#albusdumbledore

Tara glared forward at her reflection in the mirror.

She had been sitting there for the better half of the past hour, trying desperately to tame her hair into something that was the semblance of acceptable for the wedding that they were expected to be at fairly soon. 

In the end, with a huff of annoyed defeat, she had opted to simply wind the strands into two braids down and over her shoulders.

As she absentmindedly tugged at the ends, trying to force them to become the same length without her having to completely re-do them for the fifth time, she suddenly noticed that another figure had joined hers in the mirror's reflection.

Propped up in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest and a small smile on his face, was Theseus. He was done up in a fairly smart-looking suit, but had clearly done next to nothing with his hair.

Tara silently cursed him for that. That man could go through an entire battle and somehow his hair would come out of it perfect.

“How long have you been standing there?” she asked, her hands falling into her lap.

Theseus let out a low laugh, pushing himself off of the wall and walking further into the room.

“Longer than you’d like, I’m sure.”

Tara rolled her eyes, running her hands down the front of her black dress a few, repetitive times. She then looked at Theseus’ reflection again, gesturing down with a wave.

“Well…how do I look?”

Theseus put on a false expression of pensiveness.

“Hmmm.” he mused for a moment. “I think you’re gonna have to change.”

Tara blinked in surprise.

“What? Why?”

A mischievous smile slowly appeared on the wizard’s face.

“I think you’re gonna upstage the bride.”

Tara felt her face ignite with heat, an embarrassed groan falling out of her throat as she severed eye contact in the mirror.

“Theseus Scamander I do not have time for this.” she grumbled.

The Auror simply continued to laugh.

Staring harshly at the mirror, Tara fought back the desire to once more re-braid her hair. Instead, she reached for the two, small black ribbons that were laying on the top of the desk. Bringing them each up to the bottom of the respective braids, she quickly tied them into bows.

As she did so, Theseus appeared behind her, his hands coming to a gentle rest on the tops of her shoulders.

When she inevitably dropped her hands from her hair, she hesitantly re-directed her attention back to the wizard's reflection.

There was a singular beat of silence before Theseus suddenly let out a breath, shaking his head from side to side.

“How in Merlin’s name did I get so lucky?”

All joking tones in his voice had gone. And the genuine awe that appeared in his eyes was something that Tara had in fact seen before but somehow, after everything that they had gone through these past five years…suddenly felt immensely different .

There had always been a part of her that had been overprepared to lose him. Having lost damn near everything and everyone else, she had constantly primed herself for that reality, every time one of them so much as walked out their front door. Or even, more buried in her subconscious, the reality in which he left of his own accord, upon deeming her nature far too much to deal with. She had been so ready for both those universes, no matter how much they would surely hurt to live in.

But this one…

The one in which she hadn’t lost him. The one in which his love for her only seemed to grow over the years just as furiously as hers did…she hadn’t been prepared for it.

Tara stood up from the chair, finally turning to face Theseus head-on. Her eyes took a long moment to dance across his expression, committing every inch of it to her memory before finally, a soft smile of her own made its way onto her face.

Reaching out, she gently ran her hands down the front of his suit, smoothing down the lapels a few times.

“If we’re going to talk about luck…” she started, glancing back up at his face. “I think I’m the winner there.”

With a pointed scoff, Theseus’ reached up to cover her hands with his own, keeping her palms pressed to his chest. 

“Is everything a competition to you?”

Tara smirked.

“Pretty much.”

With one last roll of his eyes, Theseus leaned down to press a quick, but purposeful kiss onto the witch’s lips.

“C’mon.” he mumbled as he pulled back. “We’re gonna be late.”

The two of them quickly grabbed their coats and wands before finally apparating out of their London homestead.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* : ｡☆ﾟ.･ ───

Tara and Theseus appeared on a mostly dark, sleepy, New York street a few moments later, the residual wind from their apparation blowing their hair slightly as they got their bearings. When they did, they noticed that the only real source of light, outside of the small lanterns that dotted the edges of the sidewalks, was pouring out of the front windows of a nearby building. The golden letters printed on the glass read; “Kowalski’s Bakery.”

Standing just outside the front door, was none other than the youngest Scamander brother. 

In his hand, Newt was holding a small piece of paper and was seemingly muttering under his breath as his eyes darted across what was printed there. He was pacing anxiously up and down the sidewalk as he did so.

Snow was gently falling all around them, with about two or so inches already coating the street. It was cold, but somehow still magical in its own right.

Tara’s eyes suddenly drifted past Newt, instead taking note of the semi-shadowy figure that was making its way towards the bakery, coming from the opposite direction that they had arrived in. As they passed underneath one of the streetlamps, the soft light briefly illuminated their face, causing Tara’s eyes to widen in slow recognition.

Theseus had made a move towards his brother, lips parting in what she assumed to be a greeting of some sort, so Tara quickly reached over and all but slammed her hand over his mouth. 

The Auror whipped his head towards her incredulously, but she just gestured back with her head, not daring to say a word.

“The maid of honor, I presume?” the Magizoologist spoke almost immediately as she had done so.

Tina Goldstein finally stepped out into the light of the bakery. There was a shy smile on her face, and her hands were buried deep within her jacket pockets as she stopped a few paces in front of Newt.

“The best man, I gather?” the witch replied warmly.

Theseus finally fell still, his realization setting in. So, Tara quickly dropped her hand from his face as the two of them continued to watch on in complete silence.

“You’ve done something with your hair?” Newt asked.

“No. Oh…well, yes, actually. Just for tonight.” Tina stumbled over a response.

“Well, it suits you.”

Tina beamed.

“Thank you, Newt.”

Tara found herself biting back a smile of her own.

Another crack of wind echoed over the otherwise quiet streets as a figure apparated into existence perfectly in the middle of the two groups of two.

Lally brushed her hair over her shoulder, her head tilting from side to side in order to greet everyone gathered there with a smile. At her arrival, Theseus and Tara deemed it safe enough to finally make their way closer to the bakery.

“Hello.” 

Newt reached out to gently place a hand on Tina’s waist.

“Look who’s here.” he said happily.

The assembled wizards began to exchange pleasantries, and Tara made a point to reach over with her free hand to shake Tina’s. She suddenly felt like a teenager again as she was formally introduced to the person her best friend had a crush on.

“How are you?”

“You look wonderful, Lally.”

“Well, thank you, Newt. I appreciate it.” the professor replied. She then gestured towards the piece of paper he was still clutching tightly in his hands. “Good luck.”

Newt winced.

Lally then turned to grab a pointed hold of Tina’s arm.

“Tina, come on. You must tell me how MACUSA’s been.” she said brightly, escorting the Auror inside the bakery.

Newt had made a step, as if to follow them, but stopped dead in his tracks. Instead, he glanced over his shoulder, as if hearing something call out to him.

Following his gaze, Tara was quick to notice that there was a person sitting on the bench directly across the street from where they stood. He was safely obscured by the shadows, but even she could recognize the coat and hat that he was wearing.

“What about me?” Theseus called out to his brother, breaking the growing silence. “How do I look?”

Newt turned his head back to the two wizards still standing outside with him.

“You look fine.” he replied shortly, glancing down at his paper again.

Tara tilted her head to the side.

“You alright, Newt?”

“Yeah, I’m alright.”

“You’re not nervous, are you?” Theseus asked. “Can’t be nervous about a speech after saving the world.”

Newt didn’t respond. Instead, his attention briefly returned to the figure across the street. And when he did inevitably glance back at the couple, Tara just nodded her head over her shoulder. Wordlessly telling him to go.

With that permission, the Magizoologist was quick to trot across the snow-covered street, leaving behind a trail of footsteps as he went. He ultimately landed in front of the bench, beginning a soft conversation that neither of them could make out. 

Tara tilted her head up towards the sky, closing her eyes for a moment and breathing as snowflakes softly landed on top of her nose and cheeks. 

That’s when the front door of the bakery suddenly burst open.

“Hey, Newt!” Queenie’s high-pitched voice echoed out across the street.

Glancing back at the building in surprise, Tara found herself looking at the bubbly, blond American witch. She was fully done up in her brilliant white wedding dress, and was illuminated by the soft glow of the bakery lights, giving her already bright expression and excitable smile and even more enchanting glow. 

“Jacob seems to think he’s lost the ring!” Queenie continued to call out to the Scamander across the street. “Please tell me you’ve got it!” 

Newt looked down at his coat pocket for a moment before immediately picking his head back up.

“No, it’s all good!” he assured her.

At Tara’s side, Theseus let out a low rumble of a laugh.

Queenie sighed in relief, sending the wizards in front of her a quick smile in greeting before slipping back inside.

As Newt went back to speaking with Dumbledore, Tara found herself staring off into the middle-distance. 

At the mere mention of a ring, she had been rather violently brought back down to the earth. And the feeling of Theseus’ hand in hers was suddenly red hot. 

Eventually, Newt returned to their side of the street. They watched him pocket his speech, before offering them both a shy smile and disappearing inside the bakery without another word.

On the other side of the windows, they could see people flitting about, both Muggle and wizard alike. The wedding cake was also visible, propped up just behind the main counter, and clearly of Jacob’s own meticulous design.

Immediately after the door closed behind Newt, someone else came hurrying down the street. She wore a dress with a simple pattern of red roses printed on it, and was shuffling through the snow with some semblance of anxious urgency. 

Bunty didn’t even glance at Tara or Theseus before she was practically throwing open the bakery door and stumbling inside. 

At that, Theseus let out a small but amused scoff.

“We should probably head in too.” he noted, making a move towards the door.

But just before he could reach out and grab for the handle, he found himself met with subtle resistance, as the witch holding his hand remained completely stationary.

Peering back over his shoulder, the wizard raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“You alright?” he asked, immediately moving back into her personal space.

Tara’s expression was mostly blank, her eyes briefly darting across his face before forcing herself to swallow in an attempt to quell the growing dryness in her throat.

Maybe this was a bad idea. It had been so long since the last time after all. Perhaps he no longer even wanted to-

Tara quickly shook her head.

“Theseus…” she started, her words coming out in a barely audible whisper.

The Auror blinked.

“Yeah?”

Tara swallowed a second time.

“Ask me.” she finally managed to cough. “Ask me again. Please.”

Theseus’ reaction was slow setting. With every passing second, his eyes seemed to widen a fraction of an inch more. Snow had begun to collect on both of their shoulders at that point, as the entire world fell impossibly quiet around them.

A smile finally exploded across the man’s face, one of the widest that she had ever seen to date. He immediately slipped his hand out of hers in order to dive towards his pants and coat pockets instead, fumbling around for only a few seconds before producing a black, velvet box out in between them.

Tara let out a surprised scoff.

“Don’t tell me you’ve been carrying that with you all this time.” she said breathlessly.

Theseus stared back at her with all the sincerity in the world.

“Tara, I’ve been in love with you since I was fifteen goddamn years old.” he declared. “You’re it for me. Always have been. And always will be. I was willing to be buried with this box in my pocket if you never did end up changing your mind.”

Tara felt the hot burn of tears beginning to materialize at the bottom of her eyes, and her chin had begun to tremble.

Theseus smiled once more before carefully lowering himself down into the snow, flicking the back of his suit jacket out slightly so he didn’t catch it on his heel as he did. Propped up one knee, Theseus held up the small box that was now resting gently in the center of his palm. 

Tara had to do her best to keep from breaking into a sob right then and there, before he had so much as spoken a word. She bit down hard on the inside of her bottom lip as she watched the Auror set his shoulders with a particularly deep breath.

“We live in a dangerous, violent world.” Theseus began to say, snowflakes continuing to pile on his head and shoulders. “And it’s terrifying to wake up every single day not knowing what is going to happen next. But when I do wake up, and it’s next to one of the boldest, strongest witches I have ever known…that terror is instantly gone. You are the very reason that I am able to do what I do, Tara. And I’ve always wished that I could become the same for you. Someone who you could feel safe with. Someone who you didn’t always have to be so damned headstrong around”

A teary laugh escaped Tara’s throat at that, playfully rolling her eyes. But by then, tears were already streaming down the sides of her faces.

“So, Tara Kelly…” Theseus started again, clicking the box open. “Will you give me the extraordinary honor of becoming your husband? Will you marry me?”

And there it was.

That very same stomach flip and drop that had overcome her every single time that he had asked her in the past. That same churning that would come every time he so much as whispered that he loved her. A warmth as sweet as honey and as hot as tea seeped through her body, and despite standing covered in a thin layer of snow, she was no longer cold.

She nodded, a wide smile lighting up her face.

“Yes.” she replied, as boldly as she could manage. “Yes, I will.”

Theseus was unable to hold back the giddy and downright boyish laugh that tumbled out of his throat. He immediately pushed himself back up and onto his feet, closing the distance between them in a heartbeat.

Taking a hold of her left hand, he slid a cold, metal band onto her fourth finger.

It fit perfectly.

Tara looked from it, to Theseus’ face, her eyes shining brightly.

“It’s silver.” she whispered.

Theseus’ eyes were also watering by that point.

“Yeah, well, you hate gold, so…”

Tara let out a quiet laugh.

“I do.”

With his free hand, Theseus encased the right side of her face, pulling her lips up to his in a flash. Tara’s arms immediately encircled the wizard’s neck, having to stand on the tips of her toes in order to tug him down to her height.

And it was in that moment that Tara found, for the first time in her life, she wasn’t afraid.

She realized that there had not been a single moment in which she hadn’t been so. She had always feared the world around her, because it had constantly been doing horrible things to her and the people that she cared about the most. In response, she had been forced to build up the person that she paraded around; the tough and violent witch that could, and would, single-handedly take on anything that stood in her way. And while she had succeeded in most of those endeavors…she had always been terrified.

But then there was Theseus Scamander. Stumbling into her life and somehow lighting it up a tenfold. Whether it was him patching up her injuries in the Hufflepuff common room, rescuing her from Grindelwald, or defending her within the walls of the Ministry…he had always been there.

And now she knew, that with him, she no longer had to be afraid.

When the two of them eventually separated, they were terribly reluctant to abandon their shared oxygen.

Tara slid her hands back down to his chest, and there they remained for a moment as she felt the far away, but rapid beating of his heart.

Theseus was smiling back down at her, his eyes clouded with tears and pure, unaltered love. He gently bumped his forehead up against hers, letting out a low chuckle.

“Guess fourth times a charm, huh?” he whispered.

“Shut up, Scamander.” she muttered in return, tugging him down for another quick kiss.

Despite wanting to stay there on the snowy sidewalk forever, they both knew that it they remained outside for any longer, they were in danger of not only catching a cold, but missing the ceremony completely. So eventually, they did manage to untangle themselves just enough for them to meander back towards the front door of the bakery.

As they stepped into the warm light flowing out of the window, Theseus swiftly brought her left hand, which he now had a rather possessive hold of, up to his lips, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand.

“Tara Scamander…” he mumbled as he dropped it again. “...kinda has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”

“Uh, who said I was the one taking your name?”

Theseus instantly let out a low groan, even while pulling the door open for her.

“You are going to be the death of me, woman.”

Tara let out a wild giggle, leaning up to kiss him one last time before slipping inside the bakery, pulling a dopey Theseus along with her.

The small group had quickly sat themselves down into the small cluster of fold-out chairs packed into the middle of the quaint shop. The witnesses consisted of Tina, Lally, Bunty, Newt, Jacob’s singular employee Albert, and a few other members of both the magical and non-magical families of the bride and groom.

Queenie, decked out in her lovely lace wedding dress, had finally landed in front of Jacob and the minister, and the Muggle baker looked absolutely awestruck. 

“Wow. You’re so beautiful.” he said out loud, causing a chorus of “aww’s” to fill the room.

Queenie let out a soft laugh as the ceremony itself began.

At some point during the remarks, Tara had snaked her arms around one of Theseus’, leaning her head over to rest snugly against his shoulder. On her face was a faint but content smile that did not leave for the remainder of the evening.

Tara Kelly was 41 years old when she decided who the love of her life was. He was two years older than her, he was a prick, and his name was Theseus Scamander.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* : ｡☆ﾟ.･ ───

[The End]

Emerging out onto the other side, they were instantly greeted with a dense crowd of wizards. Looming high above their position, was a large staircase, and it was absolutely covered with people. Massive banners sprung up in different positions throughout the crowd, the moving images of the ceremony beginning to take place at the very top of the mountain rippled out across the tapestries.

As the group began to subtly make their way through the thick crowd and towards the stairs, Vogel’s visage appeared on the banners as he began to address those assembled. 

“I thank the candidates for their words-” he was saying, gesturing to the three other wizards standing at his side: Liu, Santos, and Grindelwald. “Each represents a distinct vision of how we will shape not only our world, but non-magical world as well. Which brings us to the most important part of our ceremony; the walk of the Qilin!”

Tara and her group began shoving through bodies a bit faster. On the banners that they passed by, they would catch the occasional glimpse of a Qilin being placed down in front of the three wizards. The creature moved forward carefully, tilting its head from side to side before eventually coming to a stop.

Directly in front of Grindelwald.

And it bowed.

There was a long, tense moment of silence. During which, even Theseus, Tara, Lally, and Kama had stopped dead in their tracks.

“The Qilin has seen.” Vogel’s voice boomed over the mountainside. “Seen goodness, strength, qualities essential to lead, and to guide us. Who do you see?” he asked, the question directed at the crowd.

Every single one of the assembled wizards on the mountainside, spare a handful, pointed their wands at the sky, firing off spells that matched the colors of their respective votes. But the moment that the streaks of light reached the clouds, they merged together, turning into a singular, sickly green color.

On the banners themselves, they all could see Grindelwald smirking in deranged satisfaction.

Tara swallowed a growl, immediately beginning to push through the crowd again. 

“Gellert Grindelwald is the new leader of the magical world by acclamation!”

The mob roared in equal parts excitement and disgust.

As Tara made her way through the last few rows of wizards at the top of the mountainside, she was finally able to glimpse what was transpiring over the crest of the final step.

Craning her neck, she watched as two large Acolytes, much like the ones that had been pursuing them throughout the village, pushed their way into the main circle of wizards, roughly dragging someone along with them.

It was Newt. Caseless.

Grindelwald gestured forward with his head, silently commanding someone across the eyrie from him. In response, a tall, slender female witch shoved two more bodies forward. A man and a woman. The latter of which was someone she had only seen and heard about in passing; Queenie Goldstein. Sister to Tina, the American Auror, and the Legilimens that had supposedly flipped to Grindelwald’s side back in Paris.

The man at her side was none other than Jacob Kowalski. But Grindelwald’s witch had quickly dragged him straight up to where the dark wizard was patiently waiting at the center of the circle. And Queenie was restrained by the same gaggle of Acolytes that had brought Newt onto the scene.

Once the woman and Jacob landed in front of Grindelwald, she handed him what looked to be a wand. The dark wizard looked down at it for a moment before turning his attention back out towards the crowd.

“This is the man who tried to take my life.” he announced, his voice carrying down the entire mountainside. “This man who has no magic, who would marry a witch and pollute our blood. This forbidden union will make us less, make us weak, like his kind. He is not alone, my friends. There are thousands who seek to do the same. There can only be one response to such vermin.” he declared darkly, throwing down the fake wand and brandishing his own.

Immediately, a bright red spell burst forth from it, nailing Jacob directly in the center of his chest and sending him sprawling out across the stone. The crowd at the edges of the circle parted ever so slightly, watching as he began to writhe in pain. 

“ Crucio! ”

Tara’s breath caught in her throat loudly.

“No!” she heard Newt scream from somewhere off to her right.

“Make him stop!” Queenie’s sob came next.

“Our war with the Muggles begins today!” Grindelwald roared, earning some cheers in response from his supporters.

Tara’s stomach lurched as she began to once more shove wizards aside, her wand in hand. But just as she managed to break through the final line of bodies, an arm materialized around her waist, holding her back with all of its strength.

The witch fought against Theseus’ grasp, demanding that he let her go. And in the middle of the commotion, Grindelwald’s attention had somehow been drawn towards their position. Despite his magic still fully concentrated on the withering Jacob, the moment his eyes fell upon the witch that was trying desperately to leap forward and attack him, he threw his head back and began to cackle loudly.

In the midst of the growing chaos, Santos raised her wand, casting a defensive spell in front of Jacob and effectively dispeling the Cruciatus curse. The Muggle had gasped in desperate relief. And somehow, Queenie broke forward, falling at his side and fiercely pulling him into her arms.

Grindelwald turned around with his arms outstretched to either side of him, clearly basking in the feeling of his imminent victory.

Tara was still fighting, rather violently, against Theseus’ attempts to keep her held back. So the Auror was forced to add a second arm to his efforts.

“Don’t.” he spoke directly into her ear. “This is exactly what he wants.”

“I don’t care.” Tara immediately barked back.

It was at that moment that the sharp cry of a bird sounded from high above their heads. Tara wouldn’t have paid it any mind, had Grindelwald not pointedly turned his attention up towards the sky himself, following the slow path of a falling feather. It landed directly on the side of his face, turning to ash upon impact.

The dark wizard squinted in what appeared to be a sudden onslaught of concern, his gaze quickly flying back towards the crowd in front of him. 

That’s when a body pushed its way through, only a few paces to the left of where Tara and Theseus stood.

It was Credence.

Tara froze.

She hadn’t seen the boy since Paris all those years ago. His hair had grown out long, and now hung in stringy strands down to about his shoulders. He looked terribly pale and weak, as if plagued by a violent illness. But still, he pushed himself to walk forward, approaching Grindelwald with seemingly no fear at all. 

The dark wizard watched his every step with a careful intensity.

Once Credence came to a stop, he slowly reached a hand up as if moving to cradle Grindelwald’s face. But instead, he swiped a single finger across the collection of ash on the man’s cheek, smearing it with a purpose.

In the confusion of the moment, two more shapes stumbled out of the crowd, following what clearly had been the path that Credence had taken. It was both Dumbledore brothers. 

The sickly wizard boy turned to address the assembled population.

“He’s lying to you.” he called out weakly. “That creature is dead.” 

He pointed to the Qilin.

Whispers immediately began to ripple through the crowd.

Speaking even so few words seemed to have used up most of Credence’s energy, for the boy soon fell to his knees, reaching up to brace a hand on the center of his chest. At the edge of the circle, Aberforth had made a move as if to run towards him, but Albus was quick to hold him back.

Across from them, Newt finally managed to escape the two Acolytes that had previously had him bound, stumbling out into the center of the eyrie himself.

“He did it to trick you.” The Magizoologist continued Credence’s statement. “He killed it and bewitched it so that you might think him worthy to lead. But he doesn’t want to lead you…he just wants you to follow.”

Grindelwald shook his head in protest.

“Words,” he spat. “Words designed to deceive. To make you doubt what you’ve seen with your own two eyes-”

“There were two Qilin born that night.” Newt quickly interrupted him. “A twin. And I know that- I know that…” he stumbled over his words, emotion suddenly wracking his body.

Grindelwald stared back at the wizard with pure malice.

“Because…? Because you have no proof.” he sneered. “Because there was no second Qilin. Am I not right?”

“Its mother had been killed.” 

“Then where is it now, Mr. Scamander?”

Newt finally fell silent. For he truly did not know the answer to that. 

Grindelwald’s expression had momentarily morphed back into a triumphant one, before suddenly his attention was drawn past the Magizoologist as a hooded figure emerged from behind the crowd of wizard dignitaries. As they stepped out into the gray sunlight, Tara could see that they were carrying a light brown leather case. 

Arriving at Newt’s side, the person brushed back their hood, revealing none other than his indispensable assistant- Bunty Broadacre.

“No one can know everything, Newt. Remember?” she said quietly, handing the case to him.

The moment that she did so, the small woman seemingly became aware of just how many eyes were on her, and swiftly turned to disappear back into the cover of the crowd.

Newt wasted no time flicking open the latches of the case, placing it flat down against the stony ground. He then slowly opened the lid, a silence falling over the entire mountainside as he did.

Everyone was still for a moment, before suddenly a small head poked itself up and out from inside.

The Qilin glanced around at the crowd with wide and curious eyes.

Newt smiled down at the creature, seemingly more in relief than anything else. With his assistance, she carefully crawled out of the case, slowly getting her bearings.

As if smelling something in the air, her head instantly tilted to the left, honing in on where the bewitched Qilin was still standing, unmoving, at Grindelwald’s feet. It let out a few soft, repetitive bleats, but the other creature did not react.

“She can’t hear you, little one.” Newt said heartbrokenly. “Not here. But perhaps somewhere she’s listening in.”

Tara felt a hot tear fall from her eye.

Vogel suddenly surged forward, scooping up the Qilin still standing at Grindelwald’s feet, only to hold it up in the air for the crowd to see.

“This is the true Qilin!” he announced. “Look at it! You can see it with your own eyes. This is the true-”

As he spoke, the creature's head slumped to the side, instantly becoming limp in his hands. 

“This can’t be allowed to stand!” someone from within the crowd shouted. “The vote must be taken again!”

“Come on, Anton! Do something!”

But Vogel did not move, just continued to stand there, stunned.

Back behind him, the living Qilin had walked away from Newt, only to begin trotting around the edge of the circle of wizards, as if looking for something, or someone, in particular.

“No, no, no, please.” Tara suddenly heard Dumbledore begin to whisper from off to her left. But by that point, the Qilin had already come to a stop at the professor’s feet. She stared up at the wizard for a moment, her eyes shining with a wise innocence, before slowly lowering herself to the ground in a pointed bow.

Dumbledore shook his head, quickly kneeling himself down to the Qilin’s level.

“I’m honored.” he said quietly, swallowing back some emotion. “Just as two of you were born that night, there is another here. Equally worthy. I’m certain of it.” he urged, gently running a hand down the Qilin’s head before whispering one last “Thank you.”

The creature eyed Dumbledore for a moment longer before finally adhering to his wishes, turning and trotting its way back around the circle. She then seemed to turn her attention inwards, looking at the smaller collection of wizards gathered in the center of the eyrie. And after evidently thinking for another long moment, she finally landed in front of Santos, dipping into a low bow in front of the female wizard. One that Santos had immediately returned, her hand pressed above her heart.

Grindelwald immediately sneered in response, re-brandishing his wand.

Seeing this, Credence launched back up onto his feet, placing himself pointedly in between the creature and the dark wizard. But this didn’t seem to make Grindelwald hesitate in the slightest, instead he continued to cast his spell forward.

Just as fast, however, a bright, white shield of energy appeared in front of the frail wizard. It’s source stemming from two wands in particular; those of Aberforth and Albus.

Grindelwald’s attention immediately snapped towards the latter, his eyes wide in what seemed to be genuine surprise. 

At first, it seemed like nothing happened, the two forces of magic simply burned together for a long moment in front of a cowering Credence.

Then suddenly, there was movement. Something shot out of Dumbledore’s front coat pocket.

It was the Blood Troth.

Tara followed its path with wide eyes, watching as it dove down toward the ground, spinning in a violent spiral towards the stones of the mountaintop.

All around them, the other assembled wizards had already begun to shoot up streams of yellow sparks in a show of support for Santos. 

Then the Blood Troth hit the ground. It immediately shattered into a thousand different pieces, red smoke rising up from the point of impact.

Grindelwald’s eyes darted from the broken accessory to the thousands of wizards surrounding him. All of the banners dotting the mountainside had since changed from his murky green, to a pleasant yellow color. 

And soon enough, hundreds upon hundreds of wands were pointed in his direction.

Knowing that he was beaten, he wasted no time in apparating himself back towards the very edge of the eyrie. Many wizards released their spells upon his movements, forcing him to throw up a transparent shield of energy in order to protect himself. Once the initial barrage stopped, his eyes scanned the hostile crowd before once more landing on Albus.

“I was never your enemy.” he declared for everyone to hear. “Then or now.”

And before another collection of spells were fired his way, Grindelwald fell backwards off of the side of the cliff, disappearing from their sights in a sharp snap of wind.

Tara finally managed to slip out of Theseus’ grasp, all but sprinting towards the edge of the summit, a few members of her party quickly following.

But when she arrived, all she found were clouds.

Grindelwald had gotten away once again.

Tara dug her fingers into the stone wall in front of her, hanging her head in frustrated defeat. Lally, who had since appeared at her side, placed a hand on the witch’s shoulder, but otherwise said nothing.

With another shake of her head, Tara glanced back at the crowd she had left. She watched Aberforth disappear back down the staircase, carefully ushering along a weak-looking Credence with him. Newt and Bunty were both busy coaxing the Qilin back down and into the case, talking quietly amongst themselves for a moment as they did. And Jacob and Queenie were embracing each other tightly a few paces away to their right.

A small breath escaped Tara’s throat.

Yes, Grindelwald had gotten away once again.

But everyone that she cared about was okay.

And that would have to do for now.

Hands suddenly materialized on either side of her shoulders.

“You alright?” Theseus asked.

Tara just stared up at him for a silent moment. Her anger over Grindelwald escaping dissipated the very instant that his eyes found hers. The instant that she was able to see the way his shoulders were rising and falling as he breathed.

Reaching up, she gently grabbed a hold of both his wrists, keeping him anchored to her. She then glanced back to her left, staring out into the cloud-covered depths of the mountainside.

Taking a particularly deep breath in, she returned her attention to Theseus, managing to nod in response to his question. She watched the path of his emotion as it rippled across his face. His hands then slipped behind her shoulders, pulling her into a particularly tight hug instead.

Tara let out a shakier, more unsteady breath as her face found momentary refuge against his chest.

The two of them stood like that for a few long moments, wholly ignoring the hubbub of movement and chatter going on behind them for as long as was physically possible for them to do so. In fact, it was only when Newt had taken the time to join them at the cliff’s edge that Tara finally managed to lift her head again.

The witch reached out a hand, grabbing at her friend's arm with a purpose.

“Are you okay?”

The Magizoologist answered with a simple nod of his head, a small smile playing at the very edges of his lips. Tara sent him back one of her own before releasing his sleeve.

Theseus reluctantly dropped the complete hold that he had on Tara, but notably kept one arm tightly resting around her shoulders. As if part of him was still worried that at any moment she would turn around and leap off of the cliffside in pursuit of Grindelwald.

Dumbledore was the next wizard to make his way over to their small group, his eyes briefly staring out at the cloudy landscape. After a long moment of silence, he unfolded his palm, allowing those gathered to see the shattered remains of the troth that laid there.

“Remarkable.” the professor mused quietly.

“But how?” Newt questioned. “I thought you couldn’t move against one another.”

“We didn’t.” Dumbledore replied. “He sought to kill. I sought to protect. Our spells met…let’s call it fate.” he said, smiling slightly as he fully turned towards the group of three. “After all, how else would we fulfill our destinies?”

Tara took a single step forward, causing Theseus’ arm to fall from her shoulders. She stared forward at Dumbledore, her intense gaze taking a moment to trace his expression. 

“Albus…” she began to speak, her voice low. “Promise me you’ll find him.”

The professor smiled back at his former student before eventually nodding his head, sealing his oath earnestly, but silently.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* : ｡☆ﾟ.･ ───

The group made the trip back up the hill to Hogwarts early the following morning. A low, dense mist had settled across the valley over the night, and was slowly but surely being burnt away by the sunlight.

Many of the students were still fast asleep as Dumbledore ushered them down the halls.

Tara found herself unable to pick her gaze above the tips of her shoes, not exactly desiring to engage with the memories that would materialize should she look down a corner, or even out of a window. And it was only when Dumbledore finally ordered them to stop, that she was finally able to gather the courage to lift her head.

They found themselves facing a mostly blank, stone wall at the convergence of two large corridors.

Without any words spoken, or any wands brandished, the stones in front of them suddenly began to shake and shift until finally, an ornate door had formed in the dead center of the wall.

With a victorious smile, Dumbledore once more urged the group forward.

They emerged out into a rather empty room, spare for the collection of odd objects sitting in the center of it. The first was a large, floating ornate wheel of sorts that hovered about three feet off of the ground. Surrounding it, in a very ritualistic-looking circle, were six identical, brown leather cases.

Jacob leaned into Newt’s shoulder as they all shuffled inside.

“Hey, Newt, what is this place?”

“The room we require.” the Magizoologist replied vaguely.

Dumbledore stepped out in front of the assembled party, wringing his hands out in front of his stomach.

“I trust all of you have the tickets that Bunty gave you?”

Everyone nodded their heads in confirmation, Jacob excitedly lifting up the piece of parchment that they had all been issued during their walk up towards the castle.

“You’ll need them to gain access to the ceremony.” the professor continued, nodding his head over his shoulder. “What do you think, Newt? Can you tell which one is yours?”

The younger Scamander took a moment to drag his eyes around the circle of cases before slowly shaking his head.

“No.”

“Good. I’d be worried if you could.”

“I assume the Qilin’s in one of these cases?” Lally asked smartly.

“Yes.” 

“Well, which one is it?”

“Which one indeed.” Dumbledore said in response, a small smile appearing on his face.

Tara let out a breath of disbelief.

“Oh, it’s like a three-card monte thing.” Jacob piped up, causing a confused silence to fall over the room. “Like the shell game thing? Like a short con- nevermind. It’s a Muggle thing.”

“Grindelwald will do anything within his power to get his hands on our rare friend.” Dumbledore pointed out. “Therefore, it’s essential we keep whoever he dispatches on his behalf guessing so the Qilin gets to the ceremony safely. If by teatime, the Qilin- not to mention all of us- are still alive, we should consider our efforts a success.” The professor said as he donned his hat and scarf.

Jacob suddenly raised his hand again.

“For the record, no one ever died playing three-card monte.” he pointed out nervously.

“An important distinction.” Dumbledore noted. “All right, everyone choose a case, and we’ll be on our way. Mr. Kowalski, you and I will proceed together first.”

“Me?” the Muggle asked in surprise. “Okay.”

Jacob slowly wandered forward, reaching for the first case that he crossed paths with. But Dumbledore quickly cleared his throat. When the man glanced over at him, he found the professor not-so-subtly shaking his head. 

Standing back up straight, Jacob glanced around the circle again, then pointed wordlessly at one across from where he was standing. 

This time, Dumbledore nodded.

Picking up the case, Jacob paused for an awkward moment as the ornate wheel in front of him began to sparkle. And as Dumbledore reached out a hand to touch it, the room was instantly filled with a bright and powerful golden light.

“I’m looking forward to you educating me a little further on the finer points of three-card monte.” the professor said, offering his other hand for Jacob to take.

“My pleasure.” the man replied. The wheel began to spin faster and faster before finally, the two of them vanished in a flash.

Letting out breaths of their own, the remainder of the group quickly descended on the circle of cases.

“Well, good luck everybody.” Bunty said lightly.

Newt, by then, had already scooped up a case and was heading straight for the glowing wheel.

“Good luck.” he managed to shout back over his shoulder before vanishing.

“And you too, Bunty girl.” Lally said cheerfully as she skipped forward into the light. 

Tara had moved to do more or less the same, when Theseus suddenly grabbed a tight hold of her wrist. 

Her head shot back over her shoulder in surprise, watching as the wizard simply nodded his head towards the spinning wheel.

“Be careful, ok?” he said with the smallest of smiles. “Don’t do anything stupid until I come and find you.”

Tara scoffed in disbelief.

“Me do something stupid?” she repeated. “You’ve got some nerve, Scamander.”

With another smile, Theseus finally released the hold he had on her wrist.

Tara sent him one in return before taking a breath, snatching one of the remaining cases up off of the floor, and walking straight into the golden glow of the wheel.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* : ｡☆ﾟ.･ ───

A singular second later, Tara was stumbling out into a Bhutan alleyway. 

She took a moment or two to gather her senses, the grip she had on the handle of the case tightening as she did so. Glancing over her shoulders in both directions, she allowed herself to breathe easier upon finding herself alone. 

At least for the time being. 

She had a vague idea of where she was meant to be heading for; a magical staircase up into the mountains where the ceremony was to take place, but she didn’t know quite where that was in reference to her current position. So, in the end, she decided to begin walking along the edges of the main road, believing that it would give her the best chance at mapping out the pathways of the village itself.

As she slunk through the shadows, she began to hear the muffled sounds of chants and cheers from somewhere up ahead. Quickly slipping into a nearby alleyway, she flattened her back up against the stone wall. There she remained for several long minutes, watching on with wary eyes as crowds of wizards began flooding past her position, thundering down the main road of the village. Many of them were holding banners and chanting the names of their respective choices for leader of the wizarding world.

The witch waited until the largest part of the crowd passed her by, before finally daring to dart across the main road, dipping down into another alleyway. As she traveled along its shadowy path, she began to hear footsteps behind her. Turning her head back over her shoulder a few imperceptible times, she clocked three dark-robed wizards that had evidently begun to tail her.

Doing the math in her head, she didn’t think that she had enough time to try and apparate in an attempt to shake them off. So instead, she opted to continue zigzagging down the uneven streets without any specific direction or destination in mind, hoping to lose them the old-fashioned way.

Continuing on like that for a few more minutes, Tara stumbled over cobblestones with her head on a paranoid swivel. Everywhere she looked, she could see their shadows following her. 

She knew it was only a matter of time before they would catch up, but she also knew that it was her job to keep them held off for as long as she possibly could. Because the more time they wasted pursuing her, the less time they had to be searching for the Qilin or accosting her friends. 

As she came upon an intersection of several different stone pathways, Tara covertly slipped her wand out from where it had been hidden in the side of her boot. Grasping it tightly in her hand, she stepped out of the cover of the shadows, swiftly spinning on her heels in order to face what had previously been her back.

A surprised breath fell out of her throat.

No one was there.

That’s when her back slammed directly into something.

Well, rather, someone.

Whirling around in a panic, wand still brandished, Tara suddenly found herself pointing it at the stunned face of Theseus Scamander.

With a gasp, she dropped the wand back down to her side, Theseus quickly mirroring her actions.

The wizard had opened his mouth, as if about to speak, when Tara suddenly caught sight of something just over his left shoulder.

As quick as light, she shot a bolt of energy forward, expertly missing Theseus and instead nailing the cloaked advisory that had been approaching his blindside. 

But in the time that it took for the enemy to collapse to the ground, the two wizards found themselves surrounded by about ten or so German Auror’s.

Falling into an instinctual defensive stance, Tara and Theseus wasted no time beginning to trade spells, blocking and countering whatever the Auror’s sent their way with equal amounts of aggression. 

The two of them fought together quite fluidly, a skill that they had been unknowingly perfecting since all the way back in their Hogwarts days. They could not only react to the threats at hand, but also could seemingly sense each other's thoughts and decisions, allowing them to maneuver accordingly. 

Once they had managed to break through a large enough chunk of the horde, they retreated up a nearby flight of stairs, one that carried them up and out of the small courtyard. All the while continuing to fire off the occasional counter spells as they went.

The moment that they reached the top, Tara felt a sharp shiver travel down her spine. Spinning on her heels, she had fired a spell forward before she even realized it herself. And the next thing she knew, she was watching an Auror tumble down from where they had been perched on a balcony overlooking the street.

Hearing Theseus grunt next to her, Tara quickly turned her attention back forward. There, she found him engaged in a rather nasty battle with an Auror that was slowly attempting to make his way up the staircase.

A flash of red crossed her vision, and her wand hand swung out in a rather violent arc. The brick and stones that made up the bottom three or four steps exploded out of the earth at her silent command. And with a simple flick of her wrist, the stones wrapped themselves around the Auror, swirling in a dangerous tornado, and effectively cutting him off from Theseus. Curling her fist even tighter around the wood of her wand, Tara then pulled it down sharply, slamming the wizard into the ground at the bottom of the stairs, the stones and bricks encasing him against the Bhutan street.

A silence quickly settled over the intersection.

Releasing a breath, Tara lowered her wand back down to her side, pointedly blowing a strand of hair around her face. Surrounding them now, were the same ten or so Auror’s, now all laying in various states of unconsciousness.

Turning her head to the side, she was met with the sight of an equally out-of-breath, but alive, Theseus. The moment that his eyes found hers, the man immediately broke out into a wide smile.

“You are one hell of a witch, you know that?”

Tara’s lips had parted in order to reply with something equally as snarky, when suddenly the sharp tip of a wand appeared in the side of her neck.

Theseus’ eyes darkened as the same was done to him. Two additional wizards emerged from the shadows behind them, and soon enough, standing before the couple was none other than Helmut himself.

“Cases, please.” the German man barked.

They hadn’t even allowed them the chance to comply. Rather two Auror’s roughly ripped them out of their hands, delivering them to the ground at Helmut’s feet.

The wizards at their necks stepped out in front of them, leveling their wands at level with their faces instead. Tara was hardly paying attention to the one in front of her, rather her gaze had darted over to Theseus, watching as he stared down the piece of wood that was damn near poking him in the eye.

She had just about finished her mental calculations, deciding that she was going to jump to the side and place her body in front of him before the Auror’s magic could go off, when suddenly Helmut raised his hand.

“Wait-” he commanded. “Open them. Make sure it’s in there, idiot.”

Back behind them, they could hear a muffled groan emit from the man that Tara had trapped underneath the stones. And if their situation had been even so much as a fraction less dire, she would’ve laughed.

Helmut sighed in annoyance, raising his wand reluctantly to release the man from his stoney bonds.

Everyone’s attention then turned towards the two cases on the ground. The assigned Auror’s pointed their wands at them, magically flipping the golden fasteners open in unison.

As if waiting for this exact moment, the two cases exploded. 

From inside of the one Theseus had been carrying, came what appeared to be an entire set of Quidditch equipment, Golden Snitch and all. The bewitched balls immediately shot out towards the Auror’s surrounding them, devolving into a rather violent magical attack.

Out of Tara’s case, come thousands upon thousands of pounds of paper. They swirled up and around their enemies, blinding and obscuring them from their captives.

Eyes wide in shock, Tara had momentarily followed the path of the Golden Snitch as it darted over a nearby rooftop. Her thoughts drifted to the rest of their party, wondering if the very same thing was happening to them. And if any of them truly carried the Qilin.

Tara was ripped out of her thoughts by the feeling of Theseus’ grabbing a fierce hold of her hand, all but dragging her down a nearby alleyway, leaving the chaos and German Auror’s behind.

The pair didn’t stop running until they found themselves centimeters away from crashing into a large group of people. Bodies were suddenly all that they could see. Wizards were everywhere, carrying banners and wearing identifying colors of their respective votes as they marched down the main village road.

Theseus pulled them to a sharp halt just before the end of the alleyway. He then quickly turned towards Tara, reaching up to pull the hood of her cloak over her head before doing the same to himself. Wordlessly, he grabbed her hand again before merging them out and into the stream of wizards.

They followed in the crowd's footsteps towards a large bridge that appeared to rise up into nothing but the clouds. The mountains of Bhutan loomed as a glorious backdrop to the sight of people continuing to thunder down the stone pathway, only to disappear through an invisible portal at the end of it.

Once they finally reached the end of the bridge, Theseus pulled them off to the side. They kept their heads held low until the main bulk of the crowds had passed through the portal. And they didn’t dare to pull back their hoods until the amount of bodies walking by slowed to an occasional trickle.

Several long minutes later, they heard the fast and unmistakable sound of heels clicking against stone. Someone was jogging down the pathway towards their position. Both Theseus and Tara picked their heads up in worried unison, only to watch Lally fall into the space at their side.

She too, notably, was now void of the case she had been carrying.

The professor greeted them with a short nod, bracing herself up against the edge of the bridge wall, evidently needing to catch her breath. Tara didn’t have to think too hard about what she could have gone through in the past half an hour.

As the group of them continued to wait on the rest of their party's arrival, Theseus had begun to pace the length of the now deserted bridge. From somewhere impossibly high above their position, a low horn sounded. The noise appeared to seep through the entire village, nearly shaking the very stones underneath their feet.

Looking back down from the sky, Tara noticed that Theseus still had yet to stop his nervous march. With a sigh, she pushed herself off of the edge of the bridge, making her way over to him. 

She purposefully placed herself into his path, forcing him to stop lest her run her over. Her eyes danced over his expression, noting just how tightly his eyebrows were furrowed together. 

“He’s gonna be here any minute.” she told him.

As if on some awful cue, the thundering sound of footsteps erupted from back out in the village. The three of them quickly turned together, watching as a semi-large group of Dark Auror’s turned the corner, heading directly for the bridge that they were standing on. Leading the charge was a rather familiar face, Yusuf Kama.

Tara held her breath, watching as the Auror’s all raised their wands out towards them, mere seconds away from casting their spells.

That’s when Kama moved.

He dropped to the ground, slamming his wand down into the earth. From it, came a huge pulse of silver magic, sending a stunning wave of force back towards those flanking him. A large crack shuddered out across the street, and all of the opposing Auror’s were immediately blown backwards, becoming still bodies against the stone.

Kama then stood back up, dusting off his coat in a rather casual manner before jogging over to the group waiting for him in the center of the bridge.

Theseus scoffed.

“What kept you?” he asked sarcastically.

Kama simply rolled his eyes in response, and the four of them moved together for the portal.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* : ｡☆ﾟ.･ ───