Forgive

Chapter 7

Ava and Newt walked down a street of ordinary yellow brick houses, the first specks of rain falling.

They walked swiftly up the front steps of their house, but paused just outside the front door.

The light of their sitting room was flashing on and off.

Newt and Ava exchanged a glance, then Ava opened the door cautiously. They both poked their heads in to see a baby Niffler swinging from the brass cord of a lamp, causing the light to flicker on and off.

The Niffler succeeded in stealing the brass cord before spotting Newt and Ava.

It scampered away, knocking all manner of objects to the floor. Can't catch! It's challenging thoughts filled Ava's mind.

She spotted a second baby Niffler sitting on a set of weighing scales, pinned down by gold-coloured weights it was clearing attempting to steal.

As the first Niffler made it to the dining table, Newt lightly dropped a saucepan on top of it, which continued to move across the table, while Ava tossed an apple into the opposite weighing scale, sending the baby Niffler flying into the air.

Newt caught the first Niffler and Ava caught the second. She tucked it into the folds of her leather jacket, ignoring the Niffler's complaining thoughts.

Satisfied, Newt and Ava headed towards the door to their basement, but Ava turned at the last moment to see a third escaped baby Niffler climbing onto a bottle of champagne on the counter.

With a sense of inevitability, the champagne bottle popped and the baby Niffler zoomed towards Newt (who had now also turned) and Ava on top of the cork, soaring past them and down the steps of the basement.

(I'm skipping to when they go to Paris sorry!)

They were going to Paris. That was the only though that rung through Ava's mind as she, Newt, and Jacob walked with cases, and Ava with a backpack, towards Beachy Head.

They were going to Paris to search for Queenie, who was searching for Tina; who was searching for Credence; who was searching for his family.

Basically, it was like chasing shadows.

"Jacob," Newt said uneasily. "That man Tina's been seeing—"

"Don't worry!" Jacob interrupted. "She gonna see you and she'll see the five of us together, it'll just be like New York all over again. Don't worry about it."

"Yes, but he's an Auror, Queenie said?"

"Yeah, he's an Auror. So what? Don't worry about him."

"What d'you think I should say to her, if I see her?" Newt asked after a moment of silence.

"Oh, well, it's best not to plan these things." Jacob told him. "You know, you just say whatever comes to you in the moment."
"She has eyes just like a salamander." Newt said reminiscently.

Ava winced. "Don't say that."
She and Jacob exchanged a glance and came to the same conclusion: Newt needed serious help.

"Nah, look, you just tell her you missed her." Jacob told him. "Right, and then you came all the way to Paris to find her. She'll love that. And then, tell her you're losing sleep at night for thinking of her."

"Maybe cut the last bit," Ava advised. "But, just don't say anything about salamanders, okay?"

"Right." Newt said. "Okay."

"Hey, hey, hey." Jacob said. "It's gonna be alright. We're in this together, pal. Okay, Ava and I gonna help you out. We're gonna help you find Tina, find Queenie, and we'll all be happy again. Just like the old times."