Work Text:
Everyone knew about Theseus Scamander. The famous war hero and everyone’s favourite guy. He was a Gryffindor through and through. His name was always in the papers doing something goof or another, just like a Gryffindor should. He always had women falling over him and he was always being noticed. Most people thought he was an only child, but when a certain book got published, the world was once more reminded of the second Scamander. When they remembered that Theseus was indeed an older brother.
To most, Newt Scamander was nothing special. He was a Hufflepuff and the only remarkable thing about him was the fact that he’d been expelled due to endangering other students. That and he’d been friends with a Lestrange. But other than that he was rather plain by society’s standard. He wore plain simple clothes, never bothered to slick his hair back like his brother did, and he never seemed to be able to look anyone in the eye. He was a quiet boy, and now he was a quiet man.
To the streets and the people who Theseus surrounded himself with, Newt Scamander was hardly someone to concern themselves with. But to some, Newt Scamander wasn’t ordinary. In fact, he was even better known than his older brother. He wasn’t the cowardly gentle Hufflepuff that the world above knew. No, the magical underground knew him as the dangerous and fiercely loyal magizoologist. He was the man who could tame dragons and not blink an eye at the damage and obscurial can cause He was brave and kind, but a disastrous enemy should one provoke his wrath.
He’s the one who saves magical creatures from all around the world and keeps them in his suitcase. He may be a Hufflepuff, but many animal breeders feared the day that Newt came to their land. While Newt may wander the world in search of magical creatures to rescue, he still went with a purpose. He never did anything without having a purpose for it. And he had this uncanny ability to track down anyone who was abusing a creature.
Newt was definitely better known with the magical underground. He was quite recognizable, only one person dared traverse the darker side of the magical world with a bright yellow and black scarf. His ratty brown suitcase that contains his fantastic beasts was just another way to recognize him. Everyone knew him at a glance, and they stayed away, lest they draw his ire. They know that behind the stuttering polite mess of a man, was something equally as dangerous as any of those creatures in his case.
And that’s something that everyone was very clear on. He’s a very polite and gentle man with a love for magical creatures. But that did nothing but make him more dangerous because who would expect this shy man to put up any kind of fight? So he had he element of surprise whenever some cocky asshole decided to be a cocky asshole. It was even worse if it had anything to do with magical creatures.
This one pub that Newt frequented learned pretty fast that they didn’t want the younger Scamander as an enemy. So they didn’t butt into his business or why he was there and they didn’t harass him about his case of probably illegal and foreign magical creatures. It was a pub where a lot of illegal activity was done. Even the trafficking of magical creatures was done there, once upon a time. That particular operation was shut down almost immediately after Newt Scamander became a regular; most of the job was even done by him.
That act pretty much solidified his reputation amongst the darker side of the wizarding population. There had even been a rumour at one point that he was hunting down Grindewald because the dark lord had been abusing some magical creature. They certainly saw the irony now.
They’d first found out about what happened in America when their local information broker burst in shouting the news. They weren’t even all that surprised, and their respect for him only grew. A week after the news had reached them, Newt had made an appearance at the pub once more. He’d calmly walked into the pub – although he did look a little worse for wear and had a pretty noticeable limp – and up to the bulletin board at the back. This bulletin board was filled with advertisements and job offers that you wouldn’t find anywhere else. It was usually how Newt chose his next destination.
You’d be surprised at how many creatures he’d saved because he knew where to go from that board.
He pulled out a piece of paper from a pocket on the inside of his muted blue coat and carefully stuck it to the center of the board with a couple tacks. Then he took a step back and sort of shuffled over to his usual table. A serving girl flitted over and shyly asked what he’d like to drink. A delicate blush bloomed across freckled cheeks as his eyes darted downward and he mumbled something or another. The waitress must have heard him as she quickly rushed off to go get his order.
There was a moment of silence where everyone just sort of stared at the younger Scamander in awe. Newt shifted uncomfortably and blushed heavily at the attention. After seeing that Newt hadn’t changed, the people in the pub collectively went back to their own business, although they did still kept one eye on the young man in anticipation. There was rarely a time when Newt remained unbothered at his table, and that could only get worse since he’d become somewhat of a hero due to his actions in America.
They didn’t have to wait long. Shortly after the waitress dropped off a simple meal to the weary young man, someone approached the table and sat opposite to the legendary tamer. It was someone new; he’d shown up about 2 days after Newt had disappeared – “gone to America” the owner had assured them, “not gone for good” – with his own knowledge of magical creatures. This man was the type of person that Newt got rid of, and he made them all uncomfortable. It’d been a while since someone who’d captured and mistreated creatures had been here.
It was fairely obvious what type of ‘magizoologist’ he was. He’d walked in, announcing that if anyone had an issue with any magical creatures then all they had to do was tell him and he’d ‘take care of it’. There’d been an awful lot of blood underneath his finger nails, and his sadistic grin promised only trouble. The man made them all uncomfortable, especially in contrast with how Newt acted. This man was in no way popular – everyone respected (and/or feared the wrath of) Newt more than they feared what this man could do – but he still fancied himself incredibly important
Now it was the long awaited confrontation between the two people who dealt with magical creatures. They couldn’t wait to see how Newt would deal with this arrogant man. He’d apparently gone up against Grindewald and lived to tell the tale. He’d gotten rid of plenty of men just like this one before. The only difference is that one seemed just a little too confident. He was cocky and arrogant and thought he would win, so he was going to make a spectacle out of it.
Probably in the hopes that he could humiliate him and become top dog.
“Scamander, I’ve heard you’re the resident wizard who handles magical creature cases,” the man called loud enough for entire pub to hear it – much louder than was necessary to talk to the quiet man with the suitcase. He really wanted to make this public. The bar immediately quieted down in an attempt to hear the conversation better. “Heard you weren’t taking care of them properly.” He snarked.
Newt furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. He seemed confused as to why the man was even talking to him. “I’m sorry? Do I know you?” he asked softly, not really understanding what the other man was asking. The man rolled his eyes and leaned forward threateningly.
“Well I don’t know if you’ve heard but I’m the one in charge now, and I’m taking out those vermin, so I suggest you hand over your suitcase, sir” he said snarkily, eyes darting greedily towards the case. There was a brief bit of surprise in the gentle man’s eyes before realization dawned. Then his eyes hardened and there was a noticeable shift in his demeanor. While before he had been unassuming and very wallflower-like, now he was a strong presence and he had a quietly dangerous aura.
The people of the pub had only seen him like this two times before. Once when the police had come in demanding that the pub owner came into custody. Newt had stood up and protected the innocent pub owner, vouching for him using his status as a light wizard to convince them. It turned out to be a false accusation of murder made by local competition. It probably would’ve ruined good (clean) business for a long time after the scandal.
The only other time they’d seen him this angry when Theseus – his brother that a surprising amount of people in the bar hated - had walked in demanding to see his brother. He’d then given an impromptu speech about how he needed to stop wasting his life on magical creatures and ‘look at where you are’ as he gestured around him. He was clearly making a statement about the type of people that he thought were in the pub.
He was one of those self-important stuck up snobs who spent all their time looking down on them and not doing anything about the problems they see. Newt had not taken too kindly to how Theseus was acting and he’d had his brother thrown out of the pub and then apologized profusely for his behavior.
Point is, Newt generally wasn’t one to look dangerous. He was just so innocent and gentle, it was like he couldn’t hurt a fly. The truth was, he just couldn’t bring himself to. If one were to dig far enough they’d find that Newt had been quite the dueler when he was still at Hogwarts. If it came down to it, Newt could be quite dangerous.
But this guy just didn’t seem to understand what he’d done wrong. Not only had he proved that he was an asshole, but he planned on killing Newt’s creatures. He wasn’t just going to let that stand.
Newt stood up abruptly, almost knocking over the chair but he payed it no mind. He griped the handle of his suitcase tightly as he said the next sentence, “Can we take this outside?” His voice was quiet and held no hint of the well-hidden malice that had been there but a second ago. It was still there in his eyes, but the man was completely oblivious to it.
He was too busy being cocky at the apparent win to really pay attention to any of Newt’s tells. “Sure! I’ll spare you the humiliation.” The man boasted. If only he knew it was really the other way around. Newt gestured for the other man to lead the way, and he gladly obliged, letting Newt follow him. As soon as the man had his back turned, Newt’s stance stiffened. His shoulders were tense with anticipation, and his gait was much more like that of a cheetah who’d spotted its prey and was about to pounce then the harmless deer-like stumble that he had before.
Just as Newt was about to go through the door, they saw his wand slip from his sleeve and into his pocket. Then the door closed and they could hear nothing. Conversation slowly picked up again as they speculated about what was going to go down, because while Newt was dangerous in his own right, this man was definitely not something to scoff at.
A good 10 minutes later, the door opened once more and a single man re-entered the pub. They let out a barely audible sigh of relief at seeing that familiar blue coat and it being no worse for wear. But Newt’s face was grim and he held a rather serious aura. That’s when they remembered that this was the man who’d gone up against Grindewald and been the winner. They had held a healthy respect for him before, but now they were afraid.
By the next week, there was a new rule in the pub – never threaten magical creatures – and almost everyone had a copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Now everyone (even those who chose to look down upon the underground) knew that Newt had gone to America and gotten involved in some heavy things. They knew that he was the one who’d been able to see through Grindewald’s disguise. He’d actually done something incredible, something that even caught Theseus’ eye. He’d been surprised to hear the name Scamander amongst his peers in the Ministry (he was a top auror after all). He couldn’t remember doing anything lately that would be worthy of mention.
When he’d asked what people were so excited about, they responded with the statement that the USA had gotten Grindewald in custody all thanks to a certain British wizard who wasn’t even supposed to be there in the first place. “It’s your bother, Newt” his friend Grace had said excitedly. They’d been friends since they were small and she’d been one of the few people who didn’t hate or overlook the younger Scamander. “They say he released a Thunderbird and helped avoid a crisis by obliviating an entire city. He was even in the process of taming an obscurus when the aurors killed it!” she exclaimed.
Theseus’ eyebrows furrowed in a combination of confusion and disbelief. His brother, Newt, did that? The little Hufflepuff who got expelled and loved animals more than he ever loved humans had gone up against the dark wizard who’d eluded them, the best aurors in the magical community, for years? The wizard who’d killed countless highly trained professionals had been taken down by his bumbling failure of a brother?! How was this possible?
What had Newt even been trying to do in America? He’d told Newt to travel because he was obviously doing no good in Britain, but he never meant travel to America illegally (well the muggle way but that’s just a technicality). And good god, just think about all the different laws he’d broken with his damn suitcase and his magical creatures. He hadn’t even seen the report yet and he knew Newt had caused a lot more trouble than what he’d fixed.
Laws were very different in America and Newt was naïve enough to believe that everything would be the same and not even bothered to check. And taming an obscurus? Those hadn’t been heard of in years and they were extremely dangerous creatures! Nobody but highly trained Aurors should even think about approaching one
And of course Newt ignored logic. Again.
He had pulled his “it’s not dangerous” schtick and tried to protect it despite the amount of damage it’d caused. That fool wouldn’t know dangerous if it hit him in the face! It had too! This one Horntailed dragon – did it really matter what breed it was? It was still a dragon – had gotten him pretty badly. Newt had a rather nasty scar from the left corner of his jaw going all the way down to his right hip.
Theseus had been afraid that he would lose him. But as soon as Newt had been able to stand without passing out he’d been off trying to tame that dragon. By the end of the week it had been named Betsy and treated Newt like he was its mother. Ridiculous.
But that horrible experience hadn’t even crippled him. He’d gotten right back up and acted like it was completely normal. That kind of scared Theseus.
When he finished reading the report on the incident he’d wanted to bash someone’s head in, whether it was his own or Newt’s he wasn’t quite sure. Not only did he travel illegally to America, but he led a bunch of dangerous creatures loose and got a muggle involved. Or a ‘no-maj’ as the American’s called them. How barbaric! They didn’t allow any muggles to know of magic. This Jacob Kowalski seemed to have been pretty open minded and he’d even done a great service to the wizarding community (well helped do a service, the man really didn’t do all that much) and yet they didn’t even have the decency to let him keep his memories.
At least the auror – a Miss Tina Goldstein who’d written this report and had been at the center of this whole… adventure that his brother had gotten into — got reinstated. Anyone who could keep up with Newt and still plans on being friends with him deserved to be an Auror. Even the reason she was demoted seems rather absurd. In Britain, saving a muggle – or anyone really was commended and a good thing. Simply swear and obliviate the abusive parent.
Even if the child blabbed it could be blamed on the shock or childish ramblings and imagination. No one would believe the child. And if they did show magical promise, then they would be put with a magically aware family. It was a pretty simple system, he didn’t understand why exactly the muggle couldn’t remain aware. But he kept his main opinions to himself. He put the report away and tried to get back to work, fully believing that the news would die out by the end of the week and people would stop caring about the lesser Scamander soon enough.
Things would go back to normal soon enough.
He was wrong.
It turns out that Newt had finally finished that blasted book of his (even with a chapter that focuses only on obscurials!) while he had some free time in America and had decided to publish it. Fantastic beasts and Where to Find Them, what a load of bullshit. What was Newt thinking? Most people didn’t care enough to spend a knut on anything to do with magical creatures, let alone whatever this book costs.
The fact that he has a copy means nothing. It’s merely for research as Newt rarely communicates with any of the Scamanders. Their mother wanted to know how he was doing and since Theseus was the elder sibling he was supposed to look out for the younger. If only Newt didn’t make it so difficult. He never understood the younger Scamander’s need to wander, but it was better for everyone that he did. Just imagining all the mischief he could get up to cooped up in Wizarding England gave him a headache.
Just look at what happened when he was at Hogwarts!
And the worst part is that he’d been blames for it all as well. But no matter. At least this time something good might have come from it. The USA had Grindewald in custody – for now that is (until he inevitably escapes) – but they refused to give him to Britain. That was a problem that was causing a lot of unrest with the ministry. Not only were they technically withholding a criminal, but it was a blatant sign of distrust towards the wizarding world of Britain. It told them that the MACUSA thought them too incompetent to properly keep Grindewald.
A lot of Aurors were complaining about how ‘difficult’ the MACUSA was being. The Americas seemed to believe that they should be the ones to sentence the dark wizard because they caught him; which was utterly ridiculous! If anything – and how he loathed to admit this – Newt (a British wizard by the way) was responsible for discovering Grindewald. They argue they would have noticed eventually, and that though they still believed Newt played an important role in the relatively small casualty numbers, they would have been able to solve things without his aide.
It had been worded a lot better in the official side notes written by the President in the official report. But the meaning was abasically the same; there was no trust in the British from the Americans. Newt, was an exception to them. And upon Newt’s consent – apparently he could become an official member of the MACUSA after his trials. Theseus had no idea what they were playing at, but he doubted Newt would choose them over his homeland.
He wouldn’t, right?
What could he possibly gain there, in America, that he didn’t already have here? Recognition, friendship, a job, were the first things to jump to the forefront of his brain. He was his own man with the MACUSA and seen as a valuable asset, quite like what Theseus was in Britain. But it wasn’t like he wasn’t getting some attention now, after publishing his book. And Newt had always been a quiet child, his days of seeking glory (or any sort of recognition really) for his actions had long since passed since his Hogwarts days. As for friendships, well, Tina Goldstein and that muggle seemed a little too good to be true.
The last time Newt had had a friend like that was when he’d hung out with Leta Lestrange. And look where that got him! Expelled and now unable to be taken seriously. No, Newt was better off just sticking with his creatures. At least he knew how to handle them! The poor lad just didn’t know when to stop.
And then there was the employment issue. Not even Theseus, with all his brains and fancy degrees, could think of some thinly veiled excuse for Newt to stay. It was no secret that he’d been expelled. That particular fact has brought a lot of shame to the Scamander name. No one wanted to hire him because of that fact. Maybe if he pulled a couple strings he could get Newt a job offer at some pet store or something. But even Theseus – who would quite frankly like to remain optimistic and oblivious to the meaner side of magic (since he had been a Gryffindor and light magic is all that matters) – knew that would not be appealing to Newt.
Not matter how much Newt loved animals, a position with the MACUSA as an advisor on how to deal with magical creatures and the protection of said magical creatures was way more appealing than selling creatures to unkind owners. Or worse in his eyes, selling some supposedly ‘not dangerous’ creature to someone incompetent and getting charged for murder.
Yeah, the job couldn’t exactly be refuted no matter how he looked at it. (Of course it didn’t even cross his mind to think that maybe Newt wouldn’t even want the job, instead choosing to continue to travel). He was more likely to choose England, but there was still that small chance that he wouldn’t, and that scared Theseus. He’d have to put a stop to it for certain.
Mother would be so upset it he left. Couldn’t have that.
He didn’t get to talk to or even see his little brother until about a month later when the chaos about Grindewald and Newt’s book calmed down a bit to a more bearable buzz. The funny thing is, it wasn’t even him that initiated the meeting, it was Newt. One morning while Theseus had just finished his routine coffee and contemplation hour and was beginning to look over a report when there was a soft knock on his door.
He gave a quick “come in!” before going back to his report. A moment or so later, the door quietly opened to reveal the younger Scamander’s hunched frame along with the ever present suitcase. He looked hesitant, somehow even more nervous than usual. This set off alarm bells in Theseus’ head, but he ignored them.
“I-I’m going back to America!” he blurted out suddenly, eyes darting downward to avoid Theseus’ stern gaze.
“And how long will this visit be, brother?” he pursed his lips, pausing in the shuffling of is papers.
“Well you see…” Newt began, shuffling awkwardly in his reluctance to explain. “I was offered a job with the MACUSA so… indefinitely save business trips.” He mumbled quietly looking to the world like he was hoping Theseus didn’t actually hear what he was saying.
“Absolutely not” Theseus responded without even missing a beat. Don’t be ridiculous Newton.” He rolled his eyes and went back to his report, fully believing that the conversation was over. He was wrong.
“It’s not your choice! They need me Theseus!” he said, beginning to get flustered. Theseus was not buying it.
“I’m sure they can find someone else to do whatever they need you for.” He assured him, ignoring Newt’s rising temper.
Newt finally lost his cool – which was pretty impressive considering he was a Hufflepuff. “I can’t believe you! I am the one person who may be able to help because I’m the best they’ll get with magical creatures! I just might be their best shot at finding Percival Graves still alive and I promised Tina!” he was breathing heavily and completely red in the face by the end of his rant.
Theseus raised an eyebrow at his unusual outburst. “Ah so this is about a girl, then?” he said. But apparently that was the wrong thing to say because Newt’s flustered state worsened. For a moment, Theseus thought Newt would actually begin to full out scream at him. But the Newt seemed to shut down. All the emotion was wiped clean from his face, posture and eyes. He stood there like a statue just staring at Theseus like he couldn’t quite figure out what to say.
“So it is about a girl.” He concluded. There was a quiet fury in Newt’s eyes as he watched him, and for a second Newt actually looked dangerous. He turned around sharply and walked towards the door, opening it with a snap. He stood in the doorway for a moment before looking over his shoulder.
“Goodbye, Theseus.” He said evenly, with an air of finality in his tone. Then he simply walked away. Theseus stared at the open door for a while. Then, after a solid 5 minutes of waiting – for what he didn’t know. The door to close? Newt to come back? – he stood up and quietly closed the door.
Maybe Newt should have been a Slytherin.
When Newt arrived in New York via muggle boat once more he took a deep breath and just took in the smells and sounds of the city. Oh how he’d missed this over the months he’d been away. He was knocked out of his reverie by 3 pairs of arms. He dropped his suitcase in alarm as he realized that it was Tina, Queenie, and… Jacob? “J-Jacob?” he stuttered in disbelief. After they let him go Jacob smiled at him and began to explain.
“It just came to me one night! I just couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off! Then it came to me!” Jacob gushed excitedly, “I remembered everything and confronted Queenie about my dreams and she confirmed it! So here I am!” he was grinning so wide, Newt couldn’t help but smile back. But then their moment of happiness was shut down by the queen of buzzkill herself; Tina.
“Come quickly! The president received your letter and we are anxiously awaiting our arrival! We’re running out of time to find Graves alive. Grindewald said we have only 4 months and you’re our last hope!” she said urgently. “There’s only a week left.”
Net frowned as he bid a hasty goodbye to Queenie and Jacob before rushing after Tin to meet the President. Tina took him directly to the meeting room where the president was meeting with a group of aurors and tracking experts. (The fact that the professionals hadn’t found anything in 3 and a half months was alarming). “Ah, Mr. Scamander,” the president, Seraphina Picquery somberly greeted. Newt nodded in response and set his suitcase on the table.
“If you don’t mind ma’am, I’d like to see all that you have now…” he said uncertainly. The witch nodded and gestured for another auror to come forward. He was like your average man, but he held a distinct air about him that spoke of experience. He pulled up a file that was dishearteningly thin.
“We have the original letter that Grindewald gave us as well as a layout of the city with possible hiding places. He’s left us clues, but we can’t solve ‘em. He gave us a damn scrap of cloth – from the jacket that his late mother had given him, he never left the house without it – from his person and our dogs can’t get a damn thing!” the auror said in frustration as he practically threw the file down on the table. Newt could tell that the frustrating lack of progress as well as the time limit and fast approaching deadline (literally) was beginning to get to the aurors who felt especially guilty after not noticing a difference between Grindewald and their boss.
Newt thumbed through the file before snorting softly. “Well you were using dogs. Probably ordinary ones as well. There are plenty of creatures with a sharper sense of smell.” He said, mostly to himself, but everyone still heard because the room was completely silent. His face heated up in embarrassment. Then his eyes lit up and he turned to his suitcase. He placed it on the floor. “I’ll be back in a moment,” then he simply walked into the case.
He quickly went to the territory that he’d created for the region of the creature he needed and he was able to return to the surface in a timely manner with it in his grasp. “-been pouring over that letter for weeks with nothing to show for it and what do you think that this Brit can do in 5 minutes that we couldn’t do in months?” He caught the tail end of the conversation as he resurfaced. He proudly held out the creature to show the room’s occupants. They stared at the… thing in his hands in disgust.
“What… the hell… is that?!!” One of the aurors asked in a horrified tone. Newt pouted and looked down at the creature. Admittedly it was quite the sight. He held in his hands what looked to be a combination of a grub and a snake gone wrong. It was short, only about 30 cm long, and the girth of the midsection was larger than the head and the tail. It had the look of a viper, matched with its sharp teeth and head shape. Its scales seemed to ooze some form of goo and it covered his hands. Judging by the looks of disgust on everyone’s (even Tina’s) faces; they didn’t see how amazing the creature was.
“She’s called Janet and she is a tsuchinoko and its native to Northeast Japan. Because of her snake roots, she has an incredibly good sense of smell. She’s an excellent tracker, aren’t you Janet!” he said, directing the last sentence at the creature in his arms.
“Maa, maa, just point me in the direction of the cloth and I’ll find ‘im, hatchling.” The tsuchinoko hissed. The other aurors jumped back in surprise at the fact that the snake spoke English and not parseltongue. Seraphina merely raised an eyebrow and Tina was too tired to even flinch. She needed more sleep. Newt ducked his head before holding the grub-like thing towards the scrap of Graves’ clothes. The tsuchinoko stuck its tongue out repeatedly before turning to look at Newt. “Put me down outside. I can take you to him” she said with certainty.
Newt nodded and promptly began to walk out of the room. Tina – who knew that he was like this – promptly grabbed his suitcase and followed him out of the room. The aurors exchanged looks before following suit, both desperate for any possible lead at this point, and curious to see what the magizoologist would do. “So the… snake talks?” an auror said awkwardly as they caught up with the duo.
“Yeah and ‘the snake’ can understand you too,” the slimy tsuchinoko said from her spot on the ground. The auror in question blushed and apologized. After that blunder no one else wanted to speak, so they spent the rest of the time following the surprisingly fast creature in silence. Newt was more comfortable that way anyway.
Newt had no idea how long they followed Janet, but soon enough they arrived at a rundown building. Newt put Jane back in the case and they cautiously entered the building with their wands out. For a couple hallways, they met no resistance, but as they went deeper into the building, they were suddenly jumped. “Stupefy!” Newt said as he stunned a couple wizards, the aurors wordlessly following his example and covering his back. They disabled the wizards and kept going.
After the first 20 or so enemy wizards, they eventually stopped coming out of the cracks. Then they found a locked door. After trying a coupe spells on it and having no results, one of the aurors said ‘fuck it’ and just kicked the door in. There in the room was a single cage, and in the small cage that was just big enough for a German shepherd, lay a man. He looked incredibly unwell, with his clothes in tatters and gaunt facial features. He had a needle or two sticking out of his right arm that lay draped across his body. He was pale and sickly, but he was still breathing, although unconscious.
The aurors immediately rushed the cage and began easing the injured man out of the cage. Tina was at the forefront of the charge. The president hung back for a moment, shooting him a rare soft look. “Thank you,” she said softly before going to join her subordinates in freeing Mr. Graves.
After Graves was found things fell into a lull. Percival Graves healed and was back to active duty within a month after being deemed physically and mentally well. Once he returned to the office, Newt got to see exactly why the man inspired such loyalty from his subordinates. The man was brilliant and fantastic at his job. And while he was strict about his work, he was still a very nice boss.
As both an ambassador from Britain’s magical community and the guy everyone was supposed to go to for anything at all that had even a tiny thing to do with magical creatures, he worked pretty closely with the auror department. So, he handed in all of his report to Mr. Graves. Despite is shy temperament, he got along very well with all of his co-workers and he had no regret about coming back to America and accepting the job.
Not only did he get to work with creatures every day – and get payed for it too – but he also got to reconnect with his first friends in over a decade. He was actually living with Jacob over his surprisingly popular creature themed bakery, and the Goldstein sisters visited frequently. Queenie and Jacob had started officially dating and they all helped out frequently with the bakery whenever they had free time.
And while everything had been going smoothly, that was bound to come to an end. It was too good to be true and since it as Newt, of course something just had to go wrong. In this case, it was his somewhat shadier past coming back to haunt him.
It all started when Newt was called into Mr. Graves’ office and was greeted by not only Mr. Graves and Tina, but also Seraphina Picquery, the current president of the MACUSA. That immediately set off alarms in his head, considering it had to be really serious for her to get involved. “Madam President, Mr. Graves,” he greeted respectfully and nodded to Tina. The two superior officers nod in return before getting right down to business.
“I hate to be the one to bring this bad news, but we have a very dire situation and we need your help.” Seraphina began, confirming Newt’s fears. “One of our aurors who was investigating a trafficking ring has gone missing, and since you were the one who was instrumental in finally tracking down Mr. Graves… we were hoping that you would help us even if it’s not strictly creature related.”
Newt’s entire demeanor had darkened as soon as he heard about the situation. “Of course,” he said softly, “may I see the scene? Or was she taken quietly?”
This time Mr. Graves was the one to speak up. “We should go now. Most hostages don’t last the first 24 hours and we’ve received no ransom demand. It’s already been at least 8 hours so we’re on the clock. For all we know she’s dead already.” He said in his serious no nonsense tone as they made their way towards the ‘scene’.
They arrived in an alley way that was covered with caution tape and had 2 aurors standing guard. The New Yorkers probably thought that it was a normal murder investigation. Newt immediately handed Tina (who knew to expect it by now) his suitcase and began to look around. It looked like your typical alley in New York. The only sign that something was wrong was the rather ominous symbol painted in what looked and smelled (to his sensitive nose) like blood.
He walked slowly towards the end of the alley way to look for any clues and to see exactly what the symbol was. A cursory glance revealed that yes, the symbol was indeed drawn with blood and according to how dry it was, it had been approximately 8-9 hours since it was painted on. The symbol was peculiar and it took a couple seconds for him to recognize it. But when he did, he was immediately weary. He’d had dealing this the gang that used this symbol.
He quickly scanned the ground, finding an aurors badge as well as wand carelessly dropped on the ground almost behind a dumpster. He bent down and looked at them, identifying that it was indeed the missing auror. And according to the photo, she was exactly the type of person this trafficking ring would target. She was fair skinned and slightly of build. Her face wasn’t displeasing to the eye even if she was rather plain. Make up could easily fix that.
Now getting involved in a trafficking ring did not seem like something New would do. And ordinarily you would be right. He just wasn’t the jump-into-danger-rescue-the-damsel type of guy. But he had been investigating trafficking of magical creatures when he’d come across this particular gang. They took and sold anything that was female, pretty enough, and humanoid. Most magical creatures were ethereally beautiful so they sold for a pretty penny. He hadn’t been able to take them down, but with some help, he had crippled their operations in 3 countries.
He still had some inside connections that gave him news from time to time. They helped him smuggle out as many captives as they could without getting caught. He’d been gathering information and doing his best to help while he’d been traveling, but lately he hadn’t been keeping up as much contact. He’d been very preoccupied with trying to fic the MACUSA’s magical creature situation. He almost regretted that now.
“How much information do you have on this… organization?” he asked as he continued to examine the blood, trying to see what else was left behind.
“Unfortunately not much,” Tina admitted. “Ashton wasn’t able to give us the new information before she was taken. All we know is that is’ an international trafficking ring and that it’s old.” Newt pursed his lips at that answer. It wasn’t much to work with. He’d have to call in some favors.
“Mr. Graves,” he asked suddenly, still maintaining his quiet unimposing tone. “What are your thoughts?” it was a simple inquiry, but it would give him a better picture on what he might have to deal with. Percival Graves was an experienced auror and instincts (especially ones as well hones as Graves’ was) were always useful. Especially considering the fact that they were currently flying blind with this American branch. France, Saudi Arabia and China he knew, but even those 3 branches were vastly different from each other.
“They took her and left her wand, badge, and anything else that could be used to identify her. They probably know that she’s an auror, but they don’t care. They’ll use her against us. Political moves.” Graves assessed. Close, and Newt might have guessed the same had he not known more about this situation.
“I’m afraid that’ not the case Mr. Graves” New said as he stood up and took his case back from Tin. Opening it in incognito mode he pulled out a blank piece of parchment. It had been charmed long ago so that Newt could communicate with his inside men.
“What do you mean Mr. Scamander?”’ Seraphina questioned sharply, and New flinched slightly at her tone.
“I’ve seen this symbol before,” he began to explain as he waved is wand over the parchment to send a message. “It’s not just a simple trafficking ring. These guys have been operating covertly in over 100 countries – catering to both magical and non-magical communities. The muggle police have been after them for years.” He told them as he waited for one of his contacts to respond to his message.
“They’ve evaded the authorities for years, so they’re too confident to use this auror as a hostage. She’ll most likely just be sold. The likelihood of her being killed is minimal – she’s a way to get money and they don’t pass that up – but it’s anyone’s guess at how fast she’d be sold.” He finished his depressing analysis as he finally received a response from the parchment.
“And how, Mr. Scamander, do you know any of this?” the president asked, looking at him suspiciously. He ducked his head and busied himself with reading the report.
“I tried to stop their operations in France, Saudi Arabia, and China. I have some people on the inside who help me smuggle out some people and creatures.” He explained in a somewhat distracted manner as he scanned the content of the message. Below his somewhat messy scrawl politely asking about American operations was a neat little paragraph written in green ink.
Yeah we’ve just gotten involved with the local aurors. One got too close and the boss apprehended her. She fit the bill though, so the boss chose to sell her instead of just killing her. She’d currently being quite the problem so she hasn’t sold yet. You interested in buying? I know that’s your type.
Newt’s eyebrows furrowed in worry. The significance of the green ink and the last 2 sentences did not escape him. They’d developed a code long ago (partially inspired by aurors) so that they could make the other aware if they were compromised. So he was being watched, which was not good. But he hadn’t used the key word ‘spitfire’ so New knew the no one had found out about his double agent actions yet. At the very least, there was someone in the room with him.
How much is she going for? He wrote back. This wasn’t really a question of how much she was selling for, but how much backup he’d need.
Eh, she’s pretty nice, more on the expensive side, but still cheap enough because she’s human and a witch. She’s just a little plain you know? Around 15 to 20. You still interested? I know you prefer creatures but she’s a real catch. There just ain’t that many creatures here and it’s too much of a hassle to import right now.
Hmm, pretty serious. Usually his smuggling jobs would only require 3 people to pull off, she was probably being watched closely. But the relatively small number of aurors – compared to the 30 in France, 50 in Saudi Arabia and 70 in China (old countries; the ring had been running a lot longer there) – meant that the gang as new to America and hadn’t quite sunken their fangs into the country yet They should be relatively easy to take out.
It was also important to note that most of the victims were either no-majs or witches. Considering the previous ban on magical creatures, it was no wonder they couldn’t find anything local.
Meeting place? (Location of operations?)
You know the warehouse by the water? It’s been abandoned for about a year after the fire.
“Do any of you know where the warehouse that almost burned down about a year ago is? It’s by water.” Newt asks, looking up slightly, even though he was still unable to meet anyone’s eyes; especially considering 2 were his superiors.
“Yes but that isn’t the point!” Tina said worriedly. “How do you know any of this? How did you even get involved? Who’s this contact?” she asked frantically in quick succession. Seraphina and Percival looked just as eager as Tina did to know this.
“Well you know how I rescued Frank right? Well he’s not the only one I rescued on my travels.” He said quietly. “I got a little too involved in France, met some people… do you have any idea how many creatures are placed in captivity this way?” he asked rhetorically, already opening his suitcase with one hand while writing on the parchment with the other.
We’ll be there at 8:00. Don’t be late.
“Madam President, if you don’t’ mind. We’ll be needing 15-20 aurors to be ready for combat. We’ll be going to the warehouse at 8:00 PM and we’ll be taking down their operations.” He said respectfully, blushing at how forward he was being. But he schooled his expression. “I’ll of course be going with them,” he continued.
Seraphina eyed him for a moment, taking in his serious expression and appraising him. He didn’t meet her eyes, but his posture spoke of quiet confidence. She sniffed slightly, but have in, making an effort to show she wasn’t favoring him, merely acknowledging the fact that Newt probably (definitely) knew this organization better. “Very well then. I’ll have aurors meet you and Tina there at the appropriate time.” She said before turning to leave.
That should have been the end of the discussion, but the head auror had other ideas. “Madam President! You can’t be serious! Sending a civilian ambassador to take down an entire trafficking ring? That’s absurd!” he exclaimed in anger.
(Ever since his return he’d been a lot more prone to negative and aggressive emotions and actions. It was beginning to worry them, but so far it hadn’t been a problem on the field, or so Tina said. Her worried looks told another story altogether.)
The witch merely raised an eyebrow at him. “You question my judgement? Mr. Scamander can handle himself. He did hold out in a duel against Grindewald all the while trying to calm an obscurial.” She said coolly as if scolding a child.
Graves frowned at the rebuke but he was interrupted by none other than Newt himself before he could protest further. “If it helps, I was once the best dueler at Hogwarts.” He claimed innocently. That comment of course did not help at all. As Graves chased after Seraphina trying to convince her that allowing Newt – no matter how experienced he was – to accompany them on a mission for aurors was unprofessional, Newt put away the parchment and offered his arm to Tina.
“Let’s take a walk by the water” he offered in a soft and shy yet confident manner only he could pull off. Tina blushed and took the offered arm. They walked out of the alley together. Newt’s freckled cheeks were dusted a light pink as he avoided meeting anyone’s eyes, and Tina smiled softly as she began to lead him down the muggle street towards the water.