Last night, she went to bed crying from hunger again. She whispered, “Daddy, I’m hungry…” And I had nothing to give her. Just silence. Just pain.
My name is Fayez, a father of three children, and we live in Gaza.
We are living under siege and starvation. The occupation blocks food and aid from reaching us. There’s no access to clean water, no electricity, and now we are facing a real famine. People especially children are dying from hunger.
I was injured in the war. But what hurts more is watching my children slowly waste away, while the world turns its face away.
💔 This is not just a message it's a desperate cry for help. From Gaza… to any human heart that still beats with compassion.
We don’t ask for luxury. We beg for basic survival: A meal. Clean water. A chance to live.
🙏 Please if you can donate. And if you can’t, share this message. Let someone, somewhere, hear us. Before it’s too late.
Caleb McLaughlin once again having to address how poorly he’s treated in comparison with his white co-stars by the fan base is once again a reminder of how fucking ugly this fandom can be. The fact that Lucas is a main party member and has been since day one, has been shown having important arcs, important relationships, and has been extremely vital to the plot in every single season and yet receives far less fan attention than his white counterparts is still the reality four seasons in and there’s a reason for that.
It’s the same reason Erica gets ignored and abused by the fandom. The same reason Argyle has received 1/100th of the attention Eddie has and the reason Steddie is far more popular than Jargyle despite Jonathan and Argyle actually having a relationship (and I like Eddie and Steddie so don’t come at me I’m just saying). The same reason Billy still has an extremely devoted fan base who call him a sweet baby boi and write endless fics about him despite him canonically being a racist asshole who literally threatened Lucas’s life just because he was black. It’s the reason Caleb gets snubbed for awards despite some extremely phenomenal acting, especially in the S4 finale. (hint: it’s racism).
Anyway, Lucas and Caleb are amazing and deserve everything and I just think the ST fandom as a whole needs to be cognizant of how the (very few!) POC in the cast are treated.
Not to point fingers at other Hargreeveses but Klaus also lost the love of his life and he simply did his mourning instead of being a bitch to his siblings or raising 7 kids to suck their life force to bring him back.
Write fanfiction about your self inserts and f/o's
It doesn't matter if you don't finish it, if it's a one shot, if it's just a couple of lines written at 3 am while half asleep or if you don't plan on publishing it at all and that makes you feel like it's useless to write it.
Do. It.
Also, I don't care if you suck at writing and make grammar mistakes all the time,
If it makes you feel warm and happy inside, then it's good enough
A/N- The story is (hopefully) moving forward now!! Went a lil crazy in this chapter, but I hope that I can continue to release these lengthier chapters as I get further along! Enjoy! :D
Word Count- 3,041
Warnings- creeper pushing Y/N into uncomfortable situations
The day had passed and the team was ready to enact their first plan. They were to split into three couples: Tina and Queenie, Jacob and Theseus, and Y/N and Newt. Tina and Queenie would leave first to scout out the market and report to Jacob and Theseus if they discovered it was happening. The boys would then alert Newt and Y/N if they found anything by ordering a gin rickey, if nothing, an old fashioned. Then, Newt and Y/N would meet Tina and Queenie on the dance floor to relay any information they needed to know before they tried to enter. If Y/N and Newt made it in, the rest would stay behind and wait for action. If they were forced to leave, they would wait by the building across the street, and Jacob would be apparated home.
"Remind me why I agreed to be her partner." Newt asked Jacob a few hours before they all left. Any second thoughts about Y/N's personality were immediately thrown from Newt's brain when he'd accidentally spilled a quarter of the potion she gave him on her dining table that same evening.
"Newt! Oh, no no no no. How could you!" Y/N cried, her attempts to fix the table rendered useless.
"How could I? You were the one who never told me this was acidic and would burn wood!" Newt cried back, confusion and anger over taking the rationality in his head.
"I did! You didn't listen! I told you after the rooms were arranged to be careful with the potion!"
"You weren't specific enough!"
"Stop fighting! Y/N, I understand that you're upset about your table, I'm sure we can fix it or find a lovely replacement, but it's not entirely his fault and irrational of you to get so mad at him. Newt, it was an accident, yes, but you could've tried to clean it before the hole was formed, or at least apologized. Now stop bickering like children and act like the specifically-selected, highly-admired magizoologist ADULTS that you both are!" Theseus yelled at the both. If Y/N felt like a scolded child before, she definitely did now.
"She's not that bad, really. You guys just got off on the wrong foot and won't let it go. It's quite funny, actually. You're so similar but refuse to see it." Jacob laughed while Newt didn't, deciding to adjust his sweater vest with a sigh instead and leave the room they shared.
Newt was greeted with the soft sound of jazz playing on the record you had in your living room. He saw Tina and Queenie, both fully ready, sitting on the couch discussing their plan, a cup of tea in both of their hands and looks of seriousness on their faces.
The quiet clicking of heels behind him brought Newt's attention to Y/N. She had on a deep red Gatsby dress with silver sequins and threads of beads that hung to her knees. Her hair was done to stay out of her face but still look nice, and she wore a shade of lipstick that matched entirely to her dress. Newt stood in shock, not recognizing who she was until she asked him to go over their plan and characters for the evening.
"We go in 10 minutes after Jacob and Theseus and avoid everyone until the dance floor. We sit at the opposite end of the bar until we're given the signal, pretending to be on a date until then. If we're given the go to, we meet Tina and Queenie on the dance floor farthest from the bar. We get in somehow and look around. If we find the lethifolds or any information on them, great for us, if not, we create another plan. The main goals are to get out alive and escape unrecognized." Newt recited perfectly, leaving her impressed.
"And here I was thinking you never listened to me." Y/N says to him, sass obvious in her tone as she stirs sugar into her tea.
"I only listen when I have to." Newt said back, the slight glare she gives him making him smirk.
Soon (too soon in her opinion), it's 7:45, Tina and Queenie are gone, and the plan is set in action.
"You alright, doll? You keep pacin' around. Wouldn't want you to trip or, even worse, leave a hole in the floor too." Jacob jokes, trying to calm Y/N's nerves, but just getting a small laugh out of her as she sits down.
"Sorry, I move when I'm anxious." She told the man, who decided to pat her shoulder and offer her a smile instead of words. She was grateful for the comfort, but soon enough, it was just her and Newt in the apartment.
"How should I-"
"We leave at-"
The two stopped talking, waiting for the other to let them talk before speaking over each other again.
"Sorry, you-"
"You can go-"
With a sigh and a wave of her hand, Y/N motioned for Newt to talk first.
"I was just going to ask how I should act like your date." He said, a flush covering his cheeks when Y/N giggled.
"Haven't thought that far ahead, huh?" She teased him, only slowing her giggles when she saw the embarrassment on his face. They might not be the best of friends, but she wasn't totally cruel.
"Stand up." She told him, the sternness of her voice shocking the both of them. Newt carefully stood, averting Y/N's gaze when she came over and flinching when she picked up his arm.
"When we walk, put your arm here-" she places his hand around her shoulders before moving it to the small of her back. "-or here."
"W-what about the rest of the time?" He asked, the flush on both their faces growing.
"Well, we'll have an actual conversation for the first time ever while we wait for our signal. When we go to the dance floor, keep your arm on me somewhere and, just, copy what others are doing, I suppose." Y/N began to step away when she felt Newt pull her back.
"And when we, hopefully, make it into the market?" He asked, his hand not leaving her wrist, his serious face forcing hers to stare back.
"We'll just… keep up the act. Remember, no straying from one another." She said, pulling away to check herself in the hallway mirror.
"Okay, it's time." She said after glancing at the clock. Y/N held onto Newt's arm and tucked her wand into a secret pocket of her dress while he apparated the two to the bar.
They carefully stepped into The Passage Brewery, immediately spotting Tina and Queenie talking to some men in a corner and seeing Jacob and Theseus at the far side of the bar. They took their seats across from the men and began their act.
"So, how long have you been in your field?" Y/N asked. She remembered Tina and Theseus reminding everyone to keep their small talk vague when they first created the plan, making sure to address Y/N and Newt specifically since they had to do the most.
"About 8 years now. But, I've had an interest in the field since childhood." Newt replied, playing with the fingers of Y/N's hand that he held on the bar, making the pair flush.
"Remind me how old you are?" She asks, realizing she didn't know the age gap between her and her teammates.
"I turned 28 in February. And remind me of yours?" He replied, smirking at the soft blush on Y/N's cheeks.
"I turn 26 in October." She said, ducking her head down to avoid the look of humor that she knew would make her blood boil.
"You're bloody brilliant for your age, you know." He said, his voice closer to her ear than she expected, the sound sending vibrations through her body. She quickly looked up, almost bumping heads with Newt in doing so. They laughed the action off before continuing the conversation.
After another fifteen minutes of talking, Y/N grew to like Newt more than before. She couldn't understand why she let herself stay mad at him until they began discussing their first meeting.
"I really am sorry, you know. I realize now that you meant no harm when we first met, but I still acted and thought harshly of you because I couldn't see past that meeting. But, I… I hope we can move past that and become better acquainted." Newt said. Over the course of the last twenty minutes of talking, the two magizoologists had continued to move their chairs closer and closer to one another, not even realizing it.
"They're either really great actors or really stupid people." Theseus said from across the bar, dragging Jacob's attention away from Queenie and to the young "couple" across from them.
"Oh, trust me, they're the latter. They've got to be the most oblivious people when it comes to emotions, and I've talked to myself." Jacob laughed, causing Theseus to shake his head at the man, unable to hide his smirk.
Jacob looked back to the dancefloor to find Queenie giving him the signal that they had news, excusing himself from Theseus, who watched the interaction intently.
"I'd like to apologize too, Newt. It was rude of me to lash out on you … eventhoughIhadareason." Y/N mumbled the last part, earning a laugh from Newt and making her glow with a prideful smile.
"In all seriousness, I am sorry. I hope we can be a better pair now." She said, resting her head on Newt's shoulder. She felt him tense and almost moved away before she felt his arm wrap around her shoulders and pull her closer to him, his head resting on hers.
"I believe we will be." He said the two flushing the same color as Y/N's dress before they noticed Jacob return and Theseus calling the bartender over, making eye contact with the two of them.
"Yes, I'd like to order a gin rickey please. Thank you, sir." Theseus said, watching as Y/N and Newt soon moved to the dance floor, his hand grasping hers as she led him through the crowd to the sisters across from the bar.
"Hiya, doll! Oh, I missed ya!" Queenie pulled Y/N into a hug, whispering the information she had into her ear. Newt watched as Y/N's smile fell slightly and Queenie gave her a disappointed nod of her head. Soon, she repeated the action with Newt while Tina told Y/N everything else she needed to know.
"There's a man who will let you in, but Y/N needs to butter him up with some 'sweet talk and sweet cash', as I quote." Queenie whispered into Newt's ear, making eye contact with Y/N who was just told how much they need to give him to get in.
"He has a one-hundred fifty dollar minimum to get two people through the door." Tina told Newt as Queenie and Y/N started to dance their way over to the man that she needed to flirt with.
"Wait, we're not supposed to separate-" Newt started to make his way to Y/N when Tina grabbed his wrist and held him there.
"She has to go alone or he doesn't listen. We watched." Tina told him, sitting at a booth in the corner.
Newt nodded in understanding, his eyes never leaving Y/N's dancing body. He watched as she approached a man who looked to be around thirty five and towered over many that passed by. He wore a glare on his face, but followed Y/N's figure as she approached him, giving her an up and down before listening to her. The action made Newt sick, and while he trusted Y/N to be safe, he still convinced Tina to walk at least to the edge of the dance floor.
"Hey sugar. A little birdy told me that I could find some interesting goods around here, and I was just wondering if you could tell me how to do that." Y/N spoke to the man in the sweetest voice she could, looking at the man through her lashes, and playing with the collar of his shirt. The man gave her the smallest smirk as he tilted her chin up and whispered in her ear how much she needed to give him to let her and one friend in.
She closed her eyes and swallowed the bile that she felt would threaten to escape if she didn't leave soon, but before she could fully leave, the man pulled her wrist and tugged her to him. She decided she liked it better when Newt held her wrist.
"You know what? Just for you, pretty lady, I'll let you in for only one hundred, just don't tell anyone about this little discount." The man sent her a slimy smile and motioned for her to leave, the brave face she barely held onto immediately slipping as she turned around from the man and started making her way to Queenie.
"Y/N, darlin', are you okay?" Y/N knew Queenie was talking to her and made sure to vaguely answer but all she wanted to do was find Newt and get this over with. When they made eye contact from across the room, it felt as if time stopped. Newt immediately left Tina, who followed behind him still, apologizing to people as he pushed through them to get to Y/N who had started making her way to him too.
When they met at the edge of the dance floor, Y/N could have sworn Newt had smoke coming from her ears.
"I'm so sorry, Newt, I really am. I just had to get us in somehow, but I shouldn't have gone alone-" She was cut off by the man holding her face in his hands, inspecting her face the way a mother would a child. She saw the anger in his features soften as he looked at her face. She felt she could count the freckles on his face, memorize the color of his eyes, realizing the way his eyebrows relaxed when air exhaled through his lips made her let out a breath she was subconsciously holding.
"You don't have to apologize, you only did what you had to do. I, however, am sorry that you had to interact with that beast that claims he's a man. If you don't feel up for it-" Y/N stopped Newt with a shake of her head and an urgent look in her eyes.
"No, we have to do this. I have twenty five dollars on me right now, and I'm sure that we can combine our money as a group to get the other seventy five-"
"Wait, I thought he needed one hundred fifty?" Tina interrupted, pretending to be conversing with Queenie right next to her.
"Gave me a discount. Newt has twenty five, too. I know because he's the one who told me to bring it." Y/N flushed as she looked to Newt, who held his arm around her waist as he'd been asked to earlier in the evening and pretended to be looking around to hide his flush.
"I brought fifty, just in case you ignored me again." He murmured so only the three women could hear him. Y/N flushed stronger and cringed into his side as the two sisters laughed at his words. Y/N leaned off Newt's side too late to notice the way he glanced at her and tried to stomach the strange feeling inside him. Just nerves of losing a new friend, he tried to convince himself.
"I have ten, and I know Jacob has ten. What about you, Teeny?" Queenie asked her sister, subtly giving Y/N the money by holding her hand and pretending to twirl her to the music. When Queenie let go of her hand, Tina handed Newt a folded bundle of bills behind Y/N's back before saying "Fifteen."
"Perfection. We'll see you girls later. If we have an incident, we'll set off blue fireworks." Y/N said, a smile settling on her face as she felt Newt subconsciously rub up and down her back.
"We'll be here. Stay safe you two." Tina said, giving smiles to the two of them and pulling Queenie behind her.
"Well, then. If you'd hand me that cash and trail a few feet back, I'll start this show." Y/N said, holding the hand that Newt held his money in. He gave her hand a slight squeeze as she squared her shoulders and walked towards the man she wanted to bolt from. She made sure to swing her hips and look through her lashes while waving with the hand holding the money once she made eye contact with the terrifying man, who seemed to enjoy the show.
Newt followed a few feet behind like he promised Y/N, but he'd be lying if he claimed to not be stunned by her for a moment before following after her.
"I've got that money for you, mister." Y/N said, placing the dollars in her hand into the man's pocket and dragging it down before holding her hands behind her back.
"Did you bring a friend, little lady?" He asked, getting into her face. When Y/N tried to step back, she felt a figure bump into her back and hold her shoulders.
"Yes she did." Newt said. Y/N nearly turned around and checked that it was Newt behind her. His voice was deeper and held more intensity than she'd ever heard. The only way she knew it was Newt was by the soft rubbing of his thumbs against her shoulders, the same back and forth he'd done earlier when holding her waist. The man looked Newt up and down, giving you a nasty look.
"It's rude for a lady to play with a man when they've got another right along with her." He grumbled, tearing the money out of his pocket and aggressively counting it.
"Follow me." He said, motioning for the younger pair to go behind the door he had been hiding. Before they left, both Newt and Y/N looked at their group, who all watched them enter the secret door.
"And now we play the waiting game." Said Theseus, ordering four waters for them to sip as they patiently watched for their leaders.
At 10 am sharp, Y/N heard three sharp knocks on her door. She quickly set the notes she had been reviewing down and answered the door, being met with Newt and the group he'd somehow managed to pull together. She was thankful her past self had managed to lease a large apartment while allowing everyone in.
"Hello, my name is Y/N L/N. I suppose you all know Mr. Scamander to some extent, and if he can trust you, I guess I can too." The young woman addressed everyone politely while Newt simply observed. Amazing, he thought, that she could go from miserable to tolerable depending on the people around her. Suddenly the woman you learned was Queenie let out a shocked gasp and turned to Newt, who looked at her in shameful shock.
"Um, hello. My name is Tina Goldstein, Queenie's older sister. We've been working with Newt for a few months now. I believe I've seen you around MACUSA's magizoology department. It's a shame we never met before. I work for the auror department." Tina said to you, causing Y/N to smile. She was glad that Newt's friends didn't seem to dislike her as much as he did. Y/N was then introduced to Theseus Scamander, the kinder of the brothers in her eyes, and a man named Jacob-
"Wait, you invited a no-mag on our mission?!" Y/N shouted at Newt, causing everyone to jump.
"You said to invite who I consider trustworthy. Jacob has been helping us for months now, in fact, he's helped me find and recapture more magical creatures than anyone here-" Y/N dragged Newt out of the living room and into the closest room she could find.
"How dare you risk our mission for your selfish desire to be with your friends. I trusted you to be helpful to this, but you seem to want us in more danger!" Y/N screamed at him after casting a silencing spell on the room.
"I haven't done anything of the sort, in fact, YOU'RE the one who will risk our mission! You can't seem to come across anything that displeases you without screaming and making a scene!" Newt replied, not shouting like the woman pacing around, but clearly angry at her.
"We have a group of people we can work with and trust despite their magical abilities. It's up to you now to work with them or cause more of the fighting our bosses wanted us to avoid." Newt said, making Y/N feel as if she were a child being scolded once again. After a few moments of silence she replied.
"Fine. One no-mag. If he gets even the slightest bit distrustworthy, we obliviate the mission from his mind. Understood?"
"Why not obliviate all of magic from his mind as you're legally supposed to and turn me in?" Newt asked, subconsciously trying to pester the woman even more.
"I might not want to work with him, but I'm not so cruel as to take a friend out of someone's life. I only want everyone to be safe." The girl responded, hurt hidden under her angered face.
"Let's go. We have a mission to figure out." Y/N walked out of the room, a smile on her face and an apology to Jacob for her rude introduction. Newt almost felt he should feel whiplash from how fast Y/N could change her emotions when talking to him and then other people.
Soon, everyone was seated at Y/N's dining table, the information the supervisors gave her and Newt laid out across the table.
"Okay, so, just a recap for my notes; the lethifolds are disappearing in both the USA and England, they always disappear when it's rainy or dark outside, and witnesses have either been killed before they can explain anything or obliviated to forget everything about themselves." Y/N recapped, looking around the group to make sure she was correct, looking at Newt the shortest amount of time.
"Okay, so how should we go about this?" Theseus asks, a hand rubbing his temples with a look of confusion on his face.
"Well, we're constantly getting reports of blackmarket trading at The Passage Brewery on thirteenth street. Maybe we could go there a few nights this week." Tina says suddenly, causing Y/N to smile and nod at her, Queenie soon following her lead while Theseus and Jacob mutter their agreements. Newt, however, keeps quiet and refrains from agreeing. While the others seem to ignore or not notice this, Y/N does.
"Newt, do you have any other ideas of where we can start? I only ask since you didn't seem to agree with Tina's plan." She asks, suddenly drawing attention to him. His face flushes as she tries to hide a smirk at his lack of response.
"We-well I was just considering it still. I don't, um, no, I don't really know what else we can do until it rains…" Newt stammers.
"So it's settled! We'll go tomorrow and Friday for sure. We should all pair up, it would be safest if something happens, and easiest to blend in, worst case scenario." Y/N states, starting to plan out how everyone would pair up and go about the pub. Newt couldn't help but feel jealous of the way she took charge so easily and so quickly. He hadn't realized he was zoning out until he felt a hand shake his shoulder, forcing him from his thoughts.
"Newt, I said that you and I were ordered to stick together, so we'll have to pair up both nights. Is that okay with you?" Y/N asked him quietly. Newt nodded his head, only just realizing that the others had wandered away from the table.
"Oh, shoot, it's 12:27! I was supposed to give Theo his potion at 12, oh I hope he isn't in too much pain. Excuse me, Newt, I have a broken mooncalf ankle to attend to." Y/N quickly stood from the table and opened the purse kept near her feet, climbing through and closing it promptly.
Newt was left in shock. He hadn't realized that other people would enchant bags like him, much less house magical creatures in them. He had been briefed by Mr. McFey and Mr. Beckonfeld about Y/N's history with creatures before she had joined them in the meeting. He knew she worked with magical and non-magical creatures from a young age and that she was the most respected magizoologist in the department head's eyes despite her age and gender. Yet, he was still shocked everytime he was reminded of these facts. It's not often that someone has as much, if not more, knowledge on magical creatures as him. Soon after Y/N disappears into her bag, she reappears, causing Newt to startle out of his thoughts once again.
"Um, I was wondering if I could give you something." She asks, a look of reluctance on her face.
"What is it?" Newt didn't mean to reply as harshly as he did, but he didn't realize until after he saw the shock on her face.
"I was just wondering if you had any sick or injured creatures. I- well- maybe it'd be easier to just show you…" She says, motioning for Newt to follow her into her bag. He does so quickly, taking in the surroundings of her bag.
The interior isn't nearly as large as his, but he's still shocked at the size. Inside is a private workshop. The walls are covered in a pale wallpaper with simplistic flowers, the floors are wooden with rugs scattered along the floors. One wall is entirely bookshelves, and almost every shelf is filled. He chuckles when he realizes you left the top three shelves of each bookshelf untouched as you couldn't reach them. Another wall, the wall across from the entrance, has a door and large window that lead to the outside portion of the bag. He can see a few habitats that seem less detailed than his in the distance and many creatures roaming throughout them. On the wall closest to the staircase entrance is a cauldron and shelves filled with what he assumes are herbs and potion materials, as well as filled and empty bottles. Near the center of the room is a large table covered in markings, potions, feathers, and a few notes. On the final wall, there is a desk covered in notebooks, some thrown open, some closed, some completely torn of their papers. Above the desk is a board Newt can barely see. Before he can further inspect the board, Y/N's voice pulls him towards the cauldron.
"I've been creating a new potion for healing bones. You see, Skele-Gro is extremely painful to the user and takes at least 8 hours to fully grow back a bone, and 3 to fix one. While that might seem reasonable for a person, it's much harder for a creature. I've finally come up with a final potion, but I've only used it twice. So far, it's been successful. I recently rescued a herd of mooncalves who, well, I truthfully don't know what happened to them, they were just left in an abandoned barn I had been passing by, but anyway, there were a few with broken bones. I first gave my potion to one of the calves who had been the worst off, and in a matter of ten minutes, she was back on her feet as if three of her legs hadn't been broken. I got no complaints, no sounds of pain, just a happy baby very quickly. The reason I ask you down here is to give you this." Y/N held up the bottle she had been filling with potion while she talked.
"This might be helpful to you someday. I know you have bigger creatures than I do, so I wanted to give you something that might help them quickly. They only need three drops for it to work. I'd suggest hiding it with a treat as it can't taste too good. While I haven't tested it on a person yet, I intend to use it on myself if something happens on this mission." At this point, Newt was convinced Y/N had forgotten he was there, watching her with amusement as she subconsciously rambled and paced her workshop. Soon, though, a shout from Tina led the two back to Y/N's apartment.
"Y/N? Oh, there you are, I was just wondering where we were to stay. We don't want to invade your privacy or put you in danger-"
"Oh, please stay here! I have more than enough room, and my lease will end soon, so if something happens, I won't be too easy to trace." Y/N replied, closing her bag and carrying it as she and Tina left Newt in the kitchen to deal with the potion Y/N had given him and to remember why he disliked her so much.
A/N- Chapter one!! So excited to be releasing a multi-part series. Sorry if it sucks, it's more to feed my Newt obsession anyways :P Enjoy and, as always, let me know how you feel in the comments!
Word Count- 1,495
Warnings: sexist and misogynistic coworkers cause 1920s..., cornering reader
It had been three weeks since Y/N's failed mission to save the demiguise, and her coworkers made sure to let her know how she'd messed up.
"Y'know, if McFey had just listened to me, I'm sure we'd be having a party instead of working overtime." Thomas said over his coffee mug, the other men in the breakroom laughing along with him.
"McFey is soft on women, especially when they give 'im those doe-eyes like Y/N does." Henry agreed, annoyance evident in his voice. The chatter came to a halt when the discussed woman walked into the room, an empty mug in her hands and her eyes trained ahead of her. As she filled her mug with coffee, she ignored the glares and murmurs surrounding her.
"Ms. L/N, may I ask a question about your 'eventful' mission a few weeks ago?" Thomas said, leaning across the counter and blocking Y/N from the door.
"I suppose, but I have a lot of work to finish, Thomas, so I ask you to be quick." She replied, trying her hardest to keep the fear out of her voice and focusing on her coffee.
"Why exactly did you fail to capture the demiguise? Was it too scary for you? Or, or maybe it was quite the opposite and it was so cute that you got too distracted?" Thomas mocked her, pretending Henry was the creature and cuddling up to it while the rest of the men laughed in the young woman's face.
"Thomas, I need to finish my report. If you would move out of the doorway-"
"Oh, come on, sweetheart. You and I both know there are kinder ways to get what you want." He replied, his voice thick with condescending masculinity, as he cornered her into a corner of the room as the other men left, still snickering. Y/N remained quiet, trying to find a way to escape the man when he lifted her chin and made her look at him.
"Now, let's try this again. Why. Did. You. Fail." The man was so close to Y/N's face that she could practically see the evil in his soul. Before she could even part her lips to reply, her guardian angel opened the door to the breakroom, forcing Thomas to jump away from her. Mr. Deed walked in, a look of suspicion on his face as Thomas tried to cover the situation he just walked into, Y/N choosing to make her way towards the door when she was stopped once again, much to her dismay.
"Ms. L/N! I was just looking for you. You're needed in Mr. McFey's office immediately." Deed told her as he led her out of the break room. "Don't tell Mr. Green back there, but I happen to know that you have nothing to fear." He told her, giving the woman a reassuring smile as they walked towards the office.
"Oh, don't worry, Mr. Deed, I promise to keep this meeting unknown to others, especially Thomas." Y/N couldn't help the grimace that fell over her as she said his name, hoping Mr. Deed hadn't noticed.
"Well, whenever you feel ready, Mr. McFey is ready for you! Here, take these just in case. I suppose we should've stopped at your desk first, hm?" Deed joked as he handed her a pad of paper and pen, getting a giggle and thank you from the girl in return. Y/N took a moment to compose herself before turning the doorknob and entering the office.
"Ah, Ms. L/N, we were just about to begin, come in and have a seat." Mr. McFey gestured to the unoccupied of three chairs in front of his desk, but Y/N stood in shock, staring at the man she was to be seated next to. It was the same magizoologist from the forest. As the two made eye contact it was made evident to Mr. McFey and the man she assumed was the magizoologist's boss that they knew each other.
"Ah, I see you recognise Mr. Newton Scamander. No worries, my dear, we'll explain his presence if you'd just take a seat." Mr. McFey said to you, the warm smile on his face breaking you from Newt's face.
You felt like an absolute idiot. How could you not recognise THE Newt Scamander? The man who's books you had practically memorized, the man who every interview clipping you could find was pinned to the board above your workshop's desk, the man who inspired you to continue pursuing magizoology and begin your own book about healing magical creatures.
"S-sorry, I was just… well, stunned, I suppose." You said through an awkward laugh, choosing to look anywhere but at Newt.
"Oh, I'm sure that he's used to that by now. Now, the reason you were called in here today was to discuss a very important and confidential mission you will both be working on. Mr. Beckonfeld, would you explain the mission to them?" McFey asked the man on the opposite side of Newt, who quickly began to address you both.
"You two will be needed to work together for both MACUSA and the Ministry of Magic. There have been reports of mysterious disappearances of lethifolds across the two countries. You will both be working to discover where these lethifolds are going, starting here in America. Now, take this and review the information together. Everything that we know is here. We ask that you involve as little people as possible. You were chosen for your knowledge of magical creatures, auror training, and ability to communicate with creatures. We ask one last thing of you both: stay together at all times. It is not unknown that these creatures are disappearing and that we are investigating it, but we do not wish you two to be discovered and separated. Do you understand me when I say that this is a very, very confidential and dangerous mission that you must take with utmost seriousness? It is suspected that dark magic has something to do with this." Mr. Beckonfeld finished, both you and Newt nodding your agreements.
"I'm sorry, I only have one question. I understand why we were selected, but why only us? Why not us AND aurors? This seems to me a dangerous mission." Newt asked, Y/N simply nodding her head, choosing to keep her mouth shut instead of risking making a fool of herself.
"Well, we were hoping that you would ask that. We've decided that we want you to select your own group to work with you. It makes most sense to us as we wish to avoid making this mission full of fighting and arguments." Y/N and Newt both glanced at each other quickly, their dislike for one another evident to only them, knowing that McFey and Beckonfeld would be sorely disappointed if they discovered that fighting would be inevitable between the two.
"You're free to select whomever you wish, just no more than 5 people may join you. I believe that's all we have planned for the meeting. You are to begin your mission as soon as your group is put together, if you wish to work with more people. That being said, we wish you good luck." Mr. Deed soon walked in after that, guiding Y/N and Newt out of the office.
"I, um, I don't wish to invite anyone else as I don't exactly trust anyone here to really help me after I failed my last mission." Y/N said, glaring at Newt. "I suppose I can believe you to choose five respectable and trustworthy people, if you wish. I have a few things to finish today. We can meet tomorrow with whomever you want to bring with us at my apartment. Here. Meet at 10 am or I won't let you in." She scribbled her address onto a scrap of paper and pressed it into Newt's hand before turning away and returning to her desk. She hoped he couldn't sense her displeasure towards him, but on another hand she did. It hurt her that her idol had turned out to be so quick to butt heads and find annoyance in her.
Newt, however, was very quick to notice her dislike for him and was at least able to say they shared one feeling for each other.
"Can you believe her, Pickett?" The man asked the bowtruckle who peaked out of his coat pocket.
"If I'm going to make it out of this mission without a dead body, I might as well ask people I can tolerate to help us, huh?" Newt continued to mutter to Pickett as he walked out of the MACUSA office and towards Tina and Queenie's apartment, hoping to find Jacob on the way, and write Theseus a quick letter that was pleading enough for him to accept.
Even while separated, the two knew that the other would be on their nerves until the end of the mission and could not wait for the day they never had to see the other.
A/N- I have decided to start a new multi-part series! Woohoo!! Who knows how long I'll let this series last for. I've already written a few chapters and a prologue, and I cannot WAIT to write more. Enjoy the beginning of my first ever multi-part series, "Grudges". (P.S. let me know what you think in the comments!)
Finally, after searching for 6 days straight, the demiguise was right where Y/N wanted it. The creature peacefully ate away at the leaves he was holding, stopping when Y/N stepped into its sight.
"Don't worry, honey, I'm not going to hurt you. I promise." Y/N said, offering a bundle of leaves to the demiguise. He slowly looked between the leaves and Y/N, carefully dropping the stem he now held and walking over to her.
"See? I only want to help you. I don't think you belong here, now do ya?" She asked, taking a step away from the demiguise and opening her purse. Inside she had enchanted a magical habitat to hold the creatures she rehabilitated and relocated to their natural environments, if they seemed strong enough to survive in the wild.
Carefully placing the purse next to the wary demiguise, she held her hand out to pet him. He let her pet his head and soon moved closer to her, allowing her a better view of the marks on him. He had scratches along his neck and back, confirming her theory that he had been captured and forced into some cruel wizard circus.
"I can help you if you'll let me. You just have to follow me. I promise you more of these if you join me." Y/N carefully stepped into the bag to show the safety of it. As the demiguise started to step into the bag, a loud crack echoed through the clearing. When Y/N made it out of her bag, the demiguise was gone.
"Dammit!" She yelled, kicking her bag closed. Y/N turned around, trying to find the source of the sound only to find an equally-angered man storming towards her.
"What do you think you were doing? A demiguise isn't a creature you can just take! In fact, it's il-"
"If you would listen to me, sir, and stop accusing me of something, then you would know that I am a magizoologist hired by MACUSA to heal and relocate this animal to South Asia!" Y/N yelled at the man, closing the space between them and pressing her finger into his chest.
"That can't be true because I was hired by the Ministry of Magic to do the exact same thing." He retorted, anger and confusion passing over his face like waves, his hand holding her wrist and forcing her finger off his chest.
"Look, I don't know who you are, much less if you're telling me the truth, but I suggest you step away from me before I break your hand as loudly as you did my chance of helping that hurt creature." The man let go of Y/N, allowing her to grab her bag and apparate back to her hotel room.
"What the hell was his problem, Wiggy? I mean, I was so close to helping that poor demiguise. Now who knows if it's safe!" Y/N ranted to her billywig who had been hidden in her skirt pocket as she sat at her desk.
"And NOW I have to tell Mr. McFey that I failed to help the demiguise and prove to the rest of the department that I'm the weak little girl they see me as." Y/N couldn't tell if her tears were because of her anger towards the man in the forest, her fear of getting yelled at, or embarrassed acceptance that she'll only feed into the sexist thoughts of her coworkers, but what she did know was that she was royally pissed and would not forgive the man in the forest.
