TINA
Lumos.
An extraordinary acre of shelves stretches away from them, all carved to look like trees, so that they seem to be on the edge of the forest. Pickett pokes his head out of NEWT’S pocket and squeals in excitement.
TINA
Lestrange.
Nothing happens.
TINA sets off, NEWT right behind her. They weave in and out of the carved shelves bearing rolls of parchment, the occasional prophecy, other mysterious trunks and boxes.
NEWT
Tina – about Leta—
TINA
Yes, I’ve just said, I am happy for you—
NEWT
Yeah, well, don’t.
She stops. Looks at him. What?
NEWT
Please don’t be happy.
(in trouble)
Uh, no, no. I’m sorry. I don’t . . . Uh, obviously, I – Obviously I want you to be. And I hear that you are now. Uh, which is wonderful. Sorry—
(a gesture of hopelessness)
What I’m trying to say is, I want you to be happy, but don’t be happy that I’m happy, because I’m not.
(off her confusion)
Happy.
(off her continued confusion)
Or engaged.
TINA
What?
NEWT
It was a mistake in a stupid magazine. My brother’s marrying Leta, June the sixth. I’m supposed to be best man. Which is sort of mildly hilarious.
TINA
Does he think you’re here to win her back?
(a beat)
Are you here to win her back?
NEWT
No! I’m here to—
A beat. He stares at her.
NEWT
—you know, your eyes really are—
TINA
Are what?
NEWT
I’m not supposed to say.
Pickett is climbing out of NEWT’S pocket onto the nearest shelf. NEWT doesn’t notice.
A beat. In a rush:
TINA
Newt, I read your book, and did you—?
NEWT
I still have a picture of you – wait, did you read—?
NEWT pulls the picture of her from his breast pocket and unfolds it. She is inordinately touched. He looks from the picture to TINA.
NEWT
I got this – I mean, it’s just a picture of you from the paper, but it’s interesting because your eyes in newsprint . . . See, in reality they have this effect in them, Tina . . . It’s like fire in water, in dark water. I’ve only ever seen that—
(struggling)
I’ve only ever seen that in—
TINA
(whispers)
Salamanders?
A loud bang as the doors to the records room fly open. They jump apart. Somebody has entered the room. They draw back among the shelves.
TINA
Come.
ANGLE ON LETA in the doorway.
She walks inside, desperate. This is her last chance to hide evidence about Corvus’s death. The doors close behind her. She raises her wand.
LETA
Lestrange.
The shelves begin to move.
ANGLE ON MELUSINE, watching through the records room doors.
ANGLE ON NEWT AND TINA.
The giant trees are shifting all around them. They are almost crushed as the Lestrange ‘tree’ flies towards them. They hop onto a shelf.
ANGLE ON LETA.
The towering stack stops, swaying, in front of her. She stares. An empty shelf confronts her. A mark in the dust where a box sat, a slip of parchment in its place.
She picks up the slip and reads it aloud.
LETA
‘Records moved to Lestrange family tomb at Père Lachaise.’
She spots Pickett hiding among the deed boxes on the shelf.
LETA
Circumrota.
The record tower turns, revealing NEWT and TINA clinging to the shelves.
LETA
Hello, Newt.
NEWT
TINA
(awkwardly, but kindly)
Hi.
At that moment, MELUSINE enters the records room surrounded by growling Matagots.
NEWT
Oh no.
LETA
(scared)
What kind of cats are those?
NEWT
These aren’t cats, they’re Matagots. They’re spirit familiars. They guard the Ministry – but they won’t hurt you unless you—
Panicking, LETA fires a spell at one of the cats.
LETA
Stupefy!
Her spell not only fails, it causes the Matagots to multiply and become even more aggressive.
NEWT
UNLESS YOU ATTACK THEM!
As each batch of Matagots is hit, they multiply and mutate. The situation has become dangerous.
LETA
Oops.
NEWT
Leta!
LETA climbs over the balustrade to join NEWT and TINA on the shelf stack.
LETA
Reverte!
The towering stack flies backwards as the Matagots pounce in a terrifying ebony surge of teeth and claws.
The other ‘trees’ of the records room forest spin and move as NEWT, TINA and LETA run through the room chased by the attacking Matagots.
But just as the Matagots seemingly lose the trail, all of the records room towers retract into the floor, leaving the room empty. The Matagots prowl towards where their prey must surely be standing, only to find—
NEWT’S case.
ANGLE ON the case from above.
A beat.
An explosion as the Zouwu bursts out of the case, NEWT clinging to its back. Roaring, it rears, slashing at the rising tide of Matagots, its mane flashing.
NEWT
Accio!
NEWT’S case flies into his hand.
For a few seconds, the Zouwu and NEWT vanish under the seething mass of cats. They fight them off, the Zouwu’s immense power unmatched, red tail swishing.
NEWT points his wand at the ceiling.
NEWT
Ascendio!
The towers rise once again from the floor, lifting NEWT and the Zouwu high up into the air. Still fighting off the Matagots as the stacks tip and fall beneath the sheer weight, the Zouwu clambers across to the balcony.
SCENE 97
INT. MINISTÈRE DES AFFAIRES MAGIQUES, MAIN LEVEL—A MINUTE LATER—NIGHT
The Matagots give chase as the Zouwu gallops out of the room, leaving them injured and thwarted in its wake. The Zouwu carves a path of destruction through the Ministry. It takes one last leap over the typing pool . . .
. . . and its immense magical power propels it up and out through the glass roof.
SCENE 98
EXT. PÈRE LACHAISE CEMETERY—NIGHT
NEWT and the Zouwu land in the cemetery. With one gigantic leap, the Zouwu has taken them to freedom.
The few Matagots that have followed them growl and then shrink. Reduced to the size of domestic cats in the Muggle environment, they ‘meow’ pitifully.
NEWT opens his case as the Zouwu nudges him with affection.
NEWT
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Okay, wait. Hold it there, please. Come on. All right, okay, wait. Okay.
LETA and TINA climb out of the case to observe NEWT coaxing the Zouwu.
TINA shakes the cat bird toy she has retrieved from the case. The Zouwu’s eyes light up.
Unnoticed by NEWT and TINA, LETA runs away into the darkness.
SCENE 99
INT. LESTRANGE MAUSOLEUM—A MINUTE LATER—NIGHT
LETA enters the ornate space that is lined with sleeping statues of dead Lestranges. JACOB stands backed against the wall next to NAGINI in snake form, who is repeatedly lashing out at KAMA, who is trying to get a clean shot at CREDENCE.
KAMA
(to NAGINI)
Move bac
k! Move! Out of the way! If I must kill you as well as Corvus, I shall!
LETA raises her wand at KAMA, who swings round to see her, wand pointed at him – a standoff.
LETA
Stop!
She walks forward, stricken but determined, at last, to do the right thing. KAMA is mesmerised. She is his mother reborn. He moves towards LETA, studies her face in the darkness, transfixed and moved by the sight of her.
LETA
Yusuf?
KAMA
Is that really you? My little sister . . . ?
NEWT and TINA enter and exchange looks – another piece of the puzzle.
CREDENCE
(to LETA)
So he’s your brother? Who am I?
LETA
I don’t know.
He pushes past LETA and faces KAMA, unprotected.
CREDENCE
I’m tired of living with no name and no history. Just tell me my story – then you can end it.
KAMA
Your story is our story . . .
(gesturing to LETA)
Our story.
LETA
No, Yusuf—
KAMA
(determined)
My father was Mustafa Kama, a pureblood of Sénégalese descent and most accomplished.
SCENE 100
EXT. PARK—1896—DAY
We see a beautiful woman, LAURENA, dressed in an exquisite gown, walking through a park with her husband MUSTAFA – clearly in love. A YOUNG YUSUF by their side.
KAMA (V.O.)
My mother Laurena was equally high-bred – a noted beauty. They were deeply in love. They knew a man of great influence, from a famous French pureblood family. He desired her.
Watching from a distance, an intense wizard, CORVUS LESTRANGE SR, studies her beauty.
SCENE 101
INT. KAMA MANSION—1896—NIGHT
LAURENA’S gown changes to a nightdress. She is walking slowly downstairs, a supernatural wind blowing.
KAMA (V.O.)
Lestrange used the Imperius Curse to seduce and abduct her . . .
12-YEAR-OLD KAMA runs after his mother, tugs at her hand and tries to pull her back upstairs. She throws him off. The front door flies open. LESTRANGE SR stands at the foot of the garden path. LAURENA walks towards him. KAMA chases after her. LESTRANGE SR points his wand at KAMA and sends him sprawling.
LAURENA lies on the bed as IRMA carries a newborn swaddled in a blanket to LESTRANGE SR.
SCENE 102
INT. LESTRANGE MAUSOLEUM—NIGHT
KAMA
. . . that was the last time I ever saw her. She died, giving birth to a little girl.
(to LETA)
You.
Tears start in LETA’S eyes, reliving the guilt she holds.
KAMA
The news of her death drove my father insane. With his dying breath, my father charged me to seek revenge.
(determined)
Kill the person Lestrange loves best in the world . . . I thought at first it would be easy . . . he had only one close relative . . . you. But—
LETA
Say it . . .
KAMA
. . . he never loved you.
SCENE 103
INT. LESTRANGE MANOR, BEDROOM—1901—DAY
We re-enter the story to find LESTRANGE SR with a new, blonde wife.
KAMA (V.O.)
He remarried not three months after her death. He loved her no more than he had loved you . . . But then . . .
IRMA takes the BABY BOY who has just been born, and passes him to LESTRANGE SR, who is delighted.
KAMA (V.O.)
. . . his son, Corvus, was born at last. And that man who had never known love was filled with it . . .
SCENE 104
INT. LESTRANGE MAUSOLEUM—NIGHT
CREDENCE looks on, rapt – is this who he is? He’s hungry to know more.
KAMA
All he cared about was little Corvus.
A beat.
CREDENCE
So. . . this is the truth? I am Corvus Lestrange?
KAMA
Yes.
LETA
No.
CREDENCE stares from one to the other.
KAMA turns and looks at LETA. Her eyes are unfocused. These memories have haunted her nightmares for years.
KAMA
(to LETA)
Realising that Mustafa Kama’s son had sworn revenge, your father sought to hide you where I couldn’t find you. So he confided you to his servant, who boarded a ship for America.
LETA
He did send Corvus to America, but—
KAMA
His servant, Irma Dugard, was a half-elf. Her magic was weak and therefore left no trace I could follow. I had only just discovered how you had escaped when I received news I never expected . . . The ship had gone down at sea . . . But you survived, didn’t you?
(to CREDENCE)
Somehow, someone had pulled you from the water!
‘A son cruelly banished
Despair of the daughter
Return, great avenger
With wings from the water.’
There—
(points at LETA)
—stands the despairing daughter. You are the winged raven returned from the sea, but I – I am the avenger of my family’s ruin.
KAMA raises his wand.
KAMA
I pity you, Corvus, but you must die.
LETA
Corvus Lestrange is already dead. I killed him.
LETA raises her wand.
LETA
Accio!
A heavy box, hidden in the corner of the mausoleum, comes crashing to her through the dust. A series of clicks as cogs whirr . . . Puzzle-like, it falls apart.
LETA
My father owned a very strange family tree. It only recorded the men . . .
We glimpse a tree with an orchid-like flower twisting around it.
LETA
. . . the women in my family were recorded as flowers. Beautiful. Separate.
SCENE 105
INT. LESTRANGE MANOR, NURSERY—1901—NIGHT
IRMA lifts a baby from a crib and departs, watched by a desolate LESTRANGE SR.
LETA (V.O.)
My father sent me to America, along with Corvus.
SCENE 106
INT. SHIP’S CABIN, 1901—NIGHT
IRMA is asleep, CHILD LETA awake on a lower bunk, and BABY CORVUS screaming in his crib.
LETA (V.O.)
Irma was to pose as a grandmother with two grandchildren . . .
The lights suddenly flicker on and off – CHILD LETA hasn’t moved, she is still looking at the screaming BABY CORVUS.
LETA (V.O.)
Corvus never stopped crying.
In the background there is a commotion as figures run along the corridor outside the door. As CHILD LETA approaches BABY CORVUS, who continues to cry, IRMA wakes. She goes to investigate the fuss and noise in the corridor.
LETA (V.O.)
I never wanted to hurt him.
CHILD LETA is transfixed by the baby.
LETA (V.O.)
I only wanted to be free of him. Just for a moment . . .
SCENE 107
INT. SHIP’S CORRIDOR—1901—NIGHT
The door of the opposite cabin is ajar. BABY CREDENCE is inside, fast asleep. CHILD LETA slips inside. She swaps the babies.
LETA (V.O.)
Just a single moment.
SCENE 108
INT. SHIP’S CABIN—1901—NIGHT
CHILD LETA enters with BABY CREDENCE.
IRMA
Give him to me!
The ship lurches again. IRMA snatches BABY CREDENCE, not noticing the switch amid the confusion. The cabin door bangs open to reveal a dark-haired young woman wearing a nightdress and life jacket.
CREDENCE’S AUNT
Irma? They want us to put on life jackets!
She slips and slides into her own cabin and picks up BABY COR
VUS, also not realising the babies have been switched.
SCENE 109
EXT. LIFEBOAT—1901—NIGHT
CHILD LETA, IRMA and BABY CREDENCE are in one boat, CREDENCE’S AUNT and BABY CORVUS in another.
A huge wave is approaching. CHILD LETA watches as the lifeboat bearing CREDENCE’S AUNT and BABY CORVUS is overturned.
CLOSE ON the surface of the water. A few survivors reappear, including CREDENCE’S AUNT, but not BABY CORVUS . . . CREDENCE’S AUNT pulls off her life jacket so she can dive too . . .
She does not re-emerge. We close in through the surface of the water, past the drowning woman, and see the dark shape of a drowning baby trailing bubbles of magical light as he sinks . . . and his figure becomes . . .
SCENE 110
INT. LESTRANGE MAUSOLEUM—NIGHT
. . . the drowning baby falling through sea-green light, hanging in the air in the mausoleum. LETA has conjured it. It has haunted her all her life and now she shows it to them.
The orchid representing LETA on the Lestrange family tree twists around the branch labelled CORVUS LESTRANGE until the leaves wither and die.
NEWT
You didn’t mean to do it, Leta. So it wasn’t your fault.
LETA
Oh, Newt. You never met a monster you couldn’t love.
A long look between them, a look full of memories.
TINA
Leta, do you know who Credence really is? Did you know, when you swapped them?
LETA
No.
CREDENCE reacts.
An opening suddenly appears in the wall of the mausoleum. All stare at the steps leading down into the earth. The sound of a gigantic crowd rumbles beneath them.
JACOB
Queenie?
Before anyone can stop him, he runs down the steps. NEWT and TINA dash after him. LETA looks at KAMA, then follows NEWT.
KAMA hurries after her.
SCENE 111
INT. UNDERGROUND AMPHITHEATRE—NIGHT
JACOB steps out of the narrow staircase into an underground amphitheatre, and is confronted by a terrifying sight.
Thousands of witches and wizards mill around, some already seated on stone benches. The atmosphere is edgy. Some are nervous but curious. Others excited, still others ready for a fight. Masked ACOLYTES steward the crowd.
ANGLE ON CREDENCE AND NAGINI entering the amphitheatre.
Awed and intimidated by the sight, they are swept along in the swell of people moving deeper into the auditorium.