The Boy Who Wanted to Live

Scammander Manor:

Cadence sighed heavily as he sat down on the desk in his bedroom. He lay heavily across the thick wood and sighed in contentment at the relief it gave his over heated body. The cool surface soothed his red cheeks and he wished to never have to move again. Newt watched with amusement from the door way and shook his head with a smile. The young man was soaked through with sweat and lay like dragon goo across the furniture in an undignified fashion. Newt squeezed through the doorway with discomfort. Cadence rubbed his pounding head and groaned a little before sitting back in his chair.
"You look like hell Cadence," Newt said pointedly before throwing a towel at the kid.
"Yeah and you look like a whale," Cadence said back sassily.
Newt looked down at his engorged stomach and nodded.
"Yeah I do," he agreed, pulling out a vial from his pocket and drinking from it.
His bulged fingers deflated slowly leaving thin delicate hands in their wake. His stomach let out air like a deflated balloon. he grimaced as his legs and arms shrunk into their original form, his dark hair turned a brighter shade of red and he shook his head to wave off the dizzying effects.
"Took you long enough to do that," Cadence said with a roll of his eyes.
"I had to visit Hogwarts, I can't appear myself when around Harry you know," Newt said adjusting his vest which suddenly was ten sizes too big.
"I know," Cadence said looking at the older man. 
Newt sighed and walked toward the young man with a frown.
"How many today?" He asked sitting down on the bed.
"Ten," Cadence said in a broken voice.
Cadence shook lightly with emotion and let out a shaking breath as he regained his self control.  He sniffed hard and sat up straight in the chair.
"How many got away?" Newt asked with a frown.
"One," Cadence answered with a hard look in his eyes.
"One?" Newt asked with a disappointed sigh.
"One got away but I caught up to him twelve miles later," Cadence said wiping the sweat from the back of his neck. "I slit its throat,"
Newt swallowed hard in disgust.
"Spare me the details," Newt said with a scrunched nose.
"You're the one who trained me to do this," Cadence pointed out.
"I know," Newt sighed, "I'm sorry I did,"
"Someone has to do it," Cadence pointed out.
Newt sighed and rubbed his face with his hand.
"How's Harry?" Cadence asked, changing the topic.
"Better now. Him and that Malfoy boy got into trouble again," Newt said in a tired voice.
"Malfoy?" Cadence asked "As in Draco Malfoy? Was he-
"He was Harry," Newt confirmed.
"Good, he hasn't been caught yet,"
"He's being risky," Newt argued not unkindly.
"I never said he wasn't," Cadence replied "It would be easier if we could just tell him what all of this is for,"
"It is far too complicated for a child," Newt disagreed.
"You told me when I was a child," Cadence pointed out "you told me when I was Harry's age,"
"You were and are special circumstance," Newt said not for the first time.
"Harry has been hunted by Voldemort twice now I'd say thats pretty special circumstantial"
"Not yet, Cadence," Newt replied with a frown.
Cadence sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair. He looked out the window at the hundreds of acres of fields they own and frowned.
"How are we going to explain this to him?" Cadence asked softly.
"We will figure it out," Newt replied thoughtfully "hopefully he isn't caught before we have the chance to"
Newt frowned and watched as Hedwig flew through the sky of the sanctuary carrying another letter from "Caleb Scamander".