The staircase leading down was closer to a strange ladder. It left a lot to be desired. Hermione was careful about where she placed her feet.
She closed the lid behind her and simply marveled at the wonders of magic for a moment.
She'd cast extension charms on her bag of course, and she'd been inside a magical tent numerous times since the quidditch world cup in '94. She'd never thought to merge the two concepts. She was practically vibrating in her skin thinking about the many different spells used and theories on relative space.
"See, you're a muggle." Newt was facing away from her as she came down. "So our physiologies are subtly different."
Jacob was to her right, but didn't notice her. They watched Newt open jars and grab leaves. Confidence in his every movement.
Hermione looked around what appeared to be a wooden shack of some sort. Tables and storage drawers lined the walls. Plants crept down from the ceiling. Equipment hung on the walls and sat on shelves. An old typewriter sat off in the corner, stacks of paper surrounding it.
He must be writing his first edition. Hermione felt excitement bubble up in her throat manifesting as a smile on her bitten lips. She fiddled with the strap of her bag.
Newt turned around, poultice in one hand cup of water in the other. He paused when he saw her. Jacob saw him looking at something and jumped not seeing her there before.
"Miss Lawson." Newt nodded in greeting if a little confused. Hermione smiled in response.
He continued over to Jacob, grounding the green substance in his palm and rubbing it into Jacob's wound. Jacob made a noise of disgust and Hermione chuckled.
"Stay still." He murmured. "That should stop the sweating." He gestured to the pills he brought over. "And one of those should sort the twitch." He turned away going back to the other side of the shack.
Jacob looked up at Hermione with a raised eyebrow. She nodded and gestured to the medicine. He shrugged and took it.
Newt set about chopping meat and gathering his normal supplies for his creatures. He ignored his two visitors. His shirt had become wrinkled and untucked, his tie undone. Hermione thought he was perfectly at home here in his case. She leaned back against the ladder-steps and crossed her arms tapping her fingers, watching him.
"And you, Miss Lawson?" He glanced over his shoulder. "Are you here to investigate?"
"Hmm?" She frowned in confusion. Investigate? "No, I'm just curious. I work-worked" She corrected herself. "With beasts." She finished lamely.
Newt frowned.
"I was actually about to leave the flat, but I heard a noise and saw Jacob fall into your case. So I followed." She added.
That didn't exactly seem to satisfy him. His shoulders were still tensed. He turned quickly, handing a bucket of meat to Jacob. "Take that."
Jacob took it, confused and a little disgusted. He looked at Hermione again. She raised one shoulder in a shrug.
Newt had turned away again and picked up a vial. There was something in his palm that he was gently squeezing, coaxing a blue stream into the flask.
"Come on." He murmured.
Hermione looked on, tilting her head in curiosity. It was clear that it was a creature of some kind but she couldn't place it from this angle.
"Whatcha got there?" Jacob asked brow furrowed.
"This, the locals call Swooping Evil. Not the friendliest of names. It's quite an agile fellow. I've been studying him. And I am pretty sure his venom could be quite useful if properly diluted."
"Obliviative properties." Hermione muttered, unable to help herself. She'd read about them of course. The circumstances of how she'd read about them..
"Yes." Newt's mouth quirked up, intrigued by Hermione's knowledge. "Just to remove bad memories, you know."
He swung his arm, letting the creature fly towards them. Its wings flapping, trying to get closer to them, tail secure in Newt's grip.
Jacob and Hermione leaned back in surprise. She let out a laugh.
Newt looked down toward his feet, sneaking glances toward his visitors. He had a smile on his face. It was clear he was proud of his creatures.
"Probably shouldn't let him loose in here though."
He turned to the door and pushed it open, beckoning them to follow. Jacob held the door for Hermione as she walked out into the rest of the case.
She looked around in awe seeing the enclosure before them. It looked like it had been built to imitate desert plains with large smooth rocks and coarse dirt. Thunder sounded and she saw Newt standing just in front of them with an umbrella charm. A golden thunderbird flapped its large wings. She and Jacob walked closer but stayed out of the rain.
"Come on. Oh, thank Paracelsus. If you'd have got out that could have been quite catastrophic." Newt said beckoning the creature closer as it landed. "You see, he's the real reason I came to America. To bring Frank home."
Hermione had a wide smile on her face. She'd only seen one thunderbird before, years ago. It wasn't quite as majestic as Frank was. Poachers had plucked most of its feathers to sell to wandmakers.
Jacob had his jaw dropped and Hermione had to suppress a giggle. He stepped closer and the thunderbird let out a noise.
"No, sorry, stay there, he's a wee bit sensitive to strangers."
Newt went on to explain about how he'd found him in Egypt chained up. So Newt had healed him and was going to release him in Arizona.
Hermione's eyebrows furrowed in sympathy. She looked closer and noticed scarring on his beak and talons. Nervous look in his eye. He so clearly trusted Newt. She always knew he had a love of creatures, and his book clearly exemplified that, but to see it first hand..
It had to take its toll on him. To have to rescue abused creatures and see the horrors that humans can put them through. But to rehabilitate them and help them, she knew, was just as rewarding and made everything worth it.
She followed the men over to another enclosure. Spinning around and looking in awe at all the creatures and habitats. She would love to pick his brain over the enchantments he used to keep everything working properly.
Newt was calling something over. She was paying more attention to the other animals moving freely. Fwoopers, billywigs, diricawls, and so many more. She thought she saw a water enclosure off to the side. A few light spells were up near the ceiling operating as separate suns. The structures themselves reminded Hermione of staging for plays. If she looked close enough, out in the distance she could see the edges of the case.
Something bumped into her legs from behind nearly sending her to the ground. She looked down to see a small four-legged creature with a spiny neck and tentacles. Graphorns! She'd never seen one before. In her time they were place on a reserve to try to preserve and grow their small population.
She crouched down and let the tentacles scent her shoulders and face. "Hello, little one. Yes, yes." She cooed.
Jacob still looked a mildly terrified by the large beasts.
"So they're the last breeding pair in existence. If I hadn't managed to rescue them, that could have been the end of Graphorns, forever." Newt informed them.
Hermione was in shock. Newt is the sole reason they even have that small reserve in her time. She can't remember if it was ever mentioned. Perhaps he didn't want the credit. She continued to talk to the little one in front of her, the tentacles cold against her exposed neck.
Newt looked over smiling at Hermione's obvious enjoyment. He glanced toward Jacob watching him piece things together. The graphorn nudged him and he laughed.
"Alright." He threw the meat out into the enclosure watching the smaller creature run to it.
Hermione stood up from her crouched position, dusting her pants off and righting her ruffled blouse.
"What, you rescue these creatures?" Jacob asked.
"Yes, that's right. Rescue, nurture, and protect them." Newt said turning away from the Graphorn family. "And I'm gently trying to educate my fellow wizards about them." He explained leading them up some steps into a cave-like structure that led to a small bamboo forest.
"Titus? Finn? Poppy, Marlow, Tom?" Newt called out as they got closer to a tree with thin, green, insect-like creatures. He was now holding a bowtruckle, letting it walk on the tops of his hands. "He had a cold. He needed some body warmth." He told them.
Jacob made a sympathetic noise and Hermione gave a small smile. Newt was trying to coax the bowtruckle to go back to the tree, but it wasn't working. She laughed, attachment issues.
"All right. But that is exactly why they accuse me of favoritism." Newt gave in.
"Perhaps you're his new home tree." Hermione teased.
Newt looked at her surprised, but he chuckled and ducked his head. "He just likes the attention, I'm afraid."
Pickett blew a raspberry at him. Hermione laughed. She looked at Jacob who was watching the bowtruckles with a furrowed brow.
"Amazing isn't it?" She asked him.
"What?" He turned to her.
"All of this." She gestured around. "I remember my first time seeing a magical creature." She said with a fond smile.
"Really? Was it any of these kinds?" He asked.
She shook her head no and let out a strangled laugh. "No, it was a Cerberus."
She left him gaping at her as she walked over to where Newt was crouched near a nest. Jacob followed at a much slower pace.
"I know these guys." He said fondly.
Newt scooped one of the beasts up into his hands.
"Your Occamy." He said to Jacob.
"What do you mean? My Occamy?"
"Yes, do you want to…" He gestured.
"Yeah, sure. Okay." Jacob cupped his hands and held the newborn.
"And you?" Hermione turned. Newt was holding another out to her in question.
"Oh, I'm fine, thank you." She held up her hand that had a few scars on it. "Occamies and I don't exactly get along usually."
His brows furrowed in sympathy. She could see thoughts whirring behind his green eyes.
"Ah!" Jacob cried shaking his hand.
"No, sorry, don't pet them. They learn to defend themselves early. See, their shells are made of silver so they're incredibly valuable. Their nests tend to get ransacked by hunters."
Jacob gave the occamy back to Newt. Hermione watched on as it slithered around his hands as he set it back into the nest. Newt held out some pellets to Hermione, and she helped him feed the little ones.
"Mr. Scamander?"
"Call me Newt."
"Newt, I don't think I'm making this up." Jacob said looking out around the case.
"What gave it away?" He asked as he threw another pellet.
"I ain't got the brains to make this up."
An occamy almost got Hermione. She looked toward Jacob. A muggle who's been brought into this crazy, wonderful world. She can see clearly the amazement and wonder and a tinge of disbelief on his face. It was the same as when she first stepped into Diagon Alley or first held her wand or first saw the castle.
But he was a muggle. He wasn't supposed to know all of this. Especially now when Grindelwald is on the rise and the Statute of Secrecy is being threatened. Not all muggles would react like Jacob did. That's why the law is so strict. That's why he'll have to be obliviated.
She shared a look with Newt.
She was starting to like Jacob. Queenie definitely did. She's sure Newt enjoys his company. And Tina… It didn't matter if she did or not, Tina would uphold the law. Hermione was saddened, it wasn't like she could do anything.
"Actually, would you mind throwing some of those pellets in with the mooncalves over there?" Newt asked him, gesturing to another enclosure off to the side.
"Yeah, sure." Jacob started heading over that way.
"You have mooncalves?" Hermione asked before she could stop herself. "Of course you do."
A delighted laugh bubbled out of her and she looked over at Newt catching him watch her with a curious expression on his face. He turned quickly and put a barrel of some red colored substance and a bag of feed in a wheel barrel and started pushing it up an incline. Hermione followed him, hoping she could help him in some way.
He paused looking up at a little den underneath a tree bathed in light.
"Bugger." He continued pushing the wheel barrel. "Niffler's gone. Of course he has, little bugger. Any chance to get his hands on something shiny."
"Oh dear, I can't imagine. Must get into all sorts of trouble." Hermione worried.
"Absolutely incorrigible." Newt agreed.
He stopped by another enclosure with a large rock in the center. A nundu stalked by and roared, mane puffing out. Newt got the barrel and emptied the red substance on the rock. Hermione didn't know what it did, but the nundu seemed to enjoy it.
Newt led Hermione into a dark area light only by bioluminescent creatures. Hermione looked around in awe. She'd never seen these creatures before. They were breathtaking, and they looked like something you'd find deep in the ocean. She turned and saw Newt standing there holding a creature in his arms like a baby, its tentacles reaching out in all directions.
"Just when I think magic can't possibly amaze me anymore…" She trailed off. "Your case… This is brilliant, truly."
She looked over at Newt seeing a light blush dust over his face. He looked down and proceeded to feed the little beast once more. Hermione continued to look around the space. Flecks of gold floated through the air. Luminescent plants crept up the walls. A small pool of water glowed off to one side.
She turned back and only then did she realize that Newt had asked something and was waiting for her to respond.
"What?" She pushed a strand of hair that had fallen out of her bun behind her ear. Newt's eyes tracked the movement.
"I asked how you've come to know so much about creatures. Most witches and wizards aren't so.. accepting."
She thought for a minute how to answer him. She couldn't very well tell him the truth. She stepped closer and ran her finger along one of the tentacles gently.
"I worked in the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures for a short while. I didn't like how they went about their regulation and control." She explained honestly even if she omitted key details.
"So now you're an auror." He concluded.
"Now I'm an auror." She confirmed bitterly.
They could hear Jacob a short distance away obviously enjoying the mooncalves. It brought a smile to her face. She peered at the creature in Newt's arms, its light casting a glow over them. She knew Newt was watching her, but she ignored it.
"Would you like to hold her?" Newt asked.
She took a small step back. "Oh, no, Mr. Scamander-"
"Newt, please. And I promise this one doesn't bite."
"Newt." She smiled. "Then you should call me Hermione."
She took a deep breath and rolled up the sleeves of her blouse. She held her arms out waiting for him to transfer the creature into her hold, but it never came.
She frowned looking up at him seeing his gaze locked on to something, eyebrows knit close together. She followed his gaze and sighed. The light coming from the creature perfectly highlighted the silver scars on her skin. Years of bite marks and scratches, but one stood out more than the others. One word eight letters long.
"Newt." She whispered.
His gaze flicked up to meet hers, confusion and sympathy coloring his features. He shook his head breaking their eye contact. He passed the creature into her arms. The soft, cold exterior rapidly warming from her skin.
"I don't understand," Newt began, lost for words. "Who would- The Lawsons are pureblood. I- I don't."
"It's a very long story." Hermione sighed meeting his gaze. She gave him a small sad smile.
She listened to the silence around them. It wasn't tense, but it wasn't very comfortable either.
Hermione stilled, eyes widening. Silence.
"Newt, where's Jacob?"
He listened for a moment then walked over and tried to spot him. Hermione followed. Newt turned quickly almost running into her before carefully pulling the creature from her arms and placing it back with the others.
He grabbed her hand and pulled her along quickly to another enclosure. Unlike the others, this one was closed off. The spelled tarp was flapping slightly in the wind and snow would blow out. The ducked through the opening to see Jacob inching closer to a swirling, black mass suspended in a bubble.
Hermione gasped, recognizing it instantly.
"Step back." Newt's voice was stern.
"Jeez..." Jacob said, noticing them.
"Step back."
"Jacob, please." Hermione implored.
Hermione knew that it was only being kept alive by that bubble around it. That without a host, couldn't survive. That didn't stop her from worrying about Jacob and his hand that was reaching toward it.
"What's the matter with this?"
"I said step away."
"Yeah. What the hell is this thing?"
"It's an Obscurus." Newt explained, a hint of sadness in his tone.
Newt turned, walking out of the enclosure. "I need to get going, find everyone who's escaped before they get hurt."
Hermione and Jacob followed right behind him.
A/N: And that's all I've got so far! Let me know what you think yeah?
I'm coining the ship name Scamanger. I know Newmione is popular, just give Scamanger a try. Swish it around in your mouth, let it marinate..
Don't expect regular updates. My stories are never abandoned, but I am a college student and I'm trying to finish another story.
My plan is to integrate Hermione into the Fantastic Beasts storyline. I don't know if I'll go all the way through the movies or break it off somewhere. I'm not making any commitments, just having fun.
Thank you for reading!