiver of her lower lip as he'd watched Tina pull the knife from her leg less than two hours before.
"Newt…I'm—I can't tell you how sorry I am for what was done to you both. I was completely unaware of what happened to you and Ms Goldstein in the gardens until the Ministry contacted me this afternoon to tell me what they learned from Ms Goldstein's sister. That Grindelwald claims Credence is my lost brother Aurelius."
Newt met his eyes then, "It's true."
Dumbledore frowned and Newt led him to the other side of the room, where a large perch rested over a generous nest of ashoka branches. At its centre was a small baby bird with large black eyes and small tufts of red and gold feathers just emerging.
"What's this?" The older wizard's face softened.
"A phoenix," Newt said grimly. "I believe he belonged to Credence before Grindelwald used him to send a message to us in Paris." He explained how they'd found the bird. "I remember what you told me about your family and phoenixes. Perhaps this was intended as a threat to you as much as it was to upset me. I tried to heal him; actually thought he'd died, but it seems my efforts were enough and he must have undergone the burning because once we reached London, I found my demiguise caring for a new resident." He let a small smile creep over his face. "Marvellously resilient bird, to have survived such abuse."
"Amazing," Dumbledore crouched down and held his hand out to the small bird. Newt watched in fascination as it brushed its head against his fingers before hopping into his hand.
"Does he have a name?" Dumbledore asked, drawing the small bird against his chest and gently stroking its head.
"Fawkes," Newt said. "Queenie said Credence chose it."
He paused a moment, gathering his courage, and changed the topic. "Dumbledore, he came to my home."
"I'm so sorry Newt–"
"We hadn't been here for more than an hour and he walked straight through every ward I had on this house and harmed my friends. He tortured Tina, made her hurt Jacob and tried to use Queenie to raid the pact's location from my mind. The damage he could have done had he found the menagerie…" His voice trailed off and he met Dumbledore's eyes with a mixture of horror and anger in his own. "Tell me you've managed to destroy it. Tell me that you can help us fight him."
Dumbledore's expression was grim as he returned the small bird to its nest, "Not yet."
Newt sighed heavily and looked away to where the healer was examining Tina's leg. Newt's bandage lay open on the bed beside her, shining with fresh blood. At the head of the cot, Queenie was stroking her sister's hair as they watched the healer work in silence.
"But I have ideas, Newt. I'm trying everything I can. I promise you: I will destroy it. I will not leave you alone in this fight," Dumbledore said. He placed a hand on Newt's shoulder and squeezed to get the younger man to face him once more. "I can help you. There are charms we can use to hide this place…to make it untraceable to anyone you don't want to know about it. It'll be impossible for him to find you again. I know it cannot undo what's happened, but it can keep you safe so this doesn't happen again."
Hope fluttered in Newt's heart. He'd begun thinking about where he'd be able to move his creatures to hide them. It'd be a huge amount of work, and highly disruptive, particularly for some of his more sensitive beasts, so if they could somehow remain hidden without being moved...
Newt nodded, "Tell me more."
A few minutes later, their planning was interrupted by Healer Woodhouse, "Excuse me, Professor. Mr Scamander?"
Newt turned to her. "How is she?"
"Physically, she will recover. I do not believe it is necessary for me to transfer her to St Mungo's. Your brother said the wound in her leg was inflicted less than two hours ago?"
Newt nodded, "More or less."
"Well, it's healed a great deal more than I'd expect…an excellent job on your part, Mr Scamander. It seems your expertise in caring for beasts extends to wizards too. Giving her blood replenishing potion fast was excellent thinking. It has gone a long way to assisting a rapid recovery."
Newt blushed and she continued, "However, she is in a good deal of pain—more, I suspect, than she is letting on. Her sister tells me she's been subjected to the torture curse multiple times over the past two days?"
Newt nodded grimly and she raised an eyebrow, "Then you will need to keep a close watch over her."
"Tina is a trained Auror," Newt began. "I don't think she'll take kindly to any sort of supervision."
The healer shook her head, "Regardless. Some of our country's hardened veterans were subjected to it repeatedly in Moldavia during the war... Some of them now reside in our asylum permanently."
She paused a moment for it to sink in and then continued, "That said, we are better at helping victims now than we were then. I'll give you a draught of dreamless sleep to bring her through tonight, but she may be having nightmares and feeling phantom pain for the next few days. It would be best if she was not left alone at night. Some wizards have been known to react to their nightmares in the real world and I'd rather not see an Auror lose control."
Newt looked over her shoulder to an empty habitat, an idea sparking, "I'm not sure she'll appreciate being watched. What if I could create a safe environment for her, one that could absorb any stray spells?"
The healer raised a disbelieving eyebrow, "Even if that were possible, I'm afraid there is absolutely no question of moving her tonight. She will have to remain down here." She looked around the room, assessing, and Newt felt suddenly exposed under her scrutiny of his domain. The woman's gaze settled on Queenie and she looked back at Newt. "I trust suitable supervised sleeping arrangements can be made?"
Newt blushed slightly, catching her line of thought, and nodded, "Absolutely Madam Woodhouse. Is there anything else?"
She handed him a bottle of glowing purple and small vial of clear liquid. "Sleeping draught and willow bark for the pain tomorrow. The younger Miss Goldstein noted that you had run out, though it's best not to give it to her tonight, given its blood-thinning effects and the potential for more bleeding. Sleep should work just as well for now." She paused and then said, "Mr Scamander, I was wondering if you might be willing to share your secrets with me: exactly how did you treat Miss Goldstein's leg? Your technique could benefit the St Mungo's Medica significantly."
Newt smiled, happy to share his knowledge. As he began explaining his findings, Dumbledore noticed Queenie studying him intently from across the room. She cocked her head to the side and her eyes widened in realisation. Both strode forward and they met halfway between Newt and Tina. Dumbledore offered her a warm smile of greeting.
"Miss Queenie Goldstein, I presume?" he took her hand.
"You're Professor Dumbledore? Newt's teacher?" she asked.
Dumbledore chuckled and nodded, "Once upon a time, yes. I taught him Defence Against the Dark Arts, though I suppose it has a different name at Ilvermorny."
His humour was lost on her, it seemed, because her expression grew serious and he felt as if she was looking directly through his shell of charm.
"You're kinder than I expected. Credence always wished for a brother," she said softly. "He's a good kid…been hurt bad…but he's got a good heart. He's a strong wizard too. Scary sometimes. I think he'll like you."
Dumbledore sighed and ran a tense hand through his hair. "I'm not sure what to make of it all just now," he said honestly. "I've spent my life believing that he'd been lost at sea." He paused, meeting he gaze, "I mourned him. We all did. And now…I just… If it's all true, then how did Grindelwald know?"
Queenie offered a small shrug, "He knows about lotsa things that he shouldn't," she met his eyes with that same piercing, all-seeing gaze, "…but then you already know that too."
Dumbledore felt a stab of panic at her words but Queenie gave a small smile and shook her head. I won't tell. I promise.
"I'm sorry you lost each other," she said out loud. His occlumency was good, but Queenie could hear echoes of pain from behind the glowing amber of his mental shields. "Love is special. When you two fought, it hurt him too. I know. I heard in his mind before he shut me out."
A thousand questions and possibilities raced through Dumbledore's thoughts at her words—what else had Queenie seen in the dark wizard's consciousness?!—but there was no time for questions as Newt, having thanked and dismissed the healer, came over to them. Instead, Dumbledore smiled at Queenie and took her hand again.
"It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Goldstein. I'll be returning tomorrow, or rather, later today, to place a number of shielding spells around the house. I wonder if you might join me for tea; I'd very much like to continue our conversation."
Queenie returned his smile and nodded, "I'd like that too, Professor."
xxx
After some heated discussion, it was decided that the need for some sort of chaperone, as implied by the much older and more prudent Healer Woodhouse, was nonsense. Queenie would still be sleeping upstairs in Newt's bedroom and having been displaced by Tina, Newt would be spending the night in his suitcase. Tina's protests against this arrangement went ignored by both Newt and Queenie and so she lay quietly as Queenie transfigured her clothing into her usual pyjamas. Queenie kissed the top of her head and whispered, "Sweet dreams Teenie" before heading up the stairs for some much-needed rest and Jacob's waiting arms.
Tina found herself alone with Newt again. The magizoologist looked exhausted, his face ashen and shoulders slumping with fatigue as he came over to the cot with the bottle of dreamless sleep.
"You look like you need that more than me," she said.
Newt chuckled and it occurred to Tina that he was less self-conscious when in his menagerie. Or perhaps it was the exhaustion clearly settling over him. He sat down on a chair beside the cot and tugged the blanket over her.
"Are you comfortable?" he asked. "Warm?"
Tina nodded and smiled, "Yes, thank you Newt… for everything tonight."
He blushed slightly, "It was my pleasure—no! Not that, at least, I'm not glad to see you injured. That gives me no pleasure at all. Rather–"
Tina's hand on his arm made him pause and he met her eyes. "I know Newt," she said. Mirth danced in her features and the sight of it made the corners of Newt's mouth quirk to match hers.
"Well then, there's nothing left but to wish you a good night," he said, uncorking the bottle. Tina's smile faded.
"Newt, I can't drink that. What if they come back again?" she said. There was a hint of fear in her voice.
"Tina, darling," Newt replaced the stopper and clasped her hand. "They won't. Grindelwald was severely wounded."
"Newt, he's got people everywhere. I need to wake up if somebody tries again. I can fight—you know I can't let this happen again—"
"Tina. Stop," Newt said. He placed a hand on the side of her face. "Please trust me. I know you had a nightmare last night and didn't sleep enough. There are Aurors upstairs guarding the house and you need to rest. Neither of us is in any shape to fight and we won't be unless we get proper sleep. This potion will help you to do that. Healer's orders."
"The healer doesn't understand. She can go–"
"Then do it for me, Tina. Please. I won't be able to rest knowing that you could be suffering through another nightmare," he said. He'd decided not to mention the healer's warning and was relieved when his words finally penetrated her mental spiral and Tina gave a sigh of defeat.
"Fine," she said, "But only because it'll help you to rest too."
Newt smiled and handed her the open bottle. After a healthy swallow, Tina handed it back and settled down against the pillows with a poorly concealed wince as she adjusted her leg.
"I don't feel anything," Tina said with a small frown.
"Would you like me to read to you again until you fall asleep?" Newt asked, looking around for a stray copy of his book. He knew he'd had a few with revision notes lying around the room.
"I don't think this potion's gonna work on me–" she paused to yawn. "You might be reading for a long time."
Newt smiled knowingly, "Is that so Miss Goldstein?"
He'd seen dreamless sleep drag screaming wounded soldiers under in less than a minute during the war and clearly, an exhausted Auror in a warm bed was no exception.
"Mmmm hmmm," Tina said, blinking sleepily.
Newt bent to kiss her forehead. "Sleep sweet, Tina," he whispered. When he pulled back, her eyes were closed.
"Newt?" Tina's voice was slurred but small smile danced across her features, "You called me darling…"
"Oh?" he ran a gentle hand through her hair and watched her face relax as sleep claimed her. "Yes. Yes, I believe I did".
When Newt rose to find his case a few moments later, it was with a small smile creeping across his face and warmth in his heart.
A/N Thanks for sticking with this story. Please review – good or bad, one word or six hundred, I'd love to hear your thoughts.