3| Bizarre Introductions and Nostalgic Crisis
Bronwen stood stunned, her idol was standing in front of her and she was unable to speak.
Standing to her left, Rose approached Newt shaking his hand. "Mr Scamander, I'm sorry to just pop by but I have some urgent matters regarding the M.B.M. I also found Bronwen here."
Rose gestured towards her and she stepped forward finally finding her voice. "Newt Scamander, it is a pleasure to meet you."
"Bronwen, I've been expecting your arrival. I'm sure it was difficult navigating a strange country."
Bronwen laughed, her morning had been astoundingly more difficult than she would have imagined it would be. Although, she was happy to have met the pleasant few who went out of their way to help her. "Yes, it has been tiring. But Rose has been the most helpful."
"It's no worries at all, I was on my way out here anyway." She smiled kindly, and Bronwen hoped she would see more of Rose.
"Shall we talk inside?" Newt gestured for them to follow him towards the rather large house at the end of the pebbled road. Rose and Bronwen followed along behind him as Bronwen took in her surroundings, looking to the sky she saw that there was a slight shimmer to the clear blue sky, and she could see the small free roaming creatures around the front of the house.
As they neared the house Bronwen noticed a large stable to the side of the house, she wondered what the purpose of such a building was when the creatures were free-roaming. She suspected though, that Newt had his reasoning.
Rose pulled her forward, she hadn't realised she had stopped walking in her state of awe at being in the Sanctuary. Newt held the door to the house open for the two women to pass through ahead of him, a small awkward smile on his face as he followed behind them. Rose lead Bronwen into a room which had similarities to that of a lounge room, except for the fact that this room had small creatures set out around the space, Bronwen recognised a few of the creatures to be a singular Augury, a Poffle of Puffskeins and a branch of Bowtruckles.
"Please take a seat" Newt said.
Taking a seat across from him Bronwen watched as he fiddled nervously with his hands, it was well known that Newt Scamander was more skilled in the art of beasts than the art of people.
"Usually, my grandson Artemis does the introductions, however he has gone to East Africa to help protect a couple of Nundu from being disturbed. So Bronwen, we will begin with the basics. You can shadow me for the remainder of the day if you wish or you can settle into the Sanctuary and begin tomorrow."
Newt's attention was diverted from Bronwen onto the Branch of Bowtruckles, he allowed one to attach itself to his finger and make its way to his coat collar, in which it hid behind. The rest of the Bowtruckles made small noises towards the one with Newt, which sounded like insults and mean murmurs.
"I can settle in later this afternoon, I'd like to see some of the creatures." Bronwen felt as though she had to make amends for her late arrival to the Sanctuary, as well as her enthusiasm to encounter and learn about the beasts inhabiting the Sanctuary itself.
"Excellent! Next order of business, Rose what urgent matters did you have to discuss."
Rose who had been standing next to the Puffskeins near the window, turned away and took a seat next to Bronwen with a Puffskein in her hands. "As you might know, the M.B.M has been becoming more public in the Wizarding community. There is talk that this is due to a new leader, who has not yet revealed his identity to any of our inside sources. The M.B.M has been acquiring more and more magical beasts to sell illegally, and some of them have found their way into the Muggle community which for the Ministry has become a major issue."
Bronwen listened intently trying to absorb the information about the Magical Black Market, she had heard a lot of information about them of late but never had she heard of the M.B.M having a leader. The Puffskein in Rose's hand wondered over to sit on Bronwen's legs, asking for the attention Rose had neglected in the past few moments. Newt sat across from her with a worried expression which he attempted to mask with a look of thought, however it was evident that he was worried about the M.B.M having the Sanctuary in their sights as a potential stock resource.
"This is worrisome indeed. If the M.B.M has a new leader, the use of the black market itself could potentially be changing to form a separate motive then just the sale and trafficking of magical beasts." The room was silent for a few moments before Newt spoke again. "Rose, I think it could be beneficial if you would become a liaison between the Sanctuary and the Ministry, this way both parties can keep up to date with information each acquires about the M.B.M and other matters."
Rose had a look of surprise, becoming a liaison was a huge promotion, especially for someone of her age. "I-I don't know what to say Mr Scamander, it would be a pleasure to take a position such as this."
"Congratulations Rose!" Bronwen was happy for Rose, she had been kind to her and Bronwen felt as though this was a fair reward.
"Thank you! Thank you, Mr Scamander!"
After Rose left, Newt allowed Bronwen to shadow him as he gave her a tour and discussed her role within the Sanctuary. Bronwen understood that her role as a magizoologist would not start straight away, and that for a while she would be an apprentice.
Newt lead Bronwen to the land behind the house, where she saw many beasts roaming free in segregated sections. With a bucket in both hands, she and Newt came to a barrier which held a family of Graphorns. As they went through the barrier, the Graphorns trotted over eagerly awaiting to be fed, Bronwen picked up a handful of food and held it out to a youngling as it grabbed the food with its tentacle-like appendages.
"The appendages are also used to show affection." She turned to see an adult Graphorn embracing Newt with its appendages, a bright smile over his face as he leaned back and began to feed them one by one.
"Graphorns were once nearly extinct, and you prevented their extinction. That's one of the reasons why I wanted to become a Magizoologist, because of the good you do."
"And that's why it's good to have you here." Newt smiled awkwardly, gesturing for her to follow him out of the Graphorn barrier.
As they left the Graphorns, an older man stood waiting outside the barrier with a notepad in hand. Newt greeted the man and introduced him to Bronwen as Joseph Alexander, an experienced magizoologist who worked with the higher classified beasts.
"Newt, one of the Occamies harmed itself when it overgrew its size in the enclosure."
Immediately, both Newt and Joseph made their way towards the Occamy enclosure at a fast pace. Bronwen rushed to keep up, she had not yet seen a Occamy other than in her books. The stable came into view and curiosity overcame her as she tried to figure out the purpose, as they walked through the large doors they came to a large corridor with several doors lining the walls.
Bronwen followed Newt down the corridor until they reached the door with a woman waiting outside. The door was blocked with the multi-coloured serpentine body of the Occamy, the blue, green and purple scales slithering slowly against the walls.
"What happened Amara?" The woman, Amara, was only a couple of years older than Bronwen, yet she seemed confident in her ability at the Sanctuary. Something Bronwen hoped to become as her experience increased as a Magizoologist.
"Marble has just laid her first clutch of eggs, and when I went to check on them she became very protective. And well, you can see the outcome."
"Yes, that very popular with most serpentine creatures, especially with their first clutches. Have you been able to establish any injuries?"
"I haven't been able to persuade Marble to shrink to find any, however from a previous experience I can deduce that she might have multiple abrasions."
"If she has grown to the size of the room, wouldn't she be harming her clutch?" Bronwen asked, drawing the curious attention of all three personnel.
"I believe she hasn't harmed them yet, however if she continues to move as she is now she could possibly harm them unintentionally."
Newt, Joseph and Amara began to discuss strategies to persuade the Occamy to shrink down to its regular size. Bronwen watched as the coloured scales slowly slithered against the wooden doorway, however a she left a space open which was filled with pitch blackness. Bronwen stared into the darkness, a set of large eyes came forth into the light staring straight at Bronwen.
An idea peaked in Bronwen's mind as she thought about all the stories she had read about and learned in 'care of magical creatures' at Ilvermorny. "Newt, you once persuaded an Occamy to shrink by using a single insect, would that not work in this situation as well?"
The discussion went silent as all three sets of eyes turned to Bronwen, a second of curious thought before they all agreed. "Yes, that did work back in the day and it might just work now. Joseph, you go get the insects, Amara you receive the medical equipment and I'll go get the containment."
All three of them left in different directions leaving Bronwen alone with Marble. She reached out slowly her eyes trained on Marbles, as the Occamies eyes followed every movement Bronwen made. Her hand slid against the rough textured surface of Marbles body, the creature became still, no longer growing.
The team returned with all the necessary items, Bronwen stood back allowing them room to work as she observed. Newt held a medium glass reptile containment box in Marbles eye sight, Joseph grabbed a few of the insects gaining the full attention of the creature and as he placed the insect into the box, Marble leaped out of the doorway shrinking to fit into the glass containment.
Newt then place the miniaturized Occamy back into the stable enclosure which became a rainforest environment larger than what it seemed. Marble was placed next to the five Occamy eggs where she seemed to become calm, Amara entered the room and began her medical assessment.
Just another day in the life of a Magizoologist.
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