Newt Scamander was sitting alone in a booth at a pub when the barmaid came over and dropped a platter of food before him. He looked at the gamey rabbit meat and rice that she'd brought him and he cleared his throat for her attention. "Anything else I can get you?" she asked before she left.
Newt smiled, "Y - yes, I was thinking of - of a nice tea, if you - you've got it?"
"Right away," the girl drawled and she walked away from the table, Newt Scamander turning in his seat quite obviously to watch her go, squinting after her.
"Was that the one?" came a whisper from the crack of the briefcase.
Newt shrugged, "I'm - I'm not s-sure."
The briefcase opened a little bit further and Tina pressed her face to the crack, her eye peering out, trying to see over Newt's leg. "Are there any other women working?" she asked.
"I ha-haven't seen any," Newt replied.
"That has to be her," Tina whispered.
"Qu-quite pretty," Newt nodded.
Tina looked up at him.
"Not that I - I noticed," Newt added, blushing. He looked down at his hands.
"She looks like she could take care of herself," Tina commented, "Like she's strong."
"Yes," Newt nodded. He sat back normally in his seat and reached over to pluck a leaf from a flower in a little vase on the table, which he sniffed and thoughtfully licked before making a face and dropping the leaf back into the vase.
Tina gave him a sharp glare. "Newt Fido - et cetera - Scamander. How many times have I told you not to lick things you don't know what they are?"
Newt looked down at her, "It might have b-been a useful h-her-herb," he explained.
Tina raised her eyebrow.
"Sorry," he said quickly.
Tina said, "Useful herb or not, stop licking things." She paused, then, "So the girl. Was she nice?"
"V-very polite."
"Do we approve?"
"D-Does it m-matter if we do?" Newt asked. "He seemed p-pretty certain th-that she wasn't - wasn't interested."
"Men don't know," Tina said dismissively.
Newt couldn't argue.
Tina sighed, "I wish I could come out there."
"Why don't you then?"
"Talk about shattering about 150 laws and statutes of secrecy," Tina said, "Appearing out of a little trunk like yours? In such a superstitious village as this seems to be?" She shook her head. "I'd end up tried and hanged in minutes for being a 'witch'." She did quotation marks in the air as she said the word witch.
"B-but you are - are a w-w-witch," Newt said.
"Yes but -- nevermind," Tina shook her head. "Just know we're coming back here on another night very soon, so I can meet her properly and see if I approve."
Newt nodded, then, "Hu-hush a - a mo', here sh-sh-she comes."
And the silver-haired girl returned, dropping a mug full of steaming tea, the leaves circling the bottom of the cup and turning the tea dark, steam rising up from the dregs. Newt cupped the mug in his palms and smiled up at her. "Anything else sir?" she asked.
Newt shook his head vigorously.
The girl walked away.
Tina's voice hissed from the briefcase the moment she was gone, "Oh she is adorable. And she called you sir. She has manners. I like her."
Newt glanced over his shoulder again the way the girl had gone, sipping his tea. "Y-yes well, sh-she's not seemed t-to have to-told anyone a-about what she'd - she'd heard," he said, "I doubt Ned has anyth-thing to worry about." Newt put the tea down, then picked up the rabbit from his plate and discreetly stuck it into the case, "T-take this, one of t-the graphorns will - will love it."
Tina made a face and took the greasy meat with the tips of two fingers.
Newt suddenly twisted 'round to look behind him in his seat and said, "Watch it - close-closing the case!" and he slammed the lid shut, cutting off Tina's question of what was going on, and grabbed the handle, rushing out of the pub.
He'd just heard the girl saying she was leaving.
He ran out onto the street with a burst of energy, looking both ways, and spotted her walking down the road, the moon reflecting off her silver hair. He glanced about for anyone else that might be around and, spotting no one, Newt drew his wand, and cast the disillusionment over himself, disappearing from sight as he raced down the road after the girl.
Elva glanced up at the moon as she walked, and she waited until she'd turned the corner at the end of the road from the pub before she broke into a trot. She kept glancing back, feeling oddly as though she were being followed, but seeing no one there. She ran down two village streets, passing the cottage where she and her barman brother lived at the edge of the woods, and she stood at the mouth of a little bridge that went over a small river, beyond which was nothing but forest. She looked back once again... and then hurried across the bridge.
Newt tried to keep up, but she was familiar with this land and he was not, the going was much slower for him, and she managed to lose him in the brush of the forest pretty quickly. Newt came upon a clearing and he looked about, drawing off his cloak and holding up his wand. "Lumos!" he cast, and the trees were lit up, their branches and twigs like nasty fingers reaching out against the blackness of night. He spun about, listening, "H-hullo?" he called out, shining the light in each direction as he turned.
The only thing his light caught was the fleeting tail of an arctic fox as it bounced away over a log in the distance, and he felt an urge to go after it, but stopped himself hearing Tina in his mind say something about Newt and his propensity to collect creatures.
Finally he sighed and made his way through to the path that would lead him through this very forest to Fallengunder. He carried his briefcase hugged to his chest, which contained his wife, Bradley, Rolf, Ned Veigler, and all of his fantastic beasts. He made it through the forest without meeting a single other creature - but seeing signs of the werewolves on the trees he passed. Deep claw-mark gouges on this tree over here, and bark torn from that over there... the scraps of various small game that had been dumb enough to stick around during previous full moons, the odd hare or squirrel.
The castle's white washed stone shone in the moonlight, the teal roof tiles dark in comparison. Newt had always thought it to be a pretty castle, and he smiled as he walked up the grounds towards the front doors, imagining the students that might attend here one day. His eyes scanned the line of trees that surrounded it on three sides, sweeping the perimeter with interest.
There was an arctic fox, standing on the edge of the property, staring up at the towers.
Newt stopped walking up the steps. He hadn't been seen yet, the fox was too busy staring up at the castle itself, and he crouched quickly, crab-walking to hide behind a large boulder, and peering 'round it with wide eyes at the fox across the grounds.
The silver fox ducked low to the earth and skittered up the grounds, bouncing the way it ran, the thick tail plumage wavering as it moved, ears flat to its head. It reached the castle and started sniffing the stone, following the curve of it until it had reached a spot where a low window afforded it the opportunity to jump on a rock and then up onto the sill. The fox pressed its face to the pane of glass in the window - the kitchen, if Newt's memory served him correctly. The fox ducked and looked about before jumping down and running the rest of the way 'round to the doors.
Newt drew his wand.
The fox stood on the stone steps, and it used it's claws to scratch at the door, snuffing along the bottom.
"Homunuclus," Newt whispered.
There was a surprised cry from the fox as the magic hit it in the back and it spun about to see where it had come from, its blue eyes wide and wild. The fox spotted Newt Scamander coming up the walkway, and it bolted from the steps, leaping as it raced over the grass.
"Not an animagus - how about... Hominum revelio!" Newt tried, and whipped his wand in the fox's direction.
The fox was struck by the spell and there was a moment in which he thought the spell might not have worked, but then the fox was enlongated and the silver of its fur had turned to hair and pale skin and the paws stretched into fingers and feet and the tail curled around her, becoming her cloaks and shawls of fur, and the girl landed on her stomach halfway across the grounds.
Newt ran toward her, and she scrambled to roll over, to get up, terrified, her eyes wide as she watched Newt approach.
"My brother's expecting me back!" she shouted as he came closer, "He'll come looking for me, if you murder me, he'll find you and hunt you and all of your kind and --" Newt stopped running and put down his briefcase. He held up his palms, his wand in his teeth, and stared at her. Recognition went through her eyes. "You were at the bar," she said. "The cup of tea."
Newt took his wand with one hand tentatively. "Yes," he answered.
The girl studied him. "Do you know Ned?"
Newt nodded, "Quite well."
Her eyes went to the moon, and back to Newt. "Odd night to be looking for him, wouldn't you say?"
Newt shook his head. "A-actually, I I s-see him most n-nights like - like these... Odd night for - for you to be l-looking for him., though"
Elva shrugged. Then, "Why haven't you transformed?"
"Oh - oh I'm n-not a werewolf," Newt answered pointblank. He glanced at the castle, then back to Elva. "M-maybe a c-cuppa is in - in order?" He nodded toward the kitchen window.
Elva shook her head, "I'm not going in there. There's two of them in there." She glared at the castle.
Newt said, "A-actually, there's - there's not. Only a kneazle."
"A what now?" Elva asked, confused.
"Kneazle," Newt answered, "M-magical creature. Magnifice-cent really. Very smart."
"The cat?" she asked..
Newt nodded, "Simply, yes, I- I suppose a m - m - muggle might see it as a - as a cat. Yes."
Elva stared up at him. "Muggle?"
"That - that would be y-you," Newt said. "Non-m-magical persons."
Elva's eyes were even more confused.
Newt held out his hand, which shook with a touch of arthritis. He smiled at her, "C-care to join m-me for that tea and - and we'll t-talk about it."
"Alright," Elva said, taking his hand.
Newt pulled her to her feet and took up his briefcase, tucking his wand up his coat's sleeve.
She followed him back across the grounds to the castle. "So if they aren't in the castle," she asked, "Where are the werewolves?"
"One - one is in L-London with his f-friends," Newt said, "N-n-nearly time for h-him to go back to - to school, you s-see, and the other is - is here. In my - my briefcase." He held it up for her to see.
Elva laughed. But the expression on Newt's face told her he was serious and the laughter died away. She stared at the briefcase. "You keep werewolves in... your briefcase...?" she stared at the case, which looked ordinary enough...
Newt smiled, "I keep a - a good deal of th-things in my briefcase."