Theseus came in the door, out of breath, and announced to Tina and Newt who sat in the living room, "There's some of Grindelwald's out there. They've found a hippogriff, from Merlin knows where, and they're trying to capture it."
Tina sighed and stood up. "Newt!" But he was already out the door.
She followed him into the Paris streets, and soon they spotted the commotion. Two wizards had cornered the beast, and one of them was lashing at it with his wand, while the other stood taunting and jeering and speaking to the crowd. "Do you feel sorry for that creature? There's people being treated worse than that! Magic folk, shunned by their own friends and family--"
"Let it go!"
Tina inhaled sharply as Newt stepped forward. "Newt,"
"Let it go. It's done nothing to harm you. You're preaching peace while inflicting violence." He continued forward, his hands slightly raised in a surrendering position, but towards the hippogriff, not the wizards.
"Would you rather that be you?" The second wizard asked, and the first lashed at the creature again, causing it to thrash and cry out.
"Yes," Newt said, stepping in front of the hippogriff. "Shh, shhhhh," he put a hand out to calm it. For a moment the wizards stopped, and Tina waited, breathless. Then the second said, "so be it." And the first let out a crack of his whip that came down sharply on Newt's back.
"NEWT!" Tina screamed, and the other man held her back, grabbing the wrist that held her wand.
Newt turned to face his assailant, shoulders squared and a hand behind him holding back the hippogriff. He took each blow with little more than a wince, unrelenting, as Tina continued to shout and wrestle with the man. "Newt!"
Snap! Snap! Snap! His shirt grew red from the lacerations on his chest, and pain began to show in his face. Tina squirmed, trying to gain enough control of her wand to use it. The man had her wrist pinned to his side, the wand pointing down his leg.
"Incendio!" A jet of fire shot down his leg and he started. Tina took her chance and elbowed him in the stomach, then wriggled from his grasp and ran to Newt.
"Tina,"
She grabbed his hand. "Just touch the hippogriff." She disapparated the three of them into a back alley, where the hippogriff immediately began to stomp and cry.
Newt coughed and gasped for breath and Tina held him by one shoulder. "Hey, shh, look at me." She brushed the hair out his eyes. "Are you alright?"
He looked up at her for a moment, breathing heavily, then nodded and set his face on her shoulder for a moment. She held the back of his head and then he started up towards the hippogriff.
"Shh, sit down."
"It's hurt, I have to--get my case and--"
"So are you. Sit down. I'll take care of it."
He slumped back against the wall and she turned to the animal, one hand out tentatively as its nostrils flared. It stared at her for a moment, slowly calming its breathing, then finally nestling its beak into her palm. She stroked its feathers, coming around to its side where the gashes were. "Aguamenti," she let the water trickle over the wounds and clean them, still stroking the creature with her other hand. She sealed up the gashes the best she could with her wand, then turned to Newt. He was breathing raggedly, and winced as she unbuttoned his torn and bloodied shirt and peeled it gingerly back from his wounds. "Sorry." She proffered her left hand as she began to clean them and Newt held it tightly, bracing himself against the alley wall. "I need my case," he said, gripping her hand. "I've got some dittany--"
"I know, just let me clean you up a bit. That hippogriff's gonna catch their attention pretty quickly. I went as far as I could think of, but I'm sure they'll show up soon, and I don't want to leave either of you like this."
Newt closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall. "Get Theseus."
"I will." She finished as best she could and gave his hand one last squeeze. "I'll only be a moment. I'll tell Theseus to come and then I'll be along just after with your case, alright?"
He nodded and opened his eyes to look at her. She brushed his hair off his forehead again. "You need a haircut," she said, then stepped back to apparate.