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

Chapter Six

Screams erupted all around the room as several hooded figures sent bolts of red and white flying across the area. Tina was dazed, her mind was constantly replaying the events that had just taken place and terror began to fill her as she recalled Newt being thrown across the room, their intimate interaction so rudely interrupted. Tina pulled out her wand, scouring the room for both Newt and Queenie. However, her efforts proved ineffective when she realized it was impossible to see through the flood of people that crowded her, all pushing and shoving her to the side in order to escape the ballroom. The bodies surrounding her pushed her closer to the exit, and Tina had to cast a few sparks to clear a path to reenter the ballroom, desperate to find the two people that mattered most. Tina moved as quickly as she could, the crowd thinning out as most of the partygoers escaped the grand room. A sparkle of pink moved past her, and Tina caught the arm of the figure. Queenie turned around, facing her sister, and started to speak hurriedly, her eyes moving wildly across her sister's face. "It's Grindelwald, he's here. I knew there was somethin' fishy going on, but I thought it was just me being paranoid, with all the aurors and everything, they always have these dark thoughts; I should've told you sooner, I should've known- Oh. Oh, no."

     Queenie's face had turned fearful, eyes glistening in the darkening ballroom. "What, what is it?" Tina yelled over the crowd, nearly tripping over herself. Her sister's eyes glazed over, evident that she was trying to get into the minds of the attackers. In moments like this, Queenie's legilimensy was a blessing. "Why is Grindelwald here? What does he want?" The shouting, terrified thoughts of the party goers proved too much to bare, and Queenie had to pull herself out of their heads as a pounding headache began. She looked to Tina, and Tina knew Queenie had found what Grindelwald's motive was. And it wasn't good.

     "He's here. For Newt."

     Tina's eyes widened, and she let out a cry of fear. Queenie knew what had happened then and dragged Tina back into the center of the ballroom. Witches and wizards battled alike, and the two sisters had to keep their heads ducked in order to avoid being hit by a backhanded spell. They took cover in a gathering clump of aurors, British and American alike, before taking their wands out of the concealed pockets Queenie had sewn into their dresses and prepared themselves for individual duels. The air seemed to snap and the space around the two women grew smaller as multiple aurors apparated to the area, already mapping out their battle plans and how they were going to beat Grindelwald's attackers. Tina surveyed the area, marking an open spot on the floor and calculating the moves her opponents would make before sprinting to it. She could hear the other aurors and her sister behind her, yelling and screaming at her that she was insane and going to be killed. It didn't matter to her now, whether she lived or died, what mattered now was that everyone else was kept safe and that the danger was eradicated. Her mind wandered back to Newt and she vowed to herself that, wherever he was, she would find and protect him. If she died while doing it... so be it. The chandelier above them crashed as two wizards slammed into it, glass shards falling down like rain over anyone who was in it's way. Tina spotted one of Grindelwald's followers and cast a stunning spell at him, disorienting him and knocking him out of his path. He'd been headed toward Theseus, who was stood in front of something Tina couldn't see, pure shock on his face. She could only think of the worst and hope for the best as she ran toward him, dodging debris and spells that were thrown her way.

Unfortunately for her, luck wasn't on her side. Not tonight.

Theseus stood in front of a body, it's face positioned away from them. But Tina could recognize that mess of hair anywhere. It was Newt, and the wall above him held a small, caved in spot where his body had impacted with it before going still on the ground. No one gave it a second thought, however Tina suspected they'd been ordered to leave it alone for Grindelwald to attain it later. Of course... how could she have been so stupid? She should've known it was all a setup. Why would a minister want all the aurors out of an at-risk country, off duty and intoxicated at a party in a country they know scarcely anything about? It was precisely the thing they knew to avoid in wake of recent traumas. Tina's mind raced with these hopeless thoughts, but when she locked eyes with Theseus she felt a certain understanding. They'd been tricked as well; Tina could only assume that the minister for magic had been put under the Imperius Curse. But then... that meant they'd infiltrated the ministry. And if Grindelwald had been able to infiltrate the ministry, nobody was safe. And then another thought hit her. What if the reason Abernathy hadn't shown up to work in months, and President Picquery had come to dazed and confused, was because Grindelwald had infiltrated MACUSA and convinced others to join his side? All of the pieces began to put themselves together, and Tina grew very, very frightened.