Chapter Text
"No one can know everything, remember that, Newt?" Newt eyed Bunty with relief even as she glanced around with some discomfort at the presence of such dignified persons. He knew she had the real case, and to his joy and relief, it was true as the Qilin marched out of the case. He almost relished the look of shock and horror plastered at Vogel and Grindelwald's faces, even as he gently helped the Qilin to stand upright as it was confused from being inside the case for so long.
As soon as the Qilin witnessed it's bewitched twin, it softly keened out in a heartbreaking voice, even as the twin's expression remained unchanged, it's eyes blank. "She can't hear you, little one. Not here, but perhaps somewhere she's listening." Newt spoke out softly as he knelt before the Qilin. At that moment, the Qilin seemed to nod as it turned towards it's twin and somehow, the life that was forcibly returned was now gone from the twin.
"It's true! Grindelwald did reanimate the Qilin using dark magic!" A woman Newt vaguely recognized as Ida Webb, one of the representatives of Britain in the International Confederation of Wizards, spoke out. "This cannot be allowed to stand! The vote must be taken again!"
But just as she had said that, the Qilin did something Newt had never imagined in the slightest. The gesture had practically everyone, even making Grindelwald temporarily lose his clear horror and anger, stunned and in awe, but none as astonished as Newton Scamander himself. The Qilin did not bow to Vicencia Santos or Liu Tao, the other two candidates for the position of Supreme Mugwump, merely glancing at them for a while and staring at Albus curiously before it did the unthinkable.
At that moment, the Qilin glowed as it bowed before none other but Newt Scamander. Newt staggered back in shock, but the Qilin held firm in it's bow before him. "I see now... So what I saw in you was true after all, Newt." Newt turned towards Albus in confusion, who was looking at him with the pride of a teacher, almost at the verge of tears. "It is not by seeking power, but by choosing to accept it's burden and proving capable at it. I've always had an inkling as to what your true character might mean, but to think the Qilin would chose you for it..."
"This... Is highly unorthodox." Newt turned towards Vicencia Santos as she nodded humbly at him, a gesture shared by Liu Tao. "It is truly unexpected, but it seems that fate has chosen, and we must accept. Newton Scamander is therefore, despite not being a candidate, from now on, the new leader of the magical world, a decision made by a true Qilin and therefore unquestionable in it's validity. I humbly accept this decision, and I encourage you all to do the same."
"Indeed. Newton Scamander risked his life to prove the conspiracies made by Gellert Grindelwald, and against all odds, even if he was supported by others, succeeded." Liu Tao spoke out. "I have no objections to surrendering my claim on the title, and neither does Madam Santos. As such, we all can agree that Newton Scamander now holds the title of Supreme Mugwump, without question. All hail Newton Scamander as the new Supreme Mugwump!" With that, Liu Tao cast a spell that emitted fireworks, followed swiftly by Santos and Albus. After a while, the attendants of the ceremony, a fair share of them, also launched fireworks into the air and cried out Newt's name.
Newt felt himself lost, even as he glanced at the proud look in Theseus's face, the pleasantly surprised expression of Lally, and the relieved expressions of Jacob and Queenie, but then his sharp knack for sensing danger made him turn towards Grindelwald, narrowly blocking a powerful Banishing Charm that made him stumble back despite casting the Shield Charm in time. Grindelwald, having recovered himself, was now showing his clear fury. Despite everything, Newt felt himself in the position to speak out a few words of almost commanding in nature.
"The German Ministry of Magic has been conquered by Grindelwald! Anton Vogel and Henrietta Fischer are his followers, along with Helmut and the rest of the German Aurors! Vinda Rosier, Carrow, and Zabini are his acoyltes. Capture them!" Newt shouted out as he parried Grindelwald's next spell of a bolt of lightning, oddly similar to that of the same lightning curse Grindelwald had used before.
"Mister Scamander, I should have killed you in Paris before you became such an obstacle." Grindelwald declared with cold fury as Newt turned his attention back to Grindelwald warily. How on earth was he going to fight Grindelwald and live considering how outclassed he was the two times they fought magically? He wasn't sure his creatures would work now that Grindelwald knew what to expect from his case.
However, he was not alone for long as a rapid series of spells was cast at Grindelwald, who blocked it easily. It came from Aberforth, who was now standing close to him. "Guess in the end my brother was right to have faith in you, eh, Scamander? Well, what the hell are you waiting for!? Start fighting! Haven't you heard what your Supreme Mugwump said!?"
At that, almost immediately, Jacob got up and punched Vogel hard enough to knock him out instantly while Queenie fired a binding spell at the direction of Fischer. As though realizing the truth of the situation, immediately dozens of wizards and witches apparated into the stairs as they swarmed Grindelwald's men and began to fight them, while Albus tended to Credence, who was now leaning towards a wall.
"I will not allow this to happen, MISTER SCAMANDER!" Grindelwald yelled as he launched his next spell, that of powerful dark fire dragons. Newt recalled how Grindelwald had once killed Leta and almost destroyed Paris with similar flames, and, gritting his teeth, cast the strongest General Counter-Spell he could at the dragons. To his surprise, and clearly even Grindelwald's, the resulting golden fire, similar to the ones he summoned alongside Theseus, was able to dispel the black dragons.
"Losing the plot, eh, Gellert?" Aberforth taunted as he took advantage of Grindelwald's brief surprise to cast a couple of spells at him, but Grindelwald's perfectly honed reflexes deflected them all as he quickly regained himself. He snarled at Aberforth, and for once, Newt wondered if Grindelwald hated Aberforth more than him. Grindelwald unleashed a powerful wandless earthquake, which Newt fortunately managed to block together alongside Aberforth by combining their Shield Charms. "You take the right, I take the left. How about that?"
Nodding grimly, Newt proceeded to duel Grindelwald alongside Aberforth and they were soon joined by Theseus, who also began to cast spells at Grindelwald, clearly determined to avenge Leta. Lally was gently leading Queenie and Jacob away as she comforted them, helping them towards Albus, who had cast a protective bubble of magical energy around himself and Credence and quickly allowed the two to get in as Grindelwald's followers and the people who had been watching the ceremony battled.
"You're nothing more but an oddity in the wizarding world, a man who loves only his beasts!" Grindelwald shouted as he skillfully deflected even the assault of him, Aberforth, and Theseus and began retaliating, casting mighty spells that pushed even the three of them back, his incredible dueling skill and overwhelming power evident. They were doing much better than before, if partially due to Newt having taken a few lessons from Albus to improve his dueling skills if he was going to fight in the war and Grindelwald not having cast a spell as fearsome as Protego Diabolica, but it was clear they were not enough to defeat him.
Newt had to combine his protective spells with Aberforth and Theseus when Grindelwald unleashed a sharp wave of wind towards them, and they were forced to disapparate to safer angles when Grindelwald used the Killing or Cruciatus Curses, performing both Unforgivables with astonishing ease and skill despite how complex they were, but then again, Grindelwald was the greatest dark wizard of all time. It also showed as Grindelwald made use of what would normally be basic Dark Charms, but still had enough strength that Newt struggled just a bit to block his normal jinxes and hexes.
Newt narrowly blocked a ball of water thrown at him by Grindelwald, his Shield Charm shaking at such a powerful elemental spell, even as Grindelwald deflected Aberforth and Theseus's spells with a strong, wandless Shield Charm. Grindelwald snarled as he unleashed a powerful concussive blast of kinetic energy that forced Newt to disapparate. "WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO RULE, MISTER SCAMANDER?? HAVE YOU SPEND YOUR ENTIRE LIFE STUDYING THE DEEPEST SECRETS OF MAGIC, PREPARING YOURSELF TO BE A LEADER??"
Newt gritted his teeth as he glared at Grindelwald. "No, I haven't, but what I have is love and morality." Newt declared even as Grindelwald launched about 5 strong Knockback Jinxes with a single, charged cast, which he blocked, somehow feeling that it was easier for him to deflect the spell. "I don't seek power, like Albus said, but when I have to use it, then I will. You use your powers to dominate, to realize cruel, racist ideals upon the wizarding world, and while I might not want to become Supreme Mugwump, if it means keeping the position out of someone like you, then I will accept it."
Somehow feeling more magical power than ever flowing through his body as emotions ran high in him, Newt began to cast spells with more ease and strength than he should normally be able to pull off. His singular Shield Charms were now able to block Grindelwald's stronger hexes, he was able to cast fireballs and bursts of wind with much more ease than he ever pulled off, having not been a master of the elements despite Albus teaching him a few more spells since Newt chose to oppose Grindelwald, and he even vanished a few swords Grindelwald conjured and threw at them with a burst of transfiguration magic.
Grindelwald seemed somewhat surprised by Newt's strength, but Newt didn't want to waste the opportunity. Somehow, as Aberforth and Theseus, both of whom eyed him with surprise and awe at the sudden boost Newt's magic seemed to experience, continued to support him by casting their own spells at Grindelwald, Newt finally managed to break through one of Grindelwald's Shield Charms and strike him with a slicing jinx to the right cheek of Grindelwald's face, the feat causing Newt to stop for a while.
When did he have the strength to penetrate Grindelwald's magic? He never managed to penetrate Albus's during the few sessions they had before. However, as though something inside him snapped, Grindelwald sneered as he put his hand on his cheek and caused the wound to disappear. "I have underestimated you, Mister Scamander. I give you this, but NO MORE!"
With that, Grindelwald cast the Killing Curse, but he was not aiming it at him, and Newt turned to eye Credence with horror as he realized Grindelwald's target. He quickly cast a powerful defensive spell, which happened to support the one Albus was aiming. Apparently, Credence had left the protection of Albus's shield, which was currently protecting Queenie and Jacob instead.
However, something imperceptible happened. Newt saw as the blood troth's chain shatters, his eyes widening as the crystal was send slowly spinning into the ground. He vaguely noticed the Qilin staring at him with glowing eyes before he felt his spell dissipate along with Albus and Grindelwald's in a flash, the world itself stilling.
"Albus?" Newt asked his teacher cautiously even as Albus stepped forward slowly to climb up the stairs and join him. "What is happening? I thought you couldn't move against each other? The troth-" With wide eyes, Newt saw the troth continuing to spin through the air, it's center cracking. At that moment, Newt realized the impossible had happened.
"Well, Newt, I do hope you still have it in you for one last round with Gellert?" Albus asked as he raised his wand, looking uncharacteristically tense. Newt nodded, feeling shocked still. Grindelwald was eyeing the both of them, and if the look of hatred he gave Aberforth before was seething, then the look Grindelwald was giving him right now would probably kill him if his eyes alone could cast the Killing Curse, especially as he eyed Albus's hand, which had gently gripped his own to motivate him.
Eventually, Grindelwald let out a screech fueled by pure energy, shaking whatever dimension was manifested by the Blood Pact that this was. Surprisingly enough, Albus was unfazed and Newt felt himself not pushed back at all, his magical power instinctually repelling Grindelwald's sudden burst of power. Soon, Grindelwald yelled with more fury than ever before as he fired a Killing Curse, Newt and Albus disapparating to avoid it. They quickly reappear as Newt fired a small jet of electricity at Grindelwald, who blocked it wandlessly while his wand parried Albus's beam of fiery energy.
Grindelwald closed in, but before he could slash his wand to counter Albus's spell and cast any curse, Newt had cast a rapid series of Stunning Spells, which again had enough strength to make Grindelwald have to take a few steps back, Grindelwald's shield faltering as he was forced to disapparate. Grindelwald reapparated behind him and cast conjured ropes on him, but Newt was able to avoid the spell narrowly while Albus quickly continued the duel with Grindelwald, firing and parrying spells as they both seamlessly switched from offense and defense with such precision and speed as to cast a few dozens of spells while also raising Shield Charms again and again.
Newt only felt awed for a while by their incredible dueling skills before he joined in, casting his own share of spells at Grindelwald while also raising Shield Charms both for himself and Albus. Despite being able to fend them both off, Grindelwald began to be pushed back a little, Newt being just skilled enough to provide assistance to Albus in dueling him and his spells somehow powerful enough at the moment to be of some threat to Grindelwald. However, it seemed pressure only made Grindelwald more dangerous as he soon began to mix in mighty spells along with the conventional dueling spells.
Grindelwald began by firing about half a dozen bolts of lightning, which Albus blocked by surrounding himself and Newt with a spherical shield of wind. Albus immediately fired a few orbs of pure light while Newt cast the Fire-Making Spell in the form of a stream of golden flames. Grindelwald deflected Albus's orbs with his wand, but his wandless Shield Charm somehow faltered as he was pushed back a bit by the force of Newt's fire spell. "I see now..." Albus declared as he eyed Newt with a small smile that Newt couldn't quite decipher the meaning of, even as Albus immediately manifested a shield comprised of what surprisingly seemed to be maleficent power to block Grindelwald's dark orbs.
"What is it do you see in him, Albus?" Grindelwald said with eyes narrowed into slits. "What kind of power does he have that could match ours?" Albus merely shook his head in sadness even as his shield began to glow, unleashing the power it clearly absorbed from Grindelwald's previous curse back at him. Grindelwald merely waved his hand impatiently and the wave of purple dark energy disappeared. Newt supposed Grindelwald was also quite adept at defending himself from the Dark Arts too.
By now, Newt had known both Albus and Grindelwald were so magically powerful and skilled that what was deemed impossible might very well be possible, and they had mastered every form of magic in existence. Albus took the initiative this time, unleashing phoenixes of fire, wind, and water at Grindelwald. It was quite impressive to see Albus casually using three elements simultaneously, even projecting some of the phoenixes wandlessly. However, Grindelwald slashed his wand three times, and all the phoenixes were vanquished before they could reach him, exploded by what seemed to be dark curses.
"You must have done something to that boy, haven't you? You trained him to be more powerful, but was it all due to the training, or did you experiment a little on Mister Scamander." Grindelwald taunted as both Albus and Newt frowned.
"Credits to you for realizing I had trained Newt, Gellert, but I did not experiment on him. He's just tapping upon a fraction of his true potential, that which I believe surpasses ours." Albus said coldly as he manifested spikes of ice from the ground that Grindelwald easily melted with a slash of his wand that caused a mist that seemed to combust the ice. Newt eyed his teacher in surprise. A power that surpassed his and Grindelwald's? What was he talking about?
"You see, I've long since suspected from Newt's humility, his compassion, that he was capable of power beyond what he had shown. While training him since Paris, I've confirmed he still had untapped potential, but it was only now that I realized just how much he was capable of, the exact nature of the power that I now can 100% confirm he possesses. At his fullest potential, not even the Elder Wand wielded by you would be capable of saving you from defeat." Albus declared confidently as Newt's eyes widened.
The Elder Wand? Newt recalled hearing it in "The Tale of the Three Brothers". It was the so-called unbeatable wand, and whenever their mother would speak of the tale, Theseus always chose the wand over the other Hallows, ever a combative man, while Newt chose the Cloak of Invisibility for the protection it could grant. So it was true? Was the Elder Wand why Grindelwald was so powerful-
No. Newt had seen how Grindelwald had effortlessly overpowered him, how the Dark Lord had single-handedly overwhelmed up to 30 Aurors, all using another person's wand while also upkeeping a Human Transfiguration spell on himself. There was no doubt that Grindelwald was naturally incredibly powerful, which made Albus's confident statement that Newt possessed power capable of surpassing his absurd.
However, Newt had no time to suspect what it was, for Grindelwald had snarled and his wand had connected with Albus's, beams of red light colliding with each other. Seeing Grindelwald's beam steadily pushing itself towards Albus, Newt didn't hesitate as he immediately cast the exact same spell as Albus just as Albus had began pushing his beam back towards Grindelwald. Within a matter of moments, their combined spells almost overcame Grindelwald, the two beams of light suppressing Grindelwald's singular one.
Grindelwald broke the connection by slashing his wand backwards, immediately casting a powerful blue-electric whip at Albus and a wandless ball of fire at Newt. They both blocked the spells with a Shield Charm, and cast as one a Stunning Spell that Grindelwald managed to block without being pushed back this time as he closed in towards them. He cast a Blasting Curse that Albus deflected easily, just as Grindelwald finally reached them.
Somehow, the fierce duel took an unexpected turn as Newt narrowly avoided Grindelwald's Killing Curse close-on while Grindelwald avoided Albus's Stunning Spell. Grindelwald seemed to have forgotten about him as he and Albus began to cast while also side-stepping spells in a maddening rhythm, such that Newt was forced to disapparate to avoid getting hit by the spells shot at such a rapid rate. However, he wasn't one to back down from a fight, and he HAD fought in the Great War before.
Gritting his teeth, Newt relied on the nimble speed and agility he acquired from having to dodge fireballs aimed by the dragons he was sent to tame until he could properly tame them as well as run while simultaneously keeping an eye out for spells. He avoided the spells with as much grace as he could until he closed in on Grindelwald. Newt grabbed Grindelwald's wand hand before he could cast a spell at him and punched the man straight in the face, knocking him back a bit.
The gesture startled even Albus as he stared at Newt with surprise. He did pick up a few martial arts moves from his time in the Great War, and seeing Jacob might have helped in that. Grindelwald, however, merely snarled. "Fighting like Muggles, are we!?" With that, Grindelwald was about to cast the Killing Curse, but Albus immediately pushed his hand away. What happened next, however, was a scene that had Newt actually feeling a little bad for Grindelwald for once.
Their wands pointed at each other’s heads, their hands rested on each other’s hearts, and Newt watched in silence as Grindelwald's mismatched pupils stare longingly into Albus' ocean-blue ones. There was genuine love in Grindelwald after all. He really did love Albus, and it was clear from the pained look at Albus's face that he felt the same.
Suddenly, threads of light began to form around the sky, slowly breaking down whatever dimension the blood troth had conjured. "Albus?" Newt said softly, as his teacher looked at Grindelwald one more time, before Albus walked away from Grindelwald and stood 2 feet behind Newt, with Newt staring at Grindelwald, ready to deflect any spell that came, but found none. There was only pure heartbreak in his voice as he shouted "Who will love you now, Dumbledore!? HIM!?". Grindelwald stared at Newt with pure death in his eyes, and at that moment, Newt recalled the two times Grindelwald called him out for holding Albus's favor.
While he did not object against the idea of homosexuality, he knew now that Grindelwald hated him because he thought Albus might have had feelings for him. For once, Newt felt the strange urge to show some apology in his expression, despite who Grindelwald was and what he had done. It reminded him a little of how he had to convince Tina that he was not engaged to Leta and he now loved Tina... Except that was only 65% the truth, as Newt knew, deep down, he still loved Leta even if not as much as Tina.
Her death hit him almost as hard as it did Theseus, and at times, he wondered if Leta meant she loved him or she loved Theseus before she died. He even temporarily stopped pursuing Tina, trying to gather his feelings after seeing his first love die sacrificing herself to save him, any resentment Newt had for her dying at that moment. Even now, despite him having agreed he would dedicatedly pursue Tina's hand in love, Newt still wondered if he could have done better with Leta, if they could have worked things out and gotten married.
The blood troth shattered as the world returned to normal around them, the people staring at him, Albus, and Grindelwald. Apparently, Grindelwald's followers had been brought down a fair bit, but those like Rosier, Carrow, and Helmut were still standing and not captured, although they were clearly worse off than Theseus, Aberforth, Lally, and Kama. Bunty looked a bit worn down, but she had taken out a few of Grindelwald's followers. Queenie and Jacob were still protected, staring at Newt and Albus puzzled.
"One day, Mister Scamander, I WILL kill you and unite the wizarding world for the greater good." Grindelwald declared with seething rage before he disapparated away just as Santos and Liu Tao had cast spells at him. Taking advantage of the distraction, Rosier, Carrow, Helmut, and what remained of Grindelwald's disciples also disapparated.
"All hail Newton Scamander and Albus Dumbledore, our heroes!" Theseus shouted happily as he cast fireworks into the sky, causing Newt to narrow his eyes a bit, but everyone else swiftly followed as they screamed praises and words of gratitude.
"You did it, Newt." Albus said softly as he gently gripped his shoulders. "When we get back, I think you and I should talk quite a bit. For now, though, HAIL NEWTON SCAMANDER, THE NEW SUPREME MUGWUMP!" Albus shouted, his voice magically amplified as he unleashed multiple phoenixes into the sky, everyone there cheering for quite a while as Newt stared on with a mixture of helplessness and relief.
At least Grindelwald did not become Supreme Mugwump, although Newt wondered how exactly was he going to hold all that authority now that he was the Supreme Mugwump. However, Newt's thoughts were disrupted as he noticed Credence with Aberforth, Credence looking like he was in immense pain. His eyes softened as he quickly rushed towards the boy.
"I don't know if this will work, but I can extract the Obscurus from him. I've done it before, Albus, Aberforth." Newt said softly as the two Dumbledores stared at him with surprise. Everyone else had stopped celebrating as they noticed Newt's clear concern and seriousness. "I can try it to save him if you want, but the last time I did, the girl who I used the spell on died. Still, she was relatively weak. Credence is much stronger, so he might be able to survive, although-"
"Do it. Please." Aberforth said softly as Newt turned towards Credence, who nodded weakly as a tear fell from his eyes. Nodding, Newt took out his wand and proceeded to recite the spell he had once used to try and save the girl, but this time, Newt felt that the spell was much more purifying than before, as though his heart resonated with the nature of the spell. His wand glowed not a reddish hue, but a light blue as he poured his magical energy into Credence.
Credence spasmed a little bit, but his Obscurus came out at astonishing speed, harmless and contained in a sphere of blue light, before just disappearing. That didn't happen before. Newt watched as Credence breathed deeply, his eyes regaining some vibrant shine in them. "You've done it, Newt. He's cured." Albus said with awe in his voice as Aberforth eyed him with relief. "Aberforth, go and take Credence back. We have much to discuss later on."
"All of you, make way for them!" Newt asked as the people on the stairs nodded and parted ways so Aberforth could take Credence out. He inertly flinched at how obedient people were at his commands. He still wasn't used to it. However, suddenly Albus was hugging him tightly, tears flowing from his eyes.
"You did it. You did it, Newt... You truly are such- such a magnificent person. I was beyond right to have faith in you." The sheer emotion Albus was showing caused Newt to return the hug, even as he slowly withdrew himself and gently patted Abus in the shoulder.
"I couldn't have done it without you. So... What do we do now?" Newt asked softly as Albus smiled tremulously at him.
"For now, Newt, let us enjoy the celebrations."
And so they did. Newt was swiftly asked by Santos and Liu Tao to sit on what they called the chair of the Supreme Mugwump, and a feast was held in the Eyrie, everyone there celebrating Newt becoming the new Supreme Mugwump and making excited offers for alliances in the future. It honestly unnerved Newt, but Albus was staring at him in such an encouraging way he held on.
Besides, as his friends made sure to hug and lift him to be paraded across the stairs when the feast finally ended, everyone there roaring in approval, Newt felt that he had done the right thing, and that was more important to him than anything.