SHIPWRECK. ❪ Newt Scamander ❫ ✓

twenty

Thousands of witches and wizards milled around. Some were already seated on stone benches. The atmosphere was tense and edgy. Some witches and wizards were nervous, curious, or a true believer.

Nagini tried to hold Credence back, but he wouldn't budge. He was curious and angry. He wanted to know more about the wizarding world and about his true family.

"They're Pure-Bloods. They kill the likes of us for sport!" Nagini exclaimed.

Credence didn't listen to her. Nagini hesitated but followed him. She wanted to protect Credence. She loved him too much to let him get hurt.

"It's a trap," Tina whispered.

Yeah. Queenie and the family tree - it's all been bait," Newt added.

Trinity, Newt, and Tina were trying to blend in with the crowd of acolytes.

"We have to find a way out of here, right now," Tina commanded nervously.

Newt nodded. "You find the others."

"What are you gonna do?" Tina asked.

Newt let out a nervous breath. "I'll think of something."

Tina walked further into the crowd, looking for Jacob and Credence. An acolyte was watching Newt and Trinity's progress. The lights dimmed. The crowd began to cheer as Grindelwald walked on stage. Acolytes were moving to cover all the entrances. They were all trapped in the amphitheater.

Tina was weaving through the crowd, searching. She found Queenie and Jacob in the audience, and Credence on the other side of the amphitheater. She didn't know who to go to first. She loved her sister, but if Credence wasn't saved first, Grindelwald would get to them first. She walked to Credence but was blocked by an acolyte. She walked into the crowd and sat down on the bench.

Queenie was sucked in, applauding energetically. Jacob was scared, Kama was skeptical, Credence was transfixed, Nagini was uneasy, and Leta was studying Grindelwald intently.

Trinity looked around, curious as to why everyone was so invested in the man in the circle. Newt grabbed onto her arm, making sure she didn't stray away. She wasn't purposefully trying to get away from him, but she was accidentally being shoved by others. Trinity gasped when someone rammed into her shoulder sharply, causing her to be pushed back. Newt's grip on her arm loosened. He turned back in shock to see Trinity reaching out for Newt. He reached back, their fingertips grazing, before a mysterious arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her back.

Grindelwald gestured for the crowd to settle down. "My brothers, my sisters, my friends: the great gift of your applause is not for me. No. It is for yourselves. You came today because of a craving and a knowledge that the old ways serve us no longer... You come today because you crave something new, something different. It is said that I hate Les Non-Magiques, the Muggles, the No-Maj, the Can't-Spells."

The body that the arm belonged to was an acolyte. It was a man. She didn't know his name, but there was a glint in his eye that made her frightened. He grabbed her shoulders and forced her to sit down on one of the benches. He let go of her shoulders but still stood behind her, watching both her and Grindelwald. Trinity trembled. She looked around for Newt. She could see the bounces of his curls looking for her in the crowd.

People jeered and hissed from the crowd. Jacob looked around, frightened as he slumped down in his seat. Queenie tried to reassure him.

"I do not hate them. I do not," Grindelwald announced.

Everyone was quiet.

"For I do not fight out of hatred. I say the Muggles
are not lesser, but other. Not worthless, but of
other value. Not disposable, but of a different disposition. Magic blooms only in rare souls. It is granted to those who live for higher things. Oh, and what a world we could make, for all of humanity. We who live for freedom, for truth - " He looked at Queenie in the front row, then Trinity in the far back. " - and for love."

Back at the cemetery, the figures of fifty Aurors appeared in silhouette among the mausoleums. Among them was Theseus.

"It isn't illegal to listen to him," Theseus stated. "Use minimum of force on the crowd. We mustn't be what he says we are!"