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Newt Scamander didn't like having guests over.
He was terrible with people. He was pretty sure everyone who'd ever met him knew that: he loved animals and barely tolerated humans. In retrospect, it was surprising that he'd managed to make three friends in New York, even though one of them no longer remembered him.
Unfortunately, the guest currently staying at his house was his brother, and even though he'd wanted to, he couldn't kick him out.
To be honest, he didn't understand why Theseus insisted on visiting him: they had nothing to talk about, their lives were completely different, and neither of them really cared about the other's work. Theseus worked for the Ministry and couldn't talk about many things because they were official secrets; he could have told Newt, considering he had no contact with anyone, but Newt didn't care as much as Theseus didn't care about his animals.
They'd talked about those in the past few weeks. Theseus had offered to help him with his travel revocation, and Newt had accepted and even tried to apply his advice. He was desperate.
The problem was that the price of revocation was too high. He preferred his animals to be free and he not to be free rather than the other way around.
Theseus thought this was stupid, but Newt was just as stubborn as he was.
«Your stubbornness will be your downfall, Newt. If only you thought about it—» Theseus was saying at that moment, sitting with his legs crossed on the couch.
«I've already thought about it. I won't give them my animals to use as weapons, Theseus, not even on rent, not even once. They're not weapons!» Newt snapped.
«They didn't say they need them right away, just to make you available—»
«They want to use them in the war against Grindelwald,» Newt interrupted, «And that means they'll die in the war against Grindelwald. They'll be sent to the vanguard so they can die before the Aurors, possibly causing a lot of damage to enemy lines, and that won't happen while I'm alive. Not to my animals.»
Newt hadn't served in the war, fortunately, but he hadn't forgotten the stories of what happened to all the dragons sent to the vanguard. He would never force something like that on poor innocent animals, especially not his own animals.
Theseus sighed, running a hand through his hair. «Newt—»
Someone rang the doorbell, startling them. They both turned toward the front door, confused.
«Are you expecting someone?» Theseus asked.
Newt didn't answer, staring anxiously at the foyer. There was only one person who could show up at his house uninvited at nine o'clock in the evening, and once again, he hadn't been announced by an owl.
He just had to hope Grindelwald didn't kill his brother just by seeing him. Or vice versa.
The doorbell rang again, and this time Newt walked to the door. He took a deep breath and opened it, preparing for the worst.
There wasn’t Grindelwald outside his door, though. There was a woman as tall as him, wearing a dark coat and a hat askew.
«Mr. Scamander?» the woman asked with a heavy French accent.
«Yes?» Newt replied, staring at her in confusion.
«Nice to meet you. I'm Vinda Rosier, sent by a... mutual friend of ours.» she said in a suggestive tone that was impossible to ignore.
Newt stared at her for a moment. A follower of Grindelwald, then. Someone important enough to be there in his place.
«Come in.» he said, letting her in. The woman hinted at a smile and calmly entered the foyer, looking around with interest. Newt closed the door and asked: «What do I owe your visit to? Do you need some antidote?»
«Nothing of the sort. It's for it.» the woman said, raising her wand and waving it to a spot to her left.
Newt's heart immediately melted when the illusion spell was lifted, revealing a Crup on a leash.
«Hey.» he muttered, kneeling before him. The Crup didn't move an inch, which was suspicious, but Newt could assess his condition: one eye was closed, one paw held up, blood stains on his fur from wounds that were likely still unhealed. He also saw that both of his tails were missing.
Newt looked up at the woman, furious to say the least. «What happened to him?!»
«We found it at an Auror's house. It was terrified, and not of us.» the woman commented, eyeing him. «I think I should warn you that it might get a little aggressive when I leave... We didn't know how to calm it down without crashing or killing it, so I put it under the Imperius Curse."
Newt's eyes widened. «You did what?!»
«Don't worry, it's mild. Just enough to keep it quiet this far.»
Only a dark wizard could speak of an Unforgivable Curse like that. Newt found himself wondering again what kind of mess he'd gotten himself into.
He ran a hand through his hair and said: «Okay, fine. May I ask you to lead him downstairs and come with me? I have a place I think would be perfect for him.»
«Newt?»
Newt leaped to his feet and whirled around, feeling guilty when poor Crup flinched. He might not be violent thanks to the Imperius Curse, but it was a mild enough form that it couldn't completely suppress his fear.
Theseus was leaning against the doorframe leading to the living room, eyeing the woman critically. «Who are you?»
Newt looked at the woman. It was a good thing she wasn't Grindelwald, but she was still one of his followers. The situation was awkward, to say the least.
«Ah... Theseus, meet Vinda Rosier. She...» he said, unsure how to justify the woman's presence in his home.
«We met in Ireland a couple of years ago.» the woman came to his aid with a smile. «He was releasing creatures from an illegal circus... I helped him stop a Manticore.»
Newt stared at her, quite concerned that two years earlier he had indeed released creatures from a traveling circus in Ireland. He hadn't stopped a Manticore, though, but an Erumpent.
«Yes,» said Newt, then added: «Vinda Rosier, meet my brother, Theseus Scamander.»
The woman's smile seemed to widen. «The famous war hero?»
«In person.» Theseus replied, straightening slightly.
«I've read about you many times in the newspapers. It's a real pleasure to meet you.»
«The pleasure is mine.» Theseus replied. He glanced briefly at Newt and added: «May I ask what you're doing here at this hour?»
Newt glared at Theseus. It was true that it was strange for Newt to have visitors, but that was no reason to question his guests... Especially when he was an Auror and the woman beside him a follower of Grindelwald, although it was best Theseus didn't know that.
«Mr. Scamander left me his contact information in case I found any creature that might require his attention. As you can see, I found one.» the woman said peacefully.
«And there was no one in France who could take care of it?» Theseus asked, staring at her intently.
«There’s only one magizoologist in the world, Mr. Scamander, and he’s your brother.» the woman replied more harshly. «Besides, I found this poor creature while I was here on vacation. It was running around like crazy, I think it was escaping from its owners. I couldn’t figure out who they were, though, and no one claimed it, so I brought it here.»
Theseus didn’t seem convinced, but Newt’s look dissuaded him from asking further questions. She was still his guest.
«I understand. You must forgive me, my beloved little brother often gets into trouble, and it’s instinctive for me to be a little protective of him.» Theseus said with a hint of a smile. Newt rolled his eyes.
«There’s no problem, don’t worry.» the woman replied.
«I need to set up a space for him, I don’t know when we’ll be finished.» Newt said, nodding to the Crup. «We can see each other another time.»
Theseus snorted and nodded. «God forbid my dear little brother pays more attention to his brother than to a magical creature.»
He nevertheless patted Newt on the shoulder and shook the woman's hand before leaving, closing the door behind him.
They were finally alone. Newt exhaled slowly, feeling as if he'd just gained the trust of a very wary hippogriff.
He turned to the woman and said: «Come with me.»
He descended into his study and then into the basement, which had been expanded to accommodate all his creatures and their habitats. He greeted each creature with a smile, already feeling calmer.
«This place is truly incredible, Mr. Scamander.» said the woman behind him. Turning, he saw her staring at an aquarium full of Plimpies, her eyes wide.
She was intrigued. Interested. Newt wondered if Grindelwald had told her anything about his studies.
He led her to an empty plot of land. There was a small dog house at the end, which he enlarged to be the right size for a full-grown Crup, then summoned all the garbage he had in the house, piling it up nearby. Finally, he turned to the woman.
«Exit the fence. Only stop the spell when I tell you to.»
The woman raised an eyebrow but nodded and exited the fence as requested.
Newt removed the Crup's collar and checked for splinters or anything else. He bit his lip for a couple of seconds, wondering if he should treat him while the woman kept him calm, but deciding against it. It was better to let him settle in and gain his trust the old-fashioned way.
He filled a bowl with water and placed it next to the entrance to the kennel, then stepped back and said, «You can let him go.»
«You'd better get out of the fence, Mr. Scamander. As I was saying, the Crup was terrified and will probably attack you like it did one of ours.» the woman said, sounding more like an order than advice.
Crups were generally friendly animals. They rarely attacked first, and they were definitely not to be underestimated as opponents.
Newt observed the Crup for a moment, then nodded and joined the woman outside the pen. When he closed the fence gate, he said: «Now.»
The woman waved her wand and lowered it. Newt immediately raised his magical defenses to prevent the Crup from attacking them.
The animal, however, only yelped. He looked around, completely disoriented, and ran to the corner of the pen opposite theirs, making himself as small as possible.
Newt felt his heart break, as it always did when things like this happened to him. He knew the Crup would soon recover and would become sociable with him, too, but that didn't make the first few days any less painful.
It was in those moments that he wished there were laws for those poor animals, so that their owners would be punished for those gratuitous and decidedly unnecessary acts of cruelty.
«There's no point in making that face, Mr. Scamander.» the woman said, interrupting his train of thought. «It's in good hands, it'll be as good as new.»
«I know. I just wish I could teach his owners a lesson.» Newt replied, looking at the poor creature.
«We've already taken care of them.»
The sinister smile on the woman's face spoke volumes about the fate his owners had met. Newt didn't feel the slightest bit sorry.
The woman turned fully toward him and said: «Very well. Thank you for your time, Mr. Scamander. Mr. Grindelwald spoke highly of you, and I admit I was curious to meet you. Our Dark Lord is hardly the sort of person to associate with lowly people, but I’m pleased to have been able to see your professionalism firsthand.»
Newt looked at her briefly. Had that been a test, then?
«Now, unfortunately, I must return to my business. I would, however, like to visit you again someday, if you're fine with it. Your animals are very interesting.»
«I suppose that could be arranged… but try to get an owl to announce you, please.» Newt replied, a hint of desperation in his tone.
The woman smiled. «Of course.»
Newt nodded and led her back into the foyer. She opened the front door herself, and Newt was startled when he saw Grindelwald waiting for her outside.
They both gave him the same knowing smile before disapparating, leaving Newt standing in the doorway wondering again what kind of trouble he had gotten himself into.