The afternoon sun hung high above the marble pillars of the manor that cast a broad shadow over the lawn. Black leather boots clicked down the cobblestoned path through the grass, a silver chain gleaming in the coat pocket as the long robe billowed.
The doors to the manor opened, and a lady stepped through, her heels clicking down the steps, her gray eyes filling with trepidation as he approached.
"Mrs. Malfoy," Grindelwald took her hand and kissed the back of her knuckles lightly, smiling at her. "Thank you for gracefully allowing me into your home."
"It is not like I had much of an option, Lord Grindelwald, did I?" She stepped aside. "Lord Voldemort is waiting for you in Lucius' office. Or what used to be his office."
"I didn't expect him to be back so soon after the Potter boy's rather… lethal attack." He frowned slightly. "But your sister was rather insistent that he's back and wishes to meet me at once. But regardless. Thank you for your hospitality. I'll find my way."
He removed his hat and stepped into the house.
"A word of warning, Lord Grindelwald," Narcissa called from behind, and he turned. "Lord Voldemort is with Rookwood. Not in body but in spirit. I thought you'd want to know."
His eyebrows rose, and a brief glint of disapproval flashed in his mismatched eyes. "I see."
"He intends to perform a ritual," she continued. "I do not know its specifics, Lord Grindelwald, but he has asked me and my sister to retrieve something from Gringotts— a cup he entrusted years ago to her."
"And why are you telling me this, Lady Malfoy?" He stepped closer to her. "I, for one, require absolute loyalty from those who follow my lead. And here you are, snitching on the one you've pledged yourself to."
Anger flashed across Narcissa's face, and she tugged her left sleeve up, exposing her forearm. "I am pledged to no one, you'll find, Lord Grindelwald. It was Lucius, my late husband, who had that idea. My husband… he ran for both sides. Had his fallbacks with the Potter boy. And he had him killed without a shred of consideration. Potter is no better than him."
"And you've no one else to turn to." Grindelwald smiled. "What do you intend to ask me for, Lady Malfoy? In exchange for your loyalty, of course."
"The safety of my son. Potter hates him. The Dark Lord has no sympathy for him. But you… You are said to value magic above all else. Magic that my son loves."
"Does he?"
"He has no intention of liking anything that comes from the Muggle world. He's resourceful, he's—"
"A child wanting to play the game of great men. His father was, I admit, a resourceful, sly serpent. But he pledged himself both to a basilisk and a dragon. Yet both recognized him for what he was. And he paid the price."
Narcissa gritted her teeth and clenched her fist. "I admit, Lucius made some horrendous choices. I do not wish to give Draco the choice."
"Oh?"
"I want you to allow us to go away. Someplace far from all this."
"My lady Malfoy… we intend to unite the world. And wherever we go, Potter and Albus will follow us like a moth to the flame. There'll be no place that you'll truly be away."
"I could be if you don't include us in your business. Hogwarts is a target for you. I know. While you might have never killed a child, the Dark Lord will have no qualms about doing so. He hasn't in the past, which also led to his downfall, coincidentally. And forged his greatest enemy."
"Quite." Grindelwald's face closed off. "Very well. I will consider helping you. But for that, I shall need to see the cup before you bring it to your Lord. The cup he needs for the ritual."
Color drained from Narcissa's face, and she shook her head vigorously.
"Is there a problem? I thought a mother would do anything for the safety of her child." Grindelwald leaned closer. "And you will have the cup in your hands. All you have to do is get it to me. I shan't be even all that far when you fetch it."
"Bellatrix will be."
"It is a way you must find for yourself, I'm afraid. When you leave for Gringotts, send me a message with this ring." He removed a silver ring from his pocket and thrust it into her hand. "I shall see you at the entrance of the…" He frowned slightly. "What was the other alley next to Diagon? Albus quite never liked it."
"Knockturn. Knockturn Alley."
"Ah, yes. Entrance of Knockturn Alley. Good day, Lady Malfoy."
He turned and vanished into the corridor to the left, leaving Narcissa standing there, her heart drumming in her chest, as her hands trembled.
A moment later, she took a deep breath and went back in, striding through the living room, and pulling a small statue to the left. A panel opened on the floor.
"Lucius, for this once, don't disappoint me," she muttered.
13th July 1996
Grimmauld Place, London
The members of the Order sat around the long table with Dumbledore at its head, who sucked merrily on a lemon drop, a cup of tea steaming in front of him.
"Is that everyone?" Harry looked around before turning to Sirius. "Where's Amelia?"
"On the way from the ministry. She might've gotten held up." Sirius shrugged. "She is usually late nowadays. And Moody isn't here either. Nor Shacklebolt."
"Neither would be coming today, I am afraid." Dumbledore stood from his seat. "They shall be at the ministry, and later be brought up to speed about the meeting. I'm afraid that we have to start without Amelia. Some of our numbers have the night shift tonight."
Arthur Weasley, Hestia Jones, and a few others nodded around the table, some sighing.
"First order of business," Harry cleared his throat. "I need a few people today. Charlie, the twins, Fleur, Sirius, Tonks, Daphne, Susan, and all those who work or have worked at Gringotts' curse-breaking division from here."
"Daphne?" Lord Greengrass raised an eyebrow. "May I ask why?"
"Daphne and Susan know how to cast containment wards and are a dab hand at even identifying enchantments. We will pair them up with adults, don't worry. And Dumbledore and I will be with them."
"Where will you be going?" Mrs. Weasley glanced at her sons. "If I can ask."
"Hogwarts, Molly," Dumbledore said. "There's nothing much to worry about. Just something Harry and I have found and wish to sort out. But we're afraid that it may be too much of a task to do alone. And there may be cursed items there."
"We'll be there, professor," Bill said. "If it is related to curse-breaking, we'll even bring our equipment."
"It is more about dark object detection and recognition instead of curse-breaking, strictly speaking. I advise that you and your friends bring protective gloves and detection probes, my boy. Harry and I will handle the… curse-breaking part, if any."
Harry inclined his head, before twitching as he felt the ward around the house thrum, the floo in the kitchen flaring with green flames. Amelia stepped through, dusting the soot off her robes, giving a raised eyebrow to Dumbledore and him.
"What did you two do?"
"You might have to be a little more specific, Amelia." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Harry and I have been up to a lot in the past several hours until this morning, when he insisted that we rest."
Amelia eyed their faces as if trying to detect a clue from them. "Well, MACUSA has backed off and even issued an apology for 'any of the distress that had been caused'. Apparently, the order came from the president himself."
"That's excellent news. A lot of unpleasantness would've been abound had they pursued the case to get the children back into their clutches." Dumbledore's eyes hardened. "And had they gone to war, I'd have responded, with Harry by my side, which would've been devastating to world politics in times such as these."
Harry nodded absently, remembering their conversation with the American president.
FLASHBACK
"How did you get in here!? Get the hell out of my office!"
"I would hate to waste all the trouble that we had to go through in the past five minutes, my dear boy," Dumbledore folded his arms on his lap. "And I strongly wish to put the unpleasantness you've been trying to create behind us."
"This is a shakedown! How dare you threaten America? How dare you threaten me?" Lee burst out, glaring at them. "You think that I'll roll over because you have a bit more magic than me? You. Are. Wrong!"
Harry noted that the president didn't even have his wand out, as his arms trembled.
"Please, Lee. Harry and I are quite modestly a few leagues above you when it comes to magic," Dumbledore said. "You are, by your admission in the past, an average wizard at best, incomparable to the mages of Europe.
"To the dark mages of Europe. Men, who, like the two of you, hoard magic—dark, illegal magic, and preach it as family secrets. You, too, hide behind the persona of a leader of light, Dumbledore. But we've seen you cast the forbidden magics on our very soil. Use it as you wish, and twist the world to your will. But I'm not afraid of it. I will see the world set right!"
"Merlin, did he just say all of that?" Harry looked at Dumbledore over Lee's shoulder. "Because that's the biggest dollop of bullshit I've heard, I reckon."
Lee whirled around on him. "Boy, you've no idea of magic then. The magic you Europeans twist, calling them usual, powerful spells, and celebrating those who can perform them! You pervade it in truth. And the more you pervade, the more spells you can do. I swore an oath to stamp it all out when I took the oath of office. Get the ICW to act and equalize the good magic for all!"
"How did that turn out for you in there?" Harry snorted. "The magic you call dark magic is just magic out of your grasp. You've not even seen real dark magic, Lee. You see something that can harm and call it dark. You see something out of your grasp—"
"Oh, I have seen dark magic. What do you think those wretched Obscurials were? Dark creatures lur—"
"The Obscurial is a condition festered because of the need for protection in the young when those in power neglect to do that duty." Dumbledore barked. "You failed to provide your citizens with protection! And then, when you finally found those children, you treated them like experiments. "
Dumbledore got to his feet, and the lights in the room flickered, the air turning colder. Lee flinched, backing away toward a bookcase, only to freeze as Harry apparated behind him, pointing his wand at the president's neck.
"No running, Lee," Harry whispered. "You committed crimes against children. And the one thing that everyone knows about Albus Dumbledore is that he protects them fiercely. You'll pay for every torture, every experiment those poor children had to go through."
"I am the President of MACUSA! I'll bring the ICW and my Auror force down on your heads for this!" He clenched his fists, trembling in fearful defiance. "If you don't leave right now…"
"You're not the first head of state to threaten me, nor will you be the last, I think," Harry said. "I've been threatened by government officials before, by Aurors, and by the public. The last head of state who did that was impeached as a disgrace and then sentenced to death."
"Fudge. You had a perfectly capable man removed for not believing the word of a child, which you are. You not only had him removed, but executed, perfectly aware of his innocence, and then installed a stooge of your own in his place. You think—"
"I dare you to say that to Amelia's face," Harry cut in. "And Lee, think. For six months, Fudge reigned through the papers, calling me names and disgracing Dumbledore. In six days, I had him executed, despite, in your own words, his innocence. He was not unpopular. He—"
"I—"
Harry waved his hand, and no words came from Lee's mouth.
"As I was saying, he wasn't unpopular. He could've wiggled his way out easily had it been anyone else. But he was against me. Now, there's you. You knew what was happening. You ordered it to happen. Experiment on those children to advance magical weapons through the Obscurial powers or replicate them in spells to gain an edge against the rest of the world."
The color drained out of his face, and Harry smirked viciously.
"Oh, yes. I know about that part too. The rest of the world thinks you were studying them for a cure or to make them into soldiers. Living weapons. But I know more. And I have proof." Harry waved his hand and removed the silencing charm. "Now you may speak."
"You are lying!" Lee burst out. "You have no proof! The only truth is that you kidnapped American children and took them away, overstepping your bounds and violating the treaty! The International Protection Act was but a sham to allow you two to gain free military reign over the world!"
"To fight Grindelwald!" Harry snapped.
"That's what we were doing! Even Grindelwald wouldn't have faced an Obscurial on rampage. And before you preach about children not being in war, look in the fucking mirror!" Lee took deep breaths. "A few Obscurials whom everybody forgot would've been—"
He was yanked back, and Dumbledore towered over him, his blue eyes hardened to a deadly sapphire, the magic rolling in waves across the room.
"Would've been what, Lee?" Dumbledore's voice boomed in a deadly silence.
"Would— would have— would have been perfect to fight him. Like secret agents." He stuttered out. "No one could get to their families or friends and turn them."
"That's what you say now. But those weren't the words you were going to say, were you?"
President Lee looked between Harry and Dumbledore, his eyes darting to the door as if calculating his chances of escape. Harry caught the flicker of desperation and gave him a sharp prod in the back with his wand.
"You can't run," Harry said. "And trust me, lying will only make things worse for you."
"I..." Lee stammered, his voice trembling now. He glanced at Dumbledore's piercing gaze, then at Harry's unrelenting wand tip. His resolve crumbled, and he slumped slightly. "Fine. Yes, I said they could be weapons. But it wasn't meant to be like this—like you think! The Obscurials... Theyṣ were accidents, tragedies even, but tragedies we could use. You don't understand the threats we face here! The ICW, the European powers, you all—"
Dumbledore raised a hand, silencing him. "And those tragedies, as you call them, were children. Children who were suffering, abused, and ignored. Children who were failed by their guardians, their communities, and you. You speak of threats as if they justify your horrors. But no threat, no fear, no ambition could ever justify what you were doing in that place."
The lights in the office dimmed further, shadows flickering ominously across the walls as Dumbledore's magic filled the space, suffocating it. Lee sank against the bookshelf, his legs giving out beneath him.
"Dumbledore—please—"
"No," Dumbledore's voice came out almost as a growl. "You had a duty. The children— abused, scared children who were in need of protection. And that protection fell to you and your government. And instead of protecting them, you tried to experiment on them. Further abuse them to study and replicate their powers. You even killed a handful of children in that pursuit, did you not?"
"When the ICW gets this proof that we have, you'll be lucky if your trial lasts a day. You'll be very lucky if the whole of MACUSA isn't sanctioned and the ICW doesn't roll in to introduce its own rule. And that is what we'll be pushing for."
"You—" Lee swallowed hard, his voice barely audible. "You can't go public with this. You'll destroy everything!"
"It is not us who pursued the case after we took the children away. It was you." Harry snorted. "Believe me, Lee. If you so much as whisper about taking the children back again, we'll know. And we'll ruin you, and we won't rest till every person in your government who supported the hospital idea is behind bars. The only one in your corner right now is the ICW. This proof drops, it is you against us, Grindelwald, and the ICW."
"And have no doubt, Lee. If I have to, I'll pull every string needed to keep those children safe and in Britain, where none can harm them." Dumbledore declared.
"We'll also ensure that MACUSA burns. I mean, how hard will it be after such a scandal to be alienated?" Harry mused. "All then we've to do is wait for Grindelwald to take advantage of it. All that the two of us need to do is sit back and watch as he rolls over you because the only two people in the world who can stop him are the two of us."
Lee flinched.
"Think about it, President Lee. We won't remind you again. If you decide to even look toward the children the wrong way, we'll ensure that the world will know what all you have done. America will be done for. Good day."
Harry removed the feather portkey from his pocket and offered it to Dumbledore, who gave Lee one last piercing look before the two of them disappeared in a flash of blue, leaving the president trembling.
FLASHBACK END
"So, what did you two do?" Amelia raised an eyebrow. "You didn't threaten someone high up in their government in our government's name, did you?"
"Please, Amelia, look at whom you're talking to." Harry glanced at Dumbledore. "Do you think we would ever go out and threaten some mere official in MACUSA in your name? Please."
"Harry, if you had your way, you would go and—" She stopped mid-sentence, looking between the two. "Dear Merlin, you two threatened the bloody president, didn't you? Please tell me you didn't walk into that White Castle of theirs and then have words with Lee."
"We didn't walk in," Harry said. "We broke in."
"What?" Amelia blurted as murmurs spread across the table.
"Seemed more efficient than some useless powerplay where he would've made us wait or tried to talk his way through, threatening us back." Harry shrugged. "And it scared him. Then we had words, telling him what would happen if he pursued that case of his. He complied. And no, we didn't even use your or Britain's name. Ours was enough."
"Small mercy," Amelia muttered, taking her seat next to Sirius. "Please, next time you want to threaten someone, at least inform me beforehand or immediately so I don't look surprised when they drop things off suddenly on my desk, including a vast apology sent on a polite howler."
"I will try my best." Harry rolled his eyes. "But no promises."
Dumbledore cleared his throat, and the table quietened. "The actions of MACUSA aside, I believe we have a rather more important and grievous matter at hand. Severus?"
Snape stood up slowly, his dark, beady eyes running over the gathered Order members, and he sneered at Harry.
"We don't have all day, Snivellus." Harry scowled back. "Get on with it."
"The Dark Lord plans for a revival on the night of the fifteenth, two days from now, the day of the new moon." Snape glared at him. "He is currently inhabiting Rookwood's body, not dissimilar to how he did with Quirinus a few years ago. I believe he intends to take over Rookwood completely or sacrifice him to create a new body for himself, with the aid of a special cup he has asked Bellatrix to bring to him from a special vault he had her open years ago."
"Special vault?" Amelia asked. "We should alert Gringotts. Tell them to lock the vault down. Dumbledore, we could issue the order to get the vault closed, effective immediately. It'd take only an hour or two to have it going with the two of our signs."
Harry and Dumbledore shared a look, as Harry felt excitement brim in his chest.
"Will the goblins hand the contents over to the Ministry?" Harry asked.
"No." Amelia frowned. "They'll close the vault and render it inaccessible, but that's it. They don't hand over any continent until the vault owners and inheritors are alive. It is a goblin policy."
"Then we can't," Harry said. "We need to let that cup get out."
"Potter, once the cup is clear of the Alley, it will go straight to the Dark Lord." Snape sneered. "I'd advise that it may be for the best if—"
"No, Severus, Harry's correct. Amelia, under no circumstances must we lock that vault down unless the cup is handed to us by the goblins first. Which they won't do."
"We could set up an ambush. Get the cup and Lestrange." Sirius suggested. "The Order and Aurors. She'd be down before she could understand what was happening. We get the cup, we prevent Voldemort from getting back his body. And then, we take out the remaining Death Eaters and whatever's left of Rookwood. It is a win-win for us."
"It is still a risk," Amelia said. "If Bellatrix slips through— or even the cup reaches Voldemort, he would get a new body."
"Amelia, just because you stop one route, doesn't mean he won't explore the rest. He's made about three to four tries before he succeeded last time." Harry rubbed his face. "But… I would prefer if he uses the cup or that cup is destroyed before it reaches him."
"What's so special about the cup?" Someone asked.
"That's what we want to know," Harry lied. "But that cup seems like something I read a while back. And I'd rather not risk Voldemort still having a method so easy or make him desperate to do something stupid."
"But we don't know when Bellatrix's going to go for the cup," Arthur said. "Do we?"
"It will be on the fifteenth itself," Snape replied. "Exactly when, I don't know. But it will be done. Perhaps as late as they can go, or when the crowd is at its peak, to slip amongst the other patrons."
"I'll post a squad to patrol the Alley as soon as I get back. Harry, I want you to be ready to get down there as soon as you get the signal."
"Alright. Maybe Professor Dumbledore could accompany me too."
"Both of you for only Bellatrix?" Amelia raised an eyebrow.
"I wish for no more mistakes, Amelia. No more mistakes." Dumbledore rose to his feet. "Remus, Hestia, Dedalus, Molly, and whoever else works in the Alley, I request you to keep your eyes open for the next few days. And those whom we asked to come to Hogwarts, kindly come there in an hour. For the rest, I advise you to be prepared. Good day."
He swept out of the room, and Harry followed him, as the noise in the kitchen rose, murmurs spreading around the room.
With a pop, the two of them apparated away.
13th July 1996
Malfoy Manor
"Lord Grindelwald, welcome." A gravelly hiss cut through the silence of the room as Rookwood stood, his crimson, slit-like eyes gleaming in the dimly lit study. "Firewhiskey?"
"No, thank you," Grindelwald sat on an armchair. "I see you've taken on… another's body. One whom you called your loyal friend."
"Augustus will be liberated once I regain my body and magic, which I am arranging for as we speak. I will carry the ritual out on the night of the new moon, the seventh of the year."
"The full moon will be better."
"I cannot wait. Potter and Dumbledore will have free rein in Britain without my presence. And the wretched Bones woman will descend on my forces like a vulture."
"Of that, I have little doubt," Grindelwald muttered. "Now, I assume you need my… aid for the ritual?"
"I need your aid to keep Potter and Dumbledore away from my ritual. The last time he was there, he took down so many of my followers that I am still making up for it. The ministry debacle was no better."
"Yes, you had to summon me to save your hide, despite having planned otherwise. A hasty, unneeded decision, which I regret."
"You would've preferred that I died then? The most powerful supporter you have— the only one who could face their likes alone? Don't play me a fool, Grindelwald."
"It did throw subtlety and discretion out of our window, all for the want of a prophecy and a plan to take out Potter," Grindelwald said. "I had predicted that the boy was more resourceful and powerful than you gave him credit for. I told you that only you could kill him, and yet you sacrificed your forces."
"I will have my revenge for that!" The crimson eyes burned. "But for now, I must regain my body. You merely have to ensure that the Potter boy or Dumbledore doesn't interfere in it. I suspect they'd know of the seventh new moon already. The fools may suspect that I would use the full moon, which might be better, but I have no desire to delay and give them free rein. So, tell me, Grindelwald. Will you support me as we had agreed?"
"I suppose I would." He wrinkled his nose. "The magics you employ are perverted, but for a greater good, I will help you perform them."
"For the Greater Good. And our rule that follows."