More than a Friend (A Newtina Fanfic)

Part 20

"He's my friend. I've never kissed him in my life. I don't know what you're trying to prove to me, and I don't have an answer." Tina had turned steely and cold in a matter of moments. Still quiet. Her facade was levelled, measured, neutral. Blank.

"Oh, don't lie to me. I'm not an idiot, you know." Achilles said. You kind of are, Tina wanted to say.

"I have nothing to say. You are a follower of Grindelwald. You betrayed the Wizarding World. You are an auror. You have committed an act of treason, and will be arrested." With that statement, she reached to grab her wand.

"Accio wand!" Achilles shouted. Tina's wand went hurtling towards him, and he deftly caught it in his fingers. She was disarmed and had no way of defending herself except with her fists.

"Now, tell me when. Or else I'll be forced to take you to Grindelwald," he demanded. Newt saw that Tina was losing this battle, and stood up.

"We're friends. You're only thinking about it this way because you're jealous of the fact that Tina has a relationship with another person." He paused and took a breath. "Tina is my friend. A close one, but there's nothing romantic between us." He said it all with a calm, quiet, even, almost respectful tone. Achilles looked at him, disdainful, not saying anything. The tension in the room was as thick as mud, and as charged as a lightning rod. You could slice it with a knife and nothing would happen. Even the nifflers, who had come back upstairs to pilfer more gold didn't move an inch.

"Newt's correct," Tina said, breaking the silence.

"Of course he would say that. He's a dirty liar too," Achilles said, his voice rising.

"He is not!" Tina exclaimed, her voice rising to match Achilles's. Newt saw that he was out of the conversation once more and retreated to the sofa.

"This is even more proof you're with him! You're defending him, not me," Achilles said.

"I don't even care about that! You follow Grindelwald! He's killed countless people, and your whole career is to defeat him! What's wrong with you?" Tina asked, her voice rising even more.

"Grindelwald will save us all. Too long have we been in hiding. We're New Yorkers. You should know this better than anyone." He paused as if thinking. "Your sister is still hung up over that No-Maj. But she would still be with him if there weren't all of the laws concerning the relations with No-Majs. If we were free, that could be changed," he said, slyly.

"If you're trying to use my sister against me, it's not working. My sister could very well move to England and marry Jacob here. Tell her that." She was quickly gaining confidence, though it would be short-lived. "Grindelwald is brainwashing you. He's brainwashing everyone. Please, Achilles. Don't join him," she pleaded. Achilles made a noise of some mixture of disgust, contempt, and a laugh.

"Darling, you don't know how wrong you are." Then he turned his back and unceremoniously threw Tina's wand to the side. Newt caught it before it broke.

"Join me. Join the cause. Join Grindelwald. Or else we'll do to you what we've done to other aurors and people fighting against us." He said it with venom. It was a threat, Tina could see that clearly. And she understood what he would do. Grindelwald and his acolytes knew how to make people do their bidding. They attacked the target's family members and loved ones until the target broke.

"Never!" Tina yelled. She grabbed her wand from Newt, catching Achilles off guard, shot a bolt of white light at him, knocking him off his feet. She conjured rope, which tied him up. She then shot him out the door, making sure the door hit him on the way out. Lastly, she summoned aurors to collect him. She stood there, staring at the door.