Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Something bad is going to happen at the raid.

Tina’s stomach dropped. She needed to stop the raid before it was too late. She couldn’t make it back to New York in time by sailing - she needed a Portkey.

Theseus. He could help her. He was high-ranking in the British Ministry… he must be able to get her one. She just had to get to him somehow.

When she thought about it, she couldn’t really remember what London was like, so apparating could be risky. Though, she did know the harbour now, even if it was some distance from the Ministry. It was better than nothing.

Tina grabbed her suitcase and pulled a wand from her pocket. She stood up and closed her eyes, thinking back to where she had seen Queenie not long ago. The image grew clearer, and with a single thought, she apparated.

She had hoped for a solid landing behind a crate she had spotted, but she was disoriented and crashed to the ground. Her head was spinning as the hollow feeling overwhelmed her again and she leaned against the crate, waiting for it to lessen, waiting for her mind to feel less jumbled. Tina felt so tired, maybe it would be okay to just rest here for a moment…

No. The raid. They needed to be warned. She pushed herself to her feet with tired arms and snuck out from behind the crate. She stumbled forward into the street, and thankfully none of the No-Majs had noticed that she had just suddenly appeared out of thin air. They tended not to notice such things.

She felt dizzy as she began to walk in the direction she had heard the Ministry was in but forced herself forwards until it wore off ever so slightly. The urgency of the situation reoccurred to her and she broke into a run. How had the importance of the situation faded away like that?

A stinging sensation arose on her thigh and a few small speckles of blood appeared on her trousers. She must have injured herself at the harbour when she fell. It was of no matter - she needed to get going.

Eventually Tina found herself at the Ministry, out of breath and overwhelmingly nauseous. Next step: find Theseus.

She made her way to the Auror office hurriedly but without running. She definitely did not need to draw attention to herself.

How had she known about the raid? The single piece of information had just appeared in her mind, no explanation or memory attached to it. She tried to focus on figuring out where the knowledge had come from, trying to piece together what had happened on her trip here, but an explosion of pain in her head stopped the line of thought. Something was missing from her mind, and the digging wasn’t working. 

Tina’s eyes grew unfocused, and she slammed into someone walking the opposite direction. 

“Tina?”

“Theseus! Sorry.”

“What on Earth are you doing in London?”

“I was… visiting, I think.” She paused, briefly forgetting why she was in the Ministry. “Theseus! I need to get back to New York.”

Theseus looked at her, confused. “Well, the harbour isn’t too far away, I can take you if you want.”

“No, no, I was already there. I need to go. Now.”

“Why?” Theseus inquired. 

“There’s a raid. Something is…” A sharp pain in her head halted her explanation, and she drew in a sharp breath as she brought her hand to her head. “Something’s wrong. They’re in danger.”

“Tina, your nose- you’re bleeding,” Theseus said. 

She lifted her hand to her nose, and indeed two light streams of blood were running from her nose slowly. 

“Yeah, I can’t think, I can’t quite remember…” Tina trailed off. 

Theseus looked at her, confused and concerned. “What’s wrong? What’s wrong with the raid?”

“Something bad is going to happen. It’s something I just know . I don’t know how I know. It hurts to think.” 

Theseus just stared at her, seemingly processing what she was telling him. It looked like a brief flicker of suspicion passed his face, but she brushed it off. He wouldn’t really think she was involved. Right?

“Alright, let’s get you a Porkey. But I’m coming with you, it sounds like it could be dangerous and you don’t exactly look your best.”

Tina would have preferred to take the trip alone in all honesty - she didn’t want to risk anyone getting hurt because of her. “No, I can go alone, don’t worry.”

“If I’m going to help you with this, this is what I need from you. Do you want to go or not?”

Tina sighed and gave in. Theseus started to lead her in the direction of the office responsible for international travel, but noticed she was swaying slightly as she walked. He grabbed her arm and handed her his handkerchief for her nosebleed. 

“Thanks,” Tina said. 

After a long wait and filling out of several reports, Tina grew impatient. She couldn’t remember the exact details of the raid seeing as she wasn’t supposed to be a part of it anyways, but she expected it would begin soon. “We need to go, Theseus.”

“I can’t skip this process, you know that. I don’t exactly want to get detained on arrival. Plus, I need to get this wand permit in order. In fact, you have the authority to sign it.”

Tina grabbed a quill and scribbled down her signature. “Come on. We have to get to MACUSA,”

“Just a few more minutes.”

Indeed, it only ended up being five minutes before Theseus returned from an office carrying a ring of metal. “Makes it easier to hold on.”

Immediately, Tina grabbed it, and they were off. 

Surprisingly, they both managed to land on their feet, though Tina felt overwhelmingly nauseous. But there was nothing to do about it now - they need to get moving. 

Tina spun around, trying to orient herself. This was Theseus’ first time in New York, so there wasn’t much he could do to help out. “MACUSA is nearby. Just a couple minutes if we run.”

Theseus looked at her doubtfully. “You need to take it easy. You’re not running anywhere.”

“We may be out of time. We need to warn them.” Tina didn’t wait to listen for an answer and broke out into a sprint. 

She heard Theseus sigh loudly behind her, but heard his footsteps closely behind her. 

They barely greeted the doorman at the entrance to the building and hurried to the elevator. 

Tina panted, out of breath and exhausted. “Red. Auror office. Now,” she said to the attendant. 

Red huffed at her in annoyance but pressed the button. He still didn’t like her. 

Theseus stood beside her on the way, catching his breath. “Wow. You’re fast.”

Tina chuckled lightly and smiled at him. “Encounters with your brother tend to lead to a lot of running.”

Theseus smiled knowingly back at her. He was about to answer when Tina spoke again. 

“Thank you for helping me.” 

Theseus nodded at her in understanding, and silence fell in the elevator for another few moments before they heard a ‘ding’ announce their arrival. “Oh, you may want to wipe your face a bit - you’ve still got some blood.”

“Ah, thanks.” She used the clean corner of Theseus’ otherwise blood-stained handkerchief. 

Tina didn’t run this time and instead marched at an alarmingly quick pace - she needed to maintain her impression of professionalism. She was still on thin ice with the other Aurors after Paris. 

As they rounded a corner, Tina called out. “Crawford!”

Crawford was the appointed Head Auror after Graves’ disappearance, and while he was a sharp and strict leader, he was well-respected amongst the rest of the team. “Goldstein? I thought you were on leave?”

“Not anymore. The raid. Something bad is going to happen at the raid. We need to cancel the raid.”

“Nothing will go wrong. We’ve planned it meticulously, you know this.”

“I know something will happen. We’re all going to be in danger.”

“There’s no danger. In any case, you’re not a part of it. The task force left an hour ago.”

Tina’s shoulders sank in defeat, though her eyes flickered panickedly in search of Theseus. 

He may not have believed her about the warning of the raid at first, but as their eyes met, Tina saw worry in his eyes as well. 

They had to leave. Now.

Chapter Text

Tina barely hesitated and grabbed Theseus’ wrist, ripping him back towards the elevator they had just come from. MACUSA didn’t allow for apparition inside, and thus another race against time ensued for the two Aurors. 

Theseus honestly didn’t know what to make of the entire situation. Everything had happened so quickly- this was not exactly the way he had expected his first trip to the United States would be. 

Just a few hours ago, he hadn’t even known that Tina was in London in the first place. And he had definitely not expected her at the Ministry. 

The panic in her eyes and strange warning had set him on edge. How she knew that something bad would happen, he didn’t know. It was odd - at first it seemed suspicious to him, but his brother’s trust in her overruled the feeling and he believed her. Well, almost.

And now that the raid has begun… the raid that would apparently go wrong… he was afraid. What if what she had said was true?

The moment they stepped foot outside the building, Tina held onto him again and apparated out immediately. He hadn’t expected it and landed a little bit dizzy. 

He found himself beside Tina in what looked like a warehouse district. 

Before they started moving again, Tine whispered softly. “It’s nearby. Try to stay quiet, maybe we can find them if they haven’t begun yet.” She did not sound like she believed herself. 

“They’re supposed to surround the place and cover all exits. We need to take them in, we believe some of them may be high-ranking followers of Grindelwald’s,” Tina explained as they ran, their footsteps hidden by a sound-dampening charm. 

“It’s around this corner. Can you hear that too? It sounds like something’s happening inside the building.” Her voice lost emotion throughout the statement as she realised the reality of the situation. The fighting was supposed to be outside. 

Theseus peeked around the corner. “There’s no one outside, we should head in.”

Theseus looked back at Tina and saw sadness in her eyes. “I failed.” She sounded hopeless.

“It’s not too late, Tina, we can help.”

She looked away, ashamed. “Let’s go,” she muttered and broke into a run again. 

They made it to what looked like the main entrance and halted. On the ground were four bodies. Lifeless bodies. 

“Are they… are they Aurors?”

Tina swallowed and blinked away tears. “Yes.”

“How many are supposed to be on the mission?”

“Maybe eight? Nine?”

“You can’t remember? Tina, this is important.”

She groaned in pain and lifted her hand to her head. “It’s not clear. It hurts.”

Something was clearly wrong with Tina. It seemed like she had forgotten something, but what? Each time she would think too much about what she might have forgotten, it hurt her. He had seen this in victims of obliviation, but he couldn’t imagine how it was relevant here. 

Before he could think more about it, Tina entered the warehouse. They could hear shouting and the crackle of spells travelling through the air. 

Theseus didn’t think before running into the next room - he heard the fear in the voices of what was likely the American Aurors. 

Immediately spells were fired his way, but with quick reflexes and a cast of Protego, he successfully evaded the attempted ambush. Tina followed behind him, also beginning to cast offensive spells. 

Between spells, Theseus glanced around the room. The Aurors had managed to even the playing field - several people lay on the ground, unconscious. The remaining dark wizards, however, were holding their ground well. The Aurors hadn’t managed to take down the more powerful, or perhaps more intelligent, wizards. 

An American Auror shouted in their direction. “What are you doing here?”

Tina shouted back. “What does it look like? Helping!” At that, she disarmed one of the men and blasted him against the far wall. 

Theseus nodded at her, impressed. She smiled back at him, but that brief moment of distraction sent Theseus soaring backwards. He collided with the ground and heard a crack as he landed on his arm. He howled in pain, rolling onto his back and clutching his injured arm with his thankfully still intact wand arm. 

“Theseus!” Tina called out, and he saw her running towards him. 

Behind her, however, a blonde wizard was raising his wand, pointed straight at Tina.

“Tina! Look out!” Theseus saw the man bring his arm down in a swift motion. Tina didn’t have time to defend herself, and Theseus decided to push her sideways with an invisible force, out of harm’s way. The spell missed and Tina stumbled, trying to regain her balance. She leaned against the wall, panting as she slowly looked towards Theseus again with grateful eyes. 

“Tina? As in Tina Goldstein?” shouted one of the other remaining wizards. Theseus and Tina both looked at the man, confused. Theseus looked back at Tina, but she didn’t look like she recognised him. Her eyes flickered to briefly glance at Theseus. He could see the fear she was trying to hide.

Using their gazes as confirmation of her identity, the man laughed loudly and lifted his wand. At the same time, the blonde wizard who had tried to attack Tina before turned to Theseus and began to speak. 

Theseus tried to push himself up more to give himself the possibility to counter with an offensive spell, but he cried out in pain as he put too much weight on his arm and he collapsed back onto the ground. In that moment, the blonde wizard sent a spell hurtling toward Theseus, but he heard Tina shout something and he was shielded from it. 

Tina had been distracted by helping Theseus and thus didn’t see the dark-haired wizard who had recognised her bring down his wand. Clumsily from his lying position on the floor, Theseus tried to produce a shield in front of Tina as the man cast his non-verbal spell. 

It worked. Tina wasn’t hurt. She turned back to face the man, but instead of attacking again, he simply laughed and apparated out. The blonde wizard did the same. 

Theseus couldn’t hear any more commotion in the warehouse, and when he looked around he saw three Aurors besides Tina standing around, looking at Tina and Theseus. Beside one of them lay another unmoving body. That must have been the last Auror from the mission. 

Tina ran over to Theseus and helped him get on his feet. “What happened?” she asked the others.

“They knew we were coming. How did they know we were coming?” The woman’s gaze turned to Tina, her voice still panicked. 

Another Auror spoke. “We were ambushed outside. It’s like they knew exactly when and where we would be arriving.”

“They made us think they were inside the building, in here. We surrounded the place, and they attacked us from behind. We stood no chance,” the woman explained further. She paused, eyeing Tina again. “He knew who you were, that wizard,” she stated simply. 

Theseus could see that Tina was growing uncomfortable - the accusatory tone of the other Auror set him on edge.

Tina didn’t respond to her comment. “We need to get out. Theseus is hurt, and we don’t know if they’re coming back.”

“The others are dead! Don’t you care about them?” the woman shouted.

“We’ll come back for them! Do you really think that lowly of me, Lowell?”

So they did know each other beforehand. Lowell didn’t respond and she turned to the other two Aurors and whispered something. They exchanged glances, but Theseus didn’t know what to make of it.

A pang of pain reminded Theseus of his injured arm and he groaned. The adrenaline must be wearing off.

Tina breathed deeply, trying to compose herself. “Theseus, we need to go back to MACUSA. They can treat you there, but we need to talk to Crawford.”

Theseus nodded in agreement, but in the pit of his stomach, he had a bad feeling about it. It seemed like Lowell had taken charge and was now eyeing Tina suspiciously. “We’ll follow. You had better not leave my sight, Goldstein.”

Tina hesitated, but nodded slowly in understanding. She grabbed Theseus’ arm, and with the crack of apparition, they found themselves back in front of MACUSA. Again.

Chapter Text

“Get in,” Lowell commanded from behind Tina and Theseus as they approached the elevator in MACUSA.

“We have the same goal, Lowell. Don’t be like this,” Tina said sadly. Theseus looked at her to give her some comfort, but she avoided his eyes. She understood where Lowell was coming from, but it still hurt.

“Can someone call for a healer for Theseus to meet us upstairs? His arm needs treatment,” Tina asked the two other Aurors. One of them nodded and hurried off, the other remained by Lowell’s side. His name was Bevere; Tina was generally on neutral grounds with him, but that was about it. He, like the other Aurors, also had not stood up for Tina prior to her demotion.

“Thank you,” Theseus said. Bevere nodded curtly and stepped toward them, ushering them into the elevator. The ride up was quiet and unsettling, and Tina’s thoughts drifted back to the past few hours. The adrenaline had worn off and her mind had again become jumbled and blurry. How a single thought had managed to suddenly take the foreground in her mind back on the ship from London, she did not know. She was utterly exhausted and leaned her back against the side of the elevator to steady herself.

She heard a sniffle in the small elevator and turned to see Lowell, red-eyed and holding back tears. She was trying to maintain the illusion of a strong, emotionless Auror, but she was only human. Tina reached out an arm to try to comfort her, but she brushed her off and glared at her. Tina couldn’t quite make out her expression, but it certainly wasn’t gratefulness. 

A ‘ding’ announced their arrival at the floor of the Auror offices. Lowell stormed out the elevator. “Hold onto her,” she commanded.

Bevere held her upper arm in a strong grip, and even as she tried to squirm away, she couldn’t get out.

“Am I under arrest, Lowell?” The woman didn’t respond. “Then let go of me.”

Bevere exchanged glances with Lowell and hesitantly removed his hand. The four Aurors stood still, waiting for someone to break the silence. Theseus was the first one to speak.

“Now, I know I’m not a part of this office, but perhaps we should get going. You need to report back to… what was his name? Crawford?”

“Scamander, right?” Bevere asked. “Why are you actually here too?”

Theseus avoided the question. “Let’s discuss everything with your Head Auror. I will help clear everything up.”

Bevere muttered something to himself, but Tina couldn’t make out what he was saying. He didn’t seem pleased to have a foreign wizard try to exert authority over him.

Theseus took a step forward down the hall, still clutching his arm. Tina felt guilty for having brought him into this too, and now she had gotten him injured.

The rest of them followed Theseus, and Tina caught up to walk beside Theseus. She needed a friend, and knew she wouldn’t find one in Lowell or Bevere. 

As they approached the door to Crawford’s office, Lowell overtook them and opened the door without knocking.

“Lowell? What is the meaning of this? You can’t just barge in here!”

“Sir, we need to talk. Now.”

“Have you processed any of the arrests yet? What’s so urgent?”

Lowell turned to glare at Tina and Theseus who had been pushed through the doorway by Bevere. “Goldstein showed up to help. Which is odd, because we never had time to send for help when we were attacked. We walked right into a trap that she somehow knew about.”

Crawford looked confused. “You were attacked?”

“They knew we were coming. Five Aurors died, and we got no prisoners. If you send another team there might still be some of Grindelwald’s fanatics unconscious in that warehouse, but the ones in charge got away.”

Crawford ushered a man who was walking past the office inside. “Send another team to the warehouse. Collect the bodies and prisoners. Now.” Crawford was as always direct and efficient. The man hurried out of the room with a nod.

“Goldstein and Scamander, please leave the room. I will speak to you in the meeting room once I’ve covered Lowell’s side.”

“All due respect, sir, but someone needs to keep an eye on her.”

“No, Lowell, that won’t be necessary. Goldstein knows what the smart thing to do is here, and that is to stay,” Crawford said sternly.

Tina’s heart sank. They didn’t trust her, and she knew she hadn’t done anything wrong. But… did she really know that? “Crawford, I haven’t done anything, I-”

Theseus nudged her and shook his head. “Let’s go,” he whispered.

Tina looked at her boss’ desk, longing to be allowed to explain herself. If she could just explain herself…

When she didn’t move, Theseus nudged her again. This time, she complied and left the room. The door slammed on its own as they walked down the hall.

Tina looked down at the ground hopelessly. “Follow me,” she muttered.

A witch carrying a medical care bag greeted them inside the large room. Theseus sighed in relief - he had hidden the pain well. 

“Have a seat, let me look at your arm,” the witch said. Theseus took a seat while Tina remained in the doorway, unsure what to do. Leaving would be foolish, but she desperately did not want to be at MACUSA anymore. Lowell was going to do her best to convince Crawford of her views, and that could make it difficult for Tina to tell her side of the story. Which was what, exactly?

As the healer began to bandage Theseus’ arm, Tina began to pace the room, her thoughts spiralling. She felt panic rising in her chest and sounds began to blur. 

“Theseus,” Tina whispered. “Theseus, what if they don’t believe me?” Her breathing hastened. 

“Tina, sit down. Take deep breaths.”

“What if they think I betrayed them? What do you think they will do to me?”

“Breathe.”

Tina drew in a deep, shuddering breath and took a seat. She felt tears building up in her eyes but shut them tightly and rested her head in her hands, trying to ground herself. 

Theseus winced in pain, and Tina looked over at him to see the healer tightening a piece of cloth around his arm. This must be a strange conversation for her to find herself in the middle of. 

Silence fell in the room again, and Theseus’ arm was now wrapped in a sling. 

“Take this potion in an hour, it’ll help speed up the healing process,” the healer said with a nod and left the room hurriedly. 

“You should have let her take a look at you, what with the nosebleeds and all. And the wound on your leg,” Theseus said. 

“What wound?” 

“Your trousers have a bit of blood on them.”

“Oh right. It hurt a bit in London, but it’s fine now. Plus, there are more pressing matters,” Tina said as she saw Crawford and Lowell approach the door. 

Tina made a move to stand up but Lowell interrupted. “No no, you can stay seated.”

Tina fell back into the chair defeatedly. She remained still until Lowell and Crawford sat down opposite her, and she saw Bevere appear in the doorway. She wondered where the third Auror from the raid was, but brushed it off when the Head Auror in front of her spoke. 

“I have now listened to Lowell and Bevere’s explanation of the events at the warehouse. Now I would like to know how you knew the raid would end in an ambush and five of our Aurors dead.”

“I swear to you, I didn’t know what Grindelwald’s followers were going to do, I just knew it wasn’t safe.”

“Yes, that has been your explanation thus far, especially supported by your visit to the office before you headed to the warehouse.”

“You don’t believe me?”

Crawford avoided the question. “You weren’t even supposed to be on the mission after you so suddenly decided to go to London.”

Tina opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She looked in Theseus’ direction. He looked back at her supportively, but there was a trace of something else in his eyes. Confusion, perhaps. She hoped it wasn’t suspicion. 

“Indeed, Goldstein, what were you doing there?” asked Lowell. 

Tina closed her eyes, trying to concentrate. “Vacation,” she said, though it sounded uncertain and more like a question. She couldn’t really remember the details. 

“I’m going to need to hear more than that, Goldstein,” Lowell demanded. 

She focused on recalling the events in London, but all that appeared was a hazy, undetailed mess. “I can’t really… I don’t…” The events in the last few hours had distracted her from how broken and empty her mind felt. Memories weren’t fitting together the way they should. 

Theseus stepped in. “Give her a moment. She’s been having some trouble with remembering, has been since London.”

“And it’s a great cover. Now, Scamander, leave the room please,” Lowell continued. 

Tina’s mind was hazy as she tried to make out the rest of the conversation. “No, she needs help! Can’t you see she’s unwell?”

“Wait outside,” Crawford said.

Theseus hesitated but eventually stood up, angrily sliding the chair back under the table with a thud. 

“ Tina ,” a voice behind her whispered. Her head whipped back toward the voice. 

There was no one there.

“Why were you in London?”

Tina turned back around to face the Aurors. “My sister… I was at her house. I think I saw Newt. Newt Scamander.”

“Your sister, Queenie, correct?” Tina nodded hesitantly. “She moved to London with an American No-Maj. You were visiting her?” Tina nodded again. 

Crawford took over the questioning. “What was so urgent in London that you suddenly demanded a Portkey a few days ago?”

“ Tina.” The whisper was directly beside her ear, and she flinched. Again, no one was there. 

Crawford looked at her, confused. “Please answer the question.”

Tina rubbed her eyes as she tried to concentrate again, concentrate on even anything related to London. 

“Nothing was urgent, I just needed to see my sister. I miss her.” Tina paused. Why did that last sentence feel like a lie?

“That is not a particularly good reason for using a Portkey.”

“All I know is it was important. But it was a vacation, that’s really all it was.”

“Stop lying!” Lowell interrupted. Crawford gave her a stern look. 

“I just knew something would go wrong… I can’t explain it, I’m sorry.” Tina’s head was spinning and she noticed a drop of blood on the table in front of her. Her nose was bleeding again. She wiped it away, looking up to Crawford for help. There was a hint of pity in his eyes, while there was pure anger in Lowell’s. 

“You came back to New York by Portkey instead of by boat. Why is that?”

“It was urgent. I knew the raid would be today.”

“Did you come back out of guilt? Is that it?” Lowell continued. “Is Scamander in on this too?”

“What? No, of course not!” Tina tried to explain desperately. 

“But you are in on it,” Lowel said smugly. 

“No, hold on - stop twisting my words, Samantha!” Tina said, raising her voice. 

“You don’t get to call me that, Tina , not after you’ve betrayed the wizarding community.”

Finally Crawford interjected. “Enough, Lowell!”

So he had stopped her. Tina wondered whether that meant that he believed her or not. 

“Can you remember any details about your trip? Any at all?” he asked. 

“No, just getting back from the boat. I swear to you, this is just a misunderstanding.” Tina wiped away more blood from her nose. 

“ Tina.” This time, the voice came from the doorway. Again, there was no one there. Bevere turned to see what she was looking at but just turned back to Tina afterwards, confused. 

“What do you keep looking at?” Bevere asked. 

“I don’t- didn’t you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

Tina felt her mind begin to fade away, her eyes becoming unfocused, turning the whole world around her blurry. She tried to answer, but only managed to part her lips slightly. 

“Hear what, Goldstein?”

The sound was unclear and she couldn’t really make out the words Bevere was saying. There was only one thing she managed to hear, clear as day, before she collapsed onto the table. 

“Tina.”

Chapter Text

Theseus stood outside the door, trying to follow the conversation. As much as he wanted to intervene as he heard the desperation in Tina’s voice, he knew what the procedure was and that this was for the best. If anything, they were bending the rules for her slightly by allowing Theseus to remain so nearby. 

In all honesty, the Aurors were right to question Tina. It had been a strange warning and an even stranger set of circumstances, but it must be possible to convince them of her innocence. At least, he hoped so. 

His arm was already feeling better - the healer had given him a draught that would speed up the healing of the bone, but he still needed to keep it still for now. The other potion was for the pain that supposedly would return after a few hours. 

His self control was again tested when he heard raised voices, in particular, Lowell’s and Tina’s. He wished he could make out what they were saying, but they were too far inside the room. 

The only thing he could hear clearly was Bevere’s voice given he was standing so close to the doorway. 

“What do you keep looking at?” he heard Bevere ask.

After a muffled answer from Tina, he spoke again. “Hear what?”

Theseus felt his stomach drop. If Tina was hallucinating… that was never a good sign. 

“Hear what, Goldstein?” Silence. 

Theseus heard Bevere move away from the doorway, presumably toward Tina. The Aurors were discussing something, but it didn’t sound as if Tina was speaking. 

All of a sudden he heard a crashing sound, and Bevere came flying through the doorway, landing on the ground. He was completely limp as Theseus ran to him, but fortunately he was merely unconscious. 

Another thud drew Theseus’ attention back to the meeting room. He crept toward it carefully, trying to avoid making noise. After all, Bevere had been attacked - Theseus didn’t want to be next. 

He peeked around the corner and saw Tina standing with her back to him, both hands raised. On the floor against the wall lay Lowell, held in place by Tina’s wand. In front of Tina, Crawford was pinned against the wall. Tina’s arm stretched toward him as well, and her hand was slowly closing into a fist. Crawford began to cough. 

Lowell’s eyes darted to Theseus. “I told you she betrayed us. You all should have listened,” she hissed. 

Tina turned to Lowell. “Be quiet. I don’t want to have to get rid of you too.” 

Theseus suspected Tina hadn’t noticed his presence yet and stayed silent as he carefully stepped through the door, wand raised. 

“You Aurors here at MACUSA have started getting good. Our new source revealed that much. That needs to end, so let’s stop the operation by cutting off the head.” She nodded at Crawford.

Crawford started coughing more profusely, but it sounded hollow, as if no air was escaping. He began clawing at his throat in vain, unable to get rid of the invisible force. 

Theseus was in shock. Tina had truly fooled him. Lowell had seen right through her; perhaps he should have trusted her after all. 

“What source?” Lowell asked. 

“Well, me,” Tina stated plainly. Theseus saw a sly smile spread across her face, while Lowell’s face was painted with pure rage. Though, he noticed there was something odd about Tina’s eyes. 

“You’re filth, Goldstein. Just like all of Grindelwald’s little play soldiers.”

Tina scowled and began to raise her wand, preparing to cast another spell at Lowell. Theseus needed to step in now. Crawford wasn’t looking too great either. 

With a quick flick of his wand, Theseus disarmed Tina, unable to catch her wand with his injured arm. Instead, Lowell scrambled forward to get to it, no longer held in place by Tina’s magic. Crawford began to slide down the wall, trying to take deep breaths. 

Tina turned to Theseus. “Scamander. I didn’t realise you were here too.”

Theseus looked at her, puzzled. She never addressed him by his last name, not since Paris. She also knew he had just been sent out of the room, merely waiting to be allowed in again to explain his side of the story. 

“You’re not…” Theseus began, but was interrupted by Lowell shouting. 

“Hold her in place, Scamander. We have to get rid of the traitor, right now.”

Tina smiled crookedly at Lowell. “Go ahead.” She spread her arms, showing the target she was.

The Tina he knew would never give up like this without a fight. Lowell began to raise Tina’s wand. “Avada Kedavra!”

Before the curse could hit Tina, Theseus had already ripped her out of the spell’s path with an invisible force. She crashed into the wall, and with another spell, Theseus conjured ropes that wrapped themselves around Tina’s wrists behind her back. 

Tina chuckled. “Do you want to try again?” she taunted. 

Lowell again began to raise her wand but Crawford managed to speak. “Lowell. Stop this.”

“She betrayed us, you know what the punishment is.”

“I order you to lower your wand, now.” She hesitated, but as Crawford continued to glare at her, she slipped the wand into her pocket. 

Crawford slowly got up from the ground, dark bruises already beginning to show around his throat. “If you take a moment to think, I believe you’ll notice her eyes.”

Lowell and Theseus both glanced at Tina who was now kneeling on the floor, still grinning. 

Her eyes were milky, the normally brown centre of her eyes now a light grey. A sign of possession. 

“Well done,” Tina said, a sour undertone in her voice now much more noticeable. “I had hoped you would kill Tina here, or that she would kill you all, but she has been trying to fight back. Too bad her mind is ripped to shreds, it almost makes it too easy to slip into it. Aurors are usually more of a challenge.”

It was strange to hear the words come from Tina’s mouth, talking about herself in the third person. Theseus wondered what she (or, the witch or wizard possessing her, he supposed) meant by “ripped to shreds”. She was a highly trained Auror who grew up with a Legilimens - it should be relatively easy work for her to push someone out of her mind. 

Lowell stood, looking on in shock. She had somehow believed that Tina was capable of massive betrayal. Theseus could now understand how she so easily had been demoted after the incident with Credence. 

“How are you here?” Crawford asked, addressing whatever cruel person had invaded Tina’s mind. She simply shrugged in response. 

Crawford gestured for the three of them to leave the room to continue the discussion without Tina listening in. Bevere was up again, groggy but unharmed. 

“I think something happened at the warehouse,” Theseus explained quietly. “Which of Grindelwald’s followers were there? Who was the darkhaired one that escaped?”

Lowell paused, thinking. Her eyes widened in realisation. 

Bevere spoke first. “Dorian Atlas.”

The name was familiar, but Theseus couldn’t remember what he had heard about him before. He looked questioningly at Bevere. 

“A very powerful wizard in Legilimency, though not a natural Legilimens. He can get into almost anyone’s mind if they’re close enough, he just needs to cast his spell.”

“He’s not here though. How is he doing it?” Lowell asked. 

“In the warehouse, Tina was busy protecting me from another wizard. I tried to create a shield for Tina when Atlas cast something at her, but I must have been too late.”

Crawford sighed. “He’s latched onto her mind. Distance doesn’t matter anymore. The spell basically made Tina an open door for him. He can take control.”

“He said something about Tina’s mind being ripped to shreds. She has seemed out of it recently.”

Crawford nodded. “She’s practically a spy now. Even when he’s not in control, he will still know everything that’s going on, he just needs to look into her mind again.”

Their hushed conversation was interrupted by the Auror who had been at the warehouse with them. “We cleared out the warehouse. The guards downstairs are processing the four prisoners now. We got Elmer, Lewis, Gre-“ the Auror shouted down the hall. 

“Peterson! Shut up!” Lowell hissed. 

He raised his arms in confusion. “Woah, what did I do?”

“Be quiet!”

Peterson spoke much more hushed as he approached the group. “What happened to you two?” he asked Crawford and Bevere, who still looked dazed. Crawford’s throat was also beginning to bruise significantly. 

“Goldstein,” Bevere answered plainly. 

Peterson looked taken aback. “Wait, so she is the traitor?”

Theseus sighed. “Long story.”

Lowell tilted her head in the direction of the door. “Do we go back in?”

“Yes. But be careful, don’t reveal anything Goldstein doesn’t already know,” Crawford added. 

Peterson looked even more confused than before, but he hesitantly walked back to the meeting room with the other Aurors. 

“Peterson, right?” was the first thing Tina said as they re-entered the room.

Peterson paused in confusion, likely taking in the strange view of a milky-eyed Tina kneeling on the floor, arms still bound behind her back. Tina laughed. 

“Yes, I’m Tina, I betrayed everyone back in London and now you’ve caught me. Sentence me to death, that’s what we do here, remember?” Tina said with a smirk. 

Peterson looked at Theseus, perplexed. But Theseus noticed the slip-up. “So something did happen in London. What did you do with Tina?”

Tina’s head snapped in Theseus’ direction. “Clever. And I personally didn’t do anything, so I guess it’s Tina’s story to tell. Then again, she doesn’t know.” She shifted her attention to Crawford. “You know, Tina’s awfully powerful. I don’t think you’ve taken advantage of her magical talent enough here. You were so willing to get rid of it when Theseus’ little brother was visiting.”

Crawford looked down, ashamed. He probably also had not stood up for Tina both during her demotion. Of course none of the Aurors besides the fake Graves had been involved in Tina’s death sentence, but Theseus somehow suspected they also would not have intervened there. 

“I heard you got Elmer and Lewis. Who are the other two?” Her pale eyes looked at Peterson, who looked away, ashamed of having unintentionally revealed information. 

Crawford tried to regain Tina’s attention. “Atlas.”

“Took you a while. Nice to make your acquaintance.”

“Leave Goldstein alone. If it’s a confrontation you want, don’t be a coward and show up yourself.”

Tina let out a laugh. “You think I’m only using Tina to talk to you? No no, it’s also just… fun.” Tina shut her eyes. 

All of a sudden her eyes flew open, her deep brown irises back. Her eyes flickered around in fear.

“Tina?” Theseus asked. 

She nodded gently. “He’s not gone,” she whispered. “He’s not go-“

Her sentence was cut short by a heart-wrenching scream erupting from her throat. 

Tina’s head snapped backwards and the rest of her body followed almost immediately. She hit the ground with a thud, her torso contorting and legs kicking desperately. Theseus ran over to crouch kneel beside her. “What do we do?” he shouted to the other Aurors, almost drowned out by the sound coming from Tina. They shared looks amongst themselves, clearly unsure. 

The scream evolved into sobbing as she continued to writhe on the floor. Her back kept crushing her arms beneath her, and Theseus raised his wand to untie her. 

“What are you doing?” Lowell demanded. 

“She’s going to break her arms at this rate. Help me hold her down if you’re that worried,” Theseus snapped back. He released her from the spell and grabbed her right wrist, Lowell taking the other and pushing it against the ground. 

Tina’s face was wet with tears. Her head was twisting back and forth, her eyelids occasionally fluttering open to show her still brown irises. “Stop. Please, stop,” she begged, not to the Aurors, but to the cruel man behind this. 

Her back arched as she broke into a scream again, raw and pained, like an animal caught in a trap. She twisted her shoulders, as if trying to get her arms free, but if anything, it was subconscious. Theseus didn’t believe Tina was able to think about much besides raging pain presently.

An idea appeared in his mind. “Crawford, use a pain diminishing spell. Now!” Theseus commanded.

Crawford nodded and complied. As it started to take action, Tina’s movements became less extreme, though the pain was still glaringly obvious. She had stopped crying and was now biting her lip, trying to stop herself from making noise. Trying to make herself look strong.

And she was strong. So much stronger than she thought. Theseus couldn’t imagine what she was feeling, but the fact that she was surviving it said it all.

Tina groaned again as her back arched, as if the pain was flaring up, but she collapsed onto the floor again, panting. She had stopped twisting her body and it seemed as if the spell had ended.

Her dark eyes found Theseus, and her lips twitched into a small smile. Theseus smiled back at her, happy to see the real Tina again. His grip on her arm weakened, having forgotten why he was holding her in the first place, and her eyes widened in realisation. In a split second, she blinked, and her eyes reopened, misty and grey again.

Tina ripped her wrist away from Theseus’ hand and flung her arm back in his direction, sending him sliding across the ground. His broken arm crashed into the wall, sending a wave of pain through his body. He groaned as his vision briefly turned black from the sudden pain.

He heard Crawford shout something and by the time he came back to his senses, Tina had been thrown into a chair, wrists tied behind the back of the seat. Her hair clung to her face, but whether it was from the tears or sweat, Theseus did not know. 

“Let this be a lesson in the control I have,” Tina said, and her head lolled to the side, eyes closed. 

The Aurors exchanged confused glances amongst themselves and Theseus carefully got to his feet again. He cautiously approached the seemingly unconscious Tina. 

“Tina?”

Her eyelids fluttered in response to her name. “Tina?” he repeated. 

Her eyes shot open as she lifted her head up again, but her eyelids dropped slightly. “I guess I’m the one bound to a chair this time. Sorry about Paris,” Tina whispered with a small chuckle. 

Theseus smiled back at her sadly. He wrapped his arm around her tightly and felt her body shake as she cried silently into his shoulder. 

After holding her for a few minutes, Theseus pulled away. The other Aurors stood around the room, uncertain what to do. Lowell was the first to speak. 

“Is he gone?”

Tina nodded. “For now.”

“He confirmed that something happened in London, and he knew that you didn’t remember what it was, although he seems to know,” Lowell continued. 

“I know. I heard everything.”

Theseus swallowed. How terrifying it must have been to be stuck in her own body, unable to stop Atlas from using her like a puppet. 

Theseus moved to untie her. “No! Don’t!” Tina said hastily. “You saw what he- sorry, what I did before. You can’t let me out.”

“But it wasn’t you, Tina.”

“I’m sorry. It’s for your safety, Theseus. Don’t worry about me.” All of a sudden, her head snapped to the side, as if she was looking toward a sound behind her. When Theseus looked, he saw nothing. Her head snapped back to ahead of her and she looked somewhere over Theseus’ shoulder. Her eyes seemed unfocused. 

Peterson began to speak again. “So as I mentioned earlier, we also have Green and Thorn in custody-“

“Shut up! Haven’t you been paying attention, Peterson?” Tina shouted hoarsely. “You can’t discuss anything in front of me. He’ll listen in.”

Crawford shot Peterson an angry look. “They probably work like us and apparate out to different locations so they can’t all be followed. You’ve just made it easier for them.”

Peterson looked down at the ground, ashamed. “I’ll go check on the prisoners,” he muttered and walked out. 

Tina’s head twisted around again, following an unknown sound again. She slowly brought her attention back to the Aurors, avoiding Theseus’ gaze. “You need to lock me up. If he comes back…” Tina shuddered. 

“We’re not doing that, Tina,” Theseus said, but he knew she wouldn’t listen to him. 

“She’s right, Scamander. She’s too dangerous if Atlas comes back. Goldstein is powerful, as we’ve seen today,” Crawford said. He shifted his attention back to Tina. “Use the time that he’s not present to work on your Occlumency again. You need to keep him out.”

Tina’s attention shifted to somewhere beside her again. 

“What’s going on, Tina? Is he still here?”

“No, it’s not him. Someone’s saying my name, but I can’t find them. Where are they?” she said, looking more dazed by the minute. 

Theseus shot Crawford a worried glance. He nodded back at him. It was time. If she was weakened again, Atlas could come back much too easily. Who knew if the binds around her arms would hold again. 

“Alright, Tina. Let’s find you somewhere to keep you safe.”

“To keep you safe. To keep you safe…” she whispered. She stood up and walked toward the door. Tina looked away from the Aurors, trying to hide the tears building up in her eyes. 

After a walk in silence, they reached what looked like a holding room. A guard arrived to meet them, looking confused. “Goldstein? What did she do?”

Crawford merely shook his head and led Tina into the room. 

“Enchant the door. Don’t let me out, no matter what,” Tina said, her voice shaking. 

Theseus pulled her into a tight hug. 

“I’m scared. I’m so scared,” was the last thing she whispered to him before the door slammed shut.

Chapter Text

It wasn’t that the cell was cold, but Tina was shivering anyway. 

She hadn’t slept well, despite how surprisingly warm the bed was. When the door had closed on her the day before, she’d finally taken in her surroundings. She didn’t recognise this place. The door resembled that of a cell - sturdy, metal, with locks, but the rest was almost… comfortable.

It wasn’t homely, not at all; it lacked any form of decor, but a bed, chair, and table provided everything she needed. Attached to the room was a small bathroom too, which she had crawled to the moment her arms were released from the spell binding them together.

The water on her skin had felt like a dream. She tried to imagine it washing away all the events of the day, but she kept getting pulled back into reality by a slight stinging from the water in two almost-healed wounds.

One scar ran down the side of her ribcage, the other on her thigh. She trailed her fingers across them carefully, wondering where they came from. It must have been something related to London. She pushed away the thought - she didn’t want the dizziness and the headache that came along with trying to remember anything.

After she had dried off, she had crawled into the bed, discovering that the mattress was soft, and she curled in on herself. Just as she had reached sleep, she heard faint whispers. Whispers of her name trying to lure her back into wakefulness, but she covered her ears and fell into a restless sleep. 

Tina had awoken, ice cold despite the blanket wrapped around her. She let her head fall back into her pillow, looking at the ceiling and wondering what this new awful day would bring. 

A loud knocking pulled her out of her thoughts and she crawled out of the bed, arms still wrapped around her cold body. When she opened the single small slit in the door at her eye level, she saw no one. “Hello? Who is it?”

No response. 

“Guard, who knocked?”

A guard she recognised appeared in her limited field of vision. “No one here but me, Goldstein. And I’m certainly not knocking on your door.”

“Tina.”

This time, the voice was familiar. She spun around, wondering where Theseus was. His voice was clear as day, but she found the room empty. Behind her, she heard the slit closing again. 

“Tina.” His voice was louder, in front of her now. She closed her eyes, as if that would somehow block out Theseus. 

“Tina!” His voice sounded desperate, almost scared. No, not his voice. The voice. It wasn’t really him. 

She heard a pained groan and she opened her eyes again, needing to find the source, needing to find Theseus. 

The groan turned into a scream, raw and agonised. “Theseus! Where are you?” she cried out, forgetting that this might just not be real. 

“Tina! Help me!” He screamed again. Tina scrambled around on the floor, searching desperately. “Help! It hurts, Tina, it hurts!” Theseus shouted between screams from above her. 

Her eyes flickered around the room, scanning every corner, but still finding nothing. He wasn’t in the room, but he also wasn’t outside. The screams were definitely from inside. Atlas must have gotten him. He had found Theseus and was torturing him, projecting every sound into Tina’s mind, taunting her. 

“Theseus!” she screamed. Tina closed her eyes, hoping she could somehow look back into Atlas’ mind and find out where he was hidden. 

It didn’t work. She couldn’t find him, couldn’t see him, couldn’t comfort him; all she could do was listen. She wanted it to stop, but it didn’t. Screams and pleas kept pouring from his throat. 

Tina didn’t realise when she too started screaming, in harmony with the voice in her mind. “Theseus!” she cried again, a sob escaping her lips. 

Her calls for him eventually faded into faint whispers, drowned out by the deafening voice echoing in her head. She only hoped that he could hear her, that it was giving him some form of comfort. 

The cell door slammed open. Abruptly, the screaming stopped. Was he dead? Or was he still in just as much danger?

The silence made her aware of her surroundings once more. She found herself on the floor, hands clutching her hair in tight fists. 

“Theseus!” she yelled, praying for an answer. She kept her eyes tightly shut, waiting for whoever had opened the door to bring bad news. 

“Tina?” she heard a familiar voice ask from the doorway. 

It was Theseus’ voice. 

Another hallucination. Must be. 

Tina slowly opened her eyes and was met with the blurry sight of a man with red curls crouching in the doorway, arm in a sling.

Tina scrambled to get up and crawled to the far wall. She needed to get away; the door was open, Atlas could come back at any moment. 

“Close the door! I can get out!” 

“Tina, calm down. The doorway is temporarily enchanted, no person or magic can pass through from your side,” Theseus’ voice said calmly. 

Tina blinked away tears. “Theseus? You got away?”

“Away from where?”

“From Atlas.”

Theseus paused. “You were screaming. My name. I’m here to check on you.”

“No, you were screaming. Atlas got you,” Tina explained, her voice shaking. 

“I’m right here. I overnighted here, I’ve been at MACUSA the whole time.”

“No, no, no, you can’t have been. There was nothing I could do, it wouldn’t stop…”

Theseus shot a worried glance to someone beside him outside the room. Probably another Auror. 

Theseus switched subjects. “Did you get some sleep?”

Tina carefully looked toward the door and made eye contact with Theseus. It was really him, and he was indeed unharmed. She nodded.

“Do you feel stronger?”

Tina considered this. She had clearly fallen for all the hallucinations, but then again she hadn’t actively been trying to use Occlumency. She focused on putting up a mental block and found that she was able to. It wasn’t very strong, but it was better than nothing. “A bit,” she answered. 

Theseus nodded, satisfied. “We’re working on something that might help you.”

As soon as he had spoken those words, she felt a violent push in her mind. Atlas was trying to get in. 

Tina felt her eyes shut as he succeeded. “What do you mean?” she heard herself say from afar. 

Theseus frowned. “You know I can’t tell you, Tina,” he said hesitantly as she felt her body slowly move in the direction of the door. She could hear Atlas’ plan - she supposed that was the price of possession. 

He was going to bring down the barrier. He had guessed the possible enchantment used. If he was correct, she would be out, free to roam around MACUSA. Who knew what she would do. What he would do, she corrected herself. But what if she no longer could be herself?

She needed to warn them. With a sudden push back against Atlas, she managed to reach the foreground of her mind again. It would be brief, but hopefully it would be enough. 

“Bind my arms!” she shouted. She felt Atlas push back, but she held on for a moment longer, longing for the freedom from his grip on her. Her nose began to pour blood as she grew weaker and weaker. “Atlas…” she whispered in warning as her eyes grew clouded again. 

Before the Aurors could process what she had said, her hands slammed against the invisible barrier and she whispered a string of spells. Or, more accurately, Atlas whispered it with her voice. 

As Crawford stepped into view, wand raised, her arms snapped back behind her back. She collapsed onto her knees at the door and felt her mouth curl into a smile. “Worth a try,” Atlas said through her. 

Tina pushed again, but she was weak and barely made an impact. “She’s fighting,” Altlas said to the Aurors. 

If she couldn’t manage to get control of herself, perhaps she could use the psychic link between the two of them. Maybe she could spy back. 

She carefully glanced back into his mind, just for a moment. She was subtle, just catching a glimpse of his surroundings. When he was gone, she would tell Theseus, but she couldn’t risk staying longer. A peek into his thoughts and plans would have been noticed. 

She snuck back into her own body and fell into the middle of a conversation. “… speak face-to-face, not through Goldstein this way.”

“You know that’s not going to happen,” her voice responded. 

Crawford sighed. “Then you have to stop trying to escape. You’re not going to get anywhere.”

Tina knew that wasn’t certain. Atlas had access to her memories, meaning he would know exactly what the inside of MACUSA was like, and how every cog in the system worked. Then again, he couldn’t remain in her body forever, so what motivation did he really have?

“Why shouldn’t I try? Tina’s harmless. Or are you scared of hurting her?” Crawford paused. “Yes, you are.” Tina chuckled. 

“We will know when it’s you and when it’s Goldstein.”

“Indeed. But she’s still here. She would feel everything. For example, this.”

Atlas let her fall, but as the puppet master he was, he slammed her head into the ground. Her instincts tried to kick in to stop her from hurting herself, but it was overruled by the man controlling her from within.

It seemed as if Atlas took a step back for a moment, and Tina discovered she could move her own body. She groaned, twisting her head to look at Theseus. His expression switched from angry to relieved when he realised her eyes had returned to their usual brown.

Her head was ringing from the collision with the ground. She was about to speak when she again was ripped away from control of her body and her head was smashed into the ground again, her eyes milky. 

Theseus looked afraid, afraid for her. “Stop it!” Tina felt her lips curl into a smile as her temple began to feel wet. 

Atlas spoke through her again. “I may be willing to make a deal. We know exactly what the American Auror office knows thanks to Tina here, but aren’t certain about Britain’s knowledge.”

Tina could see how Theseus’ heart sank. She knew that he couldn’t share that information, regardless of what was happening to her. She also knew what Atlas would say next. 

“I could be convinced to let Tina go in exchange.”

Tina could see both Crawford and Theseus shake their heads hesitantly from her position on the cold floor. 

“Take some time to think about it,” he stated finally as he disappeared from her mind. 

Tina, in control again, tried to sit up again clumsily with her hands tied behind her. She was dizzy, blood pounding in her ears. Her eyes must have returned to normal as Theseus began to speak again. 

“Tina? How are you feeling?”

Before she answered, she focused all her energy on her Occlumency. She couldn’t have Atlas listening in for what she was about to say next. 

“Atlas. Mansion. Blonde man with him. Lake…” her voice faded out as her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she lost consciousness. 

-

After Tina had collapsed, Theseus remained in the doorway, waiting and thinking. Crawford had hesitated for a moment, perhaps hoping Tina would wake up quickly, but he hurried away, likely to meet with other Aurors to work on Tina’s warning. 

He desperately wanted to join her, but he knew it was too risky to enter the room. So instead, he waited. 

Tina had landed on the ground again, and Theseus could see a faint smear of blood by her head. Atlas truly was an awful man. And very, very dangerous. 

The small plan he had to help her was not so much a laid out plan, more just something to give her comfort. And just by mentioning it, he had unintentionally caused Tina pain. He needed to watch his words.

Theseus realised that Tina hadn’t eaten for a while, not since she’d left London by boat the first time around. He too hadn’t had food in a while - he hadn’t felt particularly hungry before he had gone to sleep, the events of the day circling around in his mind. 

Theseus got up from the ground, turning to briefly explain to the guard where he was going. He heard him close the cell door as he walked towards the elevator.  

He returned half an hour later, two hotdogs in his hand. He’d heard from Newt about his first encounter with Tina, and thought perhaps it would bring her some comfort. After all, it was glaringly obvious that there was something between the two of them. 

As he arrived, the guard opened the slit in the door, and Theseus peered through it. 

Tina had regained consciousness and was sitting on the ground leaning against the wall, arms still bound behind her back. He had forgotten to release her from the spell, which sent another pang of guilt through his stomach. Her head was tilted upwards and her nose still dripped blood. 

Theseus nodded at the guard and the door opened. Tina tiredly turned towards him, a small twinkle of happiness in her eyes at the sight of him. 

“Hi Theseus.” She sounded exhausted. 

He nodded at her. “I brought some food for us,” he said, raising his very full hand. “Guard, you can release her arms.”

With the flick of the guard’s wand, Tina’s hands fell, and she quickly raised one to rub against her temple, coming back with a smudge of blood. Her eyes flickered to the ground where she had hit her head. She brought her sleeve to her nose, trying to absorb or wipe away some of the blood. Theseus looked at her questioningly; she shouldn’t still be bleeding. 

“I’m working on my Occlumency. It’s still a bit difficult,” she explained. “Anyways, I’m hungry!” she tried to say cheerily, but her voice faltered. 

Theseus gave her a half-hearted smile as he sat down on the floor as well. Exhausted as she was, the Occlumency was taking a physical toll on her. 

He let Tina’s food float over to her as she scooted closer to Theseus. “Thanks, Theseus. Food like this almost makes me feel like I’m home again.” She smiled. 

They ate in a comfortable silence. Neither had much to say that wouldn’t ruin the meal, so they just chewed their food, enjoying each bite. 

“How’s your arm?” Tina asked. 

“Mostly healed. I’m just keeping the sling on as a precaution, I don’t want it getting hit again.” Theseus froze, realising what he had said. Tina looked away, ashamed. 

“It wasn’t you, Tina.” She nodded, still avoiding his gaze. 

“Thank you for the hotdog. It was very New York of you,” she said. “You need to close the door. I can’t hold up a shield much longer.”

“But if Atlas comes back…” Theseus began.

“Then he can’t hurt any of you. I’m not putting you at risk again. I’ll let you know when I’m strong enough to hold him off.”

“But he’ll hurt you,” Theseus stated plainly. 

Tina swallowed. “Probably. And you have to let him, there’s no way I’m regaining my energy if I try to keep this up.”

Theseus hesitated, but realised that she was right. “I’ll have someone bring food and drinks for you again later. Maybe a book if we can find one. Get some sleep, that might help.”

Tina nodded. “Go,” was all she said as she turned around and made her way to the bed. 

Theseus stood up and reluctantly closed the door. Maybe his plan to bring Tina some comfort wouldn’t work after all, but it was worth a try. They just had to hold on until tomorrow. 

As he reached the elevator, he suddenly wished he could use both his hands again, just so he could cover his ears as he heard a heart-wrenching scream echo through the hall. 

He stopped, his breathing growing faster as his eyes watered. With a deep sigh, he composed himself, blinking away tears. 

Theseus stepped into the elevator - another step away from his friend.

Chapter Text

Time was a blur. Tina knew it had been a while since she had seen Theseus, but she didn’t know much more than that. 

The moment she had dropped her shield, Atlas had become aware of it. Within moments pain had blossomed throughout her body, and she had no escape. She couldn’t risk asking one of the Aurors to use a spell or potion to improve it; it was too risky given the amount of control Atlas had exhibited before. After the pain finally let up, her voice had grown hoarse and her cheeks were stained with tears. By now, the blood on her face had dried, leaving her hair in clumps. With weak arms she pushed herself from the bed towards the sink, splashing her face with water and rubbing at it harshly. She needed to get everything off.  

And so she remained in her new room, waiting, wondering what it was Theseus and the others might have come up with. She didn’t bother with Occlumency; she needed to regain some energy first. Perhaps the torture had been a punishment for maintaining a shield against Atlas. At this point, she would just have to endure it. 

Everything seemed hopeless. 

A meal was carefully slid through the doorway, but Tina ignored it. The thought of food made her nauseous; she didn’t deserve to eat, not after the awful things she had done. She had betrayed MACUSA, she had gotten fellow Aurors killed, and had almost killed Crawford on her own. 

Eventually hunger snuck up on her, and she carefully began to sip the now cold soup. She knew she needed all the energy she could get. 

Tina leaned back in her chair. As much as she wanted to keep the others safe, she wanted them close by nevertheless. She was lonely, but even more than that, she was afraid.

For now, all she could do was hope that the little information she had found about Atlas’ whereabouts could be used by the Aurors. Perhaps if they found him, he could somehow be talked into letting up on Tina. 

Eventually exhaustion caught up to her. She assumed night had come, as she heard the guard murmuring and switching with another. 

She crawled into bed, flipping her blood-stained pillow around. Within moments, she drifted off to sleep. 

-

Newt stood outside a door inside MACUSA. The last time he had been in the building was for Tina’s hearing to get reinstated, and this time, he was here for Tina again. Just not in the way he had expected.

The message he had gotten from Theseus was urgent and contained a permit for a Portkey from the Ministry. No clear details were given, just that Tina was hurt and that they needed him. He dropped everything, informed his assistant of his leave, and raced down to the Ministry.

He had met Theseus outside, noticing his arm in a sling. Newt had looked at it questioningly, but Theseus just ushered him inside.

Now, he and his brother found themselves at a door in an empty hall, besides a guard standing nearby.

The warning he had gotten from Theseus still echoed in his head. “She’s hurt. And be careful, she’s not herself.” Theseus had mentioned something else, but Newt had stopped paying attention after what he had said.

Theseus nodded at the guard, and the door swung open.

Tina was sitting in a chair, legs tucked up against the table. In her hands she held a book as she chewed on a piece of toast.

Newt scanned the room. There were bloodstains on the ground, and her pillow was also speckled with red. He swallowed, trying to suppress his emotions. He needed to stay composed, he could only be of help if he stayed strong.

As the door creaked, Tina turned to the doorway. She noticed Theseus first and smiled at him, but the moment her eyes shifted to Newt, they truly lit up, despite dark circles under her eyes.

“Newt,” she whispered, dropping the book in surprise. She rushed to the doorway to greet him, and Theseus flinched and drew his wand.

Newt looked at him, confused. “What are you doing?”

“It’s a precaution.” No further explanation.

Newt turned back to Tina. “It’s alright,” Tina said, nodding. “It’s to keep everyone safe.”

“What’s going on here?” Newt asked, taking a step toward the door. Tina raised both her hands and her expression turned harsh. 

“Stop! Don’t come closer, you can’t come in here.”

“Why not?”

“Just stay out there. Here, I’ll show you the barrier- just don’t cross it.”

Tina put her hands against an invisible wall and pushed. “See?”

Newt raised one of his hands and put it against Tina’s. The touch of her hand made his skin feel like it was touched by sunshine, and his worries were replaced by warm comfort. He smiled as he looked deep into her eyes.

Tina smiled at him. “It’s nice to see you.” She shifted her attention again. “Why is he here?” she asked Theseus.

Newt followed her gaze and saw Theseus, his wand now raised and pointed directly at her. Tina didn’t seem to care.

“So you wouldn’t be so alone. I’m just a friend, there’s only so much I can do. He’s…” Theseus trailed off, not quite knowing how to finish the sentence.

Tina and Newt turned back to look at each other and she giggled lightly, just the way she had done the first time she had met his creatures. “Thank you,” she whispered to Theseus. “How are you? I’ve missed you.”

Newt was confused. They’d seen each other just a couple of days ago. “You already started missing me that quickly?” He paused, and Tina tilted her head. “I saw you just a few days ago.”

Tina hesitated. “Oh. Right.”

Had she forgotten? Did this have to do with Theseus’ warning of her not being herself? “Do you not remember?”

“No, I do, I do. Sorry, everything’s a bit all over the place.”

Newt sighed. He knew she wouldn’t want to answer, but he had to ask anyway. “What happened, Tina?”

She took a step back from the doorway, turning away from him and crossed her arms. As she did so, he got a glimpse of the dried blood in her hair. His stomach sank again; it hurt him to see her hurt. 

“Ask your brother later. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Why not? Just talk to me, I can help!”

She turned around, her expression hard. “How? How can you help? Can you crawl into my mind to force someone out? Sure, maybe Queenie would be able to get in, but she’s nowhere near powerful enough.”

Newt was taken aback. He hadn’t expected this level of frustration with him. Then again, she had been furious when they had met in Paris, but there was no reason for her anger this time. Alongside that, none of what she said made any sense to him.

“What are you on about?” Newt asked.

Tina sighed. “Talk to your brother,” she mumbled.

“If it helps, Queenie might be here soon as well. Theseus let her know about your situation too, but she had some things to clear up first.”

Tina’s eyes widened and she looked at Theseus desperately. Silence fell as they both waited for something, but nothing happened.

Tina breathed out shakily. “He’s not here. It’s alright.” Her eyes shifted between Newt and Theseus. “Did you not tell him he can’t tell me anything I don’t already know?”

Theseus shook his head. “Newt doesn’t know anything related to our missions or plans. I didn’t think to mention it- getting here was more urgent.”

Tina considered this for a moment and shrugged. “Well, now you know that much, Newt. Don’t talk about anything related to Grindelwald. Anything. ”

Newt didn’t know what to say. Yes, he wanted an explanation on everything, but he also didn’t want to leave her alone. He sat down on the ground, legs crossed. “That’s alright. We can just sit, if you want. I can also go…” he trailed off.

“No! Please, stay. I don’t want to be alone.”

“Theseus, do you really need to be here?” Newt asked.

“Yes, sorry. I’ll try not to listen in.”

“That’s alright,” Tina said as she too sat down. “So, how are all your creatures doing?”

-

After a long talk consisting mainly of Newt’s passionate rambling about his creatures, Newt finally left. Tina had managed to keep Atlas out, or perhaps Atlas hadn’t even tried to get in. Either way, the company had been nice. If only she could have seen him under better circumstances…

Hours passed slowly, and despite having books to read, Tina grew bored. She was itching to get back to her job, to work on something valuable, to take down Grindelwald, but she was stuck. Sure, it was for her own good and the good of all the others, but she couldn’t stand the lack of autonomy.

Eventually, exhaustion caught up to her again as the high of having seen Newt wore off. She began to doze off but all tiredness left her when she heard another faint whisper from the corner.

‘ Tina .’

The tiniest reminder that he was still there, that he wouldn’t leave her alone. Atlas left it at that- she heard nothing else.

She had little sense of time, though she assumed evening had come when dinner slipped through the door. Her appetite was gone, but she ate nevertheless, knowing hunger would catch up to her sooner or later anyways. Tina leaned back in her chair, letting her head fall back as she felt tears build up in her eyes. Her lip quivered as she brought her hands to her face to rub the tears from her eyes. She was tired and everything felt hopeless. But most of all, she was afraid. Afraid of Atlas coming back, afraid he would never leave, afraid that she would hurt someone… she’d never be able to forgive herself. All of this because she hadn’t paid enough attention back at the warehouse.

Sure, she had felt some of her strength come back, but she wondered if it was enough to keep him out.

She sat down on the bed again, flipping through the pages of her book mindlessly as she waited. For what, she did not know. For sleep? For an answer on how to escape Atlas’ clutches? For her sister?

Tina wanted to go home. She wanted everything to be just as it was - her sister keeping their apartment lively, Jacob visiting for dinner, frequent communication with Newt… no, she wanted Newt there too. She smiled as she remembered his shy laugh the first time they had met in New York. Yes, she needed him there.

She needed to stop thinking about him. As much as she wanted the comfort of her memories, she needed to hide what she felt for him from Atlas. If he knew too much, then Newt would be in danger too. She already knew the danger he could be in because he had been the one to expose Grindelwald, but now that she could so easily lose control, she was worried. Her gaze shifted to the pillow. She imagined the bloodstains were Newt’s and her stomach turned; she would not let him get hurt.

The pillow reminded Tina that she still had dried blood in her hair and decided she needed to get rid of it. She let warm water run through her fingers, then through her hair and across her damaged skin. Everything seemed to have healed relatively well, though the long scars along her ribs and leg still left a mystery for her, almost a taunt.

Her mind drifted off as she replayed the events of the last few days again. Despite the warm water, a shiver ran down her spine. How had everything gone so wrong?

A loud knocking on the door brought her attention back to her cell. She hopped out of the shower and threw on her clothes. Her hair was still dripping wet and her clothes clung to her skin that she hadn’t managed to fully dry off when the cell door opened.

Theseus appeared in the doorway, a determined look on his face. She glanced at the clock in the hall behind him - it was two in the morning. The middle of the night.

“It’s time. Let’s go.”

Chapter Text

They decided that ending Atlas’ curse on Tina should happen in the night, a time where he would hopefully be sleeping and thus not expecting it. Theseus had waited uneasily, seeing Newt pace around the room as he had explained everything to him. Newt’s face had morphed from shock to concern to sadness to fear, and had circled through those expressions since early in the afternoon.

Alongside inviting Newt and Queenie, the Aurors did actually have a plan. They had come across a spell - one that should be able to release a person from possession. It would stop Atlas from being able to enter Tina’s mind, but none of them were sure if it would work. In any case, it was worth a try.

Theseus and two Aurors picked up Tina, her hair still dripping. She hadn’t managed to fully dry off and looked a bit dazed. He imagined she was exhausted.

She looked at him, confused, but she quickly realised the strange arrival of the Aurors had to do with Atlas’ possession. She didn’t properly acknowledge their arrival and instead went straight into questioning Theseus. “Why so late?” Theseus assumed she was using Occlumency since she was bold enough to ask about what was going on.

“We’re hoping Atlas will be asleep. I can’t imagine he’s expecting anything at this time.”

Tina shrugged. She didn’t look too hopeful. And maybe rightfully so - after all, she was the only one directly affected.

“Where are we going?” she asked as she stepped toward the doorway.

“Up,” Theseus said curtly. They needed more space for the spell, but Tina didn’t need to know. She could only have the bare minimum. For now, at least - he just hoped she wasn’t familiar with the spells needed later. He wished they could tell her that they maybe were close to finding him too, but it was too dangerous. He believed they could get Atlas within a day or two, but helping Tina was imminent.

Tina nodded in response. “I won’t ask anything else. Sorry.”

Theseus began to turn around to walk when Tina cleared her throat.

“Of course. Sorry,” he said as he lifted the enchantment on the door, having forgotten the invisible barrier.

“You should bind my arms again,” she said, monotone. It wasn’t a command, but she seemed ready to argue if he didn’t do it.

Theseus nodded sadly as he cast a spell, and rope wrapped itself tightly around her wrists.

They walked in silence to the elevator. She finally spoke again as they began to move upwards.

“Your arm is better,” she stated plainly, but with a small smile.

Theseus smiled. His arm was indeed out of the sling. “Yes, the healer did a great job.”

Tina fell silent again, thinking. “I think we need to make Atlas believe I’m sleeping too. I’m not risking it,” she said in a hushed tone. “You need to knock me out. Keep me unconscious until the last possible moment. If he thinks I’m sleeping, it might be alright.”

“Do you sense him?”

“No. He’s not here.”

Theseus understood. She wanted to take every precaution, and he agreed they should. He wondered what Newt would think if he showed up with an unconscious Tina.

Theseus looked at the other two Aurors. “Catch her.” Tina nodded at him, and with a flick of his wand, she collapsed, the Aurors looping their arms under her elbows just in time. Her head lolled forwards and water dripped onto the floor.

The grated elevator door revealed a great hall, a high ceiling of shiny bricks held up by dark pillars. The door slid open and Theseus noticed how cold the place was. It wasn’t the major investigations department that he had seen while waiting for night to come, it was much darker and much larger. It was empty, besides a small group of Aurors and a single chair in the centre of the room.

Theseus walked out of the elevator, followed closely by the two Aurors dragging Tina, her feet sliding across the ground beneath her.

“Tina!” he heard Newt call, a slight echo bouncing off the distant walls. He seemed just about ready to wake her, but Theseus intervened. 

“You can’t. We need to wait, keep her unconscious until everything is ready.”

Newt took a step back, but kept his gaze on Tina. He looked desperate - Newt knew he couldn’t intervene under any circumstances, but Theseus knew that he had to let him be present. Newt would never forgive him for leaving him out of the process. And it wasn’t going to be easy.

They walked in silence; only the clacking of boots and the dragging of feet could be heard. Everyone else stood in anticipation of what was going to be a difficult procedure. 

When they finally reached the chair, Tina was dropped into it, and Theseus released her arms from the rope. The two Aurors placed her arms on the armrests, and shackles on the wood latched themselves around Tina’s wrists. He could see the red rope burn marks that had already appeared from their trip up from the cell, and he felt a pang of guilt in his stomach. He shook it off- he didn’t have time to think about it now.

Crawford appeared behind Tina’s chair and nodded to Theseus. Theseus took a step back, knowing his role in this was over.

“Bevere. Are you almost ready?” Crawford asked.

Bevere stepped out from beside Lowell and walked toward Tina. In the time Theseus had waited with the other Aurors, he had finally learned more about them. Bevere had been chosen for this due to his talent with curse-breaking, while Lowell was more of a fighter and duellist, and thus was stuck on the sidelines. Theseus was also glad she wasn’t involved - it seemed like she didn’t like Tina in the first place, even before Tina’s return to New York a few days ago. He understood where all her suspicion had come from, but the fact that she never had a moment of doubt had troubled Theseus.

Bevere positioned himself in front of Tina. “Hold her head,” he instructed Crawford. He lifted Tina’s head up, her still-dripping hair clinging to her face but revealing her closed eyes. Theseus had expected her to look peaceful, as if she was asleep, but something about her expression seemed off. 

Theseus didn’t know exactly what the ceremony would entail - each curse was unique, and Bevere would have to unravel it carefully, depending on what he discovered along the way.

The other Aurors stood in silence. They were mainly there to observe, but also there in case it went wrong. All of them were on the team in charge of investigating Grindelwald, so they too were searching for Atlas by extension.

Bevere raised his wand, moving it along Tina’s body, as if searching for a place to begin. Unsurprisingly, he ended up at her head.

“We will do as much of this with her unconscious as we can.” He lifted his hands and placed his fingertips on Tina’s cheeks and closed his eyes, looking for traces of magic.

Bevere closed his eyes as he focused, and Theseus saw Tina’s head twitch lightly in response. After a few seconds, Bevere stepped back, concern on his face.

Theseus could tell that Newt was desperate to ask what was going on. He opened his mouth to speak, but Theseus grabbed his forearm, squeezing it to signal a ‘no’.

Bevere raised his wand again, casting a spell silently. Tina’s shoulder twitched, tugging on her arm that was stopped by the thick metal wrapped around her wrist.

Bevere twisted his wand arm, strengthening the spell. This time, Tina’s whole body shifted aggressively, and Crawford had to tighten his grip on her head just to keep her from moving. Her back began to arch, practically lifting herself out of the chair as her feet began to kick. Her arms strained against the shackles as her entire body began to tremble uncontrollably. She fell back into the chair with a thud, but the shaking did not subside - it only increased in severity.

Crawford was struggling to hold her in place as her head kept twitching backwards with each violent convulsion. Beside Theseus, Newt tried to take a step towards Tina, but Theseus held him firmly in place. He couldn’t go, not yet.

Tina began to turn pale as her eyelids began to flutter. She was only taking short, shallow breaths and he could see her face scrunch up from the pain. Theseus was incredibly grateful that she was not conscious for this, both for her own sake and for Newt’s.

Bevere took a step towards Tina, drawing his arm closer to him, as if trying to tug on something. Theseus didn’t know if it was working, but it certainly had an effect on Tina. A very bad one.

The room remained quiet as everyone held their breath in anticipation. Well, quiet except for the thumps of the chair shifting in place. At some point another violent convulsion made Crawford lose his grip on Tina’s head, and a thud could be heard as her head slammed into the back of the chair.

“Hold on to her head! Now!” Bevere shouted. Crawford hurriedly obliged, trying to get a hold of it again. It must have been necessary for Bevere’s spell as all of his focus was on Tina’s face.

Her lips parted and foam began to pour from her mouth. Again, Theseus had to tighten his grip on his brother. “Just wait,” Theseus whispered.

A gurgling sound came from Tina’s throat as she struggled to breathe. Bevere looked like he was beginning to doubt himself as the foam dripping down her chin turned red. That was Newt’s limit - he tried to wrench himself free from Theseus, but he quickly wrapped both arms around him. 

“Stop the spell!” Newt exclaimed. 

Bevere continued for a moment but eventually dropped his wand. In an instant, Tina went limp, and Crawford released her head carefully. Bevere stepped away from Tina and turned around, using his free hand to rub his eyes and forehead in concern.

Theseus let go of Newt, who sprinted towards Tina where he fell to his knees in front of the chair. He cupped her head with his hands and lifted it toward him, inspecting carefully, the way he would with a fragile creature. She wasn’t breathing.

Newt stood up and leaned her forward, hitting her on the back, hard. Theseus heard a small cough, and Newt rushed forward again as her eyes fluttered open.

“Tina?” Newt whispered. “Tina, can you hear me?”

She coughed again as she cleared her airway of foam. She lifted her head to look at Newt and nodded with the smallest smile. Newt breathed out in relief, but the moment was over quickly as Tina’s eyes widened. She broke out coughing again, but kept her mouth shut as she did so. Newt looked panicked as Tina’s eyes flickered around the room, looking for help. Her cough subsided as she finally found Bevere, and as she opened her mouth again, a river of blood began to pour from through her lips, down her chin where it dripped onto her wet clothes.

Bevere ran up to Tina, pushing Newt out of the way. He cast a spell quickly and the flow of blood stopped. Tina turned her head and spat out the remainder over the side of the chair.

Bevere breathed out a shuddering breath, taking a step back in relief. He looked at Tina with sad, regretful eyes. 

She looked back at him and gave him a nod. “It’s tied to my blood, isn’t it?” He nodded solemnly. 

“Your mind and your blood. I had hoped it wouldn’t be the case.”

“What does that mean?” Newt asked desperately from the ground. 

Tina maintained eye contact with Bevere, scared to look at the one she needed most in this moment. “It means it just became more difficult and more dangerous to get out of this,” she said shakily. 

Tina must have been quite knowledgeable about curse-breaking too, as she seemed to know what the next phase would be. She twisted her forearms so her palms were facing upwards. “Keep going, Bevere. I’m ready.”

Theseus looked on in confusion as Bevere reached his arm and a woman walked over to him, placing a knife in his hand. “Are you sure?”

“I want Atlas gone.”

Bevere sighed as he walked up to Tina, raising the knife hesitantly. 

“What are you doing?”

“It’s alright, Newt. I promise.” She looked like she was lying, and Newt knew it too. 

“You may remain with her, Scamander, but if you interfere, you will only make things worse.”

Newt stood up and ran his fingers through Tina’s wet hair, and he removed a strand from her face so he could gaze into her eyes. She finally looked at him again, her eyes glistening with tears. 

He moved to stand beside the chair and placed a hand on her shoulder gently. He wanted her to know he was there. 

“Crawford. Be ready to hold her head again when the spell takes hold,” Bevere instructed. Newt sent Theseus a worried glance.

Bevere brought the knife down to Tina’s palm. He looked up at her one last time, and she nodded. “Do it,” she whispered. He pushed down, and a thin stream of blood began to pour from a wound on her hand. Tina shut her eyes and breathed in sharply, not wanting to show weakness.

Bevere whispered something, and the droplets of blood began to run upwards, against gravity. The tiny stream twisted and turned, as if searching for something else. Bevere moved towards her other hand.

Tina opened her eyes, inspecting the fascinating magic happening before her. She swallowed before she spoke. “It’s not enough, Bevere.”

So she did know what the spell was doing and how it worked. Theseus was in awe of how accomplished she was despite her relatively little experience as an Auror.

Bevere returned to the bleeding hand, which Tina closed to stop the blood. The small drops remained in the air, frozen in place. He moved his wand across her fingers, and when she reopened her hand, the wound was sealed.

Bevere looked from Tina to Newt, and then back at Tina. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly. Tina closed her eyes once more, ready for his next move. Theseus saw Newt tense as he brought the knife down on the inside of her wrist, pushing hard and dragging the knife up her arm. Tina groaned as she bit her lip, eyes still clenched shut. Blood began to pour rapidly from her forearm, dripping down onto the ground, her arm turning fully red.

He hastily switched to her other arm and carried out the same movement, whispering again as he did so. Tina made no sound. She was afraid and hurt, and yet she remained so strong.

The two streams of blood began to rise into the air again, this time toward each other, and Bevere raised his wand towards what soon would be a collision of the two. His eyes flickered to Crawford, who placed his hands on Tina’s head.

The moment the two streams connected with each other, a ripple ran through them. At the same time, the large hall began to echo the scream that tore from Tina’s throat. Theseus could see the despair on Newt’s face, the terror of being unable to help the woman he wouldn’t admit he loved.

“Tina! We need to do this together. Concentrate!” Bevere twisted his arm, trying to make the growing pool of blood divide again. “Help me out!”

Tina’s scream faded out as she brought her attention to the magic just above her. Her eyes squinted as she tried to focus, but another ripple through the red liquid shook her chest and forced a loud sob from her lips. Crawford held on to her head tightly, knowing the spell needed intense focus. As she continued to stare at it, the pool began to split into two, but one of the streams was unusual. It was as if it was a shadow, like a strange black string woven into the normal red. The black must be from the curse- one of the things linking Tina and Atlas.

Theseus heard a strange clicking noise, and out of nowhere, Tina’s arm flew forward, ripping the wand out of Bevere’s hand. The shackles had been unlocked. She thrust the wand towards him and he soared through the air, alarmingly fast before he crashed into a pillar. Theseus heard something snap.

“He’s here!” Tina shouted, her eyes flickering between grey and brown. Before anyone else could make a move, she stood up and sent Newt and Crawford flying too. Newt slid to a halt beside Theseus, while Crawford hit the ground with a loud thud. The levitating blood from the spell lost its form and fell to the ground behind her. 

Newt scrambled to get forward again, but with a flick of her free arm she cast a spell in his direction. His shirt was ripped open and a deep slash appeared across his chest. Blood began to pour from the wound and Theseus ran over to his brother. “Newt!” Theseus pushed down on the wound, trying desperately to put enough pressure on it. Newt kept his eyes on Tina, not afraid of her, but afraid for her.

From further across the room, someone had made it to Bevere amongst the chaos. “He’s dead!” Lowell’s head snapped in Tina’s direction. 

Tears began to run down Tina’s cheeks as she involuntarily flung another Auror across the room as he had tried to disarm her. Blood dripped from her outstretched arms.

“Kill me!” Tina shouted. “I can’t control it, kill me!”

Her eyes turned fully cloudy. She smirked cruelly, savouring the chaos she had created, and turned to look at Newt. “It’s nice to meet you, Scamander. Grindelwald spoke very highly of you when I met him.” Newt ignored the comment. 

During the small pause in Atlas’ actions, another Auror managed to disarm Tina from behind, and Bevere’s wand went flying. Lowell began to sprint at Tina as other Aurors attempted to cast offensive spells at her, but they bounced off her with a simple cast of Protego. Lowell’s wand had also disappeared from her hand, but that didn’t stop her. 

Tina turned her attention towards the charging witch, and in doing so turned her back to Theseus and Newt. 

Newt rolled out of Theseus’ arms and raised his wand toward Tina. He apologised under his breath and Tina’s arms were ripped behind her back, tied tightly with rope again. The rope already became soaked with blood running from her veins.

“That’s not going to hold her, Newt,” Theseus whispered. 

“It will. She was able to channel her magic earlier with her hands slightly more free, but it should stop her for now,” Newt explained. “I’ve seen it on my travels in cultures where magic is wandless.”

As they looked up again, Lowell flung Tina to the ground and grabbed the knife Bevere had used for the ceremony. She seemed to hesitate as she kneeled on the ground beside Tina. 

“What are you waiting for?” Atlas said through Tina. “You heard her. Kill her.”

Lowell glanced around. Tina was tied up again, she shouldn’t be able to escape. There was no reason to - she was no longer in control. 

Tina blinked, and her dark brown eyes were back. “Do it!” she said hushedly. When Lowell didn’t make a move, Tina continued. “Please, he’ll come back, I can’t keep him out for long!” Her nose began to bleed as she continued to concentrate on her Occlumency, but it was in vain as her eyes fluttered again.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t notice if you tried to lift the curse?” Tina said. “Did you really think it would be that easy?”

Lowell looked toward Crawford, then back at Tina. She had no answer for Atlas - they had simply hoped to get lucky.

“Is Bevere dead?” Lowell froze. “Did Tina really kill your… friend, just like that?”

“It wasn’t Goldstein, it was you, Atlas.”

“Are you sure about that? Who knows, perhaps Tina was angry with you for locking her up. Maybe she was angry that you thought she had betrayed you.”

Lowell paused, considering this, but then shook her head. “She didn’t do this.”

“So it wasn’t Tina’s magic that killed the man you loved?”

Lowell looked taken aback and she moved away from Tina, just a bit. “What?”

“I could see it in your eyes. And Bevere’s, for that matter. Maybe Tina could too.”

They heard no response from Lowell.

“Maybe she wanted to punish you. Bevere deserved it. You deserved it.”

Lowell’s face contorted with rage as she climbed onto Tina, pressing the knife against her throat. “You’re a monster!” she screamed at Tina.

“Lowell, no!” Crawford shouted. 

“Who, me or Tina?” Tina said.

Lowell didn’t have an answer. Was Atlas really making her doubt Tina? Again?

“It’s not Tina! Please, don’t hurt her!” Newt cried, struggling to get up. Theseus pushed him down again and stood up instead.

“Just push the knife a little harder, Samantha,” Tina said alluringly. Lowell just stared at her blankly. “There you go. Just a bit more.”

Theseus took careful steps towards Lowell. “Put down the knife, Lowell.”

“She doesn’t want to, Scamander. And Tina doesn’t want her to either.” Tina’s eyelids fluttered again and the natural brown was back.

“Do it. Please,” Tina whispered, her lips quivering. “I don’t want to hurt anyone else, please…” She nodded at Lowell as if in understanding, and Lowell pushed down.

“No!” Newt shouted from the ground, raw desperation in his voice. Theseus lunged at Lowell, pushing her and the knife away from Tina, while Crawford went to join Lowell, holding her in place.

Theseus clasped his hand over the gushing wound. He felt the fabric of his trousers at the knees turn wet from a puddle spreading from beneath Tina. Her arms - of course they needed tending to as well.

“Get someone who can heal! Right now!” Thankfully, one of the Aurors came rushing to Theseus’ side. “Bandage her arms!”

Theseus carefully rolled Tina onto her side, and the woman who had come to his aid conjured bandages that wrapped themselves around Tina’s wrists. Spots of red appeared along the white of the bandages, but it had stopped the worst of the flow.

They rolled Tina onto her back again carefully, switching their attention to Tina’s neck. Her eyes had turned cloudy again and she had a twisted smile on her face. Atlas was showing off the power he had over others, even when he was not around.

“Can you slow the bleeding?” Theseus asked.

“Maybe. I have to take a look, though,” she said hesitantly.

Theseus released his hand from Tina’s neck, and they heard a gurgling sound. Her airway must have been hit - blood was flowing into her lungs. He covered the wound again, but it seemed the damage had been done. Tina’s chest heaved as she tried to breathe in, but it sounded wet. Theseus knew she would try to cough any moment now, and that wouldn’t lead to anything good. 

“Seal the wound!” Theseus shouted, and the moment the healer was ready, he removed his hand. The blood flow seemed to slow as the gash began to close itself. Tina coughed, and the blood that flew from her mouth blended in with the blood already covering her.

“You can’t stop me, Scamander,” Tina whispered. “You know how to, but you won’t.”

The healer backed away and headed to Newt instead, who had attempted to crawl toward Tina, leaving a smudge of red in his path. Newt must have been too focused on trying to get to Tina to heal himself - after all, he was good at it.

“You will lift this curse, Atlas. We will make sure of it.”

Tina chuckled weakly. “Good luck,” she whispered, and closed her eyes. Theseus was glad he no longer had to gaze into that strange, grey abyss.

Newt came scrambling towards Theseus, his injury halfway healed. Theseus turned to look at the witch who had helped him, but she shrugged. She couldn’t have held him back, even if she wanted to.

“Tina?” Newt whispered as he cradled her face in his hands. He lifted her head into his lap and rubbed her cheek gently with his thumb. Her eyes flickered back and forth under her eyelids, but they did not open. Theseus saw tears build up in Newt’s eyes.

Theseus dug into his pocket, looking for another handkerchief he could hand to his brother. He found it and passed it to his brother, who instead of drying his eyes started to clean Tina’s face. He couldn’t bear to see her this way. 

Tina’s eyes flickered open and an expression of despair passed over her face. “You shouldn’t have stopped her,” she whispered hoarsely.

“She was going to kill you!”

“She should have. I asked her to.”

“Why are you giving up this way?” Newt asked, a tear dripping down his cheek. 

She paused. “I hurt you.” Tina looked away, ashamed. “You’re not safe.”

“I am. Your hands are tied, you shouldn’t be able to get out.”

“I’m too weak now, so he is too. But when I regain my strength… I can keep him out sometimes, but he’s strong. He’s so strong, Newt. I’m scared of what he’ll make me do.”

Theseus noticed a trail of red and interrupted their conversation. “Tina, you’re bleeding from your ear.”

“I’m trying to keep him out, trying to stay awake. It’s so hard…” Tina’s voice began to slur, and suddenly her attention shifted to an empty space beside her. It changed again, and her eyes flickered all over the place in search of something. As her head twisted, the semi-healed wound on her neck was

Newt looked at Theseus, worried. “She’s hallucinating again. She lost too much blood, Newt, we need to let her rest.”

Newt closed his eyes, holding back his tears as he nodded in understanding. “Tina?”

Her attention shifted to him briefly, but she looked away in search of another voice. “Tina, we’re going to let you sleep now, alright?”

She didn’t seem to process what he was saying as her eyes began to droop on their own.

“I’ll get her a healing potion from my case. It should help replenish the blood she’s lost.” Newt looked up at Theseus again. “Meet you at Tina’s room?”

Theseus nodded, and Newt hurried away. In the time they had been seeing to Tina, Lowell had made it to Bevere and was kneeling beside him, crying, with one hand resting on his unmoving chest. While Theseus didn’t like her much, there was no way she deserved this. He knew loss - thinking of Leta still hurt tremendously. Now, his trying to avoid loss for Newt had led to the death of Lowell’s love. It hadn’t been on purpose, or anyone’s fault besides Atlas’, but he still felt guilty. Other Aurors in the room kept looking around, either at Tina or at Bevere, whispering at times. “Give Lowell some privacy! Leave!” Theseus shouted.

Thankfully, most listened and headed out of the room. Crawford remained, along with a strong-looking Auror who clearly was just waiting for instruction to help with Tina. Lowell looked up at Theseus gratefully. 

“Lowell?” Tina whispered, barely audible. Her eyes had closed by now, but hearing her name must have been enough to draw her attention back to the present. “I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry… you were right to use that knife. I deserve it. I’m sorry.” Her head lolled to the side, and when Theseus tapped her cheek and got no response, he realised that she had finally lost consciousness.

Lowell looked at Tina, eyes wide. “I didn’t mean to… I was so angry and scared. Please tell her I’m sorry.” She looked down at her shirt and sleeves stained with Tina’s blood and looked away, ashamed. Theseus could see her shoulders shake as she began to cry again.

Crawford finally spoke. “Take her back to the cell. We will reconvene when we’ve all gotten some rest and composed ourselves.” He nodded in Theseus’ direction, indicating that he especially needed to get cleaned up. He looked down and saw that he too was drenched in blood.

“Can you help me bring her back down?” Theseus asked the remaining Auror. The man nodded curtly and carefully lifted Tina.

They rode down the elevator in silence, and the silence continued all the way to the cell. They were met by Newt holding a vial. “You can bring her into the room, the enchantment on the door won’t affect you,” Theseus explained to the man carrying Tina. He complied and laid her on the floor, avoiding staining the bed with blood. 

Newt hurried in after the man had left and grabbed Tina’s pillow, already covered in blood, and placed it beneath her head. He uncorked the vial and poured it between her slightly parted lips. It seemed like she swallowed it, and Newt backed away after holding her cheek, just for a moment. He flicked his wand, and the ropes binding her arms disappeared. He moved her arms so they weren't crushed by her upper body and found that she was so light - the night had taken a hard toll on her.

Reluctantly, Newt left the room. “The potion should help her body replace the lost blood faster,” Newt said monotonously. “Shouldn’t we clean her?”

Theseus shook his head. “I think it’s better for her to do it. I think it will help her process what happened.”

Newt sighed and rubbed his eyes. Theseus suspected Newt wouldn’t be able to get any sleep tonight. “I have spare clothes in my case. They will probably fit you too, Theseus,” Newt said, changing the subject. Theseus didn’t think he could handle seeing Tina in her current state any longer. Newt turned away from the door, and Theseus nodded at the guard to close the door. It slammed shut, and Newt flinched at the sound.

“Can you stay with me tonight?” Newt asked Theseus quietly. Theseus placed his hand on Newt’s shoulder.

“Of course. You’re my brother.”

Chapter Text

Tina found herself in front of the mirror. She had woken up on the ground, and next thing she knew, she was looking a strange version of herself in the eyes.

Her reflection told a whole story. Her hair hanging in lumps the way it always did after drying naturally reminded her that she had finally managed to feel clean, right before all hell had broken loose. The thick trail of blood down her chin was like a map she could follow, all the way to Atlas’ grip on her. A blood curse.

She rested her hands on the sink and put her weight on them, leaning forward toward the mirror in a daze. The thick bump from the badly healed wound on her neck brought back the memory of what she had done to deserve it.

Bevere. A fellow Auror. She had killed him.

The pillars in the great hall that had surrounded her were made of a dark brick. A smooth brick that would reflect the light that fell on it. A brick that had reflected the shape of Tina’s outstretched arms as she had killed a man.

Now the reflection was back, and right in front of her instead. Bloody and dangerous, just the way she had been in the night. All she saw was a monster.

Tina’s mouth fell open as she stared at herself in shock and recoiled at the sight of it. It was the mouth of someone who had taunted a woman who had just lost her love. Tina had been too weak to keep Atlas out, and Bevere and Lowell were the ones who had to pay the price for it.

Why hadn’t Lowell just put her out of her misery faster? By the time she had eventually made use of the knife, everyone else had had time to process what was going on. They stopped her.

Couldn’t they see that it was hopeless? That Tina was suffering? That she didn’t deserve to be here?

She wondered if Newt would ever forgive her. He would always have a scar to remember the night by. Again, something cruel done by her. He would look at it, and he would remember exactly who it was who had done it. Tina, a woman who cared for him, had betrayed him.

Logically, Tina knew it was Atlas who had done all these things. But it had been her body - it was her magic, she was the one who felt her body carry out every terrible action, she was the one who was supposed to have been able to stop it.

Tina couldn’t draw her gaze away from the bizarre reflection in the mirror. She wanted to, but felt stuck. She remained frozen in place, replaying the memories for a time, until a loud knocking brought her back to reality.

Her arms relaxed and she finally took a step back. She felt hollow again, the way she had back in London, as if everything in her mind was ripped to shreds. She supposed it was - Atlas truly was beginning to break her psyche.

With slow steps, Tina walked back into the room. Looking down, she saw patches of dried blood on the ground from where she had been placed following the night’s events. She quickly looked away, her gaze falling on the slowly opening door.

In the opening, she could make out a pink jacket and curly hair. It took a moment for her to link the two observations, but it suddenly clicked. Queenie. The one person she hadn’t hurt in MACUSA. Yet.

Queenie’s eyes widened in surprise, or perhaps fear, at the sight of Tina. She hadn’t even tried to wash anything off - she needed to be reminded of what she had done.

“You can’t be here,” was the first thing Tina said, her voice shaking.

“Hi Tina,” Queenie said hesitantly. Tina could see tears forming in her eyes.

“You can’t be here,” she repeated. Queenie opened the door further, revealing a suitcase and Newt standing beside it. Tina took a step back at the sight of him. “No,” she whispered, almost apologetically.

“Tina, I’m alright. See?” he said, showing off an undamaged white shirt, no blood seeping through ripped skin and fabric like it had been last night. “Good as new.”

Tina looked at him blankly as she shook her head. No. She didn’t believe him. She shifted her attention back to Queenie, not wanting to look at the pain on his face.

“Tina…” he said, trying to get her attention, trying to show her he was safe. She ignored him.

“We brought you a change of clothes from home. Actually, a few sets,” Queenie said softly. They all knew what she was implying -  none of them knew how long she would have to remain here. Queenie leaned down and pushed the suitcase through the invisible barrier.

Tina gave a tiny nod in thanks. “You can’t be here,” she repeated yet again.

“You keep saying that, Teenie. I’m only here to help.”

“I’ll hurt you.”

“No, you won’t. What happened?”

“You know what happened,” Tina mumbled.

“What?” Queenie asked.

“I said you know what happened!” Tina snapped loudly. She saw Queenie flinch and immediately felt guilty again. “You can see it. You know.” Tina lifted her hand and tapped her fingers against the side of her head.

Queenie swallowed. “I only know what little I’ve gotten from Newt. Your shield is up,” she explained. Of course - the constant Occlumency against Atlas was blocking Queenie too. Tina was grateful for it.

Queenie’s attention moved around Tina’s face and body, taking in everything. Tina let her piece it all together.

“Tina, I’m so sorry. I’m…” The unfinished sentence hung in the air, no one knowing what to say.

Queenie coughed and rubbed tears away from her eyes. “Umm…” she started, her voice unsteady. “At least your Occlumency is strong. It might keep him out.”

“You know it won’t. You could easily get into my mind right now if you wanted to, so don’t lie to me. It’s not strong enough.”

“I… you’re right. I’m sorry,” Queenie responded quietly. Tina felt guilty - she hadn’t meant to snap that way at her sister, but she wanted her gone, out of harm’s way.

“You need to leave, the two of you.”

Queenie shook her head. “No. You can’t be alone all the time, you can’t just push everyone away, it’s-”

“Look at me!” Tina shouted. “Look at what has happened to me. Do you know why this happened, Queenie? Do you know what I did to get this scar?” Tina raised a trembling hand to her neck, now crusted with dry blood. “I killed Bevere.”

“It wasn’t you, you know that, it was-”

“It was me, Queenie. Can’t you see? I can’t control him, I can’t keep him out, and if I can’t do that, it might as well be me. It’s my fault Bevere’s dead!”

Queenie fell silent and looked away. It seemed she had given up arguing, perhaps just out of pity for Tina. 

Newt took the opportunity to change the topic. “So, um, I got help from Queenie to get you a suitcase. I didn’t know where yours was. I also packed the book on your bedside table…”

Tina, still avoiding his gaze, felt her eyes tear up. She knew exactly which book it was.

His.

And indeed, she had forgotten where in the world she had left that case. She slowly moved towards the door again and began to sink to the ground. “Thank you,” she whispered. “And I’m sorry, Queenie. I didn’t mean to shout at you.”

“It’s alright, Teen.” Queenie kneeled beside her, hand hovering as she went to comfort her but remembered the barrier midway through the movement. They sat in silence for a moment, and finally Tina felt comfort in her sister’s presence. She felt calmer.

“Now, here’s what we’re going to do. Tina, you’re going to clean off everything, put on a fresh set of clothes. Newt and I will be back later, we’ll give you some time alone, if you want. You can just knock on the door and one of us will come running. Sound good?”

Tina nodded. She could do that. As long as she avoided the mirror on the way, then she could do it. She crawled over to the suitcase and opened it. After a moment, she looked up at Queenie again. “Go.” She said it softly, no longer a command, instead just a request.

Queenie and Newt exchanged looks, and Queenie stood up again, smiling at Tina as she did. “I’m sorry we have to close the door,” Queenie said. She looked uncomfortable with it.

Tina shook her head. “I understand.”

The door shut slowly, and eventually the lock turned. Tina was alone again, but she knew they were coming back. Just this time, maybe it wasn’t so bad.

- 

Newt and Queenie had been sitting impatiently a couple of floors up, trying to wait an appropriate length of time for Tina to shower. 

At the time of Queenie’s early arrival and their brief trip to Tina’s apartment, Queenie hadn’t asked about Tina’s situation. Newt didn’t know how much detail Theseus had put in the message to her, but he assumed it was about the same as his own letter. In other words, next to nothing. 

Newt could tell that she had hoped that he or Tina herself would share the recent events, but Newt didn’t know where to start, and Tina didn’t want to at all, as they had just discovered. He presumed that Queenie had been digging around on her own instead, picking up pieces from people they had passed in the hallways and whatever she could understand in Newt’s mind.

Newt decided to ask something he had been wondering about. “Do you know why Tina’s mind is so fragile right now?” He was hoping that Queenie had at least been able to pick up on a clue when looking at Tina’s mind earlier. 

Queenie shook her head sadly. “I don’t know. It could be many things. The last few days would be enough to keep her weak.”

Newt sighed. How had it been so easy for Atlas to get in in the first place? Perhaps he would ask him when they eventually caught him. 

Newt felt movement in his front pocket. Of course, Pickett! With all the focus on Tina, the presence of his little friend had slipped his mind. “Do you want to go see Tina too?” he asked as he lifted Pickett dangling from his finger. 

Queenie giggled at the sight. She hadn’t seen him in a while either, and the little creature scurried over to her. 

“Hey there!” she said as she lifted Pickett with a smile. “Next time you come for dinner, you have got to bring this little one!” she said, addressing Newt.

Newt chuckled. Queenie let Pickett crawl around on her arm for a little while, but eventually Pickett jumped down and climbed back to Newt.

The two of them sat in silence again. Newt wondered how long it would be before they were able to find Atlas; he hoped it would be soon. He couldn’t bear to see Tina this way for much longer. So hopeless, so void of life…

“The Aurors know where he is?” Queenie asked curiously.

“Yes. I don’t know more,” Newt explained. His eyes grew stern. “You can not tell Tina, or talk about this in front of her.”

Queenie nodded in understanding.

Newt spoke up again. “Do you think we can head down again?”

“Yes, let’s,” Queenie said and walked down a winding hall back to the elevator.

Just as they arrived, they heard a knocking on the door. They had unintentionally timed it perfectly, and Queenie practically skipped to the door in excitement.

The door opened to reveal Tina sitting on the ground by the opening. She smiled.

Although she looked much better - clean, no longer covered in blood, and in a fresh set of clothes - her hair was still wet. Newt took a step back and swallowed, memories of the previous night rushing back to him. The scar on her neck also heavily contrasted with her pale skin. Tina’s smile faltered. “What is it?” she asked.

“Just… your hair.”

“Oh. I’m sorry,” she said and began to run her fingers through her hair, wringing it dry and trying to get it off her face. Of course she was blaming herself for this; her confidence in herself had never been high, but she somehow truly thought this was her fault.

“No, you haven’t done anything wrong. It just reminded me of last night. I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault,” she said quietly as she closed her eyes, composing herself. Queenie and Newt both sat down on the ground in front of her. She breathed out a deep breath and reopened her dark eyes. The beautiful salamander eyes glistened with tears. “Have your wand at the ready, Newt. The way Theseus did.”

“What?” The implication hadn’t quite clicked yet.

“And make it metal shackles. That would be more difficult to break.”

Newt’s heart sank. She was still worried about Atlas coming back. Queenie looked at the two of them sadly, having come to the same conclusion.

Newt didn’t move. “Please, Newt. I’ve tried to escape before. He might know the enchantment on the door.”

With a trembling hand, he removed his wand from this pocket and placed it beside him, such that if necessary, he could grab it instantly. He prayed that wouldn’t be the case.

“Thank you.” Tina shifted her attention to her sister. “How was the trip here?” she asked, trying to sound more cheery.

“Well, I just got real dizzy from that Portkey. But it’s much faster than by boat!”

“How’s Jacob? I don’t quite remember saying goodbye to him.”

“I’m so glad you reminded me! I brought you something from him. He said you liked it when you visited his bakery.”

From her bag, Queenie produced a piece of bread, beautifully shaped like a flower. Tina beamed at the sight. Queenie let it float over to her.

As she raised her arms, her sleeve slipped slightly, and Newt noticed that the bandages around her forearms were still dirty and were now also wet. “Can I change the bandages, Tina? The wounds need to heal.”

Tina placed the pastry beside her and raised her arms reluctantly, pulling up her sleeves as she did so. She revealed two sets of bandages, each with a thick oblong splotch of blood seeping through.

Instead of using magic immediately, Newt spoke first. “If I come in, I can heal the wounds fully.”

“No. You can’t do that.”

“Just for a moment, it’ll be quick.”

“I said no!”

Newt fell silent. Why hadn’t he thought of doing this the night before when she’d been returned to the cell?

He was frustrated, but he understood. He had seen what she could do when Atlas entered her mind, after all. He looked away from her as he conjured new bandages that replaced the old ones. Queenie gasped beside him, likely having gotten a glimpse of the wounds. Newt didn’t need a reminder, so he kept his eyes on the ground.

She didn’t thank him, and instead continued her conversation with Queenie. She took a small bite of the sweet bread. “Tell Jacob thanks from me. I wish he could’ve been here too.”

“Well, he wanted to join. But you know he can’t come back at all, not right now.”

Newt looked at her, puzzled. “Why not?”

“If MACUSA caught wind of it, they’d Obliviate him in a heartbeat,” Tina explained and took another bite.

“Oh,” was all Newt had to say to that. He kept forgetting the reason Queenie and Newt had moved to London in the first place. 

“He sends his love though,” Queenie continued, and shot her a small smile.

Tina nodded. 

At that moment, Pickett decided to crawl out of his pocket again and climbed up onto Newt’s shoulder. Newt turned to look at the little creature, and the movement must have caught Tina’s eye as her eyes lit up. “Pickett!” she said excitedly.

The bowtruckle began to hop down Newt’s clothes, wanting to make his way towards Tina, but she slid herself further into the room. Before Pickett managed to cross the barrier, Tina shook her head. “Stay with Newt, Pick. He’ll keep you safe.”

He walked back to Newt, his little head hanging low. 

Newt debated whether to ask the next question, but decided that he wanted an answer. “Why didn’t you say goodbye to me before you left London?”

Tina looked at him blankly. “Didn’t I? That’s odd.” Her eyes drifted off, as if she was pondering his question.

“Theseus said something happened in London. What was it?” Newt asked. He noticed Queenie stiffen beside him.

Tina sighed. “I don’t know. Atlas does.”

Queenie remained frozen, probably as confused as Newt.

Newt was about to speak again, but she spoke first. “Don’t make me try to remember. It just hurts.”

The last few days had been such a bizarre set of events. Everything had been fine when he’d visited Queenie and Jacob for dinner. Sure, it was odd that Tina had arrived so last-minute without telling him, but it had been a pleasant surprise.

Had the unknown events in London been some sort of emergency? And how hadn’t Queenie noticed anything was wrong? She was a Legilimens after all.

“Do you know anything, Queenie? She was staying with you, maybe you noticed something before she had her memory erased?”

“No, nothing out of the ordinary. You came home one day and seemed a bit dazed, but that was about it,” Queenie said to Tina hesitantly. “And then you headed home a few days after by boat.”

Tina sighed. She had clearly hoped for some type of answer, or even a hint of an explanation, but that hope had been in vain.

“I apparated back to London from the boat and ended up taking a Portkey.”

“Oh,” Queenie said. “That’s how you made it back in time for the raid.”

Tina looked at her, puzzled. “I didn’t tell you about the raid. Did Theseus write about it?” she asked, looking at both of them.

Newt shook his head, and Queenie hurriedly answered. “It’s just something I picked up on from one of the Aurors here. Lowell, maybe?”

An expression of guilt washed over Tina’s face again. Absent-mindedly, she looked down at the bandages on her arms as she briefly seemed to drift off into a memory.

It seemed like Queenie realised her mistake of mentioning Lowell and was about to apologise, but Newt rested a hand on her arm, signalling her not to. They both waited for Tina to come back to the present, and after a few seconds, she did. For a moment as she looked up at them, a flicker of grey passed over her eyes. Newt hoped it was merely a trick of the light, but his hand moved to his wand just in case.

Tina looked at him, confused. If she hadn’t sensed Atlas’ presence, perhaps it had just been his imagination. He removed his hand from the wand again. Queenie didn’t seem to have noticed anything either. Newt felt on edge, though.

Tina and Queenie drifted off into some conversation about a childhood memory. Queenie was likely trying to lighten the mood and bring some comfort to Tina, but Newt was concentrating solely on Tina’s eyes. They didn’t change again, not for the rest of the time Newt and Queenie stayed with Tina, but he remained wary of her.

Eventually, both Queenie and Newt could tell that Tina was growing tired.

“You look tired, Teenie. Get some rest, and maybe I could come by later for some dinner with you?”

Tina nodded. “Yeah. Sure.”

A strange hopelessness settled over her again. Newt wondered whether it was because she would be alone, or if there was some other reason. Tina answered that question in her next sentence.

“If he comes back, you have to ignore me. Keep the door shut.”

Newt swallowed. He had heard from Theseus that Atlas at times had appeared just to hurt her, just for the sake of it.

“I can’t use my Occlumency much longer, it’s exhausting. Go to another floor, Queenie, somewhere you can’t hear me. Please.”

Queenie looked at her, eyes wide. With a trembling lip, she nodded. “I’ll see you for dinner,” Queenie said softly.

Tina smiled. Queenie got up to leave, but Newt hesitated a moment longer. “I can stay here with you. You don’t have to be alone.”

“You don’t want to be here for this.” Beside the door, the guard nodded in agreement. He must have been around for some of the watches.

Newt looked at her, longing to remain, longing to hold her hand if things got bad. But he put himself in her shoes - had the roles been reversed, he would want the exact same, and she knew that too.

“You know, maybe he won’t show up. I’ll just get some sleep,” she tried to say cheerily, but her voice gave away that she had little faith in the statement.

Newt smiled at her, not wanting to say something that could ruin the awful moment even more. He stood up and turned to Queenie. Once again, Tina’s cell door slammed shut behind them.

“I think I will cook dinner myself. The food here at MACUSA isn’t too good.” Queenie paused, shaking her head. “I just need a distraction,” she admitted. 

Newt understood. He did too. At this point, all they could do was wait for the Aurors to carry out the arrest, but that wouldn’t be until the following day. He still needed to see to his creatures - not all of them were in London, after all.

Queenie took an elevator leading down, while Newt waited to take one up to the Auror offices where he had stored his case. As another elevator arrived to take him up, he discovered Theseus already was inside it. 

“We need to talk,” Theseus said.

Chapter Text

Queenie was conflicted. Back in London, she had hoped that sending Tina back to New York by boat would give her some time to recover from what she had gone through in Knockturn Alley, but somehow that had not worked. How Tina had figured out that the mission had been compromised, she did not know.

And now they all found themselves in MACUSA, with her sister locked up and the rest of them confused about how to continue searching for a way to free her from the curse. She had heard about Atlas before from Rosier and how dangerous he could be, but she hadn’t expected Tina to encounter him. America was a big country, and Tina's work was mainly focused on New York, after all.

From all the pieces she had gathered from different people, it seemed like the reason it was so easy for the curse to take hold was because of Tina’s unstable and broken mind. Queenie knew that she partly was responsible for it, but of course it had mainly been for Rosier’s sake. For the sake of their cause, right?

After seeing Tina, she had headed home to her old apartment that Tina now lived in alone, stopping for groceries on the way. It had grown dusty throughout her trip to London and her return to MACUSA, and she decided to start cleaning the house. She got their enchanted duster and mop and let them move around, carrying out their designated tasks. 

Queenie got to work in the kitchen, taking her time by doing most tasks manually. She wanted to keep her mind off everything, and the cooking helped keep her calm.

Eventually, she was ready to head out again. She carefully packaged the dinner in a basket along with some cutlery and plates from their kitchen -  perhaps it would make Tina feel more at home.

When she returned to MACUSA, she did as Tina had instructed and went to a different floor than the one she was being kept on. She looked for Newt again and found him with a nervous look on his face.

She sat beside him and placed a calm hand on his arm. “What is it?” She could easily have read his mind at this point; his emotions were strong which always made it clearer, but she wanted to hear it from him instead.

“Theseus told me something. I can’t tell you, and please don’t read my mind. I just have to do something tomorrow that I’m scared to do.”

Queenie had hoped he would share, but decided she needed to know, especially since it was probably about Tina. She subtly peered into his mind and found what she was looking for.

They had finally found Atlas and his unnamed companion. They knew exactly where he was, though Newt didn’t seem to know where that was. All she knew is that Theseus had asked him to cause a distraction so they could ambush him. And that distraction was Tina.

“Alright, Newt, I won’t,” she lied. “I’m sure it will be alright, whatever it is. You’re a brave man.”

Newt didn’t respond, not believing her. It seemed he didn’t have high hopes for the plan and for Tina’s safety.

She needed time to think. “I’m going to find the ladies’ room, I’ll be back in a moment!” she said to Newt as she left the room. 

Queenie now had knowledge that she did not know what to do with. They knew where Atlas was, and perhaps if she found Theseus or another Auror, she could find out exactly where it was he was hiding away. She could warn them - Atlas was very valuable to Grindelwald after all.

Then again, Atlas had no reason to curse Tina back during the failed raid. At this point, he was simply using her as a puppet, torturing her just for the sake of it. He had carried out terrible acts through her, while she could only look on, unable to control herself. Sure, he could probably get some information out of her at times by spying on those around her, but now that they were all aware of their link, they were cautious.

If they caught him, they could force him to lift the spell and Tina could be free again. But if he was captured, she also ran the risk of him leaking information about what had happened in London. She could be revealed as a traitor.

On the other hand, she doubted he would betray her. Most people didn’t know she was a natural Legilimens, so it was easy for her to collect information for Grindelwald and his organisation. No, there would be no reason for him to share his knowledge of the events in London. It would only harm the cause.

She paced back and forth in the hallway as all these thoughts and arguments collided with each other. She didn’t know what to do. In a few hours, it would be too late to send a warning.

Queenie realised she had been gone a while. Just in case Newt was wondering where she was, she headed back to the office he was sitting in. When she returned, he seemed distracted - he probably hadn’t noticed that she had been gone unusually long.

The two of them sat with difficult decisions to make, though only one of them was known to the both of them. Newt was the one who had seen what Atlas could do, thus she could not help him decide whether he should be the one to distract Tina tomorrow. And Newt certainly couldn’t help her decide what to do.

Throughout the rest of the afternoon, Newt and Queenie had gone into his case to feed and care for his creatures, all while trying to maintain a somewhat positive conversation. The topic often seemed to drift back to Tina, though they avoided talking about the last few days.

She was pleased to see the different creatures again. She had visited them sometimes back in London, but it had been a while since she had seen Dougal. He didn’t seem as comfortable around her as he had the first time they had met each other in New York. He was a sensitive creature - perhaps he had picked up on her changed allyship. The mooncalves were a joy as always to greet.

Even though Tina wasn’t able to visit the creatures at the moment, Queenie knew she would love to hear about them. She would always listen so intently when Newt spoke about them, so she would probably be glad to hear from Queenie too.

Evening rolled around, and they finally felt it was appropriate to return to Tina with some dinner. As they approached the door, they saw that the guard was sitting beside the bolted door, white as a sheet.

“Is Tina alright?” Queenie inquired panickedly.

The guard nodded but avoided eye contact. “I couldn’t cast a pain diminishing spell, she wouldn’t let me open the door.”

Queenie and Newt looked at each other, both understanding. She was scared of escaping and hurting others, and so she had made sure she was alone.

“Can we open the door now?” Newt asked.

The guard nodded again. “She has been quiet for a while now. When you left… she tried to remain silent at first, but she was so tired… she wouldn’t stop screaming.” He stood up again to open the door. “I just need a short break. Keep a wand on her.” His voice was shaky and his head hung low as he knocked on the door. “Goldstein. Your sister and Scamander are back. I’m going to open the door now.”

After waiting a few seconds and receiving no response, he swung the door open and walked away, not wanting to be anywhere near that door anymore. When Queenie looked into his mind, she just heard faint echoes of Tina begging Atlas to stop. At that moment, Queenie made her decision. She would not interfere with Atlas’ arrest. He deserved to be punished for hurting her sister, and she desperately wanted the curse lifted.

The sight that greeted them inside the room was a miserable one. Tina sat in the middle of the floor, legs crossed, staring blankly at the door. She looked like she was in a dream, and Queenie hoped it was a good one. It didn’t seem like she had properly noticed that Newt and Queenie had arrived. She had dark circles underneath her eyes as well as a drying nosebleed; it was nothing compared to how she had looked earlier, drenched in blood, but the hopelessness was still there. Queenie wished she could sit beside her in a deep embrace, but she knew it wasn’t possible. Maybe she also didn’t deserve it. Maybe she was partially responsible for Tina’s situation.

No. What had happened in London was necessary. What had happened here at the raid had been done to her without reason. Atlas was to blame, not her.

“Tina,” Newt said. It was as if something clicked in Tina, and she snapped back to reality. She tried to produce a smile, but it faltered quickly.

Queenie noticed that Tina wasn’t using Occlumency. She heard the panicked thoughts rushing through her head and how much she wanted to send the two of them away, but also how much she longed for company. The loneliness seemed to outweigh the fear of Atlas, and she remained quiet on that front.

“Hi.” She shifted her attention to Queenie and looked at her sadly. “Please don’t read my mind.” Her voice was hoarse.

“Your shield is down?” Newt asked.

Tina nodded. “It’s too much. I tried,” she said, lifting her finger to show the blood on her lip from her nosebleed. It reminded Queenie of when she had forced herself into Tina’s mind, and how each push had hurt her more and more. She felt a pang of guilt but pushed it away. She couldn’t think about this now.

“I’ll do my best, Teenie,” Queenie said, addressing her previous comment.

“Are you alright?” Newt asked.

“Atlas was here.” That was enough to answer the question, and neither of them knew how to respond. Queenie changed subjects.

“I brought some dinner. Homemade, just like when I lived here! I just wish we could have a table to eat at, but this will have to do!”

Queenie could tell that Tina wasn’t very hungry, but Tina also seemed to know that she had to eat to keep her strength up. As Queenie sat down, Tina scooted forward and looked up at Newt, who hadn’t moved yet. “Join us,” she said.

As Tina was tilting her head up to look at Newt, the scar on her neck became glaringly obvious again, but thankfully Tina’s head followed Newt as he sat down, and the scar became more hidden again. Queenie imagined how Tina must have looked, with blood pouring, choking, close to dying in Theseus’ arms…

Tina noticed that Queenie’s eyes had widened from the sight of her neck and quickly lifted her hand to cover it. Queenie shifted her attention away, trying to play it off by starting to unpack the food and filling a glass with water for Tina. She focused on the task as intensely as she could, but heard Tina speak. “Keep your wand out, Newt. Like earlier.”

After preparing three plates, Queenie let Tina’s dinner and water float through the barrier, along with a knife and fork. Tina gulped down the water greedily, and noticed the dishes.

“Oh, they’re from home.” She inspected the fork. “Thank you. It’s lovely.”

“I thought a bit of home would be nice.”

The side of Tina’s mouth twitched into a tiny smile. “It is.”

As they began chewing on their food, the guard eventually returned. He looked like he had regained some colour, and his eyes had turned softer and less panicked.

“Anton! Would you like something to eat too?” Queenie asked.

“How do you know my name?” he asked, taken aback.

“We met briefly when I still worked here. I get it that you don’t remember, it’s a while ago,” she lied. It had been much too easy to read the panicked thoughts rushing out of his mind earlier, and his name just happened to flow out with the rest.

“Oh,” he said. “Yes please.” Anton probably hadn’t eaten in a while, considering he’d been keeping watch.

Queenie noticed Tina looking at him. “I’m sorry. About before.”

Anton swallowed. “I’m just glad you’re alright.”

Queenie could see how terrified he had been. He had been just as scared the other day Tina had been brought to the cell, having to listen to her screaming and begging, unable to help. He had tried to remain calm and composed that first day, but it was taking a toll on him. He was still young; he didn’t deserve to be exposed to all this. No one did.

Queenie handed him a plate and fork. He walked a bit further away with his food, wanting to give them privacy. Tina was considering whether she should give the responsibility of keeping a wand pointed at her to him, but she decided against it–the man was still looking away in shame.

Beside her, she sensed that Newt desperately wanted to tell Tina about what would happen the following day, how much he already wanted to apologise for what he had to do. Queenie wondered whether Tina would see it as a betrayal, just as how she had seen Queenie’s actions as a betrayal. Tina had not understood the intent behind it, how it had helped the cause that Queenie so desperately had hoped her sister would join. What would hurt more–being hurt by a sister or an unspoken love?

But he kept his mouth shut. It was killing him to do so, but he managed.

Queenie brought up that she had visited Newt’s creatures earlier. Tina was envious, but also happy to hear about them once again. Even Anton listened in curiously from afar. 

They quickly ran out of topics to discuss. Most things that they could think of were things Tina couldn’t know.

There was something else Tina wanted to ask, but she was considering whether she should bring it up or not. She decided to give it a try, even if she might not get an answer; she was that desperate.

“Have you found out what Grindelwald knows?”

At the mention of Grindelwald, a sudden second presence appeared in Tina’s mind.

“I want to know. I need to know if I’m a traitor,” Tina said, still herself.

Before either Queenie or Tina could mention that Atlas was back, she blinked and her eyes opened, grey. She dropped her plate and it shattered as it hit the ground, both Tina and her connection to home gone.

“Goldstein. Or, Queenie. Nice to finally make your acquaintance. I’ve heard much about you,” Tina spoke with a sly smile. To Newt it would simply sound as if Atlas was referring to Tina’s memories, but Queenie knew that it was more than that. After all, all the information that had been spread across Grindelwald’s locations and his followers had come from her.

Newt raised his wand regretfully, ready to bind Tina again should the necessity arise. 

“A natural Legilimens. I’m almost jealous,” Tina said. No, Atlas said. It was strange to have to differentiate between the two.

Queenie looked deep into Tina’s eyes, the irises grey and cloudy, as if in the centre of a thunderstorm. She focussed, trying to find Atlas’ entire mind.

Tina chuckled. “You won’t be able to find my thoughts anywhere, Queenie, just as I am unable to cast my spell through Tina’s body.”

“Please. Stop tormenting Tina. She’s so hurt,” Queenie whispered.

“Tormenting her? She’s doing that to herself too, don’t you worry.”

Queenie could feel the despair that the locked-in Tina was feeling. Bevere’s death was running through her mind on repeat.

“Oh, of course you can hear what Tina’s thinking right now. Her desperate need for control always makes this so much more fun.”

From within the depths of Tina’s mind, Queenie could hear the frantic attempts at pushing Atlas out and away.

Atlas continued. “She is getting stronger, I’ll give her that. If only her mind hadn’t been so… crushed when I met her, Tina would probably have been perfectly safe,” Tina’s voice said. Her eyes narrowed at Queenie, indicating that he knew exactly what had occurred in London. How much had Vinda shared with him?

“Oh, Tina?” she said melodically. “I know you’re listening. And to answer your question–you are a traitor. Most definitely. You shared most of what you know willingly. Actually, you shared everything.” She grinned cruelly, and Tina, who was stuck in her mind, gave up fighting. What he said was technically true– she had taken the spell willingly, but nothing that had followed was what Tina had wanted.

Newt had had enough. “Leave Tina alone, right now. We will lock this door on you, Atlas, so you can stop your ridiculous taunts.”

Tina’s smile turned into an exaggerated, sarcastic frown. “What a horrifying threat. Truly.” She paused, turning to Queenie. “It’s been great to meet you, Queenie. I hope I’ll have the pleasure of meeting you in person one day.”

With another blink, he was gone again. Had that last statement been an invitation? To any of the others present, it must have sounded like a threat, but he might actually have been serious.

Newt slowly lowered his wand again when a scared and tired doe-eyed Tina looked at him. “Why did he leave so easily?” Newt asked, confused.

Tina shrugged. “He’s been here a lot of the afternoon, he’s probably just bored of me for today.” Tina glanced at Anton, who nodded in confirmation.

“You know I couldn’t have answered you anyway, Tina. You know that,” Newt said sadly. “What if he had hurt you again?”

Tina sighed. “I’m sorry, it’s my own fault he returned. I just want answers; I can’t be kept in the dark anymore, but I feel so… hollow. Without purpose. I want to be free of this, and there’s nothing I can do besides trying to keep him out, and still failing at that.” Tina looked away. “It’s all useless, Newt.”

Glancing down at her plate, she lifted her hands warily. Newt flinched, his hand moving to his wand once again. Tina ignored him and brought her hands together quickly. The shattered pieces of porcelain that lay spread across the floor were ripped together by an invisible force,  creating a small pile in front of Tina’s crossed legs. “Reparo.” 

Queenie had never seen Tina use wandless magic like this before, and the broken plate began to slowly mold together as the puzzle pieces found each other. The movements of the pieces were unstable and uncertain, but it worked. It was a fascinating sight. Queenie felt Tina’s small hit of pride in herself, and the happiness that her magic was being used for good. Queenie smiled.

Newt was looking on in wonder too. Tina giggled softly. “I’m getting better at the wandless stuff,” she said with a smile. The plate wasn’t perfectly intact–the cracks were visible and dark–but it was a plate again nonetheless. Not the greatest success, but much more than she would have been capable of just a week ago.

Queenie had seen in the minds of the others how much power Tina had used while Atlas was in control. She hadn’t realised that her sister was that strong of a witch; what she had seen was beautiful and dangerous at the same time. Tina also hadn’t been aware of her raw power until it was unleashed by Atlas, and Queenie could tell that it both fascinated and frightened her.

Tina’s thought of her developing wandless magic led to a whirlwind of thoughts, eventually ending with her smile faltering as she remembered the things that had been done by her using wandless magic. She looked at her hands in disgust–the unintentional weapons that they were. It hadn’t truly been Tina doing it, but she had made it possible.

Tina slid the plate across the ground through the barrier of the door. She plastered on a fake smile again, but her hands trembled as her thoughts continued to spiral.

Newt noticed too and raised his hand toward the barrier, inviting Tina to reach out as well. Tina leaned backwards at first, eyes flickering around, worried. “I can’t,” she said, looking deep into his eyes.

Queenie also sensed Anton returning to high-alert as he made his way back to the group in the doorway, handing his plate back to Queenie, clutching his wand in his other hand.

“Just for a moment.”

Tina closed her eyes, focussing intensely. Queenie suddenly couldn’t peer into her mind anymore–she had raised her shield again. It was stronger, but she could tell it was taking all her energy. “Her shield is strong, he can’t get in for now,” Queenie informed Anton and Newt.

Tina lifted her hand and pushed it against the barrier. Newt’s hand found hers, and as she spread her fingers, Newt intertwined his fingers with hers. It reminded them that only Tina was truly stuck, and that the rest of them, no matter how much empathy they had for her, could never understand what it felt like to be caged this way, unable to control herself and existing in a constant state of fear.

Tina looked at Newt longingly as she inspected their hands. She began to tear up, but her mouth twitched into a small, lopsided smile. It was the first physical interaction she’d had with someone that wasn’t tied to Atlas and pain in a while, that much Queenie could tell from her face.

They stayed frozen that way, in a moment of unspoken love, until Tina finally wrestled her hand free from Newt’s grip. Their confusion at her action disappeared when she raised her hand to her nose, noticing a thin trickle of blood as she wiped her upper lip.

Tina’s eyes grew glossy and unfocussed as her shield dropped in an instant–that brief moment of guaranteed freedom from Atlas had cost her too much energy. “I need to-”

The sentence was cut off and she tipped sideways, falling to the ground. An overwhelming feeling of shame washed from Newt’s mind into Queenie’s as he was unable to suppress his emotion. He twisted toward Queeenie. “I’m sorry, I just wanted to hold your hand,” he whispered. “I’m sorry.”

Newt looked around, noticing that no Aurors were present. He stood up and looked at Anton. “I’m going to go in.” It wasn’t a question, it was a determined statement, despite his hushed and shaky voice. Anton considered this, knowing his orders, but his mind told her that he had begun to doubt those orders after hearing Tina subjected to merciless torture for hours. He wanted her to have some comfort. 

Anton nodded. “You can go in if you bind her. Don’t stay long, and get the hell out if she shows any signs of possession,” he instructed.

Newt raised his wand regretfully at Tina, and thick shackles wrapped themselves around her arms. The vision of Tina tied up this way nauseated Queenie–but then again, hadn’t she done the same?

He stepped in, gently lifting Tina onto the bed with careful movements of his wand. She landed on her side such that she didn’t crush her arms beneath her. Newt crouched down beside her, bringing his calloused hand to her cheek, caressing her dry skin softly.

Anton kept his wand pointed at Tina beside her, and while she wanted to give Newt and Tina some privacy, she couldn’t help but hear Newt’s thoughts that transformed into soft whispers to Tina.

He whispered words of comfort and a stream of apologies to Tina. He tried to run his fingers through her hair, knotted from her fight against the inescapable pain prior to their visit for dinner. He lifted his wand, combing her hair with a silent spell. Newt wanted to take care of her, and that main thought continued to echo through Queenie’s mind.

For a moment, Tina’s eyelids fluttered, and Newt moved away cautiously. They all waited in anticipation of what her eyes would reveal, praying for the dark brown.

Her eyes opened slightly and she gasped softly, surprised and worried that Newt was in the room. Queenie felt Tina’s fear, but it was replaced by a hazy sense of wonder. She believed she was in a dream.

Newt returned to her side, placing a hand on her face again. There they sat, simply looking into each other’s eyes for several minutes, neither of them thinking about anything in particular. Tina opened her mouth as if to speak, but nothing came out. Newt smiled at her as if in understanding, but the unspoken mystery remained in the air.

Eventually her eyes began to drift shut, and Newt stood up, glancing at her just a bit longer before turning to the door, eyes glistening with tears. Once he crossed the barrier, the shackles disappeared and Tina rolled onto her back, asleep.

Anton carefully shut the door, trying to make little noise so as not to disturb her. “She looks peaceful,” he said. He sounded relieved.

Newt nodded. He looked between Anton and Queenie. “We should go,” he said to her, though he seemed worried about leaving the guard behind.

As he walked toward the elevator with his head hanging low, Queenie gave Anton an encouraging smile while she collected the dishes and food from dinner into her basket. She followed Newt quickly, knowing there was something important for her to mention.

“I think Grindelwald’s name acts as a trigger for Atlas. That’s why he knew he should appear at that exact moment just now,” Queenie whispered as the doors closed. It would be helpful information for creating a distraction the following day, but Queenie kept that to herself. After all, she had told him she wouldn’t read his mind.

Newt considered this for a moment and then nodded in agreement. “I think you’re right.” He paused. “What did she do to deserve this, Queenie?” he said, his voice shaking again.

Queenie placed a hand on his shoulder. “Nothing, Newt. Nobody deserves this.”

Chapter Text

Newt stood by the cell door once again, rubbing his hands anxiously. Theseus stood beside him, back against the wall, ready to hide his presence from Tina. Theseus wasn’t allowed to participate in the arrest given that he wasn’t an American Auror, but he was still permitted to work within MACUSA itself, and he had immediately volunteered to help Newt.

Newt had talked to Theseus the day before, wondering why Theseus hadn’t joined their visit at Tina’s cell. Theseus had avoided the question, but Newt suspected he was scared to look her in the eyes after the last few days. He had finally had a day to process everything that had happened, and he had not taken it well. Even though Theseus was difficult to read, he looked ashamed. Close to hopeless, even– exactly what he had been seeing in Tina’s eyes the last few days.

Now, he was staring away blankly, his head tilted back against the wall. Newt didn’t know what to do to help him, and had just remained quiet while Theseus had poured his heart out to him earlier, no longer able to push away the emotions. Theseus’ eyes were still red from when he had cried silently into Newt’s shoulder in a tight embrace.

It was midday, and so Newt stood with two bowls of soup at the door under the guise of simply having a meal together. As the creaking door was pulled open by a guard, Tina looked up from the book she was reading on the bed and smiled. “Hi Newt.”

She dropped the book beside the pillow, and he recognised the cover. The cover he had seen many times before by now: ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.’

Tina seemed happier. Perhaps not hopeful, but somehow less hopeless.

“I’ve brought some soup. I thought maybe you would want to have some lunch together,” Newt said, trying to remain as neutral as possible. He couldn’t give anything away, but in reality, he was terrified that Tina would see what was coming next as a betrayal.

Tina nodded and joined him in the doorway, reaching her hand out for the bowl. It seemed she had briefly forgotten about the barrier, because she bumped her hand into it and her eye twitched as she remembered. She took a step back and let Newt send it through instead.

“Thanks, Newt.” She leaned her shoulder against the doorframe and began to sip her soup. “Wow. This is good.”

“I heard from some of the Aurors that soup is one of the few things the kitchen here does well,” Newt said with a chuckle. The guard beside him nodded in agreement. “How have you been?”

Tina shrugged. “I slept alright, for once.” She left it at that.

Newt brought a spoonful of soup to his lips. “Oh, it is good!” Tina chuckled in response.

Out of the corner of his eye, Newt saw Theseus glance at his watch nervously. Everything had to happen at the exact correct moment–each Auror’s watch had been matched down to the second. 

Neither of them knew what to say, so they continued to sip their soup in silence. Any safe topics had been discussed fully over the last visits, and nothing new had happened since the evening before. Well, nothing that Tina could be made aware of.

After eating every drop of soup in the bowl, she placed it on the ground and pushed it through the barrier as far as she could. Newt placed both bowls against the wall, out of the way.

“How’s Pickett?” Tina inquired. 

In response, the little green creature peeked out of Newt’s coat pocket. Tina smiled. “Hi!”

Just as Tina was about to ask something again, he heard voices coming from down the hall. 

Two Aurors appeared, deep in conversation with each other. 

“I mean, so far we’ve gotten Thorn to speak, he seemed to know a little bit about Grindelwald’s plans in the United States. Lewis might be close to breaking,” said one of them.

“So the mission on the West Coast might actually work! Alright, pass the information on to Crawford and he can-”

“No!” Tina shouted, raw desperation in her voice, trying to interrupt the conversation as quickly as possible. She covered her ears and began to sink to her knees. “Don’t talk! Don’t say anything!”

The Aurors looked at each other and stopped walking, knowing that the trick had worked, but Tina didn’t see. Her eyes were clenched shut as she focused everything she had on trying to keep Atlas out. “No, no, no, no, no…” she kept repeating to herself, her hands forming fists as she gripped her hair tightly. Newt crouched down beside, wanting to be near her, needing to be near her.

Tina’s entire body spasmed out of nowhere, as if she was fighting some invisible force. Newt knew she probably was. “Tina, I’m right here. I’m right here.” 

“I don’t want him here. My shield was up, I swear. Please, Newt,” she begged, even though they both knew that there was nothing he could do. She closed her eyes, grimacing from the concentration. “Help me, please,” she whispered.

Tina curled in on herself, her upper body close to the floor as if in prayer. Her chest heaved and Newt heard her stifle a sob. She released her hair and pressed her palms against the floor, fighting. Tina groaned as her hands started to slide forward, toward Newt.

Toward the barrier.

Newt noticed too late, and as Tina’s hands collided with the invisible wall, and an oily sheen rippled throughout the doorway as the enchantment fell.

She immediately sat up, the streaks from her tears contrasting with the cruel glint in the grey eyes that seemed to stare directly into his soul. She thrust her arms forward and Newt felt himself slide rapidly across the ground before his back collided with a solid stone wall. It knocked the air out of his lungs and he coughed, trying to regain his breath. His ribs ached from the collision, as did his head. He must have hit the wall too.

He scrambled to get up, but a sharp pain in his side stopped him and he collapsed again. He guessed a rib or two were broken.

After getting up, groaning as he did so, Newt finally was able to process the scene in front of him again. 

Before him, he saw Tina standing outside her room, no, her cell, back to the doorway. Theseus stood frozen, undetected by Tina thus far. The other two Aurors, however, were not faring well. 

Tina had somehow managed to get ahold of one of their wands, probably using the element of surprise. The guard was on the ground, unconscious. One Auror was pinned to the ground, unable to move beside thrashing his limbs. The other Auror was against the wall, half a metre above the ground. Tina was pointing the wand directly at the man.

None of them had expected her to break through the barrier. All they wanted was to capture Atlas’ attention. The fake information should have been enough just to capture his curiosity, but he clearly wanted to know more.

“What’s the West Coast mission?” Tina demanded. The Auror shook his head, refusing to answer. “Tell me.” Again, no response. She lifted the wand, ready to cast a spell, when Newt shouted from across the hall.

“Tina! Stop this!” Newt realised his mistake. “Atlas!”

Tina turned to face him, grinning. Her eyes, despite being grey, looked sad. “Are we finally becoming the same to you, Scamander?” Atlas hissed with Tina’s voice.

“No, I didn’t mean– Tina, I’m sorry,” he said desperately. He knew she couldn’t answer right now, but he needed her to know.

Tina flicked the wand she was holding at him, and the room lit up with a burst of white light.

Newt gasped from the sudden pain that began to course through his body. Jolts of electricity made his muscles twitch uncontrollably and he fell to the floor, writhing from the bursts of burning pain from the bolts that crackled along his body. He couldn’t scream– his throat wouldn’t let him.

With all his energy, he turned his head to look at his brother. Theseus was about to move to apprehend Tina, but Newt shook his head weakly. It might have looked like a twitch, but Theseus seemed to understand and took a silent step back again. They needed to keep Atlas occupied, even if it meant Newt would have to suffer for it. By locking Tina up again, they risked Atlas leaving in an instant, unable to collect the information he was searching for, no longer distracted for the planned arrest.

Tina laughed loudly. “You should hear her right now. She’s screaming,” Tina said.

It was breaking Newt’s heart. Tina didn’t want to hurt him, and he didn’t want to hurt her, and yet they were in a situation where both were necessary. Another violent twitch made his head snap back, and he couldn’t see any of the four Aurors anymore. He needed to know what was going on, and he eventually broke. “Stop. Please,” he murmured almost inaudibly, his voice not cooperating.

Surprisingly, the pain diminished and turned into a strange tingle instead. He tried to push himself up, but the electricity flared up again, the neurons in his body firing wildly as the tingle turned into what felt like flames. Newt collapsed again, panting as he looked at Tina.

“If you move, that will happen again. Stay put.” Tina turned her attention back to the Auror on the wall. “The West Coast. Speak.”

“No,” the man stated plainly. Tina’s head twitched in annoyance and she raised her free hand too, forming a fist.

The Auror lifted his hands to his neck, trying to fight off an invisible force. His face turned red and his legs kicked as he struggled to breathe. “I will snap your neck without hesitation. Answer me.”

She loosened her grip and the Auror breathed in carefully, avoiding too big of a gulp of air. “Raid,” he croaked. “In a week.”

No one made a move to stop him talking. It was false information, so it didn’t matter that the Auror seemed to be breaking under pressure.

“Where?” Tina demanded.

“Your North-Western base.” The knowledge of the base was nothing new to the Aurors, that much Newt knew. They knew it existed, but knew nothing about the location or who was staying there. It was a total shot in the dark, but it worked.

Tina sighed in annoyance. “I know you don’t know where it is. Tina didn’t know, so you can’t have known either.”

“We have prisoners, Atlas. They talk.”

“That idiot Thorn!” Tina huffed. In anger, she began to clench her fist again, and the Auror began to choke.

“Stop! He told you what you wanted to know!” the Auror on the ground shouted. Tina glared at him.

“Oh, I know you all have more information than Tina here. Isolation really does change the way I have to get my answers.” She brought the wand down on him and he thrashed in pain, his wrists still pinned to the floor.

Theseus had deemed this all enough of a threat to everyone’s safety. Atlas was furious– there was no way they were going to be able to calm him down or convince him to stop, not without risking the murder of one of Tina’s colleagues. Theseus snapped out of his strange daze, stepped out toward her and grabbed her arms, ripping them behind her back. The wand she had managed to grab fell to the floor. She tried to wrangle herself free, but her muscles were weak from the last days. Her magic, however, was strong.

In the moment of distraction, the two Aurors had been released from the spells that had held them firmly in place. One Auror had fallen to the ground against the wall and was trying to catch his breath as he coughed, while the other had gotten up and was marching toward Tina. Newt, too, was safe– the strange feeling of static covering his body had faded away, and he began to crawl forward.

Strangely, Tina smiled. Newt saw her fingers twitch, and Theseus collapsed to the ground, frozen. He had been Petrified, unable to move, unable to speak, unable to control himself. And that was nowhere near what Tina was experiencing. Theseus’ eyes filled with fear as Tina turned toward him and crouched beside him.

Newt tried to crawl faster, but his muscles ached from the electricity that had roared through his body, and his ribs sent sharp pangs of reminders each time he moved his arm too quickly. The other Auror was trying to sneak up on her, wand in hand. He wasn’t careful enough.

Tina snatched the wand from the ground and twisted her arm toward the man like a viper attacking its prey. He went flying back and hit the ground hard, his head lolling to the side. It looked like quite a heavy blow as a wound on the back of his head started bleeding, and the man remained unmoving, unconscious from the impact. Thankfully, not dead. Newt’s mind briefly flashed back to Bevere’s limp body after Tina’s magic had thrown him across the room.

Tina turned her attention back to Theseus, and she placed a hand on his cheek. “Scamander. I see your shame kept you hidden. How often do you think about how you could have helped Tina, and realise that it’s simply your fault?” Theseus glared at her, tears forming in his eyes.

“Tina! Push him out! Fight him!” Newt shouted, still too far away to interfere.

Tina kept her attention on Theseus but spoke to Newt again. “Oh, she is. It’s just not working,” she said, laughing. “Scamander, you really should have known that my friends were in London. I see the Auror office at the Ministry isn’t quite as perceptive as they like to think they are,” Tina said to Theseus. Newt saw a combination of shame and anger in his brother’s eyes.

“You and your kind have been quite an inconvenience, both in Europe and here in the United States. Maybe I should stop using Tina here for information. Maybe I should turn her into an exterminator.” Newt shivered. He knew that Atlas was capable of it, based on just the last couple of minutes. Atlas was holding back right now, as if he was doubtful of which path he should take. “Maybe I’ll start with your brother. He’s not an Auror, but it would break Tina. Snap her like a twig. She’d be a complete puppet.”

The anger in Theseus’ eyes was replaced by terror. Newt knew Theseus was a lonely man, especially after the loss of Leta, and although they may not have had the closest relationship, Newt’s death would destroy him too. All pieces in the game would begin to topple.

Tina patted Theseus’ cheek and stood up, turning to Newt with a grin. Her wand was raised, and from the ground, Newt lifted his to match hers. 

“No!” the remaining Auror shouted as a bolt of green crackled through the air. It collided with a ray of orange from Newt’s wand and sparks flew as the two spells battled one another.

Tina looked like she was entertained, as if this was simply a show for her. He supposed it was just a show for Atlas, simply through the eyes of a fighter. “Give up, Scamander,” Tina said, her voice sounding mildly annoyed. It looked as if an idea appeared in her mind, and her eyes shifted to a soft expression. “Newt,” she whispered softly, almost as if she was herself again, had it not been for the hollow, grey eyes. “Just give up, for me. Please.”

For a moment, Newt was taken aback. It sounded like her, the words were coming from her mouth. In his moment of distraction, the bright green light came closer to him, and he placed both his hands on his wand, pushing back with all his strength. The burst of orange grew, and Tina looked almost impressed. She moved her wand and ducked, ending the connection between the two of them as Newt’s spell hit the wall behind her.

“You put up a good fight. Maybe I should just kill Theseus instead. It’s just a shame, he’s so helpless, just on the ground like this. Hopeless too; you’ve seen it in his eyes too. Maybe I’ll put him out of his misery,” Tina said with a shrug. Her nose had started to bleed heavily. Tina was fighting brutally to get her own body back.

As she had been speaking, Newt pointed his wand at Theseus and silently lifted the Petrification. Theseus was now laying on the ground, free, but unable to stand up, his muscles still too rigid. 

“Atlas. This is pointless,” Theseus said.

Tina’s gaze flickered between the two brothers, figuring out what Newt had done. Without warning, she spoke a spell. One Newt never thought he would hear from Tina.

“Crucio.”

At first, sounds around him were blurry from the shock. How could Tina do this? No, it was Atlas, of course it was Atlas. But it was Tina’s voice that had uttered the unforgivable curse.

Finally, the sound he had dreaded to hear broke through his confusion. Theseus screamed from the ground, his back arching as he twisted from the raw agony. His legs kicked in vain as he scrambled to get away from Tina, but he made no progress. Tina looked at him gleefully, seemingly forgetting the others present in the room. Newt saw tears leaking from Theseus’ eyes, and he saw what he thought was his unbreakable brother, breaking.

Newt pushed himself up, and without hesitation, disarmed Tina. Thick shackles snapped around her wrists as chains wrapped themselves around her arms behind her back. Theseus fell silent, and Newt breathed out a sigh of relief.

“You think you can hold me?” Tina asked. Those exact words brought his mind to the painful memory of the subway, almost two years ago by now. It was the place where his and Tina’s allyship truly had blossomed.

Newt swallowed. “We will do what we have to do. You will not get away with this, Atlas.”

Tina chuckled. “I believe I–”

Before she could finish her sentence, Tina went completely limp and crashed to the ground. Newt looked around at the others. “Who knocked her out?” They both shook their heads.

“They must have captured Atlas,” Theseus said, his body trembling slightly from the aftereffects of the curse.

Newt hurried to her side. “Tina?” he whispered, gently caressing her cheek as he lifted her head into his lap. Her breaths were shallow and shaky, and her eyes flickered wildly beneath her eyelids. “Tina?” he repeated. He still heard no answer.

A drop of water appeared on her face, and Newt realised he was crying. He wiped his eyes as he looked to Theseus, unsure of what to do.

Theseus had managed to wake the guard again, who immediately began casting charms at the door again, this time with a different enchantment. Theseus looked dazed again, but snapped back to reality when Newt called his name.

“What do we do now?”

“I don’t know,” Theseus answered.

“How do you now know? You’re the Auror, you’re supposed to have the answers.”

Theseus sighed and leaned back against the wall, thinking. “We need to see what state Atlas is in. Maybe knocking him unconscious while in Tina’s mind will keep her unconscious too.”

Newt looked down at her again. He was surprised to find her eyes open. They were back to normal again– almost. There was a strange shimmer of grey, almost as if the connection was lingering. Newt waved his hand in front of her face and her eyelids fluttered. “No, she’s awake again, but barely.”

Tina’s unfocused eyes found Newt’s and her shoulder twitched as if she were trying to get away from him.

“Kill me.” It was barely audible, but the words stung. It had been her instruction to every Auror present during the ceremony, the exact instruction she had given to Lowell. And now it was purely for Newt.

He shook his head. Tina’s lip quivered and she looked to the ceiling, away from Newt. Her eyes lost their focus again as she stared at nothing. Her lips parted as if she was about to speak, but she seemed to drift away. “Tina?” She didn’t react. “Tina?”

Had he done this to her? Had their plan to distract Atlas done this? His mind spiralled as he remained on the floor with her until Theseus eventually broke the silence.

“We can’t keep her out here. It’s not safe.”

“It’s not safe for her anywhere, Theseus!”

“I know that. I mean that it’s not safe for us.” Theseus looked ashamed to say it.

“She’s tied up, she can’t hurt us,” Newt said, his voice shaking. “I tied her up.” He sounded ashamed, and he was.

“You can’t let her wake up to find her arms shackled together, Newt. She already feels caged, stuck in that room all day. Don’t make it worse.”

He pushed his finger against her neck, looking for her heartbeat. It was weak, barely detectable, but it was there.

Newt sniffled, trying to stop himself crying. He leaned over Tina, failing to make eye contact as she continued to stare blankly. “I’m going to bring you back to your bed, alright? I’ll be right outside until you wake up.” He hesitated. “Until you wake up properly.”

“I will get someone to come see to your ribs,” Theseus said. 

“Why?”

“You wince every time you move, I don’t know if you’ve noticed,” he said sternly. “And your head too. You’re bleeding.”

“Oh.” Newt sighed and felt a sharp sting. “Oh, you’re right. I forgot.”

The conversation was interrupted by the ‘ding’ of the elevator. Out came Crawford, ready to bring the Scamander brothers news, as promised earlier. He looked worriedly between Tina and all the injured Aurors around her, but shook it off as he put on a confident and stern expression again.

“We got him.”

Chapter Text

She had seen everything. She had heard everything. And she was the one who had done it all. She was the one who had felt her own magic course through her body and out against the others. She was the one who had hurt them.

If there was a greater power, Tina would have thanked them when Atlas finally left her mind. Drifting into semi-consciousness had been the greatest relief– she couldn’t control her body this way, but neither could Atlas. 

She had heard the Scamander brothers speculate about Atlas, and she did wonder why she was still conscious. The last few minutes had intertwined Atlas and Tina’s mind so tightly that he should have taken her down with him, but perhaps Tina’s mind had clung on to something. Maybe it was Newt.

“Kill me,” she had whispered. At that moment, she wanted it with all her heart. She was ready to beg, but she was growing weaker and weaker and gave up on trying to form another word. She had almost killed another man, and had tortured both her friend and the man she… the man she cared for the most. Of course, it had been Atlas casting the spells, but she was the one who was too weak to fight him off. She should have stopped him, no matter what.

Each time Tina had pushed against Atlas, trying to get him out, her brain had felt like it was on fire. At the same time, it felt like it was her that was on fire, her own self being destroyed by flames. Maybe she was losing who she really was with each day, with each time Atlas came back.

Her mind drifted in and out of reality, exhaustion trying to plunge her into darkness, but guilt kept ripping her back to the cold, hard floor. She stared at nothing, vaguely aware of movement in her field of vision but unable to focus. Unwilling to focus.

She felt the rough skin of Newt’s hand on her cheek, but she didn’t want him here, not now. She had tortured him, and even after that, he hadn’t killed her when she had begged. She deserved it; she couldn’t bear for Atlas to destroy even more around her.

Newt had managed to hurt her back, though. He’d called Atlas by her name. He saw her as the one committing the gruesome acts. Perhaps she and Atlas truly were growing into one and the same. While Tina knew he hadn’t meant it, that it was simply a slip-up, she couldn’t help but wonder.

“We got him,” she heard a new voice say. Crawford. “What happened to Goldstein?” His voice sounded muffled and distant.

“What did you do with Atlas? Did you knock him unconscious?” Newt asked, right above her. His voice was clearer.

“Yes.”

“It broke his connection to Tina. She’s awake but… she’s not really here,” Newt said.

Tina wanted to let him know that she was hearing everything. She wanted to be a part of this conversation, but she couldn’t force her lips to move. Instead, she tried to make her eyes flicker around, and she succeeded. She couldn’t quite make out anything around her, but Newt noticed.

“Oh. I think she is conscious. I’m not sure she’s strong enough to do anything. I think she tried fighting him too hard, but she lost.”

“So the distraction worked,” Crawford stated, not to anyone in particular.

From further away, she heard Theseus speak. “It did. Why did it take you all so long to apprehend him? We timed everything correctly, and yet you gave Atlas enough time to escape the room and fight. He almost died!” Theseus shouted, likely addressing the Auror she had strangled. No, who Atlas had strangled.

“We didn’t have an idea of the layout of the location ahead of time, Scamander. But we got him, and that’s what matters for now.”

“We kept him occupied, practically risking our lives,” he continued.

“Don’t raise your voice at me again, Scamander. I am the one with seniority here, I’m the one in charge. You may rank highly at the Ministry, but you are here as a guest,” Crawford said, loudly and sternly.

“You’re in charge here? To me it seems that Atlas is the only one with any power here at the moment,” Theseus said angrily, but without shouting. “How did you and the rest of your Aurors not know how powerful Tina is?”

Tina wanted to interject, wishing her voice would follow her command. “I don’t think Goldstein knew either,” Crawford replied.

“She battled Grindelwald and survived, unharmed! That should speak for itself!”

Crawford was silent for a moment. “She never told us. When?”

“When he was posing as Graves.”

That was true. She had never told anyone at MACUSA about her duel with who she thought was her mentor, who she had trusted and followed in the past. Theseus must have heard it from Newt.

Newt changed the subject. “Can we lift the curse now that you have him in custody?” he asked nervously.

“We don’t know. If he’s cooperative, maybe.” That scenario was doubtful. “The ways to lift the curse without his actual help are limited,” Crawford said.

Tina realised they needed to stop talking. They could mention the options, sure, since Atlas almost certainly already knew of them, but they could not make a plan. Thankfully, Theseus had the same idea.

“We can’t discuss this now. Tina can probably still hear us.”

Tina wanted to thank him, and managed to twist her head ever so slightly in his direction. While it was a blur, she could see that he had stood up, and she blinked at him in thanks. She felt Newt stroke her cheek lightly in response to her movement.

“Okay, she can hear us.” Theseus paused, thinking. “We can’t discuss much in front of Atlas either. Who knows who else his mind is connected to– all he needs to do is project a thought and all hell could break loose if we’re not careful.”

“Is there a spell that could stop him doing that?” Newt asked. “Maybe some wards?”

“Maybe. Not that I know of,” Crawford answered. The sound of his voice was muffled again as Tina began to lose her concentration again. Something was dragging her down, back into her mind, away from Newt and the others.

Theseus said something back to Crawford, but Tina couldn’t make out any words. It was just noise to her.

She felt her eyes roll into the back of her head, and Newt’s hands gripped her face tightly as her head twitched backward. Above her, Newt shouted something, but all the words melted together and she couldn’t discern what he was saying.

Her body began to twitch as she sank deeper into her mind. She felt no pain– she just felt hollow. Empty. Like she didn’t even belong in her own mind. A darkness was ripping her further and further away from the outside world and the people she cared for. Her body began to shake, her arms fighting against the chains holding them in place. She felt her back arch as she began to seize, but she no longer cared. Perhaps this was death. Finally.

Eventually, the strange force won, and everything went silent. It all went dark, and Tina was gone.

–

“Wake her up, Atlas,” Theseus demanded, once again. After Tina had seized and lost consciousness, they had not been able to get a single reaction out of her. She wouldn’t react to any sound, light, or touch. 

Her breathing remained shallow and hitched, as if she were on the brink of stopping breathing altogether. They had removed the shackles and she was lying limply on the ground behind Theseus, who was looking directly into Atlas’ new cell.

This cell was miserable compared to where Tina had been locked up. The only thing in the room was a cot and thick iron loops for restraints. Atlas sat crosslegged on the ground in front of Theseus, his arms bound with a thick chain connected tightly to the rings on the wall. Despite his surroundings and his circumstances, he was smiling.

“As I have already told you, there is nothing I can do.”

“You caused this. It’s your spell. You can wake her.”

His eyes flashed to grey as they did each time he activated his strange form of Legilimency, but he was back quickly. Atlas laughed when his eyes reopened, penetratingly blue.

“She has somehow done this to herself. Not on purpose, of course. I can tell that she tried to fight it.” He shrugged. “Her mind was too fragile. It seems like it’s trying to heal itself.”

“You’re the one who damaged her mind. So, you can fix it.”

Atlas looked into the distance, pretending to consider this. “Hmm… no, I am not. Even if I could fix her, I wouldn’t.” His lips twitched into a smile again, and he tilted his head charmingly. Theseus was disgusted.

“So someone in London caused this.”

He shrugged. “I just brought her to a breaking point, that’s all.”

“Lift the curse instead, then. Let her heal, alone, without you.”

Atlas cackled. He didn’t even answer.

Theseus rose from his chair in frustration and turned around just to pace around the hall outside the cell. His gaze flashed past Tina on the ground, dry blood still flaking around her nose, reminding him of the fight she had put up.

Crawford stood nearby, watching the entire interaction. He, too, had struggled earlier to get a single word out of Atlas, but somehow he had loosened up and started talking more. Atlas had probably realised that there were some things he could safely reveal, often doing so in the form of a taunt. He thought himself smarter than everyone else in the building, that much was clear.

Newt had been sent away. When he had heard that Atlas had arrived in the building, he tried to storm away to find him, but they were afraid his anger would get the best of him. He was probably waiting impatiently in the Auror office upstairs, or perhaps tending to his creatures that he hadn’t really paid much attention to recently. Queenie had not been invited to join in the first place as she no longer had any ties to MACUSA or law enforcement, though her Legilimency could prove useful later.

On the off chance that Atlas could actually be useful or have an answer, they had brought Tina with them so they could monitor any potential improvements or declines of her state. Instead, Atlas had just been eyeing her curiously, proud of his work, but also with an analytical eye.

Crawford sat down in Theseus’ seat. “Who else is your mind connected to?”

“Just Tina here,” Atlas answered. “I think we’re on a first name basis now, don’t you agree?”

Crawford ignored his remark. “She may be the only cursed one, but you must be able to connect with at least a couple of your fellow fanatics at will.”

Atlas shrugged. “Call us what you will, but I will not answer you. It is not in my best interest to do so.” He smirked.

Crawford sighed and leaned back, looking at Theseus. “Well, we’re clearly not going to get anything out of him by asking nicely.” Theseus nodded at him. “We may have to resort to… harsher methods.”

Atlas stared at them, seemingly surprised that Aurors would be willing to use other methods to get information. And yet, he remained calm. His eyes briefly flickered to Tina again. “How long has she been like this?”

“Since we arrested you. A couple of hours,” Theseus answered.

Atlas’ eyes shifted to grey for a moment and Tina’s head twitched.

“She’ll be back soon enough, I believe. She won’t be stronger than she was before, but she won’t crumble the moment I touch her,” Atlas explained. “She’s magically exhausted, as you can imagine. It would be so easy to get back in…” he threatened.

“You need to stay away from her,” Theseus demanded.

Atlas scoffed. “You can’t stop me.”

“We’ll find a way.”

“Oh, you know one way, Scamander. But would you be allowed to do it? And if it came to it, could you even do it?”

Theseus took a step back. It was a good question he posed. The one guaranteed way to break the spell, once and for all, was through the death of the caster. But it would be murder, even though it would save Tina. Atlas was also too valuable of an asset to lose– from what they knew, he was close to the inner circle.

It hadn’t been a complete lie when the Aurors had mentioned Thorn in the trap laid out for Tina and Atlas. Of the four captured men, he had been the most willing to share at the promise of a less harsh sentence. The little new information they had gained had all been through him. He’d told them that Atlas had been the one in charge in New York and that he was in close contact with members of Grindelwald’s inner circle, but he wasn’t quite sure if he was in it or not. In any case, he was the one communicating with others and making decisions. Thorn hadn’t divulged exactly what their goal had been with their base in New York, but it involved Muggles. 

When they had asked about Atlas’ Legilimency, specifically the range of his power, Thorn had realised that he needed to shut up. Either he didn’t know, or providing an answer could give away where Atlas had been hiding. The Aurors presumed he could at least communicate across very long distances, considering Thorn had revealed he had been doing so, but possession to the extent he had been carrying out probably required proximity. 

Indeed, Atlas had not been far from New York. Based on Tina’s small warning, they had linked the property to the blonde wizard. Theseus couldn’t remember the name, but it sounded German. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been there during Atlas’ arrest, but perhaps that was also for the better– if he had had the opportunity to warn Atlas of their presence, it could have ended up being a full battle.

“No, you won’t kill me. Neither will Crawford. To you two, I’m too valuable. And your brother… he’s just too weak to kill someone without mercy.” 

Atlas was right, and he knew it. He had the upper hand here.

Crawford changed the subject. “What was your intended purpose of your base here in New York?”

“You haven’t gotten it out of the others? They’re holding up better than I thought they would, given they’re just foot soldiers. Tiny pieces of the bigger puzzle.”

“We know it involved No-Majs,” Crawford said. “Care to tell us more?”

“No.”

“You were the one in charge.”

“Yes.”

“And you didn’t even share the whole plan with those you were working with?”

“No. And why should I?”

Crawford sighed. He and Theseus both knew the reason– if one were to be captured, there was no risk of revealing Grindelwald’s entire plan. The only thing they would get out of someone was a peek into the workings of one specific mission, which was why the main goal always was to catch the leaders. In this case, Atlas.

“Who’s your contact in Grindelwald’s inner circle?” Crawford asked.

Atlas tilted his head and grinned.

“We know you play a relatively big role in Grindelwald’s organisation. But not as big of a role as you might want. Correct?”

Atlas shrugged, trying to remain nonchalant, but Theseus spotted a hint of annoyance in his eyes. He was an ambitious man– he did want a more important role than he currently had.

“Don’t you want Grindelwald to see how important you can be for him?”

Atlas glared at him.

“Aren’t you wasted here in America?”

Only silence.

“Is cursing Aurors and leading low-level missions against No-Majs all you’re good for?”

Atlas took a deep breath, trying to compose himself. He couldn’t move to attack Crawford, but Theseus could see the desire in his eyes. The pain he wanted to inflict.

“Who says what I’ve provided Grindelwald with hasn’t been of value?” Atlas snapped. It seemed like the Aurors had reached a sensitive topic for him.

“Pray tell,” Crawford responded.

“Intel from Tina here.”

“No, that was already known ahead of time, based on whatever events took place in London.”

“Alright, I’ve provided a spy and created a bargaining chip in one. Again, Tina.”

Theseus looked at the unconscious Auror on the floor. He was right– Tina had people that would do almost anything to help her, and perhaps that would mean a deal with Atlas. Information for her freedom, perhaps?

“Don’t you want to know what happened in London, Scamander?” Atlas said, turning his attention to Theseus. “That is technically your responsibility, right? To know what’s happening in England?”

Atlas was turning it around again, the power dynamic in the room shifting in his favour as he stared Theseus down. “How do you know what happened?”

“Perhaps I’m connected to the person responsible, who knows?” he said, pausing for dramatic effect. “Grindelwald’s other followers just got the information Tina provided, but I got some insight into what occurred.”

Theseus looked at Crawford and tilted his head, indicating that he wanted to speak alone. The two of them walked a small distance down the hallway, stopping where both Tina and the guards were still in sight.

“If we can find out anything at all about what happened, we can maybe figure out who is in London. The Ministry can investigate it further. We hadn’t heard of any base there, or what their plan possibly could be there,” Theseus whispered.

“It’s worth a try. I don’t think he’s willing to hand over the information for free, though,” Crawford whispered back.

“Of course not. Maybe we can… we’ll see.”

As Theseus returned to the cell door, he saw Tina twitch slightly. He looked to Atlas and noticed a shimmer of grey disappear from his eyes as he tried to hide it from Theseus.

“What are you doing?”

“You wanted her awake, right?” Theseus hesitated. “I’m just giving her a nudge,” Atlas said with a shrug.

“Leave her alone.”

“I’m impressed you can still look at her so caringly after she tortured you and your brother.”

Theseus sighed. Atlas was exhausting to be around. “We both know it was you who was responsible, Atlas.”

“Yes, but it’s getting harder to differentiate between me and Tina, am I right?”

It certainly wasn’t easy, he gave Atlas that much. It was her form and her voice whenever Atlas was in control, but he could tell that it was just Tina each time the man would cause her unimaginable pain. Theseus would only ever see fear in her eyes when Atlas was gone. All Theseus felt was an overwhelming wave of sadness when he saw purely Tina, no matter how awful Atlas’ actions through her were. 

“No,” Theseus answered, but with a hint of uncertainty.

Atlas grinned. His eyes shifted to Tina on the floor. Theseus followed his gaze and saw her stir slightly, and her head moved.

“Shut the cell door,” Crawford instructed the guards, and with a slam, Atlas’ piercing eyes were hidden from them once again.

Theseus crouched beside her. “Tina?”

Her shut eyes twitched at the sound of her name. “Tina?” he repeated.

With a sudden gasp, Tina’s eyes flew open, flickering around in a panic.

“Tina, you’re okay, we caught him, remember?” Theseus pointed in the direction of the door. “See, he can’t get out.”

Tina tried to push herself up to sit, but needed help from Crawford to get up fully. He leaned her against the wall instead.

Tina looked down. “Hands,” she stated plainly as she noticed she wasn’t tied up.

“We think you’re too weak to use any dangerous magic against us. Crawford, can you check again?”

Crawford placed his hand on Tina’s chest, just below her neck. He nodded as he looked back at Theseus. 

“You’re magically exhausted. Atlas told us too.” At the mention of his name, she looked around, dazed but panicked.

Tina swallowed, opening her mouth to speak, but no words came out. 

“You don’t have to talk, you can just take it easy for now,” Crawford explained. “We’re happy to have you back.”

Tina leaned her head back against the wall. “Let me go,” she managed to croak out. 

“We can’t do that, Goldstein. You know that. You’re still a risk if Atlas takes over again,” Crawford said. 

Tina shook her head. As Theseus had suspected, that wasn’t what she had meant. 

“You ha-” she began, but she didn’t manage to say the rest of the sentence aloud as her voice faded out; it was just her mouth moving. 

Theseus looked at Crawford. “It’s that— earlier, she… she wanted us to kill her. She’s just exhausted.”

Tina shook her head again. “Safe.”

“Tina, no. That’s not going to happen.”

She closed her eyes and Crawford shot Theseus a concerned glance. Theseus sighed. “We need to let her rest. I can take her back to her room.” 

Crawford nodded in understanding. “I will speak to the guards. If he tries to come for Goldstein again, he will be knocked out.”

Theseus wrapped his arm under Tina’s shoulders and lifted her. “We will reconvene at a later point,” he said curtly and began to walk away, Tina’s feet dragging as she took small steps.

The walk back to the room was short, as they had decided to keep Atlas on the same floor as Tina. It was much closer than any of them wanted, but it made it possible to keep good track of both of them at the same time, given their connection.

When they made it back, they found that it had been cleaned– there were no bloodstains on the floor or the bed anymore. Theseus sat her down on the bed carefully, and as he was about to get up, he felt her hand tug on his sleeve.

“Don’t go.” Tina’s constant inner battle of wanting to protect everyone around her but wanting to feel safe too was showing again.

Theseus wasn’t used to seeing Tina this vulnerable. Of course, this had been the case the last few days, but since Paris and their few missions together, he’d never seen her show any weakness, or, what she considered weakness. She always kept a shield up– not against Legilimency, but against others around her. Theseus knew he’d never seen the full Tina, and he doubted anyone else had either. Behind her impatient and stubborn personality, something unseen was hidden, but it was starting to leak through.

Atlas had shattered her. Tina’s need for control was violated constantly, and it was draining her– not her energy, the way Atlas’ possession and magic use was, but something else in her was fading. Theseus could see it in her dark brown eyes as he sat beside her.

The two of them had never been close, always remaining professional as the settings they would see each other in required of them. Theseus had always wanted to meet Tina outside of their world as Aurors, alongside Newt. She brought out a different side of him each time he spoke of her to Theseus, and he could only imagine what he brought out in her.

But now… now they were close. It was for all the wrong reasons; it should never have been this way. He saw her hurt, over and over again, and at this point, she had seen him hurt too.

By her own hand.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, as if knowing what he was thinking of.

Theseus shook his head. “No. It wasn’t you.”

Tina looked down at her hands again. The hands that had been used as both tools and as weapons. He could see it was killing her slowly– each time Atlas returned, he took a piece of her with him.

“Go,” she whispered. She sounded scared.

“No, you can’t hurt me right now, Tina.”

“Go,” she repeated, her voice wavering. No, she wasn’t afraid of hurting him– she was ashamed.

Theseus gently placed his hand on hers, almost as if he was trying to hide the memories from her. “Alright. I’ll let you rest.”

She collapsed onto the bed as he stood up, and by the time he had made it to the door, she was already asleep. Theseus could only hope that her body and mind could find out how to help her after she had been torn into so many directions, twisted and manipulated by an outside force to destroy the world around her.

Theseus felt like he was on the verge of breaking too. He had stood by the last few days, unable to help, unable to do anything to stop what was happening. He wanted to save her. But why?

Was he trying to make up for his failure to save the love of his life, when he had failed to save Leta? Was he trying to save Newt from the pain he himself had felt?

After the door shut behind him, he took a few stumbling steps around the corner. He pushed his hand against the wall and covered his mouth with the other, fighting back tears. A sob threatened to escape his throat and he sank down along the wall, hiding his head in his arms when he reached the floor. He couldn’t show weakness, not now– he refused to let Atlas see how much he had managed to manipulate and destroy the world around Tina.

Theseus was truly scared of Atlas, and he had every reason to be. Even when bound, he could use his strange, cursed Legilimency, and probably his regular connections too… seemingly with someone in London.

They needed to find out who on Earth it was. If they could get him to speak about it, they could maybe uncover something if he were to slip up. It was just that— well, Theseus was concerned about what methods they might need to use, seeing as Atlas wouldn’t give anything up willingly.

What was he supposed to do? He couldn’t let it get worse, but he couldn’t see how anything was supposed to get better either. Tina was already broken, and he had seen cracks appear around Newt as well.

Everything was becoming too much as his mind continued to storm in every direction, and he let out a strangled sob. He clapped his hand over his mouth and muffled the sounds coming from deep within his pained heart as he tried to fight back tears as well. Eventually, he just gave in.

Footsteps approaching him drew him out of his spiral and he scrambled to get up, wiping his eyes with his sleeve as he did so.

Crawford kept his gaze away from Theseus’ eyes, knowing that he didn’t want to be seen this way. “There’s a guard on him,” he stated simply. “Two, actually.”

Theseus cleared his throat. “Alright.”

“How is she?”

Theseus let the question hang in the air, wondering whether to answer it or not. They both knew, didn’t they? “Asleep,” he said instead.

Crawford nodded curtly.  “Do you want to update your brother and Goldstein’s sister, or shall I?”

Theseus sighed. “I’ll go.” He turned to look Crawford in the eyes. “Figure something out. Soon.”

A cackle echoed through the hall as the two Aurors entered the elevator. Theseus shut his eyes. 

No. He would not let Atlas win.

Chapter Text

“Tell us how to lift the curse.”

“No,” Atlas repeated for what felt like the hundredth time. The Aurors had tried for two days to get anything else out of him, but he remained unwilling to speak. Crawford was getting desperate, and Theseus knew it. Regular questioning wasn’t going to work.

“We will resort to the use of Veritaserum, Atlas. You would spill all your secrets, but all we need is what you know about the curse. I don’t think Grindelwald would want you to accidentally slip up, do you?” Crawford said. “Imagine what he’d do to you.”

Atlas’ face paled for a moment, but turned into a crooked grin. “You won’t use Veritaserum on me. In fact, you would have used it on the others you’ve captured too, but you haven’t, am I right?”

Theseus sighed. The constant back and forth was exhausting, and Atlas was smart. Very smart.

“We keep it for higher ranking members of your organisation. You, luckily, fall into that category,” Crawford continued.

Atlas pondered this for a moment. “Just the other day you mentioned I wasn’t in the inner circle. So, why interrogate me under the influence of the potion?”

“To get to them.”

“And do you think that will work?”

“Yes,” Crawford stated.

“Go ahead then,” Atlas replied, smirking.

Crawford paused, and Theseus knew exactly why. Apparently, Atlas did too.

“Oh, of course, if you had any. I know how strict the laws are about Veritaserum in this country, and how all the Veritaserum you find is disposed of. Or do you Aurors keep a secret stash?”

Crawford rolled his eyes. “Very well, you’ve called my bluff, Atlas. There is a new brew being made just for you, rest assured.”

Atlas laughed gleefully. “Yes, but it won’t be ready for another month. I paid attention during potions class.” He paused. “Interesting how lax you become about following the law when it comes to helping yourselves.”

Crawford sighed. They had considered finding a potionmaker in New York known for his illegal crafting, but had been unable to find him. He had last been seen several months ago, and no one seemed to know where he had gone. Theseus just stared blankly ahead, unwilling to join the interrogation that had turned into a conversation at this point.

“Scamander? Do you have nothing to say to me? Or are you just here for decoration?”

“Lift the curse,” Theseus answered.

“That’s all you have to say?”

“That’s all you have to do.”

Atlas tilted his head. “Your brother hasn’t been here to see me. Why is that?”

“It’s above his clearance. He’s not an Auror.”

Atlas shrugged. “Fair enough. Though I would have loved to see him in person, not just through Tina’s pathetic lovestruck eyes,” he said, rolling his eyes, as if it was childish.

Theseus took a step towards Atlas and crouched in front of him. “You hurt my brother. I’m not going to let that happen again.”

“Oh, but I think he’s still hurt, am I right? Tina won’t even look at him.”

Theseus drew in a sharp breath. How did Atlas know that?

As if he knew what Theseus was thinking, Atlas answered. “We’re still connected, the two of us. She can’t keep up her Occlumency all the time.”

This was true– Tina was growing stronger again, but it was still taking a toll on her to use that much focus consistently. In the last two days, Atlas hadn’t projected himself into her mind, and if he had, it hadn’t been noticed by anyone. Unless Tina was hiding it, of course.

“She wants him gone; I know she has told you. But she hasn’t told your brother that. What a coward she is.”

“Tina, a coward?” Theseus snapped. “She’s stronger than most, and I think you know that, Atlas.”

The wizard smiled, but remained silent.

“The only reason you could cast your cruel curse was because she was already weak. That doesn’t seem very fair, does it? And that wasn’t because she was a coward– she was keeping me safe at her own risk.”

Atlas’ brow furrowed. “Fair? Wars aren’t won by fighting fairly, and you know that, supposed ‘war hero’.” Atlas paused. “I could’ve gotten her easily, even if London hadn’t happened,” he stated, but he didn’t sound entirely certain.

“We both know you couldn’t. You’re well aware of her history with Occlumency,” Theseus responded. Crawford looked at him questioningly, but Theseus avoided his gaze– he couldn’t reveal that Queenie was an unregistered Legilimens.

Atlas changed the subject. “But she can still look you in the eyes, Theseus. She tortured you too, after all.” It still stung to hear Atlas use his name. “Why do you think that is?”

He considered this for a moment. “Because she needs me more than him right now.” He knew it would hurt Newt to know this, but it was the truth– the only thing Newt could do was keep Tina company, but Theseus was the one with power in both MACUSA and the Ministry. He was the one most familiar with the Dark Arts. Sure, Newt had had plenty of dangerous encounters and had come out of all of them alive, but his constant unwillingness to cooperate with the Ministry back in London had meant that he had little authority and choice in this type of situation.

“Really? You don’t think it’s because she was more okay with hurting you than him?”

Theseus breathed in sharply, about to answer again, but Crawford quickly interjected. “Scamander, that’s enough. He’s messing with you.”

“He’s-” Theseus began, but Crawford clutched his shoulder.

“Let’s take a break.”

He pulled Theseus away from the open doorway. He looked over his shoulder as they walked down the hall and saw Atlas following them with his eyes, grinning.

“You can’t let him get to you,” Crawford said, his voice hushed.

“I know, I know. He just twists everything, I can’t-”

“Let it go, Scamander.”

They arrived at Tina’s room again. Or perhaps her cell. That was certainly how Tina saw it at this point, not allowed to leave.

Beside the door stood Lowell. Surprisingly, Tina had been willing to see Lowell and even let her act as a guard. When Theseus had inquired about why she would let the witch who had formerly held such a strong grudge against her watch her, Tina’s explanation had stung. It was because she knew that Lowell wouldn’t hesitate to stop her, should Atlas begin to make her his puppet again.

“Is your shield up?” Crawford asked before anyone could begin to speak. Tina nodded tiredly from where she sat on the ground near the doorway, a cup of coffee in her hand for some small hint of comfort and normalcy. “Lowell, we have to move on with another method. He refuses to speak.”

They all knew what the new method was. Torture.

Lowell had been selected for it because Crawford knew she would be the least afraid to carry out such a form of… interrogation. The hurt he had indirectly caused her would be enough to fuel her willingness and ability to cast the curse, and from the discussion they’d had with her the day before, they knew she would be able to do it. They had just hoped it wouldn’t be necessary so soon.

While Theseus didn’t agree with the practice, he had no say in what methods could be used at MACUSA. He had advocated for the use of Veritaserum, even though it would take a long time to brew. The potion was the more humane solution, but the Aurors at the American office were growing more impatient and desperate by the day.

Then again, Theseus had heard that it wasn’t unusual for MACUSA to use very harsh methods during interrogation– after all, they had tried everything they could while Grindelwald was in their custody. The wizard hadn’t broken, hadn’t revealed a single thing, so they could only hope that Atlas would be… easier, so to speak.

Their ‘solution’ would remain a secret from all others besides the ones involved today. Not even the other Aurors could know. After all, they didn’t want it to become public knowledge that Aurors used methods just as awful as their enemies. The only one who could figure it out was Queenie, but Theseus believed she wouldn’t share that knowledge with others.

Lowell nodded. Tina briefly looked at something next to her in her room, but shifted her attention back to Theseus as quickly as she had directed it away.

“Are you sure you still can do this?” Crawford asked her. Tina looked at the two of them questioningly, but kept her mouth shut, knowing she still couldn’t have more information than absolutely necessary.

Lowell locked eyes with Crawford. “Yes.”

Crawford sighed. “Very well.” He turned to Theseus. “Scamander, you may choose whether you wish to join or not. I understand if you can’t.” Theseus assumed he was referencing that he had endured that specific curse just a few days ago.

Theseus shook it off. “I will join you.”

Tina’s eyes widened, and she looked at him with concern. She seemingly had caught on to what was being discussed. “Are you…” she began, unable to finish the question. Theseus just nodded.

“Um… good luck,” Tina said hesitantly as a new guard appeared to take Lowell’s place. 

Theseus looked away, ashamed of what they were going to do. Well, he wasn’t going to do anything, but he was going to bear witness to something that shouldn’t have to happen in the first place.

All four Aurors turned their heads as they noticed a soft echo coming from down the hall. Atlas was shouting something. “Crawford! I’m getting bored.” It was faint, but they could make out the words clearly. Tina shuddered at hearing his voice.

Theseus considered whether it would be smart to move Atlas even further away from Tina, but when her cell door was closed, it was somewhat soundproof. She wouldn’t have to hear him unless she wanted to… which Theseus presumed she didn’t.

“I’ll be back soon, Tina,” Theseus said as he began to close the door.

“No, wait. Leave it open. I want to hear what he says.” So he had presumed wrong.

Theseus stared at her. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

“Cast a charm on the hallway to heighten any sound. I want to know what Atlas said. I want an explanation.”

Theseus sighed and looked at Crawford, who shrugged. It wouldn’t interfere with their interrogation, so they didn’t see why not. Theseus didn’t think it would benefit Tina, or any of them for that matter, but she maybe had the right to choose, even if he believed it was the wrong choice. “I really don’t think-”

“You could bring me with you, or you can use the charm,” Tina stated, cutting him off. Two options, neither of them good, in Theseus’ opinion.

Tina’s eyes briefly flickered to something over Theseus’ shoulder, but when he turned around, he saw nothing there. She shifted her attention to Crawford. “Do it, if Theseus won’t.”

Crawford looked at Theseus and nodded hesitantly as he raised his arm and let his wand glide through the air as he cast a spell. They didn’t hear anything coming from down the hall, but Atlas was probably just being quiet.

“Atlas,” Tina said plainly, testing whether he really had used the charm.

“Oh, Tina. Nice to meet you. Tell me, why don’t you come see me, face-to-face?” Atlas responded amusedly. The voice was faint, but the words were clear.

Tina stiffened. Her lips parted as if she wanted to speak, but no sound came out. Perhaps she wasn’t ready for the confrontation she wanted after all. She closed her mouth and her expression turned stern.

“Your barrier is still weak. I can tell,” Atlas taunted.

Her expression faltered for a moment, but Tina didn’t respond. Theseus knew her shield had gotten better and that she had regained some of the energy she had been drained of, but Atlas was still stronger.

“Don’t worry, Tina. I’m sure we’ll see each other soon.” Theseus could almost hear the grin in his voice.

Lowell began to tap her foot impatiently. She had yet to encounter Atlas at MACUSA, and Theseus could see the seething anger in her eyes. The rage that she had been suppressing, bubbling to the surface. Crawford noticed too. “Let’s go,” he said before Lowell could storm off on her own.

None of them spoke as they walked, knowing that both ends of the hallway could hear the clacking of their heels and any words exchanged amongst themselves.

“Aha! Lowell. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Oh, we’ve met. Several times, at this point.”

Atlas scoffed. “That doesn’t count. Now we’re truly here together.”

Lowell ignored him and raised her wand. “Tell me what you know. I don’t care what it is, but you had better start talking.”

Crawford and Theseus exchanged glances. This was not entirely what they had agreed on. The first main focus was Tina’s curse, not a general, non-specific round of questioning. He could reveal the most vague details, and they still wouldn’t be able to paint an overall picture with simple fragments, not at all.

Atlas chuckled. “No,” he repeated, as he had done many times over the last two days.

Lowell didn’t even hesitate. “Crucio.”

Immediately, Atlas’ face scrunched up in pain and his breathing sped up. He suppressed a groan as his muscles began to tighten and twitch, on the verge of making him collapse from where he was kneeling, and his arms began to pull at the cuffs chaining him to the wall. 

Atlas' gaze flickered around as he continued to shake, but eventually landed directly on Lowell again. He bared his teeth as he let out a hiss, but his mouth eventually twisted into a pained smile. His upper body spasmed violently and he groaned.

“Anything you wish to share with us, Atlas?” Lowell asked, faking innocence.

Keeping his eyes locked on Lowell, he shook his head. Lowell, still holding her wand, maintaining the curse, twisted her arm, and the spell seemed to flare up as Atlas breathed in a sharp breath, his body spasming again.

Theseus could see Atlas’ face shifting and contorting between expressions of pain and intense focus. His breathing was ragged as he tried to suppress his voice, but eventually he cried out. Theseus couldn’t quite place what he himself was feeling– pity, but then again, not… Atlas did deserve it. Right?

“How do we lift the curse?” Crawford repeated, just as he had for the last two days.

Atlas groaned and hunched in on himself, his head now by his knees against the ground. The movement pulled on his shackled hands, but he didn’t seem to care.

“Fine,” Atlas growled. 

Lowell held the curse for another moment, but let her wand fall to her side. Atlas’ body relaxed and he sat up straight again. He stared at Lowell with hatred in his eyes, and grinned, revealing a bloody smile. He’d probably bitten the inside of his cheek in an attempt to stay quiet.

“Speak,” Lowell commanded.

Atlas threw his head back in laughter. The three Aurors exchanged glances, Crawford concerned, Lowell frustrated.

“No, sorry,” Atlas said with a chuckle. 

Lowell raised her wand above her head and brought it down swiftly, the curse even more powerful than before. Atlas yelled in pain before he had time to focus on suppressing it, and the corner of Lowell’s mouth twitched into a small, lopsided smile.  She was taking some pleasure in this, Theseus realised. A small shiver ran down his spine.

Atlas shut his mouth as he toppled over, grunting as he hit the ground with a thud. His back arched, and before Theseus could see his legs kick, he looked away. It reminded him of Tina. Sure, Atlas was a bad person, but he could see a hint of a reflection of her in his movements.

Theseus heard a soft whimper. He looked back at Atlas, whose eyes and teeth were clenched shut. It couldn’t have come from him– the pitch was also too high.

Tina.

As he noticed the sound, Atlas seemingly did too, and he laughed. The laugh turned into another groan, but Theseus could see the cruel glee in the man’s eyes.

“Tina!” Theseus shouted. He heard a muffled whine in response. “Guard, what’s going on?” Thank God for the charm– they might not have noticed at all without it.

There was a pause before the guard responded. “She’s on the floor, her back’s to me. I can’t see… wait, she’s twitching.”

Lowell twisted her wand once more and Atlas cried out. “Scamander! It’s worse!” the guard shouted.

Theseus glared at Atlas who was panting and yet still maintaining eye contact with him. He knew it was Atlas’ fault, that much was obvious.

As he turned to run down the hall, he heard another quiet whimper from a voice he had unfortunately gotten used to hearing suffer. He reached the cell and saw Tina spasming on the hard ground. Again.

Knowing Atlas was preoccupied enough with the curse, he ran into the room, rolling Tina onto her back. Two streams of blood ran from her nose– she had tried to keep Atlas out, but he seemed to have gotten in nevertheless. She was still herself; her eyes were still the regular dark colour, the way they always were when Atlas would hurt her.

He pulled his wand from his pocket and used it to press Tina’s wrists against the ground, holding them in place with his magic. She finally looked at him with exhausted, sad eyes and let out a hushed sob. Tina pressed her lips together, trying to avoid any other sound escaping her lips.

“Lowell! Stop! It’s transferring to Tina!” Theseus shouted back down the hall.

The curse didn’t seem to let up as Tina still twisted on the floor, shutting her eyes as her head tilted backwards. Theseus pressed his hands against her shoulders, trying to keep her in place to stop her injuring herself.

Theseus was about to shout again when he heard Crawford speak instead. “Lowell, release the curse.”

It continued for a moment, but suddenly Tina’s body went limp and her eyes fluttered open. They heard laughter coming from down the hall, and Tina whimpered softly at the sound, afraid.

“Tell us how to lift the curse,” Lowell demanded loudly.

Another chuckle. “Crawford, can you really not control your Aurors? Pathetic.” Theseus heard shuffling, presumably Atlas sitting up again. “This bit of torture here was very silly. I even told you earlier.”

“Told us what?” Lowell snapped, interrupting Crawford before he could speak.

“If I can feel what Tina’s feeling when I want, what’s to say it wouldn’t work the other way as well?”

Had Tina been tortured alongside him this entire time? Theseus was appalled. They had unintentionally taken their colleague and friend down with him. She must have been holding on so they had the chance to get something out of Atlas; that would be the only explanation for why she had let it continue for so long.

“It wasn’t so bad, Theseus. I kept him out for a while,” Tina whispered.

“Clearly. There’s blood all over your face,” Theseus answered.

Tina tried to raise a hand to check, but her arm was held in place. She sighed. Theseus was about to apologise, but she got there first. “Precautions, I know.” She licked her lip and winced as she tasted the blood.

“I’m so sorry, Goldstein,” Crawford said from down the hall, his voice flat and emotionless. Theseus recognised guilt in it– everything was beginning to take a real toll on him. Tina nodded in understanding, seemingly forgetting that Crawford wasn’t actually there.

Atlas chuckled again and Theseus stiffened. The wizard was so unpredictable it was actually frightening. Tina’s teary eyes flickered to something beside her, but shot back to Theseus immediately after. Theseus looked at her questioningly, but she remained silent. Was she hearing things again?

Tina blinked, revealing milky eyes as they reopened. “Don’t worry, Theseus. She’s used to it by now. I can see it,” Tina’s voice said, in unison with Atlas down the hall. She was moving, as if trying to get away from the magical restraints holding her down, but quickly gave up and grinned. “Aw, poor Tina. She just wants to go home,” her voice said, and the two of them chuckled.

Theseus glared at her (or, technically, at Atlas). He didn’t know what to say to those statements; he wanted to comfort Tina, but it wouldn’t be her he was talking to, even though she could hear him.

Tina frowned. “Oh, wait. She’s stronger– she might actually be able to-” Atlas' speech through Tina was cut off, but he heard Atlas continue down the hall. “-push me out for once.”

Tina’s eyes were bloodshot from the effort, and blood from her nose had run down her cheek. He saw small droplets on the ground beside her face.

Atlas huffed in annoyance. “Wow.”

Theseus smiled at Tina, proud that she had finally managed to get him out on her own. Successfully. Tina’s mouth twitched into a small smile, and she briefly glanced at the doorway.

“What are you looking at?” Theseus asked.

Tina hesitated, as if thinking of an answer. “I want to see him.”

Theseus knew there was something else, something she wasn’t saying.

“No. Not now,” Crawford said. “I think we’re done for the day.”

“What a shame. It was starting to get fun. Lowell here hasn’t even had time to talk about her ridiculous Bevere with me,” Atlas said.

Theseus heard some commotion and shuffling of feet. “Lowell, put down your wand!” Crawford shouted.

The crackle of a spell. A pause. Atlas’ groan. 

Theseus turned his attention back to Tina. She had shut her eyes again tightly, her brows furrowed from concentrating. Her head began to twitch as blood began to pour from her nose again, this time flowing much faster. She whimpered.

“Stop the spell! Now!” Theseus shouted desperately as he grasped each side of Tina’s head, trying to hold her in place. “It’s alright, you’ll be alright, Tina,” he whispered.

He heard a thud, and the spell seemed to stop suddenly. Her head stopped moving and her body relaxed. Theseus removed his hand, and it came back bloody.

There was shouting coming from down the hall, but it was distant and muffled. Crawford must have ended the enchantment on the hall, which was probably for the best. They had gotten absolutely no information from Atlas, and that was all Tina had wanted. Instead, she had been taunted and tortured, and perhaps learned that Lowell had never truly had Tina’s best interests in mind.

“I did it. He didn’t get in, Theseus.” Her voice sounded relieved, with a hint of pride. It was the strongest she’d been in days.

He smiled. He was proud of her too.

“I don’t think I can hold it much longer. I want him gone,” Tina whispered.

“Keep up your shield. I’ll get him unconscious, and then I’ll be right back.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

-

Theseus kept his promise. After a few minutes he returned to her cell, and she could hear Crawford and Lowell following closely behind. 

He had forgotten to release her from the ground. She didn’t know whether it had simply slipped his mind as he had hurried away, or if he still saw her as a potential threat. She wouldn’t blame him if it turned out to be the latter.

When he appeared in the doorway, he visibly flinched, seeming to notice that he had forgotten she was being held against the ground by an invisible force. He hastily waved his wand and she felt the pressure on her wrists loosen. She pushed herself and got on her feet, but her legs faltered and she ended up sitting on the ground instead. She looked away, embarrassed.

“Tina.” She looked toward the door, searching for the voice saying her name.

“Tina?” Theseus asked. Not the same voice. She shifted her attention to him instead. “He’s out cold, you can drop your shield for now.”

Tina breathed out a sigh of relief. Her head was pounding from the intense focus, but Atlas’ shoving and pushing against her mental barrier was just as painful.

Her Occlumency didn’t seem to be keeping the occasional voices out. Maybe it was so subtle a  projection that it could slip through any cracks unnoticed.

She lifted her hand to her nose, inspecting the damage that had been done. The constant nosebleeds were frankly starting to get more annoying and less concerning to her. Normally, Occlumency would be much easier, but after all, these were unusual circumstances. The seemingly unbreakable link between Atlas and herself was beginning to feel like he was becoming a part of her, and how much could you truly push yourself out of your own mind?

Slightly behind Theseus stood Lowell. She was looking at Tina curiously, without malice, but also without pity. She wasn’t here to apologise like the others were.

Crawford began. “Goldstein, I’m sorry, we should have known, or at least-”

Tina shook her head. “It’s alright.” She looked him directly in the eyes. He needed to know that it had been her own choice. “I had to give you the chance to get something out of him. I’m just disappointed that it didn’t work.”

“I told you we could have continued, Crawford,” Lowell hissed. “It’s what she wanted for us, don’t you see?”

“Do not let your grief cloud your empathy,” Crawford snapped back. “How would you feel if it had been Bevere in Goldstein’s shoes?”

“He’s not here!” Lowell exclaimed, her voice wavering slightly. “It’s their fault, hers and Atlas’!”

Tina looked down sadly. 

“She’s right,” a voice whispered right by her ear. She suppressed the urge to react and search for the source of the voice. Bevere’s voice, she noticed. She tried to ignore it; it was just her own guilty conscience creeping up on her.

“You knew he was projecting onto Tina, and yet you continued,” Theseus said. “Don’t you care about the consequences your actions may have?”

“She kept him out in the end, Scamander. Besides, it doesn’t matter now. You knocked him unconscious, and now we can’t get anything else from him at all,” Lowell snapped. Crawford turned to glare at her.

Tina shivered. “It was my choice, Crawford. It’s fine.”

The last week or so had twisted her into a whole new person. She was no longer the stubborn, ambitious witch she had been, ready to climb the ladder of responsibility in the department. Why couldn’t she stand up for herself? Why wouldn’t she acknowledge that what Lowell had done was wrong?

Theseus sighed and looked at her bleakly. An awkward silence fell. She almost expected Lowell to lash out again, but maybe she had said all she needed to say. Tina doubted it, but she was grateful she had stopped, for now, at least.

“Wait. What do you mean by ‘anything else from him’? Did he say something?”

“It’s not important now. What matters is that you rest,” Crawford explained.

Tina wanted to know what Atlas might have said. No, she needed to know. “Tell me.”

“Tomorrow,” he said finally. There would be no arguing with him.

Tina sighed defeatedly. “Fine.”

Crawford nodded and made to leave. Lowell still stared at her, but Crawford grabbed her by the arm and dragged her away from the cell. Lowell still blamed Tina, seemingly for everything. Tina wondered what would have happened if she and Theseus never had shown up in that warehouse. Would Bevere still be alive? Would anyone have gotten out alive?

Would someone else have gotten cursed?

No, she rationalised. She had been targeted because Atlas knew that her mind had been messed with. She had been weak, and that had made it much too easy for the enemy to make her a weapon. Tina should never have been on that mission, and Lowell clearly also knew it. Crawford did too, but wasn’t bold and loud enough to admit it, the way Lowell was.

The sound of Theseus clearing his throat brought her back from her spiralling thoughts. She looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to say what was on his mind.

“Newt wants to see you,” he stated plainly.

Immediately, Tina looked away, shaking her head.

“No.”

“He only wants to help.”

She shook her head again, this time more aggressively.

“I can’t.”

“Tina, he’s okay again. You haven’t hurt him, and you can’t hurt him now, with Atlas under control.”

“I said I can’t.” She let her head fall into her hands, wanting and trying to hide from the world.

“Tina?” she heard a soft voice say from beyond the door. Newt was here. The Scamander brothers had ambushed her, tricked her.

“Go away, Newt.”

“Huh?” Theseus said, perplexed.

“I don’t want him here!” Tina almost shouted. “Please, send him away.”

“He’s not here,” Theseus said hesitantly.

Tina looked up again. He was right. There was no one besides Theseus in the doorway.

Was it just wishful thinking? Did she actually want him here, subconsciously?

“Don’t you understand? Every time I think of him, all I see is him on the ground, in pain, shaking from whatever spell I cast. I hear him beg for me to stop. I can’t look at him, Theseus.”

“He knows it wasn’t you, Tina.”

“I see him fight to protect you from me. I see the betrayal in his eyes from when I… tortured you.” She murmured the last part of that sentence, shame overwhelming her once more.

Tina didn’t know why it was easier for her to see Theseus after everything. Perhaps it was because he had been there from the start. Perhaps it was because he never had called Atlas by her name. Or maybe it was just that he was an Auror, and it was just something she inherently expected he would be able to deal with. That he could deal with the unexpected traitor that she sometimes felt she was.

“It’s alright,” Theseus said, but Tina’s voice was louder.

“I see that he didn’t know where my mind ended and where Atlas’ began. Hell, I don’t even know it now.” She snapped her mouth shut, realising what she’d said. The other Aurors couldn’t know that she felt a strange merge in her mind– eventually they would see her and Atlas as inseparable. They would both be the enemy.

“Tina, listen to me.” Tina was about to speak again, but he looked at her sternly, and she faltered. “You and Atlas are not the same.”

Tina felt her lip quiver. “I’m not so sure anymore,” she responded and closed her eyes.

“You’re a monster, Tina,” she heard Theseus say.

“Maybe,” she said and looked back at him. He looked puzzled. 

She needed to change the subject, fast. She needed to get rid of Newt. “Send him back to London, please. He has his creatures, he needs to care for them. There’s nothing he can do here.”

“He cares for you, you know that, right? He only wants to help.”

“Send him back.”

Theseus sighed. He gave up. Finally, Tina thought. “Just send word if you want to see him. He’ll be back in a heartbeat.”

Tina looked at Theseus, and something seemed off, all of a sudden. His clothes looked fluid, as if they were changing colour and pattern, and he fell to the ground. He was screaming, soundlessly, his back twisting and arching. She could see tears in his eyes and she looked on in pure terror, unable to do anything. He was right beyond the border of the doorway- why wasn’t the guard doing anything?

“Tina?” she heard Theseus' voice say. The words weren’t coming from his mouth; that was still open, mid-scream. His clothes, his face… it was just like the day Atlas had been arrested.

She felt something cold against her back and a strange pressure on her shoulders. Tina looked around, but her eyes felt odd. She couldn’t see any source of what magic this could be.

“Tina!” Theseus shouted this time. It still couldn’t be coming from him; his legs were still kicking as his body twitched from bursts of pain.

She blinked and suddenly found herself on the ground. Her eyes were flickering, her vision shaky as her eyes were rolling into the back of her head. She couldn’t focus, couldn’t see what was happening, all she was aware of was the feeling of two hands holding her down as her body trembled uncontrollably.

Theseus must be in the room with her. So he wasn’t still under the cruciatus curse, but how on Earth had he gotten out of it?

He couldn’t be in the room. If Atlas returned, he’d be in danger, again. Everyone was in danger in her presence.

Something clicked in her mind. Atlas was unconscious; he couldn’t be causing this. So why was she seeing things?

She felt her arms hitting the ground again and again as she continued to shake uncontrollably. The pressure from what was probably Theseus’ hands increased, and she felt someone grip her ankles to stop her kicking. She presumed it was the guard.

As she grew more aware of her surroundings again, the shaking seemed to diminish, her limbs just twitching slightly. Tina felt her eyes still flickering out of her control, but they no longer hurt from being forced upward. She felt the guard remove his hands from her ankles.

“Go check on Atlas. I don’t know how he’s awake already, he should have remained unconscious for much longer,” Theseus commanded.

Footsteps left the room, and Tina parted her lips, wanting to explain the situation herself. “Wasn’t…” Her shaky voice faded out.

Theseus’ face finally came into focus. “He’s checking on Atlas, we won’t let him get in again. I’m sorry.”

Tina shook her head. “Wasn’t him,” she managed to utter.

Theseus looked at her, confused.

“I’m sorry I hurt you,” Tina whispered.

His face somehow scrunched up in even further confusion, and he tilted his head questioningly.

“You were on the floor.”

“No, you collapsed. You were shaking, we had to come in to stop you hurting yourself.”

Tina’s eyes widened in realisation. “Get out!” she said as she scrambled to sit up, crawling backwards away from Theseus. She only stopped when her back hit the wall.

He raised his hands, backing away defeatedly when he saw the panic in her eyes. “I can go get your sister, if you want.”

“I don’t want to see her.”

“She can help, Tina.”

“I don’t need anyone! Don’t you understand? Everyone will just get hurt, again and again and again. Queenie’s the only one I’ve kept safe so far, so let it remain that way!” The words were pouring out of her uncontrollably, she hadn’t truly thought anything through. It turned out she agreed; she could never forgive herself if something happened to her sister, the most important person in her life, and the kindest. She had vowed never to let her get hurt when they were young and alone, at their parents’ funeral surrounded by people that didn’t care.

“Tina?” Why was Queenie here as well?

“Get her away from me!”

“Tina. She’s not here, alright?”

“Like hell she isn’t! She’s right around the corner.”

Theseus looked around the hallway, confused. “No, she really isn’t.”

Realisation finally hit. The voices were no longer coming from Atlas, there was no way. The memory invading her mind hadn’t been from him either.

Tina’s stomach sank as a feeling of hollowness overwhelmed her, the same, strange hollowness she had felt in London. She felt the fragmented parts of her mind that she had managed to stitch together get ripped apart again, bringing back a whirlwind of confusion. Faint whispers began to cloud her ears.

Her eyes widened. It was all from her.

“Tina, what’s wrong?”

“He won. Atlas won.”

She was broken.