Fantastic Beasts 3

The Stranger

NEWT'S HOUSE, MORNING

Newt stepped out of the house onto the cobblestone path. A chilling breeze brushed over his arms, giving him goosebumps.

"Newt?" Tina asked uncertainly she walked out of his doorway behind him.

"Yes?"

"Is that the runespoor?"

He followed her gaze to see a giant snake tail winding away into the thick fog.

"Yes, it is."

He withdrew his wand and quietly set off along the road. Tina followed suit and proceeded by his side.

A faint hissing noise could be heard through the fog, growing louder as they drew nearer. Then there was a beam of green light shooting towards Newt, giving him barely any time to duck.

"Newt!" Tina yelled.

"Tina, it's fine–"

He abruptly paused when he looked at her to see three enormous snake heads leaning towards her.

"I think we've found your runespoor," She whispered.

"It's not his. Not anymore."

A man stepped to the side of the runespoor, stroking its maroon-coloured scales. He wore tattered robes and had messy, matted hair that hid his eyes. When he spoke, his voice sounded demented and insane.

"She obeys my every command, now. She will not listen to you."

"Why not?"

"I can talk to snakes. I can command them to do as I please, and they obey me. Now, you can either let me take the snake with me without a fight, or–"

Before the man could finish, Newt raised his wand. The man gave him a menacing grin, revealing rotten, yellow teeth, some of them missing. His hair blew out of his face for a split second to show small, black eyes that stared in opposite directions.

"I was hoping you'd be willing to fight, Scamander," He said. He then faced the runespoor, which had turned its attention away from Tina, and started to hiss. The runespoor began to make its way towards Newt, running a forked tongue over its fangs the same way it did so before a meal.

"Tina," He murmured, "run."

"I'm not leaving you here," She replied.

"I can fend it off."

"No, you can't. It's entirely under his control!"

Then the runespoor attacked.

The middle head sprung forward, its fangs bared, and sunk them deep into Newt's shoulder. The fangs punctured his back while the other teeth latched on to his chest, refusing to let go. He screamed in agony.

He heard someone fire a spell and a man shout, then there was hissing. He could just make out the serpent through his blurred vision, releasing his shoulder and striking out at Tina. Then she and the man duelled each other, but the man won in the end and escaped.

"Newt!"

He found himself lying on the cobblestone road with Tina kneeling beside him.

"Are you okay?" He managed to say through the searing pain.

Tina laughed, which quickly turned into a sob. "Why would you ask that?"

"I saw the runespoor strike at you."

"I managed to dodge it in time. Ferula."

Soft bandages wrapped around the puncture wounds on his back.