The Wind howled in the night, whipping the black forest to and fro like a rag doll. The huge iron gates loomed over the pathway with a single, granite tower rising behind.
Head of the International Confederation of Warlocks, and leader of the resistance Albus Dumbledore paused as he reached the gates, slowly he looked skyward to the inscription above.
'Fur das Wohl'. Carved in Silver upon the blackened iron.
His mouth hardened into a thin line as he repeated the phrase in his head. 'For the greater Good'.
Drawing the elder wand he sliced his left palm and smeared his blood on the frozen metal to override the security and unlock the gate. As he walked through the courtyard Dumbledore couldn't help but wonder how the war had become so terrible.
Sirius Black had escaped in early 1988, the only person to escape Azkaban unaided alive. Albus knew the danger he posed, knew that Sirius would go after Harry to right the wrongs that had been done to him. However Albus was too late. By the time the news of Black's escape had reached him he had already taken Harry from the Dursleys. This on its own was not the end of the world, he would be able to find Black soon enough. However the revelation of Harry's disappearance had reached the ears of the Prophet. The fact that Dumbledore had placed the savour of the Wizarding World in the care of muggles, and had likely known of their abuse towards the boy, even if he hadn't, had been too much for the public to handle. He was stripped of his positions with in the Ministry and at Hogwarts leaving him with only his ICW post.
The real consequence of this was that Harry did not attend Hogwarts in '91, indeed to this day he had never set foot inside the castle. No Harry meant that he was forced to return the stone to Nicholas. All his best laid plans gone to waste. With no child of prophecy to stop him Riddle returned easily at the end of the Triwizard and with Veela Blood he was able to return to a body much like his original, letting him come back at full force.
The appearance of Fleur's body had been the final straw in international relations. France cut all ties to Magical Britain and moved to veto all calls for ICW help in Voldermort's second uprising, despite his best efforts. The weak Ministry fell like a house of cards, the numerous cuts to the auror force finally catching up with Fudge in his last moments. Hogwarts remained strong after the fall, Mcgonagall called Dumbledore back to the school to help with the war effort, and help he did.
In his time as Headmaster most people had been happy to forget the powerful battle mage Dumbledore was, that it had been his intervention and prior knowledge of Grindelwald's plans that ended the global wizarding war before it reached Britain's shores. He reforged the Order of the Phoenix and led raids against death eater camps, the most successful of witch killed Augustus Rookwood, Voldermort's Spy master and recently promoted head of the Department of Mysteries.
This however had been five years ago. Nothing more had changed, the resistance at Hogwarts seemed more and more like a annoying fly for Tom swat. The light was losing faith, losing hope in victory. They needed to turn the tide, anyway they could. Which led him here.
" I never thought I would see you, or indeed anyone, ever again Albus."
"Nor I Gellert"
The man who had torn Europe asunder was staring up from a faded wooden stool behind the bars. His hair was as long as Albus's and held no trace of its auburn colour, instead it was grey and matted. Though his brown eyes still held its old fire when he saw him.
"In the many years I've been here you have never visited, never sent owls. Almost as though you were trying to forget about me and leave me to die here alone."
Grindelwald stood from the stool and slowly moved to gate.
"So either you're slowly dying and wish to made peace with your sins, or you need my help."
Dumbledore grimaced, Gellert was as much his equal today and he was years ago.
"Sorry to disappoint old friend but I'm not dying just yet. But I do need your help, The Dark Lord Voldermort has taken over Britain."
There is no recognition in Gellert's eyes. "I don't get much news in here you know."
Albus quickly explained the rapid re-rise of Britain's latest Dark Lord.
Grindelwald turned his head to the side with a small smirk cracking his face.
"A half-blood leading pure-bloods hmm, maybe my ideals didn't die in here after all."
" Very few people are aware of his heritage, and half-blood or not he is still the last heir of Slytherin" Albus Frowned.
Gellert waved him away. "It matters not, few people wanted to accept my views on blood either, The idea that it was not how pure your blood was that may you better that others, but that it was the Magic itself as horrifying to the old order, even if I wanted Wizards to rule over Muggles they would not stomach doing so with a 'Mudblood'.but yet here we are."
He lent forward. "Since you're here however. You must be desperate, if any other option was available you would have leaped it at. Therefore you must really need me." His smirk grew into a all too recognizable smile.
Dumbledore closed his eyes and sighed. He could still picture the young Austrian in his prime, smiling and plotting in Godrics hollow with him.
Gellert continued "I cant defeat your pesky half-blood from inside this cell Brian, even I'm not that powerful."
"I dont need you to kill Tom Gerllet, you couldn't if you tried." Albus sighed.
Grindelwald looked momentary outraged, then his eyes narrowed in thought. "You've not underestimated me before Dumbledore. Even locked away in this cage my power has not weakened, you'd know since their your blueprints." He tapped his fingers on the bars of the cell. "This Riddle must be powerful to halt you, but that powerful? No, no there's something else-" He broke off and snapped back to Dumbledore.
"A Prophesy."
"Indeed. The subject of which I need you to find."
The Austrian cocked a brow. "The name of this want-to-be saviour?"
"Harry Potter."
"GAHH!" Harry leapt from his bed, drenched and freezing.
Whipping his soaking head around he saw his godfather doubled over laughing with his wand still in hand.
"What was that for!?"
Still chuckling Sirius Black replied "Your birthday of course Harry, or have you forgotten Marauder tradition?"
"Tradition? You told me my dad did that one time when you were both thirteen! And I'm twenty years old Padfoot." Harry reached for his wand and dried himself off.
"Never too late to revive tradition son, now stop complaining and come get your breakfast."
With that Sirius left.
Harry shook his head and followed his godfather to the kitchen. He was twenty years old for Gods sake and Pads still treat him like a kid sometimes. He paused slightly, twenty years old, how did that happen? He still remembered Sirius rescuing him from privet drive. He had looked like shit, dirty haired, starved and half mad, but that hadn't stopped Aunt Petunia from reconsigning him, nor had it stopped Harry from leaving with him. He had always dreamed a lost relative would come to save him from that hell and though Sirius wasn't really his blood, he was as close as.
From Surrey they had ran to Dover, all the while Padfoot had explained to Harry the world of Magic and his parents. He wasn't convinced at first, thinking it was his godfathers madness talking. But once one of his shoes suddenly turned into a Rabbit it became hard to argue.
With the manhunt for the both of them still in the early stages it only took a few glamours from Sirius for the both of them to cross the channel to France. They didn't stay long however and soon Harry had found himself in his current home, a old villa sixty miles from Athens, Greece.
"It'll be great Harry. No one will find us here, I mean when hunting two wizards who've never left Britain in their lives who in their right mind thinks Greece! Thank god Mad-eye retired or we'd have a problem."
Who in there right mind indeed Sirius. Though Harry couldn't fault him since no one had found them yet. The last twelve years had been two of them living in their small villa. Sirius got harry a wand from Athens, willow and griffins feather, and though it wasn't a perfect fit he was still able to spend the years learning both the normal Hogwarts magic all magicals were taught, but also the auror spells and tactics Padfoot had been able to remember from his brief, but explosive, employment at the ministry.
Once Harry entered the kitchen he saw Sirius already sat at the table with his food, Harry's Bacon and eggs were sat at this normal place and the Oracle paper folded next to it. He flicked through the quidditch results before turning the paper over to the front page. Plastered over it was the main story.
Terror returns to Europe. Dark Lord Grindelwald escapes Nurmengard Prison!
Fires in Normandy as Death Eaters launch Raids. Will Voldermort invade?
Can Europe survive two Dark Lords ?
Continued on page 3.
"Er Pads?"
Sirius made a noise around his hash browns.
"Who's Grindelwald?"
Sirius Paused and swallowed. "It was the Dark Lord Dumbeldore defeated in the forties in Germany, Mum used to complain Albus was weak since he never killed him. Why?"
"He escaped, and Voldermorts finally moving into Europe."
Sirius stared at him for a few seconds, a chunk of egg white hanging from his mouth. Suddenly he snatched the paper from Harry's hands and flicked to page 3.
Shrugging at his godfathers odd behaviour Harry started on his food. Half way through his bacon Sirius dropped the newspaper, his face white as milk.
"This..this is bad Harry. Nurmengard was supposed to be a fortress."
Harry looked at him, "so was Azkaban." he pointed out.
Sirius shot him a dark look for bringing it up. "It is a Fortress. But it holds hundreds of prisoners, and no one accounted for an animagus being starved enough to not only fit through the bars, but to then have the strength swim through the north sea alone and not drown."
He threw the paper back on the table.
"Nurmengard was designed by Grindelwald himself. Every cell adjusts the defences for how powerful the prisoner. Grindelwald was one of the most powerful Wizards of the last two centuries, not since Napoleons Battle Mages had Europe felt such a force. And he was the only Prisoner held there, for fifty-five years. Why escape now? Why not wait until Dumbledore's dead?"
Sirius closed his eyes and drained his coffee.
"With Voldermort making moves on France, and Grindelwald mostly likely returning to his old Stomping ground at Durmstrang, The ICW will be fighting on two fronts, it wont be able to hold both back."
Harry was worried about his Godfather. "Why does it matter to us though, no one knows where we are."
"True, for now. But if the ICW is defeated and Europe falls to one of them it wouldn't be long until they do know where we are, Dark Lords have a knack for finding powerful power in good hiding places." his face turned dark again, "Just ask your parents."
Harry's blood ran cold, "Sirius..."
"NO HARRY!" Sirius exploded slamming his hand on the table, causing egg to go flying." They find people, that's what they DO. We've gotten away with this so far because there are so many fidelius covered sites in Greece no one bats an eye, but two people as powerful as the two of us hiding here? It's only a matter of time until one of them comes looking, and who would you prefer to walk through our door Harry? The man who killed your parents and took over Britain? Or the man responsible for the Second World War?"
"But as you said, we've still got time. Even if one of them wins, and even it they do what's stopping from them wiping out each other?" Harry frowned.
Sirius looked back to his cup, looking like he deeply wished for some more coffee, or something stronger if that glance at the fire whiskey was anything to go by, and then stared hard at him.
"Voldermort"
"What?"
"Its time I told you something Harry, something I've kept from you that I really shouldn't have."
"Padfoot? You're freaking me out now."
Scowling Sirius said, "It time told you why Voldermort came for your parents Harry, why you really have that Scar. And what it means."