For The Greater Good
Disclaimer: You don't know how much I wish I owned Harry Potter, but that amazing right goes to J.K. Rowling, not me.
Author's Note: I know that this title is very overdone when it comes to fanfictions about Grindelwald, but in my opinion it's a very fitting title for his life. Therefore, I see no reason for me not to use this title, even though I know it has been done before.
This fic takes place right after Grindelwald was locked in Nurmengard. It is his reflection upon his friendship with Dumbledore and the events in his life that have taken him to this point.
Gellert Grindelwald: 2nd Person
In a way, it's ironic. To be trapped in the prison of your own creation by the man with whom you once planned to capture others. You've always hated irony.
You wonder if he sees it too, the paradoxical way that things turned out. Well, sure he does. He's Albus. To him, it's probably some sort of sick, twisted poetic justice. He probably had it planned out like this for that very reason.
Of course, neither of you wanted it to end this way at first. You in Nurmengard, your friendship destroyed.
Ruling over muggles. That was the goal. And you were doing fine with it on your own for the past few years until he sauntered back into the picture. You knew (always have known) the powers your former ally possessed, and this knowledge made you none the more eager to have him as your enemy. You would never have had to, either, if Albus's brother had stayed out of the way. But he just had to get involved, had to make you lose control, had to shatter your years of hard work.
And of course, there was Ariana. You don't know who did it. No one does. It's that lack of knowledge that weakens you both, that twists your stomach into an unforgiving knot of guilt, so that you have to remind yourself once again that she died for the greater good.
Because you can't pretend not to care at all about her death. Maybe he killed her. Maybe you did. But either way, there's something so gut-wrenchingly wrong with seeing the youngest Dumbledore still and cold.
It's different with Albus's other sibling. He wasn't hurt. Not really. Even if he was, it was Aberforth's own fault for interfering. You don't understand why Albus rushed to his aid so unquestioningly, and you don't think (even if you spend a hundred years locked up here) that you ever will understand. Aberforth attacked you verbally, yet you can't retaliate with your wand. You're the one who lost everything because of what he did, so why should he get the pity? Not that you'd ever want sympathy, but still, it's not as if you permanently damaged the boy.
Albus's sister wasn't quite so lucky as Aberforth. You replay the battle again and again in your mind, but you never can tell who's wand cast that one curse that changed everything. You know Albus must be asking the same question to himself over and over (because he never could let things go) wondering if he's to blame.
That's why you used it, your greatest weapon, when he finally confronted you after all those years apart. That's why, as the sky was lit up with curses and the air was thick with the heat of a duel you used those words that you knew he couldn't bear to here.
"It was you," you had told him (not knowing whether he'd call your bluff). "She died because of you."
And you remind yourself as you see the look on your old friend's face, the pain and guilt and hatred (towards whom, you do not know) that you're doing this for a reason. You're doing this all, everything, for the greater good.
And even as he mouths "I know," and even as you see his blue eyes clouded with memories that you'd both rather forget, he puts to use his extraordinary skill that you've feared for so long. And once again it's ironic, how he defeats you to gain the wand you once looked for together. You've always hated irony.
Author's Note: This is my first time writing both Grindelwald and Dumbledore, so please review and tell me what you think! Thank you for reading this, and I hope you enjoyed it!