SCENE 40
EXT. PARIS, PLACE CACHÉE—NIGHT
A clear, starry night. TINA GOLDSTEIN, reinstated Auror on a mission of her own, more elegant and confident than in New York but carrying private sadness, walks toward the bronzed statue of a robed woman set on a tall stone base, where witches and wizards dressed as Muggles are vanishing.
SCENE 41
EXT. PLACE CACHÉE, CIRCUS ARCANUS—NIGHT
Music, laughter, and conversation erupt around her. The circus is now in full swing. A banner declares: CIRCUS ARCANUS: FREAKS AND ODDITIES! Several tents, a big top in the middle.
TINA walks past the street performers working in the open, scrutinizing them. A HALF-TROLL performs feats of strength. A few misshapen and particularly downtrodden humanoids—UNDERBEINGS without powers but of magical ancestry—shuffle around, taking money from the crowd. Horns hidden beneath hats, unusual eyes beneath hoods; HALF-ELVES and HALF-GOBLINS juggle and tumble.
A magnificent Chinese Zouwu, a giant catlike creature with a long, plumed tail, is imprisoned in a cage. Fireworks burst overhead.
SCENE 42
INT. CIRCUS ARCANUS, FREAKS’ TENT—EVENING
NAGINI is kneeling at a trunk, stroking her circus dress. She must perform shortly. CREDENCE hurries to her.
CREDENCE
(whispers)
Nagini!
She turns.
NAGINI
Credence.
He hands her the note. She scans it, frowns.
CREDENCE
(whispers)
I think I know where she is.
NAGINI looks up, meets his eyes.
CREDENCE
We escape tonight.
SKENDER comes into NAGINI’S tent.
SKENDER
Hey, I’ve told you to stay away from her, boy—did I say you could take a break? Clean out the Kappa.
SKENDER closes the curtain between CREDENCE and NAGINI.
SKENDER
(to NAGINI)
And you, get ready!
CREDENCE turns and looks up to a cage full of Firedrakes.