Fantastic Beasts And The Trials of Scamander

Sympathy for The Devil

Newt was certain he was still shaking as he clambered out of the case and into the weak light of the fire and half moon. They'd done it. Of course, it had taken Tina and the gentle tug of her hands but their lips had met and Newt was certain there was no feeling even close to the pure ecstasy running through his veins. Not helped by the thrum of adrenaline after his brothers shout from above. Momentarily ignoring the blockade of people staring at a point he couldn't quite see he turned and shyly offered a hand to a determined-looking Tina who already had her wand drawn, although she did accept the aid with her cheeks still pink from their prior activities.

Slowly they stalked around the side and Newt was hit by a rather nauseating mix of anger, sadness and pity for his old teacher who was slumped on the floor with what appeared to be reinforced incarcerous ropes. He looked over at his brother who was pointing his wand at Albus, nodding as Tina joined him in the threat,
"I thought I'd go the American way."
He remarked simply and he watched Tina smirk
"As you should"
Everyone had managed to make their way back to the surface, even Queenie on her newly mended leg, and now everyone was standing with arms crossed waiting for someone to speak.

Drawing his wand he let his hand dangle by his thigh, the wand limp in his hand. As he stepped forward, making sure to remain clear of the Auror's firing line. Albus' hair was wild and uncombed, missing its usual sheen of wax, and his beard had grown out slightly in his days in the wilderness. His travelling robes were ripped and muddy and he looked like a wild man. Yet his eyes still held that placating shine, a sort of dulled acceptance as he blinked up at him.
"Professor."
Newt remarked and to his surprise, Albus responded by chuckling slightly
"I believe I told you a long time ago to stop calling me that"
"Yes, but that was when you labelled yourself my friend and I don't believe I return the sentiment at this precise moment."
It sounded harsh to his own ears but suddenly his mind was filled with the image of that poor, wounded chimaera whimpering as he and Bunty desperately tried to stop any bleeding or worse infection. However, his words seemed to work as Albus sagged some more
"I knew you'd be angry with me. There are very few people's opinions I regard higher, Newt. You know that"
He squirmed at his old professor's gaze and he willed his confidence to have some form of resolve
"Then why did you run?"
"I am not who-"
"Do not start with that!" He exclaimed, loud enough to disrupt the birds nesting in the hedge, surprised to find tears flooding his vision as he pressed his lips together and dropped his tone "Don't start with the self-pity"
"Newt I am simply not the right person to solve this"
Albus' voice was harsh, rough and emotional so opposite to his usual tone. Newt felt the tears grow into anger as he shouted
"AND I AM?"
There was a horrifying silence as he felt everyone behind him eyes widen. Then he heard the snapping of twigs underfoot as someone slowly walked over before placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. He could feel the engagement ring on his neck and mentally sent a thank you to Queenie before taking a steadying breath.
"You've said it yourself, professor. I do what is right. I'm not a war hero. I'm not an auror. If I wanted to walk away I could..."
And he'd be lying if it hadn't crossed his mind when he'd been sat waiting up for Tina coming back from an auror mission, her coffee steadily getting colder. When Theseus had finally broken down after Paris and all Newt could do was sit there holding him as his war hero older brother sobbed until he threw up. When Queenie and Jacob received threats to everything they had built.

Yes, Newt had considered taking his family far away from it all. But he hadn't.
"But Newt you're a stronger man than me"
"Am I? Or am I simply not allowed to fall apart?" He felt the tears emerge again as his voice wobbled " In reality, what else could I do? I have no reason to be in this war apart from the chance of keeping this family safe" He gestured behind him and heard more than saw everyone straighten as more wands were drawn. "So that Queenie and Jacob's children don't live in fear, so that Tina and I have the chance to love each other properly-" He swallowed and stilled the tremor in his voice, ignoring what he knew was a series of surprised faces and mouthing of words being exchanged "I'm not the only one who wants a future, Albus."
"And what future lies for me?" It was Albus' turn to cry now and Newt, through his anger, hadn't noticed the man's growing tears. "Gellert is a mix of his own and my ideas. I'm the reason he's so powerful! It's all my fault! Every death! Every child left without a parent! Every parent grieving for their child! That is all because I was foolish in love! I cannot stop him! I don't know how to fight!"
The declaration rang loud in the empty clearing then one man came from the back of the group. There was no wand in his hand and he spoke with a sense of finality that made Newt infinitely grateful for his best friend.
"All you need to do is protect" Albus blinked up at Jacob in disbelief, squirming slightly against the restraints which Tina seemed to have tightened again as she glared. "That's what you did before, wasn't it? Grindelwald wanted to hurt, you wanted to protect? Now none of us here are saying we've got anything plan-like. That's not how we roll, huh guys?" There was a weak murmur of amusement and Jacob ran a hand through his straggly hair "See in all the time I've known this fella here," he gesture to Newt "The best plans we've had have had us locked in sewers and all sorts of things" he and Jacob shared a smile "But we're still here. We aren't really safe but we aren't in danger either. You see Mr Dumbledore, we need you to protect. Grindelwald can't do nothing if you make sure to protect."
"He ain't the man you loved" Tina's voice took over, surprisingly calm in tone but Newt could see her wand hand shaking "He wants you dead. This man kills. Just like he killed Leta. Just like he almost killed Jacob. Just like he almost killed Newt"
Her voice trembled around his name but she kept her wand aloft, threatening him almost as Theseus took another step forward. "He isn't afraid of us, we can send Aurors and all sorts after him but in reality, we're an irritant, not a threat. We need you to fight him. "
"It's not too late, Albus. We, we can still try...."
Albus was watching them intently then he seemed to sag against the ropes as Queenie piped up.
"You guys can lower your wands now, he's not running"
Tina looked over at her sister and they seemed to have a silent conversation before Tina lowered her wand dutifully and stowed it away and Newt followed while Theseus removed the bounds with a flick. However as everyone else stood back, Theseus continued forward and hurled the man to his feet before stating in a lethally quiet voice
"You promised we'd get him and I've never seen you as one to neglect a promise."
Albus nodded tiredly before grasping his brother's hand with both of his.
"We will."

There was a beat where everyone just stood staring at one another. Tina moved beside him and laced their fingers together while Lally looked around with a whistle.
"Well, are we finished then? Case closed?"
There was a smattering of laughter which dropped off suddenly. Albus then looked around awkwardly
"You all look exhausted"
"It hasn't exactly been an easy few days Albus."
Theseus remarked dryly as he slid his wand back in his holster and Jacob chirped
"Yeah and I don't know about you guys but I'm ready to sleep in a bed that don't move- No idea how you do it Newt"
"One learns when it's your only option."
"Also he's been able to sleep anywhere forever. When he was six he fell asleep upside down in a tree-"
"Thank you for sharing that, Theseus!"
Newt groaned, ushering everyone towards the case.
"Look-" Tina began, while Theseus opened the case she fell back to beside him "it's late, in the morning Theseus and I can claim emergency port key required and get us back to England then we can talk from there"
"One more night then we can go back to whatever the hell we were doing before"
"Like being bored of paperwork and finance meetings?"
Theseus remarked with a grin, holding the lid open as first Albus went down followed by Queenie and Lally.
"Oh shut up Scamander."
She replied without bite but the shove she gave was rather descriptive as she descended into the shed.

A/N So, rather short given the gap between updates but it's in that awkward phase that I know a lot of the guys who are writing multi fic stories right now between action and I needed to write a bridging chapter that wasn't clunky. Also obviously this is the supposed goal and therefore I wanted it to go well.

As for Newt losing his temper at Dumbledore a bit, my main focus for this story was seeing Newt challenged as well as Dumbledore. The problem that I have with a lot of Albus Fics is they treat him as perfect where in reality the major flaws in his character are what make him interesting and likeable. Unlike in the Harry Potter series where Dumbledore scarcely does wrong Fantastic Beasts gives us more of an insight and I think we should use that.