Chapter Text
Hogwarts, 1913.
They had found it by accident a few weeks ago while running around the castle, trying to escape Peeves and his incessant yelling. It was nighttime and they had decided to check on the Jarvey they had rescued earlier that day. However, while they had managed to avoid any teachers, the spirit had noticed their hurried footsteps and bellowed atrocities about their relationship. Newt would probably have blushed if he hadn’t been hurrying before they got caught. Leta didn’t seem to mind, for she was too excited about the beast. They had pushed a door opened in a desperate attempt to hide, and it was there, in the middle of a deserted classroom on the seventh floor, a strange artifact they had never seen before. It stood proudly amidst old chairs and tables, gathered on the edges of this very cold study. Both teenagers had stepped in front of it, confused to why it had been stored here of all the places. Leta — in all her recklessness had touched it, even though they were constantly told that even the most innocent item could be cursed.
It was an immense looking mirror, shaped like a window, he thought. The frame was made of gold, and precisely chiseled : it was a beautiful object to have — yet, its presence here seemed off. A heavy red cover was lying at its feet, proof that it had been used recently, since there was no dust on it. Engraved at the top, the two friends read with attention the following sentence : Erised stra ehru oyt ube cofru oyt on wohsi. They had no idea what it meant, but it was no matter to them. They had only entered the dusty room to seek a shelter while the teachers were getting busy tracking them around the many halls. Students were not allowed to be out of their beds after curfew and if they were ever found, they would be in trouble. It wouldn’t be the first time, though. Yet — Their houses were tired of losing points because of their carelessness.
It was however, the only moment they could be together, just the two of them, and discuss whatever they wanted freely. No teachers to stare at them suspiciously, no students to make fun of Newt’s shyness and of Leta’s so-called wickedness. It was their tradition, and they would not have missed it for anything in the world. None of them had any friends, so they held on tight to each other. And this Jarvey they cared so much about was a reason above all to spend some time together.
Leta had stood in front of the strange-looking glass, Newt was out of its reflection and she gasped before pulling away, shock on her face. Whatever the Slytherin girl had seen must have been terrible for her to react that way. Leta Laurena Lestrange was one strong and independent witch — Newt had gathered that much after all these years of friendship. She rarely let out any emotions, yet, the Hufflepuff boy knew oh-too-well that it was only a facade. The brunette felt everything deeply, perhaps too much for her own good. He was curious to know what she had seen inside the mirror, but she never told him, and he respected her privacy.
They came back the day after that. And every night for months.
The empty room had become their safe haven ; they knew that no one would ever bother them here, no matter how late it was. They had fallen asleep quite a few times, curled up on the cold stone ground, with a conjured blanket over them. Here, with the mirror of Erised, as they had decided to name it, they were safe.
“Come on, Newt, tell me, what do you see ?” Leta piped cheerfully, as she pushed him forward.
Newt Scamander didn’t like to lie, and especially not to his best — and only - friend. When he had followed her that night, he had hoped that she wouldn’t ask him that — to stand in front of the mirror. But Leta was stubborn, and she had her way to get what she wanted. He didn’t want to fight. The boy carefully stood in front of the artifact, wincing, gaze dropped to his shoes to avoid as much as he could, the reflexion in the glass. His heart was beating fast, and he could hear, behind his back, the brunette’s impatience.
He finally stared at his own reflection, and waited. His hair was tousled, and pitifully hanging from his forehead no matter how he tried to get it in some semblance of order. The paleness of his skin in winter made his freckles emerge more than ever, which clashed with his green eyes. He was wearing his nightshirt and pants, too large for his scrawny figure : it had been Theseus’ but since he had long left the school, it was now his. Newt Scamander stared at himself, blushing when he noticed another person appearing at his side. His heart clenched, and his eyes dropped back at his feet. Leta was standing next to him inside the mirror : she was smiling and holding his hand, her head resting on his shoulder. Her frizzy hair was tucked into a braid, her almond dark eyes shining bright into the night. She was beautiful — she always had been to him. The wizard touched his shoulder for he could almost feel the warmth of her presence.
“It’s — A Peruvian Vipertooth,” he whispered, turning to the witch now, running away from the sight in the mirror.
What was its power ? Was it showing the future ? A dream ? He couldn’t tell. But surely, it wasn’t reality. If Leta dared to share her own sight, maybe he would be able to understand the importance of its presence here. But she wouldn’t say. And somehow, he knew it was wrong of his to see her alongside him. It hadn’t always been though : for a long time, the mirror had reflected the creature that impressed him most : Dragons. He had never seen any, though it was one of his wildest dream in this world.
But the vision had changed. Dragons had turned into Leta. And he was no fool; Newt Scamander knew he wasn’t supposed to see her here. They were friends — good friends, and that was all he was to her. But to him ? She was the most incredible, beautiful person he had ever met. He loved her — like he had never loved anyone before. And he would do anything to make her smile. But Leta obviously didn’t feel the same. She loved him all right, as a friend and a confidant. But nothing more. Nothing like what he wanted from her. He sighed.
Leta smiled to him, and sat on the ground, careful to stay out of the mirror’s way. He did the same, turning his back on the sight that was haunting him. They had discovered that only one person could use it at the same time, or else it became a regular looking glass.
“Can you describe it for me ?”
Newt Scamander smiled awkwardly, touched by the fact that she was interested by his passion. Leta Lestrange asked a lot of questions about magical creatures and how to mend them. Together, upstairs, they were taking care of small beasts they found on the castle ground, observing them to draw conclusions about their lives. Her hand came to rest under her chin, ready to listen to another one of his tales. He didn’t need a reflection to describe dragons; he didn’t need to see them to know how they looked like. And so he began to mimic the flapping of the wings, to describe the color of its scales, hoping she would never find out that she was the dragon he saw every night.
She was his dream.
But she never did.
She died without ever knowing how much he had meant to her. Died without being aware that she had been his dream, some time ago.
Hogwarts, May 1930.
It was late at night. Hogwarts was silent and every student had gone to sleep after a rather busy day. Earlier that night, he had encountered his former teacher Minerva McGonagall who was making rounds to be ensured that none of the children had gone out of bed, and had almost yelled at him for wandering the corridors so late at night. Apologizing, he had rushed himself to the only place he knew he would be safe — he went to the classroom he and Leta had so often used in the past. He needed to get away from the fuss, be alone with his own thoughts.
Deep down, he wished Tina had followed him. She had insisted she would remain in front of the Griffin gargoyle, waiting for it to move, proof that the headmaster was ready to receive them. When he left, she was worriedly pacing to and fro along the corridor, startled by the incessant moving of the stairs and the yelling of the talking portraits. Porpentina Goldstein had never set foot in Hogwarts before, and part of him wanted to show her the premises, to wander about in his memories, to share his story with her, the story he had never mentioned. He wanted to take her to the Astronomy Tower for stargazing, hold her hand as they made their way to observe the lake, show her the beauty of Hufflepuff common room. If danger wasn’t looming over them, he would have done it. She was worried, and so was he.
Newton Artemis Fido Scamander stood alone in front of the Mirror of Erised, remembering the last time he had been here, just before his expulsion from the school for endangering human life. Nothing had changed and yet — so much had. It was still the same dusty old tables and chairs, the same golden framed mirror. However, Leta was dead, and he was alone facing his reflection. Leta was dead; evil had won her and Queenie over. So much had changed, he thought. And right now, he was about to get married to the woman of his dreams and danger was lurking in the shadows, ready to swallow them into the darkness.
Don’t get married in October, Jacob had said that night, eyes lost in something beyond them.
And Newt was scared. Scared because finally, he had everything he could have ever hoped for, and in a blink of an eye, he could lose it all. They were no longer safe. It was war after all.
“I see you have found your way back to the Mirror of Erised, Newt. Do you understand what it shows ?”
Newt jumped slightly, so lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t heard the door opening and the quiet steps of his former teacher. He smiled, and turned around. Dumbledore was standing quietly behind, leaning against a column, his hands shoved in his pockets. His blue eyes were glimmering with absolute kindness, and he was wearing his usual playful smirk. It was not surprising that the Professor knew about his previous adventures in the classroom; Dumbledore seemed to know everything around the school. Nothing escaped him. Why he hadn’t told the headmaster was still a mystery to him but the past belonged to the past. The present, ahead of them was much more important. Much more dangerous.
“It shows — Our heart’s deepest desire.” The magizoologist answered.
After all these years, he had finally understood the engraving at the top of the frame. It was not the future as they had imagined back then, nor a dream. And it made sense. At some point, his greatest desire had been Leta. Leta and her big brown eyes, her curly hair, her smile. He had longed for her love, her affection. He had imagined his life with her, he wanted nothing — nothing but her. She had been more than a dream; for his entire time at Hogwarts, she had been his reason to fight, his reason to breathe. He would have done anything for her back then. It had changed now. Surely for the better. And Leta Lestrange’s kind face was no longer the sight the Mirror reflected.
“And what do you see ?”
Newt smiled, expecting the question. After all, Dumbledore was a curious man.
When he had entered the room that day, he had known that his vision would have changed. He had no idea of how much whatsoever. He had stood in front of the looking-glass, waiting for her to appear, and for a moment, he had thought she wouldn’t. But suddenly, her face had appeared right next to him and she had walked to stand by his side, one hand holding his. Her hair was longer and braided to fall peacefully on her shoulder, and she was wearing a beautiful short summer dress — it was green and it suited her. It wasn’t the kind of clothing he was accustomed to seeing her in, and he thought she was just as charming. The light color made her incredible dark eyes shine into the brightness of what looked like a sunny, happy day, and Porpentina Goldstein was glowing. There was something about her complexion, about her smile — she was different.
The witch silently laughed, before putting both of her hands on her stomach, rubbing it with tenderness, and this is went Newt Scamander realized that she was expecting their first child.
Adding themselves to this already pleasant picture, Dougal climbed Tina’s shoulder to rest on her back, while Benjamin was making his way into her arms. Behind, the Zouwu had already wrapped his incredibly long tail around them as his way to protect them, and the baby erumpent was playfully running around them. They looked so happy — everything was perfect.
This — right in front of him - was everything he had ever hoped for. Everything he had ever wanted.
Newt Scamander had grown up thinking he was an outcast. Thinking he wasn’t normal. Part of him had always believed that he would never get married, and never have children. It seemed only fair back then. But right now — none of this felt unreachable. Right now — he dared to dream.
“Her. And our creatures. Us — together.” He managed to whisper, overwhelmed with feelings.
A single tear almost escaped his green eyes, dancing at the very edge of his eyelashes. It was beautiful, and it such a vision were to become real, then he would undoubtedly become the happiest man on earth, that much was sure. Yet — His mind couldn’t help but wonder, after the previous week’s adventures, whether he would ever witness such a sight. It was war after all. Danger was around every corner, and they dared not trust anyone, not even their friends. And maybe it wasn’t the best moment to get married, to start a family. Maybe there was no space for love because of hatred. But when he looked inside the Mirror, when he saw the happiness on her face, and how relaxed her features were — he wanted nothing more than this life. For her. For himself. For them. He wanted the war to end so that he wouldn’t have to worry about her safety. Grindelwald defeated and locked in a cage. Queenie back by their side, maid of honor at their wedding. He wanted to raise their children in a world of peace, teach them how to turn a ring into a butterfly instead of how to kill a man. At the moment, it seemed like wishful thinking.
“Dumbledore. After everything — Queenie and all. Do —Do you think we can ever have that ? Do you think we will ever be happy ?” He whispered, voicing his inner worries.
Albus Dumbledore didn’t react, he simply stared at the Mirror as if he could see what Newt’s heart longed for. And maybe he did. After all, he was the most powerful wizard of his time, and one of the most incredible teachers he had ever had. But there was such sadness in his eyes, and he began to rub his beard, lost in thought. If Newt hadn’t known the man any better, he would have thought that he was worried. After all, it had been years, and yet, the Defense against the Dark Arts Teachers didn’t know how to break the blood pact that kept him from defeating the man that had once been his friend. Newt had lost all hopes; he was the only one strong enough to take down such a monster. Dumbledore opened his mouth, ready to answer, but the door opened and both man turned around, surprised to see a disheveled Theseus enter.
“Professor Dumbledore sir, Newt — They are ready.” He simply said, waiting by the open door for them to join the meeting.
Theseus was out of breath, as if he had crossed the castle running fast, and his dark curls were a mess. His cheeks were flushed with embarrassment, and the youngest of the two knew that he must have ran into Minerva McGonagall as well. Only that teacher seemed to daunt the Auror, even now. He who was always so clean and ready to face any situation was obviously troubled : his collar was messy, some of his buttons had popped. Worry was drawn all over his pretty face — for a good reason. Their lives were threatened. The wedding was jeopardized.
And Newt Scamander’s hands began to shake. They were ready . Ready to decide of their fate, their future. Was it their decision to make ? Running a hand through his hair, he found himself wondering whether they would ever have a normal life. Right now, it seemed impossible.
He sighed. The others were ready — the magizoologist was not. How was he supposed to be ? The fate of his own marriage rested in others’ hands. He most probably wouldn’t even have a say in all of this.
“Shall we go, then ?” Dumbledore said, without answering his previous question.
Newt nodded. He didn’t have much choice anyway. Ready or not, he had to go. They had to talk about Queenie’s warning. But it would be alright. As long as Tina was by his side, everything would be fine, he thought, before following his former teacher and his brother to the headmaster’s office.