Chasing Grindelwald

16: Thank Merlin

TINA

As the lid slammed shut, Tina screamed and pounded up the stairs in dismay, but Queenie's groans met her ears. She filed down the steps once more and mended the bleeding veins in her leg, but there wasn't much she could do for the flesh; noy with wand magic, at least.

"Can you find the essance of dittany?" She asked Jacob, her voice bland, cleaning up the blood from the ground and locking the shed door to keep the creatures out. As she waited, she pieced the skin back together, and Jacob gave her the dittany bottle with trembling fingers.

"H-here," he said quickly. "Will she be okay?"

Tina wanted to snap at him, but she kept her voice level. Jacob had done nothing wrong, and he was just concerned. Tina remembered when the only person who really cared about Queenie was herself. "Yeah, she'll be okay. Splinching is common. Can you get me the essance of murtlap, too?"

"Yeah..." He walked along the long shelf above Newt's messy desk and searched the bottles, finally finding the right one.

Tina dripped the essance of dittany onto Queenie's lacerations, watching as they mended and started forming tough scabs. Then, she coated the rest in essance of murtlap and wrapped her leg with a roll of bandage she had been keeping in her jacket just in case Newt's burns opened up again.

"What exactly is splinching?" Jacob asked nervously, breaking the tense silence as Tina moved Queenie onto the cot.

"It's where..." Tina thought for a second as she watched Jacob cover Queenie with Newt's worn quilt. "It's what happens when something goes wrong with Apparation, and a piece of the body is left behind."

Jacob looked aghast. "That sounds horrible! Will she...you know, get better?"

"I think it looks worse than it is," Tina said. "Honestly, she'll be okay."

"Does this mean that a portion of Queenie's leg is lying on some street in Paris somewhere?" He asked, looking queasy.

"Don't think about it too much," Suggested the ex-Auror. "She'll be okay, and that's what matters."

"Right."

A tense silence ensued. They watched Queenie and listened for any sign of Newt, but he had designed the case to be soundproof from he outside. Tina rinsed the blood from their clothes, and Jacob measured pellets and meat for the creatures, though he didn't feed them. After waiting for what seemed like hours, the latch at the top of the stairs clicked. Tina and Jacob shot to their feet, and Newt descended the stairs, broom in hand, looking exhausted.

"Your arm!" Tina said at once, grabbing the bottle of dittany and mending the wound.

"What happened?" Jacob pressed.

"A curse hit me," he said tiredly, rubbing his eyes as he set his broom in the corner. "Only one, of course, so I'm all right. How is Queenie?" He looked over at her, blinking hard.

"She'll be okay," Tina said hastily. "The dittany and murtlap worked wonders. Where are we?"

"Ah, see, I was actually just getting to that- but Jacob might want to hide under the desk-"

"Newt! Stop stalling," Tina said, crossing her arms.

"I'm not," he protested.

"Yes, you are," Jacob pointed out, crawling under the desk awkwardly. "Also, why am I doing this?"

"Tina can explain later. Also, whose side are you on?"

"The woman's; she's obviously right," the baker muttered.

Tina smirked a bit, standing in front of Jacob to block him from view completely. "I completely forgot about the French Ministry's regulations...So, where are we?"

"Ah, yes, about that-" Newt was cut off once again, and the top of his case was opened. A red-headed girl in powder blue robes glanced down, surveying the scene. "Le directrice aimerait vous voir maintenant."

"Être là dans une seconde," Newt said quickly. He turned to Tina. "I'll be right back...I have to talk to the headmistress of Beauxbatons. Thank Merlin that Dumbledore knows her."

He climbed back up the steps, closing the lid gently, leaving both Tina and Jacob dumbstruck in his case.

"Beauxbatons," Jacob said finally, tapping on Tina to move so he couls crawl back out. "Is that like a secret society like the Freemasons or the Knights of Columbus or something? Also, why did I get under the desk?"

"No, it's a school, like Ilvermorny or Hogwarts. Or Durmstrang," Tina said, folding her arms and sitting down in the desk chair. She looked over at Queenie. "They might have a healer who could help her. As for the desk...you might have to stay in the case, because France is even worse than America in terms of No-Maj laws."

"Really?" Jacob looked terrified.

"Well...yes. If they do find you, I'll just subtly stun you and tell them that you were knocked out and someone took your wand," she said, trying to calm him down. "Nothing will happen to you, so don't worry."

Jacob had the nerve to still look worried. "Oh...okay..."

Newt opened the lid again. "Tina, come up here. There's something you have to see. Also...put the bread in the cuboard for me, and close the door." He gave a large wink and pointed from Jacob to the shed door.

Jacob understood, nodding briefly. He kissed Queenie's forehead and slipped out of the shed, closing the door behind him. Newt pointed his wand at the door's wall, and a curtain with a map of the world materialized in front of it, covering the entire wall with manilla fabric.

"No, no, not the lead, I said the bread," Newt said loudly, obviously hoping to distract the people outside. "Would you give me a moment, please?" He descended, waving his wand and vanishing thw various buckets, saddles, and other animal care tools from the room, leaving nothing but his desk piled with notes, his shelves stacked with potions, and his cot and Quueenie. He leaned in to Tina and muttered in her ear; "My creatures are illegal here, so pretend this is my office."

Tina couldn't help but smile. "Of course they aren't. And of course I will." She followed him through the top.

Important Note: I'm planning on writing a... An essay, I guess you would call it? Anyway, I want to write about what motivates me to write, and why it seems like I never publish anything on this story, and why I never really put my heart into my fanfictions. I have a lot of emotions I'd like to convey, and I know that some of you may not care much about it, but to me it will be...important, and different, and somewhat scary for me to write and publish this. It will be some of my backstory, essentially opening up to this community. I'll write it no matter what, but I was wondering what you guys would think about it.
Love y'all!
-LunaPage💛