A/N: Chapter one is a hot mess. I posted it twice and realized the first time there was a bunch of blah blah then the second time I realized I accidentally posted Chapter something something from Six Days in Enemy Territory, soo ye0.
November 2, 1938. 9:30 p.m.
Newt Scamander was exhausted; catching a frightened Hippogriff took a lot more energy than he had expected. Thankfully, he was able to quiet down the Hippogriff and get it into his case. Then he Apparated back home, which took more energy from him. So yes, he was extremely tired.
Newt sat quietly in his living room. He was watching his Niffler, Teddy, dangle from the ceiling fan, attempting to get the chain. The chain broke, and Newt watched with amusement as Teddy fell to the ground. He raised his eyebrows. Teddy looked up at Newt with wide eyes, seeming to just notice that he had been on the fan. Newt smiled.
Putting his hand near the ground, he beckoned the Niffler over to him. Teddy crawled silently over to Newt, putting his paws into his owner's hand. Newt picked Teddy up and held him close. The Niffler was quite warm, and surprisingly cuddly. He purred contentedly in Newt's arms. "Come on, you." Newt spoke quietly. He stood up, walking towards the door leading to the basement.
Newt froze, his hand on the doorknob. He listened carefully. Someone was at his front door. Slowly, Newt pulled his wand into his hand while also carefully putting Teddy into his pocket. Taking a deep breath, Newt stepped slowly and carefully towards the door. Hearing it open, Newt stopped moving again.
"Accio case." He whispered, pointing his wand. His magical case flew into his outstretched hand, where it fitted perfectly. Newt's heart sped up, although he didn't understand why. His instincts were telling him that he was in danger and his mind was telling him he was alone. Unfortunately, Newt had been in enough rough situations to learn to trust his instincts.
Opening the case quickly, Newt pulled Teddy out of his pocket. Putting a finger to his lips, Newt carefully placed Teddy into the case. Next, he grabbed his friend, Pickett, a Bowtruckle, who clung to Newt's finger. "Go, Pickett." He whispered, "You'll be fine." Pickett frowned worriedly, but thankfully let go of his friend's finger. Newt started to close the case when he heard someone else speak.
"Over that way."
Someone walked into the living room. A female who was tall and slender, with black hair and dark eyes. She held a wand in her hand. Newt recognized her as one of Grindelwald's acolytes (followers). She smirked at him. Newt held his wand up, moving to stand in front of his case.
"Grindelwald. In here." She called. Newt's eyes went a little wider, but he kept his wand up. He had thought fleetingly that perhaps Grindelwald had come to call but had brushed that from his mind. Now though, Newt knew he was, unfortunately, correct.
"Ah. Newt Scamander!" a man walked into the room. He had blonde hair. His eyes were two different colors, and his skin was pale. Grindelwald smiled, a mischievous look in his eyes. "Long time no see." He grinned.
"What do you want?" Newt, who was now running multiple senecios though his mind, all of which ended terribly.
"You have something that I need," Grindelwald said, lazily twirling his wand around in his fingers, "You're powerful Newt. Very powerful. I want you to show me how you did it."
Newt frowned slightly. "I don't believe there's a way to show someone to be powerful."
Grindelwald had now walked in front of Newt, hardly seven feet away. "Then I will make you show me." He said, a dangerous gleam in his eyes.
Newt backed up into the table behind him, still holding his wand out. He could feel his heart beating against his chest, he was shaking slightly with fear. "How would you do that?"
"I believe you know what Legilimency is?" asked Grindelwald. Newt nodded ever so slightly, breathing shallowly. "I also believe you know what the Cruciatus Curse is?" he smirked.
"Is that a threat?" Newt asked, trying to buy himself time.
"Oh, no. It's more than a threat. It's a reality." Said Grindelwald. Suddenly, faster than lightning, Grindelwald pointed his wand at Newt, yelling, "Crucio!"
But Newt, thankfully had been prepared for this attack. "Protego!" A clear shield wrapped around Newt, deflecting the harmful Curse. "Diffindo!" Newt pointed his wand at the ceiling, which then broke. One of the wooden beams dropped down upon Newt's shield spell, blocking Grindelwald from getting to him easily. The women cried out, pointing her wand at Newt. "No!" yelled Grindelwald, "He's mine!"
Newt quickly grabbed his case, not wanting to lose precious time, and opened it. Pickett looked up at Newt. "Pickett, I'm so sorry," Newt spoke quickly, "I'm sending you to Dumbledore, alright? Get help, show him what happened. He'll know what to do." Pickett looked concerned, his eyes filled with worry and compassion. He squeaked sadly at Newt. Newt's heart broke. "It's alright. You'll be ok."
Newt looked back at Grindelwald, who had recovered from the quick defense of Newt. He was now trying to levitate the wooden beam away from the shield. Newt gently, but speedily, pushed Pickett back into the case. He latched it shut, and then Newt put the Portkey spell on it, (Portus) sending it to Hogwarts.
Taking a vial from his coat pocket, Newt put his wand to his head. He extracted a silvery, shimmery memory, and put it in the vial, which Newt then threw across the room. Grindelwald had now moved the wooden beam and was attempting to slash his way through the shield. Closing his eyes, Newt took a deep breath, clearing his mind of all the crazy thoughts, reaching out to someone else's mind. Theseus' mind. The connection broke as Grindelwald finally broke through the shield. There was a loud noise behind him; the case had disappeared.
Grindelwald pointed his wand at Newt, trying to get him with spells. Newt kept on deflecting, though he was slowly getting tired out. There was a pause, and Newt cast a spell on the basement door, concealing it from the outside world, attempting to protect his beloved creatures hidden inside. Unfortunately, this came with a cost. Grindelwald pointed his want at Newt, yelling, "Rictumsepra!" Newt lost all breath, falling to the ground. The corner of his eyes grew dark. Grindelwald leaned in, his eyes searching Newt's for any trace of fear. Newt stared back at him definingly. Grindelwald knocked him out.
He was breathing heavily. Grindelwald looked at the woman. "Vinda, get the boy. Bring him to headquarters." Vinda nodded, muttering a spell. "Are you alright, my lord?" she asked, a hint of concern in her voice. Grindelwald was leaning wearily against a wall. "The boy is powerful," he spoke at last, "He was subconsciously pushing the beam of wood down with magic, hindering me from getting to him." He stood up, "We don't have much time before someone finds out what happened here. Let's go."
Vinda nodded again. With two loud cracks in the air, like a shotgun, both Apparated out of the flat.
