Ulfrit

Chapter 1

Newt threw a last handful of feed to the mooncalves and once again counted their bobbing heads as they plucked the beads from the air with their stubby snouts. As he finished, a young one nudged his shin and warbled for more, looking up at him with saucer eyes. He smiled and tapped the top of its head. "Still a growing boy, are you?" He was out of feed, but he did have a bag of jelly beans in his pocket. He found a green one and bit it to make sure it was grass flavored, then held it out for the calf. "Here you go. That should top you off." The little creature gobbled up the treat then gave his leg an appreciative headbutt. "You're welcome."

The occamies were all accounted for, as was Dougal, who was currently invisible, but could be identified by the herpuffle perched on a branch floating midair. Newt stood still for a moment and took in the symphony of his creatures chirping and grumbling and fizzing and popping with contentment. It filled his heart with joy. It was backbreaking work to take care of so many, but he wouldn't stop for anything. This was his passion. This was his life. He'd teach his fellow wizards not to needlessly fear or hurt magical beasts, and he'd show his creatures that not all humans were cruel.

With a last look at the main habitats, he made his way over to an area separate from the rest. A rocky, mountainous area with a noon sun and no vegetation. From the base of a steep mountain face, he climbed on hands and feet to a crack in a pile of rocks concealing a cavemouth. Gripping the stones carefully and balancing precariously on the shifty surface, he maneuvered his body into the hole, and squeezed through. Then he sidled through a tunnel, holding his breath for half a minute until he came out on the other side into pitch black. He took a moment to catch his breath, then cast a dim lumos in front of his feet and made his way deeper into the cave.

In here was his newest addition to the suitcase: an ulfrit. A man-sized creature with a spider face, furry, bearlike front, and scorpion back. He'd caught it in the subway about a week ago, when a series of train derailments hinted at magical involvement. It turned out that the trains had been running over large shed carapaces and slipping off the tracks. No one was killed, but when MACUSA realized a magical beast was stirring up trouble for the muggles, they began a hunt for it. Knowing they'd act out of fear and kill it, Newt had tracked the creature down first and sealed it in his case before MACUSA could get to it. Of course, he'd done it all in secret. As such, the official hunt was still on, and MACUSA was currently wasting time and manpower trying to get a handle on an already handled situation. But that was their problem; it didn't bother him at all. What did bother him was that he was keeping this secret from Tina, especially since she'd more than once been made to work overtime on the futile search. But there was no way he could tell her. As a MACUSA auror, she'd have to give a report, and he didn't want his case investigated again. He wasn't even supposed to have brought it back into the country after the last incident. Tina had been kind enough to overlook that, saying that she trusted him, but he didn't want to stretch it. There was no point worrying her by confessing something she'd never suspect. And perhaps, he was sad to realize, he simply didn't trust her enough. Her sense of duty had brought him pain once before. Though the worst had never happened, since that day, he'd suffered nightmares about his case being raided and his creatures being slaughtered, sometimes horrible enough to make him sick. She couldn't have known how badly it would hurt him to have his case taken away and searched by strangers. She hadn't done it maliciously. And she'd made up for it in spades by convincing Madam Picquery that his creatures posed no threat and that he was a responsible handler. He just needed time to convince himself that Tina was truly on his side.

Queenie was a major concern as well, as she was also duty bound. Not to MACUSA, but to Tina. Though she was the legilimens, she shared thoughts with her sister just as freely as she could read them. If she found out about the ulfrit, Tina would learn of it sooner than later. He did believe Queenie would give him a heads-up though. Give him a chance to tell Tina himself. She was very sensitive and considerate using her gift, which he greatly appreciated, having been scarred enough in his youth by the manipulations of cruel minds. Still, he made efforts to keep his thoughts of the ulfrit hidden from Queenie with a little occlumency that he'd learned during his travels. He wasn't terribly good at it, but since she only read thoughts that floated to the surface of a mind, his meagre skill was good enough. He was also lucky that his accent, as she called it, added an extra barrier to her understanding. If she were to dig, however, she would find out at once, since he worried about it constantly. He wouldn't keep it secret forever, he rationalized. He would tell the girls about it after he got a better understanding of the creature and found a suitable place to release it.

He had only book knowledge about ulfrits, and very limited hands on knowledge of arachnomammals in general. He found this ignorance rather irksome. How could he claim expertise in magical creatures if there was an entire branch of species that he knew nothing about? This was his chance to remedy the situation, a tantalizing prospect which made him jittery with excitement every time he entered his case. In addition to what ulfrits required for nourishment, he'd gathered so far that they were shy creatures, and intolerant of light. And, well, apparently, they sprayed acid from their tails. Lucky for him it only burned as badly as lemon juice and made him itchy for a few days. If it had done worse, he might've been found out. Someday when the ulfrit was more comfortable with him, he'd try to collect a sample of the acid and determine its properties.

A scuttling sound echoed in the distance, and he paused to look around. The passage ahead was still an endless tube of nothing, but the ground had become smoother, indicative of the ulfrit's frequent passage. Its lair was close. He killed the light and then tapped the tip of his wand to the back of his head. The inky darkness surrounding him gradually lightened into various shades of grey, distinguishing space from wall and ground from feet. Now he could see, although imperfectly, the empty expanse ahead. The crude night-vision charm would last about 20 minutes before ill effects kicked in. It didn't give him much time to observe the ulfrit, but he didn't have a proper dark light, and it was better than blinding the poor creature. Ready for the encounter, he slowly continued to navigate the labyrinthine tunnels in search of the cavern where the ulfrit resided, noting the smatterings of silk and dung as he progressed. The leavings grew more and more copious until he found the way forward blocked by a fresh pile. This was it. He cleared the pile and ventured ahead into a wide chamber, dragging his feet to announce himself.

A grumble from above alerted Newt to the ulfrit's presence, and he slowly raised his head toward the sound. It was on the ceiling about ten feet above him, its huge body hanging preposterously by eight spindly legs. A bit of cave grit trickled down on him as it scampered across stalactites faster than a beast that size should be able to. He had about 10 minutes now to feed and observe the creature before the charm started to backlash. Well, then he'd probably endure the discomfort for another 10 minutes before going back to his shed to nurse his headache and jot down his notes.

He made a chattering sound with his teeth and tongue, and started unloading the ulfrit's dinner from a pouch in his pocket. Usually the creature would run away or keep a distance while he laid out its meals – piles of gnatrat meat and cardboard boxes – but this time it came to investigate before he was done. He swelled with warmth and pride as it scuttled over his head then climbed down the wall behind him, perhaps it was beginning to trust him.

"Hello, friend. I'm glad to see you're well. Here's dinner for you." He tossed a gnatrat carcass at its mandibles and it snatched it midair and gobbled it up. "Good, isn't it?" He picked up a sheet of cardboard and held it out. "If you want the rest, you'll have to come over." When it didn't move for a moment, he thought that was it for their progress that day, but then the ulfrit shuffled over and grabbed the cardboard from his hand.

He laughed and blinked back sudden moisture in his eyes. He often got a bit emotional when bonding with a new creature. "Wonderful." He stood back and let it dive into the dinner pile, content to watch it feast. While it was occupied tearing paper and crunching gnatrat bones, he took the opportunity to examine its body. He walked around it slowly, taking in its shape, its size, its smell, from the ten beady eyes atop its head to the two abdomens stacked at its rear. It had eight appendages, two in front shaped like bear claws, four in the middle like a cross between bear and spider, and the two at the rear appearing perfectly insectish. He supposed the front half of the creature generated its own heat, while the rear half took on ambient temperature. There was a repeating diamond pattern lining its sides along the transition from fur to scale across its thorax and extending toward its abdomens. Indicative of age maybe. "That would make you twenty-two," he muttered. He could only guess the purpose of having two abdomens. The lower one was short and bulbous, attached to the thorax by a flat tube. Perhaps it was responsible for the silk and droppings he'd encountered. The other was long and segmented like a scorpion's tail, thick at the base and tapering into a hook. This was the part that had sprayed him. He chanced a step closer and gazed up at the hook, absently fingering a jar in his pocket. A jittery hand flew to his mouth and he bit down on his knuckle. He was sorely tempted. What harm could it do? The substance was barely caustic. If he got sprayed, he could handle itching for a few days. For five minutes, he stood there agonizing about it, until finally he abandoned the idea. "Bugger. Some other time."

Without warning, the ulfrit whipped around and slashed at him with a huge claw. He jumped back in time, only suffering a scratch on his vest. He wasn't sure what had set it off, but instinctively he ducked and crouched submissively, averting his eyes. "Sorry, sorry. My fault entirely." He spoke calmly and soothingly. Most likely he'd gotten too close for the ulfrit's comfort. He took a dragging step back, while letting out a slow hissing breath. The ulfrit hissed back, and didn't attack again. "Better?" He chanced a look at the ulfrit's face. Its ten black eyes stared at him, its taught mouth baring fangs. It was still quite upset. "Alright. I suppose you've had enough of me for today. I'll leave you alone now."

He would've headed for the exit, but the ulfrit was blocking it and he would've had to walk past the irritated creature. At times like this he lamented setting up anti-apparition wards around this habitat, but it was better than having to worry about something accidentally popping in and then popping out with the ulfrit attached. He'd just have to make another exit. Keeping his posture unimposing, he raised his wand to feel for the fabric of the suitcase's magic, imagining the separate habitation fields like clay between his fingers. As he brought to mind the enchantments that would alter the environment and summoned his magic to enact them, the ulfrit made a sound that made his hairs stand on end. By the time he registered the danger, he was already flying backward. He crashed into the wall like a bird hitting glass, then fell face first onto a pile of rocks.