Paris, Champs-Élysées.
Grindelwald used alchemical tools to project mist he'd collected from the collective unconscious sea into reality. The otherworldly substance swirled upward, and a large mass of black fog appeared in the air, churning ominously.
Soon, the black fog contracted, and Credence's face materialised before everyone gathered.
"Credence Barebone. Poor child, so desperately yearning for family." Grindelwald looked at the projection with theatrical earnestness.
"But now, where is he searching for his family?" Grindelwald revealed a wicked smile that didn't reach his cold eyes.
"We know where this child is, don't we? Why not just capture him directly?" Carrow raised the obvious question.
"He must come find us himself, and he will come." Grindelwald dismissed the suggestion with a wave. "The path has been laid out perfectly."
He turned his piercing gaze to the prophesied Credence again.
"He'll follow the path to find us. The clues will lead him here, along with the truth about his mysterious and distinguished origins."
"Why's he so important to your plans?" Carrow probed indirectly, though no one noticed the fear flickering in his eyes.
"Because of prophecy, my dear friend. As nobles whose names were carved in the Mirror of Erised, they possess the ability to stir up storms that reshape the world."
Grindelwald walked up to Carrow and spoke with quiet intensity.
"But too many people stand with my old friend Dumbledore. They're natural allies, and their alliance makes wizards favour him by default. I also need to increase my own bargaining chips in this game."
Grindelwald placed both hands on Carrow's shoulders and asked with deceptive softness, "Would you be willing to kill Albus Dumbledore for me?"
Carrow lowered his head; whether from fear or unwillingness was unclear.
"Do you think he can really oppose the great... oppose Albus Dumbledore?"
"I believe he can. There was originally a better choice, but unfortunately, I couldn't defeat him."
Grindelwald's eyes seemed to flash with the image of a certain silver-haired dragon person. A trace of regret appeared in his expression, though he quickly snapped back to attention.
"And when that time comes, will you still stand with us, Carrow? Will you?"
Grindelwald turned and left without waiting for an answer, leaving Carrow behind with his eyes darting about nervously.
Meanwhile, in Paris's magical shopping district, a magical creature escape incident was causing chaos in the streets.
On the other side of the English Channel, back in Britain.
Jacob dragged Aiden toward Newt's workshop with renewed determination. This man had taken considerable time to pull himself together again after Queenie's departure.
He'd immediately decided to drag Newt and the little dragon person along to search for his sweetheart.
"Hey, Newt!" Jacob called out enthusiastically from the stairway.
"I'm downstairs, Jacob! Coming to find you right away!"
Newt's voice echoed off the stone walls from the deepest part of the workshop.
"Whoa!" A large bird behind Jacob raised its head and stared at him with enormous, curious eyes.
Aiden went over to stroke its feathers, which felt smooth and incredibly soft under his fingers.
The two made their way down to the bottom level, where Newt was efficiently packing food and medicine for his magical creatures. Various tools were dancing their way into his enchanted leather case with practised choreography.
Newt casually grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled a quick note for his assistant.
"I restored Queenie's torn postcard. Tina wrote to tell her she's in Paris right now."
"Yeah, so if we go to Paris we can find Queenie!" Jacob supported his head with both hands, his face lighting up with hope.
Aiden flicked his wand with casual precision, and Jacob's coat flew in from outside to hang neatly on his arm.
"Let's go then." Newt closed his case with a decisive snap and picked it up.
The three walked out of Newt's house together, heading toward the English Channel with purpose.
On the windswept highlands overlooking the English Channel, the three walked side by side through the tall grass.
"So, Queenie said Tina's dating someone else?" Newt carefully probed for more information, his voice trying to sound casual.
"Yes, but don't worry about it. She'll come see you." Jacob puffed out his chest confidently. "The five of us'll be just like in New York again."
"Two couples plus me, a single dragon, right?" Aiden rolled his eyes nearby.
"You could also find someone... oh wait, you're way too young for a boyfriend!" Jacob made a teasing joke.
"I'm a boy!" Aiden gave Jacob a firm push, making him stumble sideways.
"But that man's an Auror!" Newt ignored their playful banter and emphasised the important commonality between Tina and Tolliver.
"Yeah, an Auror. So what if he's an Auror? Haha."
Jacob steadied himself and laughed awkwardly, not daring to look at Aiden after that push.
"What should I say when I see her?" Newt continued asking Jacob like he was consulting a military advisor.
"It's best not to draft these things beforehand, buddy. Just improvise when the time comes."
Jacob waved his hands in front of him dismissively.
"My suggestion is, you'd better explain about that 'Spellbound' magazine incident to her first," Aiden complained with obvious exasperation.
Unfortunately, the two completely ignored him.
"She has eyes like a salamander?" Newt began practising potential compliments.
Hearing this, Jacob looked at Newt with complete confusion for a long time before snapping back to reality.
"No, no, no. That won't work at all."
Jacob steadied Newt by the shoulders, gesturing with his free hands.
"Tell her you miss her terribly, that you travelled thousands of miles to Paris just to see her, that you couldn't sleep thinking about her. Something like that, anything heartfelt."
Jacob's voice grew more animated. "Any of those would work perfectly, but whatever you do, don't mention salamanders!"
Newt's brow furrowed with concentration, and Jacob patted his shoulder supportively.
"Hey, hey, hey, buddy, look at me. Everything's gonna be alright." Jacob's voice turned gentle and encouraging. "This time we're together, old friend. We'll find Tina, get Queenie back, and we'll all be like before."
He gestured toward Aiden. "And we've got the little dragon person with us. He's pretty capable in a fight, isn't he?"
Jacob gave Aiden an affectionate pat.
"We're here," Aiden suddenly spoke up, interrupting the pep talk.
Jacob, who'd still been comforting Newt, looked up at Aiden's announcement. He spotted a suspicious man dressed as a shepherd standing near the cliff edge.
"Undocumented departure. We can only leave through him," Newt explained, leading the two forward with obvious reluctance.
"Departure in one minute. Fifty Galleons," the man said, his eyes seeming to have a layer of permanent gloom.
"Wasn't it supposed to be thirty Galleons?" Newt frowned at the obvious price gouging.
"Thirty's the standard fare to Paris. The remaining twenty's my fee for not reporting Newt Scamander's illegal departure," the man smiled smugly.
"Are we taking a boat? I get seasick really badly," Jacob said, still not understanding the magical situation.
"Alright, analysis complete." Aiden, who'd been crouching on the ground examining something, stood up holding what appeared to be a makeshift Portkey stick. "Newt, let me take you across instead. We won't use this guy's route. Use those fifty Galleons to buy me good food in Paris."
"Bastard, what'd you do? Pay up, or I'll report you for illegal departure right now."
The man raised his own stick threateningly toward the three travellers.
"Stupefy." Newt hit him directly with a well-aimed Stunning Spell.
"Whoa, what now? Should we deal with him permanently?" Jacob's gaze was already drifting toward the nearby cliff with dark implications.
"No, just erase his memory properly."
Aiden pushed Jacob aside gently and walked toward the unconscious man.
He reached out and covered the man's head with his palm. A silver-white thread fell from his hand and merged into the man's skull.
"That looks somewhat terrifying," Jacob commented with a shudder.
"That should do it. When he wakes up, he'll just treat everything as a vivid dream."
Skilled Dream Weavers often didn't directly erase memories. Instead, they dissolved memories into dreams and let the person's natural awakening process clear their own memories.
"Now the question is, what exactly do we do?" Newt looked at Aiden expectantly.
"Do you gentlemen enjoy looking at the sea?" Aiden revealed a mysterious smile that promised an interesting journey ahead.