A/N thanks for your reviews and support.

Jordansdevil: thanks for your review my friend. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I wasn't sure how well it would go over.

Gellert's POV

When he went to meet with the youngest Scammander this wasn't what he was expecting. The older Scammander was rough and well on his way to being an auror.

In comparison the younger Scammander was softer looking. His green eyes staring at the sky above him. It wasn't until the hippogriff alerted on him that the boy noticed his presence.

During their conversation he could see the boy's curiosity. At first it was cautious as he didnt want to be tied down to anyone. The boy was only fifteen and he didn't blame him.

Gellert wasn't sure at first if he wanted to be tied to a child. However he would only be an heir until he was promised to another. So far he had been unable to find one that met his requirements. Until now.

Newt Scammander was young and naive. He said that he wanted to be a magizoologist and to travel the world. It was a noble ambition. It would allow them to be promised but out of each other's way.

He asked his head cocked to the side, "Would you like to be promised to me? I promise that you will be allowed to go about your ambitions and I will be allowed to go about my own. We can communicate through letters and meetings like this one. If the relationship proves to be fruitful then we can look into going further."

Newt's green eyes flicked up briefly to meet his eyes then back down again. There was something in those eyes that seemed strange. For the briefest moment he thought he saw a flash of amber.

It was similar to the eyes of a werewolf but he didn't sense the raw feralness that came from them. There was just a gentleness that was rare in the eyes of one so young. If the boy was a werewolf the hippogriff wouldn't let him near her. They had no trust for the beasts under the moonlight.

Newt answered after a long moment, "Okay. It will still be my decision though."

The boy had guts. Gellert liked that. He didn't seem to be one who waver in his convictions. That could both be an asset and a weakness to his cause. For now only time would tell.

Gellert held out his hand to the red head and said with a smile, "Then let us go tell your parents the news."

For a brief moment the boy hesitated. His eyes on Gellert's extended hand. Then he took it with a small smile that made Gellert's heart warm slightly.

Newt's POV

His parents had been absolutely ecstatic about him and Gellert as the older insisted he call him. As a sign of good faith they exchanged promise rings.

Newt was given a silver ring that had a symbol on the inside. The symbol was a circle with a triangle inside and in the middle a line. It felt familiar but he couldn't place it. The silver did not burn him like it would have if he was a werewolf. They was an unnatural warmth were skin met metal. Newt placed his on a chain and wore it on top of his shirt. It would go under his shirt when he was back in school however.

Gellert's wasn't nearly as expensive. His family spent most of their money on their children and creatures. It was a simple black metal and he too wore it on top of his shirt.

Once the rings were exchanged they said goodbye. Both promising to send letters so they could get to know one another.

The summer passed quickly after that. If he wasn't researching skinwalkers, he was replying to Gellert. As August turned into September his temper grew short. The boy who was naively nice to all became short tempered. Once when his brother had tried to hug him he threw the older boy across the room. His brother outweighed him easily by 100 pounds.

His parents had been shocked but when it wore off his father looked contemplative. With it being the night before he left there was no time to question it.

Theseus wasn't physically hurt by Newt's show of strength. Emotionally they began to pull apart after that.

The train ride to Hogwarts went the same as always. Leta dropped in to check on him. Like Newt she didn't have any friends.

She noted the changes in Newt and asked, "What happened to you, Newt? You seem different."

For half a second he hesitated. She was his only friend but even she didn't know what he was. A secret he kept so close to the chest that he didn't tell anyone. If there was one person he trusted though it was Leta. He cast several privacy and silencing wards on the compartment.

He asked his voice barely above a whisper, "What do you know of skinwalkers?"

Leta blinked in surprise as she answered, "Skinwalkers are wizards and witches who can move between our world and the world of spirits. People who walk between human and animal skins. They were hunted down to extinction back in early tenth century. It was said that skinwalkers were what inspired the first animagi. What does this have to do with anything Newt?"

"I think I am a skinwalker," her dark eyes widened," all the signs are there. I came across the idea first in my family's library. Since coming to Hogwarts the idea has only solidified."

"Have you transformed yet? Is it similar to being a werewolf?"

Newt ran a hand through his hair as he answered, "I have not transformed yet. From what I've read it hurt like a werewolf transformation but I can transform at will after my first time. Its coming though, Leta."

It was going to be soon. He could feel it in his reactions and in his bones. Every part of him ached with the need to run. To get out and find himself in a forest. So far he had been able to ignore but it wouldn't last.

Leta questioned her dark eyes holding worry for him, "Have you told anyone, Newt? Your parents? Theseus? Dumbledore?"

At each question he shook his head. No he couldn't tell anyone. They wouldn't understand and would try to kill or control him.

She said her brow furrowing, "You should tell someone, Newt. Surely someone can help you. It has to run in one of your family's bloodlines."

"I can't Leta," he denied, "They wouldn't understand. Please you have to promise that you won't say anything."

Leta promised, "I won't tell anyone as long as you aren't in danger. If you are, Newt I won't hesitate to tell someone."

That promise was held for less than two months. The week proceeding Halloween his skin felt like it was on fire. His vision was fading in and out from thermal and scents to normal human vision. The need to run was stronger than before. More than once he found himself waking up by Black Lake with no memory on how he got there.

While he wasn't a straight O student he did well enough in his classes. So when his marks started to slip his professors got worried. Halloween was going to be a full moon. It was in transfiguration that everything came to head.