Tides of Turmoil (NEWTINA)

Chapter 30 - The Team

LOL I ain't dead hehehe...sorry - go on.

Soon, screams and yells of anger and uproar began to arise. I did my best at ignoring them as I slowly walked towards the stage. As if I was a disease, the people around me in the auditorium made way, displaying me to their new master as their eyes narrowed with death glares and spat nasty insults my way in hisses and whispers.

Yet, their glares were nothing compared to the one in front of me. 

'Mr Scamander,' called Grindelwald, his mouth splitting into a sly, close-lipped grin that didn't reach his eyes. 'What an entrance. I might even call it heroic, if the circumstances were different...'

Apparently none of his followers nor companions saw the look on his face. But I saw it - that look that looked so genuine, it even amazed me to think that the smirk in front of me was, in fact, a façade. What, or who, was he expecting to see, so fearfully? I thought, but I decided that it was best if I said nothing.

So I began to go down the steps of the auditorium. Soon enough, I was standing feet away from him, stopping between him and the altar. The remaining hooded figures had their eyes on me, following my every move, while their hands hovered over their wands. I looked away from all of them for a second, making sure that Credence was alright - he had at least not turned into his Obscurus form - before turning back my eyes to the man in front of me. 

Grindelwald's dislikable eyes studied me and smirked, letting out a dry laugh before speaking in his most patronizing voice. 'How touching... Newt Scamander, my friends. "The Wizard Who Stopped Grindelwald".'

His words made some dark chuckles flow around the atrium. I saw his eyes land of my suitcase, making me grip its handle harder than ever. If I lose my focus, everything will be left at his mercy again, I thought.

My wand was still in my hand, slightly pointing forward as I walked closer. I had only enough time to see Tina's face. What I was made my heart drop to the darkest pits of despair and incendiary wrath.

She was very pale, almost as white as the marble surface under her. The marks on her skin done by the chains had even gone slightly dimmer in color - from raw red to a haunting pale burgundy. I swallowed hard as I looked at her expression: frozen in pain, like she was struggling in vain to get away from the worst of nightmares. It was no long before he spoke again.

'I must say, I'm impressed,' he started, circling around me. 'The curse must've affected you already... oh. I see it's slowly doing so...'

'What were you doing?' I snapped at him, not minding him from knowing my anger.

He tutted at me, but I saw his eyebrows twitch for a second before he spoke. 'Wasn't it obvious?'

'Crystal - I hope you understand what I'm going to do to you if you come any closer to Tina or Credence.'

His smirk was gone as he stopped on his tracks, looking at me like a venomous rattled snake.

Behind me, I sensed that some of the followers were moving back and forth on their places, maybe trying to repress or control their desire to attack me from behind. Why they never dared to do so was beyond me.

Grindelwald's eyes trailed from mine to those hooded followers. Then, one of the figures removed their hood to reveal a woman in a black dress and red lipstick walked towards us. She certainly owned a former grace in her stance and walked with an innate elegance; yet, it had become rather patched with a intangible murderous arrogance.

Subtly, I opted on turning my attention to Credence. The poor boy had moved and crouched on the floor next to the altar where Tina laid on; he was shaking; his arms were hugging his knees and he put his head down. For a split second, I saw some shadowy sand creep out from him, but it was gone as soon as he raised his head to look up to me.