Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (18 page)

MELUSINE

Puis-je vous aider?

NEWT

Er—yes, this is Leta Lestrange. And—I’m her—

TINA

Fiancé.

An increased awkwardness between them as MELUSINE lifts an ancient book onto the desk and opens it.

CLOSE ON MELUSINE’S WIZENED FINGER as it runs down a list of surnames beginning with
L.

MELUSINE

(pointing them on)

Allez-y.

TINA

(whispering)

Merci.

NEWT

(sotto voce, behind TINA)

Thank you.

NEWT grabs TINA’S hand and pulls her toward the doors into the records room. MELUSINE eyes them suspiciously.

NEWT

Tina, about that fiancée business—

TINA

(brittle)

Sorry, yeah. I should have congratulated you—

The doors to the records office open. They enter briskly.

SCENE 96

INT. MINISTÈRE DES AFFAIRES MAGIQUES, RECORDS ROOM—NIGHT

The doors close behind them, plunging them into darkness.

NEWT

No, that’s—

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?

(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 toward 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

Hello, Leta.

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 backward 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 toward 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 injured and thwarted Matagots 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 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 back! 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 mesmerized. She is his mother reborn. He moves toward 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)