(A/N) Well, as promised here is the next chapter. I do hope you guys continue to enjoy and review.

"Well?" He waited for a reply. "You all seemed pretty eager earlier, where has all that gusto gone? Did it run away, like your courage?" He mocked them.

It was clear by the faces of the aurors that his words were effecting them; irritating them to no end. However, no-one spoke up.

Moody, however, took no slight against his courage and growled out, "What do you want here?"

Grindelwald laughed, "I'm after Voldemort, the insect has been alive far too long for my liking." He paused. "It was amusing at first, watching him butcher you and your aurors. But Horcruxes? That's too Dark, even for me."

"We share a common goal then, to eliminate Voldemort and his followers."

"Not quite. While I have a personal vendetta with Voldemort, his followers are for little or no concern to me; thugs and thieves. Hired muscle." He snorted. "They are pathetic, inept and unworthy of a Dark Lord- even one as deformed and deranged as Voldemort."

"They do present a problem; they have numbers." Moody grunted. "It does not take much power to use the Unforgivables, which make us wary of engagement."

"Then why not give them some of their own medicine? Is it too much for you to take a life of a man trying to kill you?"

"That's not up to me."

The Dark Lord chuckled, "Then why don't you ask the people who give you the directions a chance at risking their lives on the field? You and the auror corps are always using non-lethal magic to try and defeat the Dark at the command of your so-called superiors. Where, in reality, you need to use those curses so they don't just get back up."

"It's not that easy."

"Bullshit, are you Alastor Moody or not? The man who was the reason why I received countless casualty reports all these years? You've been putting Death Eaters down left, right and centre the majority of your life. When have you ever cared about what you need to do as long as you get the job done?"

Moody rubbed his forehead, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but- but- your right."

"I know I am."

Moody turned from the Dark Lord to the aurors, who were still standing; watching the cloaked man carefully- their wands at their sides. "Lads, I propose a new plan. We use any curse we can think of, the legality of it doesn't matter; the priority is the destruction of Voldemort and his men." He glanced back at Grindelwald, who was standing motionlessly. "Would you mind assisting us?"

"I wouldn't mind getting my hands on Tom Riddle, but as soon as that is done I am gone; I do have better things to do."

Ten minutes later, it was settled. Grindelwald would lead them to the Manor where Voldemort resided and make a very distracting entrance, within the confusion Moody and the aurors dash in, do their work while Grindelwald contested with Voldemort.

In what was sure to be the collision of the 20th century. With the possible exclusion of the Dumbledore versus Grindelwald.

The entire group moved in slowly, many barely breathing; not wanting to alert the opposition to their presence. Despite the distance separating them.

Grindelwald signaled a halt, which the aurors complied with after Moody gave his confirmation. As per the plan, Grindelwald's main task was to cause chaos and eliminate Voldemort.

Grindelwald closed his eyes, focusing his magical core, before silently casting an extremely powerful blasting hex along with Muggle-repelling and not-notice-me charms. It was so strong that when it collided with the structure, it sent a small shockwave throughout the area, and blasted away almost a quarter of the Manor.

Rubble, dust and falling materials were a very dangerous hazard for the aurors and Moody as they moved in slowly- disillusioned.

The Death Eaters that hadn't been killed by the rubble were in a state of complete anarchy, not having a clue what was going on- which made them easier for the aurors to pick them off.

Blasting hexes, piercing charms, cutting curses and many more Dark magic was flung from both sides- the aurors aiming to injure or main but not kill.

Upstairs Grindelwald was having the time of his life, again, throwing whatever magic came to mind. Banishing hexes at people, cutting charms that slit people in half, piercing charms at heads... until the rooms and hallways he walked down were painted in the blood of his victims.

He could feel he was nearing his target, the unmistakeable magical signature and Dark power radiating from Voldemort, assured the true Dark Lord of whom was at the end of this corridor.

There was someone else as well, just around the corner, who was worthy of note; dangerous to whoever was around them. Except... something seemed off about that someone- like the mind wasn't what it should be.

Bellatrix Lestrange knew her opponent was powerful, even stronger than her master- which in itself was a feat. She would quench the threat, even if it cost her her life. Which it, in all likeliness, would.

Taking a deep breathe, she jumped from around the corner to find it empty; confusion swept through her. Where was the person? The Dark presence she felt?

A tingling on her senses alerted her to danger, she lunged out of the way- barely avoiding the piercing hex that blasted a hole through the wall. It was a narrow call.

She began throwing every Dark spell in her impressive arsenal, chucking in a few Cruicios's and AK's for good measure. But nothing she tried came close to hitting her foe, which grated on her already frayed nerves.

When a prickling sensation overcame her senses, she felt a change in her perception; her views and standpoint. It was like her mind had been swept of the insanity that once gripped it, freeing her from the unique imprisonment.

For the first time since her marriage to Rodulphus Lestrange, almost two decades ago, she felt alive. Felt the way she did all those years ago when she graduated from Hogwarts believing that she could achieve anything, until her perverted and contracted wedding with the Lestrange Family.

She hadn't been told of the plan to marry her off until it was too late; when her parents had laid down the law for one of their children.

She began sobbing into the wrecked floor, crying for what she might've had and what she could not have now.

One thought, one person could change that. Narcissa. Bellatrix apparated away.

At a house on a quiet London street, gained a new visitor. The Black Family magic had allowed Bellatrix to find her sister, Narcissa. Bellatrix instinctively knew which house belonged to her sister, and made her way quickly towards it.

She knocked on the door several times, before waiting.

Finally the door opened for her to see her sister. Narcissa looked fantastic, the years hadn't done much to her.

"S-S-S-Sissy?" Bellatrix stuttered.

Narcissa frowned, "What is it, sister of mine?"

"I'm sorry." The world darkened; she fell unconscious.

Grindelwald smirked at his handy work, releasing the witch from that which bound her had been almost too easy. After he dealt with Voldemort, the aurors were next.

He blasted apart the door with a simple bludgeoning hex, blowing the door clean off its hinges and sending pieces of the door in all directions. He noticed the jet of green light speeding towards him, forcing him to shift quickly out of the way to avoid it. He rolled back into a standing position.

For the next few minutes a light show like none other was on display in Riddle Manor. The room, and many surrounding it, were wrecked. Remains of Fiendfyre danced at the walls, holes in the walls were visible from the spells that had missed, dodged or reflected. Grindelwald had to admit that his opponent was very good at what he did, powerful and quick both with a wand and his mind.

Voldemort, he had decided, was worth the recognition he got. He would make an excellent second-in-command- to betray at a later time of course.

"Tom Riddle, what say you to becoming a part of my organization?" Grindelwald inquired, after missing a particularly nasty spell- the erupting-entrails hex.

"My answer? My answer would be... Avada Kedavara!" Baby Voldemort shouted.

Almost too shocked to respond, Grindelwald dodged with centimetres left. "What do you mean, 'no,'?"

"Exactly what I meant. I'll see you again at a later time." Voldemort apparated away- to Nott Manor, though the contesting Dark Lord would not realise that.

Grindelwald roared his frustration- unable to contemplate the idiocy of both himself and the auror group for not putting up anti-apparation and anti-portkey wards. He stalked down the hall with murderous intent when he couldn't track Voldemort's magical signature. He remembered to set up the wards this time.

Moody, Remus and the auror group shot down their last death eater with a barrage of magical spells- all designed with the intent to destroy or kill. That was when they sensed a powerful signature pulse throughout the house.

Moody and Remus glanced at one another- both were easily the two most experienced in the group and could only imagine the destruction that would soon follow.

"Everyone out of here now!" Moody bellowed. "Out! Out! Out!" They scrambled out the building to escape the magic that was itching for their destruction.

Hearing Moody's voice made the aged Dark Lord smile. He still had the ability to strike fear into anybody's heart, and man was he going to show those fools why. He jumped from what remained of the floor on this level to the one below. He caught sight of the aurors running away, which set his bloodlust sky high. Deciding on the classical Killing curse, he shot five of them at their retreating forms.

Moody turned to see the emerald curses flying towards them. He quickly conjured a gigantic shield, which absorbed the blow albeit with dents. Grindelwald transfigured it into a spear which launched itself at the aged auror- Remus intercepted it with a well-aimed vanishing charm.

Grindelwald narrowed his eyes, apparently these two were going to put up a fight.

He threw two more killing curses at the pair, who dodged them both before sending back cutting curses forcing Grindelwald to conjure a two foot thick slab of concrete to take the shot, before promptly banishing it toward the pair. Both Remus and Moody sent exploding hexes at it, shattering the stone into a thousand pieces; Moody raised the remains only to shoot them back at Grindelwald who was forced to call in the wind to sweep the oncoming debris.

Grindelwald shot lightning from his hand, a trick few knew, at Remus whilst accio-ing a tree from behind Moody- intending for it to hit the old auror in the back and do some serious damage.

Remus tensed, bracing himself when dodging or blocking the lightning became a lost option, seconds later he felt the searing heat impact on his skin and was lifted off his feet to fly back a dozen feet. He landed on the ground, barely conscious.

Moody, however, ducked under the oncoming tree and transfigured it into a few dozen spears- which continued their accio-ed journey towards Grindelwald- who was forced to use a disintegration charm to halt the advances. With Remus more or less out of the equation, the Dark Lord had an easier time dealing with one opponent.

Moody, however, stood tall against the onslaught of Dark magic that was speeding towards him- countering each move as fast as he could. It wasn't easy holding his own against this man, but he was doing his job. If one or two lives were sacrificed to save the entire group then it was deemed to be worth it.

Grindelwald groaned, his initial burst of power failing- his age catching up to him most unfortunately. It could not be helped however, his reflexes slowed down. When a weak cutting curse struck him, making a cut along the length of his forearm- about a centimetre deep, he knew it was time for him to leave.

"I'll be back," the Dark Lord hissed in his most menacing tone of voice, which had Moody shiver in fear. Grindelwald removed his wards halting the aurors escape, apparating away.

Moody sank to his knees, panting from exertion. He knew that he had one more job to do. He had noticed the blood that had cascaded from the incision he had made, he had to collect it; lest the fools at the ministry not believe him when he made his report. He conjured a vial and walked over to the spot where Grindelwald had stood.

He saw the pool of ruby-red blood, wasted no time in using magic to separate it from the dirt and pour it into the vial.

Moody left, helped Remus to his feet and let the were lean on his shoulder; catching up with the group. It took them no time at all, since the group had realised there was no pursuing Dark Lord.

"Let's get back to the Ministry, we have a report to hand in," Moody growled.

When the group of aurors returned to the Ministry, Moody went straight to the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcements office to deliver a personal report on the situation.

Amelia was at her desk, sorting through countless files as Alastor barged in and sat down in the offered chair.

"Sit rep?" Amelia asked, cutting to the chase.

"Bluntly? We took down most of the Death Eater population, left them in a pool of their own blood- oh and Remus and myself fought against Grindelwald."

Astonishment didn't even come close to what Amelia felt right then; she now believed those rumours of Mad-eye going off the deep end.

"Uhh, sure Alastor. Why don't you have a rest and come back when you can really say what happened."

Moody narrowed his eyes at her condescending manner, "Don't harp on at me, Amelia. I was battling Death Eaters while you were sucking on your mama's titties." He paused. "I'm not lying- I have evidence of Grindelwald's survival and return." Alastor pulled over the vial, the blood inside. "Get someone up here to confirm it. This blood belonged to Grindelwald."

She frowned, "Impossible." Her manner did a 'one-eighty' and turned awed. If he had proof, then there was no reason to dispute him. "I'll call someone up after this. What happened?"

"We lost Lucius but found Remus, we spent the day recuperating when I felt a magical pulse sweep the area. I, having coming into contact with Grindelwald one before, recognised the Magical Signature. We were contemplating whether or not to do something about his presence, when he found us." Moody took a sip of the drink from his flask. "He convinced us we should work together- even if his only target was the opposing Dark Lord. We accepted."

"He blasted about a fifth of the building away, leaving wreckage and debris flying in every direction. We charged in, disillusioned, raining spell-fire at the surviving members of the Death Eaters, while he went to deal with Voldemort. A few minutes passed and we had done our job, that's when we heard a scream of rage. Me, Remus and the others promptly ran for our lives."

"Grindelwald came after us, however myself and Lupin tried to stop him. We were doing pretty well, I must admit, before he caught Lupin with some unknown spell; leaving it as a one-on-one duel. But after fighting Voldemort and going through however many there were on the upper level, he was drained of most his strength; his reflexes were slowing. I got a lucky hit with a cutting curse, before he apparated out. That's when I collected this blood."

"Alright then Moody, thank you for your time. We'll just need to wait until the confirmation comes in that you're telling the truth; if it's any consolation, I believe you. There's very few people who could pull a tale like that out of their arse."

They only had to wait a couple of minutes until a goblin came through the door.

"Right, let's get this done and dusted," The goblin said, clearly wanting to waste no time. "Give us the blood then! Hop to, c'mon!"

"Alright! Blimey," Moody handed over the blood vial.

The goblin cast a spell over it, which made glowing white letters come out from the vial. It was symbolised, but the goblins expression of fear told them all they needed to know.

"The Dark Lord has, indeed, returned," Amelia said gravely. I'll need to tell Sirius and the twins about this; make sure he's on alert and wary. Harry and Hermione too, especially those two. They'll need to inform the teachers at Hogwarts. If Fudge doesn't blow his nut he can send letters off to the French, German, Spanish and Belgian Ministries. Otherwise I'll have to do it myself- the risk of being fired is nothing compared to that of lack of preparation.

(A/N) Hope you all enjoyed! Do the 4 R's; rest, relax, read and REVIEW :) even a smiley will make me smile.

I seem to be getting into a flow of chapters, I think I'll be dishing out another one soon.

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