Chapter 22 - Epilogue
Epilogue
“You must not wonder that those who attain to this beatific vision are unwilling to descend to human affairs; for their souls are ever hastening into the upper world where they desire to dwell; which desire of theirs is very natural.” - Plato
Newt found himself falling more in love with Llewellyn Watts every passing minute - it was the little things, as it always inevitably is...every time he saw Llewellyn smile as he savoured a delicious morsel of food, or the way he unconsciously scratched at his cheek or ran his hands through his hair as he got lost in whatever he was reading, sprawled irreverently on whichever vaguely horizontal surface on which he found himself. Newt loved to watch him read - the way Llewellyn would subconsciously bite his lip thoughtfully and furrow his brow...the way Llewellyn would pause, lost in thought before grinning shyly at Newt and sharing whatever passage struck his fancy... punctuated regularly with kisses. He smiled to himself as he thought back to the previous evening, spent in Llewellyn’s room at his boarding house, curled up together in Llewellyn’s bed.
Newt looked up from editing his manuscript to watch Llewellyn, totally engrossed in a collection of poems by the Romantics. Without looking up from his book he smiled to himself, and recited for Newt:
“The fountains mingle with the river
And the rivers with the ocean,
The winds of heaven mix for ever
With a sweet emotion;
Nothing in the world is single,
All things by a law divine
In one another’s being mingle —
Why not I with thine?
See the mountains kiss high heaven,
And the waves clasp one another;
No sister-flower would be forgiven
If it disdain’d its brother;
And the sunlight clasps the earth,
And the moonbeams kiss the sea—
What is all this sweet work worth
If thou kiss not me?”
Newt complied happily. Llewellyn grinned into his kiss. When they finally separated breathless, Newt sighed.
“I love that one. Was that Byron?” He set aside his manuscript.
“Shelley,” said Llewellyn cuddling himself more closely to Newt, “Love’s Philosophy .”
Newt gently ran his hand through Llewellyn’s hair. “...and the sunlight clasps the earth, and the moonbeams kiss the sea - What is all this sweet work worth if thou kiss not me,” repeated Newt, then glanced at Llewellyn innocently and raised an eyebrow.
Llewellyn chuckled and kissed Newt soundly. All thoughts of Shelley and Byron were driven from their minds as they explored their own philosophy of love.
Llewellyn Watts .
What was there not to love about him? A man who experienced so much loss, who consistently had his heart broken again and again and still managed to feel so deeply...To express hope and love and wonder at the world around him. Newt was once again awestruck at his own impossible good luck to have found Llewellyn.
While Newt’s nights belonged to Llewellyn, his days were spent exploring Toronto, preparing for his trip, and visiting with his friends. Queenie and George in particular never failed to bring a smile to Newt’s face. They were blissfully in love...and so adorable together - he couldn’t think of two people more deserving of love and happiness - except perhaps Llewellyn. It didn’t take a genius to see how much they cared for each other.
On the Monday after their adventure, while Llewellyn was at work, Newt made his way back to Hanlan’s point to confront J.W. Gorman. He was accompanied by Queenie and Mr. Meyers.
“You really don’t need to-”
“Once again, Mr. Scamander, this is a matter for the Office of International and Muggle Relations. I’m outraged to think that this J.W. Gorman got away with keeping a Kelpie at a public beach for so long. It’s a wonder it didn’t get free sooner! We’re fortunate we had no deaths on our hands. Thank you for disposing of the creature...you did dispose of it, did you not?”
Newt’s ears turned pink and he made a noise he hoped sounded vaguely affirmative.
Queenie winked at Newt. “I was there myself, Mr. Meyers. Newt was incredibly heroic. He rescued those two young lads single-handedly!”
Newt shot her an exasperated look.
Meyers sighed, “It appears we owe you yet another unofficial ‘thank you.’”
J.W. Gorman turned out to be a dodgy wizard who could give Manky Fletcher a run for his money. Newt gave him a stern talking to about using magical creatures, particularly XXXX rated magical creatures for entertainment purposes, particularlyaround muggles.
“It’s not an issue anyhow, we’re retiring the show…” responded Mr. Gorman in a shifty tone.
“I’m sure that has nothing to do with your creature going missing Sunday,” said Queenie.
“How did you know?” he asked nervously.
“Mr. Scamander happened to be at the beach and rescued two boys from the kelpie when it tried to eat them,” said Queenie.
Newt’s ears went red again, but only Queenie noticed. She shot him another wink.
“Of course, we could charge you with reckless endangerment of muggles, attempted manslaughter of muggle children…” began Meyers. Mr. Gorman paled and pleaded.
They went back and forth for a bit.
In the end, Mr. Gorman was charged a hefty fine, and let off with a stern warning, which was, indubitably, Mr. Meyer's plan all along.
Newt made time to visit the magical district again with Llewellyn one afternoon. They spent a couple of hours in Biblio & Taph’s, the magical bookshop. Newt had to gently dissuade Llewellyn from trying to buy half the shop. Newt very gently reminded Llewellyn that he had access to the entirety of Newt’s personal library, and kissed away Llewellyn’s disappointment in a shadowy deserted corner of the bookshop.
Newt stopped at the magical post office to finally finally write his mum and Professor Dumbledore. He’d written both letters the night before and purchased some sweets to send along. A box of Patterson’s finest chocolates for his mum as an apology, and a package of “Pal-o-Mine’s” for Dumbledore. He chuckled to himself, remembering his old professor’s fondness for muggle confectionery. He had hoped to bribe Dumbledore for more information, but the chocolates also served as an unspoken “thank you” for sending him to Toronto. If not for Dumbledore, he likely would never have met Llewellyn. He subconsciously shuddered at the thought. He sent off the parcels with a sense of relief, then returned to Llewellyn who was watching scores of owls soaring in and out of the pane-less windows in awe.
“How can owls deliver post across the ocean?”
Newt smirked, “Magic.”
Llewellyn chuckled, “You can’t simply use “magic” as an explanation for everything, Newt.”
“Post owls have magical abilities. They can track people down knowing only the person’s name. They fly for uncommonly long distances without problems. In my travels, I’ve seen them kip on steamers as needed.”
Llewellyn shook his head, still grinning to himself.
“Come on,” said Newt with smile, “There’s still one more stop I’d like to make before we head home.”
Home. Newt couldn't help but grin. Llewellyn's boardinghouse had come to feel more like home to Newt than anywhere else ever had, save his case, and perhaps Hogwarts (for a few years at least).
The night before Newt departed, Queenie hosted a “going away” dinner at her flat. Newt, Llewellyn and George were there, along with Murdoch and Dr. Ogden. “Julia, please” she insisted to Queenie with a grin. Even the Inspector stopped in for a quick goodbye before heading home to dinner and his wife.
Newt glanced at Queenie and Julia happily chatting away. He smiled - Julia Ogden and Queenie Goldstein were both incredibly powerful, unstoppable forces. A friendship between the two women would only spell trouble for anyone who tried to get in their way. Good, thought Newt, We need more Queenie Goldsteins and Julia Ogdens in this world.
Throughout the dinner, they kept the conversation light, trying to avoid the erumpent in the room - Newt’s imminent departure and the general colouring of sadness it cast over the gathering of the group of friends.
In the end it was Queenie’s cake - a lovely strawberry cake, beautifully iced with glistening pink frosting and elegant cursive lettering the colour of Newt’s waistcoat reading “Bon voyage, Bunny,” that caused Newt to break.
He laughed a desperate laugh that if one looked too closely at it, one would realise it was actually more like sobbing.
“Oh, Bunny!” said Queenie softly, and she engulfed him in a hug, “I’m so going to miss you.”
“You’ve really changed our lives, Newt,” said George, gently, “What will we do without you?”
“It’s not for long,” said Llewellyn softly, “It’s only a year.”
Newt chuckled, weakly, “Twelve months.”
“365 days,” said Llewellyn, meeting Newt’s eyes.
“8,760 hours,” replied Newt with a watery grin.
“525,600 minutes,” said Llewellyn softly.
“I didn’t calculate any further than that…” said Newt.
Murdoch looked between them utterly confused, but a look of understanding crossed Julia’s face. She rested one hand on Llewellyn’s forearm, and the other on Newt’s.
“We’re always here for you, you know? You always have a home here...and a family.”
Newt nodded, not quite making eye contact.
Llewellyn cleared his throat utterly verklempt .
Queenie and George were grinning at Julia. Murdoch still looked utterly confused.
“That reminds me,” said Newt quickly. He reached into his ever-present case and pulled out a parcel. He opened the box to reveal a stack of hand-mirrors.
“I don’t know if you’d like...and I’m sorry if I presumed...I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t want to, that’s fine as well…”
“Two-way mirrors?” asked George excitedly.
“We can use them to keep in touch - again, only if you want to of course-”
“You silly gooseberry,” said Queenie with a laugh, taking a mirror.
“I enchanted them myself with the protean charm. You just need to say the person’s name and the corresponding mirror will chime -”
She picked hers up and said “Newt Scamander” into the mirror. A delicate ringing sound emanated from the mirror before Newt. He picked it up and brought it to his face. Queenie's face appeared in his mirror and his face in hers.
“And to end the call, simply tap the mirror surface twice,” he glanced up at them bashfully, “That is assuming of course...if you want to keep in touch - Well, there’s one for each of you, and for Tina as well -”
“That’s so thoughtful of you, Newt,” said Julia, “I think I speak for everyone - thank you. We will absolutely keep in touch. We still have much to discuss about magical versus mundane nervous systems.”
Newt smiled.
“Tina wanted to be here, she wanted to say a proper goodbye...she’s incredibly grateful to you...you really saved her life. She’s following a lead on the disappearance of Mr. Graves, at the moment. She thinks she's very close.” said Queenie.
“I understand,” said Newt quickly.
“But she’ll meet you at the train station in the morning.”
“She doesn’t have to.”
“She wants to.”
“I’m afraid Newt that you might have to start accepting the fact that you’re not so unlikeable as you previously thought. People enjoy spending time with you,” said George with a grin.
“I’ve said, people in Toronto are uncommonly good.”
“That’s why they call us ‘Toronto the Good’” said Queenie with a laugh.
“And you’re not so bad yourself, Mr. Scamander,” said Llewellyn. His tone was teasing, but his eyes were sincere.
“You’re one of us now, Bunny,” said Queenie.
Newt glanced down at his shoes. He’d never felt so loved and accepted in his entire life. He barely knew what to do with the emotion.
As the evening drew to a close, they made their goodbyes. Murdoch shook Newt’s hand firmly.
“Mr. Scamander, you’ve certainly turned my world upside-down. But I’m grateful to have met you. Do keep in touch, and if you find yourself in Toronto again, do please stop by to visit.”
“Thank you, Detective Murdoch. It means a lot.”
Julia pulled Newt into a tight embrace.
“Please remember what I said, Newt. I’m so glad Llewellyn has found you.”
“Thank you, Julia, it’s been an absolute honor speaking with you,” he said.
She smiled sadly, “Don’t be a stranger, Newt.” She tapped her pocket where her communication mirror was carefully hidden.
Newt next turned to George and Queenie.
Queenie engulfed Newt in an embrace.
“You be careful now, Bunny. I know you’re good with those dangerous creatures, but you best come back to us in one piece. We’ve had enough near-death experiences to last a lifetime.”
“I will endeavor not to disappoint you, Queenie.”
She smiled sadly, then hugged him again.
Llewellyn watched Newt sadly. Queenie slipped her arm around Llewellyn's shoulders, and gave his arm a squeeze. He sighed sadly.
Newt extended his hand to George next, but George pulled him into a hug as well. When he released Newt, he pointed a stern finger at him, “Mind what Queenie said. Don’t make me have to track you down and court another leucrotta to save your neck.”
Newt laughed. “You’re a good man, George Crabtree, and in this short time, you’ve become a very dear friend. I’m so glad to have met you.”
With a final sad smile, Newt linked arms with Llewellyn, and they vanished with a pop.
“Do you think they’ll be alright, Queenie?”
“I know so Georgie... I have a plan.”
George chuckled, “You always have a plan.”
“A goal without a plan is just a wish,” said Queenie with a grin, “That’s Clements Academy’s motto.”
“I like that,” said George, “I just might use that in my next novel. I’ll dedicate it to you.”
Queenie blushed prettily. George kissed her soundly.
Newt and Llewellyn apparated carefully from Queenie’s flat to the alley just around the corner from Llewellyn's boardinghouse. In the shadows of the alley, Llewellyn slipped his arm from Newt’s grasp, gently kissing him before whispering, “Give me five minutes’ head start.”
Then he made his way back to the boardinghouse, bidding goodnight to his landlady who poked her head out of her suite of rooms as he passed.
“I see you’ve returned from your trip, Detective Watts.”
“Mmmm, yes, for the time being. Good night, Mrs. Everett.”
He slipped into his room, locking the door and waited to make sure he heard Mrs. Everett return to her rooms. The distant sound of the nightly radio drama could be heard emanating from her room. He next carefully shut the blinds and drew the curtains...even though his room was located at the very back of the boardinghouse, he could not risk it. At precisely the five-minute mark, Newt appeared in the middle of the room with a pop.
It was relatively easy to sneak into and out of a room when one was magical, but still - Llewellyn could not risk his landlady discovering he had an overnight guest, particularly one of the male sex, for while a female guest would likely land him in trouble with the landlady, a male guest would be downright scandalous.
Safely hidden away in Llewellyn's room however, Newt and Llewellyn dispelled such negative thoughts and fears. They thought not of the next day, or the upcoming year. Despite it being only 31,526,000 seconds, once one has found love, it’s hard to spend even a few moments apart. They savoured their remaining time together, and if they held each other a little tighter than necessary as they finally drifted to fitful sleep in a tangle of legs and arms, neither of them felt the need to comment.
The September morning of Newt’s departure dawned bright, sunny, and warm, though in the grey early-morning light, one could sense the chill of the oncoming autumn. It was a struggle to get dressed that morning, each movement was interrupted with desperate kisses, as Llewellyn and Newt were overwhelmed with the sorrow of Newt's coming departure. Once they were finally dressed, Newt lovingly straightened Llewellyn's tie.
Llewellyn grabbed Newt roughly and kissed him again. When they broke apart, he furiously wiped at his eyes. He glanced at Newt and saw his sea eyes were watery and glum in the early morning sunlight.
“I’ll meet you out in the alley?” he said sadly.
Llewellyn nodded, not trusting himself to speak.
They walked together to the train station, a few feet apart to avoid suspicion, as much as Llewellyn longed to walk holding hands, or arm in arm with Newt like regular sweethearts.
“Do you promise to call?” asked Llewellyn nervously as Union Station came into view.
“Every day,” said Newt quickly, “I’ll imagine you’ll grow tired of talking to me.”
“Never,” said Llewellyn firmly.
“I’ll call you tonight. 7:00?”
“Eleven hours from now,” said Llewellyn seriously.
“Just think, only 8,749 more to go.”
The joke fell flat.
“It’ll be a good number of days on the train, I’m afraid," continued Newt, "Toronto to Saskatoon - I’m stopping for a day in Moose Jaw to write an article for The Wandering Wizard on the wizarding community there, and their new Quidditch Stadium for the Moose Jaw Meteorites, then heading north to Big River by train, before hiking out into the wilderness.”
“I’ll miss you terribly.”
“And I you.”
They’d made it to the platform. Passengers were already boarding the train - porters were loading heavy trunks into the compartments - a vast assortment of fresh ingredients was being delivered to the kitchen in the dining cart. Newt was oblivious to all the action. He was staring fixedly at Llewellyn, lost in Llewellyn’s salamander eyes.
“Come back home to me in one piece, please,” whispered Llewellyn, his voice breaking slightly.
“Always," whispered Newt softly, "Same goes for you, Llewellyn Watts, please be careful. I won’t be here to magic away your injuries.”
Llewellyn grinned sadly.
“NEWT!” They both turned abruptly and caught sight of Queenie rushing towards them, a big grin on her face. Tina was following her at a quick page, also smiling.
“We caught you just in time!” said Queenie, and she engulfed him in another hug.
“You didn’t have to come, Queenie! You hosted that lovely dinner last night…”
“Oh, shush you.”
“Newt, I couldn’t let you leave without saying goodbye,” said Tina.
“I’m glad to see you, Tina! How did it go? You were following a lead on Mr. Graves last night...”
“We found him! His injuries were extensive, and he has yet to regain consciousness, but the healers are very hopeful. We were so incredibly fortunate, any later and he might not have made it.”
“I’m glad you found him. I hope he’s properly grateful to you for all you’ve done for him.”
Tina smiled shyly, “Speaking of gratitude, Newt...thank you. For everything. You’ve saved my life, and countless others'. Canada owes you a great debt, and I do too.”
“You owe me nothing, Tina I -”
“Oh, HUSH I said!” said Queenie. She reached into her pocket and pulled out two identical small black boxes. She handed one to Llewellyn and the other to Newt.
“What’s this?” asked Llewellyn, utterly confused.
Tina and Queenie grinned and exchanged glances.
“We had to pull some strings-”
“Call in some departmental favours-”
“But considering all you’ve done-”
“It was the least we could do,” said Tina with a grin.
“There’s a note in the box,” said Queenie smiling mischievously, as if that explained everything.
The train whistled. The conductor shouted “ALL ABOARD!”
Queenie and Tina embraced a still confused Newt, and kissed him on his cheeks. Llewellyn and Newt shared a lingering handshake, giving each other’s hands a final squeeze before Newt boarded the train. He leaned out the window, waving at the three of them on the platform like mad. They waved back at him just as feverishly.
His stomach churned unhappily as he watched them as the train picked up speed, until the train turned a corner and they disappeared from sight.
Newt flopped sadly into his seat. He had half a mind to apparate back to them, consequences be damned. He glanced around his deserted compartment, then pressed his face against the window as he morosely watched as Toronto gave way to countryside.
Newt wanted to cry. He needed a distraction.
He sighed, and pulled the Goldstein sisters’ black box out of his breast pocket. He examined it carefully. He opened it. A piece of parchment fluttered out of the box and fell to the compartment floor. There, nestled in purple velvet sat a simple golden band. It appeared vaguely unremarkable - like a common wedding band. He examined it carefully, noting miniscule engraved markings that looked vaguely like...runes? Utterly perplexed he retrieved the note from the floor, glancing it over, and his eyebrows very nearly hit his hairline.
You hold in your hands one half of a portkey pair, officially unofficially approved by the Diplomatic Relations branch of the Office of International and Muggle Relations for Greater Canada. They are activated by an agreed-upon trigger phrase and transport the activator to the location of the portkey pair, and/or back to the original location from whence he or she departed. We hope that this means it won’t be 8,760 hours until we next see you.
With love,
Queenie & Tina Goldstein
Newt couldn’t help the manic laugh that escaped him, nor the tears of joy in his eyes as he leaned back into his seat, turning the ring over in his hands.
He had several calls to make that night. Calls of profound gratitude to Queenie and Tina, and then to his Llewellyn. They would arrange a visit once he’d reached the wilds of Saskatchewan. There among the trees and prairies, in the wilderness, free from society’s judgemental eye, they’d be able to lounge in the sunshine. To kiss under the clouds. To just be themselves, together. Queenie and Tina had given them a gift more valuable than gold.
Perhaps this year wouldn’t feel quite so long after all.
He slipped the ring onto his finger and kissed it, his heart ridiculously full of love and happiness.
He hugged his case to his chest and rested his chin on it. He whispered words of love to Llewellyn, though he knew he couldn’t hear him...he hoped the sentiment would get through. With renewed excitement, he watched as the train sped along the shore of Lake Ontario toward his next adventure.
* * * * * * *