Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

To one moment be dead, and the next, be a wailing newborn is a bit strange to be frank, though I don’t remember my infant years, and didn’t get all my memories from my last life until I was 10 years of age. Though, to be honest, I have no recollection of any of the closely personal memories of that life.

I remember being a highly accomplished veterinarian; mainly for exotic and unusual creatures. I also remember being a high functioning person on the Autism Spectrum, but my name, age, family and friends, and what I looked like was all a blur. Whenever I tried to remember when I was younger, I ended up with bad nose bleeds that freaked out my parents, so I just gave up on trying to remember, as it was no longer important to me.

Speaking of parents, my mother and father were strange. “Strange” as in they were both a witch and a wizard, but not in the Wiccan sense, but in the Harry Potter kind— one of the few things I remember from my previous life with some clarity.

Another thing that was strange was being born in 1900 New York, New York, when I was born originally in Michigan in either the 80s or 90s, possibly (the years were always blurred, but it had to have been in the far future than the year I was reborn in, seeing as I remember learning about World War II).

Now I was a New Yorker with an English accent, born in the 1900’s and looking like Jodie Whittaker when she played the 13th Doctor, thanks to my English-French father, Tomas Beaumont, with very little input from my American mother, Susan Beaumont nee Goldstein. However, Mother never really seemed to be all that bothered that I never took after her looks and personality wise.

Now? As I reflect back to my early life, both of my parents were gone; Mother dying from illness while Father followed a year later, when I was 14, of a broken heart. It hurt, and I mourned them both, yet my cousins Queenie and Porpentina– “Just ‘Tina’ !”– kept me sane as I started living with them the moment my father died.

Honestly? We were more like sisters than cousins, with how close we are to each other. Though, really? Things started to change… We started to change and grow as people when he came into our lives like a sudden storm. He appeared on December 6th, 1926 with a case filled with fantastic beasts.

†††

I stood next to Tina in a beige trench coat over a long sleeved dark blue sweater, beige suspenders and wide-legged short pants and brown leather boots, munching away on a burger while she ate a hotdog slathered in mustard as we stood in the very back of the growing crowd. Standing on the steps was none other than Mary Lou Barebone, spewing her hate at everyone that was willing to listen. I frowned, while Tina glowered at the older woman, as I noticed how Credence seemed to have curled even more into himself.

“This great city sparkles with jewels of man’s inventions. Movie theaters, automobiles, the wireless electric lights, all dazzle and bewitch us!” Mary Lou called out just as a man in a blue peacoat brushed past us, making Tina smear mustard on her lips while I got ketchup on my fingers, which I licked off.

“Oh… So sorry,” he apologized, casting us both a quick look before moving forward, head tilted back as he looked around in wonder, as he moved between people, trying his damnedest not to actually touch anyone and hunching his shoulders up around his ears when he did. Oddly enough, his body language reminded me of something, but I could not put my finger on what.

“But where there is light, there is shadow, friend. Something is stalking our city, wreaking destruction, and then disappearing without a trace… Listen to me! We have to fight. You hear me? We have to fight together for the sake of our—” Mary Lou’s rant was cut short when a stocky man in an ill-fitting brown suit tripped and fell over the man in the blue peacoat’s suitcase.

“Hey! What it!” some rudely snapped at the poor man.

“I’m so sorry— My case—” Peacoat apologized.

My ears perked at hearing a distinctive English accent from the cinnamon haired man.

The man got up and exhaled slowly. “No harm done. Excuse me.” He then raced up the steps to the bank.

I edged forward as Tina nudged me, obviously her gut was telling her something, and not wanting to be seen by the linchpin of the Second Salemers, she wanted me to do a follow-up for her. Now I stood next to Mr. Peacoat, just as Mary Lou pointed in our direction.

“You!” Mr. Peacoat shrank back from her aggressive voice, turning to face her, but not once looking at her. His blue eyes stayed fixed on the space over her shoulder instead, his fingers tightly wrapped around the handle of his suitcase. “Friend.” Mary Lou stepped down a few steps. “What drew you to our meeting today?”

“Oh, I-I was just— passing.”

“Are you a seeker? A seeker after truth?”

“I’m more of a Chaser, really,” he replied, lips pulling up into a lopsided grin.

Quirking a brow, I eyed the man up and down. He did look a bit like a Chaser, but… “Nah, you look a wee bit like a Keeper,” I said loud enough for only him to hear, just for him to grin warily in my general direction.

“Hear my words, and heed my warning. And laugh if you dare: Witches live among us! We have to fight together for the sake of our children.” At this, I scoffed at her. “For the sake of tomorrow. What do you say to that, friend?”

The man seemed to have zoned out as he noticed something further up the steps. I followed his line of sight to see a creature digging through a homeless beggar’s hat filled with coins. The man looked over his shoulder at his suitcase before looking back at the creature, just as it disappeared inside.

“Excuse me,” he stated a bit rudely, rushing up the steps two at a time. I quickly followed behind him, wanting to see the little fur ball up close.

The inside of the bank was impressive, by No-Maj standards, as I came to a halt next to the strange man. Looking about, I looped my arm around one of his, trying to look casual, startling the poor man at the sudden contact. I casted him a side glance as a bank employee came over, looking at the freckled man suspiciously. “Can I help you, sir, ma’am?” he asked, eyeing us both now.

“No, I—” I elbowed the man in his side, “— we were just… just… waiting…”

“We’re hoping to open an account here. Just moved, you see?” I added, smiling at the suspicious employee. The man simply narrowed his eyes at us both, and so I tugged on my strange new companion’s arm and led us both over to a bench, which we both ended up sitting next to the No-Maj from earlier. Out of the corner of my eye, I spied Tina peering at us from behind a pillar. I rolled my eyes, finding her to be ridiculous.

“Hi. What brings you here?” asked the nervous No-Maj.

Mr. Freckles strained his neck, looking around to spot the creature, while I looked around people’s legs. “Same as you…” he replied distractedly.

“You’re here to get a loan to open up a bakery?” the No-Maj questioned, sounding flabbergasted at the odds.

“Yes.” Mr. Freckles replied shortly.

“What are the odds of that? Well, may the best man win, I guess,” the No-Maj said, offering the man next to me his hand to shake.

I spotted the creature, which I now noticed look a bit like a mole and a platypus, and nodded my head in its direction. The creature was now stealing coins from someone’s bag, shoving them into a pouch on its underbelly.

“Excuse me.” The man quickly got up, dragging me with him as my arm was still looped around his.

“Hey, mister… Hey, mister and lady!” the No-Maj shouted, trying to get the man’s attention as I peaked over my shoulder. In his hand was a large silver egg.

‘Well, that isn’t strange at all.’

The man did not seem to hear as he was too preoccupied trying to catch the critter.

“Hey, fella!” the man tried once more, just before we dashed too far away.

The stranger was surreptitiously pursuing the creature as it skittered through the bank, stealing shiny things left and right. We both spotted it removing a glittering buckle from a lady’s shoe before scurrying onward, eager for more shiny objects. We both watched, helpless, as it jumps lithely between cases and into bags, snatching and pilfering to its heart’s content. “That greedy bugger!”

“Gotta say, it has talent,” I piped up as we chased after the creature. I grunted as someone shoved me hard into my companion, forcing us both to swerve, luckily into the line that the woman who had the bag the creature disappeared in happened to be in. My companion stared intently over another woman’s shoulder, freaking her out a bit with how close he was. It finally hit me why his body language was so familiar. From the vague memories I had access to from the Before, I remembered how I tended to act, unintentionally ignoring social norms and etiquette as I had to work around my autism.

From our left, we heard coins clinking on the ground, as if someone dropped a handful of them, making us both look over to a leather bench. Sitting under it was the little creature gathering up the coins, while next to it was a woman with her Pug on a leash. Said Pug stared intently at the creature, just as the little beastie tried snatching the shiny charm from its collar, making the dog bark and snap at it.

Not wanting the little thing to get hurt, I let the man go and rushed over, diving down the try and snatch the beast up, while the man dropped his suitcase next to me and also got down on his knees, only for the creature to dance out of our reach and scurry up the fence that separated the general area from the employee’s only area. “Slippery little bugger!” I huffed, pressing up against the fence with the man, watching as the critter now shoved gold coins into its pouch.

The creature turned and faced us both, seeming to gloat at the man as it leaned over and placed its paws on the mound of gold being wheeled towards an elevator by security. “Oh dear…” the man breathed out, looking as if he was getting ready to Apparate to the stairwell on the other side that leads down to where the beast just went.

“Hey! Mr. English Guy, Ms. English Lady!” It was the No-Maj from earlier! Now holding a shaking silver egg. “I think your egg is hatching.” We both turned to the elevator, seeing the doors close, just as my companion pulled out his wand, making my eyes widen as I looked around at the other No-Majs in the building. Without saying anything, the man pointed his wand at the other male, forcing him to zoom right into us, sandwiching me between them both, and Apparated us all down the stairwell.

A bit dizzy, I fell back against the cinnamon haired man’s chest as I got over the feeling of sidelong Apparation. The silver egg shook more, just as a tiny beak broke through, making the No-Maj gasp while the wizard softly shushed him while I was still pressed against his chest. “What just happened?” the No-Maj whispered, stunned as Mr. Tall and English carelessly placed his wand between his teeth and gently took the egg from the other, the newborn creature chirping as its head finally broke free from the shell.

I stared, completely transfixed, at the beautiful new life that had the coloration that reminded me of regular hummingbirds. Mr. English was also giddy, as he stared down at me before casting a bright look at the stunned No-Maj.

“Why hello there, sweetie. Look at how gorgeous your are~!” I cheered, following the strange wizard down the steps.

We both came to a stop in front of the vaults, the man placing his case down and opening it with his free hand, the other cradling the egg. “In you hop,” he said, gently placing the egg into his suitcase as a multitude of animal noises came from the inconspicuous thing. “No,” he frowned, warning the others to stay in there as they wanted to see the new addition. “Everyone settle down. S-Stay. Dougal don’t make me come in there.” I covered my mouth with my hand, muffling a giggle. He sounded like an exasperated mother scolding his unruly children. “Don’t make me come down there.” I heard a sound coming from his coat, but didn’t see what made it as we both looked towards the vault door, only to see the critter somehow squeeze through the cracks and get into the vault. “Absolutely not!” He frowned, pulling out his wand. “Alohomora.”

I hung back, watching as he broke into the vault, just as a bank employee came down the stairs. “Oh, so you’re gonna steal the money, huh?” The man hissed, hitting the alarm.

“Petrificus Totalus!” I called out, brandishing my 11 ½ inch cherry wood with Thunderbird tail feather core wand, watching as the man’s body locked up in a full body bind before falling over like a board.

“Mr. Bingley!” the No-Maj said in a high pitched voice, his face going pale as I moved passed him to watch the vault open.

The tall man sighed, looking exasperated at the critter that sat in one of the boxes on top of a pile of cash, necklaces hanging from one of its hind legs while another was sticking out of its pouch, a gold bar slowly vanishing inside it. “Really?” And then snatched the little beastie around its middle and holding the thing upside down.  A waterfall of valuables fell from the pouch, the little creature flailing about as it tried to keep its shiny things inside the pouch. “No. Don’t play that,” the man scolded the creature, now holding it by its hind feet in one hand. I giggled as he begun tickling it. “Look,” even more valuables fell out, and he had to shuffle back so none of it fell on his toes.

“What a naughty boy you are,” I laughed, taking a guess of the creature’s sex based off my former veterinarian knowledge… though how it translated over to magical creatures, I had no clue. I gently ran my fingers along his sides, making the thing chitter and wiggle in the other’s hand as even more shiny things poured out. “Oh, so you’re super ticklish, huh? Good to know!” I chimed, moving my fingers up along his sides, his fur so soft and silky, while the man just watched me tickle the beastie dangling from his hand. My fingers froze, though, as I heard footsteps approaching us, making me crane my neck to look over my shoulder.

Guards started rushing down the stairs, and the No-Maj started freaking out, with good reason. “Oh no. No, no, no. Don’t… Don’t shoot!” he pleaded as the freckled man and I rushed forward, with him picking up his suitcase along the way. My fingers curled around the necks of their coats, focusing on where I wished for us to be as the No-Maj held up his hands. “Don’t shoot!” he screamed, just as I Disapparated all three of us.

†††

Now we were outside the bank, and once again I was trapped between both men, however this time I was chest to chest with the Brit. We both blinked at each other, just to hear the critter start chattering unhappily. “Right.” He backed away from me, placing his case on the grown and opening it. “For the last time, you pilfering pest , paws off what doesn’t belong to you.” He scolded, dropping the poor thing into his suitcase.

“Someone’s robbing the bank!” someone yelled from the street, just as the No-Maj got his footing, staring at us both like we were insane… which we might be. Who knows, it’s the 1900’s!

“Awfully sorry about  that,” the Brit apologized, sounding a bit breathless from the whole ordeal.

People yelling and whistles being blown acted a white noise as the No-Maj leaned against the wall, internally freaking out as he gestured to the tall man’s case. “What the hell was that?” I shrugged, having no clue.

“Nothing that need concern you,” he replied, moving over and adjusting the man’s suit. “Now, unfortunately, you have seen far too much.” I winced. Could he make that sound anymore ominous ? “If you wouldn’t mind, if you just stand there, this’ll be over in a jiffy.”

“Mmm-hmm… Sure. Yeah.” The No-Maj agreed sarcastically as the wizard turned around.

“Look—!” I was a bit late in the warning as the No-Maj used one of the suitcases to smack the wizard across the face, knocking the poor fellow over. Falling to me knees, I gently inspected his face, nibbling on my lower lip. “Sorry, I was a tad late in the warning, it seems.”

The man shranked away, casting his gaze elsewhere as he slowly got back to his feet, rubbing where he got smacked. “Bugger,” he swore, watching the stocky man disappear in the crowd, just as Tina turned down the alleyway. The man quickly composed himself, picking up his case before offering me a hand. Startled, I grabbed it and allowed him to haul me up to my feet, and began leading us passed Tina… Or, at least, he might have if this wasn’t Tina of all people. She grabbed his other arm and Disapparated with all of us into another alley, where she shoved the man against a brick wall.

“Who are you?” she demanded, looking flustered as she casted me an exasperated look.

“I’m sorry.” The man leaned against the wall, catching his breath and he stared at the my feet, not wanting to look at Tina.

“Who are you?” she asked again, a bit softer now.

“Newt Scamander. And you both are?”

“Don’t you dare!” Tina suddenly exclaimed, pointing a finger at me as she knew what I was probably going to say. She never liked my puns unlike Queenie.

I simply raised my hands in surrender, smiling cheekily as she narrowed her eyes at me. Newt just looked between us, looking a tad bit confused.

“What’s that thing in your case?” questioned Tina, getting back on track.

“That’s my Niffler,” he answered, finally looking up at Tina. “Say, you’ve got something on your…” he pointed at her lip, getting a bit too close which cause the brunette to smack his hand away.

I coughed into my fist, catching her attention. “Mustard,” is all I said, amused I she pulled out a napkin and started wiping at her mouth.

Balling up the napkin and shoving it in her pocket, she frowned at him. “Why in the name of Deliverance Dane did you let that thing loose?”

“I didn’t mean to. He’s incorrigible, you see.”

“Yes! I was right!” I pumped a fist in the air, drawing their attention. “What?” I quirked an eyebrow at them both, watching as Newt gave me a quick lopsided smile, before looking above my head after catching my eye for a split second. “I guessed the… Niffler, right?” Newt nodded in confirmation. “Yes, okay. I guessed the Niffler was male down in the vaults, and he just confirmed it for me. So I feel great.”

Newt cleared his throat as he looked back down. “Anything shiny, he’s all over—”

“You didn’t mean to?” Tina cut in, silently fuming.

“No.”

“You could not have chosen a worse time to let that creature loose.” Now Tina began stressing herself out. “We’re in the middle of a situation here!” Newt’s eyes grew wide as he quickly looked around, looking uneasy at us both. “I’m taking you in.”

“Taking me in where?” Newt questioned, flustered as both Tina and I pulled out our identifications.

“Magical Congress of the United States of America.” We both stated at the same time, making the man fidget nervously.

“So you both work for MACUSA.” It was a statement, not a question. “What are you both, some kind of investigator?”

I pointed at my cousin as she put her ID away, while I carelessly shoved mine in my pocket. “Tina is. I’m apart of the Magical Creatures Registration.”

“There’s a registration?”

“Sure is. It’s mainly for foreign witches and wizards that bring creatures from their home country. It helps if someone tries to sell ‘em on the black market, or if their owners misplaced them, though a lot of my co-workers find it to be complete rubbish, but that’s cause they can’t pull their own heads out of their asses.” I explained. “Meaning, Mr. Scamander, I will be needing any and all information about your Niffler,” I grinned as Tina huffed.

“Umm, you can tell me to sod off, however I thought MACUSA didn’t allow non-American citizens to work for them?” Newt looked perplexed, his brows furrowed as he tilted his head slightly.

Tina snorted, looking amused as I lightly smacked her arm. “You’d be correct, but you see, I have joint citizenship between the US and England, thanks to my father being a citizen of England, while being born on American soil,” I explained, watching him nod in understanding.

“Please tell me you took care of the No-Maj,” Tina said, making us focus once more.

“The what?” questioned Newt, eyebrows raised high as he looked at Tina then at me, reminding me a bit of a puppy.

“The No-Maj. No-Magic. The non-wizard!”

Newt released a sigh of relief, now seeming to understand what she was going on about. “Oh. Sorry, we call them Muggles.”

I snorted, making Tina glower at me, while the freckled man looked confused. “Sorry, it’s just… It’s just, here in the States, Muggle is a term for marijuana, which is a type of drug.”

“You wiped his memory, right ?” Tina stressed, glaring at me seeing as I should know better. I merely shrugged. “The No-Maj with the case?” she clarified for Mr. Scamander.

“Um…” was all he could utter after a bit of silence.

Tina groaned. “Oh…” she sighed, looking tired all of a sudden. “That’s a Section 3-A, Mr. Scamander. I’m taking you in.” She looped her arm through one of his, while grabbing the hood of my coat. “And you , Lisa, are getting written up!” I can already feel myself drowning in stupid paperwork.

Chapter Text

Next thing I know, we’re standing outside MACUSA HQ. Tina still had a tight grip on us both as she led us to the doors with purpose, knowing the moment she let go of me that I was going to run off and hide, and I was exceedingly good at hiding. “Come on,” said Tina, leading us across the road and to the doors.

“Sorry, but I do have things to do , actually,” Mr. Scamander muttered as he curled his arm that Tina held, making it look like they were walking arm-and-arm together, while Tina tightly held my hand.

“Well,” Tina scoffed, “you’ll have to rearrange them.” Tina waved at passing cars. “What are you doin’ in New York anyway?”

“I came to buy a birthday present.”

“Couldn’t you have done that in London?” I asked from the other side of Tina.

Newt shook his head in the negative. “No, there’s only one breeder of Appaloosa Puffskeins in the world, and he lives in New York. So, no.”

Ah, I knew who he was talking about. It was Mr. Butch Adkins, and his son Trace. Sadly, Mr. Butch was arrested a year ago for illegal breeding in New York, yet Trace managed to smuggle a few breeding pairs of Appaloosa Puffskeins to their home state of Louisiana.

Tina let go of us both, pinning me with a quick glare, as she went up to the lone doorman. “I got a Section 3-A.” The doorman nodded and held the door for all three of us. “Hey. By the way, we don’t allow the breeding of magical creatures in New York. We closed that guy down a year ago.” Tina informed the man, gesturing us through the door. I hurried on passed, and watched as Newt came in right behind me, while Tina took up the rear.

“There’s a loophole, though,” I added, making Newt look at me before looking back up. “The law states there is no breeding of magical creatures of any kind in New York ; however, it says nothing about the other states. The breeder you’re talking about had a son, Trace, that managed to get a few of the breeding pairs out of the state and back to Louisiana. I have his information still.”

“Elisabeta!” Tina cried shrilly, looking appalled at the fact I knowingly and willingly bent the laws we swore to live by.

I rolled my eyes at her and spun on my heel after looping my arm with Newt’s. “Ignore Teeny. She tends to take things too seriously.” Newt didn’t seem to be listening as he looked around, completely in awe apparently as we walked by a House Elf polishing wands, and headed towards the lifts.

The doors opened, showing a male House Elf dressed as an elevator attendant by the name of Red. “Hey, Goldstein. Hey, Beaumont,” greeted Red, sounding like someone who used to smoke a lot and ended up with a raspy voice.

“Hey, Red .” Tina greeted back, annoyed with the elf. Red had a habit of getting under the skin of Tina, and took pleasure in it, though he did know when to stop.

“How’s it hanging, Red?” I asked as Tina shoved us into the lift with the House Elf.

“Oh, you know, the usual,” he shrugged, casting the lone wizard a side glance. “So who’s this dandy? Finally snagged ya’self a beau , Beaumont?”

I laughed as Newt’s ears turned red, while Tina cleared her throat to remind us she was still there. “Major Investigation Department.”

Red looked confused, knowing the truth as he looked up at the brunette. “I thought you was—”

“Major Investigation Department. I got a Section 3-A,” she bit out, just as Newt looked down, now clutching the case’s handle tightly with both hands. Not wanting to deal with her temper, Red used his stick to hit the correct button.

“To answer your question, Red, this fella just so happens to fall in my department, and seems to have misplaced a few papers,” I answered the House Elf, as the awkward silence was getting to me.

“Yous mean the Magical Creatures Registration? What did he bring?” Red questioned, as he was one of the few that was actually interested in my job, mainly because his kind also fell under the Registration, which also provided protection to any magical creatures that were found in abusive conditions.

“A Niffler,” the topic of our conversation muttered, shifting slightly as he kept his eyes downcast.

“Niffler?”

“Oh yeah! This little guy apparently loves shiny things and shoves them in a pouch on his underbelly for safekeeping I assume. Though, is there a limit to how much his pouch can hold?” I informed Red, before directing my question to Mr. Scamander.

That seemed to make the cinnamon haired male perk up a bit, his blue eyes bright as he looked me in the eyes for a quick second before gazing down at my nose. “I haven’t noticed a limit, however the more he holds in his pouch, the slower he becomes. It was why it was so easy to catch him earlier.”

“Fascinating!” I chimed, holding my hands close to my chest. “Think I can give the little beastie a look over?” Newt raised an eyebrow, looking confused by what I meant.

“Lisa checks to make sure any magical creature that enters the US has a clean bill of health, and to also make sure they’re not a risk to the country’s ecosystem,” Tina helpfully added.

“Obviously, Teeny. We don’t need different species coming in and making our native creatures ill or taking over their habitats. It’s bad enough that us humans already do that,” I pointed out. It was because of this way of thinking that my co-workers thought my job was utterly pointless, as they would much rather kill and take things by force instead of trying to co-exist peacefully.

“Yous have my support, Beaumont,” said Red just as the lift came to a halt at the MID.

“Thanks, Red!” I called out, tipping him a few Sickles as Tina marched us out of the lift, wanting to get everything done and over with. The House Elf snickered, hitting a button, and left us.

Tina led us through the maze of shelves, heading towards the center where a group of people were talking. One person was Tina’s former boss, Mr. Graves, while the other was Madam President.

“I made your position here quite clear, Ms. Goldstein.” I rolled my green eyes at the way she talked down to my cousin, who was now slowly curling in on herself in shame.

“You got this, Tina!” I whispered, making her smile slightly and square her shoulders.

“Yes, Madam President. But I—”

“You’re no longer an Auror,” Madam President cut in, looking at Tina as if she was stupid.

Being as close as I was, I heard my cousin swallow thickly, her shoulders drooping and eyes becoming misty. “No, Madam President, but—” she softly tried again, only to be cut off once more.

“Goldstein.” Madam President sounded fed up with my cousin.

“There’s been a minor—”

“This office is currently concerned with very major incidents. Get out.”

“Wow, so rude,” I muttered behind Tina.

“Yes, ma’am.” Tina dragged us both out, her head bowed lowly. I stuck my tongue out at Madam President’s back, only to be caught by Mr. Graves who looked amused at my actions. Eyes wide, I spun on my heel and ran after my companions, slipping between the closing lift doors before they closed.

†††

My brunette cousin led us to her work-space in the lowest part of MACUSA, tucked in the far back corner with papers piled high, as two origami mice tore each other apart. Tina sighed softly as she went to her desk, pacing her coat over the back of her chair while picking up some documents. I moved over to a desk a little ways away, but still close enough, and picked up a few documents and a quill.

“Mr. Scamander,” I called out, making the man turn and nearly hitting his head on the low hanging ‘Wand Permit’ sign over by Tina’s work area.

“Um, yes?”

I held out the papers and quill towards him, making sure there was a cleared off space on my desk for him to write on. “The registration forms for your Niffler, Mr. Scamander,” I clarified as he sat his suitcase down and looked over the sheets.

“Oh, right, sorry.” He furrowed his brows, looking carefully over the forms before setting them down and begun filling them out. Tina waited patiently for him to finish as she started to tidy up the mess that Queenie had left from the previous day. “Sorry, but if you don’t mind, who was the one that came up with this registration form?” Newt inquired, looking up briefly at Tina and I.

“Lisa did,” my cousin answered simply, not looking up from her cleaning, while my cheeks began to get hot. “Honestly, she basically runs the MCR by herself, and has helped greatly with preventing No-Majs running into creatures and preserving a balance of sorts.”

“It’s nothing, really. I just love animals is all…” I mumbled, brushing my blond hair behind my ears.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Newt flashing me a lopsided smile as he finished the form, his eyes moving down to stare at my ear instead of my eyes.

“So you got your wand permit?” inquired Tina, holding her own forms that needed to be filled out. “All foreigners have to have them in New York.”

“Again, loophole,” I pointed out, making Tina sigh heavily. “I’m just saying, Teeny. Once you’re Madam President, you can fix those,” I said, making her perk up. “Then again, you’d rather run the MID instead,” I teased, watching her face take on a lovely shade of pink.

“I made a postal application weeks ago.” I furrowed my brows, not fully believing him, mainly because Queenie never mentioned a postal application being a thing for wand permits.

Tina didn’t seem to believe him, either, as she began filling out the papers. “Scamander…” she murmured lowly, writing it down. “And you were just in Equatorial Guinea?”

I listened in as I filed away the paperwork, waiting for Tina to finish before asking to see the Niffler, which I noticed Mr. Scamander never named from looking over the documents. “And I’ve just completed a year in the fields. I’m writing a book about magical creatures,” Newt clarified, his gaze focused on her desk.

Tina quirked an eyebrow, casting a me a look over his shoulder as she finally removed her hat. “Like an extermination guide?” she asked, sounding a bit worried as she knew how I am against the mindless killing of creatures.

“No,” Mr. Scamander sighed exasperatedly, “a guide to help people understand why we should be protecting these creatures instead of killing them.”

I smiled at him, looping my arm around one of his, making him look down at me in surprise. “My thoughts exactly, Mr. Scamander!” I noticed how his ears turned red as he looked away.

“Goldstein?”

Tina freaked out, hearing Mr. Abernathy making his way to our area. She dropped to the ground quickly and tried to hide behind the desk, while I let go of Newt and perched on the corner of the desk.

“Where is she?” The short man demanded, finally making an appearance in our little bubble. “Where is she? Goldstein?” he demanded once more, glowering at me as I shrugged. “Goldstein?” he ignored me and looked over the desk to see Tina on her hands and knees. “Did you just butt in on the investigative team again ?” he inquired, glaring at her. “Where have you been?” Abernathy demanded.

“What?” Tina asked, trying to sound innocent.

Abernathy decided that now was the best time to acknowledge the foreign wizard who just stood there awkwardly. “Where’d she pick you up?”

“Me?” Newt asked, looking confused at what is happening, while I roll my eyes at my cousin’s adviser.

“Have you been tracking them Second Salemers again?” he accused.

“Excuse me!” I cut in, before he could make any more jabs at my cousin. “In case no one has noticed, they’re a real big problem!” I pointed out, jabbing Abernathy in the chest. “It seems everyone is too busy with their thumbs up their ass to see that Mary Lou Barebone and her cult are a serious risk to us, or are you wanting to see us hanged, drowned, burned and stoned to death?” I snarled. “It’s bad enough where the No-Majs lynch people of color, we don’t need to add ourselves to that list!” Stunned, Abernathy stepped back from me, his eyes wide as I breathed heavily through my nose. Tina softly placed a hand on my shoulder, calming me down a bit.

“Of course not, sir,” Tina replied, using her thumb to rub circles in my shoulder.

Right then, Mr. Graves rounded the corner. “Afternoon, Mr. Graves, sir.” Abernathy went into full ass-kisser mode right then and there.

“Afternoon, uh, Abernathy.”

Tina got out from behind her desk, hands clasped in front of her as she addressed her former boss. “Mr. Graves, sir, this is Mr. Scamander,” she gestured to the foreign wizard. “He has a crazy creature in that case, and it got our and caused mayhem in a bank,” she informed, standing in front of Mr. Graves now.

“Let’s see the little guy,” Mr. Graves grinned, seeming to want to humor my cousin as they both look at Newt. Said Brit stood there awkwardly, stammering as Tina snatched up his case.

“I’ll do it!” I strode forward, being gentle with the case as I took it from Tina. Abernathy looked ready to protest, so I casted him a dark glare which shut him up instantly. “It’s my job to check over any newly registered creatures, which Mr. Scamander just filled out.” I glowered, eyes narrowed as I waited for both men to question me more. Neither of them spoke up, so I walked over to my desk and sat the case down, feeling annoyed as nearly everyone crowded around me. Taking a deep breath, I popped open the suitcase, only to be greeted by a collection of pastries. Newt walked over and peered into the case, only to freeze and his jaw go tense.

‘It’s the No-Maj’s case!’

“Tina…” Mr. Graves sighed, shaking his head before leaving; Abernathy trailing after.

I looked up, locking eyes with Newt as he looked worried. “You’ve got to be kidding me !” Tina groan from behind us.

“Bugger all,” was all I could say, turning to look back at the offending pastries. “And I was looking forward to checking over the little guy…”

Chapter Text

Looking back on everything while I currently write this story of mine, I cannot help but be reminded that there is always two sides to every story. There is mine, and then there is his story. Both of which are so entwined, that it would be an injustice not to share his as while alongside my own, to show you what was running through his head during those days together. And so, with his consent, I had pulled out our Pensieve and took a look into his memories. The moment I dipped into those memories, reliving it from his eyes, to feel what he felt and see the world as he seen it sends my heart all fluttering.

The things he noticed about me, that I never noticed myself, and the things he felt about me sends a shock through me, making my body tingle pleasantly and my cheeks rosy with a blush. To know, even back then, to him I was the most sublime creature on earth is very humbling, and makes me love him all that much more.

†††

Newt sat on a bench, weather-beaten and wiry, as he waited for the large passenger ship to glide into port. Beside him rests a battered brown leather case. A catch on the case flicks open of its own accord. New swiftly bends down to close it. Placing the case on his lap, Newt leans in, whispers; “Dougal— you settle down now, please. It won’t be long.”

Soon after, Newt and the other passengers disembark the large ship, walking down the gangplank and into customs.

“Next.”

His green eyes darted around, taking in the shipyard manned by serious-looking American officials. The customs official in front of Newt examines his tattered British passport, making the cinnamon haired man fidget slightly.

“British, huh?”

“Yes.”

“First trip to New York?” the official questioned the tall man.

“Yes.”

The man gestured towards Newt’s case. “Anything edible in there?”

Newt fidgeted, not enjoying the crowds, as he placed a hand over his breast pocket. He noticed it way back while in school that such little gestures helped calm his mind down, making him relax around his fellow humans. “No.”

“Livestock?” the official asked, taking Newt’s actions as suspicious. Just then, the catch on the battered leather case flicks open once more, causing Newt to look down and hastily close it.

“Must get that fixed— ahh, no.”

The American is even more suspicious now. “Let me take a look.”

The cinnamon haired man placed the case on the desk between them and discreetly flicks a brass dial to Muggle Worthy . The customs official spins the case toward him and pops the catches, lifting the lid to reveal pajamas, various maps, a journal, an alarm clock, a magnifying glass, and Newt’s well-loved Hufflepuff scarf. Satisfied, the American closes the case.

“Welcome to New York,” he greeted, handing the Brit his passport back.

“Thank you,” was all Newt could say, gathering his passport and case.

†††

Newt walked down the streets of New York, his gaze on the tall buildings as he allowed everything to settle in that he was actually here, in a city instead of in the wild, doing his research. Noise in the distance caught his attention, drawing him closer to listen.

“This great city sparkles with jewels of man’s inventions. Movie theaters, automobiles, the wireless, electric lights, all dazzle and bewitch us!” a woman called out as he bumped into two women eating the the back of the crowd.

“Oh… So sorry,” he apologized, casting the brunette and blonde women a quick look before moving forward, trying hard not to brush against someone else as his shoulders steadily hunched up around his ears. Newt was never fond of such crowds even as a child, as something about them always ended up overwhelming him.

“But where there is light, there is shadow, friend. Something is stalking our city, wreaking destruction, and then disappearing without a trace… Listen to me! We have to fight. You hear me? We have to fight together for the sake of our—” the woman’s speech was cut short when a dark haired man in an ill-fitting brown suit tripped and fell over Newt’s treasured case.

“Hey! Watch it!” someone rudely snapped at the unfortunate man.

Newt stooped down, helping the man to his feet, seeing as it was his fault for carelessly placing his case down. “I’m sorry— My case—”

The dark haired individual got up and exhaled slowly, shaking off the event. “No harm done. Excuse me.” He then raced up the steps to the bank.

“You!” the woman that was preaching pointed at Newt, making him shrink back at her tone, looking over towards her, his green eyes fixed on a spot over her shoulder. He felt hot around the collar, his fingers wrapped tightly around the handle of his case. “Friend.” The woman stepped down, drawing closer to the cinnamon haired male. “What drew you to our meeting today?”

“Oh, I-I was just— passing.”

“Are you a seeker? A seeker after truth?”

Newt felt his lips pull into a lopsided grin, the Muggle woman making an unintentional Quidditch joke. “I’m more of a Chaser, really,” he replied, his grip easing on his case.

“Nah, you look a wee bit like a Keeper,” a woman with a Yorkshire accent chimed next to him, just loud enough where only he could hear. Newt casted the blonde woman from before a wary grin.

“Hear my words, and heed my warning. And laugh if you dare: Witches live among us! We have to fight together for the sake of our children.” The woman next to him scoffed at the Muggle. “For the sake of tomorrow. What do you say to that, friend?”

Newt stiffened, as he tuned the woman out, as he noticed a very familiar clawed paw dragging a homeless beggar’s hat filled with coins up the step. ‘Bugger,’ what the only thing he could think of as he casted a look at his case before glancing back up, his eyes widening as the greedy thing chittered happily and disappeared inside the building.

“Excuse me,” he stated a bit rudely, rushing up the steps two at a time in hopes of getting the pilfering beast back into his case. Once inside, Newt skidded to a stop, his stomach dropping as he really took note of what type of building it was. ‘A bank! A bloody bank of all places!’ he swore, jumping slightly as someone looped their arm around his. Newt looked down, noting it was the same woman from earlier; the one with the Yorkshire accent. She casted him a side glance, Newt noted her eyes glittered like dewdrops in the air and were a shade of green that reminded him of a kelpie.

“Can I help you, sir, ma’am?” questioned a suspicious bank employee, standing in front of them both now.

“No, I—” the woman elbowed him softly in the side, “— we were just… just… waiting…”

“We’re hoping to open an account here. Just moved, you see?” the woman added, smiling at the skeptical employee. The American simply narrowed his eyes at them both, causing the woman to drag Newt over to a bench, where they both sat down next to the man from outside.

Newt strained his neck, trying to find where that blasted Niffler has gone to, as the man from before spoke up, looking like a nervous wreck. “Hi. What brings you here?”

“Same as you…” New replied distractedly, still having no luck in finding the creature.

“You’re here to get a loan to open up a bakery?” the man questioned, sounding a bit flabbergasted.

“Yes.”

“What are the odds of that? Well, may the best man win, I guess,” the man offered Newt his hand to shake, yet Newt ignored it as the blonde woman nodded her head in a certain direction. The pesky Niffler was now stealing coins from someone’s bag, shoving them into a pouch on his underbelly.

“Excuse me.” He got up quickly, dragging the woman with him as he made his was over to where the little thief was last seen.

“Hey, mister… Hey, mister and lady!” the man shouted from behind them, however, Newt was on a mission to get the pesky Niffler back before he could cause more trouble.

Newt surreptitiously pursued the creature as it skittered through the bank, stealing shiny things left and right. Both he and the woman spotted the blasted beast removing a glittering buckle from a lady’s shoe before scurrying onward, eager for more shiny objects. They both watched, helpless, as he jumped lithely between cases and into bags, snatching and pilfering to his greedy heart’s content. “That greedy bugger!”

“Gotta say, it has talent,” the woman piped up. Newt looked at her, noting that she looked exasperated and amused at the creature’s antics. His lips quirked up a bit, finding her reactions to be a bit refreshing. With renewed vigor, they were back on the hunt for the little pest, only for his companion to be shoved hard against him, forcing them both to swerve into a line of people.

Luckily for them, it was the line that the woman carrying the bag the Niffler disappeared in was in. Newt stared intently over another woman’s shoulder, not noticing how strange and off-putting he was being, as he tried to spot the beast. Towards their left, Newt heard coins clinking to the ground as if someone dropped a handful of them, making him and his companion look over at a leather bench. Sitting under it was the pilfering pest himself, gathering up the coins, while next to him was a woman with her Pug on a leash. Said Pug stared intently at the creature, just as the little monster tried snatching the shiny charm from its collar, making the dog bark and snap at it.

The blonde hurriedly released Newt’s arm and rushed over, diving down and trying to snatch the Niffler up as Newt hurried over and dropping down next to her, only for the little bugger to dance out of their reach and scurry up the fence that separated the general area from the employee’s only area.

“Slippery little bugger!” the woman huffed, pressing up against the fence with Newt, watching in stunned silence as the beast now shoved gold coins into his pouch.

The creature turned and faced them, gloating at Newt as he leaned over and placed his paws on the mound of gold being wheeled towards an elevator by security. “Oh dear…” Newt breathed out, getting ready to Apparate to the stairwell on the other side that led down to where the Niffler just went.

“Hey! Mr. English Guy, Ms. English Lady!” Newt looked over his shoulder, noticing the Muggle from earlier holding the Occamy egg that was meant to be in his pocket to warm up and hopefully hatch. Now the egg shaked in the Muggle’s hand, drawing their attention. “I think your egg is hatching.” Newt looked towards the elevator, seeing the doors close, just as he made up his mind and pulled out his wand and pointed it at the other man and casting a non-verbal Accio on the egg, forcing the Muggle to zoom right towards them. Without waiting or even thinking, Newt Apparated all three of them down the stairwell.

The blonde woman was a bit dizzy as she fell back against Newt’s chest, trying to get her bearings as the effects of sidelong Apparation started to subside. The silver egg shook more, just as a tiny beak broke through, making the Muggle gasp as the Magizoologist softly shushed him while the woman was still pressed against his chest. “What just happened?” the Muggle whispered, stunned as Newt carelessly place his wand between his teeth and gently took the egg from the other, the newborn creature chirping as its head finally broke free from the shell.

The Magizoologist felt a wave of awe come over his as he studied the newborn, his eyes fluttering about as he took in the expressions of his companions. The stocky man still looked to be in shock, while the blonde witch was simply staring transfixed at the newborn Occamy. Newt was giddy, staring down at the woman before casting a bright look at the stunned Muggle.

“Why hello there, sweetie. Look at how gorgeous you are~!” she cheered, following Newt down the steps. The British man found his heart swelling at her praise, happy that there was another like himself that could see the beauty in the beasts he looked after and studied.

Coming to a stop in front of the vaults, Newt placed his case down and opened it with his now free hand, the other cradling the egg still. “In you hop,” he said, handing Dougal the newborn to place in the nest alongside its siblings. “No,” he frowned, trying to sound authoritative as the others tried to see the new addition to the case. “Everyone settle down. S-Stay. Dougal don’t make me come in there.” Newt scolded his beloved creatures. “Don’t make me come down there,” he warned, just as Pickett popped up from his pocket and gestured to the vault door, drawing Newt’s attention to it. The Niffler managed to squeeze through the cracks and got into the vault. Closing his case, Newt got to his feet and frowned. “Absolutely not!” he called, pulling out his wand. “Alohomora.”

From behind him, the wizard heard footsteps, making him think it was one of the other two, only to hear, “Oh, so you’re gonna steal the money, huh?” the Muggle bank employee hissed, hitting the alarm.

“Petrificus Totalus!” the witch called out, brandishing her cherry stained wand that had flowers and vines carved into the wood forming the grip of the wand’s handle. The man’s body locked up in a full body bind before falling over like a board as the vault doors finally opened.

“Mr. Bingley!” the Muggle cried, voice high pitched.

Newt sighed, entering the vault, exasperated as he stared down at the happy Niffler. The bugger sat in one of the empty deposit boxes on top of a pile of cash, necklaces hanging from one of his hind legs while another was sticking out of his pouch, a gold bar slowly vanishing inside it. “Really?” he sighed, snatching the little bugger around his middle before he could make an escape. The Niffler tried silently pleading with Newt, his beady dark eyes gazing up at Newt in hopes that he would let him keep the shiny things. Newt wasn’t having it as he turned the creature upside down and holding him by his back paws. A waterfall of valuables fell from the pouch, the little creature flailing about as it tried to keep his shiny things inside the pouch. “No. Don’t play that,” he scolded the Niffler, holding the him by his hind feet with one hand, the other being used to tickle more treasures from the pouch. The witch giggled from behind him. “Look,” more and more valuables fell out, making Newt shuffle back so none of it fell on his toes.

“What a naughty boy you are,” the blonde witch laughed, gently running her fingers along the Niffler’s sides, making him chitter and wiggle in Newt’s hand as even more shiny things poured out. “Oh, so you’re super ticklish, huh? Good to know!” she chimed, moving her fingers up along the soft and silky sides of the furry Niffler. The Magizoologist could do nothing but watch the scene unfold, his heart warming as he gazed at the blonde witch that tickled his naughty Niffler. Never in his travels had he met anyone that was so quick to accept and be kind and gentle to the magical beasts they come across, as most wish to kill them first before trying to understand and learn from them first.

Her fingers froze along with Newt’s heart as they heard footsteps approaching them, making the duo look over at the stairs.

Guards started rushing down the stairs, and the Muggle started freaking out, with good reason. “Oh no. No, no, no. Don’t… Don’t shoot!” he pleaded as the witch and wizard rushed forward, with Newt picking up his suitcase along the way. He felt her grab the neck of his blue coat, the feeling of sidelong Apparation washing over him as the other male held his hands up. “Don’t shoot!” he screamed, just as they Disapparated.

†††

Now outside the bank, the woman was once more pressed against Newt, this time chest to chest. Blinking at each other, the just stood there, Newt noticing that regardless of her hair being a golden blonde, her roots were darker. The Niffler started shattering unhappily, drawing the wizard’s attention back to the blasted beast. “Right.” He quickly backed away from the woman, his thoughts becoming muddled as he smelled black cardamom, smoky vanilla and a hint of musky along with a subtle floral scent that clung to him from where she was pressed against him. Setting his case on the grown, he quickly opened it. “For the last time, you pilfering pest, paws off what doesn’t belong to you.” Newt scolded the chittering creature, dropping him inside where he knew the bugger would quickly run back to his nest of shiny things.

“Someone’s robbing the bank!” someone yelled from the street, just as the Muggle got his foot, staring the the two magical folks as if they were insane.

“Awfully sorry about that,” Newt apologized, a bit breathless from the whole ordeal, and possibly from the woman’s scent still befuddling his senses.

People yelling and whistles being blown acted as white noise as the Muggle leaned heavily against the wall, seemingly to internally be freaking out as he gestured to Newt’s case. “What the hell was that?”

The woman shrugged, obviously not having a clue. “Nothing that need concern you,” Newt answered, moving over and straightening the man’s suit. “Now, unfortunately, you seen far too much,” he continued, not noticing the way the man stiffened. “If you wouldn’t mind, if you just stand there, this’ll be over in a jiffy.”

“Mmm-hmm… Sure. Yeah.” The Muggle agreed as Newt turned around, his hand going for his want that should be at his waist.

“Look—!” the witch tried to warn him just as the Muggle use his suitcase to smack Newt across the face, knocking him over and running off. Newt blinked a few times, seeing her fall to his knees and gently inspecting his face and nibbling on her lower lip. “Sorry, I was a tad late in the warning, it seems.”

Newt shrank back, casting his gaze elsewhere as he slowly got back to his feet, rubbing the sore spot where he got smacked. “Bugger,” he swore, watching the stocky man disappear in the crowd, just as a brunette woman turned down the alleyway. Trying to quickly compose himself, Newt picked up his case and offered the blond woman his hand. That seemed to have startled her a bit, though she did grab it and allowed him to haul her up to her feet and began leading them pass the woman… Or, at least, that’s what he had planned, until the woman grabbed his other arm opposite of the blonde and Disapparated with them all to another alley, where the brunette shoved him against a brick wall.

“Who are you?” the woman demanded, looking flustered as she casted the blonde an exasperated look.

“I’m sorry.” New leaned against the wall, catching his breath as he stared at the blonde woman’s feet. She wore brown leather boots, and her feet were a bit wide, and she stood with one foot turned slightly more outward than the other.

“Who are you?” the brunette woman asked again, her tone a bit softer now.

“Newt Scamander. And you both are?” he asked in return, looking between them both before looking to the side.

“Don’t you dare!” the brunette suddenly exclaimed, making Newt jolt, as she pointed a finger at the grinning blonde. She simply raised her hands in surrender, smiling cheekily as the other woman narrowed her eyes. He looked between them both, a tad bit confused over what just happened.

“What’s that thing in your case?” the brunette questioned, going back to interrogating him.

“That’s my Niffler,” he answered, finally looking up at the brunette. “Say, you’ve got something on your…” he pointed at her lip, making the woman smack his hand away.

The blonde coughed into her fist, catching the brunette’s attention. “Mustard,” is all she said, looking amused as the other woman pulled out a napkin and started wiping at her mouth.

Balling up the napkin and shoving it in her pocket, she frowned at him. “Why in the name of Deliverance Dane did you let that thing loose?”

“I didn’t mean to. He’s incorrigible, you see.”

“Yes! I was right!” the blonde cheered, pumping a fist in the air as she drew his attention. “What?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow. Newt gave her a quick lopsided smile, his gazing quickly looking at a point above her head after catching those glittering green eyes for a split second. “I guessed the… Niffler, right?” he nodded in confirmation. “Yes, okay. I guessed the Niffler was male down in the vaults, and he just confirmed it for me. So I feel great.”

‘Not many can determine a Niffler’s sex at a glance, but she could…’ he mused, storing that bit of knowledge away for the time being as he cleared his throat, looking back down. “Anything shiny, he’s all over—”

“You didn’t mean to?” the brunette cut in, silently fuming.

“No.”

“You could not have chosen a worse time to let that creature loose.” She began stressing herself out. “We’re in the middle of a situation here!” She exclaimed, making Newt’s eyes grow wide as he remembered the anti-Magic group in front of the bank, his gaze darting about as he looked uneasily at both women. “I’m taking you in.”

“Taking me in where?” he questioned, flustered as both of them pulled out their identifications.

“Magical Congress of the United States of America.” They both stated at the same time, making him fidget nervously.

“So you both work for MACUSA.” Heat once more rose up his neck as he began feeling uncomfortable. “What are you both, some kind of investigators?”

The blonde— Elisabeta Beaumont her identification card stated— pointed at the brunette— Porpentina Goldstein — as the other was methodically putting her ID away, while she carelessly shoved hers in her pocket. “Tina is. I’m apart of the Magical Creatures Registration.”

“There’s a registration?” Newt questioned, interested in what it could possibly mean.

“Sure is. It’s mainly for foreign witches and wizards that bring creatures from their home country. It helps if someone tries to sell ‘em on the black market, or if their owners misplaced them, though a lot of my co-workers find it to be complete rubbish, but that’s cause they can’t pull their own heads out of their asses,” she explained. “Meaning, Mr. Scamander, I will be needing any and all information about your Niffler,” Ms. Beaumont grinned while Ms. Goldstein huffed.

“Umm, you can tell me to sod off, however I thought MACUSA didn’t allow non- American citizens to work for them?” Newt asked, perplexed, his brows furrowed as he tilted his head slightly. Finding out she worked for MACUSA and with her Yorkshire accent confused him greatly.

Ms. Goldstein snorted, looking amused as Ms. Beaumont lightly smacked her arm. “You’d be correct, but you see, I have joint citizenship between the US and England, thanks to my father being a citizen of England, while being born on American soil,” she explained, making Newt nod in understanding. Now he wondered what House Mr. Beaumont could have been sorted into back at Hogwarts.

“Please tell me you took care of the No-Maj,” Ms. Goldstein said, making them focus once more.

“The what?” questioned Newt, eyebrows raised high as he looked at Ms. Goldstein and then Ms. Beaumont.

“The No-Maj. No-Magic. The non-wizard!”

Newt released a sigh of relief, now understanding what she was going on about. “Oh. Sorry, we call them Muggles.”

Ms. Beaumont snorted, making the brunette woman flower at her, while Newt looked confused. “Sorry, it’s just… It’s just, here in the States, Muggle is a term for marijuana, which is a type of drug.” He nodded, now understanding why the Americans had such a strange name for Muggles.

“You wiped his memory, right?” she stressed, glaring at the blonde witch, who just shrugged. “The No-Maj with the case?” she clarified.

“Um…” was all he could utter after a beat of silence.

Ms. Goldstein groaned. “Oh…” she sighed, looking tired all of a sudden. “That’s a Section 3-A, Mr. Scamander. I’m taking you in.” She looped her arm through one of his, while grabbing the hood of the other woman’s coat. “And you , Lisa, are getting written up!”

†††

Next thing he new, they were standing not that far from MACUSA HQ. Ms. Goldstein still had a tight grip on them both as she led them across the street and towards the doors of a certain building with purpose. “Come on,” she said, leading them across the road and to the doors.

“Sorry, but I do have things to do, actually,” Newt muttered, curling his arm slightly that Ms. Goldstein held so the were walking arm in arm together, while she held tightly to Ms. Beaumont’s hand.

“Well,” Ms. Goldstein scoffed, “you’ll have to rearrange them.” She waved at passing cars. “What are you doin’ in New York anyway?”

“I came to buy a birthday present.” He lied.

“Couldn’t you have done that in London?” Ms. Beaumont asked from the other side.

Newt shook his head in the negative. “No, there’s only one breeder of Appaloosa Puffskeins in the world, and he lives in New York. So, no.” Those glittering green eyes lit up in recognition, a tiny grin making her lips curl up slightly, making her look a bit mischievous.

Ms. Goldstein let the both of them go, pinning the blonde with a quick glare, as she walked up to the lone doorman. “I got a Section 3-A.” The doorman nodded and held the door for the three of them. “Hey. By the way, we don’t allow the breeding of magical creatures in New York. We closed that guy down a year ago.” Ms. Goldstein informed him, gesturing them through the door. Ms. Beaumont hurried on passed and watched as he entered second, while Ms. Goldstein took up the rear.

“There’s a loophole, though,” Ms. Beaumont added, catching Newt’s attention as he looked at her before gazing back up. “The law states there is no breeding of magical creatures of any kind in New York; however, it says nothing about the other states. The breeder you’re talking about had a son, Trace, that managed to get a few breeding pairs out of the state and back to Louisiana. I have his information still.” Newt perked up, itching to ask for that information. It wouldn’t hurt to take a detour and swing down to Louisiana to actually obtain a pair of Appaloosa Puffskeins on his way back home after he finished what he needs to do in Arizona.

“Elisabeta!” Ms. Goldstein cried shrilly, looking appalled over the fact that Ms. Beaumont knowingly and willingly bent the laws they swore to live by.

She rolled her eyes at the other woman and spun on her heel, looping her arm with Newt’s. “Ignore Teeny. She tends to take things too seriously.” Newt looked around, amazed by the building, knowing it probably seemed like he wasn’t listening as he stared in awe at the House Elf polishing wands as they walked past, making their way to the lifts.

The doors opened, showing a male Goblin dressed as an elevator attendant waiting for them. “Hey, Goldstein. Hey Beaumont,” he greeted, sounding a bit like someone who smoked a lot and ended up with a raspy voice.

“Hey, Red.” Ms. Goldstein greeted back, looking annoyed with the Goblin.

“How’s it hanging, Red?” Ms. Beaumont asked as the brunette witch shoved them inside the lift with the Goblin.

“Oh, you know, the usual,” he shrugged, casting Newt a side glance. “So who’s this dandy? Finally snagged ya’self a beau, Beaumont?”

Heat crawled up Newt’s neck, his ears already turning red at what the Goblin was insinuating.

Ms. Beaumont laughed, while Ms. Goldstein cleared her throat to remind everyone she was still there. “Major Investigation Department.”

“I thought you was—”

“Major Investigation Department. I got a Section 3-A,” she bit out. Newt looked down, once more observing how Ms. Beaumont stood as he gripped his case handle tightly with both hands. It seemed Ms. Beaumont stood with most of her weight on her left leg, her hip cocked slightly out to the right.

“To answer your question, Red, this fella just so happens to fall in my department, and seems to have misplaced a few papers,” Ms. Beaumont answered the Goblin, bending the truth for Newt as he quickly looked up at her as she faced that Goblin.

“Yous mean the Magical Creatures Registration? What did he bring?” Red questioned, looking interested in her work.

“A Niffler,” Newt muttered, shifting slightly as he kept his eyes downcast. He felt like he was drowning each time he met Ms. Beaumont’s eyes.

“Niffler?”

“Oh yeah! This little guy apparently loves shiny things and shoves them in a pouch on his underbelly for safekeeping I assume. Though, is there a limit to how much his pouch can hold?” she directed the last bit to the Magizoologist.

The cinnamon haired man perked up, his green eyes bright as he locked eyes with Ms. Beaumont, that feeling of drowning overcoming him as he decided looking at her nose was safer. “I haven’t noticed a limit, however the more he holds in his pouch, the slower he becomes. It was why it was so easy to catch him earlier.”

“Fascinating!” she chimed, holding her hands close to her chest. “Think I can give the little beastie a look over?” she asked, while Newt raised an eyebrow, wondering why she would need to look his Niffler over for.

“Lisa checks to make sure any magical creature that enters the US has a clean bill of health, and to also make sure they’re not a risk to the country’s ecosystem,” Ms. Goldstein helpfully added.

“Obviously, Teeny. We don’t need different species coming in and making our native creatures ill or taking over their habitats. It’s bad enough that us humans already do that,” Ms. Beaumont pointed out, her words resonating deeply with Newt and what he was hoping to accomplish with his book— ‘I still need a title for it,’ he mused, absentmindedly touching the pocket that his journal filled with notes on the creatures he cared for was resting in.

“Yous have my support, Beaumont,” said Red as the lift came to a halt at the MID.

“Thanks, Red!” she called out, tipping the Goblin a few Sickles as Ms. Goldstein marched them out of the lift, seemingly wanting to get everything done and over with. The Goblin snickered, hitting a button, and left them.

The brunette led them through the maze of shelves, heading towards the center where a group of people were talking. One of which, Newt noted, was the Madam President; Seraphina Picquery herself. “I made your position here quite clear, Ms. Goldstein.”

Newt looked out of the corner of his eye, watching as the witch holding on to his arm curled in on herself slowly. “You got this, Tina!” Ms. Beaumont whispered, making her smile slightly and square her shoulders.

“Yes, Madam President. But I—”

“You’re no longer an Auror,” Madam Picquery cut in, looking at Ms. Goldstein as if she was stupid.

Newt pressed his lips into a thin line as he felt Ms. Goldstein’s grip on him tremble ever so slightly as she swallowed thickly, her shoulders drooping once more and eyes becoming misty. “No, Madam President, but—” she softly tried again, only to be cut off once more.

“Goldstein.” Madam Picquery sounded fed up with the brunette, her voice eerily calm.

“There’s been a minor—”

“This office is currently concerned with very major incidents. Get out.”

“Wow, so rude,” Newt heard Ms. Beaumont mutter behind them, not sounding pleased with how the brunette was treated by the other witch.

“Yes, ma’am.” Ms. Goldstein dragged the two out, her head bowed lowly.

†††

The brunette witch led the group to her work space in lowest part of MACUSA, tucked in the far back corner with papers piled high, as two origami mice tore each other apart. Newt gazed about as he ducked under the sign that hung a little too low for his tastes, clutching his case as Ms. Goldstein sighed softly as she went to her desk, placing her coat over the back of her chair while picking up some documents. Ms. Beaumont moved over to a desk a little ways away, but still close enough, and picked up a few documents and a quill.

“Mr. Scamander,” she called out, making Newt turn and nearly hitting his head on the low hanging ‘Wand Permit’ sign again.

“Um, yes?” he asked, hand reaching up and touching his breast pocket that Pickett liked to hide in.

She held out the papers and quill towards him, making sure there was a cleared off space on her desk for him to write on. “The registration forms for your Niffler, Mr. Scamander,” she clarified as he sat his case down and looked over the sheets.

“Oh, right, sorry.” He furrowed his brows, looking carefully over the forms. The level of detail and care that went into making the forms surprised Newt, and a bubble of hope swelled inside his chest. Maybe, just maybe, his dream isn’t as far fetched as his family believes. He begun filling the forms out, leaving the space for the Niffler’s name blank, as he had never found one that fit the greedy bugger. “Sorry, but if you don’t mind, who was the one that came up with this registration form?” he inquired, wishing to meet the person responsible as he looked up briefly at both witches.

“List did,” Ms. Goldstein answered simply, not looking up from her cleaning as Ms. Beaumont’s cheeks gain a rosy tint. “Honestly, she basically runs the MCR by herself, and has helped greatly with preventing No-Majs running into creatures and preserving a balance of sorts.”

“It’s nothing, really. I just love animals is all…” Ms. Beaumont mumbled, brushing her golden hair behind her ears. To hear her say that really warmed Newt’s heart as he casted her a smile as he finished the form, his green eyes moving down to stare at her ear instead of those endless shimmering green eyes of her own.

“So you got your wand permit?” inquired Ms. Goldstein, holding her own forms that needed to be filled out. “All foreigners have to have them in New York.”

“Again, loophole,” pointed out Ms. Beaumont, making the brunette witch sigh heavily. “I’m just saying, Teeny. Once you’re Madam President, you can fix those,” the blonde said, making the other witch perk up. “Then again, you’d rather run the MID instead,” she teased, watching the other witch’s face take on a shade of pink.

‘Maybe they’re close friends?’ Newt thought, wondering about the two women’s relationship to each other. “I made a postal application weeks ago.” Neither witch looked like the believed him, and with good reason, seeing as he lied through his teeth. Newt has never been a good liar.

“Scamander…” the brunette murmured lowly, writing it down. “And you were just in Equatorial Guinea?”

“And I’ve just completed a year in the fields. I’m writing a book about magical creatures,” he clarified, his gaze focused on her desk.

“Like an extermination guide?”

The Magizoologist noticed how the witch sounded a bit nervous over his answer. “No,” he sighed, a bit exasperated that that’s the first thing that pops into peoples heads whenever he explains what he’s doing, “a guide to help people understand why we should be protecting these creatures instead of killing them.”

Ms. Beaumont looped her around around one of his, making Newt look down at her in surprise. “My thoughts exactly, Mr. Scamander!” Newt quickly looked away, his ears red and heart racing.

“Goldstein?”

Ms. Goldstein seemed to freak out, hearing someone make their way over to them. The brunette witch dropped to the ground quickly and tried to hide behind the desk, while Ms. Beaumont dropped Newt’s arm and casually perched on the corner of the other woman’s desk.

“Where is she?” A short man with slick dark hair demanded, finally making an appearance in their little bubble. “Where is she? Goldstein?” he demanded once more, glowering at the blonde who shrugged. “Goldstein?” he ignored her and looked over the desk to see Ms. Goldstein hiding. “Did you just butt in on the investigation team again?” he inquired, glaring at her. “Where have you been?”

“What?”

The short wizard decided that now was the time to acknowledge Newt, much to his chagrin. “Where’d she pick you up?”

“Me?” he asked, confused at what was happening before him as Ms. Beaumont rolled her eyes behind the short man’s back.

“Have you been tracking them Second Salemers again?” he accused, seemingly not willing to listen to anyone.

“Excuse me!” Ms. Beaumont cut in, seemingly fed up with the short man. “In case no one has noticed, they’re a real big problem!” She pointed out, jabbing the wizard in the chest. “It seems everyone is too busy with their thumbs up their ass to see that Mary Lou Barebone and her cult are a serious risk to us, or are you wanting to see us hanged, drowned, burned and stoned to death?” she snarled, her nose crinkling in her anger. “It’s bad enough where the No-Majs lynch people of color, we don’t need to add ourselves to the list!” Stunned, the short wizard stepped away from the the irate witch, his eyes wide as she breathed heavily through her nose. Newt compared her to a Hungarian Horntail in his mind.

Ms. Goldstein placed a hand on Ms. Beaumont’s shoulder, her thumb rubbing soothing circles in the blonde’s shoulders. “Of course not, sir.”

Shortly, another wizard appeared. Newt recognized him among the group of Aurors from earlier. “Afternoon, Mr. Graves, sir.”

“Afternoon, uh, Abernathy.”

Ms. Goldstein hurriedly got out from behind her desk, hands clasped in front of her as she addressed the older wizard. “Mr. Graves, sir, this is Mr. Scamander,” she gestured to Newt. “He has a crazy creature in that case, and it got out and caused mayhem in a bank,” she informed, standing in front of the Auror now.

“Let’s see the little guy,” Mr. Graves grinned. Newt stood there awkwardly, stammering helplessly and the witch snatched up his case.

“I’ll do it!” Ms. Beaumont declared, striding forward and carefully taking the case from the other witch. Newt felt his palms sweat, his nerves getting the best of him. The short wizard, Abernathy, looked ready to protest, however a quick glare from the blonde witch shut him up instantly. “It’s my job to check over any newly registered creatures, which Mr. Scamander just filled out.” She glowered, eyes narrowed as she waited for both men to question her. Neither of them spoke up, so she walked over to her desk and sat the case down. Newt’s heart raced, the feeling unpleasant as he touched the edge of his coat pocket, then reaching up for Pickett. The Bowtruckle moved slightly in his pocket, calming the wizard down if only slightly.

Ms. Beaumont took a deep breath and popped open the suitcase, only to exhale sharply. Newt slowly moved over, looking over her shoulder, only for his stomach to drop from his body along with his heart. This was not his case!

The case was filled with a collection of pastries, Newt noted, his jaw tense.

“Tina…” Mr. Graves sighed, shaking his head before leaving; Abernathy trailing after.

Newt was too worried— ‘Remember your philosophy, Newt. Worrying only means you suffer twice,’ he chanted to himself over and over again— to even bother looking away as Ms. Beaumont locked eyes with him.

“You’ve got to be kidding me !” Ms. Goldstein groaned from behind the pair, making Ms. Beaumont break eye contact first.

“Bugger all,” she sighed, looking back at the pastries as if the wronged her somehow. “And I was looking forward to check over the little guy…”

Chapter Text

After searching the case, we found the address to the No-Maj, and Tina dragged Newt and me along with her to correct the mistake. “I can’t believe you didn’t Obliviate that man!” she cried, eyes misty as she fought back tears. “If there’s an inquiry, I’m finished!” I winced, feeling sorry for my cousin.

“So why would you be finished? I’m the one that’s—”

“I’m not supposed to go near the Second Salemers!” Tina cut in, completely horrified as she pulled down her hat to cover her eyes. All of a sudden, a large blue insect-looking creature zoomed over our heads, which makes Newt spin, watching it with a horrified look. “What was that?” inquired Tina, peeking out from under the brim of her hat.

“Er— moth, I think. Big moth.”

I simply rolled my eyes at the man. “If that was a moth, then I’m Mary, Queen of Scots,” I said sarcastically. Tina also finds his explanation dubious as we round a corner, only to find a crowd gathering in front of a crumbling building. People are shouting, others are hurriedly evacuating the building. A policeman is standing at the center of the crowd, being harassed by disgruntled tenement dwellers. We moved around the outskirts of the crowd, blending in as much as we could as we looked for the No-Maj.

“Hey… Hey— quiet down— I’m trying to get a statement…” the poor policeman tried calming the crowd with no effect.

“I’m telling you it’s a gas explosion again, I ain’t taking the kids back up there until it’s safe.” A haggard looking woman told the officer as she wrapped her arms protectively around her children.

I kept getting shoved around by the crowd, nearly getting separated from the only people I knew. Not wanting to get lost in the crowd of madness, I quickly grabbed ahold of Newt’s faded peacock blue coat’s sleeve, making him look over his shoulder quickly at me, before facing forward and hurriedly moving through the cluster of people.

“Sorry, ma’am— There ain’t no smell of gas,” placated the harrassed officer.

“It warn’t gas— hey, Officer, I seen it!— it wuzza— a gigantic— a huge hippopotto—” slurred a drunk man, trying to get the officer’s attention. Newt subtly drew out his wand, casting a quick memory altering charm on the crowd. “— gas. It was gas.”

“Gas… It was gas!” the crowd parroted. Quite loudly, in fact. With them distracted, I followed the cinnamon-haired Brit as he ran up the metal steps and inside the ruined tenement building.

“Oh geez!” I exclaimed, taking in the mess done to the place, and took out my wand. “Reparo!”   I cast the mending charm while following Newt up the stairs. Soon enough, we came across the right living quarters of the No-Maj, seeing it completely destroyed with footprints discoloring the floor, furniture was broken and glass shattered. Even worse: a massive hole in the opposite wall— something huge had to have blasted its way out. “Bloody hell!” I watched as Newt crouched beside the man lying on the floor, eyes closed and moaning. Moving closer, I noticed the bite on the side of the man’s neck. Newt also seemed to have noticed, as he begun trying to inspect the mark, only for the man to unconsciously bat him away.

Seemingly not getting anywhere with the No-Maj, Newt left the guy on the floor and quickly cast Reparo , making the room rewind back to its rightful state. “Mr. Scamander, Lisa!” I heard Tina yell from a few floors down, her footsteps heavy on the stairs as she ran up them. Newt sat on the bed as the last few bricks went back into place, my ears perking at the sounds of the latches catching as Tina appeared in the doorway. “It was open?” she asked, eyes wide as the man looked up from his case, his own green eyes wide.

“Just a smidge.” He replied, looking as calm as can be.

“That crazy Niffler thing’s on the loose again?”

“Er— it might be—”

“Then look for it! Look!”

I dived out of the way as Tina charged in, pulling a few things from my endless pockets as I did so. “Something shiny… something shiny…” I mumbled, brows furrowed, as my fingers hooked around something. “Aha!” I cheered, yanking it out of my pocket. “Oh, so that’s where I put it,” I mused, catching Tina’s attention. “Cousin, dear, remind me to apologize to Queenie later, yeah?” I showed her what I found, making her roll her dark eyes at me.

“Yeah, yeah… just look for that Niffler thing, Lisa!”

I turned, catching Newt eyeing the thing caught inside the amber that dangled from the long silver chain of the necklace. Carefully, I wrapped the chain thrice around my neck before latching it, making the fossil rest at the center of my breastbone. “Neat, huh, Mr. Scamander?” He blinked rapidly before turning away, watching as Tina knelt down next to the No-Maj after dropping his case of pastries off on the floor.

“His neck’s bleeding, he’s hurt!” She fretted about, always the one to worry. “Wake up, Mr. No-Maj…” she shook the man, trying to rouse him. After all, it’d be bad if he died on us.

With her back turned, Newt tried to make his way to the door, only to freeze when he noticed me glaring at him. He shuffled his feet, hand coming up to fiddle with his coat pocket as he bowed his head. All of a sudden Tina screamed, making me whip around to see something fleshy latch on to her arm. Tina shook her arm, managing to dislodge the thing, only for it to jump at me . Yelping, I somehow caught it before it could bite me, and tossed it towards Newt. The wizard effortlessly caught it by the tail, sat his case down, and forced the thing inside.

“Mercy Lewis, what is that?” asked Tina, scootching away from the case.

“Nothing to worry about. That is a Murtlap.”

Tina turned to look at me, completely stunned and eyebrows raised high on her forehead. “Yeah, okay. Even I can admit that freaked me out, now leave me alone,” I huffed, not really proud of how I acted when the thing— Murtlap — jumped at me.

“What else have you got in there?” questioned Tina, eyeing Newt’s innocent looking case.

“You!” cried the No-Maj suddenly, pointing at Newt and me in recognition.

“Hello,” Newt replied back, casting the man an awkward smile.

“‘Ow do?” I greeted, rocking back on my heels.

The man tried getting up, so Tina rushed over and tried helping. “Easy, Mister… Uh…”

“Kowalski. Jacob.” He stated, sounding groggy.

Newt quickly pulled out his wand, pointing it at the man, and Tina got in his way. “You can’t Obliviate him,” she whispered harshly, making Newt’s brows furrowed in confusion. “We need him as a witness.”

“I’m sorry,” Newt looked flummoxed as he dropped his wand arm. “You’ve just yelled at me the length of New York for not doing it in the first place.”

“He’s hurt! He looks ill.” Tina listed off as Jacob groaned, getting on his hands and knees and retching in the corner.

“He’ll be fine,” Newt argued back, seeming to not notice how pale the pudgy man was. “Murtlap bites aren’t serious.”

“We sure about that?” I asked, pointed at the ill-looking man. “He’s a No-Maj that got bitten by a magical creature, not a witch nor a wizard, so it might be different for him.”

Tina didn’t look amused as she rested a hand on Jacob’s shoulder as he grunted. “Yeah, I admit that is a slightly more severe reaction than I’ve seen.” Now even Mr. Scamander looked a bit worried. “But if it was serious, he’d have…” he trailed off, his ears reddening as Tina glared at him as she got up.

She was in ‘No-nonsense mom’ mode, as Queenie and I like to call it. “What?”

Newt looked anywhere but at Tina and I. “Well, the first symptom would be flames out of his anus. He doesn’t seem to—”

“This is balled up!”

“Flippin’ eck, man!” I exclaimed, jaw dropping in surprise as Mr. Kowalski felt the seat of his trousers.

“It’ll last 48 hours at the most. I can keep him, if you want me to.”

“He’s not a pet, Mr. Scamander!” I scolded.

Tina scoffed in disbelief. “Keep him? Keep him? ” The pitch of her voice rising with each word, her face going red in her bubbling anger. “We don’t keep them.” I went over, trying to help the woozy Mr. Kowalski get to his feet. “Mr. Scamander, do you know anything about the wizarding community in America?”

“I do know a few things, actually.” I don’t think he realized that that was a rhetorical question. “I know that you have rather backwards laws about relations with Non-Magic people. That you’re not meant to befriend them. That you can’t marry them, which seems mildly absurd to me.”

“Who’s gonna marry him?”

“Tina!” I shouted, appalled. She muttered a soft ‘sorry’ in return. “You got to admit, Mr. Scamander has a point, though, about our laws.” I left the groaning man on the floor, for now, seeing as it seems I was no help by myself. “I mean, given the fact that Ilvermorny of all places was founded by a No-Maj,” I pointed out, tucking my hands away in my pocket as Tina decided then to take my spot on the floor, trying to help up Jacob.

“You’re both coming with us,” Tina informed Newt and struggled to lift the heavier man.

“I don’t see why I need to come with you.”

I cocked an eyebrow at him, watching as he averted his gaze to the floor. “Really? Your creature made him sick, so take some responsibility.” I stated, going over and helping Tina. Even with both of us, we still struggled, my knees buckling under his dead weight. “Help us, please !”

Newt finally came over, as the No-Maj grumbled; “I’m dreaming, right? Yeah.” The wizard grabbed the man’s arm, helping us lift him to his feet and gently nudging me out of the way. “I’m tired. I never went to the bank.” The man slurred, leaning heavily on Newt now instead of Tina. “This is just some big nightmare, right?”

“For the both of us, Mr. Kowalski.” Tina agreed, vexed at the situation. I wrapped my arms around Newt’s waist just in time as she Disapparated with all of us.

†††

Soon enough, we reappeared, and given my dislike of sidelong Apparating, I was left dizzy and falling to my shaky knees. “I hate you, Tina…” I grumbled, face buried into the soft fabric.

“Lisa, you can let go of Mr. Scamander now,” pointed out Tina as she nudged me with her foot.

“No. He’s comfy and warm like hot cocoa, and the world is spinning fast.” I promptly snuggled closer to Newt, hiding my face in the small of his back and deeply inhaling his scent. It was very earthy, smelling of freshly tilled soil and either fern or sandalwood… maybe a combination of the two? And an underlying hint of musk that was purely Newt Scamander. If possible, I wanted to bottle up the smell and spritz it on my pillows with how calming it was, giving off a homely feeling that demanded you to simply relax and feel at home.

“For the love of Mercy Lewis!” Tina exclaimed loudly, grabbing my hood and yanking me back. “People are staring at us!” she scolded me the moment I let Newt go.

“You don’t say, Tina…” I grumbled, getting up to my feet. Tina merely rolled her eyes and started dragging the men off towards our home. “You know how sidelong Apparation doesn’t agree with me, Teen.” Once, before I could Apparate myself, I actually passed out when Tina Apparated with me. She had to use smelling salts to rouse me from my fainting spell, and then I proceeded to get sick in a nearby gutter.

“Take a right here.” Jacob began grunting again as we turned right, getting closer to our apartment. Tina dragged the men behind a delivery truck, eyeing the front of our apartment with apprehension. “Okay. Before we go in… We’re not supposed to have men on the premises.”

“And that is why we’ll become spinster sisters,” I stated casually, not bothering to hide.

Tina slapped a hand over my mouth with a sour look. “Lisa…” she warned, not amused. After all, she did hope to get married and have children eventually, once her life settled.

“In that case, Mr. Kowaski and I can easily seek other accommodations,” Newt spoke up, trying to weasel his way away from us as he started leading the No-Maj away.

“No, you don’t.” Tina held on to the poor sick man’s other arm and tugged them across the street. “Lisa, take point,” she ordered, looking back at me. I happily skipped to the front of the line, glad to be home as I unlocked the main door and started up the stairs. The others followed behind, with Tina at the rear of our line.

“That you, Tina?” called Mrs. Esposito, our landlady.

We all froze, my cousin holding her breath and slowly exhaling. “Yes, Mrs. Esposito.”

“Are you alone?” asked the elderly Italian woman.

“‘Ow do, Mrs. Esposito?” I called down as Tina’s eyes darted about.

“Lisa?”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Rough day, then?”

“She has no idea,” Tina muttered, glaring at the cinnamon-haired man.

“A bit, Mrs. Esposito. Tina and I are getting ready to have some dinner!” I replied, ignoring my cousin.

“Oh, don’t let me keep you girls then!”

With that, Mrs. Esposito closed and locked her door.

Taking that as a sign, I opened our apartment door and quickly shoved both men inside. I followed after, shedding my coat and throwing it in the out of place blue police box that sat inside our bedroom. Tina closed the door and locked it and then darted over and grabbing her slips that were drying by the fire. Tina threw my camisoles and bloomers at me, smacking me in the face while leaving Queenie’s to dry. I casually threw my clothes into my box.

“Teenie, Lisa, you brought men home.” Piped up Queenie from behind me, wearing nothing by her silky pink slip and a blue robe over it.

“Gentlemen, this is my sister and Lisa’s cousin.” Tina deadpanned, used to the strawberry blonde woman’s behavior. “Wanna put something on, Queenie?”

“Oh, sure.” I snickered at Queenie’s seemingly innocent answer as if she just noticed her lack of dress. Jacob watched, transfixed as Queenie used her magic to slip her dress she was mending on, while Newt went to the window and peeked out behind the curtains to the street below. “So, who are they?” inquired Queenie as Tina took my spot, half hiding behind the divider as she removed her boots.

“That’s Mr. Scamander. He’s committed a serious infraction of the National Statute of Secrecy.”

“He’s a criminal?”

“Uh-huh.”

I snuck into my box, bypassing the main area and going to one of the branching hallways and entering a room. Laying all curled up on an overstuffed pillow was a rather small lion cub which I found earlier when I had managed to sneak away from Tina when she was doing one of her rants across New York. “Hey there, little guy~” I crooned, scratching the darling behind the ear. The cub grunted, his ear twitching as he slowly started waking up. I sat down, legs crossed, and gave him a quick checkup before going to feed him some raw meat, seeing as he had to be around the age where he should be eating meat. After he finished, I took some time to play with him and wear him out once more, charming a few yarn balls to fly and bounce around. Soon enough, he was yawning and curling back up on the pillow, his tail tucked in around him as he dozed off. “Sleep tight, Karen,” I whispered, quickly ducking out the room and down the multiple halls.

Just as I got to the main area did someone knock on my police box’s door. “Lisa, come on out and help with supper!” It was Tina.

I slinked out, quickly closing the door behind me. I did not feel like explaining why my box looked like the 11th Doctor’s first TARDIS interior when he was traveling with the Ponds with all the glass and the weird looking console. Honestly, that took me forever to actually finish, as I had to keep adding the expansion charm while building everything by hand, and I still feel like it’s incomplete.

“Oh… You need to sit down, honey.” Was the first thing I heard as Queenie rushed forward, while Jacob fell back on the sofa. “He hasn’t eaten anything all day. And… Oh, that’s rough. He didn’t get the money he wanted for his bakery. You bake, honey?” There goes Queenie, using her Legilimency on people.

“Uh…”

“I love to cook.”

“You’re a Legilimens?” questioned Newt, actually looking interested compared to earlier, which made me cock an eyebrow.

“Mmm. Yeah. But I always have trouble with your kind. Brits. It’s the accent.” Queenie stated, playing with her wand. “Lisa’s different, though. She’s a natural with Occlumency.” Both of Newt’s eyebrows rose as he stared at me, making me flush a slight pink.

“You know how to read minds?” questioned Jacob, his face pailing even more so than it originally was.

“Oh. Don’t worry, honey. Most guys think what you was thinking first time they see me.” Cue the shameless flirt known as Queenie. “Now, you need food.”

I turned away from them both and pulled out my wand, waving it about as a kettle, teapot, saucers, and teacups zoomed from my box and began brewing a nice black tea, while a glass bowl was filled with strawberries, black raspberries, broken meringue and whipped double cream. “Looks good, Lisa,” commented Tina happily as she set the table, quickly snatching a strawberry from my Eton mess.

“Hot dog? Again ?” asked Queenie, not amused as she stared at her sister. “You’re going to give Lisa bad eating habits.”

“Don’t read my mind.”

“Not a very wholesome lunch.”

“Hello! I’m also an adult. Don’t baby me, Queenie,” I stated, bumping my hip against hers. Tina smiled at us both and bumped her hip against mine, nodding towards the strawberry blonde. “Oh, yeah. Queenie?”

“Uh-huh,” she responded, showing she was listening as she focused on cooking dinner.

“I’m sorry for accusing you of losing my necklace. Apparently, I forgot I shoved it in my pocket.”

Queenie paused for a second as she tilted her head slightly, smiling softly at me. “I understand, honey. Uncle Tomas gave that to you before he passed, and it’s a precious family heirloom that no one can put a price on.” I felt my eyes sting from the tears building up, so I rubbed at my eyes with my sleeve.

“It’s not old enough to be counted as a family heirloom yet,” I corrected, absentmindedly rubbing the fossilized amber between my thumb and index finger. It was true, after all, the fossil wasn’t discovered until six years before I was born, just shortly before my dad decided to propose to my mom. However, since its discovery, the fossilized creature has been dubbed as none other than the Beaumont Dragon, given the fact it was found at the Beaumont family château just 30 miles from Paris.

The dragon was royal purple with shades of peacock blue and green armor-like scales going from the tip of its tiny horned snout all the way to its spiked tail, its clawed feet were tucked in close to its body while its front arms were fused to the wings, similar to a bat, with a wicked sharp talon for a thumb as the wings were frozen forever curled tightly to its sides.

“Hey, Mr. Scamander,” Queenie called out suddenly, making me turn around with the bowl of Eton mess that I was keeping away from Tina, to see the British wizard looking ready to make a break for it. I deflated quicker than a soufflé, seeing that he was ready to run for it instead of having a nice meal with us. “You prefer pie or strudel?”

“I really don’t have a preference.”

“What about Eton mess? It’ll be like having a slice of home, huh?” Queenie continued, not one to be dissuaded easily. “Lisa makes great European meals.”

I flushed, frowning as I placed the glass bowl down. ‘If he doesn’t wanna stay, then we shouldn’t force him,’ I huffed to myself. My heart felt heavy in my chest, regardless that it should not matter in the long run what he does.

‘Oh, honey…’ I felt Queenie project out to me, sounding sympathetic, making me realize that my Occlumency slipped a bit, making me more frustrated.

“Here,” Tina swooped in and handed me a black, white and gold teacup, with dragons being the main design laid in gold on the black. If I remember right, this was my grandmother’s favorite tea set, made by Royal Stafford in England. Tina placed her hands on my shoulders and led me to a spot at the table, forcing me to sit down with my cup of tea. Not wanting to argue, I simply took a sip, happy that she remembered how I liked my English black breakfast tea.

“You prefer strudel, huh, honey?” cheered Queenie as Jacob took the spot two spaces to my right. He nodded happily, tucking a napkin into his shirt collar. “Strudel it is.” I watched as she worked her magic, making a beautiful apple raisin strudel with powdered sugar.

“Well, sit down, Mr. Scamander,” spoke Tina, leaning against the back of the chair right next to me on my right, flicking her wand to light the candles. The wizard just stood awkwardly by the door still, his hands wrapped around the handle of his case. “We’re not gonna poison you.”

Mr. Kowalski merely glared at Newt and nodded his head to the empty seat across from Tina and me. He finally gave in and sat down, followed by Tina and Queenie. I flicked my wand, sending the teapot over along with the cup and saucer and the small jar of sugar cubes. “Oh,” he sounded surprised as the cup and saucer landed softly in front of him, the teapot tipping over and filling the china cup with the right amount of tea before floating over to the counter. “Thank you.” I looked off to the side, chewing on the inside of my cheek. Tina nudged me with her elbow, making me look up at her, and she cocked an eyebrow at me. Sighing, I peeked at Mr. Scamander through my lashes, watching as he added three sugar cubes to his tea and then stirring it.

Soon enough, we were passing around dishes so everyone could fill their plate and dug in. “Queenie, you’ve outdone yourself again, I swear,” I complimented my cousin, eyes closed in bliss, groaning softly as the meat from the roast melted in my mouth. She really is a great cook, and I am sure she will make someone very happy someday.

“You’re sweet, Lisa,” Queenie blushed prettily, enjoying the praise of her cooking.

Soon, though, Queenie turned her attention to Jacob and started a one-sided conversation with him, making the meal awkward as we all finished the main meal and moved on to dessert. Tina had a large sweet tooth, so she got a bit of the strudel and my Eton mess, while I just enjoyed the Eton mess. No matter what Queenie did, I couldn’t stand anything with raisins in it. I jolted a bit in my seat, feeling both Queenie and Tina elbow me at the same time. Casting them both a quick look, I settled for looking at my blonde cousin. She smiled, subtly tilting her head in Newt’s direction, which drew my eyes to him.

A pleasant tingle went up my spine seeing him eating the Eton mess.

†††

“The job ain’t that glamorous. I mean, I spend most days making coffee. Unjinxing the john,” Queenie began, explaining what she did at MACUSA to Jacob. She smiled happily, turning to stare at both Tina and me. “Tina and Lisa are the career girls.”

As expected, Tina smiled a bit at the praise, happy to know her efforts were acknowledged by us. Myself, on the other hand, not so much. As much as I liked doing what I do, I hated being alone in the very department I forced to be created. My job could easily be taught to numerous of other witches and wizards, which would free up my time to do something I actually loved; learning about all these new and beautifully fantastic beasts and take care of them and put my veterinarian knowledge of exotic animals from Before to actual use . Not to stay idle and trapped in New York.

I looked up, face smoothing out from the slight grimace, to see Newt looking at us before looking down. ‘Was… Was he looking at me? Or Tina?’

“Nah, we’re orphans. Ma and Pa died of Dragon Pox when we were kids.” Unlike Tina, Queenie could casually talk about their parents because she didn’t really know them all that well. “Auntie also died from an illness, and Uncle followed a year after of a broken heart…”

Tina’s lips pressed into a thin line, while I tried focusing on something to drown out Queenie. At first, I simply stared at Newt’s hands, noticing the scars and teeth marks that peppered his skin like his freckles. Finding it awkward to be studying his hands, my eyes trailed upward, locking onto a flash of green somewhere around his left breast pocket, the lapels of his coat obscuring my vision enough that I couldn’t make out whatever it was.

“Oh… You’re sweet.” I inwardly cringed. “But we got each other.”

“Could you stop reading my mind for a second?” Jacob finally got a chance to say, sweat beading along his brow.

“Oh…”

“Don’t get me wrong, I love it,” he stammered, catching Queenie’s eye. They both had a quick laugh, and I notice Newt look away from the awkward display happening before us. “This meal, it’s insanely good. And this is what I do, I’m a cook. A-And this is like the greatest meal I have ever had in my life.” Once more they started laughing. I watched as Newt’s face twitched a bit, looking unsure if he should grin or grimace at the two.

“Oh! You slay me. I ain’t never really talked to a No-Maj before.”

“Huh. Really?”

Newt’s cheeks puffed slightly as he exhaled, making a soft popping noise with his lips while doing so. Tina looked down, playing with her fingers, while I was ready to make a break for it and run in my box to check on Karen.

“I am not flirting,” stated Queenie, now frowning as she folded her hands in front of her.

Tina floundered a bit at being called out, casting her sister a sympathetic look. “I’m just saying, don’t go getting attached. He’s gonna have to be Obliviated.” She then faced Jacob. “It’s nothing personal,” she told him, being completely sincere.

“Oh, hey, you okay, honey?” questioned a worried Queenie. I also frowned, noticing how clammy Mr. Kowalski looked, yet his face was flushed, sweat trickling down from his temple as he began breathing heavily.

“So, Ms. Goldstein, I think Mr. Kowalski could do with an early night,” Newt stated, quickly getting up and getting behind his chair and holding on the backrest. “Besides, you, Ms. Beaumont and I will need to be up early tomorrow morning to find my Niffler, so…”

“What’s a Niffler?”

Tina had gotten up, standing behind me as she looked at Mr. Scamander. “Don’t ask. Hey, you guys can bunk in here.” She gestured to the bedroom that my box was in, going in the remove the ironing and putting it away. “You okay with that, Lisa?” she asked, knowing how peculiar I can be about my box.

“Y-Yeah,” I floundered about, flushing under Newt’s gaze as he raised both eyebrows, his head tilting to the right slightly. I got up quickly and made my way to my box to get away from those inquisitive green-gray eyes that seemed to stare into my very being, and rushed to my closet to change in my sheer pale gold silky chiffon nightgown, which was a lot more modest than what my blonde cousin would no doubt be wearing, yet less conservative than my eldest cousin’s pajamas. Once dressed, I went and checked on Karen, pleased that he was doing okay as he played with the enchanted balls of yarn.

Sitting down, I watched him pounce and swat at the yarn balls, looking as happy as can be and he played. “Soon I’ll have to take you back home, sweetie,” I told him, laughing a bit as he began swatting at the satin ribbon sash that went under my bust. I laughed, even more, when he tried roaring, which was downright adorable. I fed him again, keeping a close eye on him as he all but face planted on his temporary bed.

Getting up, I straightened out my skirt and left the room, heading for the door, just in time to see Tina walking into the bedroom as I opened the door. “Uh, I thought you might like a hot drink.” I happily walked over a grabbed the mug that had whipped cream overflowing from it.

“Thanks, Teen.” I took a sip, feeling the hot cocoa do its job. Tina grinned, pointing at my face.

“Nice mustache, Lisa.”

“Thank you, ma’am. It took me ages to grow it.” I joked, leaning against my police box. Tina walked over, handing Jacob one of the other mugs, which he took gratefully. The British wizard, on the other hand, was curled up already, facing towards the wall. My cousin didn’t seem to be all that amused as she placed the other mug down a bit harder than what she probably meant to on the nightstand.

“Wow! Psst! Hey. Mr. Scamander, look, cocoa.” Jacob tried coaxing the other male into polite conversation.

“Toilet’s down the hall to the right. If you need anything, just knock on Lisa’s door,” Tina informed the two men. “Sweet dreams, Lisa,” she said, pecking me on the cheek.

“Sweet dreams to you, too, Teen.” I smiled softly at her, before going back into my box and sitting on the captain’s chair. I stared at the console, brows furrowed in thought. Maybe, just maybe one of these days I’ll figure out how to make the thing teleport similar to an actual TARDIS. I just had to figure out the right spells to use, maybe making it similar to a Portkey, without the things that made a Portkey a Portkey.

I don’t know how long I was lost in thought, however, I soon heard a loud thumping noise coming from the bedroom. Frowning, I set my cocoa on the console and went to investigate. I came to an abrupt stop, eyes wide as I stared at Jacob stuck part way inside Newt’s case.

“Uhh…” he began, his own eyes wide.

As casual as possible, I walked over and got down on my knees, placing my hands on his shoulders and pushed with all my might. It took a bit of pushing a shoving, however, I did eventually feel him start slipping downward. “Finally!” I cheered, giving his shoulders one last hard push, only for him to quickly get sucked down, which threw me off balance as I fell headfirst into the open case.