Underwater ↠ Newt Scamander

1.01 | The New Salem Philanthropic Society

THE NEW SALEM PHILANTHROPIC SOCIETY

TRAVELING BY BOAT WAS A foreign feeling for Arethusa Atwood, and she hated it with every fiber of her being. The constant rocking back and forth made her extremely nauseous and she loathed the feeling of being above the water when she would be perfectly content below it. Fortunately, she had slept through most of the ride. When she made Newt promise not to apparate to New York she had no idea of what horrors came with an international ferry. She would never make that mistake again.

Cities had never been her forte either, so to speak. They were filthy and filled to the brim with pollution and full of obnoxious people. It was always the same basic idea's sprawled out in different ways, whether they were in New York City, Brazil, or Cairo. Of all of them, however, Arethusa definitely believed that New York was the strangest.

The streets were extremely crowded. All of them displayed their own personality: some were bright and vibrant, full of street vendors and marketplaces. Other's seemed rather dull and crowded with tall, monochrome buildings that appeared to have the same kind of suit-and-tie men strutting around the streets.

For the most part, the city had the same dusty smell, one that she couldn't quite figure out. It was all full of mixed emotions as she traveled throughout the place they would be staying for the next couple of days until they continued further into the United States. Her hand was currently held in her companions as they made their way through the streets, but Newton Scamander claimed it was to avoid any sort of separation.

"You can never be too cautious, Thusa, it's better to make sure we stay together."

It was a sweet gesture, though she knew it would not be the end of the world if they were to be separated. Perhaps chaos would follow, but certainly not devestation. They slowly made their way through crowds of people, weaving in and out as needed. Arethusa didn't know much about their detour to New York. Surely somewhere else would've been more practical if they were to travel straight Arizona after arriving. Still, Newt insisted on it.

"Can I know where we're going now, Newton?" Arethusa chirped, "We've been wandering around for over an hour. Something tells me you don't actually know where you're going."

"It's supposed to be a surprise," Newt responded with a small shake of his head, though it seemed Arethusa's attention had already been snatched away by something else. She narrowed her eyes, staring at the small trail of familiar golden coins on the ground "I know that you said you didn't want anything for tomorrow, but—"

"Newt—" Arethusa tried to cut him off, her eyes now glued to the man. They stopped walking. He stared back at her with a timid smile, but she knew he didn't quite catch the hint as he kept trying to explain himself.

"We were going to have to come to New York anyway, I just thought a detour wouldn't hurt."

"Newt!" This time she was a bit more aggressive. He furrowed his eyebrows just the tiniest bit at her when he looked up, something she noticed he did when he was confused. It was yet another habit Arethusa found adorable about the man. Her eyes glanced down at the trail and Newt followed her gaze.

Upon seeing the trail Newt let out a rather unamused sigh. They watched as their niffler accidentally let coin after coin slip out of his ever-expanding pocket, leading them straight towards him.

"That little bugger is going to be the death of me, you know."

"Not today he's not," Arethusa shook her head as she began to move, accidentally pulling Newt along with her as she had momentarily forgotten about their entwined hands. He let go before moving past her, his eyes glued to the trail as they began to make their way towards a large crowd. When Arethusa finally looked up everything fell right into place: They were right in front of a bank, of course, the slippery little guy wanted to get out.

Arethusa seemed to have a much different moment of realization, however. She had stopped, her eyes traveling up to the woman that had gathered the crowd they were now mingled in. Newt seemed to notice as well, stopping himself and looking back at the girl. Arethusa noticed the small smile he gave her as he grabbed her hand, pulling her along while the woman started her tangent.

"This great city sparkles with the jewels of man's invention! Movie theaters, automobiles, the wireless, electric lights. All dazzle and bewitch us!" The woman's voice echoed around them as Newt pulled Arethusa out of the little daze she was in. She gave him a tight smile before following along after, trying to push through the people after many sorry's and excuse me's.

"But where there is light, there is a shadow, friend. Something is stalking our city, wreaking destruction and then disappearing without a trace. Listen to me. We have to fight, join us, the Second Salemers, in our fight!"

They paused when they heard that. Arethusa simply stared at the woman, narrowing her eyes as she went on and on about magic and witchcraft, something that she knew nothing of. Newt, however, set his case down for a moment as he looked around. The coin trail had died out but with such a large crowd gathered Arethusa guessed it would be easier for him to spot the little guy now, hence why they stopped.

"Excuse me, doll," A voice rang out as Arethusa was tapped on the shoulder. She obliged, letting the man slip past her. She didn't really know what was happening until she saw the very same man on the ground, Newt's case clattering as it flopped over. The man quickly got up as Newt flinched, reaching down to pick up the case.

"I'm so sorry, my case—" Newt tried to apologize, but he was cut off by the man. He looked just as Arethusa thought most American's would. The epitome of the stereotyped shout and stout man, always in a rush to get things done. It was clear he was hurrying to get to the bank as he simply dismissed Newt.

"No harm was done." With that, he was off, hastily making his way up the steps of the bank. Arethusa shifted her weight, tapping Newt on the shoulder as all eyes were now on the pair. She sent a pointed glance in the direction he had gone in. There the niffler sat, pawing at some coins in a street man's hat on the steps.

"You, friends!" The anti-witch woman called out before either of them could make a move. While she was clearly talking to both of them she had pointed straight at Newt. He gave an awkward little smile as she asked: "What drew you to our meeting today?"

"Oh... We were just passing," Newt explained, using his hands to somehow move the direction they came from. He was clearly trying to be polite, but Arethusa knew it was just so he didn't come off as rude to the woman. It was an uncomfortable thing for both of them.

"Are you a seeker? A seeker after truth?"

"I'm more of a chaser, really," Arethusa snorted at his answer but she quickly covered it up with a small cough, moving her hand to cover her mouth. He seemed to light up at that. Unfortunately that energy quickly dispersed as when he looked back over to where they had last seen him, the niffler was nowhere to be seen.

"Hear my words and heed my warning. And laugh if you dare. Witches live among us! We have to fight together for the sake of our children, for the sake of tomorrow! What do you say to that, friend?" The woman asked Newt once more until her eyes landed on Arethusa. Newt looked at her, giving her a pleading look. Arethusa nodded at Newt before glancing back on the woman who's eyes seemed asphyxiated on them. "What about you? Will you fight for your children?"

"Excuse us," Newt interjected. She thought he was going to go alone, but before she could ask he had grabbed Arethusa and quickly pulled her away. She had no choice but to follow along as he chased after the niffler, a cute little-determined look written clear across his face. Soon enough the crowd disappeared, but not before Arethusa finally managed to read the name sprawled across the middle banner the woman talking held behind her.

The New Salem Philanthropic Society.

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I am so incredibly proud of this fanfiction and how it's going. I've legitimately written and am now working on basic editing for six chapters! I have a storyline I love, maybe a couple plot twists to throw in, and a hell of a lot of character development coming in.  For those of you wondering, by the way, her name is pronounced Are-Ee-Thu-Sa.

Q: What is your favorite magical creature in the Harry Potter Universe?

I ADORE the mooncalves!