𝖊𝖗𝖘𝖙𝖜𝖍𝖎𝖑𝖊 ⋆ newt scamander

the fourth chapter

"Look, there's the sign for Central Park," Cora pointed out. Their pace quickened, Jacob jogging slightly to keep up with the other two.

"Right, hold your hippogriffs," Newt mumbled, holding out an arm to stop Jacob. "You're going to have to pop this on." He opened the case and dug around, before resurfacing with a helmet and breastplate. Jacob seemed to be struggling with the straps, so Cora helped him.

"Shouldn't Cora be wearing this? I mean- you know," Jacob suggested sheepishly as she fastened the straps around his back.

"I'm perfectly capable of handling myself, thank you," Cora snapped. They walked into the zoo. Walls were partially torn down, metal gates were bent out of shape and there was huge, heavy footprints in the cobbled floor.

"Maybe it would be best if you waited outside," Newt said, turning to Cora. "Well, not outside-outside, because we're already outside. I mean... just here would do."

"Why?"

"Well, we can't have you getting injured. Erumpents are much bigger than they look on paper."

"Why should that concern me anymore than Jacob?" She questioned. "He has a much higher risk of getting injured than I do."

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Newt mumbled. The trio continued into a courtyard, where a hippopotamus was being corner by a much larger creature.

"Goodness gracious," Cora whispered as they saw the sheer size of the erumpent.

"I told you it was-"

"It's magnificent," she gasped, walking to get closer. Both Jacob and Newt reached out to grab her arms and pull her back. Newt then reached into his case once more, producing a vial of dark liquid.

"What's that?" Jacob asked.

"Erumpent musk," Newt explained, dabbing tiny amounts of the liquid on his wrists. "She'll go mad for it, if I can get her attention."

"Why?" Jacob seemed to be asking all of the questions, while Cora stared in awe at the beast before them.

"She's in season. She needs to mate."

This caught Cora's attention. "What, with you?" Realising what she'd said, her cheeks reddened at a rapid rate. "Newt, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean-"

Newt replied calmly, "No need to worry."

"And do people often believe you when you tell them not to worry?" She asked, growing increasingly anxious as he walked towards the erumpent.

"My philosophy is that worrying means you suffer twice."

"Oh, that makes perfect sense," she muttered sarcastically. He stopped almost at the centre of the courtyard and dropped into a squatting position. "What on Earth is he-"

She was cut off by Newt, who let out a loud, animalistic groaning noise. The erumpent turned, having smelt the musk and heard the call. Cora snorted with laughter as he began contorting his body into all sorts of shapes, moving around the courtyard until he was on the opposite side and the erumpent was where he had began. They both dropped into a roll, and the erumpent was very close to rolling into the case.

Then Jacob unstoppered the musk bottle and took a sniff, gagged, and dropped the vial. It shattered and the intense smell caught the erumpent's attention.

"Now you've done it," Cora sighed. The scent had consumed Jacob's entire figure and she could hardly stand the smell, so she dashed away just as the creature charged for him. It smashed through several walls and tore up more of the floor below them.