Newt saying that it had been a long day in Diagon Alley would be an understatement. Though Credence's fever had eased a bit from the previous night, he was still rather weak, so the pair had to move slowly through the crowd as they accomplished the tasks on Newt's list. Their already slow progression was made even slower by Newt's anxiety about losing Credence – which was apparently a valid fear to have, considering how sidetracked the young man could become.

Newt tried to remain patient – after all, Credence was not all that familiar with the magical world, so it was natural for him to be drawn to the wonders and oddities that surrounded them. Regardless, Newt felt his irritation steadily rising throughout the day, each time the boy stumbled off in a different direction, his dark eyes widening with that ever-strange mixture of wonder and fear.

"Credence," Newt sighed, for what felt like the hundredth time that day. "Come on, we have to get these errands done." When Credence shuffled back to his side, head bowed as he whispered (yet another) quiet apology, Newt tried to smile at him in a convincing manner, so as to show he wasn't mad.

Not that he wasn't.

"Credence," Newt said calmly, the tense smile remaining on his face, "I know this is all very new and interesting to you, and that you are not very used to magic…but wandering off like you've been could get you into a lot of trouble. As I warned you yesterday, there are some bad sorts of witches and wizards that hang around these parts. I don't want you getting hurt."

Credence bowed his head even lower. "I'm s-sorry sir…i-it won't happen again."

Newt breathed deeply, before forcing his eyes to soften. "It's alright. Besides, we only have a couple places left to go on our list, so we shouldn't be here much longer. Come along."

As they made their way through the bustling streets, Newt kept a close eye on his companion. It wasn't even that Newt was necessarily mad at Credence – it was more than he was worried, and to have Credence constantly wandering off…well, it did not do wonders for Newt's already frayed nerves.

Half of Newt's fears in regards to the young man had to do with the boy's power and how drawn he appeared to be to the darker things in the magical world. Newt knew the boy had the potential to be a good person, that someday he would possess a will of his own to decide for himself who he would become. But right now, with his powers being as unstable as they were, Newt did not want Credence to be drawn to the dark side before he even had a chance to make a choice for himself.

The other half of Newt's fears involving Credence revolved around how…fragile, the boy was. Physically, Credence was very thin, very sickly…he was in a rather weakened state, given his Obscurus issues and subsequent illness, and as such, would not be able to put up much (if any) of a fight if he were approached by someone wanting to cause him harm. Then there was the boy's mental state…how submissive he was, how utterly terrified he was, how fearful and innocent…all of those things added together with his physical state made Credence an easy target to be manipulated and abused by some of the more powerful dark beings that roamed the wizarding world.

Again, Newt amended in his head, once again glancing at Credence. Somehow, Newt suspected that Credence's going after Grindelwald as he was disguised as that Graves fellow…that Credence had somehow experienced firsthand how abusive and awful and manipulative the darkest wizard in the world could be. After all, Credence didn't appear to be someone that could easily lose his cool, and with how violently the young man had gone after Grindelwald…

Newt bit his lip, but he couldn't stop himself from asking, "Before coming here…have you had any, ah, experiences involved with the wizarding world? In New York, perhaps?"

Credence stiffened, his hands beginning to quiver, but his voice came out as quiet and even as it did whenever he spoke. "I…w-well, n…n-not…I mean…"

Newt gave Credence an encouraging smile, as he said, "You don't…have to talk about any of that, if you don't want to. I was merely curious."

Credence looked up slightly, his black eyes meeting Newt's briefly, as they continued walking slowly through the streets. "W-well…m-my ma…I-I mean…Mary Lou…sh-she wasn't…" Credence swallowed hard, burrowing his scarred hands into the pockets of the jacket Newt had provided him. "She wasn't fond…of anything magical…"

"Ah," Newt said softly. "I see." He knew this of course, from what Tina had told him…but still, Newt did not want to frighten the boy by letting him know he knew things about Credence that he himself had not told Newt. The boy had been hurt enough in his life, and he didn't need to feel those sort of feelings from Newt.

"I did…I mean…a couple months ago, a m-man started talking to me a-and he would…h-he would do magic sometimes. H-he told me…h-he…th-that he would t-teach me…b-but...b-but h-he…" Credence sniffled slightly, his entire body beginning to quiver.

Newt closed his eyes briefly, his suspicions about Grindelwald having been confirmed. Instead of pushing further, however, he quietly said, "It's alright, Credence. You don't have to talk about this sort of stuff if you aren't comfortable with it, right now."

Credence nodded gratefully, breathing deeply as he forced himself to calm down. Just in time, too, as they had finally reached their destination.

Newt shrunk the bags of items they had already purchased throughout the day, sticking them in his pocket, before holding the door open for Credence. The young man entered the shop slowly, his eyes widening at how large it was on the inside, compared to the outside.

Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions was adorned floor to ceiling with reams of fabrics in all different colors and styles. Needles, spools of thread, scissors all floated about mindlessly, working seemingly of their own volition to make elegant robes.

Newt stepped in, smiling at the awed look on Credence's face, before letting the door swing shut, bells ringing throughout the shop. Almost immediately a woman's voice called from the back, "Just a moment, please!"

Credence lowered his head as a squat young woman (with a rather sour expression painted on her face) entered the room wearing garish pink and purple robes, a measuring tape settled around her shoulders. As soon as she saw them standing in the doorway, however, her expression transformed into pure delight.

"Why, if it isn't Newton Artemis Fido Scamander!" Madam Malkin exclaimed, beaming. She came over and wrapped her arms around the much taller man in a brief hug, ignoring the way he shifted uncomfortably. When she pulled back, she clicked her tongue, looking him up and down. "My my, you are still wearing that old thing? Honestly Newton, you should just throw that thing out, get something fresh and new-"

Newt pulled back, avoiding looking her in the eyes. "I like this coat. It's fine."

Finally seeing how uncomfortable he was, Madam Malkin sighed, muttering, "Ah, fine, have it your way. Well, if you did not come in for a new coat…what can I help you with for today? A new pair of dress robes, perhaps?"

"Not today," Newt said, gesturing to Credence, who Madam Malkin just appeared to be noticing. "My companion is in need of several pairs of robes, as well as some Muggle clothing in his size. He has been wearing some of my things but…he is rather thin, and nothing fits him quite right."

Madam Malkin eyed Credence up and down, causing the young man to shift self-consciously, chewing on his lip. "I see…" she said eventually. "Well…hop on that stand over there by the mirrors and let's get you measured, shall we?"

Credence moved slowly to the stool, swaying when he stood atop it. He jumped when the coat he had been wearing was magically jerked off his shoulders, leaving him in only Newt's baggy sweatshirt and pants. The boy even let out a quiet yelp when Madam Malkin's measuring tape flew through the air, wrapping around him as it quickly measured him, a floating quill and parchment marking down the results.

Newt bit his lip, wanting to provide the boy some comfort, but Madam Malkin interrupted him, "Has your demiguise gone through it's spring shedding yet?"

"No, not yet," Newt answered absentmindedly, his eyes not leaving Credence. "He won't shed for a few months now."

"When he does," Madam Malkin continued, not noticing Newt's disinterest, "I would be very interested in buying his shed fur. I haven't been able to make any invisibility cloaks for months, as most of the suppliers around here I fear are less…humane in obtaining the fur than I know you are. And although ANY cloak turns over a fair profit, I would not feel…right, selling something that has caused the spillage of blood of an innocent creature."

Newt finally looked at her, his eyes sad. "I thank you for that…it is unfortunate that there are still so many poachers today. It honestly…makes me sick!"

"But your book, that one you've been working on…it will change things, you think?"

Newt briefly glanced over at Credence surprised to see the young man giving him a curious look, before he bowed his head once more. "Yes…I hope so."

Madam Malkin nodded, before the parchment with Credence's measurements flew into her hand. "Blimey, child, you are as thin as a whip, you are!"

Credence flinched slightly, shifting nervously. However, he was saved from responding by Newt saying, "Right, so…"

Madam Malkin took the hint, not commenting further as she waved her wand through the air. Several reams of fabric floated down from the walls, levitating in a circle around the three of them. The fabrics were all in a variety of different colors from plain black to vivid patterns, made from a variety of different materials. Newt saw a few of the more common fabrics, such as cotton and velvet, though he also saw metallic golden fabric that were obviously the product of dragon scales, as well as sheer glittery fabric, that had most likely been handspun from unicorn hair.

Credence's eyes widened as the fabrics came to a stop, and Madam Malkin eyed him expectantly. However, after a few awkward moments of silence, she finally sighed, prompting Credence with a questioning, "Well?"

Credence turned to her with wide eyes, his entire body shuddering under her gaze, as he spoke hesitantly, "W-well what, ma'am?"

Madam Malkin's eyebrows shot up. "What fabrics do you want your robes to be made out of?"

Credence blinked slowly, his eyebrows furrowing. His eyes darted around the room slowly, looking at each ream of fabric critically – in spite of this, his face was pained, full of worry when he looked back at Newt and Madam Malkin. "I…I don't…I mean…"

Madam Malkin ignored his stuttering, saying, "Is there any color in particular you like? If we can narrow the selections down to a few colors, we can move onto selecting the fabrics, and once se select the fabrics, we can work on deciding what style of robes you want…you know, the cut, the length, what type of sleeves you want, that sort of thing." When Credence merely gave her a hopeless look, Madam Malkin sighed, waving her wand again. The fabrics rearranged themselves by color, transforming into a swirling rainbow before their movements halted. "Do you at least know how many sets of robes you want? Or for what occasion you are needing robes? And in regards to muggle clothes, what are you wanting? Dress clothes, something casual, sleepwear-"

"I don't know!" Credence exclaimed, his voice going up in volume slightly. His eyes were watering and his teeth had violently sunk themselves into his bottom lip. His breaths were coming quicker, darting in and out of his lungs much too fast. Dark splotches were beginning to appear in his vision…when it happened – his panic attack froze before it could become something more, the aching feeling in his chest and head drawing back into nothingness, replaced instead by a sense of calm that was all-encompassing for the young man. His breaths slowed and his vision steadily cleared to find Newt standing right in front of him, his hands placed gently but firmly on Credence's shoulders.

For a moment, they remained like that, simply staring at each other as the swirling storm of magic inside of Credence relaxed, drawing back into him. When Credence finally felt like his body wasn't being torn apart from the inside, he became all-too aware of the heaviness of Newt's hands resting there on his shoulders…warm, callused skin just barely making contact with the skin above the neckline of his sweater.

Without meaning to, Credence felt himself leaning into that warm grasp, feeling something both warm and refreshing beginning to spread throughout his body. However, as soon as that feeling had arrived, it was gone as Newt stepped away, eyes purposely looking anywhere else but at Credence.

Credence tried not to feel hurt by that.

Newt suddenly turned to face Madam Malkin. "I think one set of velvet dress robes should suffice, with three sets of regular cotton robes. A robed coat, thigh-length, preferably wool should do nicely, and perhaps a hat and a pair of gloves to match. A pair of work-robes is also in order, basic style with some sort of easy-to-clean fabric. Muggle-clothing wise, he is in need of at least 8 pairs of trousers, 3 regular shirts, and a couple cotton undershirts…ah, some wool sweaters…socks, wool as well…ah…and some…well, some u-undergarments…ah…" Newt fiddled nervously with the sleeve of his coat, but Madam Malkin gave him a sympathetic look.

"Any colors in particular for any of those things?" she asked gently.

Newt looked at Credence to see if he had any preference, but the boy had lowered his head submissively once more, his shoulders raised and rounded defensively. "Ah…no, I suppose not. Perhaps try for a bit of a variety?"

Madam Malkin nodded, looking at the parchment her charmed quill was scribbling on. Newt turned from her once more to look at Credence, trying to ignore the thought of how strangely wonderful it felt to touch Credence's cool skin, however so briefly.

Newt swallowed hard, not able to keep his thoughts down as he spoke, "Ah…actually, on the dress robes…I think they should be dark blue, something like indigo…don't you?"

Madam Malkin hid a smirk, before saying, "You read my mind."

As Madam Malkin got to work, her supplies flying about in what appeared to be a very disordered fashion, humming under her breath, Newt approached Credence as he had before. This time, however, he didn't touch him, unsure about the sparking feeling under his skin that he got when he had touched the boy a moment ago. "Credence," Newt asked quietly, his voice low. "Are you alright?"

Credence glanced up at him briefly, his eyes meeting Newt's for only a moment, before he looked away. "Y-yes, Mr. Scamander."

Newt felt his heart twist, oddly. His earlier frustration at Credence appeared to melt away as he said, "I know this is overwhelming for you…all these choices and such, in a world you are not all that familiar with. I'm sorry that you've been thrust into all of this in such an…abrupt way. It's honestly a shame that you are just now getting introduced to this world. You…" Newt swallowed hard, fidgeting nervously. He had almost just said something that would have been a mite too personal, for the limited contact he and Credence had had in the short time they had known each other. Something that would have no doubt opened up some wounds of Credence's that were not yet healed to an acceptable state. He did not want that. Instead, Newt simply said, "You…will do great in the wizarding world, once you get used to things, yeah?"

Credence sniffled, causing Newt to stiffen. But the boy simply said, "Th-thank you Mr. Scamander…r-really."

Before Newt could reply, Madam Malkin flittered over to them, asking, "So, how will you be paying for these, Newton?"

Newt waved his hand, almost grateful for the change in conversation. "You can just charge it directly to my Gringotts account. It's the new year, so my small bit of inheritance Mr. Scamander kindly decided to leave to me in his will should have drifted in about now, so I should have plenty to cover the cost." Newt rolled his eyes, but his half-joking manner was interrupted by a choking sound coming from Credence.

Both Madam Malkin and Newt turned to look at the young man, and were shocked to see him staring intensely at Newt, his dark eyes too shiny. "M-Mr. Scamander…" he whispered out, his voice quivering as violently as his hands. "Y-you…y-you've already done s-so much…I…I don't…I a-am fine with the clothes I have…a-and…I…I don't need…I…"

Newt shook his head, quickly saying, "Nonsense. You are a wizard, are you not? You should be dressed proper!"

Credence looked physically pained as he stuttered out, "I…I just…I-I can't afford…M-Mr. Scamander sir, y-you…you've been so kind, a-and…and…I…b-but…"

"No 'buts" Credence," Newt said firmly, though he felt a bit like he was falling apart on the inside. "I want to do this for you. You…you deserve this, okay? This and so much more. Just…l-let me do this for you."

Credence's face suddenly crumpled, a sob working its way up through his chest until he choked on it, tears sliding down his pale cheeks. Newt immediately panicked, his hands coming up, hovering questioningly near Credence in case he decided to collapse suddenly. However, Credence simply stood there, sobbing, his entire body shaking from the force of those cries. He surprised Newt, however, by suddenly saying, "Th-th-thank you, Mr. S-Scamander…th-thank you s-so, so m-much…"

Newt swallowed hard, looking away. His eyes met Madam Malkin's, who was giving him a very odd, quite confused look.

Nothing could ever be easy, could it?

A/N I am so sorry for the super late update! My mental health has been hitting rock bottom lately, and this chapter just seemed to drag on and on (there was even a scene I had planned for this chapter, but didn't get to because this became too long. Don't worry, it will be in the next chapter, though)! Thank you so much for all of your kind support, in leaving loving comments and kudos! I cherish them all, and kind comments always give me the motivation to write! So thank you!

A quick sidenote, as something that I feel needs addressed - please do not leave comments sexualizing Credence, or Newt and Credence's relationship at this time. This fanfic is not focused on sex - it is focused on Credence's healing, as well as the development of Credence's and Newt's relationship. I absolutely loath fanfics that use the "magical healing dick" storyline, as it is really overdone and is extremely offensive to people that are mentally ill (such as myself) - and it is lazy writing. I will tell you right now that Credence and Newt do have sex...but that doesn't happen until chapter 51. So if you are here just for that, I'd say you should leave right now. To reiterate - leaving comments asking "who is going to top and who is going to bottom" and "when are they going to DO IT uwu" will not be treated with respect - this fanfic is not about sex, and if you think it is, then you are simply fetishizing queer relationships, and that is something I will not tolerate. Thank you for understanding.