Chapter One

A Long Time Alone

"Okay Barty, you just take a seat down in here and your visitor will be along shortly." A Mind Healer, who allowed the patients of the Healing Clinic to informally call her Jan, smiled brightly at Barty as she gestured for him to sit down in the Visiting Room. It was a wide empty room, with various small tables and chairs littered around. A glass window separated the Visiting Room from the Healer's office and waiting room beyond, which Barty wasn't allowed to access.

He took a seat at the central table and knitted his fingers together, staring at the door which led to the waiting area. It was just this morning that Jan had knocked on his door and alerted him that he would be having a visitor this morning; but they hadn't left their name.

It was Luna, of course. There was no one else it could be, and no one else that Barty wanted to see, frankly. Though, her visits with him had dwindled lately, and he was determined to make a point of talking to her about it.

During the first week that Barty had been incarcerated at the hospital for attempting to murder Rolf Scamander, Luna visited every day. She would stay for hours, until Doctor Babar himself had to come along and insist that Barty have some alone time. However, the second week passed with slightly less visits, and Barty had put it down to Doctor Babar probably having a private chat with her on her way out.

But then another four weeks passed, and Barty didn't see Luna at all in that space of time. He questioned Doctor Babar during his therapy sessions, but the doctor insisted that he didn't know why Luna wasn't visiting. He pestered Doctor Babar to make an appointment with Luna, but he refused. As far as he was concerned, Barty needed to concentrate on getting himself better, and it was likely that Luna was just giving him some space to get well.

He had written to Luna almost daily, but his owls were never returned. Not seeing her or speaking to her hurt Barty so much, that he was sure if he wasn't medicated and in a safe place, he would surely lose his patience and end up doing something he would probably regret. However, he wasn't allowed his wand in the hospital, and naturally he was banned from using anything that was sharp or harmful. He even had to have supervision whilst he was shaving.

Frankly, Barty couldn't understand why Luna didn't want to see him. She had promised him explicitly, on that first day of his admission, that she would come to visit him. Since her last visit, Barty had replayed their conversations over and over in his head, trying desperately to work out if he had done or said something wrong. As far as he was concerned, he hadn't said anything to upset her—she had just left him in the hospital to rot.

He battled momentarily with how he would react when she walked through the door. He wanted to be angry with her; to shout and scream and maybe even cry, because she had left him. She didn't know what it was like to be utterly trapped, no matter how much the Healers tried to make the place comfortable and airy. Barty still had very limited freedom.

However, at the same time, he knew that when he saw her beautiful face, he would be besides himself with joy.

Footsteps echoed behind the door, and Barty sat up in his seat expectantly. He couldn't see properly behind the fogged glass of the door, but he watched Jan in her office. She grinned at the visitor, and handed her something.

Then, the door opened.

Barty couldn't help himself. All of his previous conflicting emotions were sucked out of him, and he was left with nothing but a void of euphoric excitement. He missed her so much. He couldn't wait to see her.

"Luna!" he cried, lunging for the girl as she stepped into the Visiting Room.

"Woah!" she fell back, falling against the wall in her bid to get away from him. "What are you doing?"

Barty blinked at the girl who had just entered the Healing Clinic. She had deep auburn hair, fastened on top of her head in a scraggly bun. Her pointed face was familiarly pale, something about her sharp cheekbones and long chin. She was tall, wearing pale denim jeans, a green snakeskin jacket, and light pink high-tops. She glared at him darkly, waiting for his response.

It took Barty a minute to compose himself, as he staggered away from the girl and sat back down at his table. "Who the hell are you?" he snarled, eyeing her up and down disdainfully as she approached him, fastening a small badge to her jacket. It was a bright blue pin that all visitors were required to wear, which read 'Admission Granted'in bold black letters.

The girl slowly sat down opposite him, though she positioned her chair a little way away from the table. "My name is Aurora Greengrass," she replied slowly, her full bottom lip shuddering a little as she spoke. "And I think I may be your daughter."