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While Newt resumed signing books, Ariadne took the time to wander around the cosy bookshop. She hadn't properly been in Flourish and Botts since her years at Hogwarts. Books were stacked into shelves that reached the ceiling, some as large as her torso, others the size of her pinky. Ariadne had made her way to the second floor, peering over the ledge as she stared down at Newt, watching as he conversed with a younger boy.
"I feel like I haven't properly spoken to you since you got back." She almost didn't want to turn around but some force pulled her to face him. Merlin, did he always make her heart flutter like this? Theseus offered her a glass of champagne which she happily took, needing something stronger anyways.
"Yes, well I heard that you were busy last week and it was the first week I was back at work," she answered, hoping that he didn't notice she was avoiding him. She didn't know how to approach him anymore. While in New York, Ariadne might have come to the realisation that she had feelings for this man. For so long she had tried to block them out and yet it took her travelling across the ocean for her to realise that she couldn't. Deep in her heart, he was perfect and there was nothing she could do to change that.
"How about dinner? I never truly got to make up for missing your birthday," right, because the day he cleared his schedule, she had a meeting with Dumbledore. Ariadne smiled up at him, leaning against the railing.
"Dinner sounds nice," she nodded, biting her lip to hide the growing smile, "Shall we invite your brother and Leta as well?"
"A wonderful idea," and yet he couldn't feel a little disappointed by her suggestion. "Maybe you can finally tell me your side of the story, capturing Grindelwald?"
"Maybe."
☆
Later, Ariadne found herself sitting at her dining table, surrounded by the three people she wanted to get away from. Awkward laughter was shared as the group tried to make the most of their situation. Their meal was almost finished paired with a candle that was slowly melting. Theseus was currently retelling the story of a mishap occurring during his early days of being an auror and Ariadne realised how much of him she had lost due her hatred against him.
His betrayal was harsh but now she regretted never talking it over. She regretted ignoring how he felt when she prioritised her anger over trying to understand. Had she been nicer, more empathetic maybe she could have scraped up the pieces earlier.
"Ariadne?" Theseus' soft voice gently brought her out of her trance. There was sadness in her eyes that faded away as she broke her gaze from Theseus' glass of wine.
"Hm?" she let out, noticing all eyes on her.
"We were asking if you could top Theseus' story?" Leta coaxed, eyes darting to where Theseus' hand lay dangerously close to Ariadne's. She thought to herself for a moment, reminiscing about all her mistakes and triumphs as a young auror.
"Oh, you're going to love this one," Ariadne started, looking over at Newt.
Fresh out of auror training, Ariadne followed auror Phillip Doyle up the stairs, waiting patiently behind him as he knocked on the door of a townhouse. Ariadne caught sight of a man rummaging behind the thin curtains. A moment passed before the man opened the door, he had been charged with distributing illegal potion ingredients. Not wanting to make a scene, Doyle made the arrest inside.
Ariadne watched as the man yielded to the older auror's orders, his hands behind his back cuffed with a handcuff that would block his magic. As the scene unfolded, a crash could be heard from upstairs, Ariadne questioningly stared at the older man who shrugged. Young and eager to prove herself, she opted to investigate the noise and Doyle approved, apparating back to the Ministry to bring the man in.
The stairs creaked as Ariadne climbed up, following her ears, her eyes found an attic door. Using her wand, the door opened and a ladder fell down. Dust made Ariadne cough and she cautiously moved up the ladder. No light seeped through the attic while Ariadne squinted. As she turned around a pair of yellow eyes stared back at her, causing her to jump.
"Lumos." The small attic lit up, light from Ariadne's wand revealed a small creature, resembling a buck-tooth ogre. The Ghoul bared its teeth at Ariadne and picked up a pillow, hauling it at her head. "Excuse me," charming the pillow, she sent it flying back at the Ghoul, wacking the creature side to side. Groaning, the Ghoul grabbed the closest object, which happened to be a quidditch bat.
"Oh no," Ariadne ducked out of the way as the bat swung at her head. She scurried down the ladder and out into the hallway, watching with horror as the Ghoul jumped down to join her. It swung at her again and a dent was created in the floorboard as the creature missed.
"Accio," she called out, pointing at the beater's bat. The bat flew towards her but the Ghoul's grip was tight. The small creature flew with the bat and Ariadne ducked, wincing as the bat and the Ghoul crashed into a wall of paintings. Screams could be heard from the portraits as the Ghoul sat up in a daze. It wobbled on its feet before crashing down, knocking itself out.
"And the next thing I remember is Doyle coming back to the house, dumbfounded at the mess I made," Ariadne finished, a smile on her face as she remembered the shock on Doyle's face. Not one of her greatest moments but definitely a memorable one.
"That is remarkable. Ghouls are usually harmless and don't have the capacity to even hurt humans," Newt disclosed, fascination in his eyes.
She rolled her eyes at Newt's amazement and lack of concern for her younger self, "Yeah, well, I suppose I got lucky."
[1012 words]
a/n
this chapter and the next one took so long to write. i literally did not know how to continue some of the dialogue.
oh and we finally got to the stage where ariadne admits her feelings to herself. no more denial guys. stage one is over.
kjlyds