Chapter Nine, A Second Trip to NYC

Previously on Unconditional Love:

Once all of the students had collected their diplomas and grades and shook hands with their teachers and Headmaster and listened to the speech of Headmaster Dippet as he wished all of his students good luck on their travels throughout life and wherever it may take them; praising them for all their hard work the past seven years and how he was proud to be their Headmaster. The end of their journey within Hogwarts was to ride the boats from the Boat House across the Black Lake, much like their arrival in First year, signalling an end of an era where they would then ride the Hogwarts Express with their guests for the last time ever back to London and their new milestone in life.

The next stop for Leta after the summer, was Auror Academy; like their cousins Manthus and Alex and Theseus, as she had already been accepted this past May due to her impressive N.E.W.T scores. Adonis would be attending Business School for the Magical Creative Arts as he wanted to create his own newspaper called The Quibbler (Lisette teared up at that as she missed Luna deeply but was glad she had Adonis and learned where the Quibbler came from), while also planning his wedding to their cousin Nimah that was in a year's time. They wanted to have all the planning done as Nimah was busy at St Mungo's where she was a Healer in the Children's Ward, and Adonis would be busy with Business school and setting up his own business.

He was also eager to be the first to announce Newt and Lisette's book so wanted to have it done and set up by then, plus he wanted to announce Henry's new Potion business: Potter's Potions. Vulpecula Black was going to be travelling with Anya Greengrass, Indra Li, and Prisha Patil before she would marry Alex in a year's time. Ashley would be working at Percival Longbottom's Herbology shop. CJ Nott, Camulus Malfoy and Aryan Patil were either lawyers or would be training to become one. Cygnus Black was now an accomplished Curse Breaker and Ward Master; Manthus' wife Eleanor Lestrange née Smith was a tailor and worked in her aunt's shop; Anya Greengrass-Black was a Runes and Charms Mistress; Gaia Li Nott had opened a publishing company and was eager to publish Newt's and Lisette's book when they were finally satisfied with it.

Aryan's betrothed Suzanna Bones would be joining the Law Enforcement as a Hit Witch. Lisette was incredibly proud of her friends, family and Court and was eager to travel the world with her best friend Newt to work on their book and eventually marry the love of her life: Theseus Ares Scamander.

—————————————————————————

Chapter Nine, A Second Trip to NYC

~ 5th June 1927, Asteria Manor, Black Isle, Scotland ~

"Are you sure you're both okay, Lissy? Newt?" Leta asked her little sister and her betrothed concerned. Both her and Theseus were staring intently at their siblings, trying to pick up even the minutest change in their emotions, their state of mind. It had been a few days since they had returned home from their trip to New Guinea distraught. Neither had said a word but had both cried themselves to sleep with Theseus holding his wife and Leta holding Newt.

"No." Newt and Lisette muttered upset, clutching their mugs of tea tightly while leaning into their partners for comfort and to settle themselves with the tidal wave of emotions they both felt; Leta and Theseus were their lifeline.
"S-she...she was only eight." Lisette whispered, tears falling down their cheeks.
"What happened, love?" Theseus asked softly, tenderly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. He loved his wife so much. They had gotten married on Beltane - 1st May 1920. An auspicious holiday for wixens.

They had wanted to get married earlier then that but the Muggle war that had affected every country had bled into the Wizarding world as well, which meant that Theseus, Leta, and their friends and family who were Aurors and Hit Witches/Wizards had to fight; they were all now decorated war heroes. They had yet to start a family of their own, like the others, but Theseus knew how much his beloved wife loved travelling with her best friend, his little brother, and how much completing this book meant to them both and he wasn't going to get in the way of that. So they had decided to start a family once the book was complete. Which incidentally was when Leta and Newt would finally get married as well; they were the last of their friend group to do so.

"Newt?" Theseus questioned his little brother concerned. Many thought it was strange for the two couples to share a large but homey and cozy manor on the Black Isle in Scotland, but they didn't care as they were all incredibly close, and neither Newt or Theseus wanted to separate Leta and Lisette when they only really had each other growing up until their so-called father had kept them separated from their aunt Roisin uncle Falco and their cousins Radamanthus and Nimah. Even if it did mean the grounds were also a sanctuary for a menagerie of creatures.

"When we found Frank, the Thunderbird, we also met a young Sudanese girl." Newt whispered hoarsely, reaching for Leta his best friend/betrothed and Lisette his best friend, clasping both their hands drawing comfort and giving it as well.
"She was eight. Locked up and punished for her magic." Lisette whispered hollowly, her mind taking to her previous life with the Dursleys when she was Elspeth Potter; when they punished her for her magic. Before she could get lost within those memories, Theseus wrapped his arm around her waist squeezing gently but firmly while Leta and Newt squeezed her hands, the trio pulling back from the black pit of those horrid memories that had ALL returned when she turned seventeen. A fact that the three before her knew.

"She was an Obscurial." Theseus muttered, drawing in a sharp breath.
"Yes." Newt and Lisette confirmed.
"We tried to save her." Newt told them, taking a sip of his cooling tea. Pulling a face at the taste he waved his wand vanishing what was in their mugs before re-boiling the kettle with another wave of his wand.
"We tried everything we could until we were forced to try and separate the Obscurial from her in a bid to save her as it had started to kill her but...but..." Lisette continued but she was unable to finish as more tears fell down both her and Newt's cheeks.

"I want you both to listen to me very carefully." Leta said firmly, accurately guessing what had happened and why two of the most important people in her life were so distraught and not excited over saving a Thunderbird from slavers like they normally would have been. "It. Is. NOT. Your. Faults." Leta enunciated each word firmly. The last thing she wanted was for her little sister and the man she loved to blame themselves. She knew Theseus agreed with her as well.

"Leta's right." Theseus agreed, pulling his wife closer to him to offer as much comfort as he could, and leaned up over her a little to clasp Newt on the shoulder, squeezing it comfortingly. "She was dying and you both tried to help her, no doubt giving her the first semblance of kindness she's ever experienced in her young life. I know you both stayed with her in her last moments as well so even in her last moments she had more kindness than she's ever had."

"If it's anyone's fault then it's those who had locked her up and punished her for her magic." Leta stated darkly, they had all seen the memories of Lisette's previous life within a Pensieve (with her permission) when she had awoken from a terrible nightmare – the worst one yet – had seen what she had to go through. Not just at the Dursleys, but at Hogwarts as well, a place where she was supposed to feel safe and cared for but instead all she got was either hate, betrayal and scorn directed at her or someone trying to kill her. If they had been overprotective of Lisette before seeing all that then it had reached unprecedented heights.

"Are you sure you both want to go to New York in a few days?" Theseus asked, looking from his brother to his wife. He couldn't help but press a soft kiss to her lips. She was his whole world; he loved her so much and would do anything for her. In fact, he knew Lisette felt and would do the same for him. Marrying her was the best day of his life. "You can stay and relax for a while." He added.
"We have to return Frank to the wilds of Arizona as soon as possible." Newt and Lisette answered together.
"It'll be easier for him to reacclimatise to his actual home the sooner we do it." Newt added. They both had an identical biome case for when they rescued creatures.

"The cases are alright for the short-term as it has different biomes for each creature and replicates their habitats to the last blade of grass but not long-term. By the time we reach New York via the boat he will be healed. The Dittany is working wonders." Lisette added, feeling more at ease now they had changed the subject.
"Okay." Leta agreed, knowing not only were they right about Frank the Thunderbird but they were both incredibly stubborn; they all were in fact, so the chance of Lissy and Newt changing their minds were slim. "But you're both relaxing and taking it easy today. Theseus and I can call Bunty in and help her by following your instructions to the letter."

"No arguments." Theseus added sternly.
"Okay." Lisette breathed out a sigh. "Thank you. I love you Thee, I'm thankful for you every day. I want you to know that." Lisette told him, tenderly stroking his cheekbone with her thumb.
"I do know that, and I love you too." Theseus told her softly, pulling her close for a soft but passionate kiss.
"And I love you Lee-Lee." Lisette told her older twin sister, her other half. That was another reason they shared a house that Theseus, Xanthos, Manthus and Uncle Falco had built for them was that they were Magical Twins which meant they were literally the other half of each other's soul.

"I love you too, Lissy." Leta smiled at her little sister, snuggling into Newt as they all settled into a comfortable silence as they drank their new cups of tea. Cherishing each other, while both Newt and Lisette felt more settled sitting here with their loved ones, the four of them together, than they had in weeks. Leta and Newt whispered their own tender, heartfelt comments after Lisette and Newt had shared their own. Right now, this moment was perfect.

***

~ Several weeks later ~

As the captain gave the announcement, Lisette and Newt came up on deck sitting on a bench to watch the wonderful sight of New York approaching them, peace settling over them as the two best friends cherished the comforting moment, until it was interrupted by a familiar grumble and a muffled thumping coming from Newt's case as if one of the creatures was thumping on the lid.

"Of course he doesn't want to be separated from you." Newt grumbled to his best friend earning a laugh from Lisette followed by a louder grumble from Dougal their Demiguise. "Dougal, settle down please." Newt asked, leaning closer to the case that was now on his lap, whispering so only Lisette heard. "It won't be long now." He tried to placate but it didn't work in his favour, unfortunately as a louder grumble followed his words.

"Dougal, don't make me come down there!" Lisette whispered sharply, hands on her hips and a sharp eyebrow raised pointedly. The second Dougal heard Lisette's stern voice he immediately settled down, ceasing both his agitated grumbling and pounding on the lid, causing Newt to stare at her in disbelief.
"How do you manage to get creatures and our nieces and nephews to settle down so easily?" He asked incredulously.
"They take to you." Lisette refuted, fondly rolling her eyes.

"Not as quick as they do to you." Newt argued.
"What can I say? It's a gift!" Lisette teased playfully, laughing as Newt now rolled his eyes fondly at her.
For the rest of the trip into the harbour the two best friends sat in a comforting silence as they took in the view. Both of them wondered if this trip would go smoother than the last; they certainly hoped so and silently prayed to Mother Magic that this would go to plan. But deep down they knew. They knew despite the excitement and wonder they felt, this wouldn't go anywhere near as planned as they both had a feeling in their stomachs that told them otherwise and they knew to always trust their gut feelings.

—————————————————————————

Author's note: DO NOT ask me to update in any way shape or form. There are other ways of telling me what you thought of this.