Case Stories | Fantastic Beasts Oneshots

Different, Part 1 (Scamander Brothers)

Everyone was different. That was what Theseus' father had told him, and he was right.

His neighbour enjoyed singing while he tended to his garden. The boy across the street loved toddling in the front yard. His sister preferred riding on a toy broom, occasionally daring herself to fly just an inch higher. His mother liked caring for the Hippogriffs up the hill. His father rather engage in important paperwork and burying his head in the desk all the time. As for himself, Theseus loved socialising. He was talkative from a young age, and it was hard for anyone to keep his mouth shut.

Theseus had a younger brother when he was eight. He peered over the crib to catch a glimpse of his sleeping sibling. He was curled up, sucking on a blanket. Newt would be different from him, Theseus was sure, and he could not wait to see what Newt would become.

—

Theseus watched Newt grow up. He was indeed different.

He recalled how Newt was a quiet baby. He rarely fussed over anything. He rarely responded to his name, but perhaps he couldn't be bothered to. It reminded Theseus of a neighbour he once had, the lady couldn't care less every time he greeted her. Perhaps Newt was like that too.

As Theseus did not have any other younger siblings, he could not compare Newt to anyone. He always found Newt to be normal. Sure, he followed the same routine everyday, he chose to drag people to what he wanted instead of pointing to it, but Theseus always thought that was just Newt's difference. Besides, Newt still smiled sweetly whenever he saw a familiar face. Newt was scared of loud noises just as every baby should be. In fact, Theseus thought Newt was a smart kid. He started walking before he could crawl, and Theseus was always there to encourage him.

It just didn't make sense that his neighbour said something was wrong with him. Why couldn't he accept Newt's differences?

—

When he was about to start Hogwarts, Newt was three. That was when Theseus discovered just how different Newt was.

He remembered the siblings from across the street when they were three. They chased each other around the front yard. They laughed when things went right, they cried when things went wrong. When he saw that, Theseus couldn't wait to do the same with Newt.

Newt didn't want to do any of it.

No matter how hard he tried, Theseus couldn't get his brother to chase him. Newt would sit there, observe Theseus for five seconds at most, then look at something else. Often, Newt would toddle over to the bushes and look inside. Recently, Newt would take to being inside. Theseus was disappointed, to say the least, but soon joined in, hoping to extract some memories from being in a bush with Newt.

"Whatchu got that, Newt?" he would say, but Newt wouldn't turn to answer. He tried to prompt his brother to talk more, but eventually, he gave in to Newt's silence and would resort to watching him.

Every time they emerged from the bush, his neighbours would throw weird stares at them. At first, Theseus thought there was a leaf or branch stuck to their hair, but there wasn't. Theseus learnt to ignore them. Newt did too, but he had been ignoring them for most of his life. He was already an expert.

Night was Newt's favourite time of the day. He often dragged one of his family members outside, but it wasn't to play. It was to look at the lights. The stars in the sky, the street lamps outside every home, and the neighbour's lights that were left on. Newt was often fascinated by them. Both of them would sit in silence, for Newt wasn't one for words, and enjoy the peace. Theseus found this amusing, but he treasured every moment he had with him.

It wasn't uncommon to see the neighbours peek through their windows and shaking their heads. Theseus often glared at them. There was nothing strange about his brother's habits. He was just different.