The Manor

“We’ve got him!” one of their captors yelped triumphantly as the group dragged the foursome into the old manor that was apparently acting as headquarters, “we’ve got Scamander! And also a MACUSA auror, a muggle, and some pretty little witch.”

“Are you sure?” a cold voice rang out from behind the shadows, “because if you’re not...has he got his case with him?”

“No sir, no case. But it’s definitely him, sir!”

The man behind the shadows stepped out. Newt managed to hold back his gasp, but it was clear that this was very, very bad. It was Rosier, one of Grindelwald’s top operatives.

“Well done, Dolohov,” he commended, “it does appear to be so. Now we’ll need to hold onto him and keep him safe. You know the orders, Scamander is not to come to any harm, you hear?”

“Yes sir,” replied Dolohov, making eye contact with the rest of his group to make sure they understood, “and the others, sir, shall we dispose of them?”

“The muggle and that blonde witch, yes. The auror, no. I want to find out what she knows.”

Newt shivered involuntarily. He knew what Rosier had in store Tina, and knew that he was relishing the idea of using his legendary Cruciatus skills on her. And it looked like the end for Queenie and Jacob. Was there any way out of this? Any way at all? The men holding Queenie and Jacob started to haul them away when suddenly Rosier’s eyes landed on Tina’s captor.

“What is that, Avery?” he yelped, as though he’d been burned.

“Some sort of jewel, found it in the auror’s pocket,” Avery answered, fingering the bright red stone protectively, “I’ll be keeping it in lieu of the promised reward for Scamander.”

“Oh no you don’t!” shrieked Rosier, and before Avery could make a move, the stone was summoned right out of his hand. Avery pulled his wand out to fight back but was promptly stunned. “You have no idea the danger we’re in right now!” bellowed Rosier, pointing his wand at Dolohov and the other men, who were now shifting uncomfortably in their spots, “forget everything! We need to figure out how they got ahold of this out of MY PERSONAL VAULT!”

“You still want us to-”

“Shut up and let me think a moment!” Rosier snapped, pacing the floor and turning the stone in his hand. “Alright, throw those three down in the cellar, keep the auror up here.”

“But Scamander-”

“Scamander is no longer the point right now, Dolohov!” Rosier hissed, “as long as he’s down there, we can deal with him later. I need the auror to tell me how she got this! She didn’t just stumble on it!”

Rosier walked over to Tina and cupped her chin. She remained stony faced, refusing to show even an inkling of fear. Newt began to twitch against the two wizards holding him. He had to do something, anything, to keep her safe.

“Yes, yes,” Rosier smiled with a sick delight, “I think I’ll have nice time with you. Let’s see how tough MACUSA makes their aurors-”

“NO! Take me instead!” Newt shouted. The wizards holding the foursome began to snigger.

“How gallant! Looks like our auror has a boyfriend!” one of them taunted.

Rosier walked up to Newt, still displaying that sick smile. “No, I think I’ll take her first. I assure you if she dies under questioning, you can go next!” he cackled with twisted glee, “Alright! Dolohov! You and your crew, take them down. I’ll keep our lovely auror here.” He grabbed her around the middle and held a wand to her neck, daring the others to try to break free. Newt stopped struggling but looked stricken as he, Queenie, and Jacob were dragged away. Tina remained stoic.

The hatch locked above them just after they were roughly shoved into the cellar. It was at that moment that they heard the first shout of “Crucio!” followed by muffled yet unmistakable screams. Newt could no longer hold back. He raced back up the creaky steps and began pounding on the locked hatch. “TINA!” he shouted, “TINA!”

“It ain’t no use pal,” Jacob grabbed his arm and tried to haul him back down. Queenie was tugging at his other arm, but rather half-heartedly. Feeling her sister’s agony was overwhelming and she was shaking badly. Newt’s distress was weighing her down too.

They couldn’t hear what Rosier was shouting, but Tina’s screams continued. Newt kept pounding the locked hatch, half shouting, half sobbing, “TINA! TINA!” Somehow, over both the outer and inner rackets, Queenie heard another voice inside her head.

“QUIET! There’s someone else in here…” Newt momentarily froze, though he continued to heave as Tina screamed again. Jacob stopped struggling. Newt started rummaging around in his coat pockets. His fingers closed around the hard, rectangular object Dumbledore had lent him just before sending him on this mission. Now he saw how it might come in handy. Click. Several balls of light flew up and hung in midair.

“Whoa! How’d you do that without a wand?” asked Jacob.

“Just a little extra tool Dumbledore lent me before we left,” shrugged Newt, “can’t complain now, can we?”

They looked around the room now that they could see. Jacob was pale and sweaty. Newt and Queenie both had tear tracks on their faces. As Tina screamed again, their eyes fell on another figure, laying on the floor groaning. They began to approach him when Queenie suddenly let out a muffled shriek.

“Mr. Graves?!”

Newt and Jacob looked at each other. They remembered their own less-than-pleasant encounter with Mr. Graves, except that he hadn’t been Mr. Graves at all. So this was where the real Graves had been all this time…

Graves coughed and began to struggle to sit up. Queenie and Jacob raced to help him. Newt took a step in his direction, but faltered when he heard Tina again.

“Goldstein? Queenie Goldstein? That you?”

“Yes sir,” she whispered.

“Theseus?” he looked toward Newt.

“No, Mr. Graves,” Newt replied quietly, “Theseus is my brother. But we have met- well, sort of. I met someone who I thought was you, but wasn’t really.”

“What’s going on here? And who’s this guy?” Graves shuddered and coughed again as he indicated Jacob. His voice was hoarse from disuse and he was clearly ill and weak.

“He’s a no-maj, a friend of ours. It’s a- it’s a long story,” started Queenie, “I suppose we can fill you in as soon as we’re outta here.”

“Queenie, I’ve lost exact track by now, but I reckon I’ve been here around a year,” wheezed Graves,  “There’s no getting outta here, believe me, I’ve tried a thousand times. And where’s your sister?” Another scream rang out from above and Newt started sobbing again. “Oh. That’s Tina, isn’t it?” The other three nodded.

“I must have missed a lot, since when does Tina have a fella?” he stared at Newt.

Queenie grinned, “well, it ain’t official yet, though I bet if we all get outta here alive, them two’ll stop dancin’ around the obvious.” She shot Newt a pointed look. Newt sighed. What he wouldn’t give right now to hold Tina and never let go…Was there anything, anything at all to try?

Suddenly, the room began to shake, and loose earth fell from the walls and ceiling. Two of the suspended lights were suddenly swallowed, and Newt quickly clicked the Deluminator to grab the other three before they too were lost. The four prisoners huddled together against the swirling darkness, and then-

“Newt? Tina?”

“No, Tina’s not in here. Credence?”

With shaking hands, Newt clicked the lights back on. And indeed, there was Credence. “How did you-”

“Well, I followed you after they took you guys, I stayed in my obscurus form,” he explained, “it seems whatever protections they have in place, I can get past them as an obscurus.” Then, his eyes landed on Graves. “You-”

“No, it’s not the same one,” Newt hurried, to keep Credence calm, “the Graves you knew, the one I knew, was not the real Percival Graves. Look at this man. He’s ill. He’s been imprisoned here since before-before the New York incident.”

“Does anyone care to tell me what the hell has been going on since I’ve been gone?” Graves interjected, “an incident in New York? Is this why no one’s found me, someone’s been impersonating me and no one knew I was gone?”

“I told you,” said Queenie through gritted teeth, “we’ll explain when there’s time. You’re half right, no one knew you was gone for awhile and someone did impersonate you, but we figured that out months ago already and they’ve been looking for you ever since.”

Newt held up a hand. “Enough, we’ll sort this out soon enough. Credence, do you think you can safely take people out with you?” He couldn’t hear Tina anymore. His fear began to ratchet up. They had to get out, time was running out…

“I think so,” Credence mumbled looking down, “since leaving and joining the circus, I’ve learned to control it. I’m pretty sure I can take you guys out without harming you. Where do you want to go?”

“Take Graves and Jacob to Flamel’s estate and come back for the rest of us,” said Newt decisively, “Queenie, you and I need to get to Tina. She is still…?”

“She’s barely conscious,” Queenie whispered as tears started to fall freely, “we gotta get to her. We gotta…”

“Newt, why don’t I stay, and Queenie can go with Credence and Graves?” asked Jacob.

“Honey, Graves is too sick and you can’t do magic. Newt and me’ll be alright. He’s right, it’s gotta be us.” She cupped Jacob’s cheek and gazed at him as though memorizing his features. Graves coughed again. Footsteps were coming.

“I think we need to go,” warned Credence, “Newt, are you sure? Do you know your plan?”

Newt looked toward the hatch and gulped. He patted his breast pocket. “I think I have something to go on. NOW GO!”

Credence nodded. He took Graves with one hand and Jacob with the other. Black swirls engulfed all three. Newt clicked the Deluminator once more before the lights were engulfed, and they were once again plunged into darkness. Then the room flooded with light as the hatch opened.

“Alright, Scamander,” a harsh voice called out, “we’re done with your lass for now, you can have your turn,” he laughed.

At that moment, Pickett flew out and attacked. As the henchman flailed about trying to protect his face, Newt kicked him in the stomach, then grabbed his wand as he doubled over and quickly stunned him. He grabbed Queenie’s hand and they crept up and toward the grand room where they’d last seen Tina. Newt stunned a second guard on the way, and Queenie took the wand.

They crept quietly along the wall and peered around the corner. Rosier and Dolohov were laughing and joking while waiting for their next victim to be brought to them. Rosier still held the stone, not daring to let it out of his sight. Tina lay at his feet, limp, but still stirring. Newt strengthened his resolve and nodded to Queenie. She nodded back. And then they burst into the room, stunning and disarming in every direction.

Their captors had clearly been taken by surprise. Wizards ran in every direction looking for the source of the chaos and for their lost wands. Rosier himself crawled along the floor searching for his own wand, still clutching the stone tightly and shouting orders to his men. Then he saw Newt lunging for Tina and gave up looking for his wand. He scrambled to his feet, dragging Tina up with him, and pulled a small silver knife from his robes.

“Drop the wands or your auror dies!” he shrieked. Newt and Queenie looked up toward Rosier. There he stood, one arm clutching Tina tightly to him, the other holding a knife to her throat. Tina seemed aware of what was happening but was too weak to even struggle.

“Go on now, drop them!” he yelled, swiping the knife very slightly, yet still enough to draw some some blood. Newt and Queenie immediately dropped their wands and put their hands in the air.

Rosier grinned widely as the two wands clattered to the floor. “Now, you two are going to do exactly as I say,” he continued pressing the knife to Tina’s throat, “or she’s dead.”

Newt and Queenie remained standing with their hands up, waiting for the next steps, when the room began to shake. Rosier and what was left of his team looked around fearfully. The room shook even more violently and the chandelier directly above Rosier’s head began to sway precariously. The snap of the chain echoed through the room.

As Rosier jumped out of the way, he pushed Tina in the other direction and the stone he’d been guarding so closely sailed out of his hand. Ignoring the danger of the falling chandelier, both Newt and Queenie rushed towards Tina. Newt caught her and hugged her tightly to his chest while ducking them out of the way. Queenie caught the stone in midair. They turned around in time to see Credence regain his form. While still clutching Tina with one arm, Newt reached out with his other to Credence’s outstretched arm. Queenie, dashed towards Credence’s other arm, tightly clutching the stone and several wands she’d scooped up off the floor.

Newt felt them all being engulfed in the black swirl and exhaled. They were getting out. They’d made it. He took one last glimpse at Rosier, who was scrambling to his feet and shouting at his team not to let them get away. With nothing left to do he chucked his silver knife at the swirling black mass. The flash of silver was the last thing Newt saw before they were whisked away into the darkness.