AN: Content warning for this chapter, as it depicts an attempted assault. Please be mindful when engaging with this chapter.
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"Hey Newt," ______ began, looking over at the man in front of her drinking coffee. This how they started their morning, ______ didn't work today, and the power didn't go out again today, so they got to sit down and have a proper breakfast. "Do you mind coming with me somewhere today?"
Newt looked over at her. "I don't mind," he answered. "Where would we be going?" He thought it would be nice to get out of this place for a while. He still wasn't having any luck getting Pickett off of ______. He wouldn't tell her, but he even tried sneaking into her room to try to get him off her while she was sleeping, and Pickett still tried putting up a fight. It wasn't a total loss though, he got to see how cute ______ looked while she slept.
That wasn't a weird thought to have, right?
"I'm supposed to pick up my paycheck at the factory today, and I need to go shopping. It wouldn't be much, just some food, but I'd appreciate the help."
Newt sat up straighter when she mentioned the factory. He'd be lying if he tried to say he wasn't curious. Ever since she had come home with her hand cut open, he wanted to see this work place. She wanted to meet her boss – who just lets someone bleed and tell them to get back to work when they obviously need treatment? "Alright," Newt nodded. "When do you want to go?"
"After breakfast?" she asked. "If we get it done quickly, we can get back in time to make lunch."
Newt nodded and continued drinking his coffee. He thought what she usually had for breakfast was interesting: she called it coffee and cookies, but the cookies reminded him more of crackers. They weren't very sweet, and they didn't taste that good unless you dunked them into the coffee. It was a plain breakfast – nothing ______ owned was really fancy. It kind of made Newt want to take her out, maybe buy her dinner, get her something a little more than the plain food she had.
Kind of like a date.
Almost exactly like a date, Newt thought. The thought of him taking ______ brought a subconscious smile to his face, one he didn't know was there. He was snapped out of his daydreams when ______'s cup clinked onto the table, and he looked over at him. "I'm done, so I'm just going to change into something warmer and we can go."
"Alright," Newt nodded, looking away from her and drinking his coffee to finish it off. He stood up, taking her cup too, and put them in the sink. Sometimes he helped her out with chores so he didn't feel like he was just living and not helping, and whenever he did, he would use magic. Partly because it made thinks easier, and partly because ______ was always entranced by it. For now though, he just left the cups in the sink, saving them for later.
Newt heard ______'s voice from behind him. "Ready!" she called out, and Newt spun around. He immediately caught ______'s eyes, and he stood for a moment, lost in them. He always admired the ways her eyes shined, and today more than usual, they seemed so lit up. So happy, so bright. After a pause of Newt just looking at her, ______ spoke. "Newt?"
"Hm?" He hummed, snapping out of his thoughts.
"Are you ready?"
"Oh, sure," he told her, nodding. She smiled, pulling her coat closed all the way and heading out of her apartment. Heading out of the round door, they were out on the cold streets of New York.
"So, how far away do you work?" Newt asked, already cold. He started to button up his jacket, something he should've done earlier.
"Not far," she began "It's only about ten minutes away."
"Ten minutes?" Newt asked, raising his eyebrows. "How do you walk in the cold for so long?"
"I just think about how hot it gets once I'm there," she told him. "We have to walk to the store too. Don't you walk everywhere too?"
"I apparate," he told her. "It's a wizard thing. We just kind of... teleport from place to place. If we can see it in our view or we've been there before, it's pretty easy to do."
"That sounds so cool!" ______ remarked excitedly. "Are you born with it, or do you have to learn it? Is it like a spell?"
"It's not a spell, and we do have to learn it. Maybe after we get groceries I can apparate us back to your apartment. Mind you though, the first time you apparate, it makes some people feel sick."
"Well, I guess I'll find out then," ______ said with a smile, already excited. After a short time, they reached the doors of the factory. She turned to Newt. "Um, you don't have to go in if you don't want to. It'll smell like a sweatshop in there. I'm just going in to get my paycheck, so I wouldn't be long."
"I'll come in," Newt told her. He was too curious to not go in. Even if she tried to keep him out, he would get inside. Why was she doing that anyways?
______ sighed and nodded, pushing the doors and heading inside.
As soon as they stepped foot in there, Newt knew what she meant by sweatshop. It smelt heavily of body odor, like no one in there had taken a shower for days. Newt scrunched his nose up, but ______ had gotten to the point where she didn't even smell it that much anymore. Anytime it changed though, she could always detect a hint of how bad it really was. The two of then walked up to the front counter, confronting the man sitting behind it. "Excuse me," she began, getting his attention.
"What is it?" he asked. "Oh, you. I imagine you're here to get your pay?"
______ nodded, and the man looked over at the rows upon rows of files. It was strange how they sorted the paychecks, but having so many workers, there wasn't much you could do. "Remind me again of your name?" he asked.
"______ ______."
He looked again and pulled out a file. "Here it is." When he opened it and looked in, his face darkened. That was never a good sign. He finally pulled out her pay stub and another piece of paper. He, along with ______ made a strange face as it, and Newt felt like he was being left out on something. Was something not right here?
"Are those notes?" ______ asked. Usually she never got any, but she heard of others getting them. Sometimes they'd leave notes for you if they wanted to talk to you, or sometimes it was their heartless way to fire you. She was worried about both.
He nodded, handing over the paper to her. She opened it, beginning to read.
Dear Miss ______,
Your foreman would like to see you as soon as possible. Please go to him as soon as you collect your pay stub.
Newt looked over her shoulder, reading the letter. It usually wasn't like him to read other people's letters, but the face she was making at the paper had him worried. "Your foreman?" Newt asked. "What would he want from you?"
"I don't know," ______ spoke, only half telling the truth. She knew that the incident from a few days ago would come back to her, but what did the foreman want from her?
She had no idea.
Although she wasn't put on for today, she knew where he would be. He was the foreman for her floor every day. She looked over at Newt, again with her offer. "This shouldn't take long, you can stay down here if you want. I'll go see what he wants."
"No, I'm coming with," he said, more assertive about this than he had been before. For some reason, this letter gave him a bad feeling. The fact ______ had no idea what it would be about worried him too. He was worried about her. What's the matter with that?
"Are you sure?" she asked. She wasn't completely sure why, but she didn't want Newt to see where she worked. It was bad enough that he knew she worked in a factory, he didn't need to know how bad it really was.
"I'm positive. You said it won't take long, right? So, I'll just go with."
______ nodded solemnly, and headed towards the stairs, Newt at her heels. Walking up flight by flight, her fears grew. What did she have to be worried about anyways? She was sure it would be a civilized discussion. After all, this was a place for business.
She got there, going up to the door. She looked over at Newt. "Listen, I'm going to go in there and talk to him. I really need you out here this time, the door locks automatically and I won't be able to get out from in there. I'll knock when I'm done."
Newt didn't want to let her go in there alone. That bad feeling he had was still there, and it only increased ever since they started heading upstairs. "Won't the foreman have keys?"
"Yes..." she trailed off, realizing her little distraction wouldn't work. "Alright, you can come then, just stay by the door, alright? I don't know if you being here will get me in trouble."
"I understand," Newt told her, and with that, they entered. The heat was the first thing that hit Newt. So many people in one room, he could understand why this seemed like a sweatshop. Everyone was busy at a machine, and there was one man who was walking around watching everyone. I'm guessing that's the foreman. Looking at him, he noticed a bandage on his arm. A bandage much like the Newt had on his own arm if he took off his dress shirt and coat. Couldn't be...
"I'll be right back," she told Newt, walking away from him and towards the foreman. She grew nervous, what would this all be about? She looked back at Newt, as if looking to him for protection. He made her feel safe, somehow. Like nothing could go too wrong if he was there. At the moment he was distracted, his eyes wandering all around the room. When she turned back, the foreman was heading towards her.
"Miss ______," he began, a sinister grin on his face. "Good to know you got my note. I need to talk to you."
"That's why I'm here," she told him. "I'm in a bit of a hurry, so could we make this quick?"
"Follow me," he told her, gesturing towards one of the doors on the other side of the room. She looked at him suspiciously. "What, don't you trust me? I just want to have a talk."
Without thinking about it, the first thing she did was look over at Newt. He had been looking at her took, and she tilted her head towards the door the foreman was getting her through. He stared at her blankly, then slowly nodded. She turned back to the foreman. "Alright, let's go."
"Good," he told her, his voice cold. She followed him to the other side of the room, and stealing a glance behind her, she saw that Newt was following them. The foreman unlocked the door, stepping out, and then locked it again. The thought suddenly hit her – how was Newt supposed to follow them out now?
Newt tried to turn the handle. When it wouldn't budge, he remembered suddenly what ______ told him. They lock from the inside. "Merlin's beard," he whispered to himself, jiggling the door handle. When it still wouldn't budge, he took a breath in. Maybe you're worrying too much, he told himself.
However, for good measure, he decided to listen in. He put his ear on the door, listening for their conversation.
Once in the hallway, ______ tried not to make eye contact with the foreman. She looked elsewhere, anywhere, but at him "What is it, sir?" she asked him.
"I wanted to talk you," he said, a strange tone in his voice. "You're walking on thin ice, ______. Ignoring orders, taking breaks, attacking a foreman, not showing up for work..."
She interrupted him. "Sir, I couldn't even get out of my apartment yesterday, and I'm sorry about your arm-"
"Quiet! You know, I have every right to fire you for all you've done. However, I am willing to look over it... for a price."
______ gave him a strange look. "What do you mean?" she asked, suddenly nervous. The foreman got uncomfortably closer to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "What are you doing?" she asked, pulling away.
He took another step towards her, putting his arms on either side of her when she was against the wall. "Don't make a sound, okay? Just listen to me." he told her. She was so shocked, she had no idea what to do. Right as he went to get closer to her, Pickett made a return, and so did Newt.
Newt heard everything that was going on from the other door. He tried the door again as soon as he heard ______'s voice get worried. Looking around, he decided to take a chance. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at the door. "Alohomora," he whispered and the lock gave.
At the same time, Pickett jumped out of her pocket, right for the foreman's eyes. He was doing what Bowtruckles did best, attacking people's eyes with their sharp fingers. The foreman let out a screech and pulled back, forcing Pickett off his face and throwing him. "Pickett!" ______ called out, rushing over to him.
Newt walked in, closing the door behind him, and pointed his wand at the foreman. Doing the first spell that came to mind, he muttered, "Petrificus totalus." As the foreman fell to the ground, Newt went over to ______, who was in the process of putting Pickett back in her pocket. "Are you okay?" he asked her immediately.
She nodded slowly, still shocked about what just happened. Everything went by so fast, she could barely keep up. "How'd you get in here?" she asked him.
He held up his wand. "Unlocking charm for the door," he gestured towards the foreman laying on the floor. "Petrification charm for him."
______ stared at the foreman, who laid still on the floor. "I am so fired..." she trailed off.
"You were fired from the start," the foreman said, barely able to get the words out. "Now even more so, you witch."
"I am not a witch," she told him. "Even if I was, I wouldn't have any shame. At least I wouldn't be working in a dump like this."
Newt looked at the bandages on the foreman's arm again. "Did... Pickett do that?" he asked at last, looking towards ______. The question had been on the back of his mind ever since he saw the foreman earlier.
______ hesitated for a moment, then finally, she sighed. "I meant to tell you earlier, I really did... but I didn't want Pickett to get in trouble. It wasn't his fault," she gestured towards the foreman, "he was harassing me."
Newt looked towards the pocket Pickett was in, who was sticking his head out at the mention of himself. It wasn't a harsh, disappointed, or even angry look, it was... understanding. He was secretly happy Pickett had done it. He knew magical creatures weren't supposed to harm Muggles under any circumstances, but this one... this one was special.
It's not as if Newt was ever one to listen to the rules much anyways.
Looking back at ______, Newt began, "Well, we should get going. Before we do though..." he trailed off, turning towards the foreman on the floor and pointing his wand at him. "Obliviate."
______ watched as a silver mist traveled from Newt's hand towards the foreman. "What does that do?"
"It gets rid of all memories of magic," Newt told her. "He's seen a bit too much." After obliviating him, Newt took ______'s arm. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"I'm fine," she told him. "I promise. Now, let's go."
Newt let go of her arm, and followed her as she went down the stairs. Now more than ever he was glad he was here for her. Who knows what could've happened if he had stayed downstairs.
As they went down the stairs, ______ still had her mind on what just happened. You could get rid of someone's memories of magic? She couldn't imagine what that would be like. After everything she's seen, she would be devastated if someone told her she couldn't keep those memories.
Unfortunately, soon someone was going to tell her exactly that.
As she and Newt finally got out of the factory, she led them towards the local grocery store. As soon as they were out, her mind was far from what just happened. It was back into the cold, into life, back out shopping with Newt. Once they made it inside, she grabbed a basket.
"Alright," she began. "With what I just got, I should be able to get some bread, fruits, maybe rice, some coffee, and if I can, cocoa," she continued the list in her head. Like before, Newt thought everything she was getting sounded plain. That's all she could afford, really. She didn't have the funds to buy any fancy foods, and it didn't bother her too much. As long as if could get her through the week, it would be fine.
Newt ended up having to grab a basket too, and after they filled both of them, they headed towards the counter. That's when he heard a familiar voice call out his name from behind him.
"Mister Scamander?"