Tides of Turmoil (NEWTINA)

Chapter 20 - The Brothers

'He won't talk. We tried all that we could, but we believe that he has learned some Occlumancy  – '

'Impossible. Newt has never been good at that. When in school, he  – '

'Well, he never got to continue with his training, did he? You have not met for a long time, Leta.'

'I know that. Then you must know. If I'm not mistaken, you of all people should know if your little brother has some skills on Occlumancy, given that you used to read his thoughts and use them as brotherly blackmail.'

'Leta, that is... true. But we hadn't met after what happened in the war. We met a few months ago, when he came back from America, but I never bothered to see if my brother learned Occlumency. It's just not a theme to talk and discuss, or check, during a family dinner. Especially if my mother had cooked her famous roasted chicken. So good, you can't just – '

'Is zis a little joke to you, Meester Scamander?!'

'Of course not, Ministre. Let me talk to him.'

'We 'ave that Moldus. 'E'll do.'

'No. We cannot touch him. The International Confederation will have our heads if we report back that we had a Muggle in our power for interrogation. No, let me talk to Newt.'

'...Fine.'

'Thank you.'

I had prepared myself before the door opened. I was in a small room, the walls black and cold, making the hair at the back of my head to stand up. I raised my head enough to see the figure of my brother walked from behind me around the table and settle in front of me.

'Hey, little brother.'

'Where's Jacob?' I said, not bothering if I sounded rude.

'He's safe. I won't let them do anything to him. I know he's a dear friend.'

'Yes. He's one of those hard to come by – too many qualities to say, but he's above all loyal... do you remember the meaning of that word, Thes?'

He paused, leaning his hands on the table that stood between us. 'Newton, if you want to speak your mind, this is the time. If you want to vent about what you think of me –'

'I'm not doing that,' I cut in, deadpan, glaring down at my hands on my lap. 'Things I want to say, I can't say. There are some other that I would but... we have the same mother.'

'Newton, listen to me...'

'What?' I snapped, now glaring at him. My hatred was already in my tongue, and I was not sure if I would be able to bite it to make sure I didn't let out more.

He sighed and sat down – not opposite to me, but next to me. He let his elbows on his knees, looking down as he put his hands together. I looked away, refusing to let him manipulate me with pity.

'Newt,' he said in such a soft whisper I was taken back. I turned my eyes to him and saw an urgency in his face that didn't fit the situation at all. 'I didn't lie.'

'Could've fooled me,' I fumed, turning my head back to the wall.

'The French Ministry was following my tracks; you have no idea of the bewilderment I felt when I saw a dozen of Aurors in that place, Leta among them. I needed to play the role that I was part of it, that I knew all along of their shadow behind me. I was outnumbered, what else was I supposed to do? I sent a message to Dumbledore – '

'You lie.'

'I don't!'

'Thes, come on. We both know that she wouldn't do this on her own. I could bet all my money in Gringotts that you worked this together.'

'Then you would lose your money, little brother,' he said angrily. 'And Leta... I suppose she got worried, that's all; so, that falls on me. I should've explained a bit to her. But, I was worried that something like this would happen.'

'I expected communication between the two of you to be better than this. You used to excel at that in school –'

'Newt, you know that at that time we were just – '

'I don't want to know!' I said, raising my voice yet regretting it. I continued, though above a whisper. 'All this time, I trusted you. Not only me but Dumbledore too.'

'You can trust me in this,' he said, earnestly, 'you have to! I was telling the truth; she is really waiting for you.'

'Then I suggest you soundproof this room before you ask me to,' I countered, feeling angry at myself for feeling weak at the mention of what could have been my reunion with Tina. I looked down and mumbled on. 'I know what you're trying to do – I'm not opening my mind to you, Theseus. I'm sorry.'

'So, you do know Occlumency! But how?' he said loudly, but I could see he was disappointed and frustrated with my refusal.

I stayed silent, knowing that it was the surest way to disappoint him and to annoy him. Indeed, noticing my silence, he groaned and sighed in exasperation. 'What can I do to make you trust me?' he asked out loud. Probably nothing, I thought, so I remained silent.

There was a knock at the door, but Theseus made no mind to it. He rubbed his temples, deep in thought. I let out a breath, my mind wandering to my friends. I bet Jacob would be wondering about what would happen to us if we don't get out of here. Queenie surely is trying to be patient, probably getting in Flora's nerves. (I repressed a smile as I thought of Queenie trying to sneak out from under Flora's nose). And Tina... I felt my heart and body ache at the idea that I won't be seeing her after all. Even if the address to the catacombs was a lie, we still had the address she gave us in the postcard. Yet, there's no way we could reach that place in time if we are in the Ministry's hands. I sighed silently, disappointed, to say the least, but also frustrated.

A tap on the table made me jump off from my thoughts. I looked up and Theseus was looking me dead in the eye, a glint of serious plead in his features. He kept tapping, sometimes stopping and sometimes prolonging it. Though I was confused at first, I realized what he was doing, as the tapping continued, and felt a relief that made me let out a soft chuckle. I then switched my facial expression to a neutral one, listening attentively each tapping sound. There was an occasional knock on the door, but neither of us stopped looking at each other.

He stopped, looking at me expectantly. I gathered my thoughts and organized the message he just sent me:

.. / .-- .. .-.. .-.. / --- .--. . -. / -- -.-- / -- .. -. -.. / - --- / -.-- --- ..- .-.-.- / .-. . .- -.. / .. - --..-- / .- -. -.. / -.-- --- ..- / .-- .. .-.. .-.. / -... . .-.. .. . ...- . / -- . .-.-.- / .-- . / -- ..- ... - / .... ..- .-. .-. -.-- .-.-.-

"I will open my mind to you. Read it, and you will believe me. We must hurry."

Acting as quickly as I could, I looked deep into his eyes and attempted a bit of Legilimency. I ran through different parts of his memories, jumping from one to the other, and was surprised to learn an astonishing truth: my brother was not lying to me.