Newt's Assistant: A Newt Scamander FanFic

Chapter Thirty One

Newt and Eleanor had settled into the case for the night and started their usual routine.

"El, can you tend to the kneazles and jackalopes? I'm going to work on the thunderbird. I think it be best if I tend to him first." Newt asked her.

"Don't think I can handle the larger beast, huh?" Eleanor asked him teasingly while poking him in the ribcage.

"I didn't mean it like that! He was in the cell next to me. He knows me a little better than you." Newt said and poked her back.

"Very well," Eleanor said while smiling back and grabbing feed for the jackalopes and kneazles. She set out to find their new enclosures. The kneazles seemed to be happy in their new home, seeing as they were all playing with each other and rolling around on the grass. They stopped when they noticed Eleanor coming towards them and they hid from her immediately. Eleanor frowned as she knew they would most likely do this which made her job a little more difficult. She knew that they had clearly been abused and she wanted to help them so much, but first she had to gain their trust.

Eleanor sat down on the grass and opened two cans of tuna and waited patiently for the kneazles curiosity to win them over. She could see them poking their heads out around a tree to sniff the fishy air. She smiled at them and waved the cans in their direction. They hid back behind the tree and Eleanor sighed. This was going to be harder than she thought.

She picked a few pieces of grass and began weaving them into each other, she then began humming the familiar tune of Claire de Lune. She had been busying herself with her craft when she felt a little nudge against her leg. She picked up her head and smiled at the little creature that was pawing at the can of tuna in her lap. She sat up more and grabbed the cans to hold them out to the kneazle.
"Come on now, don't be shy." Eleanor encouraged and she was finally able to feed the creature. Once the other one saw that its mate was eating, it got curious and had to see what this was all about.

"Why hello there," Eleanor cooed and handed the other kneazle a can of tuna to chow down on. She watched them curiously as they ate like they've never eaten before. When they finished they began trying to eat the cans. 

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, but I can get you some more if you're still hungry! I'll be right back," She said and stood up. When she stood up, the pair bolted behind a nearby tree again. Eleanor quickly came back with more food and sat down in the same spot again. Almost immediately, the kneazles came right back up to her and began purring and rubbing her legs. She gave them each another can of tuna and used the food as a distraction to check them over. They seemed relatively healthy, just severely malnourished. She couldn't fatten them up in one day though, only gradually every day. 

"What names will fit you ladies?" Eleanor asked aloud while observing them. One of them was pure white with blue eyes and large ears while the other was a soft gray with green calico eyes and the same big ears except one was droopy. She began to hum Claire de Lune again and they rolled onto their backs purred when she scratched them behind their ears. 

"Claire..." She said as the small realization of what she would name them came to her. She looked at the gray one. "You're Claire."

"And you're Luna." Eleanor smiled at the white ball of fur that getting her coat dirty by rolling around.  They seemed to respond well to their names and they continued to cuddle in Eleanors lap. She did need to move onto the jackalopes soon and it hurt her heart as she stood back. 

"I promise I will be back," Eleanor stated while giving them one last scratch and gave them the little toy she had woven prior. She strutted over to where the jackalopes were hiding with their feed in tow. Many people thought that jackalopes eat a rabbit diet, but shockingly they are carnivorous. She had a few slabs of meat with her and she laid them out neatly and did the same thing as before. She sat on the ground and waited for her new friends to get curious enough to check her out. 

Eventually, one poked it's head out and hopped over to the meat Eleanor laid out. She noticed it was missing its antlers. Poachers, she thought glumly knowing she couldn't do anything to help that. Another one followed it out and began chowing down. Eleanor had noticed this one limp out and it seemed to be favoring its front paw. Eleanor scooted towards it, but it grunted at her and thumped. They do this when they feel threatened so she just sat tight and waited. The last of the three finally came out and this one was much smaller than the rest; it seemed to be a baby. 

"Mum, Dad, and baby," Eleanor said while observing them. She pulled out her sketch book and began doodling the family. She eventually zoned out in her own thoughts and was startled by Newt coming up behind her. 

"Hey you," Newt said while situating himself beside her and taking a peek at her drawing.  "Wow."

"Hey, sorry. They've been a little difficult to interact with. That one, right there, his paw is bothering him, but he won't let me near him. They all need a thorough check up, but I can't do much since they feel threatened by me." Eleanor said and nodded to the one with the broken paw and then leaning back to lay down on the grass. Newt followed her and laid down beside her. He watched as she closed her eyes and watched her breathe. He held onto her hand and also closed his eyes. They must have dozed off because Newt woke up alone and Eleanor was no where to be seen. 

"El?" He called out. 

"In here!" She yelled from inside the shack. Newt followed her voice and opened the door to his shack to find the last thing he ever expected to see. Eleanor was sitting on the floor with her medical equipment scattered around and three jackalopes nuzzled into her lap. 

"Why didn't you wake me up?" Newt asked pretending to be hurt. Eleanor giggled and just shrugged her shoulders. 

"They're all healthy... now at least. I mean, they were all underfed. I named them, do you want to hear?" Eleanor asked. 

"Sure," Newt said while rubbing the back of his head. 

"Well I was hungry when I named them. So I named them after my favorite food. Cheese!" She said excited. 

"Cheese?" Newt questioned. 

"Yes! Cheese! This one, the mom, her name is Brie. This one, the daddy, his name is Gouda. And this little guy here, his name is Havarti!" She giggled. Newt looked at her with his mouth open which turned into a smile and then a laugh. 

"You are crazy," He chuckled. "What did you name the kneazles?"

"Claire and Luna. They really like Claire de Lune." She said and Newt smiled at her. "What creative name did you come up with for your thunderbird?"

"Err... Frank." Newt said shyly. 

"Frank?" Eleanor repeated. 

"Uh yes." He said. 

"Newt. You have an endless amount of super cool, badass names for him and you named him Frank?" She asked. 

"Umm yeah. Well he responded to it!" Newt said defensively. 

"You are unbelievable Newton!" She exclaimed and threw her head back. The noise seemed to stir the jackalopes awake and they looked directly at Newt and hopped over to him. 

"Er hello... Gouda." He said and stroked the creatures back. The family hopped off and out of the shack and Newt followed to get them settled in for bed. Eleanor got up, brushed the dirt off her, and walked over to her desk. She placed her journal down and changed into her pajamas. Newt came back in and did the same. 

"Ready for bed?" He asked her and she nodded. 

"I'm exhausted." She replied as she climbed into bed with Newt following her. They tucked each other in and Newt spooned her from behind. 

"I hope tomorrow is a better day," He said. 

"Me too," Eleanor said and they fell asleep peacefully with out any disturbances... which seemed rare to ask for these days. Newt worried about their next trip; he hadn't a lot of experience with any obscurus and he worried if he made the right choice to bring Eleanor with him. If she ever got hurt because of... anything that was remotely his fault, he wasn't sure if he could live with that. He drifted off and held her as tight as he possibly could and promised himself that he would never let go.