𝖊𝖗𝖘𝖙𝖜𝖍𝖎𝖑𝖊 ⋆ newt scamander

the first chapter

Throughout Cora's childhood, her mother had always repeated the same phrase: only complain when nothing could be worse. Thinking back, it was a terrible thing to tell a child, as every bad thing that happens in a child's eyes is the worst possible outcome. But Cora stuck by it, right through to the brink of adulthood. She found it was a very good way to stay positive in hard times, and to keep herself upright when she wanted to fall down and cry.

Only complain when nothing could be worse, she reminded herself when she awoke to the sound of shattering china. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she calculated every possible scenario in her head, ranging from a gust of wind from an open window to a murderous villain in her living room. She reached for her necklace and rubbed it between her fingers. The tarnished pendant had always been a grounding point for her, when she was nervous or frightened.

"Hey, Blondie," Marvin greeted as she exited her bedroom with her wand extended before her. His body, that of an oversized, tri-coloured ferret, was lounging on an armchair. "S'going on?"

Cora's eyes widened as she saw that several of her favourite teacups had been smashed across the floor. "Merlin, Marv, what on Earth were you doing?"

"I don't know if you know what this word means, but I was having fun. Yeah, not sure if you know the definition."

"I don't know if you know what this word means, but sod off. Those were my best teacups."

"They were pretty ugly teacups," he tried to reason, sitting upright on his hind legs.

"Why couldn't I just get a normal pet?" She grumbled to herself. "Should've gotten a Crup, or a Kneazle. Why did I get a bloody Jarvey?"

"Crups and Kneazles suck. I'm interesting. I'm actually the most interesting thing in your boring life lately."

"Your insults wound me, Marv," Cora said sarcastically. "You're going to clean that mess up while I'm gone."

"Like hell I am."

She sighed deeply and returned to her bedroom to get dressed for the day. Her eyes glanced across a picture of her in a white dress and a man in a suit and she smiled slightly. She shrugged on a dark blue blouse and tucked it into her skirt, stomped her feet into shoes and buckled them.

"I'm going to work, Marv," she called when she reached the front door.

"Don't come back."

"Love you too," she said to herself. She took her hat and coat from the rack and locked the door behind her. As she descended the staircase, she almost bumped into one of her neighbours. "I'm terribly sorry," Cora said as she moved around the woman, who was locking up her front door.

"That's okay, honey."

The women shared a smile, then Cora continued walking downstairs. She finally reached the outside world, and tightened her coat around her body to combat the early winter chill. Distracted by the thought of buying herself new teacups for Christmas, she didn't realise the iciness of the pavement and skidded slightly as she took a miscalculated step. But instead of falling to the ground and injuring herself, she tumbled into a man holding a large leather case.

"Good grief, this is the second time I've done this!" She gasped, steading herself on the man and giving him a bright smile. "My apologies, Sir."

"It's okay," he said, offering her a hand to hold while she dusted the spray of ice from her legs. "Always here for people to land on."

"And I'm very glad for that," she chuckled. "I hope you have a lovely day, Mr..."

But he'd already dashed off, and she didn't catch his name. So she shrugged and turned around to walk in the same direction he was. She trailed him for a while, until he entered the Jewellers where she worked. She slipped behind the counter, giving the other employee a wave as she did so.