Lost and Found [Newt Scamander]

Thirteen

The subway tunnel was dark; ill-lit with lightbulbs clinging to the ceiling that illuminated a set of tracks on the ground below the concrete platforms on either side. Kel appeared behind a wide-set pillar and pressed his back against it to catch his breath. 

He saw Newt before he saw the crawling black tendrils of the Obscurial of which had confined itself to the corner of the space, shaking in its indistinguishable form as Newt slowly advanced. 

Kel stayed rooted to the spot when Newt caught his eye and motioned for him to stay. 

"Credence," Newt said softly, trying to control his breathing though his eyes were wide with that timid bravery. "It is Credence, isn't it? I'm here to help you, Credence." Newt went on. "I'm not here to hurt you."

Another traded look and then Newt was slowly peeling himself off the pillar wall. He took a single step forward off the platform and onto the tracks below. The obscurial had calmed now and the way the black magic seemed to swirl now was softer, more controlled. Kel took a step forward as well but did not advance any further, remaining still behind the pillar but not so far enough away that he wouldn't be able to intervene. Newt was the expert in dealing with creatures, Kel was better suited for preparing for things to go wrong and dealing with them from there. 

"I've met someone just like you, Credence." Newt carried on, his voice soft and empathetic. It was marvelous to witness and Kel would have smiled at the nature in which Newt calmed the creature if his heart wasn't hammering and if he wasn't waiting for the Ministry and Graves to appear at any given moment. 

"A girl. A young girl who'd been imprisoned." Newt went on, trying to keep his voice steady as he recalled the horrid memory. "She had been locked away, and she'd been punished for her magic."

The tendrils started shifting then, moving slowly, slowly downward, its movements restricting themselves as it harnessed all its components into one area there-- closer to the ground. Kel watched, breath gone, hands twitching at his sides for his wand but he wouldn't use it. Because then Credence was there, knelt over on the other side of the tracks-- human once more. 

"Credence," Newt said with a small smile of relief. "Can I come over to you?"

Kel didn't think Credence would allow it. A moment elapsed but then the boy nodded slowly and so, slowly, Newt took a step forward. Breathing in that moment seemed to come easier to him but he had made it no further than that single fateful step when Graves made his appearance, stepping out from the dark shadow of the subway channel and firing a spell. A bright flash from a wand and then Newt was lung backward, propelled through the air until he landed roughly on his back, the edges of the tracks digging into his spine. 

Graves fired another shot but then Kel was stepping out from his place behind the pillar and blocking it with a quick barrier protection spell. Graves' head snapped up when he saw Kel too and fired three more spells in succession. 

Kel cursed under his breath as he blocked them all one after the other, moving quickly as he kept his wand out before him so he could reach Newt and hastily pull him back up to his feet so that they could scramble behind the pillar. 

Credence had gone, fled down the tracks without any sense of direction and Newt chased after him, pulling himself from Kel's grip despite a shout calling him back. 

"Newt! Don't--" 

But Newt wouldn't listen. He jumped over the platform edge and onto the tracks once more, protecting Credence who was now at his back. 

Spell after spell Grave's sent forth, ruining the rails of the tracks and scorching the bricks that lined the walls as Newt precariously defended himself and Credence against each and every one of them.