Here's the second part. I wasn't totally happy with it, but everyone's waited long enough so thank you for your patience! The pacing is pretty slow right now but it'll pick in the next part or two. Still not beta-ed
The case, at least, was intact, if only a little scuffed from its tumble off the desk, and it didn’t look like anything had fallen out. There wasn’t much Newt could do about the glass and wood around his feet without a wand (he’d talked about getting one next year, right on his eleventh birthday), but at least he could close the suitcase. It’d only be fair to clean up the mess he made, after all. He flicked his foot, sending glass fragments skittering across the hard floor, and winced at the soft, off-tune chimes as they bounced away. The adults didn’t seem to notice, thankfully, as he shuffled closer to the desk.
Newt could hear odd noises, squawking and grumbling maybe, from the case as he got closer. In another situation it might have been intimidating — he was sure most inanimate things didn’t growl unless they’d been cursed — but the distinctly animal noises felt familiar, comforting in a way, more so than the continued arguing in the office. Kneeling down to shut the top, he paused and stared, curiosity bubbling in his stomach, at a tall ladder leading down to a worn, wooden floor. The boy glanced up at the adults before stepping carefully onto the ladder and quietly as he could, clambered down.
He’d ended up in a small cabin; cauldrons and ladles cluttering the worktable off to the side, glass vials and iridescent liquids glinting in the sun, wind (in a suitcase?) rustling the tattered curtains — not particularly exciting, no expensive luxuries or flourishes, but it was cozy, and in the brief moments that Newt stood there, he felt the ambient magic settling across his skin.
The animal noises were louder here, too, drawing him toward the open door on the other side of the tiny house. Newt stepped out and lingered on the stairs; the landscape beyond the cabin was positively enormous, and of course he’d heard of Enlarging Charms, but the sprawling space in any direction was staggering and much, much bigger than he could’ve believed was possible even with magic.
Through the surrounding rumble of animals, Newt thought he heard someone call his name, although how the strangers knew him was best left for later. He turned and eyed the ladder, listening to the adults’ murmuring. The sound of crunching glass and more urgent voices and the resulting burst of adrenaline spurred him away from the cabin. But he couldn’t go forward, no, it looked like a giant desert and he didn’t fancy running through that; he was clumsy enough on solid ground, never mind loose sands. As footsteps began to thud down the ladder, he took a sharp turn toward a large pile of rocks and ran. Newt didn’t take the time to appreciate the creatures or the beautiful scenery as he would’ve at any other time; he just moved forward, weaving around rocks and trees and the occasional nest, and ignored the stinging scrapes on his palms and knees when he stumbled over a tree root or pushed through large hedges.
When he skidded to a stop it felt like his heart was ready to burst, either from exertion or anxiety, and there was a massive stitch in his side. He couldn’t hear any more voices calling for him, but he was also completely lost in what appeared to be a sunlit forest. Newt might’ve laughed if he weren’t wheezing already; lost in a suitcase, of all places, really. He though he might as well keep going, when there was a massive, decidedly not-human screech behind him that sent him jumping a foot in the air. Newt knew that sound, heard it often enough at home, and as he turned around, already backing away and half bent into a bow, he saw he was right, and was now staring straight at a hippogriff.
Re: Fill Part 2/?
The case, at least, was intact, if only a little scuffed from its tumble off the desk, and it didn’t look like anything had fallen out. There wasn’t much Newt could do about the glass and wood around his feet without a wand (he’d talked about getting one next year, right on his eleventh birthday), but at least he could close the suitcase. It’d only be fair to clean up the mess he made, after all. He flicked his foot, sending glass fragments skittering across the hard floor, and winced at the soft, off-tune chimes as they bounced away. The adults didn’t seem to notice, thankfully, as he shuffled closer to the desk.
Newt could hear odd noises, squawking and grumbling maybe, from the case as he got closer. In another situation it might have been intimidating — he was sure most inanimate things didn’t growl unless they’d been cursed — but the distinctly animal noises felt familiar, comforting in a way, more so than the continued arguing in the office. Kneeling down to shut the top, he paused and stared, curiosity bubbling in his stomach, at a tall ladder leading down to a worn, wooden floor. The boy glanced up at the adults before stepping carefully onto the ladder and quietly as he could, clambered down.
He’d ended up in a small cabin; cauldrons and ladles cluttering the worktable off to the side, glass vials and iridescent liquids glinting in the sun, wind (in a suitcase?) rustling the tattered curtains — not particularly exciting, no expensive luxuries or flourishes, but it was cozy, and in the brief moments that Newt stood there, he felt the ambient magic settling across his skin.
The animal noises were louder here, too, drawing him toward the open door on the other side of the tiny house. Newt stepped out and lingered on the stairs; the landscape beyond the cabin was positively enormous, and of course he’d heard of Enlarging Charms, but the sprawling space in any direction was staggering and much, much bigger than he could’ve believed was possible even with magic.
Through the surrounding rumble of animals, Newt thought he heard someone call his name, although how the strangers knew him was best left for later. He turned and eyed the ladder, listening to the adults’ murmuring. The sound of crunching glass and more urgent voices and the resulting burst of adrenaline spurred him away from the cabin. But he couldn’t go forward, no, it looked like a giant desert and he didn’t fancy running through that; he was clumsy enough on solid ground, never mind loose sands. As footsteps began to thud down the ladder, he took a sharp turn toward a large pile of rocks and ran. Newt didn’t take the time to appreciate the creatures or the beautiful scenery as he would’ve at any other time; he just moved forward, weaving around rocks and trees and the occasional nest, and ignored the stinging scrapes on his palms and knees when he stumbled over a tree root or pushed through large hedges.
When he skidded to a stop it felt like his heart was ready to burst, either from exertion or anxiety, and there was a massive stitch in his side. He couldn’t hear any more voices calling for him, but he was also completely lost in what appeared to be a sunlit forest. Newt might’ve laughed if he weren’t wheezing already; lost in a suitcase, of all places, really. He though he might as well keep going, when there was a massive, decidedly not-human screech behind him that sent him jumping a foot in the air. Newt knew that sound, heard it often enough at home, and as he turned around, already backing away and half bent into a bow, he saw he was right, and was now staring straight at a hippogriff.