Echos >> Newt Scamander

08. Pie or Strudel?

"Would you mind if I went and fed my dragons?" Myra asked the others as more of a courtesy rather than as if she were actually seeking permission.

"Sure," Tina assented, still commanding ingredients around the kitchen with her wand, "You can set up next to the fireplace."

The blonde nodded and stood up, walking over to the fireplace. She maneuvered around the clotheshorse and placed her bag against the wallpaper. She waved her wand over the black leather and stepped back. Before turning the knob of the door, she glanced behind her at Jacob, who stared at the bag-turned-door prior to stumbling over to the dining table.

Myra turned the knob and slipped through the doorway into the cottage. She strode through the main room, flicking her wand at the shattered jar that she hadn't cleaned up earlier so that it would sweep itself up into the bin in the corner. A sharp whistle rang out of the cottage, signaling to the three Ignis loquitur that it was time for dinner.

They came speeding into the main room to seat themselves next to their respective plates. No-majs called them pet bowls, however the witch refused to call her dragons pets, as they were more like her children than anything else.

Myra opened the fridge and pulled out a carton of berries that she had picked a few days prior. A small pile of berries went to each Ignis loquitur along with a large piece of chicken and a scoop of carrots, celery, and other vegetables.

The three of them scarfed up the meal as someone would take it away from them at any moment (which wasn't true, but Myra didn't think they cared if it was or wasn't). While the three of them ate, the blonde over to the loveseat on the opposite side of the room from the kitchen. She sat down and picked up the Hawthorn wand sitting on the coffee table along with the whittling knife placed next to it.

The witch had finished the basic shape a few days ago and had started to work on the details. The knife carved small dips in the wood, all different shapes and sizes, to resemble intricate webs.

When Myra carved, it was like she wasn't fully there, she was just carrying out what the wand should look like, not just how she wanted it. When she had completed a small portion of the handle, only about a square inch, she examined what the small portion of the wand had been completed in total (about half of the handle) and remembered something from her time at Ilvermorny.

They had spent at least three lessons per year on obscurials, and in her fifth year an old painting of one, which had been at least 200 years old, had been found deep in the old storage room. What she'd carved reminded her of that painting.

This realization frightened the blonde, to say the least, an obscurial hadn't been seen in over a hundred years. And if one was to have this wand... Who knew what would happen.

It might be a way that the obscurial was resolved, as the whole reason they formed was that the person was forced to suppress their magic. Or it might just cause even more destruction.

Either wa-

A puff of fire was blown between Myra and the wand, catching her by surprise. Her head whipped around to look at the culprit. It was Aurum.

The witch huffed out a question. And Aurum responded by means of a hurried growl.

Myra began swiveling around, one, two,

... where was Noctis?

The blonde sprang up and raced to the door that led out to the Goldstein apartment. When she exited the cottage she spotted Noctis staring up at Newt in confusion while he had his hand on the doorknob. Myra froze where she stood.

"Hey, Mr. Scamander," Queenie said, from the kitchen, "you prefer pie or strudel?"

Embarrassed, her Echo removed his hand from the knob, "I really don't have a preference."

Myra averted her gaze, hurt, and moved to scoop up Noctis. The black Ignis loquitur tried to scramble out of her grip, reaching with his wings for Newt. He whined, but eventually settled on her lap when she sat down at the dining table.

The blonde looked back at the door to her cottage and saw that both Aurum and Viride were poking their heads out of the crack that she left open. She huffed, and nodded at them, gesturing over to the table.

Aurum cautiously walked over to where her mother was, darting the last few feet, so that she was under the table and could rest her head on Myra's boots. Viride stalked over to the chair and scuttled up the post where she then stood looking over the blonde's shoulder at the food on the table.

"You prefer strudel, huh, honey?" Queenie was the only one to speak after Newt had been caught, "Strudel it is."

Jacob nodded with enthusiasm and the witch grinned back, delighted. With a flick of her wand, Queenie sent raisins, apples, and pastry flying into the air. The concoction neatly wrapped itself into a cylindrical pie and baked itself where it floated. The strudel settled down on the table finished with pastry braids and roses along with a dusting of sugar.

As soon as Tina lit the candles on the table Myra spoke, her voice cold, "Well, sit down Mr. Scamander, they're not going to poison you."

Her Echo wilted somewhat after she used the formal version of his name in place of the one he'd given her permission to use. He slowly went to sit down in the only available spot, which happened to be beside Myra and across from Tina, who didn't look too happy with him either.

They sat for a half hour in near silence, the only ones talking were Queenie and Jacob, who were getting on famously, "The job ain't that glamorous," Queenie was saying, "I mean, I spend most days making coffee, unjinxing the john... Tina's the career girl."

Myra swatted at Viride when she tried to steal a carrot out of her spoon, still silent.

"Nah. We're orphans," Queenie continued after reading Jacob's mind for a few seconds, "Ma and Pa died dragon pox when we were kids. Aww... You're sweet. But we got each other!"

"Could you stop reading my mind for a second?" Jacob asked the Legilimens, "Don't get me wrong- I love it," Queenie giggled, delighted and captivated by the muggle, "This meal- it's insanely good. This is what I do- I'm a cook and this is, like, the greatest meal I have ever had in my life."

"Oh, you slay me!" she laughed, "I ain't never really talked to a no-maj before."

"Really?"

The pair began to gaze into eachother's eyes, making the three not a part of the conversation even more uncomfortable.

Queenie suddenly turned on her sister, "I am not flirting!"

Tina blushed, "I'm just saying- don't go getting attached, he's going to have to be Obliviated."

Jacob suddenly became sweaty and pale again, worrying the blonde across from him, "Oh, hey, you okay, honey?"

Newt got up from the the table briskly and stood awkwardly behind his chair, "Miss Goldstein, I think Mr. Kowalski could do with an early night. And besides, you and I will need to be up early tomorrow morning to find my niffler, so-"

"What's a niffler?" Queenie interrupted, looking toward her sister,

"Don't ask," Tina replied with a put out expression on her face, moving toward the back room, the two men following after her, "Okay, you guys can bunk in here."

Myra bent down to pick up Aurum with one of her arms, who had fallen asleep on her boots, while the other held Noctis, who had also fallen asleep. Viride scrambled up to sit on her shoulder, while the other two continued to lie in her arms.

The blonde began to walk over to the door to her cottage, but was stopped by a hand on her other shoulder, "If you don't mind me asking, what's an Echo?"