This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Word Count: 1638
Title: Finding The Way
Note: This follows on my headcanon that Queenie married Jacob.
Warnings:
Beta: Claude Amelia Song, CypressWand, Cupcakeyy, chibi-shibi
Golden Snitch
[Name] Crissie
[School] Uagadou
[House] Ogyinae
Hurt and Comfort: List 5: [emotion] shyness & [action] talking
Quidditch League:
[Team]: Pride Of Portree
[Position] Captain
[Theme]: Procrastination Thread
[Prompts]:
[Theme] Book Club
[Prompts] [colour] Black
[Theme] Pokemon Master
[Prompts] (word) fiery, 173. Cleffa: Write about a friendship that changes someone's life.
International Wizarding School Competition:
[School]: Ilvermorny:
[Prompts]:
[Character] Jacob Kowalski
[Plot point] Unlikely friendship
[Word] Superior
[Theme]: Spinner's End: Look at the experience of half-bloods, or those that live in two worlds at the same time.
Hogwarts
Assignment 9: Games & Sports: Quidditch Fouls: Task #3, Blurting - Locking broom handles to steer opponent off course: Write about getting lost.
Yearly:
Prompt 489 [Creature] Centaur
It seemed like just one second had passed since Jacob last saw Newt, and then suddenly, he was in the middle of an enchanted forest all alone, with no idea where to go next or what to do. It was an unfortunate side effect of being the best friend of a wizard like Newt Scamander, he supposed. Each time they went on adventures together, Newt got so focused on some mystical or fantastic creature that he often forgot that Jacob couldn't always keep up, and although Jacob was aware that he should have known better, he still managed to lose his best friend at the most inconvenient of times. Like today.
Jacob wasn't even sure what they were looking for. Newt hadn't really told him. He had just mentioned that centaurs inhabited these woods, and that he should never call them creatures as their knowledge was far superior to humans. He didn't think he had any hope finding them on his own, and if he did…. A shudder ran through Jacob's plump body, and he stood up a little straighter, looking around to see if Newt hadn't perhaps just bent down to tie his shoes, or pick up Pickett, his favourite Bowtruckle.
"Newt?" he called, his voice seemed to echo through the forest. He looked around, there was too much shrubbery for him to see more than a mile in any direction. Jacob decided to pick a direction and walk wherever it led him to. It was better than waiting on his own. He found a small pathway, one that seemed l used by animals regularly; he could see the worn sides of the plants, and in the dust he saw hoofprints that led down to a lake.
"Oh thank Heaven's," Jacob exclaimed, hastening to the water's edge. He was covered in sweat from walking and the sun was burning him even though it was not visible above the canopy of trees. He rushed to the edge of the water, before he paused for a few seconds. Was there some magical creature that inhabited this lake? He had been on the wrong end of a Kappa before, and he didn't feel like reliving that event. It had been only due to Newt's quick thinking that they had gotten away from it, and it was only one. Jacob shuddered again. What if there were more than one? He didn't think his heart could take the strain.
'Newt hadn't given me a cucumber with my name carved on it, so it's unlikely that there are any Kappas here,' Jacob thought. 'But there could be something else in there that's nasty.'
Jacob wasn't sure what to do, so he picked up a stick and prodded the water nervously; nothing happened. He was never sure what to expect in the Magical World, a world he bordered on most of the time, and was thrust into during his adventures with Newt. As he had no Magical blood, he would have never been part of these two worlds had it not been for a curious coincidence of him befriending a wizard, said wizard who was currently nowhere to be seen. Jacob remembered the day their bags got swapped with fondness. He was planning to open a bakery, oh how long had it been. His marriage to Queenie had been a blessing he never believed he could have. He felt honoured that she had chosen them and that they had started a family together. They had a son together called Jake - he sighed happily at the memory of the toddler. Queenie had even helped him open his bakery, but it seemed like he was away on adventures with Newt so often, Queenie managed the bakery most of the time.
He decided that nothing was going to jump out at him, and slowly lowered himself to the simmering water, cupping his hands to drink. He was drinking from the lake when he heard the sound of hooves behind him. It sounded like a horse. Startled, Jacob stood up and looked around, however instead of a horse his eyes fell on the most magnificent creature he had seen. It had the body of a black stallion and the torso of a man with dark skin and long black hair. He realised that he was looking at what Newt had called centaurs. He wasn't looking at a creature, but rather a being. This being was far superior to anything he had ever seen before, and he had seen some interesting, weird and downright wonderful things.
"A human? In our forest?" the centaur asked. To Jacob's relief his tone sounded curious, not threatening.
"I, yes, Sir," he said, shifting his feet and then bowing low. "I am Jacob Black."
The centaur laughed at Jacob, as he almost tripped.
"A very well-mannered human," he said softly. "My name is Henry."
"I seem to have lost my way," Jacob said. "My friend, Newt, is a wizard, and has a much better sense of direction in this forest than I do."
The centaur chuckled again. "A wizard?" There was a look of deep concentration on his face. "Do you mean to tell me you are a No-Maj?"
Jacob nodded, now familiar with both the term No-Maj, as well as Muggle.
"How extraordinary," Henry said.
"It is?" Jacob asked, puzzled.
"I have never seen a No-Maj before," Henry said. His eyes flickered, seemingly searching for something.
The two of them talked for a while, and it was quite clear that Henry was just as curious about Jacob as Jacob was about him.
"My name is Henry," the centaur said after a while.
"Pleased to make your acquaintance," Jacob said with a smile.
"I am unfamiliar with that term." Henry looked at him curiously.
"Simply put it's a gesture of peace and good will," Jacob attempted to explain. The centaur nodded, clearly thinking this over for a while.
"You seem unlike any human I have ever met," Henry said slowly.
Jacob grinned. "I hear that sometimes," he said.
"I hope you don't intend to share my secrets with anyone," Henry said, peering at him.
"Of course not, they aren't mine to share," Jacob replied seriously, as if the thought had never occurred to him. Which, of course, it hadn't. It simply wasn't like him to go around spreading tales.
"For that, you have my thanks." Henry tilted his head a fraction, then looked at Jacob again.
"No thanks necessary, sir," Jacob responded.
"You may call me Henry," the centaur said after a pause. It seemed like he had been considering this carefully. "What would my herd say, if they knew I was befriending a human..." Jacob wasn't sure if this was really directed at him, but he felt the need to reply in favour of this. He didn't want to insult Henry, and also, he was the type that would make friends with anyone.
"I would be honoured to be your friend, Henry," Jacob said, attempting a clumsy bow.
Henry laughed at Jacob's antics, but in a lighthearted way.
"You seem unsettled, Jacob," Henry said, his eyes observing the man in front of him.
"I kind of want to get out of here," Jacob said. "It seems to be getting rather dark overhead, and I have no idea where Newt is."
"Of course, friend, I shall take you to your wizard."
Jacob didn't think it was worth explaining that Newt wasn't exactly his wizard, but the train of thought made his ears turn a fiery red.
"I always wonder why all species cannot live in peace," Jacob mused as he followed Henry back over the path Jacob had seen earlier.
"It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work for it."
Jacob nodded. "Very true, I tell Queenie this all the time."
"Queenie?" Henry asked.
"Yes, she is my wife, she is the brightest witch I know, and she is a Legilimens."
"I see," Henry said, grinning. "Do you have foals?"
"Foals? Oh, you mean children," Jacob grinned. "A boy, his name is Jake."
"Human's have an odd habit of naming their young after themselves."
Jacob took the comment in good humour. "How about you, Henry? Any foals?" Jacob winked.
"Yes, my mate, Casseopia, has given me a daughter, Orianna."
"That's beautiful," Jacob said.
"It's celestial." Henry seemed to shrug it off.
Soon they reached a clearing, and Jacob seemed to recognize where he was again.
"Jacob!" he heard a voice cry. It was Newt!
"Newt! Thank goodness." Jacob sighed.
"I see, this is your wizard." Henry observed Newt carefully.
Newt bowed to the centaur, who had his eyes trained on the wizard now. Centaurs usually had a natural distrust of wizards, but there was just something about Jacob that made him feel trustworthy. Although they had only spent the entire afternoon talking before they made their way back to Newt, Henry felt like he had learned a lot about peace from Jacob.
"Newt, this is Henry, Henry, Newt," Jacob said, gesturing between his friends. His eyes moved between the wizard and the centaur. He wondered if there had ever been a more unlikely trio. He was sure he couldn't name any, and his friendship with Newt had already been a dream. Jacob couldn't believe he had befriended a centaur simply by being kind and considerate. He wondered what Queenie was going to say when he got home again. He could almost hear her voice in his mind telling him that he could befriend anyone, and felt a rush of love come over him.
"Seems like you found the centaurs," Newt said. He smiled at Jacob. "I bent down to find Pickett, and suddenly, you had disappeared."
Jacob laughed, he knew it was something like that. "Nah, Henry found me."