[ I've decided to update every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, just to have a bit of a schedule :). ]

~

Penelope went home that night, comforted when Newt told her and the others that all of the creatures that had gotten loose were now back where they belonged. Newt and Jacob went back with the Goldstein sisters, as they had already offered them a place to stay that night. Though Penelope couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealously when Newt had so happily agreed to go home with Tina.

She had no idea what had gotten into her.

~

The next morning, Penelope woke up refreshed after a night of good sleep. After she had eaten a breakfast consisting of eggs and bacon, she grabbed the frozen meat out of the freezer for her beasts to eat. She was busy cutting up the meat when she heard her doorbell ring.

Confused as of why someone was visiting her so early in the morning, she wiped her hands on the rag beside her before making her way towards the front door. When she opened the wooden door, she was surprised to see an awkwardly smiling Newt standing in its place.

"Mornin', Miss Finch," he greeted with a nod of his head. In his hand he held his suitcase; Penelope had learned that he never went anywhere without it.

"Hey, Newt," Penelope said slowly, her eyebrows furrowed. She expected that, now that the whole loose beasts thing was over with, Newt would move on from her, as he no longer needed her help. "What are you doing here?"

"Um, I forgot to get my book from you last night, actually," Newt replied with a slight chuckle. He then looked to the floor, smiling crookedly before looking back up to the woman. "And I just wanted to see you."

Unable to hide the smile that crept onto her face, Penelope stepped aside to let the man inside. "Come on in, Mr. Scamander. You're just in time- I was getting ready to feed Felix."

Newt followed closely behind Penelope as she led the way through her house and towards the back door, a bowl of freshly chopped meat in her hands. Outside the house, enjoying the morning winter sun, sat Felix the Griffin. His beak was buried deep within his golden fur, as if he were attempting to scratch an itch he just couldn't quite reach.

"Newt, meet Felix," Penelope said as she gazed at the beast in wonder. At the sound of her voice, the Griffin raised his head, jumping to his feet and prancing over to her.

"He's brilliant," Newt murmured as he looked the animal up and down. "How do you keep him here without the Muggles seeing him?"

"When I moved into this house, my mother put a charm on the backyard, making any magical beings invisible to No-Majs," Penelope explained, reaching into the bowl and pulling out a thick chunk of meet. She tossed it to Felix, who leap into the air with a single flap of his giant wings and caught it. She then handed the bowl to Newt, who only looked at her in confusion. "You want to feed him?"

"I heard that feeding a griffin who has yet to accept you is especially dangerous," he said skeptically, not taking his eyes off the beast before him. "I would have to perform a type of ritual."

"Well, go on, Mr. Beast Man," Penelope said with a shrug, laughing a bit as she looked at the man beside her. "Perform your griffin dance."

"I have yet to master it, actually," replied Newt self-consciously, crouching low to the ground and flipping his navy blue trench coat behind him. "But I can try. If things go wrong, however, your beast could very well kill me..." He then looked up at Penelope, his blue eyes shining in the sunlight. "If that happens, I trust you to calm him down."

Now terrified that her beast would maul her friend to death, she took a step back, gazing at Felix worriedly. Though as Newt bowed his head at the creature, soft cooing noises coming from his mouth, Penelope was surprised to see Felix copy the man's movements, cooing back. Newt Scamander really did have a way with these creatures.

~

Later that day, as Penelope and Newt made their way back inside her house, Newt suddenly stopped and placed his suitcase of the wooden flooring of her living room. He unlatched the object, opening it before turning to look up at Penelope.

"I haven't gotten the chance to give you a proper tour yet," he said to her, beckoning her with his hand before he stepped into the suitcase. Penelope, still unsure about the magically expanding suitcase, hesitated a moment before following Newt inside.

Once inside the suitcase, Penelope followed closely behind Newt as he wove through the maze of beast enclosures. He led her through a flap of canvas that was painted to look like the desert, and they were suddenly engulfed in a bamboo forest. Newt wove through the thick trunks of the plants with ease, and Penelope struggled to keep up with him.

Newt stopped in front of a tiny leaf-less tree. Dozens of small green creatures littered the branches of the plant, and Penelope recognized them as European tree-guardians- Bowtruckles.

"Whoa," she breathed as she stared at the magnificent, yet simple creatures. Newt chuckled from behind her, suddenly reaching out his hand and revealing yet another Bowtruckle.

"Go on, Pickett," he coaxed the little creature, who held onto his fingers as if its life depended on it. He turned to look at Penelope, a small smile on his face. "He needed some body warmth when he had a cold, so I've been carrying him around with me. Unfortunately, during that time, he developed some attachment issues. Now c'mon, Pickett, you aren't sick anymore." Though the Bowtruckle on his hand still refused to join the others of its species, so Newt only rolled his eyes and placed the creature on his shoulder.

Penelope couldn't help but smile as she followed the man away from the Bowtruckle tree, her heart fluttering at the way he treated these creatures. He stopped beside a small bucket filled with seeds, picking it up and handing it to Penelope.

"Can you feed the Diricrawls for me? Just spread some of these seeds on the ground and they'll do the work."

Penelope nodded, taking the bucket from the man before making her way over to the plump flightless birds. She grabbed a handful of seeds and threw them on the ground, and immediately the Diricrawls began pecking at the food. When they were busy, Penelope glanced over her shoulder at Newt, and saw him making his way over to a single glowing creature with tentacles.

She suddenly felt a sharp nip at her leg, and turned back around to see an infant Diricrawl standing at her feet. She realized that all the seeds that she had thrown done were gone, so she grabbed another handful and tossed it to the creatures.

"They have a remarkable way of escaping danger." Penelope jumped at the sound of Newt's voice, and she turned around to see him approaching her. He held the creature with the tentacles in one arm; in the other was a bottle in which he was feeding the creature with. "They can vanish in a puff of feathers and reappear elsewhere."

Penelope nodded slowly, unable to hide the smile on her face as she watched Newt feed the unknown glowing creature as if it were his own child. She tried to ignore the fluttering of her heart inside her chest, though it was hard, as it were like a butterfly trying to escape a trap.

~

After Newt had finished feeding the creature with the bottle, he led Penelope elsewhere. He approached a small, woven nest that was perched on a table; soft squawks came from inside it.

Newt wore a crooked smile on his face as he leaned down beside the nest. "It's okay, mummy's here," he murmured as he stroked whatever creatures were inside the nest. Cautiously, Penelope stepped up beside him, looking down into the nest. Inside it were four blue snake-like birds, all staring up at Newt with their beaks wide open.

Penelope didn't have to ask him what they were, for she already knew too well. They were Occamies.

"I know you probably don't want to be looking at these buggers, I understand. But I want you to see that they're not horrible beasts; in fact, they're quite the opposite," Newt said softly, standing up beside her with an Occamy in his hands. "I know you look at them as just that, but they don't just kill out of cold blood. It was just an accident."

Bringing her bottom lip in between her teeth, Penelope nodded slowly. She did see these seemingly-peaceful beasts as cold-hearted killers, she wasn't going to deny it. But what Newt said made sense, Occamies startle easily, and her father's death could have very well been just a terrible accident.

She then reached out towards the tiny snake-like creature, daring to pet it, though as her hand neared its beak, it snapped at her. Startled, Penelope leaped back, screaming as she did so. This startled the Occamy; with a loud squawk, it flapped its feathered wings and took off into flight. As it did so, its whip-like tail slashed against Newt's chest, slicing his shirt and his skin.

"Merlin's beard," Newt hissed, grabbing his chest as he hunched over. Penelope immediately ran to his side, ignoring the Occamy as it rose into the sky and disappeared, more than likely out of the suitcase.

"Newt," she murmured in panic, her hand rested on his shoulder. She had no idea how serious Occamy wounds could be; that is, if it didn't kill you right away. "Newt, I'm so sorry."

"No worries," Newt said through clenched teeth as he straightened himself, though his hand was still pressed to his wounded chest. Scarlet blood seeped around his hands. "I'll be alright, just need to clean the bugger."

Penelope followed closely behind him as he stumbled into his office, and her eyes widened as he tore his shirt from his body almost effortlessly. Her eyes scanned his surprisingly muscular back, studying the scars that were scattered across his skin. There wasn't a doubt that those scars were inflicted by beasts, and Penelope admired how he still found them as harmless creatures.

Newt turned around with a bottle of clear liquid in his hand, smiling crookedly at Penelope as she forced her eyes away from his toned chest, her cheeks heating up in a blush.

"Just another scar to add to the collection," he chuckled lightly as he ran a cloth over the irritated wound, and Penelope forced herself to look at the man in the eyes. He pointed towards a single scar that stretched across his entire stomach. "This is from a hippogriff, I tried to tame one before I mastered the ritual. Bad idea."

"It's amazing how you still find these creatures as harmless, even after you have been hurt by them so many times," Penelope murmured, staring at the harsh scar on his stomach.

Newt looked to the ground, chuckling lightly. "I was at fault for the most of them, I reckon." He then turned back around, grabbing his shirt and pulling it on once more. Penelope mentally scolded herself when she felt slightly disappointed. "Now, Miss Finch. I want to take you out into the city."

~

[ I'm going to begin writing another Newt fanfiction. It's gonna be called "Unmasked", and the introduction is published on my profile if you want to take a look :) it'd be very appreciated!

Also, don't forget to rate and comment