Newt is down for the count after his encounter with a flash flood, but that is not going to deter him from his quest.

Pheasant in the Willows

Daylight. Newt groaned as he tried to sit up. Everything ached. He was bare-chested apart from network of bandages over his left shoulder and chest. He scowled when he saw he had one leg splinted. Peering out the window beside his bed, he saw a bamboo frame on which his clothes and suitcase hung, drying in the morning sun. The contents of his suitcase were lined up on woven baskets, including his maps, letters, and his precious photo of Tina. Pickett was sitting on the window frame munching woodlice.

"So you are with us still…" a wizened old crone shuffled over with a bowl of dark liquid that reeked of medicinal herbs. She urged him to drink the lot slowly.

"How long…"

"Three days… Found you washed up at the laundry pool. The plum rains are strong this year. Finally got some sun," a shrug of her hunched shoulders. The crone paused to untangle something from her headdress.

"Yours, I believe." She extracted her silver hairpin from Teddy's pouch, smacked him lightly on the rear before dropping the niffler on Newt's lap.

A Muggle or squib. Newt pondered as the old woman stirred a pot over the fire pit and ladled out a bowl. The stew or whatever it was smelled divine. A scrappy little pooch snuffled into the house and plonked himself before the fire pit.

"You're a wizard, and don't lie to Grandma Willow about it. I might not be a witch, but my nephew's children are wizards. I know one when I see one. Foreign wizards normally do not come this way. What is your purpose?"

"I am a magizoologist – I study magical beasts and write about them…"

"The Qilin then. Don't you move. Your leg's broken and the wizard healer's not been yet. One would think being a wizard he could fix a washed-out bridge, but no… We only have a witch in the village, but she is hopeless at anything other than love potions and curses." She offered him the bowl of green-tinged porridge. It tasted fragrantly nutty.

The old woman ventured out to the porch to retrieve the dried clothes. A whistling sound followed by hoots sounded through the trees. Grandma Willow responded with a melodious whistle that dipped and soared like birdsong. She shuffled back into the house with the clothes.

"You're in luck. They got the bridge up. The healer should be dropping by in two hours, or once he is done sampling Old Tao's rice wine."

Healing a broken leg with magic after it was left untreated for two days was a complex process compounded by the fact that the healer was slightly tipsy after partaking of not only Old Tao's but his neighbour's wine. The first two tries saw Newt with a goat's hoof and a duck's webbed foot. Third try was the charm in that it turned his broken leg back to what it was before the healer started waving his wand – a sorry-looking thing with its core hanging halfway out. Seems the wizard managed to trip and fall on it staggering over to see his patient.

Grandma Willow brewed a pot of strong tea, urged a cup on the healer before sending him home. She muttered that she did not want to fish him out of the creek next. To Newt's relief. She proposed that they allowed his leg to heal naturally unless he wished to attempt fixing it himself. Newt was glad when Dougal shambled out of where he had been hiding under the bed and presented him with his unscathed wand. He would need to rely on Doug to take care of the menagerie while he healed up. Brackium Emendo worked best on fresh breaks. Maybe he could have Dougal check his potions cabinet for Skele-Gro.

He blinked and rubbed his eyes. Grandma Willow was out in the yard. He could hear her pottering about. There were two Demiguises – Dougal and a shyer companion who kept fading in and out. The pair were softly cooing to each other like a pair of lovebirds.

"Go on, Doug. I'll just take a nap." Newt sighed, lay on a wooden headrest, and closed his eyes. The cooing conversation faded off. Newt hoped this meant the pair had abandoned the old woman's small hut to seek out another more private place for their courtship. Little was known about Demiguises, especially their habits in the wild. Demiguises habituated to wizards often took on the habits of their masters or human companions. Newt was painfully aware this might be the last time he saw Dougal.

"Your stuff's almost dried," Grandma Willow brought in the papers. She handed the photo to Newt. "Your wife?"

"Well, not yet…" Newt felt the heat rush to his cheeks.

"Soon-to-be wife," the old woman nodded sagely. "Never cared for these photo-things… Steal your soul. Must trust you to give you a bit of her soul."

"Yes, Tina is the most amazing woman I have ever met," Newt smiled fondly as Tina smiled back in the photo and fluffed her hair. The redhead felt a pang of sorrow at being so far from her. But Professor Dumbledore's request must be of great importance to the greater scheme of things, right?

"Young man, some sacrifices should not be made. Once you have settled your current business, go ask her. Don't let a girl wait too long…" the old woman murmured as if she had read his mind.

Luckily for Newt and his travelling menagerie, Dougal returned the next morning from his romantic interlude and promptly set to work feeding and cleaning up after the beasts in the suitcase. Even with Skele-Gro, it would take Newt almost a month before he could hobble down to assess the situation.

Their ragtag band retreated to Shanghai to lick the wounds. They had found the Qilin already – dead and decomposing on one the sandbars in the river. It was a blow to their plans. Carrow had cringed as Grindelwald railed at her across the International Floo in the apartment of a Russian sympathizer living in the city. Vinda was too smart to put herself into their master's bad books.

Grindelwald needed the Qilin alive. He did not question them on their losses. Minister Liu's people must suspect something by now. Foreign wix were subject to more scrutiny in the Chinese hinterlands. Only in Shanghai and similar port cities on the coast where a foreign presence was common could they slip unchallenged through the populace.

Krafft was entertaining a lady friend he picked up at the cabaret down the street. Some buxomy blond who claimed she was Russian royalty. Vinda had gone out to send an owl. Carrow was out fetching supplies, which will likely include more bottles of vodka. The rest of the wizards were playing cards in the back room. Aurelius sighed and peered out of the garret room he had been assigned. A dead bird lay broken on the windowsill under a spider-web crack in the glass.

Grindelwald had insisted that his friend remained away from him. Aurelius missed his fiery phoenix, but he could see that a phoenix would draw all manner of unwanted attention. Healer Bedivere had mentioned that phoenix tears could heal all manner of ills. Could they have saved Nagel and Rutger had his phoenix been with them? Not that they seemed to be missed…

His bird understood when he asked him to remain behind. He had attempted to bring the bird into town once. Queenie had advised him a phoenix would not be safe in a tailor's store, especially one constantly smouldering and shedding embers.

Aurelius glanced at his hand, watching the faint shadows swirl and fade away. Obscurus. Was his bird one too? Was that why he constantly screamed and shed cinders? Would they both turn into a puff of smoke one day and be gone? He missed his phoenix and Miss Queenie. He watched the No-Maj residents of their street in the French Quarter go by their daily lives. Armed soldiers stopped a shabbily dressed man for questioning. On the corner of the street, a young girl sold flowers. No magic.

Aurelius sighed. He almost missed those days when he was surer about things. Before he was aware he was a wizard, and that magic was real. At least he still had Modesty as his sister then… He spotted Vinda returning. She wore a rather striking patterned outfit which oddly reminded him of Nagini's scales. He wondered where his friend had gone to after they parted ways in Germany.

Regroup and plan their next move. Aurelius heard the clatter of pots and pans and Carrow yelling at the Russian's house elf. He could also hear their host's booming voice. It was cabbage soup and herring again from the sound of it.

Nurmengard

Queenie pulled her shawl tighter around her shoulders as she watched the phoenix soar over the valley, shedding its trail of ash and cinders. She shivered despite the relatively mild weather. The Princes' carriage was pulling up to the gate. She turned away from the window. Aurelius was not back yet. Lord Grindelwald had thrown a rare tantrum while Carrow reported back. Something had gone wrong. When she discreetly asked him the next day at breakfast, he reassured her that Aurelius was safe. And no, the young man and Vinda were not due to return yet.

Queenie watched from the upper gallery as the Prince family was greeted by their host. She was surprised to see Bedivere also in attendance, albeit escorted by MacDuff. The small party adjourned to the parlour, leaving Queenie behind with her thoughts.

The Hog's Head

Silence. Aberforth glared at the mirror. His son had mentioned that he would be leaving on a long journey, but it had been weeks since their last exchange. Oh, he had tried to work on his reading and writing – skills he had allowed to go dormant over the years since he left school.

"Abe, the usual please!"

Grumbling under his breath, Aberforth turned away from the mirror to serve his customers. There was no sense worrying about things far across the world while his customers and goats needed feeding.

Hogwarts Castle

Albus Dumbledore concluded his class and watched the students file out. There were a few who showed promise in his subject. The rest might just scrape through their OWLs. How many of them would survive the storm to come?

After the Muggle Great War, it seemed that they are on the verge of another… And Gellert…

It was his last class of the day. Dumbledore put aside his teaching tools and strolled to the staff lounge for a brief rest before dinner. He had barely settled his bulk into a comfy armchair and closed his eyes when…

"Professor Dumbledore, excuse me… I have a question. About your latest paper in Transfiguration Monthly…"

Minerva. With a smile on his face, he greeted his colleague. Perhaps a few minutes of discussion with a talented colleague might take his mind off Gellert. They were so engaged in a spirited discussion on mass and energy conversation in Transfiguration processes. They were still arguing on the alternative transference theorem when the dinner bell rang.

Newt was back on the trail of the female Qilin after taking his leave of Grandma Willow. A woodcutter had stumbled into the village white with fear and blabbering about a strange beast in the forest with whiskers and scales. Newt had noted from his interactions with Grandma Willow and her visitors that the Chinese only recognized the male Qilin with his rack of antlers. The more modestly endowed female was thought of as a different beast.

Newt knew the beast might be gravid after her mating and did not wish to spook her. Instead, he decided to observe the beast from a safe distance, for both him and her. She proved to be far more elusive than her mate.

They would go for days without a single hoofprint. Whenever Newt was convinced he had lost the trail for good, he would find it again. The beast led him deeper into the forest, away from the smattering of villages and solitary huts nestled among the hills.

Some days it seemed hopeless, and he wanted to turn back towards civilization, to Tina. She often dreamt of her, starting a life with her in some quiet corner of England once all this was done with. Yet he had to continue. For the sake of the larger good, as Professor Dumbledore had hinted that his finding the Qilin before Grindelwald did might just turn the tide of growing global support for the dark wizard.

Author's Notes:

Grandma Willow was a bit of a stray plot idea that occurred to me. The Chinese word for willow is a homonym to Liu Tao's family name, so I am leaving it open as to whether they are related.