"Aww! It's so cute!" Noelle exclaimed, shaking a toy around to amuse the massive, vibrant, flashing Zouwu in front of her. Its eyes were large and dilated, with gentle purring noises that made it all the more adorable. It flicked its head this way and that, until she
dropped the toy on the floor and let it run on its own accord. Newt was making some concoctions in his shed, but had cut out a window some weeks earlier to spot her interactions with the creatures, for he found it fascinating to watch someone, more importantly, his girlfriend, play with them.
"I know…" He muttered to himself, stirring a mixture of herbs and aromatics, "I know."
"Why don't you play with them?" She asked, moving herself away from them and over to him. Frustration bubbled inside because he had lost his concentration, therefore lost all the delicate thought processes inside his clockwork brain. He knew that she only meant good, but it produced a world's worth of turmoil for him. He started stirring and stewing, flapping books open that he knew wouldn't have the answers, raising his hands all over the place, scouring shelves and God knows what else. "What's wrong?" He ignored her and toyed with his wand. And all of a sudden there was a thunderous crash, and the structure began to conform to the pressure. She raced and held onto him for safety as he recited many complex spells under his breath. He had clearly prepared for this. But still, chaos ensued, bottles slid off shelves and cracked, precious medicines all gone to waste. Creatures scampered everywhere, enclosures being razed from the mass unknown destruction. They pleaded and cried for help, and all he could do was scream at the top of his lungs. "You're fine! I'm trying. I'm really trying!"
"Accio!" He yelled, pulling over a staircase and several pieces of wood, "Go!" He looked her dead in the eye, "You go find the source, it's not safe here. Go!" And she unlatched her hands from his waist and bolted up the staris, light at the end of the tunnel. It crept into the broken case, and the earthquake of a thing had stopped. He fell down onto the floor in a daze, exhausted by the energy he had used up and bloodied by the shards of glass piercing his skin. All the animals had calmed down and for whatever reason, they went back to their daily activities.
"It was Amelia…" Noelle opened the hatch and called down.
"Really?" He croaked, attempting to stand, but finding it easier not to.
"She had urgent news, so did Henry and your brother. She started shaking the case and--"
"Bugger!" He scowled. "Well, tell me then." The rage was practically pouring out of his veins, "What's up?"
"I have to leave. Same as Henry. Same as my sister. You-Know-Who's gone back to scheming, which means we are all in danger!"
"What?" He perservered through the pain and rushed over to her, pulling out splinters of white. The tables had turned, for now he was clinging onto her, and it was as if his life depended on it. "You can't leave? What about the Tournament? Your sister and my brother still have to compete! It can't be--"
"Shh…" She took him out onto a chair, case in hand and put a finger at his lips. She put on the best soothing voice she could muster. "The TWT is being cancelled. We'll see each other again, that's for sure. But for now, I must bid you farewell…"
"Huh? What? Stop! I'll come with you! We can travel the world. Wouldn't that be fun?!" His thoughts were frazzled, pain excruciating and he tossed and turned to rise up and see her face for one last time, but time had clocked out. His sight was fading, and by that time, she was gone.
Next thing he knew, hospital wing.
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He spent ages in there, wounds deep and pain continuous, constantly seeking reassurance. There were only three other people in the room. The nurse, of course, Theseus and his girlfriend Leta. No Silverliner sisters. Not even Henry. As much as he was annoying, he felt like he had become a piece of his life, and seeing as it was missing made experiences all the more unpleasant. Once he had recovered, his mind couldn't take itself off her. She was beautiful. Divine. Everything he ever wanted. It had all dripped down the drain, and way too fast for his liking. Anyway, the year was coming to an end, which meant that there was a clean slate approaching. Light at the end of the tunnel. Rainbows after rain. And the most important of these statements to him was the one where he met her, and the one he cherished the most.
There was always a Silverliner out there.