𝖊𝖗𝖘𝖙𝖜𝖍𝖎𝖑𝖊 ⋆ newt scamander

the ninth chapter

Cora was nursing her fist as they walked down Fifth Avenue, pressing kisses to her knuckles as if it would make her bruises disappear.

"Have you tried healing them?" Queenie asked. She'd been walking at Cora's side, worried for her health.

"I tried episkey, but I think it's more for breaks and cuts, rather than bruises," Cora murmured, trying to analyse her wounds in the dim streetlight. "And I'm terrible with healing spells."

"You were incredible back there, Cora," Jacob exclaimed with a grin. "I've never seen anybody punch like that!"

"Thanks, Jacob," she beamed. "All in a day's work, I suppose."

"Macy's is just here," Tina pointed out the department store, decorated lavishly for the holiday season. "Alohomora."

As they wandered the aisles of Macy's, Cora began to grow tired. She tried desperately to hold in her yawning but Newt noticed that her eyes kept dropping and she lagged behind the group slightly.

"Why don't you take Pickett into the case, Cora?" He suggested. "He's being quite the sulky Susan, aren't you?" He spoke to the twig-like creature, who simply responded by sticking out his tongue. Cora giggled at the exchange.

"Don't do anything exciting without me," she said, taking Pickett from Newt and watching him place the case down and open it. She climbed down the ladder and waved before he closed the case once more. "You know he would never have left you behind, Pickett," she told the creature as she wandered through the biomes of the case.

Pickett responded with a series of chirps and an angry scowl.

"I've known him for a much shorter time than you have, and I know for certain he wouldn't have let that wicked goblin take you away." She raised her eyebrows at him and he frowned back at her, simply climbing up her arm to settle on her shoulder. "I'm sorry I don't have any pockets, Tina gave me this silly dress and I'm terrible at transfiguration."

"I wonder how Newt got permission to extend his case. He's most likely done it illegally," she said aloud, though nobody was around to listen except for Pickett. "I doubt the Ministry of Magic would let him do this, and they monitor extension charms."

A loud crash sounded from outside the case but she was too entranced by the creatures to care where it came from.

"I wonder if Marvin's waiting for me to come home and feed him. It's been a couple of days since I saw him, I do hope he's alright. Knowing him, he's celebrating my disappearance by smashing all of my teacups. He's probably moved onto my plates by now."

To her right, she noticed the niffler sitting in a large nest, surrounded by a variety of precious metals and gemstones.

"Hello," she greeted as she approached. The creature's immediate reaction was to spread itself over it's belongings, expecting that it was Newt and he was taking them away. But when it noticed Cora, it blinked up at her and sat with it's hands clutched together. "I remember promising you my jewellery box," she said, "But I don't have it with me."

It's tiny, clawed fingers reached up to her and for a moment, she thought it wanted picking up. Then she realised her necklace was dangling as she leant forward and it was trying to get it. She sighed, rubbing the locket between her fingers, then unclasped it from around her neck. For a reason unknown to her, she didn't feel as empty without it as she usually did.

"You can have it, on the condition you never show Newt," she said, holding the chain so that the pendant was just out of the niffler's reach. "He'll take it off of you if he sees, and we can't have that happening."