Hey everyone, sorry for the long time between updates. I had some personal stuff come up, and I wasn't in any state to write for the longest time. I've deleted the old version of this story, and I'm sure that you'll like this one a lot more. I expect that I'll be able to do a bit more writing now, so update should be out within the month.
Chapter 1: The Return of Grindelwald.
36 years, 6 months, and 13 days after the Battle of the Seelow Heights, a man looked out his open window, the fresh autumn air invigorating him as it sent a chill through his old bones. His gnarled hand stroked the head of the common barn owl that had just delivered The Daily Prophet. With his other hand, he ate some of his bacon, then fed it to the bird. "Go on now," he whispered.
A wandless cleansing charm later, he resumed eating. He sipped from a tall glass of 2% and twirled his wrist, the paper standing itself up for him to read. The old man smiled softly; it was little acts of sorcery that he had always enjoyed, almost more than anything else. Perhaps it reminded him of times before the Great War. Simpler. More carefree. He shook off the nostalgic thoughts in favor of looking to the Prophet's headline.
On most days, he didn't even bother. But last night, he had felt a huge shift in the magic of homeland of his oldest friend and one-time lover. Nearly a century ago, he had been hailed as the greatest magic sensor to have ever lived, and his skill had not dulled in the slightest.
There it was, accompanied by a wizarding photo of a you family of three, two parents and a young boy with a scar marring his forehead: MIHILE POTTER BOY-WHO-LIVED! DARK LORD DEFEATED. He sighed, disappointed in the judgement of Albus Dumbledore.
Getting up from the breakfast table, he waved his hand to shut the window. After taking a moment to relish in the return of warmth to the room, he contemplated how badly his old friend had screwed the pooch with his latest scheme. It was a fine plan, but it did not account for the fact that he would not stand for a magical child being place with a muggle family.
The old man decided that he had to help the child. And instead of handing him back to Albus, he would mold him in his own image.
It was time to leave the gilded prison he'd accepted 36 years, 6 months, and 13 days ago.
******************************Flashback to May 1945*********************************
. A series of lightning strikes rained down from the heavens upon Gellert Grindelwald, who had animated the very earth into an elemental construct to take the hits. It caught fire, then rushed toward it's master's foe.
Dumbledore responded in kind, waving his wand in a complex pattern. As the earth elemental drew closer, spinning circles carrying arcane might aligned, then with a jab of his want fired a beam of pure light energy. The elemental was engulfed and disintegrated.
The two men nodded at each other, a sign of mutual respect. Dumbledore cast a barrier, then crouched and began drawing a transmutation circle. Gellet didn't recognize it, but knew that transmutations actually requiring circles were powerful. So he began casting one of the darkest spell he knew.
Two minutes later, all of the guns and helmets of the fallen crashed together above Dumbledore's circle to form a trio animated mechanical constructs.
They were met by titans formed from the remains of the fallen, dripping with rotten, corrosive necro-magic.
They tore each other apart as the men started casting elemental transfigurations in an attempt to gain the upper hand in this epic confrontation. The battle had already dragged on for over seven hours.
Gellert had poured a great deal of his magic into a tornado, a lightning serpent, and a corrosive miasma, finally having the upper hand. Albus responded by casting a spell severing the magical bonds holding constructs together. Then he cast another that would prevent any magical bonds from holding together for until it dissipated.
Grindelwald could sense that it would be nearly two hours before magical constructs could be sustained in a three-mile radius of the casting point. Albus was also clearly ahead in terms of magic left in reserve at this point too. That bond severing ward was tactically imperfect, as it forced the engagement into traditional dueling. Gellert had come out on top of every like engagement in the past.
The one thing he had not expected was that Albus had learned to apparate mid-combat. It was a dangerous tactic that carried a much higher splinch rate than non-combat apparation, but Albus had it mastered.
It is truly a testament to Gellert's battle prowess that it took nearly another whole hour to be defeated, even as he was disadvantaged in both mobility and available magical reserves.
In the end, Gellert was hit by a sensory deprivation curse, followed by a stunner. Instead of finishing Grindelwald's life, Dumbledore approached his downed rival and former lover. He cast incarcerous, then removed the curse and renervated Gellert, but not before taking his wand.
Dumbledore monologued about 'the good old days', an attempt to make Gellert feel remorse. Gellert, meanwhile, was busy casting wandless and silent compulsions in an attempt to save his life.
He knew that he had succeeded when Albus proclaimed, "I will tell the world that you died here today. But you will merely be hidden away in the prison of your own making. For the sake of our love and friendship, I will make your stay there comfortable, but you shall never escape. I will even visit, from time to time."
***********************End Flashback*************************
If there is one thing to be said about Albus Dumbledore, it is that he is a man of his word. Nurmengard had been more of a cushy palace to the war criminal. The only reminder that is was indeed a prison was the lack of human contact.
In fact, the only human contact he had in almost 37 years were the visits from Albus.
He visited on each of their birthdays. For Gellert's Birthday, Albus always gave him a few books on advanced light magic. For Albus's birthday, Gellert always had a pair of woolen socks, fantastically patterned.
He visited for Yule, and the two would always share a couple of dances to the charmed phonograph that played music from their youth. Gellert would lead first, then Albus. Then they would share a drink while they reminisced about how they were in the summer of 1899. In more recent years, Gellert had lamented the foolishness of his European conquest.
On the day of Arianna Dumbledore's death, the normally colorful Albus came to Gellert wearing all black. He brought with him 2 copies of Arianna's favorite book, and the two read it together in silence. It was their own way of mourning the tragedy.
Gellert had originally planned to use such visits to strengthen the compulsions that he had placed on his friend, but found it unnecessary. The visits were just about the highlights of Albus's year too, the only time he could act as his true self.
In time, Albus came for more than just those four days. Whenever he had a particularly tricky problem in the International Confederation of Wizards, he would seek Gellert's council. The same was true for problems with the Wizengamot. During the time of Voldemort's reign of terror, he received visits nearly bi-weekly. It was in that time that he had heard the prophecy, and the plan to dispose of Voldemort.
And it was also why he knew that Mihile Potter had a twin brother. And if the twin wasn't shown in the family photo in the Prophet, then Albus was following through with the only despicable part of the plan- separating the twins in order to focus training on the one who was marked as the equal to Voldemort.
With another lazy wave of his hand, his library of over a thousand tomes was shrunken and put into the mokeskin pouch that he had convinced Albus to bring him nearly fifteen years prior. And he left. Just walked out the front door.
He immediately disillusioned himself, then chain-apparated across the continent to his Great-Aunt's cottage, the place where he had left his original wand, a gorgeous 13 inches of Camphor with a joint core of dragon whisker and nekodama whisker, bound with his own blood, of course.
He knocked on the door, and waited as he heard his last remaining family shuffle toward the door. When she cracked it open to see who was there, he cast a couple of compulsions so that he could get in and out with minimal fuss.
And on his was out the door, he obliviated her of his visit.
/
His next task would be to actually locate the boy he wished to save from being abandoned. The trick would be to locate the Potters, and then find a magical signature similar to their signatures. Or, he could base his search off of another Potter he had encountered. Thankfully, he had once encountered Charlus Potter, James's father, on a battlefield so many years ago. So, seeking signatures similar to Charlus's, he entered a meditative state.
After a couple of minutes, brilliant blue eyes snapped open, angrier than they had been in almost four decades. A soft crack signaled his departure from Godric's Hollow.
And this old man appeared on Privet Drive, perhaps the most normal street of all time. Everything about him was out of place here, from his great long beard to his midnight blue robes to his magical-ness. Even his name would be cause for complaint in this kind of place full of anti-foreigner sentiment. Nevertheless, at 12:17pm, the middle of the day, he approaches #4, and knocks.
Petunia Dursley was not having a good day. She'd been woken by a baby's cries at 5:30 in the morning, and it wasn't her precious Dudley. It was her sister's spawn, on her doorstep. Some old fool had left him there with nothing but a note, explaining how her sister, and the rest of her sister's family had passed away in a magical terrorist attack, and now she was to care for the child.
She had no desire to do so, but the note had said that Dumbledore would be watching to make sure he was treated right, so she changed his nappies, and gave him some cheerios for breakfast. The worst part was explaining it all to her husband, and they had gotten into a huge row over the validity of the claim of magical surveillance.
Between the time Vernon left for work and the time she would start preparing lunch, she aggressively pulled weeds and angrily scrubbed down the countertop. At lunchtime, having already bottle-fed the two kids, she ate a sandwich while they played in the sitting room.
And then there was a knock on the door. Strange, she wasn't expecting anyone, and on Privet Drive, people don't come over unannounced.
Grumbling, she got up and went to the door. Then she opened it, only to come face to face with Gellert Grindelwald.
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Gellert smiled, and walked past the bony horse-like woman before him, completely intent on retrieving the Potter's second son.
"You can't just-" Petunia was silenced by a simple hand wave by the Dark Lord.
"I can, and I will." He drawled, "You have something, or rather someone who I want. And I will have him, make no mistake." Another wave released the silencing spell on Petunia.
"But Dumbledore said that he's watching" Petunia said nervously
"No, he isn't. There isn't actually another adult magical presence besides myself for over 7 kilometers." Gellert chuckled. "Who else knows he is here?"
"Only my husband".
"Excellent. You will host me until he returns from work. Then, after dinner, I will take both of your memories of young Harry." He suddenly looks hard into her eyes, "This is not up for debate. You will also make pot roast for dinner. I feel a craving for it." He places a 100£ note on the table, "The finest ingredients, of course," and walks into the sitting room to get Harry.
He scoops Harry up in his arms, and sits slowly into Vernon's favorite armchair. Gellert lets out an involuntary groan at the sudden comfort. Curious emerald eyes blink, and Harry asks, "Who you?"
Gellert gives a half smile, "I'm your uncle, big guy".
The next hour passes in relative peace, with Petunia completing chores, and Dudley in his crib for nap time. Gellert and Harry play little games to keep the toddler entertained. It would have been a sight to see for Albus, the most powerful Dark Lord to have ever lived, playing patty-cake with a toddler.
Once Mrs. Dursley left the house with Dudley to buy ingredients for dinner, Gellert sang Harry to sleep with a lullaby that he remembered from his youth, and once he was sure the child was asleep, cast a perimeter ward and drifted off to sleep himself.
He and his young charge awoke to the sound of a car pulling into the driveway, and a couple minutes later, Mrs. Dursley came into the house with her child on her hip and a bag of groceries in hand. She put Dudley into a jumper in the kitchen while she worked on dinner.
Meanwhile, Gellert held Harry and cooed, "Do you want to see some magic, little one?" He was met by an enthusiastic yes.
So, with the young boy on his lap, he wiggled his fingers, and some blocks from upstairs floated down to the sitting room. "Now you try something, Hadrian," Gellert urged gently.
"Okay," he said, and his face scrunched up as though concentrating very hard. For about 30 seconds, it looked as though nothing would happen, but then, the blocks went airborne, and arranged themselves in a tower. It was only one block wide, and wobbling precariously, but it was wondrous in Gellert's mind that a child so young could exert such control over his own magic.
"Marvelous job! Now, would you like to see something else that can be done with blocks?"
"Uh huh!"
Gellert chuckled, and cast a transmutation spell on the blocks, turning them into two small wooden golems. Then he made one start walking around, using a simple animation charm, linked directly to his will. "Now, Hadrian, the other one is for you to make move."
Once again, his face scrunched up, and once again magic happened. The golem started walking around, first sluggishly, then more smoothly as time went on. Gellert continued to encourage Harry (Now called Hadrian) to exert his magic.
Around 6:15, Vernon comes home from work, and immediately perks up at the smell of pot roast. He praises the smell of the meal, and Petunia smiles nervously, "Why don't you change out of your suit, dear. It should be ready by the time you come back down".
The large man grunts his affirmation, and plants a kiss on his son's forehead before waddling up the stairs.
Twenty-three minutes later, Vernon comes thundering down the stairs, dressed in sweatpants from his days wrestling at uni and a band t-shirt from that same period of time. He sits at the table, and notices something odd, "Pet, why is there an extra place setting?"
It was at this moment that Gellert glided into the kitchen, Hadrian in hand, asleep from the exertion of the last few hours. "That would be for me. I will be eating, taking young Hadrian here, and then erasing your memories of both of us entirely".
Vernon sputtered, and began to redden, "What makes you think that you can come into my house?!-"
He was silenced by a dismissive wave, "Because I am powerful and you are not. Be thankful that you had no ill intent toward my new charge, or we would be having a very different day right now," he paused for a moment, "Now let's enjoy this lovely meal, and then I'll be off".
And they did enjoy it.
After dinner, Gellert wiped at the corners of his mouth with a napkin, then Hadrian's mouth. "It really was lovely, but now it is time to go". He walked to the door, and then, with a whispered obliviate, they were off to his castle that he had obtained in Norway.
/
Once he was in the castle, he immediately conjured a crib in the master bedroom, and place Hadrian inside of it. He cast a deep-sleep charm on the infant, and left to find a wet-nurse for Hadrian.
There are properties of nursing from magical mothers that foster strength in the child's magical immune system, and promotes a robust magical circulatory system. So a magical wet-nurse was the last thing that Gellert needed to get for Hadrian to develop properly. Fortunately, he will only need this witch for a few months, then Hadrian would be able to take only solid foods.
He set out on his quest to find a mediwitch, and immediately went to the Daily Prophet Headquarter in Daigon Alley, disillusioned, of course. It was there that he ruffled through their archives to find the issue from the end of the second week of June in order to find the class listings. Every year, the Prophet publishes an article which lists all of the seventh year students, and the N.E.W.T. level certifications they've earned.
After just a couple minutes of browsing, Gellert has found four candidates for the job of Hadrian's wet-nurse, each of them a muggleborn student from either Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff who had earned a certification in Charms, Potions, and Herbology, along with at least one other subject. Only the best would do for his heir, after all.
"Point Me Donna Harris" His wand pointed West, so he summoned an air elemental to carry him toward his target. The elemental travelled at nearly 160 kph, so in just under an hour and a half, he arrived in the small wizarding village on the eastern outskirts of Cardiff. The air elemental was dismissed, and Gellert walked along the mossy cobblestones up to a small cottage. His wand identified this house as the resident of Ms. Harris, who's additional N.E.W.T.s were in History of Magic and Care of Magical Creatures.
He knocked on the door, and Donna answered. "And who are you?"
"My dear, I would think that with a certification in History of Magic, you would recognize me," Gellert chuckled.
"Grindelwald…" She whispered, "You're meant to be dead. How are you here"?
"I cannot tell you that. But will you invite me in? I have an offer for you".
She shakes her head, "I don't think that I can do that. It doesn't matter what the offer is".
"Very well," Gellert said. Obliviate.
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'It must have been the History of Magic certification. I don't think any muggleborn with that knowledge of who exactly I am will go for my offer…'
With that revelation in mind, he skipped to the third name on his list- Robin Bennet. Her extra N.E.W.T.s were in Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. If he had to guess, she was looking to join the auror corps. Unfortunately for her, due to the end of the Voldemort threat, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement would be taking some major budget cuts and the muggleborns would be the first to be sacked.
"Point me Robin Bennet" The wand pointed North East, and Gellert re-summoned his air elemental and started toward the magical village near Hereford.
About 35 minutes later, he had arrived in Corview, a quaint, but rather large village. Large for a wizarding village, of course; it only had just under 250 people in it.
It was getting late, already, Hadrian had been left alone for over two hours. He needed to be quick in his acquisition of the girl.
He knocked on Robin's door, his location spell having done its job. He quickly cast an x-ray charm on himself, just to see how an auror in training would react to an unexpected visitor after dark. He was pleasantly surprised to see her, wand in hand, a healthy distance from the door, using sonorous to answer, "Who's there?"
He smiled at the well-hidden nervousness in her voice, "It is a person who has information pertaining to your future in the auror corps".
This time, a bit agitated, "I asked, who are you?!"
It was taking nearly all of his willpower to not laugh outright at this little girl's bravado, "I am someone very important, who you will hopefully become well acquainted with in the future. I give you my word that I mean you no harm. Now, won't you invite me in for tea?"
As any good auror, even a trainee, would be, she was skeptical. "How will I guarantee that to be true?"
"I am willing to hand over my wand for the duration of my visit. I'll attach it with a sticking charm to your door and back up five paces".
"That is acceptable," she said. A couple seconds later, Robin opened the door, and gestured for Gellert to come in. She swished her wand, and the kettle flew to the sink to get some water to put on the stove, which was also lit silently. The whole process was done swiftly, and as they waited for the water to boil, the two just studied each other.
To his surprise, Ms. Bennet was not as common looking as he had expected of a muggleborn. Strawberry blonde hair and hazel eyes that shone in the dull lighting of the one story cottage, and a pale complexion with lots of freckles. He suppressed a chuckle and her nightgown's Scooby-doo patterning.
An old man in what appeared to be fantastically expensive robes, sporting a beard that rivaled that of Albus Dumbledore was something unexpected, especially at this hour. His hair a wispy white, and his face imperious, unyielding and noble. Even at whatever advanced age this man was. Sharp blue eyes holding a world of experience. Promise and rage and knowledge and sorrow and-
The whistling of the teapot jolted her from her entrancement. She stuttered, I-I'll get that now." She got up, and the chair almost toppled from the force. She pulled out a couple of mugs and brought them to the table, along with milk and sugar, the kettle itself, spoons, and the teabags.
Gellert selected a strong black tea, reminiscent of what he drank in his childhood. He added sugar, then poured the water. A simple rotation of his finger set the spoon stirring.
Robin grinned sheepishly, only then remembering that she never had to get up in the first place. She herself selected an herbal chamomile. She'd add milk after it steeped. "So what's the news?"
"Unfortunately, you're to be laid off. I won't beat around the bush. My source is, of course, completely reliable."
Robin was quite glad her tea was still steeping, if she had been drinking it, it would be all over her guest, "What?! I'm among the top trainees? Why would then cut me? Why not Doge or MacMillan?"
Gellert's lip upturned slightly, "That, my dear is pureblood politics. Doge's great-uncle is a close friend of Dumbledore's, and you wouldn't want to make him upset. MacMillan, on the other hand, his uncle is the good friends with the lieutenant deputy. Can't fire him either. You're on the chopping block-"
"Because I'm muggleborn," Bennet growled. "So why are you telling me this? What do you have to gain from warning someone like me of her fate?"
Gellert took a moment to pause, sipping his tea. He looked her directly in the eyes, "Someone like you? 6 N.E.W.T qualifications. Graduated third in her class, Ravenclaw prefect, but not Head Girl. Was considered for an apprenticeship with Fillius Flitwick, but declined in favor of joining the war effort as an auror, quite admir-"
Robin closed her eyes and grit her teeth, "You say you mean me no harm, but you invade my mind? I have half a mind to throw you-"
She stopped speaking at the dark chuckle from the old- dangerous, her mind supplied- man. "So you did notice. And such spunk. I definitely like you." She shuddered at the predatory tone. "I would like to offer you a job."
Disbelief showed itself clearly on her face, but then her features schooled themselves, "Why me? I'm sure you could find some pureblood-" she spat that word- "to do whatever you'd have me do."
More chuckling. It was really starting to make her mad. "Because I care not for your blood. Only your skill and raw power. Your skill is obviously great, and your raw power far above the average witch. You are one of the four candidates who I am even considering for the position. You should feel honored."
"Why am I a candidate though?" Robin had never felt like this in a conversation outside of the one time she stayed after a lesson her old Headmaster had taught to ask some questions. (Professor McGonagall had to deal with an emergency with her grand-neice)
"That is simple. You are a woman, freshly graduated from Hogwarts, who has N.E.W.T. level certification in Charms, Herbology, and Potions, as well as at least one other field of magic".
She was suddenly suspicious again, "Why is it important that I am a woman?"
"Men cannot lactate. I have, today, fallen into being a toddler's caretaker, and he requires nine more months of nursing at a minimum. I will have a wet-nurse, because there are well documented benefits to breastfeeding, especially with magical children from magical women".
Robin couldn't help but to laugh at the absurdity, "And why are my qualifications important? You're just using me as a pair of tits after all!"
More chuckling… "Not quite. You see, he is in an extremely formative stage right now, and he could get attached. Then I would hire you to be a nanny for him as he grows up, and I cannot have an incompetent as a nanny." Gellert shakes his head, eyes shining with mirth.
Robin readjusts herself in her chair, "Let's say I did accept your offer, how is the pay?"
"It would be 1,500 galleons per month, and room and board would be provided, by house elves. I also possess in the residence a library of nearly 100,000 unique tombs, most of which you would have access to. And should you end up staying as a nanny, while my charge is busy and I am not, I will teach you some magic. I'm sure that that is more than sufficient."
Robin's eyes widened, "No way it can be this good, there has to be some kind of catch."
"Clever girl. The catch is twofold. Should you decide to leave my service at any time, your memory of the entire time will be erased." And just like that, Robin was firing spells at Gellert, who was drinking tea with one hand and batting away spells with the other. "Your efforts are futile. It took Albus Dumbledore in his prime to defeat me, and I am still in mine. Even Voldemort would be but a child in front of me as I am."
The casting abated, and Robin snarled from across the room, which was now in a state of minor disarray, "Then why did you not help in the war? Are we so beneath you that-"
"Ha! Besides that, I am meant to be dead. The second catch is my very identity- I am Gellert Grindelwald, the most powerful dark lord of all time!"
A wand clattered on the ground as Robin weighed her options, and in the end, she decided that a world in which she was second class wasn't worth the trouble of being loyal to, and she may as well advance her own position as much as possible. "When do I start?"
"Now. Lock up your house. I will apparate us to my residence now, and Tippy will take care of getting your possessions." Just two minutes later, Gellert stepped outside with Robin on his arm. With a crack, he apparated them both to the castle.
AN: So I hoped you guys liked it. The recruitment of Robin Bennet (an OC) took a lot longer than I was expecting, but I'm satisfied with the results. Leave reviews, they make everything go faster!
-ThatGreyArea