December, 1937
Queenie Goldstein was getting ready to go a party at the Black family home with her friend Alphard Black who she was going with in order to hide the fact that he had a lover
that he was not allowed to date though for different reasons than herself. Even though her and Jacob had broken up over ten years ago when she had joined Grindelwald
since she felt that he would allow the two of them to marry once he had come into power, she still had feelings for him even as she had dated other wizards during that
time frame but right now she was still single and helping out her friend Alphard to hide the fact that he was living with his boyfriend Liam since he was sure that his family
would burn him off the family tree if the truth was revealed to his family. When she had first met him at the Black family home at a meeting of Grindelwald's inner circle she
knew the truth about him since she was able to read his mind at a moment when he had let his own mental shields down. Instead of condemning him and revealing the
truth to his family she also revealed that she had loved someone that it was against the law for her to love in her home country too but he was a muggle and not another
woman. She immediately felt empathy for him and the two of them were seen at various functions together with the pureblooded families on and off depending on if she was
seeing someone or not. She did enjoy going to the functions with him and being with him since there was no chance of him trying to be with her romantically. Tonight, though
she had shown up a little bit early in order to give him a chance to go through his family tree so that she could understand how the different members of his family were
related.
"Why are there burnt out holes in your family tree?" she asked.
"Oh, those are the people who are considered traitors and are disowned from the family" Alphard answered her.
"Why would anyone be kicked out of your family, other than being a homosexual?" Queenie asked sounding curious on how anyone can be disowned from their family.
"We have Iola Black who was kicked out for marrying a muggle Phineas Black Jr. for supporting muggle rights and Marius Black just for being born a squib." Alphard
answered her.
"What is a squib?" Queenie asked.
"A squib is someone who was born to at least one wizarding parent but has no magical ability. They can see magically protected places and magical beings that a normal
muggle wouldn't be able to see."Alphard answered her.
"What happens to them? Queenie asked sounding interested.
"Some of them work as servants for wizards and some actually find employment out in the muggle world. In our family though they give away their squib children and
obliviate their memories of the wizarding world in order to hide the shame of having a squib in the family. For example, Marius was given away at a very young age over
thirty years ago when he didn't show any signs of having any magical ability to a family that was moving to America who had recently lost a child Marius's age by the
name Kowalski. They adopted him and took him with him raising him as their own. He had no memory of ever living in the wizarding world or ever living in Great Britain."
Alphard answered her question.
At the last sentence Queenie looked at him in disbelief wondering if everyone was mistaken about Jacob and he was a squib instead of a muggle.
"Is a squib considered to be a part of the wizarding world?" Queenie asked.
"Yes, but they are considered to be second class citizens since they have no magical ability." Alphard answered her.
"Do you have any pictures of Marius?" Queenie asked sounding curious.
"I did manage to sneak a couple of them out since I was upset when he left that did not have his likeness removed from them. Why would you want to see some old pictures
of a disowned member of my family?" Alphard asked sounding curious as to why his friend wanted to see what a squib looked like.
"I just do, can you do an age progression charm on them?" Queenie asked sounding real interested.
"You need to hide your curiosity about Marius until I can take you to my place to get the pictures and to perform the age progression charm on it. I can admit that I am
interested to see what he would look like now. Sometimes I wonder what type of job he would have maybe working in a muggle bank or even
owning a muggle shop." Alphard admitted to her. Queenie looked at him not wanting to admit that she might have been engaged to Marius under his adopted name but she
wanted to make sure first and while she was in the Black family home, she did not wish to reveal that Marius might have been reintroduced to the wizarding world over ten
years ago and that he was the reason that she had joined Grindelwald's side in the first place. She also wanted to make sure that her hunch was correct that Marius Black was
Jacob Kowalski. If that was true than the prophecy that she had heard about ten years ago could apply to him as well. She got through the rest of the night waiting for it to
be over so that she could go home with Alphard eager to check to see what Marius Black would look like today. After the party ended, she went home with Alphard so that he
could show her Marius Black's picture and perform the age progression charm on it. When they arrived at Alphard's home Liam greeted him at the front door.
"What is she doing here? It's late." Liam asked.
"We are looking for a couple of pictures of my cousin Marius. She wants to know what he would look like today plus I think that she has ran into him already and wants to
verify if it is him or not." Alphard answered guessing the reason for Queenie's interest.
Alphard left Queenie alone with Liam in the living room while he went upstairs to look for the pictures. A few minutes later he came downstairs with the pictures. Queenie had
gotten up to see what Marius had looked like as a child. She did see a resemblance to Jacob but she couldn't be sure if it was him or not. Alphard had pointed his wand over
the picture and said "Ago Progresso" for the age progression charm and saw as the child in the photograph aged. She was shocked to see the likeness of Jacob Kowalski in the
photograph which proved to her that Jacob was Marius Black. She knew that letting anyone know the truth about Jacob could result in her imprisonment due to being one of
Grindelwald's inner circle. She could surrender but if she did that then she may not be able to reveal the truth about Jacob or she would not be believed. She decided to
secretly go to Albus Dumbledore himself at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and be prepared to accept the consequences no matter what they would be.
"Alphard, Marius Black is alive and I know who he is. He is my ex-fiancée Jacob Kowalski but he has no memory of the wizarding world before he was reintroduced to it in
1926. I need you to take me to Albus Dumbledore tonight if you can since it would be hard for me to travel in secret during the day. I am willing to accept any consequences
that he may have for me." Queenie exclaimed.
"It is late are you sure that you want to go now?" Alphard asked.
"Yes." Queenie answered.
Alphard gave Liam a defeated look and got his coat in order to take Queenie to Hogwarts this time of night. He had sent a note to Albus Dumbledore that they had news
about one of the members of his side in this wizarding war and that they were coming in peace plus alerting him that he had another person that the prophecy could mention.
When they arrived at Hogwarts Alphard took her to Professor Dumbledore's office and alerted him of their arrival. When Dumbledore met the two of them he hoped that no
one on his side had been captured by Grindelwald and that Queenie had a message for him and he was prepared in case this was a trap but he was curious as to what news
they would have about one of his allies.
"What a surprise Queenie, you do know that I can just contact the Ministry and have them take you to Azkaban for the crimes that you have committed under Grindelwald's
orders." Dumbledore informed her.
"I do but you may want to hear what I have to say first." Queenie replied.
"Is anyone from my side captured and you want to exchange one of our prisoners for them?" Dumbledore asked.
"No, but I have information that the muggle Jacob Kowalski was born the squib Marius Black and that he was given away as a young child with his memory of the magical
world and his life in Great Britain obliviated." Queenie answered.
"It is true that my family kicks out members for doing things that they would consider being traitors to the family such as being a squib. In order to escape the humiliation of
having a squib child they would burn them out of the family tree and give them away without their memories of the wizarding world or their past life." Alphard answered him.
"I do know what some of the pureblooded families do to their squib children." Dumbledore answered.
"How do you know that Jacob is this Marius Black?"
"Alphard told me that Marius was sent to America with a muggle family called Kowalski when it was discovered that he had no magical talent. We also did an age progression
charm on one of their old photographs of him and he looked like Jacob." Queenie answered him while showing him the took a look at it and noticed the
resemblance between Jacob and the estimation of whatthis Marius Black would look like now.
"I can check this out but what will I do with you? I can have you sent to Azkaban but I need someone who is on the inside of Grindelwald's organization to alert me about his
moves. I have heard that you are actually in Grindelwald's inner circle with the contacts that I have now. If you do not accept this then I will contact the Ministry and have
them send you to Azkaban." Dumbledore informed her.
Queenie thought about this offer and she had heard about Azkaban prison which was guarded by Dementors which made the place gloomy. She was nervous of what
Grindelwald would do if he did discover that she even came to Albus Dumbledore and was in prison. He would punish her for putting herself in a position to get caught in the
first place if she did ever get out.
"I will do it since this is the only way for me to stay out of Azkaban prison." Queenie answered him.
"Do you have any information for me right now?" Dumbledore asked.
"I know there is a prophecy that he thinks Credence is named whose real name is Aurelis Dumbledore, your brother. Can I let him know that you may have a candidate for t
his prophecy too in order to keep him thinking that I am still on his side?" Queenie answered him.
"You can let him know that I also have a prophecy candidate on my side but I am not sure if Jacob is it or not. If you do let him think that I do have a candidate for the
prophecy that will work to my benefit. Is there anything else that I should know?" Dumbledore answered her.
"I do not think that he has anything planned right now since the purebloods are busy with the social season. He has something planned after the first of the year when the
season is over but I do not know the details yet." Queenie answered him.
"That is good enough for now but if you do hear any details about any future attacks you will need to let me know. You would be too conspicuous though coming into the
school plus I don't know if any of the student's parents could be Grindelwald's supporters." Dumbledore told her.
"I know of a code that we could use. I can give you the key, we used it in school to pass notes during class so that our teachers wouldn't know what we were talking about. I
don't think that he is checking our mail yet but we should also use code names so that no one but us can tell what we are talking about" Queenie answered him.
"That is a great idea, Queenie. Another thing you may want to learn Occulmency in order to keep Grindelwald or any of his followers finding out that you are a spy."
Dumbledore told her.
"I learned it when I was at Illvermony since I thought that it would keep me from looking into other people's minds and not to prevent me from looking into others mind."
Queenie replied.
"Do not make me regret letting you go." Dumbledore told her.
Alphard meanwhile had stepped outside waiting for Queenie wondering if she was going to be sent to Azkaban for her crimes or if Dumbledore was going to let her go. When
he saw her step out of Dumbledore's office. He was astonished that he had let her go but he didn't care as long as he still had his friend to escort him to different events plus
he was glad that she could actually be with her ex-fiancee if things worked out with this war. Dumbledore decided to wait until the morning to send Newt a letter asking him
to bring Jacob toHogwarts to see what he saw when he saw the school. He knew that they would need to meet afterJacob's bakery closed for the evening since he may have
some useful information from his bakery in spite of it being a muggle establishment. He knew that some of the younger witches and wizards did go to muggle places out of
curiosity or "going slumming" as the purebloods would call it. After Jacob's New York bakery closed a couple of years ago both him and Newt convinced him to send Jacob to
Great Britain and had him open up a bakery in London where he could check in on the talk of the town both muggle and wizard since some of his creations had also attracted
those in the wizardingworld especially those with small children.
The next morning Albus Dumbledore sent a message to Newt Scamander
Dear Newt,
When both you and Jacob are finished for the day, I want you to bring Jacob by Hogwarts. I do not want you to tell him where you are taking him since I am checking up on information that I have received.
Albus Dumbledore
When Newt received the message, he was curious as to what Professor Dumbledore would want with Jacob since he checked in with Newt and the Ministry once a week on
what gossip he had picked up about the war from his bakery and catering jobs. He was curious though about the hunch that he was checking on about Jacob. After he was
done for the day with his traveling zoo in providing medical care for the animals that needed it and making sure that they had enough food and water for the night. He went
over to Jacob's flat and told him that he needed to take him somewhere but he couldn't say where. The two of them had apparated onto the bridge to Hogwarts and met
Albus Dumbledore there.
"Jacob, I want you to tell me what you see." Dumbledore told him.
"I see a big castle and I can't believe how huge it is." Jacob told him confirming one of the things that Queenie had told him. When he said that he was able to see Hogwarts
Newt looked at him in astonishment since he wasn't able to see Hogwarts at all.
"Are you sure that you see a big castle and not a pile of ruins.?" Dumbledore asked to verify his answer.
"Yes, I am sure that I see a castle." Jacob answered.
Noticing Newt's expression Jacob asked "Doesn't everybody see the castle?"
"We need to go into my office and I can explain to you what this means. Since muggles are not supposed to see the castle except as a pile of ruins with a Keep Out sign
posted." Dumbledore told the two of them.
"Does that mean that I am a wizard too?" Jacob asked sounding excited.
"I will explain this when we get to my office." Dumbledore answered.
When the three of them were in Dumbledore's office he explained "Jacob you are what is known as a squib, someone who has at least one magical parent but no magical
ability. A squib is different from a muggle since they can see magical places and creatures that ordinary muggles can't see."
"So, I am not a wizard but I am a part of the wizarding world?" Jacob asked.
"Yes, but squibs are actually considered second class citizens in the wizarding world since they are unable to do magic. There are even some wizarding families who would
give away their squib children since they feel that it is a shame on the family to even have a squib in it." Dumbledore explained.
"Did you know about this?" Jacob asked Newt looking at him.
"I had no idea since I had no reason to believe that you would be a squib and not a muggle. Squibs are actually, rare and besides until I met you, you had no idea that the
wizarding world even existed" Newt answered him.
"Since my source was correct on the first thing, I can let you know about the second thing that they had told me. They somehow think that you are from the House of Black
an old pureblood family who is one of the families who would give away any squib offspring and also obliviate any of their memory of the wizarding world possibly in your case
the memory of even living in Great Britain." Dumbledore told him.
Both Newt and Jacob looked at Dumbledore in disbelief though Jacob was excited at the news of him being a squib. Dumbledore took out the photograph of Marius Black, took
out his wand and said "Ago Progresso". When the changes to the picture ended Dumbledore showed the photo to Jacob who was astonished at the resemblance to the man in
the photograph and to him.
"How did you do add my picture to the photo?" Jacob asked.
"That is a known photograph of Marius Black and it appears to be you Jacob." Dumbledore answered him and Newt looked surprised.
Jacob looked to Newt and asked "Did you know about this?"
"It had never crossed my mind that you could be a squib and ten years ago when you told me that you had retained your memories of the wizarding world when I
reintroduced you to it. I thought that it was due to the venom of the Swooping Evil taking away bad memories and since your memories of the wizarding world at that time
were good you were able to retain your memories of the wizarding world not that you were a squib let alone a member of the Black family, one of the pueblooded families in
wizarding Great Britain." Newt answered him.
Jacob seemed satisfied at that explanation since there was no reason that out of all of the muggles in New York City that he would run into a squib let alone someone from
the Black family.
"There is another thing." Dumbledore told them.
"There is a prophecy that Grindelwald believes in and that he has a candidate for this prophecy but with this information we have a candidate for the prophecy also. Jacob you
are also a candidate for the prophecy since it doesn't specify whether or not the person is a wizard or not."
Both Newt and Jacob looked at him in disbelief finding it hard to believe that Jacob would be a cast off member of the House of Black and that Jacob could be a candidate to
fulfill a prophecy. Newt knew that it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to think that the Blacks would just give away a squib relation in order to hide him or her from the rest
of the wizarding world in order to hide their perceived shame in having a squib offspring from what he had heard about the Black family.
"What do we do now with this information?" Newt asked.
"Nothing for right now but please keep quiet about this I have someone to let Grindelwald know that I have a prophecy candidate but not who it is. Jacob you can now move
in with Newt where he can make sure that you stay in London unless you are out on business for me." Dumbledore told them.
Both Newt and Jacob were excited about getting to be roommates and Newt wondered how his animals would react to Jacob living with them and how Jacob would react to
them but Jacob wondered how soon he could get his stuffed moved into Newt's flat and Newt wondered how he was going to explain this to Tina since she had transferred to
the British Auror department in order to be closer to him and to be closer to the action with Grindelwald. Tina as an Auror can check the prison records to see if Queenie was
listed as a prisoner if not then she had turned spy for Dumbledore's side which was a dangerous position to be in. Queenie was the only person who associated with the pure-
blooded families who would care who this Marius Black was and it did not surprise Newt at all that Queenie appeared to still have feelings for Jacob. He only hoped that he
could keep Jacob from doing something stupid such as going after her. He wasn't eager to tell Tina the news since she would blame him for not seeing that Jacob was a squib
and not a no-maj that caused Queenie to join Grindelwald in the first place since she wasn't allow to have a relationship with him no matter a romantic relationship due to
American law.