I couldn't believe it. The thought that I was an Obscurus terrified me. What if, in these last moments before we were executed, I was the one to kill Newt? Now that I knew the cause of my symptoms, would I be able to control the Obscurus? It had already killed one man. Would it kill another?
Something of my fear must have shown, for Newt said, "It's okay, Zarayna, don't worry. It can be controlled. You -"
"Don't worry?" I nearly screamed. "You're not the one with a - a monster inside you! Yes, if you worry, you suffer twice, but other people have already suffered because of me!"
"Does it matter?" demanded Tina. "In case you've forgotten, we're about to be killed, anyway."
"Maybe not," Newt answered, "but maybe so. Listen, Rayn, it can be controlled, and . . . there's a possibility that it can even be eliminated."
"Whatever you have to say, Scamander, make it quick," said Tina. "We don't have long."
She was right. I could hear footsteps echoing down the hallway.
Newt took heed. Hurriedly, he said, "If you use magic, then the excess energy that makes up the Obscurus may go into whatever spell you use."
"But I don't have my wand!"
"You can use mine. It may not work as well as your own, but it should do."
"How do you know this will even work?"
Newt paused. "I don't. It's just a theory, really. But it's worth a try, isn't it?"
"Things are only worth attempting when there is a chance of success, and for you, there is none."
We all turned to face the speaker. She had dark hair and skin and was wearing a white robe, as were the two others who were with her. "Confiscate their wands, and take the No-Maj the Obliviators."
"No!" I protested.
"Hand over your wand, girl," ordered an executioner.
"I don't have one. You can search me all you want, you won't find one."
She took me up on my word. Upon finding nothing, she proceeded to cuff my hands together. To all of us she said, "Come with us."
I started fighting back, but then I noticed that Newt was making no attempts to do so. Did he have plan? Or had he truly resigned to his fate? I was certain that it was the former.
Heart pounding in my chest, I allowed myself to be led through monotonously white hallways. Finally, one of the few doors I'd seen were opened and we entered the room behind it.
Dominating the room was a pool of a reflective, silvery liquid. I had no idea what this was, but from Tina's reaction she did; I heard her draw a sharp intake of breath, and when I saw her expression, it was one of great fear. She began to fight, but an executioner restrained her. Then she raised her wand to Tina's temple. As she pulled it away, a thin, silvery strand slithered out. I knew that she was extracting a memory. Tina seemed to relax after the memory was taken. The memory strand was put in the silver pool. The executioner led Tina to it. What memory was she seeing? "You want to get in, don't you, honey?" crooned the executioner. Tina nodded vaguely, a sleepy smile on her face. Whatever the memory was, it must have been a good one.
She's luring her into that stuff! I realized, revolted. With my hands cuffed, however, there was little I could do. Unless -
"Newt," I whispered, "you said that it could be controlled?"
"Yes. What are you thinking, Zarayna?" There was suspicion in his voice.
"Quiet!" barked an executioner.
"You'll see," I said to Newt. Before he could protest, I tried calling upon the Obscurus. I wasn't really sure how to do it, but no sooner had I formed the thought than I felt the power fill me at an alarmingly fast rate. Wait, no! I thought.
Too late. I was already the Obscurus.
But my last minute will had stayed the formless power, preventing it from simply destroying everything. Amazingly, I found that I still retained my own thoughts. This is weird.
For the executioners, it was frightening. They just stared at me, completely speechless. I allowed myself to enjoy their frozen expressions for a few moments, then willed the Obscurus toward them.
It was over in a matter of seconds. At first I thought that I hadn't done anything - there had been no screams or any other sounds to indicate that anything had happened. Then I saw their motionless, lifeless bodies on the floor and I knew that I had killed them.
Tina was still gazing dreamily into the pool. "Tina!" cried Newt. "Tina, stop!"
Upon hearing her name, Tina blinked and shook her head slightly, as though clearing her mind. She glanced down, evidently surprised to be at the edge of the pool. She promptly backed away from it. As she did, she tripped over the body of one of the executioners and fell into Newt's outstretched arms, as he had instinctively reached out to catch her.
As I reformed, I couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy at the sight. I knew that there had been nothing romantic in the gesture, that he had only done it out of friendly concern, but I felt the jealousy all the same.
I tried to direct my thoughts elsewhere. "How did you get your hands free?" I asked Newt.
"Pickett," he replied. Pickett was the name of his pet bowtruckle who was always hiding in his coat pocket.
Then the door flew open, and Queenie was there, carrying Newt's case. She set it down and opened it. "Get in!" she hissed. "I'm getting you out of here."
"Where's Jacob? Have you found him?" asked Newt.
"He's already in. Hurry!"
We did. On Newt's insistence, Tina and I got in first, and he followed.
Jacob was pacing around the occamy nest when we saw him. Hearing us come down, he looked up. "Oh, good, Queenie made it! I was getting worried. Can't tell what's going on from in here."
"She may not have made in time had Zarayna not taken things into her own hands. She was quite brilliant."
I blushed, glad that he thought that my idea had been brilliant. Of course, it could have turned out much differently, but it hadn't.
"So what happened?" wondered Jacob.
Tina and I left the explaining to Newt. He didn't seem to mind. When he had finished, Jacob commented, "I think that I am glad I'm not a wizard. This much excitement all the time might be a bit much for me."
"Oh, don't worry," assured Newt. "Not all wizards have this much excitement. I am a mazoologist, after all."473Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeHyQ8daNIO
