Chapter 167: A Freeloading Thunderbird, The Suitcase
Stormtown.
Leonardo had picked a patch of open ground on the edge of town. Newt stood beside him, intrigued by what Leonardo had just told him.
He called up to the Thunderbird circling overhead and guided it down. The moment it landed, it came hopping over, chattering nonstop.
"Boss, when are we going to your territory?"
"I am hungry again, Boss. Got any more food?"
"I have been sick of this place for ages. There are always humans hiding and spying on me, thinking they are so sneaky…"
Over the past few days, the bird had not seemed like this much of a talker.
Leonardo quickly cut off the stream of complaints and asked what mattered.
"Hold on. Why did you fly all the way out here? And why are you calling me 'Boss'?"
The question clearly puzzled the Thunderbird. It had not expected its Boss to ask something so obvious.
Still, if the Boss asked, it had to answer. It chirped a few sharp notes.
"Boss, you fly faster than me. After you won, you gave me food. That proves you can get food and that you accept me. That makes you my Boss. That is our Thunderbird rule."
"…What?"
Thunderbirds had rules like that?
Beat them in a race and feed them, and they were yours?
Leonardo relayed the explanation to Newt and asked if that was actually how it worked.
Newt was quiet for a few seconds.
"I have spoken with Frank," he said at last. "I know the Thunderbird king is always the fastest flyer and best hunter of the region. But this exact… sequence—win a race and then provide food…"
He paused, then added, "I will be putting that in the new edition."
So Newt had not known either.
Leonardo turned back to the Thunderbird with a sigh.
"Treat our race as a game," he said. "That meal was my way of thanking you for keeping me company these past few days. All right?"
The Thunderbird shook its head.
"No. A win is a win. A loss is a loss. And the prey you caught was too delicious. What I used to catch was rubbish compared to that!"
A vein throbbed in Leonardo's forehead. Was this bird just stubborn, or did it purely want to follow him for the free food?
Keeping a Thunderbird had its advantages. Its feathers, bones, and even its eggs were rare and expensive.
But unlike the creatures he already cared for, a Thunderbird needed a huge range to fly in. The space inside his Flask was nowhere near enough.
Norbert alone took up almost everything he could spare. Once they were home, he would have to ask Newt for help expanding it again.
Letting the bird loose in the Forbidden Forest was no good either. The British climate was nothing like Arizona's.
"Boss, where is your territory?" the Thunderbird asked eagerly.
"My territory…? Why do you want to know that?"
The bird stretched its wings and gave a proud cry.
"If you cannot bring me, I can fly there myself. I am not that slow, you know. I can track you, too. Thunderbirds are very good at navigation!"
Leonardo's headache worsened. He hurried to repeat the exchange to Newt.
Newt looked at the Thunderbird, then at Leonardo.
"Then take him with you," he said. "A juvenile Thunderbird crossing the ocean alone would be too dangerous."
The answer caught Leonardo off guard. He laid out his worries anyway.
When he mentioned habitat and space, Newt waved a hand.
"Do not fret. I can help with that. Getting close to creatures early is part of learning," he said. "A valuable experience."
Leonardo was quietly stunned. He had not expected such an unhesitating yes.
Newt really was treating him very well. Perhaps that was the Hufflepuff in him.
Or perhaps it was that Leonardo's attitude and skill with magical creatures made him someone Newt did not want to waste.
"As for the Sanctuary and MACUSA," Newt added, "leave that to me. I will take the Thunderbird in my name, under the heading of rescue and observation. It would not be the first time. In matters of magical creatures, I still have some say."
He sounded almost afraid Leonardo might refuse to take the bird. And he was not wrong.
By talent or by sheer luck, Leonardo seemed to find something new in the field wherever he went.
That was rare. Newt valued it.
If more contact with magical creatures would help the boy grow—and tie his interests more closely to the field—Newt intended to make that happen.
With the offer put that plainly, Leonardo had no real reason to turn it down.
"Thank you for your help and support, Mr Scamander," he said.
Newt's smile was warmly satisfied. "Good. I will go speak to the officials."
Once he had gone, Leonardo and the Thunderbird were left staring at each other.
He had not expected any of this. He had come to fly a course and clear a loan. Somehow, he was leaving with a Thunderbird.
"Cheep!"
"Boss. Hungry. Want food."
Leonardo's mouth twitched. That only made him more certain the bird mainly wanted a permanent meal ticket.
"Wait here. I will cook something," he said.
As he tallied it up in his head, the list grew worryingly long. A Qilin. A fire dragon. A Niffler. Now a Thunderbird. A cluster of Acromantulas. A herd of Mooncalves. A flock of…
He could practically open a magical zoo.
…
Dorset.
Newt brought Leonardo back home.
Seeing the two of them talking and laughing together, Tina beamed.
"So, the Arizona trip was good?"
"Tina, I have made a lot of progress," Newt said at once. "You know, about Thunderbirds…"
She listened with a small smile as he rattled through the highlights. She knew him well. Any time he had a new discovery in the field, he lit up like this.
When he finally ran out of breath, she turned to Leonardo.
"And you, Leonardo?" she asked. "No nasty surprises this time, I hope. When Newt was young, his knack for finding trouble was about as strong as his knack for finding creatures."
"Well, there was a bit of an accident," Newt cut in hastily. "But a small one. Small. Tina, I need to show Leonardo something."
He grabbed the boy by the arm and beat a quick retreat, not daring to give his wife a chance to ask for details.
Leonardo followed him into the study. Along with shelves of books, there were a few magical creatures tucked around the room—mostly young or unwell specimens that needed extra care.
It was very much Newt's sort of space.
Newt went to the desk and flicked his wand. Quills, scrolls, and odds and ends lifted off and drifted aside, leaving only one object behind.
A suitcase.
Leonardo looked at it and had a feeling he knew what was coming.