Thorns and Roses ❦ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them ❦ Newtina

Chaper Twenty Five

The force of the apparition knocked the trio back, wind flowing through their hair as they appeared in front of the dilapidated building. It looked nothing out of the ordinary for the run-down portion of town, though it was everything but. Tina surveyed the area around them before motioning for the others to follow her into the building. She tapped her wand against the door three times and whispered, "thunderbird," seemingly to the door. She looked around a few more times before the door unlocked with a click, creaking open before the group. Queenie took a deep breath, clutching her bag in her hands. "Tina, I-"

"Stop," Tina snapped, her voice barely above a whisper. "There's nothing for you to say. We need to lay low." She took one step through the door and muttered, "Lumos," illuminating the dark hallway with light from her wand. Queenie followed, Newt trailing not far behind. His case hit the side of the door, evoking a sigh from Tina. "You would think with a killer on the loose, we'd be a little more cautious of our surroundings."

"Right, sorry," Newt apologized, ducking his head down and blushing. He followed Tina down the dark hallway, observing his surroundings as they went. The hallway itself was long and dusty, with various portraits plastered all over the floral-wallpapered walls. Deep wood flooring creaked underneath their feet, the only padding a long runner that was long-faded. Dust bunnies floated around the area lit by Tina's wand. It was as if this hall hadn't been disturbed in a long time - right the way it should've appeared.

"Here," Queenie said as they approached a door. She fiddled with her fingers and shifted from one foot to the other, clearly nervous about her sister's reaction. Of course, Tina would know this was the room, as this was her apartment, too. Her apartment she'd not been staying at.

Despite that.

Tina stood by the door, wand poised and ready. She knocked once, twice before entering the apartment swiftly, Newt and Queenie trailing not far behind. "Revelio," Tina whispered, waving her wand around. The apartment was unusually dark, and a chill trickled its way down the trio's spines. Nothing was revealed with Tina's spell, so they stepped forward and entered the gloomy apartment. It looked very much like the apartment Tina and Queenie resided in New York, almost as if someone had charmed it to look reminiscent of home.

"Jacob?" Queenie called out, her voice wavering. She searched the room for a semblance of him but found nothing. "Jacob!" She cried, her voice loudening as she frantically stepped into the room. This got her shushed by Tina, but Queenie didn't care. She needed to find her love, doing whatever it took to get to him. Visions of terrible things that could've happened floated through her mind, and panic built as she continued to search the room. She overturned pillows and looked under tables, but all were to no avail.

"Queenie, I'm sure everything is fine-" Newt started, only for Tina to shake her head. Even she had a worried glint in her eyes.

A creak came from a door more profound into the apartment, causing everyone's heads to jump up. They watched as a bedroom door slowly crept its way open. Loud footsteps echoed in the room, and wands were drawn forward, poised for anything. A deep, groggy voice mumbled, "Hello?"

Each wand illuminated, shining a bright light on the man's face. Jacob groggily wiped his eyes, breathing in deeply as he shielded his face from the oncoming light. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Jacob!" Queenie cried, launching herself at him and enveloping him in a hug. Relief flooded everyone's senses as the man revealed was only their old friend. "You scared me to death! I couldn't hear your thoughts, I thought maybe... maybe..." Queenie nearly burst into tears, but Tina clearing her throat behind them caused the pair to turn around and face her older sister.

"Jacob, do you know how dangerous it is here?" Tina immediately snapped, allowing no time for the couple to have a glorious reunion. She tapped her foot impatiently, looked around, and whispered, "Credence was found here."