The Potions Master and the Magizoologist

Chapter 5

​ At the end of the alleyway was a blocked off door. On it, a poster of a woman sat gazing in a mirror. The three women in the group approached first. With a wave of their wands, their clothes changed.
Elliott wore a lace black dress, Tina a black and shimmering flapper dress, and Queenie a light pink flapper dress. The boys stood in awe, mouths hung open slightly. Elliott pushed Newt's mouth shut.
​ "Don't want to catch flies," she said, regaining some of her usual humor. Newt smiled even though her eyes still held sadness. Tina knocked slowly four times on the door. The eyes of the woman slid back to reveal goblin eyes. Newt quickly gave himself a neat bowtie as they entered the dingy speakeasy.
A goblin singer was performing jazz music with her band. Wizards and witches of all kinds sat drinking and laughing. House-elves were the service. Jacob wandered over to the seemingly empty bar.
​ "What do you gotta do to get service around here," he muttered to himself. A brown bottle was thrown at him. He caught it and looked at it, confused.
​ "Never seen a house-elf before?" A voice sneered from behind the bar. Jacob leaned over to look at the elf.
​ "Oh, sure. I've seen tons." Jacob tried to seem nonchalant. "My uncle was a house-elf." The elf snarled and rolled its eyes.
​ "Six shots of giggle water, please," Queenie ordered and came up next to Jacob. The elf reluctantly filled her order. "So, how many No-Majs are like you?"
​ "I'm the only one like me," Jacob said. He knocked back a shot of the giggle water. He burst out laughing while maintaining eye contact. Queenie giggled sweetly.
​ Over at a lone table sat Tina, Elliott, and Newt. Newt had a hand protectively on Elliott's thigh. The girl was looking around the building warily.
"I've arrested half the people in here," Tina whispered nervously. Elliott patted her shoulder. A well-dressed goblin entered the room and sat across from Newt and Elliott. Gnarlak. He placed his crooked fingers on the table. He gave a sly smirk.
"What can I do for ya?" He asked gruffly. Newt looked to Elliott before speaking.
"Have you seen any interesting prints around?" Newt questioned. The goblin scoffed.
"Why should I help you? Why shouldn't I just turn you in?" He teased. Newt hesitated before pulling a handful of galleons from his pockets.
"MACUSA's offering more." He pulled out a pretty silver instrument. Gnarlak eyed it.
"Lunascope? Got five of 'em," he dismissed. Newt pulled out a sparkling, glowing, red egg from his pocket. Gnarlak opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when he saw Pickett peeking out from Newt's pocket.
"Is that a Bowtruckle?" He asked excitedly. Newt pushed Pickett back in his pocket.
"No," he stated blandly.
"Come on, Bowtruckles pick locks, right?" The goblin eyed the pocket greedily.
"Sorry, you can't have Pickett," Newt said and shook his head. Gnarlak pondered for a moment.
"Fine. How 'bout the girl?" He gestured toward Elliott. Her eyes widened. Newt's hand moved from her thigh to her waist, pulling her closer.
"No. Absolutely not."
"Hey, just a look at what she's hiding under that dress, eh?" He chuckled lowly. Newt glared harshly and moved his arm in front of her. Tina shouted for Queenie in her mind. The blonde perked up, hearing her sister's plan. She quickly sifted through Gnarlak's thoughts. Elliott clutched Newt's arm tightly.
"MASUCA IS HERE!"  A house-elf carrying a tray of glasses shouted. Instantly, chaos ensued. Gnarlak jumped across the table and grabbed Elliott by her free-flowing hair. He tugged her away from Newt.
"Newt!" She cried out in pain. Newt's eyes flashed with fury. Jacob snuck up behind the goblin.
"Sorry, Mr. Gnarlak," he said and punched him in the face, knocking him out. With his twisted fingers out of her hair, she stumbled back into Newt's arms. The group all met up in the middle of the panic.
"He knew about your demiguise. He's been causing trouble on 5th avenue, Macy's store." Queenie said breathlessly. They huddled together and Disapparated just as MACUSA members reached for them.
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​ We stood outside of the Macy's, back in our normal clothes. I could feel my heart racing from the events at the speakeasy. I still gripped Newt's arm. He gently moved my hand from his sleeve to his hand.
I allowed Newt to tug me to wherever the demiguise was leading. Flashes of Henry dying still flashed in my mind. Queenie shot me a sympathetic look before turning again. I pushed it away and instead thought about my time at Hogwarts with Newt.
​ It wasn't much. We weren't extremely close or anything. Good friends, is all. We had a lot of classes together, seeing as the Hufflepuffs were the only house willing to work with us Slytherins.
We would roam the halls together, rambling about our interests. He'd go on about the creatures that he'd read about. I'd go on about the potions I had brewed that day. I suppose, looking back on it now, to anyone looking at us, well, it would seem as though we were dating. But that never happened.
​ I met Newt second year. One of his insects had crawled on my book during class. I, being a thirteen year old girl, let out a high-pitched scream. I had the heebie-jeebies around him for a few weeks. As the year went on, we became closer. And over the years at Hogwarts we got to be best friends.
We had our main best friends that we'd hang out with, but if something happened or we needed to talk, we'd always go to each other. That was until he got expelled. I was sad to see him go, and promised to myself that I would find him again.
​ I was shaken out of my thoughts by us stopping in the attic of the store. The small monkey-looking creature was stopped with its arm out, offering up some sweets. My gaze travelled up. An enormous snake-like bird was curled around itself. Its feathers shimmered in the moonlight. I recognized the beast as an Occamy. Tina, however did not. Newt quickly summed it up for her.
​ "I suppose that's why Dougal is here. He's babysitting," Newt chuckled nervously. I looked to Dougal. His eyes flashed a light blue color before returning to their normal brown. I scrunched my nose up in confusion.
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​ Newt was murmuring to the Occamy, keeping it calm. Queenie, fascinated by the creature, stepped forward to get a closer look. Her foot hit a small tree ornament. It jingled as it rolled across the floor. The Occamy's pupils turned tiny and it lashed out. Various items were thrown about the room. Newt was clutching to the Occamy's neck, trying to get it to calm. Elliott stood frozen in the middle of the room.
​ "GET A BUG AND A TEAPOT!" Newt shouted in command. Tina, Queenie, and Jacob scrambled and tried to find the items. Dougal ran and climbed into Elliott's arms, hugging her like a koala. Tina's hand, holding a fancy porcelain teapot, shot into the air.
​ "Teapot!" She proclaimed. Jacob caught a cockroach in his fingers. Suddenly, the Occamy stopped moving. Its massive body pinned Tina and Jacob to opposite sides of the room. Elliott hid behind a dresser, Dougal with her. Queenie covered her head with a colander. Newt was on the Occamy's head. It was staring intently at the roach.
​ "Roach in teapot, now," Newt breathed out. Jacob launched the small bug across the room. The Occamy followed. Tina, now free, ran forward and heroically caught the roach. She squeezed her eyes shut as the Occamy dove into the teapot, shrinking to fit. Newt slammed a lid on the pot.
​ "They also shrink to fill available space," he explained. He turned toward Elliott, who had both Dougal and his case in hand. She set the case down and the group disappeared into it one by one.