Crescendo: A Fantastic Beasts Newtina Fanfiction

Chapter 22

       Tina watched as Queenie put the finishing touches on their dinner, and set the table for three. Jacob was not staying with them today, so there was no need to set out additional appliances. 

       The tantalizing, savory, smell of beef stew wafted into the air and tickled Tina's nose. She inhaled deeply, admiring Queenie's skill as a cook. 

       "Teen, can you get Newt? Dinner's ready," Queenie said.

       "Sure," Tina replied as she stepped out of the kitchen. 

       She made her way down the hallway, and paused at the door of where Newt was staying. It was closed. Tina raised her hand, and rapped gently on the door with her knuckles. There was no reply. Figuring that Newt was too wrapped up in writing his second manuscript to have noticed the sound, she cracked the door open and peeked in. 

       "Newt, dinner's ready–" she stopped. There was no one there. 

       However, his case, which was resting on the floor, was unlocked. Tina walked over to it, and tentatively flipped open the lid, not sure how he would react when she entered his shed without an invitation. Deciding that dinner was more important, and that Newt was proably too preoccupied with his creatures to have realized the time, she stepped into the case and climbed down the ladder. 

       Newt was not in his shed, either. Tina proceeded to open the shed door, and she stepped outside. She combed the areas that were the closest to the shed, but there was no sign of the Magizoologist. 

       "Newt?" she called. The only response was the chirping of the Occamies that she was standing next to. Slightly worried now, she branched out further, still looking for Newt. "Newt?" she repeated. 

       Tina suddenly heard a pattering of pawsteps behind her. She turned around to see Dougal running towards her, making a series of quick, snuffling sounds. The Demiguise approached her, and reached up to tug on her hand. Bewildered, Tina looked down at him.

       "Dougal?" she said, "what is it?"

       The Demiguise was beckoning frantically for her to follow him, and Tina, after hesitating for a second, set off after the creature. Dougal was running full pelt through the case, and Tina was following him as quickly as she could. Various habitats flashed by them, with the creatures wandering about in them. She saw the bright magenta flash of a Fwooper swoop by, and Billywigs darted around in front of her, but she paid them no attention.  Dougal seemed to be very worried, and Tina wondered what could have possibly happened to make the Demiguise so distressed, and why he hadn't gone to Newt instead. 

       They were running toward the habitats with the animals that were more dangerous, Tina realized, and a twinge of unease was stirring inside of her. At last, Dougal skidded to an abrupt halt in front of the Nundu habitat, and Tina almost crashed into him. The silver-haired creature was pointing at something that was leaning on a boulder in front of the cave where the Nundu was prowling. 

       Tina took a wary step toward, making sure to keep one eye on the Nundu, who had its mane puffed up. With a gasp of horror, she realized that the thing by the boulder was Newt. He lay crumpled in a heap on the ground, and with another jolt of panic, she saw that the front of his shirt was ripped and bloody. Tina rushed forward, forgetting about the Nundu in her haste. She ignored it as it growled, barely registering the sound. Fear pulsed through her, and one word was repeating itself in her mind. Newt. Newt. Newt.

       Tina dropped to the bloodstained ground in front of him. Newt's eyes were closed, and they appeared to be flickering wildly. His button-up, which was usually neat and crisp, was torn and mangled by the claws of the Nundu, and blood was flowing steadily from a deep set of scratches. Newt's face was sweaty, and his mop of messy hair clung damply to his forehead.