SEALED LIPS ⟶ Theseus Scamander

EIGHTEEN; HOW LONG DO HAPPY ENDINGS LAST?

THESEUS COULD SENSE THE NERVOUS ENERGY that radiated of Garrick as the two men remained in the company of each other. Garrick was attempting to make small talk over wand material and his travels, however, at the slightest sound or movement closest to the door, he would quickly look over as if he was expecting someone to enter. Theseus wasn't exactly a fool, he knew something was going on. The way Leta had excused herself so suddenly after Garrick's arrival spoke volumes.

"That's why we make use of bowtruckles, you see?" Garrick said, his gaze flickering towards the door again. "They make for-"

"Mr Ollivander," Theseus had to put an end to it before he went mad, " what exactly is going on here? Something certainly has you upset, I've never seen someone focus so much on a door. What is going on? Leta left a while ago and she hasn't returned, I-"

He stopped himself as soon as he saw Garrick peer down at his hands and shake his head. It left him with a chilling sensation that something was terribly wrong and he was being kept in the dark for a reason. Quickly, he was up on his feet, ready to snatch Garrick up from his seat and demand to know what was going on. But as he approached the wandmaker, it was clear that Garrick wasn't looking for a fight as he placed his hands up and gave a shake of his head.

"I'm...I'm so sorry," he began, "Ms Lestrange asked me not to say anything but...I don't know what's going on either. All I know is, I came here with Tyne and-"

"Tyne is here?!" Theseus' voice boomed like angry thunder of a summoned storm. "She's here in France? But where?! Where is she? Is she in this building, is-"

Theseus could have carried on all day with his questions, but he was silenced when Garrick shook his head once more. He refused to make contact with the Head Auror, looking far too shameful over something.

"She was with me when we arrived, we were with Newt and Jacob," Garrick sighed. "We were going to follow them, but then she started to panic. She told me that I needed to go, that I needed to go home. Before I could react to what she was saying, she ran off. It was so crowded and I didn't understand why she had turned so suddenly. But then, I heard her scream."

Part of Theseus didn't want Garrick to continue, especially after hearing that her scream had been the last thing heard before she vanished.

"When I finally got to where she had been, I only found her wand, her coat, and an advertisement for Circus Arcanus. I wanted to find her, but the circus had already left town, no one seemed to know where they were headed next. I had no other choice but to come here, looking for help. I ran into Leta and well...here we are, Mr Scamander."

Garrick's voice carried the sound of guilt that Theseus was all too familiar with. It was similar to that of survivor's guilt, the way they believed they could have done more in hopes of saving Tyne. Theseus had lived with it all throughout his youth and even into his adulthood. Now he wished he had been there for Tyne when she needed someone again, she had returned to him, and he lost her once more.

Just the thought of it alone was enough to make him want to break down, thinking he had been so close to being reunited with the true happiness he had been dreaming of for so long. All the times as a boy, he had dreamed of being the one to find Tyne and bring her home. He couldn't let that slip through his fingers again, not after feeling the same flutter in his chest whenever she smiled at him. They had to have been reunited for a reason, he wasn't going to lose her again.

There wasn't any time to waste, he had some clues to run off of. At the very least, Circus Arcanus was playing a possible role in Tyne's capture and the more he thought about it, it was all starting to make sense. And that made things worse in his mind, the idea of Tyne belonging to a circus for years, especially one that didn't have the greatest reputation when it came to the law. Had she been in plain sight all those years?