Echos >> Newt Scamander

06. Just A Smidge.

Tina, Newt, and Myra were all walking through the streets of New York, following the directions that were being given by Viride. Newt suddenly spun around, horrified and watching something.

"What was that?" Tina stared at the spot where something Myra hadn't gotten a good look at had been.

"Er-moth I think," Newt stuttered, clearly lying, "Big moth."

Both witches looked at him dubiously, but continued walking as Viride instructed. The directions led the trio around the corner to a crumbling tenement building that had a gigantic crowd in front of it. Half of the no-majs were shouting, while the other half were evacuating.

The three of them moved around the outskirts of the crowd, passing a tipsy hobo at the back of the crowd. The man was in the middle of trying to attract the policeman at the center of the mass's attention.

"Hey... Hey-" the policeman tried to yell over the crowd, "quiet down- I'm trying to get a statement..."

"...I'm telling you it's a gas explosion again," a housewife told the policeman, "I ain't taking the kids back up there until it's safe."

"Sorry, ma'am- there ain't no smell of gas."

"It warn't gas-" the hobo slurred, "hey, Officer, I seen it!- it wuzza- a gigantic- a huge hippopotto-"

Myra watched as Newt slid his wand from his sleeve and pointed it at the drunken man, "-gas. It was gas," the hobo started saying, others in the crowd around him began to agree as well.

The blonde caught a glimpse of something flying out of the corner of her eye and turned to look at it. It was large, somewhat like a moth, but it was blue, and had helicopter-like wings.

A growl came from her bag, which incited her to whirl around, searching for Newt in the crowd. Myra huffed a thank you and tapped Tina's shoulder.

The witch motioned toward the tenement building, where Viride was telling her that her Echo had escaped to. The two women set off through the crowd and up the metal stairs of the building.

"Mr. Scamander!" Tina called up the stairwell as they ran.

When Myra rushed into the room, she found Newt trying to look innocent and composed. Seated on the bed, her Echo calmly sealed the latch on his case.

"It was open?" Tina asked incredulously.

"Just a smidge..." Newt replied tentatively.

Myra peered into the corner of the room, where a barely conscious Kowalski was lied down.

"That crazy niffler thing's on the loose again?"

The blonde crouched down beside him, laying a hand on his shoulder, "Are you alright Mr. Kowalski?"

"Er-it might be-"

Myra noticed the small red bite on the side of his neck.

"Then look for it! Look!"

The witch let out a scream as a white creature came hurtling out from under a cabinet and latched onto her arm.

Both Newt and Tina whipped around to face her as Viride lept out of Myra's bag and started tearing the creature away from her mother figure. The green Ignis loquitur wrestled the thing to the ground. It escaped from underneath her and the two began circling each other, snarling. Myra watched as Newt used the distraction to snatch the creature by the tail and grapple it into the case.

"Mercy Lewis, what is that?" Tina asked, wide eyed.

"Nothing to worry about," Myra fixed him with a unyielding stare while she help Viride back into her bag, "That is a murtlap."

Satisfied with his answer, the blonde stood up and brushed down her coat, "What else have you got in there?" she asked latching her bag closed.

"You!" Kowalski shouted at Newt in recognition, not giving her Echo the chance to respond to her question.

Newt gave a small grin, "Hello."

Myra knelt down next to the muggle, "Easy Mr.-"

"Kowalski... Jacob..."

The witch took Jacob's hand to shake it, "It's nice to meet you Mr. Kowalski."

Newt raised his wand, causing Jacob to recoil in fear, clutching at Myra, who, along with Tina, moved protectively in front of him.

"You can't Obliviate him!" Tina exclaimed, "We need him as a witness."

"I'm sorry-" the brunette lowered his wand, "you've just yelled at me the length of New York for not doing it in the first place..."

"He's hurt and he looks ill!" Myra through her hands up in the air, annoyed with her Echo, "We shouldn't leave him like that."

"He'll be fine." Newt assured, "Murtlap bites aren't serious."

Jacob reached into the corner of the room while both witches stared at Newt in disbelief, "I admit that is a slightly more severe reaction than I've seen, but if it was really serious- he'd have..."

"What?" Tina prompted, impatient.

"Well, the first symptom would be flames out of his anus-" the terrified muggle felt the seat of his pants as soon as he registered what the wizard had said.

"This is balled up!" Tina exclaimed.

"It'll last forty-eight hours at most!" Newt continued, "I can keep him if you want me too-"

"Oh, keep him?" Tina asked seeming to simmer down, even though Myra knew that wasn't what she was doing, "We don't keep them! Mr. Scamander, do you know anything about the wizarding community in America?"

"I do know a few things, actually," Newt replied, "I know that you have rather backwards laws about relations with non-magic people. That you're not meant to befriend them, that you can't marry them, which seems mildly absurd to me."

The blonde scoffed under her breath, "No kidding. My grandpa couldn't come or he'd be Obliviated himself."

"Who's going to marry him?" Tina said, moving to try and lift the partly conscious Jacob from the floor, "You're all coming with me-"

"I don't see why I need to come with you-" Newt attempted.

"Help me!"

Newt sighed and went to help the two witches keep Jacob upright.

"I'm... I'm dreaming, right? Yeah... I'm tired, I never went to the bank. This is all just some big nightmare, right?"

"For the both of us Mr. Kowalski," Tina agreed.