Return to New York

Safe House

They had Apparated to a dark corner. Newt glanced across the street. There was a house with a sign hanging from it, identical to the symbol on the card. He and Jacob carried the unconscious form of Kama across the street and into the house where they laid him on a long chair. Tina had followed after them, a nervous frown on her forehead.

A small book slipped from Kama's pocket, dropping to the floor. Tina scooped it up and glanced at the title. The Predictions of Tycho Dodonus. She glanced up to find Newt but he was gone. His case was sitting open in the middle of the floor. She stared at the case. A roar echoed from its depths.

Newt had vanished into his case the moment he could. He wanted to cry. It had been six months since he had seen Tina but he had finally found her . . . and she was mad at him.

Of course, he knew the reason why she was mad, Queenie had already told him. He knew all he needed to do was explain to her that he wasn't marrying Leta but he didn't know if she'd listen to him. Besides, he didn't know what to say.

Pushing these thoughts from his mind, Newt moved to the enclosure where the Zouwu was. With a flick of his wrist, the enclosure transformed to resemble a Chinese forest. Then he carefully approached the large beast.

The creature growled at him and he quickly dropped to the floor. The Zouwu began throwing him across the enclosure. He rolled across the ground, pulling himself into a ball. The creature approached him slowly, picking him up by the back of the coat. He hung from her claw and she slowly brought him to her face.

"Hey, uh, Newt, buddy!" Jacob's voice floated down into the case. "Uh, Tina's up here, she's all by her lonesome and, um, maybe you wanna come up and keep her company." He paused. "Uh, I've been looking for food and I ain't found any so, uh, I guess I'm gonna go upstairs and try my luck in the, oh I don't know, the attic!"

Newt slowly reached forward, taking the lock in his hands. "You're alright," he murmured. "Relashio." The chains fell from the Zouwu's neck and her mane glowed gold in response. 

"Okay!" Jacob's voice said.

Newt quickly applied Dittany to the Zouwu's wounds. Then he entered the shed and climbed the ladder, stopping halfway out of the case. Tina was staring at him. She sat in a chair, a book open in her hands. Newt stared at her, amazed at how beautiful she was. Her hair was shorter, framing her face, and her forehead was covered by soft bangs. The look suited her.

He realized he needed to say something.

"She's responded well to the Dittany," he said, pointing down into his case. "She was born to run, you see. I think she's-- I think she's just lacking in confidence."

Tina snapped the book shut and got to her feet. "Mr. Scamander, have you got anything in your case that might help revive this man? I need to question him. I think he knows who Credence really is and the scars on his hand suggest--

"An Unbreakable Vow," they finished together.

"No, I noticed that too," Newt said.

Tina looked away, embarrassed. They had developed a habit of finishing each other's sentences back when they had been in New York and she couldn't believe he was still doing that. And she knew he hadn't done it deliberately.

Newt had vanished back into his case but he emerged a moment later, handing Tina a small bottle. She took it from him, careful not to let their hands touch, and uncorked it, holding it under Kama's nose. The man started rolling slightly.

Newt hovered over him and pulled out his wand. "Lumos."

The tip of his wand lit up and Tina held open Kama's eye. Something moved below the lower eyelid. She gasped.

"What was that?" she asked, looking up at Newt.

"There must be a water dragon in that sewer," Newt explained. "They carry these parasites. You see, um . . ." He trailed off. "Uh, Jacob?"

"Yeah," Jacob said suspiciously.

"So, um. In the-- My case-- In the pocket there, you'll find a pair of tweezers." 

Tina glanced at Newt as he spoke before quickly looking back at Kama.

"Tweezers?" Jacob repeated.

"They're thin, pointy--"

"Little pointy things," Tina said, practically at the same time. She silently cursed herself for finishing Newt's sentence. He glanced at her but she avoided his gaze. 

Jacob appeared and handed the tweezers to Newt. 

"You might not want to watch this," Newt suggested.

"I can handle it," Tina replied. She was mildly annoyed that Newt didn't think she could but she was also touched. He still cares, or at least seems to.

A small smile tugged at Newt's lips. He loved how brave she was and how nothing could disturb her. He cleared his throat awkwardly and placed the end of his wand between his lips. He reached forward to push Kama's eyes open further, his fingers accidentally brushing against Tina's. She inhaled sharply as if burned, making a noise that reminded Newt of a hissing Kneezle. "Sorry," he mumbled, moving his hand away. Then he began pulling the parasite out of Kama's eyes.

"Come on," he mumbled. "Come on. It'll be alright." Kama was grunting and kicking the chair. "Come on."

Tina held his face down as Newt finally got the parasite free.

"Jacob, can you take that for me?" he asked, handing the tweezers to his friend as Kama reached up to grab the side of his coat.

Jacob stared at the squirming creature, groaning in disgust. "Calamari," he exclaimed.

They turned back to Kama.

"I must k-kill him," he stammered.

"Who?" Tina demanded urgently. "Credence?"

Kama didn't respond. Instead, he lost consciousness.

"It may take him a few hours to recover," Newt explained. "That parasite's poison's quite strong."

Tina turned and grabbed her coat. 

"I've got to go back to the Ministry with what I've got," she said, pulling her coat on. It wasn't exactly true, she had no connections to the French Ministry, but she needed to get out of there. She needed to get away from Newt.

"What? Um--" Newt stammered.

"It was nice to see you again, Mr. Scamander," she interrupted, grabbing the book and quickly starting out of the house.

"Hey, hey wait!" Jacob called. "Hold on a second, will you. Wha- Uh, uh. Hold on, hold on." He glanced at Newt who stood motionless beside Kama. "Wait, Tina!"

Tina ignored him, desperate to get away.

Jacob turned back to Newt. "What happened? What did you say?"

"No idea, she just-- Ah. She just ran. I don't know--" Newt stammered.

Jacob looked at his friend. "So you chase after her!"

A/N: I finished another chapter! I hope you enjoyed. Please vote and comment.

I've got to get ready for school now. I'm so excited 'cause I'm gonna be seeing one of my best friends in a few hours!

Have a good day!

Bye!

Written February 1, 2019.