A Thunderbird's Song {Newt Scamander}

Chapter 4

Δ 13 years later Δ

They really do mean it when they say New York City is the grandest place of America. Seeing Lady Liberty the first time when you ride a boat to the promised land is like opening a gift you always wanted at Christmas. I've been here at New York for eleven years now and if you were to ask me, I would still say New York is the grandest place.

My years at Hogwarts are long over. Beatrice and I still send letters to each other to keep in touch. Beatrice is an assistant for Mr. Ollivander in wand making. She wrote, I love seeing the joy on students faces when their wand chose them. They are absolutely awed especially newcomers. I remember getting my wand and I enjoy making and giving to others everyday.

"Honey, there's someone at the door for you!" my dad shouted. Staying with my dad been an amazing experience. Ever since my parents divorced, I never saw my dad a lot. Traveling to New York to stay with him is something I never regret.

"Coming!" I shouted back. I walked down from my room to the door. I opened it and I saw a man about my age with curly brown hair and piercing blue eyes. He wore a white buttoned shirt with brown pants. I inspected him and saw his pair of rugged brown boots.

"How can I help you, sir?" I asked.

"I'm Beau Cliffe. Your boss sent me here for you."

"Oh, yes! You're the one who witnessed the crash on Arthur Avenue, right?"

He nodded and I let him my dad's apartment. Beau sat down while I went back to my room to grab my notepad.

I'm a reporter for The Daily Prophet based in London. My editor, Mr. Silas Boom, gave me the job to work in New York to report on any strange sighting in the muggle world. Well, the No-Maj world of America.

I sat down next to Beau and got my pen ready to write, "So, Beau, tell me what you remembered on Arthur Avenue."

Beau started his story, "I'm a worker at the Ford factory. I was walking home from work when I was done. When I'm walking home, I tend to walk slow so I can stretch my muscles after staying crammed in one place in the assembly line. So I'm walking and I hear this rumbling under my feet. I stopped to see if anyone was following me, but I saw nothing. I continue to walk and I hear it again. This time it was louder than before. I thought it was a machine from a factory, but there were no factories around. All of a sudden, a huge mass of wind comes out of the ground. I was scared for my life, so I ran away from it. The mass of wind seemed like it was following, but it flew away."

I wrote down every important note about this, "Did you see what this mass of wind looked like?"

"It was cold and black. It was almost like a tornado in the wild west. I do remember seeing eyes like someone was stuck in the wind."

I finished writing everything down and I looked back at Beau, "How would you like to come with me to visit Arthur Avenue?"

Δ Δ Δ Δ Δ

Before heading to Arthur Avenue the next day, I stopped by MACUSA: Magical Congress of United States of America. I told Beau to wait for me outside since he can't see anything inside because he's a No-Maj.

I've been in MACUSA many times before. Mr. Silas Boom sent a letter to the Major Investigation Department saying I could be trusted for any information needed. I've gave them information about previous cases and they trust me well.

I got into the elevator and told the elf, "Major Investigation Department." He pushed the buttons and we moved down, right, up, and left.

I got off and thanked the elf. I walked in the department and saw my boss, Mr. Graves, walking opposite of my direction.

"Mr. Graves!"

"Hello, Ms. Crawford! How is your reporting going?"

"Really good, sir. I have Beau Cliffe outside the building. He's the witness from Arthur Avenue. I just came in to ask if you wanted to talk to him before we head to the avenue to investigate."

"Sorry, Ms. Crawford. I have to attend some business with Ms. Goldstein about some trunk with magical creatures."

"Magical creature?" I asked.

"Yes, they're from a man who's called Scamander," he replied.

I froze. Newt Scamander?

Δ Δ Δ Δ Δ

I followed Mr. Graves to the Wand Permit Department. Newt is here? In New York City? How? Why?

"Mr. Graves, this is the man who has the case of magical creatures," I heard Tina Goldstein say. Tina and I have met before, but that was when she was an Auror.

"Well, let's take a look," Mr. Graves said.

That was when I saw him.

Newt was a lot older of course, but he had to same freckles and curly hair. He wore a blue jacket over a brown suit and vest and completed it with a bowtie. He was taller and had a slight build.

Mr. Graves set Newt's case on a desk and flipped the locks. He opened it and we all expected to see animals fly out.

No, there were pastries. Newt was relieved.

Mr. Graves left Tina trying to explain to him that there were beasts in there. I could believe her. I did once.

I saw Newt look at me. "Arden?"

I smiled softly and said, "Hey, Newt."