The Alternate World Of Fantastic Beasts
Disclaimer: All Fantastic Beasts names, characters and locations belong to J.K. Rowling. I own nothing that you recognize.
A/N: This chapter was written as a giftfic for queendementor. Originally two separate stories, the first two chapters were published on my secondary account, and have now been combined into a collection.
An Outing With Ivan
Credence slowly lifted his head, watching as the smile faded from Langdon's face.
"What's that thing?" Langdon queried, motioning towards the bizarre contraption with a stack of papers in his hand.
There was a large machine nestled in Mary Lou's arms, whirring away in contentment as she stood before them, her eyes narrowed slightly, as if daring the young man to say something about her husband.
A moment of silence, followed by a faint click as Ivan ejected a flurry of leaves onto the floor.
"Right." Langdon paused, spun on heel and marched towards the elevator. It was clear that he wasn't going to get an answer out of them, and besides, he had more important things on his mind. "Right this way, people, right this way!"
The elevator doors closed behind them, an uncomfortable silence settled over the group as they waited for the elevator to reach the top floor. During this time, Langdon attempted to make conversation with Mary Lou, and regretted his decision immediately.
"So, you say that you've got evidence supporting your claims?" he began eagerly, saying all of this very quickly and with much enthusiasm. "Because you know, there aren't many people who believe such things. Not to worry, because if I can convince my father to aid you in your cause, we'll soon be on our way to - "
Langdon never got to finish his sentence. His was silenced when Mary Lou started petting her husband, the leaf machine rattling and clanging.
"Ivan doesn't like witches," she said simply, massaging the furious leaf machine.
Langdon's jaw dropped. The three children looked in different directions, staring at either the wall or the floor.
Ivan emitted a puff of smoke, spluttering and coughing up the ashes of a burnt leaf.
"As you can see, he believes in burning them at the stake. A wise decision," Mary Lou added, offering her husband her sleeve. The gesture was meant to comfort the irritable leaf machine, but instead Ivan decided to go for Chastity's hair.
When the elevator doors opened, the men and women in the office were greeted with the sight of Credence and Modesty, both of them in a panic, frantically trying to pull their sister's hair out of the leaf machine.
Mary Lou was screaming, clutching Ivan against her chest and threatening them all with the belt. Chastity was screaming as well, tears streaming down her face. Langdon, meanwhile, had backed into the corner of the elevator and flattened himself against the wall, not knowing what to do or say in this situation.
After a brief struggle, Credence finally managed to free his sister, though not before a large chunk of her hair had been swallowed by the leaf machine. He had also dropped his leaflets during the fight with Ivan, and was in the process of picking them up when they were approached by Henry Shaw Jr.
The senator had been watching from across the room, his lip curling in an ugly sneer. "Hey, boy!" he spat with contempt, snatching a leaflet off the floor and crushing it in his fist. "You dropped something."
Credence froze, his eyes widening as Henry shoved the crumpled leaflet in his hand.
"Here you go, freak," said Henry, his eyes alight with malice. "Why don't you put that in the trash where you all belong."
At these words Credence felt his pulse begin to race, a muscle twitching over his left eye as Henry burst out laughing. Ivan, however, was thoroughly annoyed at this comment, and in an effort to defend his family he unleashed a tidal wave of pea soup on the senator, regurgitating more than a gallon of soup from the depths of his storage container.
Most of it sprayed into Henry's face, gushing into his mouth and covering his shirt with a layer of green mush.
Modesty gasped, gripping her brother's hand as Ivan finished emptying the contents of storage container. She didn't see the smile that formed on Credence's lips, spreading into a grin as he lifted his head and looked around the room, checking to make sure that this was actually happening.
"Get out!" Henry shouted, wiping pea soup from his eyes. "All of you, out! Before I call security and have you thrown from the building!"
"Well, I never!" Mary Lou huffed in annoyance, cradling her husband as Credence leapt up and hurried to the back of the elevator. She slammed the button on the wall, and the elevator began its descent. "We don't need his assistance, children. Not if he's going to be so rude, insulting my husband like that."
Altogether it had been quite an experience, the smile lingering on Credence's face long after they had left the building.