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In 1900, there was a child born of two men whose power was unrivaled throughout the Wizarding world. In the summer of 1899, a boy, Albus Dumbledore, met Gellert Grindelwald. Their love blossomed over the summer until the boy realized how cruel his lover could be. They had made love during their brief courtship. Unbeknownst to Albus, their trysts had left him with child. A little boy who had cried when born and while the mediwitch at Hogwarts cleaned him up, but never after. He was placed in Albus’s arms and he hadn’t cried since. Even when he needed something, he only whimpered and whined. It was endearing and it seemed so opposite to what he’d expect from a child conceived by Grindelwald and himself. He wanted to keep the child, the little baby boy, but he knew that he couldn’t. Grindelwald would come after him and the babe. He would have an heir. At 19, Albus made one of the most difficult decisions of his life. He gave up his child anonymously to the Ministry of Magic. He left a note of course. Nothing other than that the baby was a couple months old and that he didn’t want to be found and that he wasn’t in any position to care for a child. That was the last time Albus saw his son until he was among the thrall of students when he entered Hogwarts eleven years later.
Newt Scamander had always been a bit . . . odd. Even before he’d gotten older, when he was a baby, his appearance had been strange. His hair, while it had darkened to something more akin to auburn over the years, had been so shockingly blonde that it was almost white. His eyes hadn’t helped either. Both of them were hazel, but one was lighter —more blue— than the other. It certainly hadn’t helped that he avoided eye contact or that he had an unhealthy obsession with magical creatures. It hadn’t helped that he hadn’t an ounce of control over his magic when he was younger. People had found it odd how much power he had considering both of his parents and his brother were average in their own prowess. It had gotten so bad that his mother had gone to the Ministry and begged them to let him go to Hogwarts early in hopes that with a wand and some schooling, his accidental magic outbursts would dwindle. So, at age eight, the ministry had subjected Newt to examinations to see whether or not he would be able to attend the school three years early. He had proven mature enough and knowledgeable enough.
So, he had been shipped off to Hogwarts with a ring that provided him with a glamor. It only made him look older, so none of the pureblood families went up in a tizzy over ‘unfair treatment,’ and it made both of his eyes look the same hazel. They had said that his eyes were too familiar to not cover up. His wand, Cedar with a phoenix feather core, was said to be reflective of himself. Capable of a great range of magic and fiercely loyal to those he held dear. Olivander had even said that he hoped they would never cross wands. Newt thought about the creatures he’d found in his childhood and agreed that he would do anything to keep them safe. His mother seemed proud. And she was convinced that he would be a Gryffindor like her and his brother.
The sorting hat had been odd. He didn’t like having another voice in his head. He certainly wasn’t the longest sorting, but it did take a couple minutes. He was, evidently, a good sort for each house, but his devotion to his creatures and his ‘hidden fortitude to do what’s right’ set him as a Hufflepuff according to the hat. He’d also been told that he was ‘just as gryffindor as his father’ even though Newt’s father was a Ravenclaw. The hat had said that he was ‘luckily the opposite of his sire who surely would have been a Slytherin had he attended Hogwarts’. Which was weird because as far as he had known he had parents of opposing sexes who had both attended the school. It kept Newt quiet for the night, that was certain.
It all made sense now though didn’t it? His hair color was close enough to the rest of the Scamander’s but his eyes were hazel whereas theirs were blue. He may have just been hoping though. Maybe adoption would explain why his parents liked Theseus more than they liked him. His mother, though she was a breeder of hippogriffs, thought his dreams of caring for fantastic creatures were stupid. His father, though little he was home, never ever really took an interest in him. The only one that seemed to enjoy his company was Theseus, but he was starting his internship at the ministry. He wasn’t home and now neither was Newt. He missed his older brother. He tried to understand Newt as much as he could, no matter how weird he was. He barely touched his food.
Albus had a favorite student and it wasn’t even a month into the school year. It was a boy, quieter than the other students who was wearing a glamour ring. He supposed he was the young wizard the ministry had told the headmaster about. The boy who had nye uncontrollable magic. He seemed to have plenty of control now though. Albus wasn’t sure if it was because he had a wand to conduct his power through or if it was simply because school was helping him learn to channel. He didn’t seem to be making any friends, but he was doing well enough in the practical application of his classes. The boy, Newt, didn’t really converse with his housemates or the other students, nor did it seem like he was able to make eye contact with anyone.
He found himself fond of the child. It made him think of his own child, one he was sure to meet but not know when he entered Hogwarts in three years. His heart went out to the boy and he found himself taking him under his wing. He would allow him to eat his lunch in his classroom and they would sit in an amicable silence. Albus had noticed that Newt had a fondness for magical creatures. He knew quite a bit about them and it seemed like there was always some sort of beast hidden at his side. He wasn’t sure if the disillusionment charm was on purpose or not, but the fact that he kept it up during entire school days was impressive.
It wasn’t until third year that the students at Hogwarts learned the hard way not to mess with the magical creatures on campus. One of the fifth years had been messing with a stray niffler. The niffler had stolen a piece of jewelry from his girlfriend, so the fifth year had decided to hex the small beast. A crowd of students had gathered and Albus had heard the cries of the creature from his classroom. He’d just been about to end the scene when the fifth year had been tossed into the air and thrown into the wall. Newt Scamander stood with the niffler close to his chest, hand holding the other boy against the wall. It was an impressive feat of wandless and nonverbal spell casting, especially from a third year. If Albus wasn’t worried about the screams coming from the fifth year, he would’ve been proud.
”That’s enough, Mr. Scamander,” Albus said. “Please release Mr. Hill from the wall.”
The boy dropped to the ground with a thud. The boy was trembling like he’d been the victim of the cruciatus curse. Albus sighed and levitated the boy so they could head to the infirmary. “Come with me Mr. Scamander. The rest of you move along.”
The temporary mediwitch, Madam Leblanc, asked Albus to see what the last spell cast on Newt’s wand was. His compliance led to no answers as the boy had used magic wandlessly.
“I don’t know what I used,” Newt had explained while tending to the niffler. “I just wanted him to hurt like he hurt Maggie. She didn’t mean any harm, Professor. She’s nesting.”
Albus raised a brow, “she’s nesting?”
Newt nodded, “You see how her chest is slightly engorged? She’s pregnant. I hope her kits are alright. They should be due in a few weeks.”
Madam LeBlanc, while unable to identify what spell Newt had used, had at least ruled out the cruciatus curse. Albus gave Newt a few weeks of detention and escorted him and the niffler to the Hufflepuff common room.
A week later left Albus with another incident of four upperclassmen being knocked out near the forbidden forest. There were no witnesses and none of the four students would say who the perpetrator was. They were all friends of Mr. Hill and while Albus assumed it was Newt, there was no proof.
When Newt was almost expelled during his fifth year, Albus swayed the school board otherwise. He’d convinced them that while yes, Newt was fond of creatures, he would never set one loose to harm other students. The school board agreed that the boy could finish out his year and take his O.W.L’s but that he would not be welcomed back for the next school year. When informed, Newt had agreed and so had his parents, though both were disappointed in him. He couldn’t help but listen in on their conversation.
”Newton,” his mother started.
“I’m sorry, mother.”
“We took you in and this is how you repay us? Do you know how it looks that a Scamander has been expelled from this school?” A man spoke quietly, but harshly. “What are we to do with you now? After this year, you still won’t be old enough to go on your own. You needed these next two years.”
“I’ll be interning at the Ministry, remember? I already got a letter that it was secure no matter what the school board decided.”
“You’ll be using your spare time to study for N.E.W.T’s.”
“I could take them now and I’d pass.”
“You’ll take a few years of interning first. I’ll get you a potions teacher for practical practice depending on your O.W.L’s. We’ll see you at the end of the year, alright?” The man left no room for argument.
“Yes, father.”
O.W.L’s came and passed and Newt was officially done with Hogwarts. He wouldn’t be allowed back at school and he was only 13. He’d intern at the ministry, take his N.E.W.T’s and he’d probably end up joining the ministry officially. His parents were even less interested in him now. They barely spoke to him. It was freeing, in a way, as it had left Newt with plenty of time on his hands. He found himself filling his time with transfiguration magic and charms. He’d always loved his creatures, even those he could not keep, but his parents had said he would be unable to keep his small pack of nifflers (Maggie and her two puggles, Teddy and Arrabel. The other puggles hadn’t survived Hill’s hexes.) He needed a safe place to keep the creatures where no one would be able to take them away, and a suitcase was as good a place as any. It took some time, especially since he had to do it wandlessly, but Newt was able to enchant the case to have actual environments in it. Maggie and her puggles would have plenty of room in here, and Newt had transfigured his own little shack that the stairs into the case would lead into so he could sleep with his creatures.
“Who were my parents?” He had asked his mother.
“It was a closed adoption,” she had sighed. “I only know that the man who sired you was a dark wizard.”
“And my other father?”
“He knew you wouldn’t be safe with him. I don’t know his name and I know that he didn’t want to be found. You were left at the ministry with a note. They didn’t want to be traced, so the ministry left it.”
“How would the ministry have figured it out?”
“A baby your age has tells. There’s often left over magical signatures from birth for the first six months. After that? It’s illegal unless a child is lost with no explanation or for longer than a month. A specific division of Aurors is allowed to do it. Blood leads to blood and all that.” She explained.
“Do you regret adopting me?”
“Theseus loves you so much.” She answered.
And Newt had his answer.
It wasn’t until years later, during his battle with Grindelwald, that Newt realized exactly who his dark wizard father may be. There weren’t many wizards with eyes like his and Grindelwald’s, let alone dark wizards. He’d cast revelio on the imposter and he’d stared into the eyes that were almost like his. Hair so blond it was white, and an eye so blue it was almost startling. He imagined this was what it was like when people looked at him. One eye hazel and one almost blue. It was . . . Unsettling. He could see why his other father had wanted him hidden though. He hoped Grindelwald wouldn’t put the pieces together. Newt’s glamor ring had been taken when he was given the death sentence, so his glamor was gone. There was a surprise of sorts in the other’s gaze, but it was only brief before his attention was on MACUSA aurors that were shepherding him away.
“Oh!” Queenie gasped, and Newt knew that she had read his mind. Please don’t say anything, he thought. She gave him a nod.
Newt decided that no matter how illegal it was, he would perform the blood magic. Blood led to blood after all, and Newt needed to know who had willingly slept with Grindelwald. The spell he had found in the Scamander library would map out his family tree. It wouldn’t even take that long, and hopefully he’d be able to get some answers. He doubted Grindelwald would ever love anyone less powerful than himself. He was shocked to see Albus Dumbledore show up as his other father (and almost more shocked to find out that the professor had two siblings and a nephew). He figured the information was best kept to himself —and Queenie.
“You know who I am?”
“I do,” Newt replies. He knew Theseus and the others were looking at him suspiciously, but he continued on even though he knew he shouldn’t. “We’re cousins, Credence. And your name is Aurelius. Aurelius Dumbledore.”
“If you knew, why didn’t anyone save me?” The young man was close to tears.
“I didn’t know until after it was confirmed you weren’t Corvus Lestrange. There’s only so many lost wizarding babes. Aurelius is the only other, though only myself and, I suspect, Grindelwald know of him. After fighting Grindelwald and him being caught by MACUSA, I performed blood magic because I had a hunch that he was my birth father,” He took a breath while Theseus gasped beside him. “Gellert Grindelwald is my father and so is Albus Dumbledore. You are the son of his brother, Aberforth. We had an aunt, Ariana, but she’s passed. We come from a strong line of wizards, which is why you’ve been able to reach such an age without your Obscurial killing you.”
“If you’ll let me, I’d like to take you with me to meet with our fathers. I’m sure we both have many questions.”
Aurelius nodded his head.
“Newton Dumbledore doesn’t have the same ring,” Theseus joked while undressing for bed.
Newt snorted, “as much as father and mother hated me, I won’t be giving up the Scamander name.”
Theseus raised a brow, “yeah? I thought you liked Dumbledore more. He certainly liked you more than either of our parents ever did.”
Newt blushed before he spoke, “I have an older brother whose last name is Scamander. He’s a hugger.”
True to form, Theseus suffocated Newt in a hug.