Fantastic Beasts Stories

Newt, Tina, & Hugo: Graphorn

“Newt, I’m taking Hugo to see the creatures. He’s been talking about the mooncalves all day and I thought he could feed them with me. He can’t get hurt, right?”

Tina shifted the toddler in her arms as she walked over to her husband, who was nursing a baby kneazle with a small bottle.

“No, he’ll be fine. Just keep him away from the Graphorns.” He stood up as he scritched the kneazle on the head, and it stretched its tiny body. “They’re mating.”

Tina glared at him but evidently Hugo hadn’t been listening to a word they said.

“Kitty! Mummy, can I pet the kitty?” Hugo asked, reaching out for the kneazle.

Newt sent the bottle he’d been feeding the kneazle with into his cabin as Tina looked at him in question.

“Sure, Hugie. Just be careful: she’s a baby. Very fragile. She was born early, you see. I’m just helping her mummy take care of her until she’s older.”

Newt stepped close to his family, and Hugo reached out to the kitten as Tina directed him in petting the little ball of fur. After a moment, the kneazle stretched and yawned, and Newt smoothly cut the interaction short.

“Ah, I think it’s time for a nap. But I think she liked it, Hugie—she was purring.”

Newt pressed a kiss to his son’s head and one on his wife’s cheek before heading inside his cabin to the mother kneazle.

“Moo-caff?” Hugo inquired, wrapping his arms around Tina as he let his head fall heavily on her shoulder.

“To the mooncalves! Do you wanna get down?” She shifted his weight in her arms since they were growing tired.

“Down! Down!” he yelped, suddenly squirming in her arms.

“Alright!” Tina laughed, carefully attempting to untangle his limbs from around her body. He hadn’t quite gotten to the point of cognizant ability: “You gotta let go of Mama, Hugie. Don’t you wanna see the mooncalves? You gotta let go of mama to see them!”

Hugo pouted but let Tina set him on the floor, taking hold of his chubby hand to keep him steady. (He’d only recently learned to walk and was still a bit unsteady on his own.)

The American witch led her son to the mooncalf area of Newt’s case, and after a while of playing and giggling with them, Hugo got tired and tugged on Tina’s pants.

“Up,” he requested solemnly.

“What do you say? Up…? Up what?”

“Up!” he requested again, this time making grabby hands up at her.

He looked about ready to spill some tears, so Tina quickly scooped him into her arms, cradling her son against her body. She brushed her fingers through his curly ringlets of hair to calm him, heading over to Newt’s office.

“Newt, can you come out here, please?” she whispered. “I can’t hold him anymore but he needs snuggles.”

Hugo gave a small sniffle as Newt exited his office, taking stock of the situation.

“Oh, Hugie, you tuckered yourself out, didn’t you?” he cooed, scooping his son into his arms. “Let’s go for a walk, yeah?” He turned toward the Thunderbird habitat and started to walk, rubbing Hugo’s back—and then turned around to face his wife: “Go relax, we’ll be back in a minute or two.”

Tina smiled and watched her two boys walk off into the sunlight before sitting down on the steps to the shed. She was exhausted. Hugo refused to be parted from his parents for even a moment—they had to be in his line of sight at all times.

After a while, when Newt didn’t return with Hugo, Tina decided to follow their path — but they weren’t in the Thunderbird habitat. She suddenly heard a shriek that sounded suspiciously like a laugh from Hugo.

And then an exasperated, “Hugie, come back here, it’s too dangerous!” It came from near the Graphorn habitat.

Tina sprinted off in that direction to the sight of Newt scooping Hugo into his arms.

“Hugie! You have to earn their trust! You can’t just run toward creatures! Especially not when Mummy and Daddy say no!”

Hugo, per usual, doesn’t respond, intently looking over his father’s shoulder.

“What are they doing?” he asked, trying to get a better view of the mating Graphorns.

Tina quickly snatched Hugo away, turning his face away from the mating creatures.

“They’re mating,” Newt responded curtly, ignoring Tina’s spluttering incoherent answers. “That’s how they make baby Graphorns.”

Tina blushed violently and glared at her husband before heading away from the Graphorn habitat. He followed behind her after a moment like a lost puppy.

“Is that how you and Mummy make babies?” their son inquired innocently, leaning his head on his mother’s shoulder as he looked intently at his father.

Newt! his wife’s eyes seemed to be yelling at him, but Hugo deserved to know.

“Yes, that’s how Mummy and I make babies. But a little different since we’re not Graphorns. It’s how we made you!”

At this point, they’d reached Newt’s shed, and Tina set Hugo down to play with some of his toys.

“Okay! Can you and Mummy go upstairs and make me a sister now?”

Newt grins and crouches down to Hugo’s level. “That sounds like a fantastic idea, Hugie. What do you say, love?” Newt’s eyes crinkled with silent laughter as he looked up at his wife.

Tina crossed her arms and looked away, grumbling. “I’m not really interested in making a child with you right now, Mr. Scamander.”

He let out a small gasp: she used Mr. Scamander! Oh no. He was in trouble now…

*

Inspired by this post from Too_Much_Fandom (blahdiblahdiblah1987) on Tumblr.