Loving Him Was Red

The sound of children rustling about on platform Nine and Three-Quarters was a truly missed sound for the young book writer. He was sitting on a bench near the front of the train, his suitcase was placed neatly underneath him. Pickett, the little Bowtruckle, was sleeping peacefully in Newt's coat pocket. Giving the little creature a dried up fly here and there whenever it poked its little leaves up from the pocket. He nodded nonchalantly to the students walking by him who made eyes at the little creature, or maybe even at him if they recognized him. He was very much looking forward to finally be reunited with old teachers, friends, and areas. His joy and excitement were easily picked up by the creatures, his suitcase seemed to be alive, almost shaking under him. ''Hush now,'' he mumbled in the direction of his suitcase, he quickly bent over to put a hand on the suitcase, which seemed to calm the contents of the suitcase down. He smiled and went back to his original position, Pickett was obviously not amused by the disturbance of its rest, so it chose to slowly but steadily crawl up Newt's arm and place itself on his shoulder, keeping an eye out for any danger that might pass by.

@ Europaea

Amora was feeling bittersweet about going back to Hogwarts. On the one hand, it was her favorite place on earth, and she was more than happy to return. On the other, it was going to be her last year at Hogwarts, and she was sad about it. It had taken much convincing to get her parents to allow her to go to 9 and Three-Quarters on her own. But it was important to her that she start to be more independent, considering how soon she would be graduating. After running onto the platform, she took in the sights before her. Smiling at familiar faces, and waving at people she knew personally. She pushed her cart, looking for a place to sit down. She was early for a chance, and the train hadn't shown up yet. She finally found an empty spot on a bench, next to a man, who was definitely too old to be a student, but who also looked young for a professor. "Mind if I sit here?" she asked, smiling at the Bowtruckle in his pocket. Care of Magical Creatures had always been her favorite class. She loved all animals both mystical and otherwise. "Cute little guy, does he have a name?" she asked with a grin.

Newt looked up at the young girl in front of him, ''Pickett, and no of course not, please sit.'' He moved a little so there was space for her, he smiled and watched as Pickett directed its attention to the girl who took a seat beside him. He took another look at the girl, she looked fairly young, if anything he'd guess that she was in her second last year, or last. ''Quite busy,'' he said with a grin, ''not quite as busy as I remember it. But things change I guess.'' He leaned back against the bench, ''he likes you. Usually, he hides immediately when people get near him. He's rather odd.'' Newt looked lovingly at the Bowtruckle, letting a finger run along its little stick body.

@ Ethan Chandler.

@ Ethan Chandler.

(just to make sure)

@ Europaea
Amora took the seat beside him. "Hi Pickett," she said, waving a hand at the cute little creature. "Aw, I'm glad. I like him too. He's very cute. A Bowtruckle, right? I don't think I've ever seen one in person." She ran a hand through her hair and finally looked up at the man holding the creature. She blushed slightly, realizing that the owner was nearly as cute as the creature. "What brings you back to Hogwarts?" she asked. She considered for the first time that he might be a professor, and admonished herself for thinking about how cute he was.

@ Ethan Chandler.

His eyes widened, ''Yes!'' He shuffled a bit to the edge of his seat, out of pure excitement. He was always happy when people knew their magical creatures. ''No wonder, they are extremely difficult to spot, but with a sharp eye, and if you know where to find them then they are fairly easy to find.'' He talked so quickly he almost stumbled over his words. ''I was asked to come back actually, a personal request from Albus. He talked to the headmaster, arranged me to take the position as Care of Magical Creatures professor. I have a sixth sense for that area if I do say so myself,'' he bragged with a bright smile on his face. ''Former Hufflepuff,'' he straightened his back with pride and met her eyes. He noticed a slight pink color over her cheeks but didn't pay more attention to it, it was a little chilly on the station.

@ Europaea

She couldn't help but giggle at how excited he got when talking about the Bowtruckle, she could tell how passionate he was about magical creatures. His enthusiasm was contagious. She bit her lip when he told her he was going to be the next Care of Magical Creatures professor. On the one hand, he was gonna make the class so much more fun, she could already tell (the last professor didn't seem to care much about his job). On the other hand, she had to remind herself not to flirt, which she felt might be hard for her. "Well, I'm sure you're gonna make a great professor. You seem to know a lot about magical creatures. I look forward to having class with you," she said honestly. "I'm Amora by the way, current Hufflepuff. I'm in my last year," she said, holding out her hand for him to shake.

@ Ethan Chandler.

Newt's whole body felt refreshed by her laugh, it was something he could get lost in very quickly. He cleared his throat, that's not appropriate at all. He kicked himself mentally, feeling rather stupid for having such thoughts. ''Thank you,'' he said ''I appreciate that, but let's not get ahead of ourselves, Pickett can cause quite a ruckus when he wants to, and he's usually with me where ever I go.'' He took her hand and squeezed it, ''pleasure to meet you Amora, I'm Newt.'' He presented himself and let go of her hand, as he did that, Pickett had somehow made his way onto Amora. ''Pickett! That's a bit rude, could you please not do that?'' Newt reached for Pickett,''I'm very sorry Amora, he usually never does this, I don't want him to mess up your unif-'' Newt was interrupted by the little Bowtruckles razor sharp twig hands opening two small cuts on the back of his hand. He withdrew his hand and held it close to his chest. He smiled sheepishly, ''I think he's getting a little protective.''

@ Europaea
[Sorry this took so long]

Amora blushed when he shook her hand, and then instantly scolded herself for doing so. Those thoughts were instantly interrupted by the antics of the Bowtruckle. She couldn't help but giggle at Newt's reprimanding the creature. And then when Pickett scratched Newt she went into full on hysterics. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh" she managed to get out in between fits of laughter. Once she regained her composure she cleared her throat and reached for his hand with the cut on it. "Let me see that," she said, examining the two lacerations. She took her wand out and quickly used it to heal his cut, before putting the wand away again. "There you go, good as new." She turned to the Bowtruckle and smiled, holding out her hand. "It's alright Pickett, you can come hang out with me if you'd like," she said with a chuckle, as the creature jumped onto her hand. She looked back up to Newt, "I really don't mind, I'm sure my uniform will survive."

@ Ethan Chandler.
//No worries! ::Cute: //

Newt smiled, ''Laugh all you want, I'd rather have you laugh then cry. Plus I've had worse.'' As he finished his sentence his suitcase growled. He slightly froze and cleared his throat to try and cover up the noises. He watched as Amora healed his hand, impressed by the young witches skills. ''Thank you, I appreciate it.'' He looked at Amora's face as she interacted with the Bowtruckle, ''fascinating,'' he said under his breath. He immediately regretted his word. Flushed, he looked away, fidgeting with his hands. He started mindlessly tapping his feet on the concrete, eager to get away from the girl, but also eager to learn more about her. He started to wonder how the other creatures would react to her, how they would interact with her. He looked at his pocket watch, 10:25, he nodded to himself and looked up. ''The train should be here any minute now,'' he said out loud, grabbing his suitcase to put it on his lap.