The next time you saw Newt he was less sad, but just as distressed at the sight of you.
"You!" He cried out, and muggles around him jumped away at his sudden outburst. He pointed at you with his finger in a determined way and started towards you. His voice was barely a whisper but it may as well have been a yell in the quiet desert you last saw him in.
Your instinct said to apparate away, but you knew better. You were in a large crowd of people, non magical people. You couldn't risk getting discovered. You didn't want to be forced to move away again. You could simply lose him in the crowd of people.
You nearly screamed when his eager face was very intrusively close to yours. He had apparated right in front of you, and dozens of no-majs. A huge breach of the rules the wizarding community lived by. He either didn't notice or didn't mind that he'd just committed a crime. He just smiled widely and didn't take his eyes off you as you looked frantically around. Some poor lady nearly had a heart attack when he'd appeared out of nowhere. People were starting to stare.
You dragged him off, away from the crowded street. "What are you doing here?" You hissed. This place, New York, was as far away from Saudi Arabia one could get. If only he'd stayed there.
"I finally found you," He said through his whistling teeth. "I had given up, but deep down I knew I'd meet you again."
"You're loony," You said. "We've never met before."
"Oh, but we did meet, in Saudi Arabia." His eyes fogged up slightly, as though there were regrettable memories he left behind in that country.
You certainly had memories there you wanted to forget. You still couldn't light a fire without thinking of that day. "I've never left this blessed country in my whole darn life sweety," You said, slipping slightly into an American accent.
It confused him, but wasn't enough to throw him off. He pointed a finger in your face. "No, no, I remember you. You and... and that man."
You looked down the alley to the crowd of people, then up at the windows of the apartments above you. You never knew who could be listening and where.
"That never happened," You said harshly. "Forget it just like I did."
"Oh but I can't forget," He said and stepped away. He looked down at his shoes with his case tucked under his arm and he swayed slightly. "I never forget. Just like I didn't forget those pretty eyes of yours."
"I met you for barely five minutes, with a dead body at my feet, and the thing you remember are my eyes?" You ran a nervous hand through your hair, not unlike you had on that night, and sighed. "You really are a loon."
"I may be crazy but I'm definitely not a liar."
"What are you doing here anyway?" You said, asking yourself more than him. You ran another hand through your hair. You looked up at the sky in the direction your hand was pulling your head as it combed your hair. You stomped your foot anxiously. He noticed none of this.
"I came to get a gift for a friend of mine," He said sheepishly.
You laughed, almost sadistically. "You need to get yourself a more convincing lie. If anyone in the Magical Congress catches you with that you're done for."
"The Magical Congress?"
You stomped your foot again, this time harder. "You're hopeless! You come to this country with no knowledge of it whatsoever."
He was coming up with some excuse, but you were too busy looking at something else. Your eyes were scanning the crowd of passing people, and you stopped a conspicuous man standing still at the other end of the street. He didn't move. His unwavering eyes were focused right onto you. Your body froze up.
"Get out of here," You hissed quietly. You grabbed his collar and pulled him close for extra power. He whimpered. "You leave here, now. I don't care where you go. But I better never see you again."
"But-"
"I see you again and you'll be the third person I burn in a desert."
"Third?" He squeaked with surprise.
"I thought you'd only killed one!" He said, but you were gone. You dissapeared into the crowd.
The wizard who watched you two cursed when he lost sight of you. But he wasn't reporting back empty handed. He had heard exactly what Newt had said, and now he was after Newt as well as you. His next step was to get Newt, and find out who you'd killed.
~
Newt didn't see you coming. He didn't notice the anger in your eyes or the stains of tears on your weary face until you were up close and personal to him. You had him pinned to the wall of a building in a vacant street. He was so panicked he didn't see the bruises on your face or the hoarseness of your voice.
"You told them?" You were practically screaming.
"Told who?" He said frantically, raising his hands with the case in one of them. "I've hardly talked to anyone since I got here."
"The Magical Congress you dimwit," You said. "They've been talking and that got to Grindelwald and now I'm royally fucked! And it's all your fault."
"I didn't do nothing miss, I promise."
"You're the only one who knows I killed that man, that monster, now I'm being hunted down and shipped back to London."
"I didn't say anything, I swear by it!"
You didn't say anything. You stayed where you were, holding him to the wall and staring him straight in the eye. After an excruciating amount of time for him, you let him go.
"What's the problem anyway? You killed a serial killer. I'm sure they don't mind."
"He's not the one I'm worried about."
"Are you talking about that other man you killed? Who is he?"
You shook your head and didn't respond. You looked into the distance and whispered to yourself, "I can't believe I'm doing this."
"Are you really going back to London? Maybe I'll see you again, after I'm finished with my work here of course."
You almost laughed. "You dimwit. I won't be in London for long."
"Are you going back to Saudi Arabia?" He said, puzzled by the hint of sadness under your voice.
"The death penalty is mandatory for anyone convicted of murder, don't you know that?"
He seemed taken aback. "The wizarding community doesn't do that! Only muggles."
You laughed this time. "Not when you've killed another wizard."
"Jack the Ripper was a wizard?"
"But of course, who else could kill so many people and get away with it. Who else would have the raw need to be up close and personal to their kills? Wizards kill from afar, and Jack got sick of that. That's why he was so hard for me to kill."
"Oh," He looked down at his shoes. "I didn't realize killing was hard. Human lives seem to fragile."
You laughed again. He seemed to have that effect on you. "They are."
"Where are you going to go then? With the Magical Baboons chasing you?"
You laughed boomingly, louder than ever before. "They're pretty close to baboons, but it's called the Magical Congress."
"Same thing, same thing. A group of baboons is a congress."
"I didn't think you'd be this funny. I guess it's hard to get to know a guy when you meet him for a couple minutes out in the desert, then threaten him years later in New York City."
He laughed this time. "Seriously though, what's your plan? You seem like the kind to have a plan."
You sat down on the cold ground, smothering soot into your clothes. "I have a bazillion plans. Countless plans. Escape routes and new identities and crazy plots. I even have a few that could work for this."
"Which one are you going to use then?"
"None," You said with a weak smile.
He seemed taken aback. He cleaned off a crate next to you to sit on. He peered at you curiously. You were so at peace with your head leaning against the wall and your eyes closed with a pleasant memory.
"That man got what he deserved. I've done my part in the world."
"Why stop there? Why not do more good? Preferably without the murder though."
"It's not as simple as that sir," You said. "Good isn't enough for me anymore."
"How so?"
"Everyone has something they live for, something that drives them. For me, it used to be bettering other people's lives. But that's not good enough anymore. Not when I'm so miserable. I need something else to live for. Something more."
"You don't want to do good anymore?"
"No, I want to do good. But I need something more. A friend, a lover, family. Anything I can take. I didn't just kill Jack the Ripper because it was the good thing to do. I hardly even knew who he was until... until he killed my sister."
He frowned and leaned away slightly, but you couldn't see. You were rocking yourself against the wall like a baby. He could finally see the bruises are scars clearly on your face.
"You said there was a second person you'd burned in the desert, did he hurt someone you loved too?"
"She used to be a friend. I killed another man for her. I killed someone I cared for, for her. But then she turned around and killed someone else I loved. I had never killed someone so senselessly like that. It didn't help anyone, I just felt like I had to do it."
He gulped. "So you've killed four people?"
You nodded, close to tears. Your smile had dropped. "That day I mourned three people. That's why I left Saudi Arabia."
"So you went back after you left me?"
You nodded. "My parents took me there when I was young. I had some connections there, and it seemed a better place than any for someone like me to hide. I think one small part of me also wanted to find you."
You opened your eyes and turned your head to gaze into his eyes. "Did you ever go back?"
"I went back to London. I think I wanted to find you too. You had said you lived in London, and I had some unfinished business there so it was the perfect excuse."
"We just missed each other. I bet our boats even passed by along the way."
He patted his case softly and knowingly. "I would have noticed, trust me."
"Right," You said, tapping your temple. "Wizard. I forget sometimes."
"Right," He said, tapping his temple in the same fashion. "You can forget things. I forget sometimes."
He snickered under his breath, expecting a reaction from you. You shrugged with a smirk, enjoying how dissapointed he was to get no reaction. "They say imitation is the best form of flattery."
"Oh, I wouldn't want to do that."
There was a popping noise from his case and you all but ignored it. It seemed oddly unimportant in your mind. You were planning to die in a couple hours. Curious popping noises didn't mean much. Threats only meant you wouldn't give the Ministry of Magic the satisfaction of killing you.
He seemed more on edge after that, re-latching his case.
"What're you doing in America anyway? And don't give me that gift buying crap again."
He chuckled. "Nothing gets past you huh? It's some work stuff. I don't want to talk about it."
"I can understand that."
The conversation slowed and you felt a wave of air pass over you. The quiet night was filled with a heavy, yet invisible, fog that suffocated you. He didn't notice it there. But he noticed the awkward silence and stared at the wall in front of him. He had nothing left to say, and you had little left to do.
"I best be heading back," You said, standing and trying to dust off your clothes but to no avail. The soot merely spread. You shrugged. There were worse things to die in.
"Where to? Would you like me to walk with you?"
You looked down the street towards your destination. It was dark, almost deadly looking. "I think that might make both of us feel worse."
"Why?" He asked innocently, but the realization set in quickly. "Oh, you're going to London aren't you?"
"Yeah, it would seem so."
"I don't want you to go," He said quietly.
"I didn't think you'd be the type to get attached to quickly."
He blushed. "It's not that. I just don't like the idea of letting someone walk off to their death without doing something."
"There's not much you can do now. Unless you can suddenly inspire me. There's nothing left for me in this world. I might as well move onto the next one."
His face suddenly brightened, but there was still that quiet sadness behind his blue eyes. "What if I fixed that? I can find something to inspire you!"
"Slow your roll there," You said, putting a hand on his shoulder to settle his giddiness. "How would I even get away from the Magical Baboons?"
He laughed quietly under his breath then looked down at the case in his hand. He held it up for you to see. "I have ways." One of the latches popped open. He cast it a sideways glance then redid it quickly. He coughed awkwardly and set the case back down.
You scoffed and shrugged. "Who am I to question a crazy guy with a magic case that I met only once."
"We've met twice now."
"Same difference."
"Nonetheless, does this mean you're willing to come with me?"
"Why not? And if you happen to be a loon and murder me... well, I've got nothing to lose."
"C'mon then," He grabbed at your hand and pulled you down the street eagerly. He held the case to his chest with his other hand. You looked behind you at the building along the skyline where the Magical Congress was. You were heading in the opposite direction.
"By the way, I didn't catch your name."
"Newton, you can call me Newt. Newton Artemis Fido Scamander."
"That's a lot of names for one man. I'm just (Y/N) (L/N)."
"Pleasure to meet you, (Y/N) (L/N)."
"You as well, Newt Salamander. I mean, Scamander."