The Scamander Chronicles

Choas in the Antique Shop

I sat up quickly in bed at the sound of a light tapping on glass. I yawned and groggily stood up from my bed. I nearly tripped on a pile of books that lay scattered at the foot of my bed. I cursed myself silently for lazily leaving them there after a long night of reading. I fumbled around in the dark and the tapping grew a bit more irritated and frantic.

"One moment...." I croaked. I shuffled over to my desk and felt around blindly for my wand. I cursed silently when I knocked a stack of papers to the ground. I finally wrapped my fingers around the smooth wood of my wand. I sighed in relief.

"Lumos," I muttered. The tip of my wand lit up brilliantly and I winced away from the sudden bright light. I rubbed my eyes and eventually my eyes focused on the window where an owl tapped at the glass. I walked over to my window and threw up the window. The owl flatted in agitation.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" I apologized profusely to the overworked owl.

"We don't all have the same biological clock as you lot. It is the middle of the night," I suggested to the owl. The owl wasn't amused and he dropped a roll of parchment into my hand and the owl zipped off, clearly having other things to do. Newt examined the roll of parchment carefully. Who would send me something at this hour? The parchment was tied carefully with a small bit of brown twine. Newt carefully pulled the twine off the roll and tossed it onto his desk. He unrolled the parchment carefully to see a quickly written letter in messy cursive.

Dear Newt,
You may not remember me from our time at Hogwarts but you owe me a favour. My name is Resha Roland. I'm sorry if this is an inconvenience but it's urgent. A creature has shown up at my antique shop and I need an expert to rid my shop of this nuisance. I know you have a knack for these things. I'll explain more when you arrive.

Yours,
Resha

I was alarmed by the urgency of the letter and her cry for help. It must have been very serious. That creature could be anything. I smiled slightly. I remembered Resha. She was a Hufflepuff who had coved for me when I'd gotten in a bit of trouble. Let's just say that Pickett got into a place where he shouldn't have been. I would have been on big trouble without her. I tossed the note on my desk and I flopped back onto my bed. I would leave in the morning. I fell back asleep quickly, wondering what sort of creature I'd have to deal with in the morning.

* * * * * *

I woke up to a tickle in my ear. I swatted at my ear mindlessly and a frightened shriek came from the left side of my head. I sat up quickly and saw that I had swatted Pickett across the room. I frantically rushed out of bed to where I had hit the bowtruckle across the room.

"Pickett! Merlin's beard, I'm so sorry!" Pickett scowled at me and I bit my lip, embarrassed. I held out my hand to him and he reluctantly climbed onto my fingers. I set him carefully on my desk as I got dressed, pulling on my blue overcoat and brown trousers. I grabbed my case and I popped Pickett into my coat pocket. I was ready for whatever lie ahead.

* * * * * * * * *
I paced back and forth waiting anxiously for Newt to show up. I turned when a loud crash come from inside the shop and I sighed, wondering what that monster had broken this time. I couldn't bare to think about how much money this thing was causing me to loose. Where was Newt?!

As if my prayers had been answered, the lanky man appeared in front of me. His curls where a mess, and his bow tie was askew. Obviously he'd been dressed in quite a hurry. He smiled when he saw me and held out his hand.

"Resha! It's been a while! How have you been?" He asked timidly. I took his hand and shook it lightly before returning his warm smile with my own.

"I've been better, Newt and I'd love to chat but this problem-" Another loud crash came from the shop and I couldn't help but cringe. Newt noticed how uneasy I was and he immediately pulled his wand out of his coat pocket. He set his briefcase down on the ground carefully like it was an active bomb. I watched him carefully. What on earth could be of use to him in that case? He turned to me quickly.

"Alright. I will go in, but please watch my case. Please! It's very important to me," He pleaded. I glanced at the tattered old case and wondered what of value could possibly be in that case, but it was clearly distressing him so I agreed quickly. He nodded and gripped his wand tightly and he dashed into the shop

* * * * * * *
The shop was wrecked. Glass pieces from display cases littered the floor and I had to step around them carefully. Bits of an old clock lay scattered across the shop. A silver tea pot lay haphazardly in a pile of trash. Whatever this creature was, it sure knew how to make a mess. I knelt down  to examine the floor. I saw tiny scratch marks lining the floor. I traced his finger over them and he knew immediately what it was I was dealing with. After all, I was the first one to name the creature: A Niffler. They go after anything shiny and of value and Resha's antique shop was a perfect candidate for a Niffler's mischief. I kept stepping over bits on antique plates and old potion sets. I stepped quietly as I listened to the scratching and sniffing of the animal. I finally heard a small snort and then silence. It knew I was here. I gripped my wand tightly, rounding a corner to where the Niffler would be. The muffler sat on an old desk. It was covered in charmed jewelry and antique watches. It sat complacently with its feet in the air. I approached it quietly and then, without warning, the Niffler lurched at me. His claws scratched at my coat and I swatted wildly at it. It eventually fell on its back onto the floor. I lurched to the ground to grab one of the the Niffler's clawed feet, but it scuttled away from me leaving a trail on priceless heirlooms behind him. The Niffler was so weighted down with stuff that it couldn't move very fast. I had the upper hand.

"Stupefy!" I shouted as I pointed my wand at the Niffler. The spell hit the Niffler straight in the back and he fell to the ground, paralyzed. I strolled over to him and carefully picked the Niffler up. It's fur was soft under my finger and I held the Niffler carefully. I flipped him over in my hand making sure the bits of glass hadn't pierced it's skin. The Niffler was safe. I quickly reversed the incantation and the Niffler clawed angrily at my hands.

"Ah! Don't- Don't do that!" I said as I grabbed the Niffler by his feet and hung him so his claws couldn't pierce my skin. I ticketed his stomach and the Niffler purred, it sounded almost like laughing. Hoards of coins, jewels, watch parts, and other rare antiques poured out of the Niffler's stomach pouch. I shook my head in disbelief. Resha dashed inside and her face lit up.

"Newt! Thank you so much! I can't begin to tell you how much this means to me!" Resha looked down in disbelief at the amount of stuff the Niffler had been hoarding. "What are you going to do with it?"

The heels finally stopped coming from the Niffler's pouch and Newt glanced at Resha as he kept a tight hold on the writhing creature.

"I'd planned on keeping it. For my collection," I paused as the Niffler suddenly became tired and still. "I'd like to study him," I paused looked around," Could you fetch my case for me?" I asked Resha.

"Oh! Yes! Of course!" Resha ran off and a few seconds later came back with my case. I nodded my thanks and I knocked on the outside of the case.

"Be nice now everyone," I said loudly to the case. I flipped the latches and tossed the Niffler inside and shut the case. I let out a sigh of relief as I shut the latches on the case. I'd deal with that later. I stood up and thanked Resha again and then I disappeared. There was work there needed to be done.