Unlikely Companions

Chapter 6 European Travels

To keep up with appearances, since Mathilda and Credence weren't supposed to be seen, their trip was arranged so that Newt, Tina, and Queenie had a reason to go to London - which proved to be time consuming, and took extremely long to arrange.

The extra time that no one had accounted for, was used by Credence and Mathilda to practice magic and become closer friends. If he was going to accompany her to London, they might as well get to know each other.

Credence found her to be absolutely compelling. She was an extremely talented witch, clever and quick with a wand, and even more skilled in non-verbal and wandless magic. Every time he saw her, or every time they practiced, he was left in awe of her talent and her prowess – but, however, he also detected hints of something darker that lurked under the surface.

Mathilda, however, found Credence to be unreadable and an open book at the same time. He was vulnerable and open, yet guarded and cautious. He liked to smile, but was also serious most of the time – with a permanent frown on his forehead. He enjoyed watching her practice magic, but he refused to practice himself. He cowered away from her spells, hid from their effect, and stared at them with a look of utter fascination.

Even then, they made it work. By the time the trip across the ocean was over, Credence and Mathilda were no longer strangers – they were friends, companions, and trusted each other as if they had met as children and not two months before.

Now, the hardest part was ahead of them. They separated from Newt, Tina, and Queenie in the bleak London harbor, where they were finally released from the suitcase. They stayed behind in London while the others went up to Scotland to wait for more instructions and any answers that Mathilda's family could give them.

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"Where are we going?" Credence asked, looking around the dirty London street.

He was lost, staring at everything with curiosity. Instead, she was walking expertly across the busy cobbled streets of the city, searching for something.

"Our first stop is the Leaky Cauldron," Mathilda said. "I'll write to my family then, asking for an audience."

"An audience?" he repeated. "They're your family..."

As close as they had become, her family wasn't something that she liked talking about. He had learned it early on in their time together, because she rolled her eyes and huffed every time that Newt brought up the possible ties to Grindelwald that they could have.

"I didn't precisely leave on the best of terms, but there's a high chance that they'll want to see me again – even if it is just to burn my name out of the family tree forever."

"They can do that?" he asked, suddenly worried.

"It wouldn't be the first time," she said, shrugging. "Come on, let's go inside."

He nodded and followed her into the shabby old building in a corner.

The place was filled with wizards and witches, each of them in a different array of oddly matching clothes.

"No sense of fashion at all," she whispered. "I'll speak with Tom, the bartender, about our rooms, alright?"

"Can I look around?" he asked.

"Yes," she said. "Though not too intensely – you're not in America anymore."

She grinned softly and touched his elbow, watching him as he copied her happy expression and then looked to a side.

"Hello, Tom," Mathilda said, approaching the bar after leaving him behind.

The bartender turned around, showing her a crooked smile that was missing a tooth.

"Miss Burke!" he yelled. "It's been a while since I last saw you here."

"It has," she agreed.

"You weren't quite as happy last time, either."

"The circumstances are quite different, Tom," she said, with a tone which made it clear that she did not want to elaborate.

"What can I get for you?" he asked.

"Brandy for me, neat. Butter beer for my friend. And a room for two."

Tom looked around, immediately noticing the overwhelmed young man that couldn't keep his eyes from wandering around the establishment.

"One or two beds?"

"Two, preferably."

"Have a seat," he said, nodding. "I'll have your drinks and key ready in a second."

"Thank you, Tom."

She walked to where he was, placing a comforting hand on his arm.

"Everything alright?" she asked.

"Y-yes," he said. "Everything is perfect."

"You like it, don't you?"

He nodded.

"Come and sit with me, Credence. I'll tell you who they are."

"You know them?"

"Most of them. Come."

He followed her, sitting on a table near the stairs.

"The bartender knew you," he said.

"I come from a very ancient and noble house," she explained. "We know many people, and we are well connected in the wizarding world."

"Why did you leave England, then? If your family is known here, why would you want to go to America?"

"Because of that very same reason. My family has a reputation for liking the obscure and forbidden things that makes other wizards fear us, and I don't want to be aligned with those ideals." She paused. "America was a fresh start for me, even if it would eventually turn out to make others afraid of what I was capable."

"I'm not afraid of you," he said. "Nothing you've done has made me fear you."

"You don't know me well enough, Credence. If you did, you would know that I am to be feared."

He blinked a few times, perplexed. She didn't seem dangerous, in fact, she had never done anything that could remotely scare him. But, he also had to accept that he didn't know her all that well. It was one of the things that he disliked of her – there were too many layers to uncover.

The bartender came with their drinks not long after, and left a key next to the filled glasses.

"Room 15, Miss Burke," he said. "Two beds, I hope it's to your liking."

"Thank you, Tom. For everything."

She paid him, slipping some coins into the man's calloused hands. He thanked her silently with a nod and a smile, and retreated back behind the bar.

He returned his gaze to the tall glass in front of him, filled to the brim with a caramel-colored liquid and matching foam on top.

"It's butter beer," she said. "Go on, try it. It's very sweet."

"Unlike yourself," said a voice.

Mathilda was out of her seat in a second, standing next to the man to whom the voice belonged. Credence, shocked, didn't move.