Hiiiiii! This I think will be the update pattern for a while, because posting two days a week when I've got nothing is fine. This is a fairly long chapter (by my standards) but I didn't want to cut it in any way.
So I haven't gotten any new reviews :(, which makes me sound like a review whore because I want them but I didn't update... But I am a review whore and I'd very much like someone to tell me if this story is even going in the direction they like, or hate... mate you can ask questions, tell me its crap I just need something here... PLEASE.
Disclaimer: I don't own but I may look into shares or something... you never know.
Chapter 20:
When Newt's book was finally published, Percival wasn't surprised when Adriana announced that she was inviting him over for a celebratory meal. He knew that she didn't want him to be lonely. Newt had been delighted and told them that he was bringing some friends. Percival smiled at the garden. Adriana was out buying more food for the meal. Newt and his friends would be there any minute. There was a knock on the door and Percival went to open it. He smiled at Newt, who gave his usual eye contactless smile. A hand came out of no where. Percival just reacted. He honestly didn't mean to hurt anyone. He just panicked. Sudden movements made him lash out. One minute there was a hand coming towards him, next one Porpentina Goldstein was bound against the wall by a load of coats and scarves, and Percival was halfway up the staircase.
"Ah." Newt said. He was inside and disentangled Tina from the clothes. Two other people stepped inside. One Percival vaguely recognised as Queenie Goldstein. The other, a plump dark haired man, was not familiar. "Ah yes, I'm so sorry." Percival wasn't sure who Newt was apologising to. As soon as Tina was free she jumped to her feet.
"What was that for?!" She snapped at Percival.
"I'm so sorry." Newt said again. "I... I should have warned you."
"What?!" Tina asked in a mild rage.
"Percival is a little," Newt tried to think of the best phrase. "He isn't comfortable with sudden movements and touches." Tina gave Newt such a glare that Percival recoiled slightly.
"Since when was he Percival?" Tina asked.
"Since I asked him to call me that." Percival interrupted. Tina looked at him with a slight blush on her face. "Sorry for throwing you into a wall." Queenie boldly marched forward.
"It's good to see you Mr Graves." She said.
"Percival." He corrected. "It's good to see you too Queenie." He glanced at the man behind her. Percival couldn't sense any magic from him. Did that mean he was a No-Maj?
"Uh I'm Jacob Kowalski." They said. He wasn't comfortable under Percival's scrutiny. Jacob seemed to decide something in that moment. "I'm what you call a No-Maj." Percival's face turned stony. Everyone was looking at their feet.
"Correct me if I'm wrong." Percival started, a hard edge to his voice. "But isn't the befriending of a No-Maj illegal." His eyes narrowed. "As is being in a relationship with one."
"Yes." Queenie said. Percival gritted his teeth for a moment. They were breaking the law and part of him, the part that somehow remained loyal to MACUSA and the law, was telling him to report them. He relaxed his face. They were trusting him with this information. And this was a friend of Newt's. He wouldn't do anything.
"Well considering I'm a fugitive I can't exactly report him can I?" Percival reasoned. They all relaxed. "Would you like to see the garden?" Newt smiled at him. Percival felt a bit giddy, showing off the garden like he owned it. Adriana had effectively given it to him.
"I didn't know you could garden." Tina said as she examined the sprouting rose bushes.
"Neither did I." Percival said.
"Oh honey, it's so sweet." Queenie said. Jacob looked impressed. Newt just looked happy that Percival was happy. The door opened and Percival was back inside, welcoming Adriana home. She smiled.
"Has Newt arrived?" She asked as they moved to the kitchen.
"Yes, and some old friends." Percival said. Adriana turned around to see Tina, Queenie, Jacob and Newt.
"Hello." She said.
"I hope it's okay I brought this many people." Newt said shyly.
"It's fine Newt." Adriana said. "I'm Adriana Arkin."
"Queenie Goldstein."
"Jacob Kowalski."
"Tina Goldstein." Adriana smiled at them and turned around to help Percival with the meal.
"Can we give you a hand?" Queenie asked.
"No, it's our treat today." Adriana said. Percival hummed slightly as he started making steaks. He also made a vegetable steak thing for Newt, who was vegetarian.
"You've been living here since, since New York?" Tina asked.
"Yes." Percival said.
"It's nice." Tina said.
"Very." Percival agreed. They lapsed into silence. "I heard you're back to being an Auror."
"Yes, Newt helped with that." Tina said, latching onto the topic. "I'm so glad. I much prefer being an Auror."
"You're a good one." Percival praised. Tina smiled. "How about you Queenie?"
"Oh I'm still a secretary." She said. She smiled at Jacob. "Honey here's a baker though." She said it so proudly that Jacob blushed.
"You bake Mr Kowalski?" Percival asked.
"Uh you can call me Jacob." The man said. "And yes I do. Got my own little store and everything."
"It's not so little." Queenie said, warming to the topic. "It has queues all around the block."
"Tell me Jacob, do you need to put cinnamon in every baked good?" Percival asked. Jacob looked a little confused.
"No, you can put lots of different things in baked goods. I like to add a bit of vanilla and sometimes a bit of orange zest." Jacob said. Adriana put down her pan and gave Percival a look.
"You like cinnamon." She said. Percival shrugged.
"I like it but you put it in everything." He pointed out.
"Yes, because you like it." Adriana repeated. Percival rolled his eyes.
"Just because I like it doesn't mean it has to go in everything." He pointed out. "So this orange zest, what does it go in?" Adriana muttered something that sounded oddly like 'cinnamon hater'.
"Oh lots of things." Jacob said and suddenly they were in a deep discussion about baking. Adriana shook her head and led the others into the dining room.
"He's a right social butterfly." Adriana muttered.
"I didn't know he cooked." Tina said with a frown.
"He's had a lot of time to learn." Adriana said. Percival and Jacob came through, Percival levitating plates as they talked.
"Let's sit down." Queenie said. She pulled Tina down to her side and Jacob. Newt, Adriana and Percival sat on the other side.
"So Newt, are you going to keep travelling?" Adriana asked.
"Yes, I don't think I've found every creature and I'd like to continue my search." Newt said. "I think I might head to Australia next, I didn't get a good enough look at their outback."
"I see you haven't changed." Adriana said fondly. Tina and Percival shot them a look. Percival smiled at Jacob, who was pretty decent as a person. He didn't have anything against No-Maj's, he just wasn't sure how they would do knowing about magic.
"Still, you've gotten quite a few of them." Percival pointed out. "I don't think there's ever been such a complete list."
"I was only too glad to make it. Understanding magical creatures is a step towards protecting them and caring for them." Newt agreed. They continued talking about things. Newt wasn't comfortable being the centre of attention so he deflected to anyone else. Percival avoided talking to Tina as much as possible. He could barely look at her. He felt guilty. He'd known Tina before everything. They'd worked together as Aurors for a while. She'd been a bit younger but they'd been friends. He thought they knew each other well. But they'd drifted apart. It had been barely a year before everything happened that they'd... stopped seeing each other. That meant two years. And he couldn't look at her anymore. He, or rather an imitation of him, had sentenced her to death. He'd sentenced Newt too. But it was different. Yes he felt guilty but there wasn't a history. There hadn't been love. Maybe in another life. But now his heart was with another. And she sat right next to him.
"No Queenie, I'm going to ask." Tina hissed.
"Please don't Tina, it'll only upset everyone." Queenie hissed back.
"But I need to know." Tina said and Percival dreaded what she would ask. "Percival, what happened with you and Grindelwald?" She asked. Percival felt his stomach drop. He opened his mouth but no words came out. After all that time and after Adriana he still couldn't say a word. Adriana's hand was on his.
"I don't think that that question is appropriate for a dinner table." She said coldly. Tina pursed her lips.
"I know. But I can't pretend that everything's okay." Tina said. "Not after everything that's happened." There was silence.
"What exactly do you want to know?" Percival asked, surprising himself. He knew he wasn't the only victim of Grindelwald. Someone had had it much worse.
"Did you tell him anything?" Tina asked immediately. The 'about us' was left unsaid.
"Nothing." Percival said. Tina bit her lip nervously.
"I don't mean to push but you didn't tell him anything?" She asked.
"I didn't tell him anything." Percival reaffirmed. For some reason that did not seem to reassure Tina. In fact, it did quite the opposite. She stared at her plate. "What's the matter Tina?" She met his eyes and all he could see was pain.
"Before Newt showed up, you, I mean he, and I." Tina hesitated. She looked back at her plate. Queenie put a hand on her shoulder, which seemed to give her strength. "I thought we were getting back together." There was a loud clattering noise as Percival dropped his cutlery, Adriana knocked her's off her plate and Newt nearly dropped the goblet on his plate.
"Oh." Newt said. He looked a little confused, and he wasn't the only one.
"You two... dated?" Adriana asked.
"It was a long time ago." Percival said. Despite the situation, he felt a bubble of warmth. Adriana was jealous of Tina. And that meant she liked him in some capacity.
"Two years ago." Tina agreed. She looked a little disappointed.
"I'm sorry Tina." Percival said sincerely. She looked a little shocked.
"No, no, it's fine." She said. She shot a glance at Newt. "I just didn't know how he knew."
"I don't know how he knew a lot of things." Percival muttered. Adriana's hand clamped on his, stopping him from going any further.
"Let's talk about something else." Adriana said firmly.
"Maybe I can finally take that trip into Newt's suitcase." Percival suggested.
"Yeah, oh it's amazing in there." Jacob said. Percival started, he didn't know that Jacob had been in there.
Stepping into Newt's suitcase was a new experience. Never before had Percival seen so many creatures and habitats in one place. He watched as a white, silken creature practically pounced on Jacob. How large beetles clicked at Queenie's feet. A large pink owl like creature swooped around. In the distance a lion like creature roared. Some furry thing with a long neck and large eyes kept nuzzling Percival.
"Mooncalf." Newt said fondly. "That one is particularly fond of people." Percival gently stroked the short fur. It made noises of excitement.
"They're adorable." Adriana said, tickling another one. "Is Pickett's tree somewhere here?" Newt smiled and led her over to a gnarled tree filled with little green bowtruckle's. Pickett had elected to make Newt his tree instead and refused to go back.
"He thinks they bully him." Newt said fondly, giving Pickett a gentle rub. "So I let him stay with me."
"What are these?" Percival asked, staring at the feathered snakes.
"Occamy." Newt said. "Here." He walked over and gently picked one up. "Cup your hands." Percival did as he was told and the Occamy was deposited onto his hands. It slithered into a more comfortable position. "Just don't try and stroke where they can't see you." Newt warned. Percival was too busy focusing on trying to hold the slippery creature to try stroking it. When the Occamy started moving restlessly, he thought it best to put it back in the nest. He crouched down and let the Occamy slither its own way back. The mooncalf that had been nuzzling him earlier was back. Percival stroked it. They seemed to be very happy with him. Newt handed him a bucket. "If you could feed the flock over there?"
"Of course." Percival said, straightening up. He went with the mooncalf to the grassland. He noticed that when he threw seeds to them, they seemed to float towards each one. He wondered if it was the seeds or the mooncalves.
"Percival. Over here!" Jacob called. Percival wandered over. "This is Dougal the Demiguise." The white silken creature made a noise. He seemed to be rather shy. At least he was around Percival. As soon as Percival wandered over to Newt and Adriana, Dougal began playing around. Newt was holding a black furry creature that reminded Percival of a beaver and a platypus. It seemed to be reaching for Adriana's necklace.
"I see he hasn't changed." Adriana muttered. "Still likes shiny things."
"Ah yes. I'd keep an eye on anything shiny Percival." Newt said, pulling the creature back.
"What is he?" Percival asked.
"A niffler." Everyone said.
"They like shiny objects. Great treasure detectors." Newt said taking the niffler back to its nest. Percival could see gold and jewels scattered about inside.
"I see." Percival managed. This was a lot to process. They spent hours in the suitcase, Percival had a lot of questions. He recognised some of the creatures from Newt's stories but there were so many. But it was fun. Percival smiled a lot, even if it just a small curve of the lips. He didn't mind so much that he was with Tina, despite the lingering awkwardness. Queenie was a treat to be around and reminded Percival of Maya. He regretted not getting to know her more officially than his girlfriend's (now ex-girlfriend's) younger sister. And then there was Jacob. Percival felt like he should have more qualms about the No-Maj but it was the opposite. Jacob had accepted the magical world with gusto and Percival found it easy to converse with the man on 'normal' topics. He truly was blessed to have such wonderful people in his life.