The blue flames of fire Grindelwald had conjured, as well as the dragon creature made from that blue fire, were wreaking havoc upon everyone present at the outdoor amphitheater that had not pledged their allegiance to his cause. Grindelwald watched the aurors scramble to get away from the fire, savoring every minute of the chaos.
One of the people he saw still standing and fighting was Theseus Scamander, the head of the British Aurors' Office. Newt, Theseus's younger brother, was farther away from Theseus, fighting alongside Newt's friends: Queenie, Tina, and Jacob. They were standing close enough to Newt to notice if Newt was to suddenly disappear. Plus, Queenie was a legilimens and would find him easily, bring the others, and interfere with Grindelwald's plan. However, the people that were around Theseus, the aurors Theseus was in charge of, were dying from the fire and would be too preoccupied to notice if he was to disappear. Grindelwald just wanted to get this over with and not waste time dealing with interference.
He pointed his wand at one of the aurors that was fighting the fire. Grindelwald transformed the auror into Newt and transformed the auror's clothes into the same clothes Newt was wearing. With a flick of Grindelwald's wand, rope appeared and bound the auror's hands behind him, as well as his feet. Then a gag appeared and tied itself tightly around the man's mouth. That way the auror wouldn't be able to say that he wasn't Newt. Grindelwald added an extra binding enchantment around the gag on the fake Newt's mouth so that it definitely wouldn't come off. Better to be safe than risk failure.
Grindelwald then pointed his wand at Theseus, and rope appeared and bound Theseus's hands and feet as well. Then he added an extra binding enchantment around the binds.
Grindelwald apparated Theseus, the auror, and himself out of the area and into a clearing with a cauldron set up.
"Now unfortunately for both of you, I have to take you away from everyone fighting to take me down. You both are exactly what I need," Grindelwald smirked at them.
Grindelwald slowly raised his wand and pointed it at the fake Newt again, then turned to Theseus and smiled at him.
"Do you know what I'm about to do to your brother?" he mocked. Theseus stared at Grindelwald at first. Then horror began to etch across his face. Grindelwald grinned at him and nodded before turning to the auror.
"No," Theseus nearly whispered.
"Crucio," Grindelwald breathed.
"No!" Theseus shouted as the fake Newt let out a muffled but agonizing scream.
Newt, Queenie, Nicholas Flamel, and Yusuf Kama gathered around in a circle in the amphitheater, shouting the incantation "Finite" and slamming their wands into the ground. An orange fire arose, encircling the amphitheater and engulfing itself around the blue fire, as well as the dragon made from the blue fire, before eradicating them.
Everyone breathed heavily from the adrenaline, their nerves slowly settling down. However, their relief didn't last long.
A giant cloud of yellow smoke suddenly appeared from a little farther away from them and spiraled into the sky before rushing out in all directions, including towards them.
"Protego Maxima!" the witches and wizards shouted pointing their wands at the smoke. A forcefield appeared around them, shielding them all from the smoke as it rushed past them. The smoke spread across the city.
"What the hell is that?" Yusuf asked in horror.
"I don't know," Tina said, looking worried. Then she turned to her sister. "Queenie. Can you look into Grindelwald's mind? See what the smoke is?"
Queenie nodded and closed her eyes, focusing.
After about a minute she gasped in horror. "What is it?" Jacob asked Queenie, his eyebrows furrowed with worry. She slowly looked at him.
"It's a curse," she said. "Grindelwald created it. It's the first of its kind. A curse to wipe out all the no-majs in the city." Everyone looked at her in shock.
She slowly turned to Newt, a tortured expression on her face. "I'm so sorry, Newt."
"Why?" he asked worriedly.
"The last ingredient needed to activate the curse," she said tentatively, "was tears of heartbreak. Grindelwald got them from your brother."
Newt's eyes widened.
"Grindelwald took him. And broke him," she said sadly.
Newt's breathing became shallow.
"He needs you," Queenie said quietly.
After some time Newt finally spoke. "I need to find him. He's probably," he said looking around and waving his arm anxiously, "at the, at the, the place where, where the smoke was coming from."
"Yeah," Queenie nodded solemnly. "Grindelwald isn't there right now. He just left to go around the city and see how well the curse is working, so you should be fine."
"Okay."
Newt apparated to the place he had seen the smoke come from. He saw the cauldron that the smoke had spiraled out of. Newt found his brother a little ways away from it. Theseus was on the ground, his face buried in a man's chest, his arms around that man. He was rocking the body back and forth. Newt stood there, looked at both of them solemnly. Then he slowly walked over to Theseus and tenderly placed his hand on Theseus's back. He carefully tried to pull Theseus away from the body, but Theseus wouldn't have it.
"No!" Theseus screamed, pulling himself back to the body and hugging it. "He's my brother," he sobbed. "He's my brother."
Newt's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
What does he mean? He thought. I'm his brother, and I'm right here. Just behind him.
Newt looked to see who it was that Theseus was cradling. When Newt saw the dead man's face Newt's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. He took a few shaky breaths and covered his mouth in shock.
The man looked exactly like Newt. And he was even wearing the same clothes Newt had on now.
He couldn't do anything but stare at the man for a few moments in horror. Then Newt looked at his brother, sadly.
He hesitantly placed his hand on Theseus's shaking shoulder. After a few moments he started rubbing it gently. He barely even knew what to say.
"Theseus," he said cautiously. "Theseus, that's not…he's not…I'm your brother…I'm Newt."
Theseus didn't respond at first. He just kept crying.
"Hey," Newt said softly, trying to gently tug him off the body. "Theseus, it's me. It's me. I'm Newt. I'm right here." Theseus lifted his head off the man, but didn't take his eyes off the man.
"You sound like him, but you can't be him." Theseus said quietly, his voice trembling. "He's dead. I saw him die. I saw him get tortured and die, but I couldn't do anything. I couldn't save him."
Newt's heart dropped as the realization of what Theseus said settled in.
"Grindelwald bound my hands and feet. I couldn't stop any of it from happening! I couldn't save him! I couldn't save him," he sobbed.
"I didn't die," Newt said pleadingly. "Or get tortured. It must have been someone else that Grindelwald made look like me, which, isn't good either, but, but, it wasn't me." Newt began to feel pangs of guilt. An innocent person was made to look like him and then got tortured and killed! But Newt tried to focus on his older brother, who needed him right now. "It wasn't me, Theseus. I'm here. I'm here!" He gently pulled on Theseus's shoulder, but Theseus kept crying and wouldn't turn around.
Newt let out a small sigh. After a few moments he decided to try something else, hoping maybe this would help.
"Do you remember, do you remember the song Mum used to sing?" Newt asked. "About the muggle that fell down the well?"
Theseus didn't answer.
Newt carried on, "Well, I didn't at first. But a few days ago, you reminded me of it. You started singing it, and, and, now I remember.
"You came over because Dumbledore asked you to check on me. You saw one of my creatures and helped her get settled. When I asked how, you said you sang to her, specifically this song.
"Now, let's see, if I remember correctly, the song went something like this:
"There was an old muggle who fell down the well."
He stopped for a moment, watching Theseus, whose breathing was slowly steadying. Then Newt continued singing,
"But along came a witch who did do him a spell."
He paused again, waiting. Then he kept going,
"When the muggle awoke he said 'Dear woman, do tell. Is it heaven I'm in, or have I gone straight to hell?'"
Theseus slowly turned his head around to look at the person speaking to him. His face was streaked with tears. He looked at Newt, puzzlement in his eyes, then back at the man he had been cradling, then back at the real Newt. His eyes were confused but pleading.
Newt tentatively took out his wand and pointed it at the dead man. "Revelio," he said. The man transformed back into who he actually was. Theseus looked at the man in shock. Then he took out his wand and pointed it at Newt. He needed to be sure.
"R-Revelio," he said, his voice shaking. Nothing happened; Newt didn't transform into anyone else. Theseus kept his wand pointed at him for a few seconds longer, looking unsure. Then he looked back at the dead man, then back at Newt. Newt waited. After a little while, Theseus slowly lowered his wand and put it away.
He took a few deep breaths. Then he looked back at Newt, tentatively. His hand slowly reached towards Newt's shoulder, hesitating before touching it, afraid that this was all just an illusion, that Newt wasn't really there. Newt stayed still, waiting patiently. Whatever it took for Theseus to realize Newt was really here.
Theseus touched Newt's shoulder. It felt real. He reached his other hand out to touch Newt's cheek followed by Newt's curly bangs. Still felt real. Theseus's eyes began to tear up again. His lips trembled, his head lowered, and his grasp on Newt's shoulder tightened for a few seconds, then loosened. He started to sob.
Newt pulled Theseus to him, and wrapped his arms around his older brother's back. Theseus started to cry harder, tears streaming down his face. He clutched his younger brother. Newt rocked him back and forth.
A little while later, Newt heard a pop near the cauldron. He turned his head towards that direction and saw that Grindelwald had apparated there. Grindelwald started cleaning the cauldron. Newt looked back at his brother in his arms. He just kept his eyes on Theseus and stroked his back, while rocking him. All he cared about right now was comforting his brother.
After some time they pulled out of the hug. The look on Theseus's face was haunting. His hand reached towards Newt's shoulder and then Newt's face, still checking. Newt let him, but seeing him like this hurt so badly. When Theseus finished double-checking that Newt was really there, Newt placed his hand on Theseus's shoulder, rubbing it. Tears were falling down Theseus's face, the look in his eyes begging for Newt to be real.
"I'm real," Newt murmured. "I'm here. I'm here."
Newt pulled Theseus against his chest and wrapped his arms around his brother. Theseus laid his head against Newt's chest, crying softly, his arms wrapping around Newt's back. The pain in his cries broke Newt's heart.
Newt turned his head towards Grindelwald, heartbreak, appallment, and rage etched across Newt's face. Grindelwald noticed Newt looking at him and his eyes met Newt's. They held each other's gazes for a few moments. Newt had never felt so angry in his life. He wanted to kill Grindelwald. Newt wanted to make him pay for what he did. Then Grindelwald smiled as if to say You know you can't beat me.
Tears splashed down Newt's face, and his eyes darted around, not knowing where to look. Then he buried his face into the top of Theseus's head, tightening his grip on his brother. After a little while, he turned his face to the right and kissed Theseus's head and then reburied his face back where he had before. He felt one of Theseus's hands move out of the hug and rub Newt's back a few times before returning to the hug.
Shortly after, Newt heard a pop come from the direction the cauldron had been in. He figured Grindelwald probably disapparated out of there.
After some time, Newt slowly lifted his head and turned towards the area he heard the pop come from to double-check. He was right; Grindelwald was gone but so was everything Grindelwald used to make the curse. Newt took a deep breath and exhaled before wiping his tears away. Then he put his arms back around his brother lying against his chest. He took a few deep breaths.
"There was a cauldron," Theseus said, his voice thick. "Grindelwald did all this to…and then came to me with a vial. When Grindelwald let me go, I went to you, who I guess ended up being Andrew, one of the aurors I was in charge of. I didn't look to see what happened after."
"It was a curse," Newt said softly. "We saw it."
"You saw it?"
Newt nodded.
"What did it do?"
Newt didn't answer at first. He tightened his hold on Theseus and rested his chin onto Theseus's head. He exhaled shakily.
"We shielded ourselves from it, so it didn't do anything to us. But Queenie, my friend that was also at the amphitheater with us, and is also a legilimens, looked into Grindelwald's mind and found out that the curse was supposed to kill all the muggles in the city."
Theseus looked at Newt, his face horrified before becoming defeated. "So I just killed all the muggles in the city," he said numbly.
"No," Newt said quickly, looking down at him. "This isn't your fault. Hey," he said more gently, seeing tears forming in Theseus's eyes, "this is not your fault. You didn't make the curse or have any intention on casting it." A few tears spilled down Theseus's face and Theseus squeezed his eyes shut, his face contorted in pain, his lips pressed together. Newt stroked his brother's dark brown curls. Then he continued, "This is Grindelwald's fault. He was behind this. He did this." A few quiet sobs escaped Theseus's mouth. "This was not your fault," Newt repeated. "Okay?" Theseus sniffled but then nodded. Newt pulled him closer to his chest and held him.
After Theseus calmed down, Newt asked softly, "Why don't you come stay with me for some time?" Theseus didn't answer. "Hm?" Newt asked gently, looking down at him. He rubbed his brother's arm. "Come stay with me."
"Are you sure?" Theseus asked quietly.
"Yeah. Come stay with me."
"I don't wanna…be any trouble…"
"You're not any trouble. You're my brother. And even if you weren't, people are not trouble." Theseus didn't say anything. "And," Newt admitted, "I'm worried about you." Theseus looked up at Newt; Newt looked back down at him. After a few seconds, Theseus shook his head up and down, agreeing.
"Yeah?" Newt asked.
Theseus nodded. "Yeah," he confirmed.
"Okay. Let's go home."
Newt stood up and then held out a hand to Theseus, helping him up. Theseus wobbled a little when he stood, but Newt grabbed him, steadying him. They stood still for a few seconds.
"Ready?" Newt asked.
Theseus nodded. "Yeah."
Newt apparated them out of the clearing and into his apartment. He led Theseus to the table and had him sit down. Newt went to his cupboard, brought out a cup, filled it with water, and then brought it to him. Theseus accepted the cup and sipped the water. They sat in silence for a bit, consumed by their thoughts.
Then they heard a tapping by the window. They looked towards it and saw a brown owl. Newt walked over to the window and opened it, letting the owl inside. He took the letter from the owl. Newt opened the letter.
Hey Newt,
We didn't stop by because we figured you and Theseus probably needed some space after what happened. But we wanted to let you know that we're thinking of you both.
We're so sorry about what Grindelwald did to him. Truly. It's beyond cruel.
Please let us know if you need anything. Take care.
Tina, Queenie, and Jacob
"Who's the letter from?" Theseus asked quizzically.
"My friends from New York. They were here and fought at Grindelwald's rally as well."
"Oh. That's nice."
"Yeah. Queenie, who's the legilimens I told you about earlier, Tina, and Jacob. Queenie looked into Grindelwald's mind to see what the smoke was. That's, that's also when she found out he broke you, and I went to find you.
"They're just checking on us but offering help if we need it."
That's really kind of them," Theseus said giving a small smile. Newt smiled back.
"I should, um," Newt began waving to the letter.
"Yes, of course." Theseus looked away, sipping his water, thinking.
Newt went to grab parchment and a quill. When he got them he sat down and stared at the parchment, thinking. There was so much to say, so much to feel. Too much to say and too much to feel. He couldn't really do this at the moment, so he just stuck to the basics:
Dear Tina, Queenie, and Jacob.
Thank you so much. We really appreciate it.
Newt
He gave the letter to the owl and sent it back.
"I think I'm going to get ready for bed." Theseus said.
"Okay. Do you need anything else?" Newt asked.
Theseus shook his head, no.
"Okay. Right, well, make yourself at home. And, oh right!" Newt looked at the red couch in the next room that was next to his bed, and turned the couch into another bed. "You can sleep there."
"Thank you, Newt."
Newt smiled at him. "Let me know if you need anything."
They got ready for bed and then climbed into their beds. It took some time for their minds to settle down from everything that had happened that day, but eventually they did, and the brothers fell asleep.