“Superheroes everywhere were just offended. I hope you’re proud of yourself.”
“That’s sweet. Though… most of our equipment is pretty, uh.. bad. I hope she doesn’t hurt herself…“
Carlos looked at Maven. “Um… how bad?” he asked. He didn’t want Angie to hurt herself.
Carlos wandered through the forest. He knew he’d seen a cave somewhere – it looked like an old bear cave, though he hadn’t gone in it before. He wanted to be as far away from his camp and the summer camps, in case the children had an idea to wander around at night to hunt for snipes. The full moon would make visibility perfect for it, so it was a reasonable concern in Carlos’ mind.
He finally came across the cave he was looking for. And not too soon either – the moon would rise probably within the next ten minutes. Carlos ventured forth, holding his flashlight up to search the inside of the cave. Hopefully it was empty. Could a werewolf beat a bear? Maybe?
he huffed slightly, looking at the entrance of the cave
Carlos lifted an eyebrow in confusion. “You… do?“ he guessed.
Newt smiled, and nodded a little as well. “Thank you.” He said again. “I really appreciate this.”
“Of course, Newt,” Mr Ramon told him with a smile. He looked down at his desert and gently tore off a piece from the pastry. “We appreciate you being here. Carlos doesn’t have very many wizard friends, you know.”
☝️ – Tap my muse on the shoulder
Newt had been walking down the street, case in hand when he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder. He paused, not sure who was there, but he turned to see–
“Carlos?” He asked in disbelief. It had been ages since he’d last seen the man. What were the chances of seeing him again?
Despite the fact that what Carlos was saying was true, Newt still blushed and looked bashfully down at the table for a moment. “I appreciate that, Carlos.” He said, offering a small smile again. “But really, I didn’t do much – if anything, you helped me by allowing me to take that bundimun.”
“You did the research on the bundimun and came up with an idea to remove it without harming it,” Carlos pointed out. “Not to mention the actual work that came with cleaning up after it. I would have never known how to even approach the problem without you.”
He glanced down at the menu, and was quickly confused. “What’s a ‘banger’?” he asked, appearing a little troubled.
Carlos blinked at him, but then his lips cracked into a wide grin. “O-okay. Swell. That would be great. Thank you, Newt. I’ll try not to get in the way.”
“You don’t need to worry about that.” He said with a smile, shaking his head. “You won’t get in the way, Carlos. Actually, it’ll probably help to have you there.”
Carlos nodded. “I hope so,” he said, still smiling. “When do you think you’ll be heading out, Newt?”
“I’m thinking tomorrow, hopefully. I can help you all repairing the house, but I must admit I’m pretty excited to see him.”
“I’m sure you are,” Carlos said with a grin.
“You’re welcome to stay here until you’re ready for the expedition,” Mr Ramon told Newt with a smile.
“Yeah,” Carlos said. “I’ll have my room set up and cleaned after dessert.”
Newt blinked in surprise at the offer, and looked between Carlos and his father. “Are you sure?” He asked. “I wouldn’t want to be a bother…”
Carlos just grinned at him. “Newt – you helped us save the house. You’re not a bother at all.”
“Besides – any hotel is at least an hour’s ride from here,” Mikey said. “We don’t have a Portkey or a Floo, and since you haven’t seen much of the area you probably couldn’t apparate there yourself without help.”
The man smiled shyly, and looked down. “Thank you.” He replied quietly, and bashfully looked up at the two of them. “You don’t need to worry about setting up for me, I can just spend the night in my case.” He reassured.
“It’s no trouble at all,” Carlos repeated. “We want to allow you some privacy in our home, after all.” Mikey and Mr Ramon each nodded in agreement.
☝️ – Tap my muse on the shoulder
Newt had been walking down the street, case in hand when he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder. He paused, not sure who was there, but he turned to see–
“Carlos?” He asked in disbelief. It had been ages since he’d last seen the man. What were the chances of seeing him again?
Newt smiled, and offered his arm. “I know a good place.” He said, and smiled happily at the man.
Oh, a Newt smile. Carlos forgot how much he liked those – Newt’s expressions were always so subtle.
Carlos took Newt’s elbow, assuming the other man would lead them to the place. “Is it a magic or a No-Maj place? I’ve got money for both.”
Once Carlos took his arm, he disapparated, and they suddenly appeared in front of The Leaky Cauldron. “It’s a magic place, don’t worry. This way we can speak freely.” He said to him. “And I can pay for lunch, it’s alright.” He added.
The apparation took Carlos by surprise, but he quickly relaxed when he realized what happened. “Ha – you could’ve warned me,” he said to Newt without any heat in his voice. “Also, I already said I’d already pay, didn’t I? You going to make a dishonest wizard out of me, Newt?”
Carlos looked around them. It appeared to be a pub of some kind dripping in magic, as most all wizard places that Carlos went to did. It reminded him a bit of Ilvermorny, though not quite as old or Gothic. However, it seemed very homely.
Newt smiled at the comment, and shrugged. “It’s always good to keep you on your toes.” He replied teasingly, leading the man inside and finding a table for the two of them. Menus floated over to them, and the thin man handed one over to the other.
“Are you sure? You’re visiting, I feel like I should return the favour after you and your family were so kind.” He said to him.
Carlos snorted. “It’s not like it was all one-sided, Newt. Or I guess three-sided, since it was my family.You helped us, we put you up and fed you – in addition to you being a good friend of ours and mine…” Carlos didn’t carry on and just smiled at Newt, waiting to see how he reacted.
Carlos blinked at him, but then his lips cracked into a wide grin. “O-okay. Swell. That would be great. Thank you, Newt. I’ll try not to get in the way.”
“You don’t need to worry about that.” He said with a smile, shaking his head. “You won’t get in the way, Carlos. Actually, it’ll probably help to have you there.”
Carlos nodded. “I hope so,” he said, still smiling. “When do you think you’ll be heading out, Newt?”
“I’m thinking tomorrow, hopefully. I can help you all repairing the house, but I must admit I’m pretty excited to see him.”
“I’m sure you are,” Carlos said with a grin.
“You’re welcome to stay here until you’re ready for the expedition,” Mr Ramon told Newt with a smile.
“Yeah,” Carlos said. “I’ll have my room set up and cleaned after dessert.”
Newt blinked in surprise at the offer, and looked between Carlos and his father. “Are you sure?” He asked. “I wouldn’t want to be a bother…”
Carlos just grinned at him. “Newt – you helped us save the house. You’re not a bother at all.”
“Besides – any hotel is at least an hour’s ride from here,” Mikey said. “We don’t have a Portkey or a Floo, and since you haven’t seen much of the area you probably couldn’t apparate there yourself without help.”
☝️ – Tap my muse on the shoulder
Newt had been walking down the street, case in hand when he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder. He paused, not sure who was there, but he turned to see–
“Carlos?” He asked in disbelief. It had been ages since he’d last seen the man. What were the chances of seeing him again?
Newt smiled, and offered his arm. “I know a good place.” He said, and smiled happily at the man.
Oh, a Newt smile. Carlos forgot how much he liked those – Newt’s expressions were always so subtle.
Carlos took Newt’s elbow, assuming the other man would lead them to the place. “Is it a magic or a No-Maj place? I’ve got money for both.”
Once Carlos took his arm, he disapparated, and they suddenly appeared in front of The Leaky Cauldron. “It’s a magic place, don’t worry. This way we can speak freely.” He said to him. “And I can pay for lunch, it’s alright.” He added.
The apparation took Carlos by surprise, but he quickly relaxed when he realized what happened. “Ha – you could’ve warned me,” he said to Newt without any heat in his voice. “Also, I already said I’d already pay, didn’t I? You going to make a dishonest wizard out of me, Newt?”
Carlos looked around them. It appeared to be a pub of some kind dripping in magic, as most all wizard places that Carlos went to did. It reminded him a bit of Ilvermorny, though not quite as old or Gothic. However, it seemed very homely.
☝️ – Tap my muse on the shoulder
Newt had been walking down the street, case in hand when he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder. He paused, not sure who was there, but he turned to see–
“Carlos?” He asked in disbelief. It had been ages since he’d last seen the man. What were the chances of seeing him again?
Newt smiled, and offered his arm. “I know a good place.” He said, and smiled happily at the man.
Oh, a Newt smile. Carlos forgot how much he liked those – Newt’s expressions were always so subtle.
Carlos took Newt’s elbow, assuming the other man would lead them to the place. “Is it a magic or a No-Maj place? I’ve got money for both.”
“Superheroes everywhere were just offended. I hope you’re proud of yourself.”
“Sorry, sorry.. I’m not wearing my glasses, my vision is awful..!“ Maven chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck.
Carlos grinned. “I was teasing, buddy. Where are your glasses?”
“I have.. no idea.“ A slightly nervous grin formed on his face, “I bet one of the campers hid them somewhere.. again.“
“Oh boy… well, do you want help looking for them? Do you have back-ups?”
“Yeah, yeah I have back-ups.“ Maven sighed, absentmindedly glancing left and right. “I bet Nikki took them… I mean, she also stole most of David’s money to buy Barbie dolls just to burn and break them while yelling ‘I am your god now!’…!“
“Well, okay… um. Let’s get one of your back-ups so you can see. Any idea where she might have taken them? I’ll help you look.”
“She could’ve taken them anywhere, really… but most plausible would be the cave she found the camp’s mascot on. She takes a lot of stuff there.“
“Okay. Well, we’ll go ahead and go there first. Nothing lives in the cave now, I’m assuming?”
“Well, apart from a few strange bugs it should be empty.“
“That’s good. Alright – Lead the way, Maven.”
Maven nodded with a grin, hiking to where the cave was. He was slow enough for Carlos to catch up, but not too slow.
Carlos didn’t have any trouble keeping up with Maven as they hiked. He looked around at their surroundings, trying to memorize where they were going in reference to the camp.
“Your daughter goes to camp, right? She’s a real sweetheart.“
“Oh – do you know her?” Carlos asked, looking at Maven.
“Yes, well, not personally, we haven’t interacted yet, but just hearing what other people tell me about her and seeing how she participates in activities really makes me think of her as just… the biggest sweetheart in camp!“ Maven gave a soft laugh.
Carlos laughed. “Well, I should tell her that she has a reputation, shouldn’t I? Maybe it’d help her behave more, the little stinker.” He was kidding – Angie was one of the most well-behaved children he’d ever seen.
“She’s pretty dang smart, too! I’m assuming she got that from you?“
Carlos chuckled again and scratched the back of his neck self-conciously. “Well, I suppose so… she really likes science and stuff, like I do. Her mom signed her up for Science Camp.“
The Perfect Scientist 
