J. Rowling - Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

JUMP CUT TO:

Newt and Tina move around the outskirts of the crowd. At the back, a tipsy hobo is trying to attract the policeman’s attention.

POLICEMAN

Hey . . . Hey—quiet down—I’m trying to get a statement . . .

HOUSEWIFE

. . . I’m telling you it’s a gas explosion again, I ain’t taking the kids back up there until it’s safe.

POLICEMAN

Sorry, ma’am—There ain’t no smell of gas.

HOBO

(drunk)

It warn’t gas—hey, Officer, I seen it!—it wuzza—a gigantic—a huge hippopotto—

Tina is looking up at the ruined building, and misses Newt sliding his wand from his sleeve and pointing it at the hobo.

HOBO

—gas. It was gas.

The others in the crowd around him agree.

CROWD

Gas . . . It was gas!

Tina again catches sight of the Billywig. Taking advantage of this distraction, Newt runs up the metal steps and inside the ruined tenement building.

Newt enters Jacob’s room and stops, staring: The room is completely destroyed. Footprints, broken furniture, shattered glass. Even worse: A massive hole in the opposite wall—something huge has blasted its way out. We can hear Jacob groaning from the corner.

CUT BACK TO TINA as she looks around and realizes that Newt has disappeared from the crowd.

Newt crouches beside Jacob, who lies on his back, eyes closed and moaning. Newt tries to examine a small red bite on Jacob’s neck, but Jacob keeps unconsciously batting him away.

TINA (O.S.)

Mr. Scamander!

CUT TO TINA, running with purpose up the staircase of Jacob’s building.

CUT BACK TO NEWT, who desperately performs a Repairing Charm. The room is righted, the wall repaired, just in time before Tina enters the room.

Tina hurries inside to find Newt, trying to look innocent and composed, sitting on the bed. He calmly seals the latches on his case.

TINA

It was open ?

NEWT

Just a smidge . . .

TINA

That crazy Niffler thing’s on the loose again?

NEWT

Er—it might be—

TINA

Then look for it! Look!

Jacob moans.

Tina drops Jacob’s case and makes straight for the injured Jacob.

TINA

(about Jacob, worried)

His neck’s bleeding, he’s hurt! Wake up, Mr. No-Maj . . .

With Tina’s back turned, Newt makes toward the door. Suddenly Tina emits a guttural scream as the Murtlap comes scuttling out from under a cabinet and latches onto her arm. Newt spins, catching the creature by the tail and grappling it into the case.

TINA

Mercy Lewis, what is that?

NEWT

Nothing to worry about. That is a Murtlap.

Unnoticed by either, Jacob opens his eyes.

TINA

What else have you got in there?

JACOB

(recognizing Newt)

You!

NEWT

Hello.

TINA

Easy, Mr.—

JACOB

Kowalski . . . Jacob . . .

Tina takes Jacob’s hand to shake it.

Newt raises his wand. Jacob recoils in fear, clutching at Tina, who moves protectively in front of him.

TINA

You can’t Obliviate him! We need him as a witness.

NEWT

I’m sorry—you’ve just yelled at me the length of New York for not doing it in the first place . . .

TINA

He’s hurt! He looks ill!

NEWT

He’ll be fine. Murtlap bites aren’t serious.

Newt puts his wand away. Jacob retches into the corner, while Tina looks at Newt in disbelief.

NEWT

I admit that is a slightly more severe reaction than I’ve seen, but if it was really serious—he’d have . . .

TINA

What?

NEWT

Well, the first symptom would be flames out of his anus—

Terrified, Jacob feels the seat of his pants.

TINA

This is balled up!

NEWT

It’ll last forty-eight hours at most! I can keep him if you want me to—

TINA

Oh, keep him? We don’t keep them! Mr. Scamander, do you know anything about the wizarding community in America?

NEWT

I do know a few things, actually. I know you have rather backwards laws about relations with non-magic people. That you’re not meant to befriend them, that you can’t marry them, which seems mildly absurd to me.

Jacob is following this conversation, openmouthed.

TINA

Who’s going to marry him? You’re both coming with me—

NEWT

I don’t see why I need to come with you—

Tina tries to lift the only partly conscious Jacob from the floor.

TINA

Help me!

Newt feels obliged to help.

JACOB

I’m . . . I’m dreaming, right? Yeah . . . I’m tired, I never went to the bank. This is all just some big nightmare, right?

TINA

For the both of us, Mr. Kowalski.

Tina and Newt Disapparate with Jacob.

We focus on the photo of Jacob’s grandma, once again hanging on the wall. Eventually the photo gives a little shake before falling and revealing a hole in the wall, inhabited by the Niffler.

A young boy, clutching a huge lollipop, is led down the busy street by his father. As they pass a fruit barrow, an apple suddenly levitates, bobbing along beside him. The boy gazes in wonder as the apple is eaten by something invisible, then the smile fades as his lollipop is snatched by the same unseen hands.

At a newsstand, the eyes of a lady on an advertisement blink open. The outline of a creature becomes visible, camouflage-like, before it peels away from the poster. It moves along the street, invisible again, only locatable by the lollipop it holds, seemingly suspended in midair. A dog barks in its direction, and the creature scuttles on, knocking over newspaper stands, causing bikes and cars to swerve.