A kiss and a promise - Newtina fanfic

3. In Newts case

They were in Newts little shed. Newt had taken off his coat and reached for some bottles. Tina leaned against the table and watched Newt as he was preparing some ointment for the niffler and the zouwu. "I use some dittany and a few drops of murtlap poison to speed up the healing process", Newt explained while he mixed some content of the bottles in a jar. Then he took the jar and opened the door. With an inviting look at Tina he walked into the magical enlarged space where the animal enclosures were visible.

She followed him to the little nest where the niffler housed when it travelled with Newt. It was sleeping now and woke up when Newt approached him. The niffler allowed Newt to lift it from its bed. "Come here, I've got you", Newt whispered. He examined the nifflers leg with delicacy, and concluded "It's as I already thought: not broken, just wricked and sore. Some ointment and a good night rest will save this hero of the day". With a tender smile he applied some ointment on the nifflers leg and placed the animal back in his nest. Tina didn't fully understand what he just said, but she was very much moved by the gentle way Newt tended the animal, and the trust the niffler had shown to be treated right by him.

"He will be fine, let's now find the zouwu" Newt said, and took the jar with the ointment to a large enclosure with high grass, bushes of various sizes and shapes and some bamboo plants. He unlocked the fence with his wand by removing the magic spell which kept the creature inside.

When they entered, there was no need to find the creature, for it found them instantly. It jumped so close to Newt it startled him. Tina stepped back with a little scream, Newt let out a shriek and nearly dropped the jar before he was pulled into an embrace by the zouwu. "Hey lady.... all right...... easy now..." he exclaimed when the creature pulled him closer. He smiled at this gesture of affection and petted the zouwu on her large shoulder with his free hand, but wasn't able to loosen the grip she held on him. "Uhm.... yes..... thank you so much.... can you please let me get some air...." Newt asked the creature while he tried to dive away a little. It didn't have much effect on the zouwu, which was very pleased to see her rescuer again and was eager to show him her affection. With a resigned look on his face Newt sighed and waited for the creature to let him go.

Suddenly he was surprised by the sound of little bells. He looked up and saw Tina standing in front of the zouwu with the little bird on the stick he used to capture the creature in the streets of Paris. She had found this laying on the table in his shed, while she waited for him to get the ointment ready. She had tucked it in her pocket, just in case...

The zouwu looked up and her eyes went big with surprise. She slowly leaned forwards towards Tina, but didn't seem interested in playing with the toy. Instead, the creature stayed very calm and purred like a cat while it came closer to Tina. Tina found her courage and reached out her arm to the big head. Her hand touched the forehead and she petted the spot between the big round eyes. The zouwu closed her eyes and purred louder. Tina was surprised by this reaction, and let her courage grow. She moved closer to the big head and leaned towards it, while petting the creature on her big head. "You are a very sweet lady, aren't you?" she said softly. "There you go..... you're allright......I like you too", she added. "Now let me just cuddle you while you let go of Newt, ok? Let's make sure he stays ok too, will you?" she said while she continued petting her.

Newt watched this scene with astonishment and admiration. Then he felt the zouwu loose her grip on him a little while it concentrated on Tina's attention. Slowly and carefully he dived out of the creature's embrace and quickly but softly he started to apply the ointment where needed. The zouwu was totally fine with this, purring loud with her eyes closed and a satisfied expression on her face. When Newt had finished the ointment application, he slowly walked towards Tina. "You're a natural talent..." he whispered with a smile.