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Siberian Taiga[1998]
–Damien Hawthorne—
Newt Scamander?
"You're still alive?!" He blurted out, gawking at what was themagical creature conservationist of the wizarding world, at least the one that was highlighted the most in the movies or books. Well, as much as he knew anyway, but last he checked, this man was already supposedly middle-aged during WW2.
Newt chuckled at him, "Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated."
"Mark Twain?"
Newt eyed him with surprise on his face, "You don't seem afraid." It was a statement and question in one.
"Well," He began, chuckling as he gestured at Sev, "I managed to force him out. I doubt I have anything to worry from your old bones." He was coming off cocky, but it was deliberate. He really wanted to see what was happening here, and their treating him as a child would not get him the results.
Plus, while this detour was nice, he still had a flight-from-death to hunt down, or his trinkets, based on whatever this timeline was. Hopefully, the entire threatening genocide part of the British Wizarding World was done and all was Kumbaya there but he would have to confirm that on his own.
He couldn't just ask these guys about Voldemort. What if he was not that famous yet? No, he wanted to confirm it on his own. He just needed passage out of here, and the rest, he could figure out himself. Buying a wand from Ollivander's was supposedly some great rite of passage thing and he wanted to experience it himself.
God, his memory was filled with a lot of this stuff despite only hearing about it from his roommates. He supposed he had to thank them for that. Otherwise, he would just be bumbling around like a buffoon, preparing for an intergalactic threat to arrive, only to get Avada Kedavra'd by the likes of genocidal wizards.
He came out of his internal thoughts as Newt chuckled, "That is correct. You have nothing to fear from me," Then, Newt looked at him and the sharp look in his eyes sent a shiver down his spine, "but him?" Newt pointed right up, and slowly, he looked up.
He squinted as he could not see anything in the bright, clear sky but then, slowly, a small black dot appeared in the sky. He tensed, ready to bolt as the dot became bigger and bigger. His eyes widened as the creature dove straight to them. He looked at Newt and Sev still standing in the same palace, with Sev giving him an amused look.
He looked up, on his feet, ready to jump out of the impact zone, when he froze, his body locking down as he felt gravity itself press down on him. "Shit!" Cursing, he pushed and despite all his enhanced strength.
Just as he was about to contemplate drastic activations of his enchantments, the effect disappeared, as he jumped a couple feet in the air, looking at the now smiling face of Newt and Sev, who were both standing in a shadow.
His neck snapped up, his eyes widening as he felt the same force from earlier take hold but this time, it kept him suspended mid air, his eyes locking onto the yellow ones of the gigantic wyvern type creature with a truly humongous wingspan.
He chuckled nervously, the feeling of being suspended mid air with no leverage was making him feel uneasy, despite having faith in his forcefield. "W-Who is this magnificent fellow?"
Newt chuckled at him, his voice subtly mocking, "Oh, now, he behaves. Voltrok, let him go, please."
The next moment, he was dropped from the air as he landed on the ground, eyes still wide as the Voltrok moved about mid air without flapping its wings even once, floating in one place as if it was….
"Gravity manipulation," He whispered, his mind running a mile a minute as it contemplated the existence of a creature capable of something like this.
"Oh? A keen eye as well. You are awfully intelligent for a child your age." Newt then turned to Sev, "Why did you bring him here anyway?"
After a very brief retelling of the events of the past hour or so, Newt nodded and then turned to him, "Who are you? How did you get into the forest anyway?"
He shrugged, "I don't know. I just woke up in the forest one day and made do with what I had."
"Hmm," Newt eyed him as if he didn't believe the entire story but then he let it go, likely dismissive of the idea of interrogating a child, no matter how strange. Good, he needed that anonymity because there was no way he was going to get hamstrung by the fact that he was a minor and the Wizarding World had abysmal laws when it comes to protection of minors, never mind the fact that he was trying to avoid the so called authorities in the first place.
"Well, Sev here says you need a way out. Where would you like to go? I assume your family must be looking for you. I suppose I still have some oil contacts in the Ministry. They should be more than glad to rescue you, considering–"
"Wait, what? What family?" He interrupted, then hastily clarified when all four of them, the familiars included, gave him odd looks, "I have lost most of my memories, alright. Just answer my question."
"Selective Amnesia, huh?" Newt stated as he nodded while Sev scoffed, "Convenient," which he just ignored.
Newt then shook his head, dismissing Sev, his familiar, and Voltrok as well, turning to him, "Look, kid. I don't know the deal with you but honestly? I don't care either. I have left that life behind me and even back then, I did not really care about wizards, save for a few souls so I won't pry too much but you have to promise me that you will not disclose this location to anyone. Swear it on your soul."
"Soul?" He gave the old wizard a confused look, who looked at his hands meaningfully, before his eyes widened in realisation, "Merlin's tits! You don't even have a wand, do you? How old are you?"
Huh. So Merlin was a woman in this continuity.
Also, "I don't know but if I had to guess, 9 or 10?"
Merlin shook his head, pacing in front of him, Voltrok keeping his eyes locked on him, as he felt the prickly gaze of the giant magical creature who was presumably the guard of Newt, "Things don't make sense here. How did you survive in that forest without a wand? Let alone the magical dangers, mere cold should have done you in. I can sense magic on your clothes. Enchantments. Is that how you managed to survive and as Sev said earlier, sense him when he was hidden?"
The turnaround was sharp. Newt was like an old man before but now it felt like an interrogation, a soft one sure but an interrogation nonetheless.
He sighed internally. It would seem he would not be able to explore this place today. Newt was right. There were holes in his story. He really had not been able to work on it and because of that, it had more holes than swiss cheese but in his defense, he had expected to wander around for days before he got any clues, not hours."
"I don't know what to tell you, old man. I just woke up in this forest and could just..do stuff. I could show you later on but for now, I would really like to get some sleep in a real bed. Somehow, I lost most of my memories, but I didn't forget the things that I mistook for basic necessities that are now luxuries to me. So, London, if you will?"
Something told him Newt Scamander was not someone who cared more about wizards than the magical creatures. In case he was some sort of maniac conservationist who would murder wizards if it threatened his preciouses, which should not be the case because who would put that in a kid's story book?!
BUT if he was, then he might just be in trouble. Trouble because he had no way of exiting this place, not without the Ancient One and he was rather cross with her at the moment. So, he asked again, "Now, will you take me to London or do I have to cross that forest again?"
He eyed Voltrok, the draconic lizard's tail swishing mid air, the spikes on it making him wince internally, as Newt looked at him with a cold expression, as if weighing the weight of his words.
"I think," Newt began, waving his hands at Voltrok who huffed and turned around, not before giving him one last fierce glare, "you are not who you say you are but I don't think you are here to harm me or the denizens of this place." He had almost sighed in relief when Newt continued, "That said, I don't think I can risk leaking the location as well as the existence of this place to anyone save for a chosen few."
He tensed, ready to call upon Shaped Forcefield & Durability to create that giant magical construct from before. He might be able to take Newt hostage, to force them to leave him be. It would leave a bad taste in his mouth but he had things to do, see, and experience, stuff that he would not be able to do from inside here.
"So, what now?" He finally asked, his magic bubbling around him, something that Newt sensed as his gaze seemed to hover all around his body. He heard the whispered "interesting" but before he could do anything, Newt shrugged, and broke the tense atmosphere, "Nothing. I will take you to the Isles. We will get you a wand. You will make a pact with me, with Voltrok as the witness, to never speak of this place ever again and you'll be free to go, wherever you please."
Newt then turned around, gesturing with his hands, "We did not expect guests here so accommodations are sparse. Help yourself to whatever is in there," A crudely built wooden shack remained on the right side, at the edge of the clearing.
"You survived in the forest for a year, on your own. That should practically be a luxury to you now."
Wow. What an as*hole.
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