"What did you say?" Asked Dumbledore, stopping in place.
He was pacing inside his study only a mont ago, organizing his thoughts for the night when a buzz within his robe alerted him to a ssage. Picking out McGonagall's little card, her face soon ca into view, and he had to stop when hearing her words.
"Just as I said, Albus." She repeated, telling him where they were and what they had found. "Is this place sothing... personal, or?"
"Are you sure they went in?" He asked, his voice lowering to a barely audible volu.
"Yes. Charlie says so, and you know how his senses are like a dragon's."
"That is the barrier surrounding Castle Nurngard!"
"..." The na alone told everything that McGonagall had to know to understand the weight of the situation. "Could he be still alive? It was... such a long ti ago."
"Even if not, that place can still harbor dark secrets."
"Weren't you making sure all those were gone?" She asked by reflex, making Dumbledore stroke his long beard, his brows going up and down as his mind raced to think about the possible outcos.
"Evil always finds a way, and he was a genius of his age. He could have left secrets behind that we couldn't find. Do nothing, stay there; I am coming!"
"B-but..."
"I will apparate after ample preparations! HE won't notice it... Just keep watch and do nothing!"
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...
"We have been surrounded."
"Huh?"
His words ca so suddenly, and he delivered them so calmly while we were having dinner that both of our forks stopped mid-air, watching Grindelwald continue his al unperturbed.
"I felt different powers probing the barrier around the castle, which ans that people have arrived. If they had been here for , their probing wouldn't have stopped just like that. Well, whatever they want, I am not interested in it anyway, but this also tells we are no longer safe here. We should leave."
I wasn't happy to hear it. I was beginning to like it here; it was calm and peaceful, and it made feel like we were back in Hogwarts. Leaving would an returning to the outside world, which... I knew it would happen, but so soon? I was irritated and frustrated.
"What should we do?" Quincy asked as we were no longer feeling hungry, instead becoming highly alert.
"I will deactivate the barrier by destroying Nurngard; that is the only way. It was ant to contain it, and to get rid of it, the castle has to fall. After that, we will see who has co, and if nothing cos up, I will bring you two along while apparating. You are not yet ready to travel long distances."
"Where are we going?"
"To my ho... To Durmstrang."
Both of us thought of Viktor at once, but then Karkaroff ca to mind, along with the fact that he was an ally of Voldemort.
"Is this a good idea?" I asked, making him smile, wiping his mouth into a napkin.
"I have many things hidden in there. Just like Hogwarts for you, Durmstrang was my ho for a long ti before I was expelled. I will need to return and collect what I left behind. Without proper resources, I can't train you."
"But..."
"I know!" He chuckled, raising a hand, waving at us to not worry. "You told everything, which is why we must visit the school. After we finish there and leave, there will be a bit of chaos that will throw a wrench into Voldemort's plans. For now, he keeps Flal and the Beauxbatons in check with Durmstrang. A sound strategy but not a well-thought-out one. He may be a strong wizard but not a strategist."
"If we take Durmstrang out of the equation..." I whispered, thinking about it, and Quincy finished my thoughts for .
"Then it will be Voldemort versus the Order alone. No third party."
"Yes, children." He nodded with a smile, "If you want to take your revenge, you must make it so the two parties are playing nicely. You need to control the stage and foresee their moves. We need to make sure they will face off against each other when we want them, where we want them. Right now, our goal is to make sure Voldemort has to focus on England and prevent him from leaving it by ensuring that he can't afford to lose it. Take away his ally and, through that, force the Order to start pushing."
"If Durmstrang no longer poses a threat to them," I added, standing up, "Then they can focus on fighting Voldemort, and we would be left alone to move!"
"Yes." Grindelwald laughed, emptying his cup, "Giving them a chance to win their war will make them forgo everything else, including their search for us. Knowing my good friend, he will decide to deal with us later as we pose the lesser danger in this situation. Instead, he would go all-in on his current enemy, trying to finally exploit his chance to win. When that happens, he can turn his undivided attention... Back. To. Us. Albus doesn't like it when things don't go according to plan. What he likes even less is when he has to multitask. He is best when his attention can focus on one issue to solve it quickly and efficiently. I know what his choice will be, and it will give us ample ti to disappear into the shadows.
"When do we start?" We asked, ready to go. Having a goal in mind was surprisingly refreshing. Destroying Durmstrang... Well, he did not say to destroy them, but I guess so people will have to go to take them out of the fight.
"Right now. Gather your belongings, and then we will leave. The fact that the sudden guests stopped trying to break through tells that Albus is already on his way..."
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....
McGonagall, Moody, Regulus, and Charlie were standing on the ground, looking at the whirling blizzard barrier, staying there in silence. The fact that Dumbledore was coming and that the other side hid Nurngard, the famous ho of one of the worst wizards ever, made even Charlie follow their orders.
"Gellert Grindelwald..." Moody whispered, breaking the hour-long silence. "Who would have thought that after his defeat, not even 50 years later, another, even worse wizard would erge... Thinking about it is like a bad joke! I rember the news when he was defeated. I was doing my auror training at that ti, and I was a bit disappointed I couldn't be there."
"I think it was your luck, Alastor." McGonagall said, not expanding on the topic, as she was still a child when that happened, anxiously waiting on her letter to attend Hogwarts.
"Maybe."
He was about to say more, but then they all noticed sothing was happening to the barrier. The wind's noise suddenly cut out, and it was slowing down, disappearing. Looking at each other, they knew it wasn't their fault... which had to an whatever was happening couldn't an anything good. Pulling out their wands, they stood ready, watching the barrier dissipate, revealing a small cloud rising towards the air as the old castle crumbled to the ground.
"What happened...?" Regulus asked, gulping, but before anyone could answer, they saw three figures erge from the mix of snow, mist, and dust.
"Are you happy?" McGonagall whispered, watching the old man standing behind the children, wearing a calm, confident smile.
"No." Answered Moody, recognizing the man without ever eting him. There was no question about his identity.
...
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...
"Do you know them?" Asked Grindelwald, standing behind us, his wand ready to cast a spell at a mont's notice.
"One is my runaway parent..." Quincy answered, looking at Regulus Black without any emotion in her voice, "The other is a fanatic. With the red hair."
"We don't know of the other two."
"I see." He nodded and, without warning, waved his hand, sending four strands of bright, orange fire sneaking through the air toward the other group.
The four reacted at different intervals, and as I watched, the fastest was the man with the cane, followed by the old woman, and lastly, Charlie and Regulus. They all used different thods to counter the flas, be it a shield, a counterspell of water or fire, or Charlie withstanding it with his body.
"I want to exercise a little." Grindelwald explained, cracking his neck. "Young Quincy will duel her father, Young Conrad; you fight with the red-haired man. I will take on the real danger. You have five minutes, then we leave."
I watched as he suddenly apparated, teleporting between the old woman and man, while a ring of blue fire expanded from his body with a flick of his wand. The two managed to dodge at the last mont, yet the fire still managed to burn away the woman's coat, making her take it off before shooting back spells in tandem with her comrade.
I couldn't focus on their fight for more as I was already being pushed back by Charlie, who attacked like a rabid dog, sending different fire spells at . He wasn't as quick or precise as Grindelwald or my Father, allowing to adapt to his speed quickly. His magic was powerful but chaotic, lacking focus, which let begin reading his hand's movents, predicting his subsequent spells.
In turn, this made it easier to dodge without erecting a shield charm and allowing to fire my first counterspell. When it hit his fireball, it exploded like fireworks, and utilizing its blinding light, I used the sa trick, apparating close to him. I found myself facing his back, still feeling dizzy, but I was trying to ignore it and summon the blue flas that Lockhart taught . It hit him straight, but he shrugged it off, turning around and wanting to assault with his bare hands.
"I can sll your stench, snake!" He roared while I dodged by teleporting behind him once again, hitting him with an explosion spell and knocking him forward.
It made my eyes tick. I could feel angry, shouting that I should have used the killing curse. I wasn't supposed to play with the food, just kill him... Burn away his foul-slling blood. I knew it was the basilisk's influence; should I... give in? While I was thinking, he got back up, continuing to attack , reminding of the tale that Grindelwald told about that wizard couple.
I never heard of Berserkers before, but seeing him fight, now I could imagine. He wasn't dodging, wasn't defending himself, letting his innate strength deflect the spells, withstanding it with his body, even if it did make him falter many tis. He was like a dragon... wait. Could it be? Is it why his sll does feel weird and strange? It was beginning to make sense.
"If so..." I whispered, watching his eyes, making recall how the two dragons looked at when I attacked Flal; I was sure he had indeed infused their blood within his body. Then, he would not get off our back, no matter what. He had to go. This ti, I no longer felt angry or confused. I knew I had to kill him if I wanted to protect myself... and, more importantly, Quincy.
"Good. This is what it ans to control. Make the decisions yourself and not because your blood tells you so..." Echoed Herpo's voice within my brain, but I was already too focused on what I wanted to do to hear him. With another blink, I apparated to Charlie's right side, my hands ready with a spell, casting it mid-way by the ti I reappeared.
"You can't hurt -" He began, but I wasn't interested in his monologue.
"You are not a true dragon. So... goodbye."
With that, a green light rushed from the tip of my wand, hitting Charlie and making him freeze in place. I was montarily shocked because I saw him blink his eyes and look confused a bit before, finally, the light left his eyes, and he collapsed. He really made think that he had shrugged it off for a mont... Luckily, he was still a human. It was then when, from the corner of my eye, I could see the green light burst out again, making my heart skip a bit... who used the killing curse and on whom?!
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