— CHAPTER FOUR —

"So," Ron said, in a strained voice, "You're telling me you freed the most powerful Dark Lord in wizarding history. Just willy-nilly like. In a dream. But for real."

"Let's try to stay calm, Ron," Hermione admonished tersely. "Harry knows he did wrong, he doesn't need you shouting at him. I'm sure it took a lot of courage for him to even tell us all this. Try to imagine yourself in his shoes."

"Yes," Neville mumbled weakly. "Everyone makes… mistakes."

Neville didn't sound like he believed it. He looked like he was way out of his depth. He'd only recently become an honorary member of the golden trio. Hermione and Ron had both had years to adjust to Harry's horrifically abnormal and extraordinary life. They'd come to expect a catastrophe every few months and an death-defying encounter with Voldemort once a year. Neville, well, Neville was still adjusting, but he helped to ground the rest of them and Harry really appreciated that.

"Actually," Harry interjected quietly, "I don't think it was a mistake."

There was a beat of silence. Hermione and Neville stared at Harry with wide, disbelieving eyes. Ron nodded thoughtfully for a moment then smacked Harry outside his head and screamed, "Not a mistake?! Are you kidding me! Of course it was a mistake! Possibly the biggest mistake ever! If anyone finds out-!"

"Ronald, shut up!" Hermione snapped in aggravation. "You're lucky I cast privacy wards or everyone in this library would know now. You're so careless."

"If you cast privacy wards, why does it matter if I scream at him or not?" Ron demanded, flushing redder than his hair. "Why are you getting irritated with me when he's the one who's revived the bloody Dark Lord Supreme! Gellert Grindelwald is worse than You-Know-Who!"

"If he's worse, then why are you okay with saying his name but not Voldemort's?" Hermione demanded immediately, her own skin turning a heated, mottled sort of pink.

"Shh! Don't say his name!" Ron insisted. "What is wrong with you?"

"Ronald Weasley, you're being purposefully dense-"

"Stop! Both of you!" Neville shouted.

The two of them stopped and stared at Neville. Neville seemed surprised that he'd succeeded but then he scowled and said, "Neither of you are helping Harry by fighting with each other. If Harry says it wasn't a mistake, then I'm going to believe him. He'd know better than any of us. Especially after getting inside of Grindelwald's mind."

"Thank you, Neville," Harry said gratefully, humbled by Neville's faith in him.

Neville gave him a small smile and nodded. Hermione cast one last scathing look at Ron then seemed to decide to ignore him. She asked Harry, "Did you see the paper this morning? Nurmengard was destroyed."

"That doesn't surprise me," Harry replied. Then he went on to attempt to summarize Gellert's relationship with Albus Dumbledore. Harry didn't go into great detail but he said enough to make his friends look ill.

Hermione, the most empathetic of Harry's friends, looked especially disturbed. She whispered, "That doesn't sound like Professor Dumbledore at all. Surely… he must have had very good reasons… but I can't imagine, really. I haven't seen Professor Dumbledore all day, now that I think about it. Do you think Grindelwald killed him?"

For some reason, Harry didn't think so. He didn't have a specific or rational reason for feeling that way though, so he shrugged and said honestly, "I don't know."

Ron dropped his head into his hands, muttering, "Merlin…"

"Shouldn't you be able to tell?" Neville questioned. "If you're actually the sort of seer who can control what you see?"

Hermione perked up, "You're absolutely right, Neville! Give it a try, Harry!"

Harry sighed, "That's the thing… I don't know how and right now I'm more worried about the possibility that I could literally die in one of these dreams. I have to learn Occlumency. It's more important now than ever."

"Well, from what I've read about Occlumency, meditation is extremely important," Hermione began thoughtfully. "You have to establish clear mental boundaries, or rather, 'draw the line between what is you and what is not'. It is the first fundamental principle of Occlumency."

"That's what Gellert said I needed to work on," Harry said despondently. "Slightly better than Snape's methods of teaching, but still… how do I even start?"

Ron finally lifted his head, "I can't believe I'm saying this but I think Snape was right. You do better when you don't think."

Harry glared at Ron and replied sarcastically, "Thanks, Ron, really helpful."

"No listen," Ron said. "That's what Snape's method and uh, Grindelwald's method have in common."

"You know what, it's really easy for you to say. How about you try not thinking and see how well it works out for you? Oh wait-"

"Will you just shut up and listen?" Ron demanded. "I'm being serious. Grindelwald wants you to meditate and meditation is about clearing your mind, right? Snape used to attack you like he did without explaining anything because he's a dick-"

"Language, Ronald!" Hermione interrupted shrilly.

Ron pointedly ignored her, raising his voice to talk over her, "-and because he wanted you to react instinctively!"

Hermione looked put out but she paused and seemed to think this over, looking as if she couldn't believe Ron had come up with such an astute deduction. Harry was surprised too. He remembered Gellert saying something similar, in that cryptic way of his.

'You have good instincts and you should really use them more often than you do.'

Neville spoke then, quietly and with some embarrassment, "Um, my grandmother made me go with her to a spa retreat once."

Ron snorted. Hermione slapped his arm and gestured impatiently for Neville to continue. She glared at Ron and he glared right back at her. Neville drew in a breath then said, "Meditation isn't about clearing your mind. It's about mindfulness. Acknowledging and accepting whatever you happen to be thinking and feeling in the present moment, without reacting to any of it or allowing yourself to get carried away by any of it… Does that make sense? If you practice, it supposedly becomes easier and easier. You'll be aware of your, ah, mental boundaries."

"Yes!" Hermione cried enthusiastically, latching onto this with her usual fervor. "So let's all get together at least once per day in the Room of Requirement and practice meditation. One hour to start with, but we'll work up from there. I'll read up on meditation but in the meantime, Neville, maybe you could start us off."

Ron looked panicked, "One hour? To start with? When do you expect us to eat or sleep or do homework?"

Hermione slanted a sideways look at him, "I'm not sure why you would be concerned about doing homework when you nearly always have to ask to copy off of me."

Ron crossed his arms and slumped down in his chair. Hermione shook her head and said regretfully, "It pains me to say it, but this is more important than our homework or studying for the NEWTs. Harry's life could possibly be at stake. We need to help him learn Occlumency."

"Maybe then Grindelwald won't be able to manipulate you yet again the next time you see him, Harry," Ron couldn't resist adding. "The sooner you can hold your own against him, the better. I know you have to set the bar low, but you shouldn't trust him just because he hasn't tried to kill you yet."

[][][][][]

"Crucio," Voldemort whispered.

The screams of his Death Eaters echoed in the chamber. Voldemort contemplated their contorted bodies apathetically, wondering why he even kept them alive. They were all members of his inner circle, supposedly the strongest and most capable of all his servants. Yet, none of them could give him the one thing he wanted most - Harry Potter.

How could one seventeen-year-old boy thwart all of his plans?

Albus Dumbledore was a problem too, certainly, and so was the Order of the Phoenix… but in the end, it somehow always came down to Harry Potter. The boy had apparently popped out of nowhere - in the astronomy tower of all places - and stopped Draco, Bellatrix, and Severus from killing a disarmed and weakened Dumbledore.

Voldemort should have expected it, after everything, but still it rankled. Ever since Harry Potter had failed to die that very first time, Voldemort had to swallow defeat after bitter defeat. It was humiliating and infuriating.

Voldemort hadn't decided yet how to execute Draco but it was going to happen. It would be public and it would be bloody and it would be brutal. Maybe that would provide some much-needed motivation for the rest of them.

Nagini slithered up his body until she was draped over his shoulders. Voldemort stroked her head distractedly. She hissed agitatedly, "So noisy. Shall I eat one?"

Voldemort considered the suggestion for a moment then replied, "Not today, Nagini, my sweet."

He reluctantly ended the torture curse before it could do permanent damage to his servants. They were useless but unfortunately they were the best he had.

"Leave me now," Voldemort murmured, with obvious disgust.

His Death Eaters got to their feet as quickly as they were able and bowed to him before exiting the room. Their movements were stiff and jerky. Tremors were still evident in their limbs and they had difficulty walking. Voldemort admitted to himself that he had nearly pushed them too far. It would be a few days before they fully recovered. A foolish oversight.

"Ah you are nasty, aren't you? If this is how you treat your friends…"

Voldemort leapt to his feet and drew his wand, disturbing Nagini. He spun about and found none other than Gellert Grindelwald, in the flesh, leaning against the right side of his throne. Gellert was examining his nails but then he cast an unimpressed look at Voldemort's wand.

Those eerie purple eyes were even more disconcerting in life and they took in every inch of Voldemort - the wand in his hand, his inhuman features, his formal black robes, and the snake around his shoulders. Gellert looked back at his nails. Voldemort couldn't shake the feeling that Gellert had taken his measure and found him sorely lacking.

"You again," Voldemort snarled. He felt rage, yes, but also a touch of cold fear in the center of his chest. Every time before now he'd only seen the man in dreams. Now, Gellert was not only free and alive but also standing before Voldemort - in his most secure and secret fortress.

"In the flesh!" Gellert chirped cheerfully, echoing Voldemort's thoughts just seconds prior. He bit a nail and he grinned at Voldemort.

Voldemort spat out the killing curse. He wasn't willing to take any chances where Gellert was involved. The elder Dark Lord was an enormous threat to him. How the bloody hell had the man gotten free without Voldemort's assistance?

The killing curse hit Gellert squarely in the chest and Voldemort relaxed somewhat, watching eagerly as the man stumbled and then dropped to the floor. Nearly a minute of silence passed and then Nagini hissed, "May I eat thisone?"

Gellert's body jerked and Voldemort stumbled back half a step. Even Nagini startled and she let out a threatening hiss immediately after, pissed off about being surprised.

The blond man lifted his head, grinning up at Voldemort, "Just kidding! You could at least let me explain why I've come before trying to kill me. That's rude, Tom, I've been perfectly civil with you."

"That is not my name!" Voldemort insisted ferociously, even as he stared in horrified disbelief. Gellert picked himself up off the floor and brushed off his clothes. One un-killable foe was plenty already for Voldemort. He really didn't need two.

Gellert cast him a wry look and dropped down onto Voldemort's throne, "You have a flare for drama that surpasses even my own. Some constructive criticism though? That new face of yours is too much. You used to have natural charisma and you were handsome too. That was so much more advantageous for you than relying on fear and pain, trust me on that. I liked first-war-you much better. There was still room for improvement then, mind you, but you've really only made progress in the wrong direction since then, Tom."

"That is not my name!" Voldemort roared thunderously, starting to lose his already shaky grasp on his sanity. "Get off of my throne!"

Gellert ignored him, "Cast even one more spell in my direction and you won't like what happens to you. I think I've been more tolerant than you deserve thus far. Don't go ruining my good mood, Tom. You should be grateful I decided not to embarrass you in front of your 'Death Eaters'."

Gellert lifted his hands and used air-quotes for 'Death Eaters'. His tone implied very strongly that he thought Voldemort's name for his servants was ridiculous.

Voldemort stood there seething, trying to calm himself enough to evaluate his options rationally. Gellert spun sideways in the throne so he was lounging in it, and he sighed, "You've been ignoring me for years. You and I are long overdue for a talk. Isn't it funny that Harry freed me? I was so sure it would be you. You and I have so much in common but in the end your greed for power was not stronger than your fear. After years of attempting to persuade you to free me… I turned to Harry in desperation. I didn't think I'd be able to influence him, not after all the time he'd spent firmly under Albus's thumb… but Harry surprised me. I knew from our first meeting that he would be the one to free me and it happened after only two dreams."

Of course Harry Potter had been the one to free Gellert. Voldemort shouldn't have been surprised. After all, Harry Potter was the source of all his problems.

"He's so compassionate and he has such a pure heart," Gellert carried on wistfully, as if he was infatuated. "He worries about me! Isn't that just precious? Your Harry is so delectably sweet that I'm tempted to take him from you."

"My Harry?" Voldemort questioned harshly. "He is not mine."

Gellert just chuckled, his violet eyes gleaming mischievously as he murmured, "Hm, that sounds familiar."

"Are you going to tell me why you're here or are you going to keep me guessing?" Voldemort asked, trying and failing to conceal his growing irritation.

Gellert's smile fell away slowly and his expression became very serious, "You wouldn't help me, Tom, but for Harry's sake I'm going to help you. In the end, I dare say you'll even be grateful to me. If you behave yourself, I'm going to give you the knowledge you need to be immortal like me. First things first, you need to reverse the damage you've done to your poor soul. Your first task will be to collect those Horcrux abominations you willfully created. All of the ones that still exist."

Voldemort felt cold terror grip him, "What do you mean, all of the ones that still exist?"

Gellert smirked at him unkindly, "Oh, didn't you know? Harry and Albus have been destroying them. That's one of the many problems with dividing your soul - you can't even tell when portions of yourself die."

Voldemort stood frozen, caught up in the paralyzing grip of some terrible and unfamiliar emotion.

Gellert seemed to take pity on him and he continued, "That unfamiliar emotion you're feeling right now? It's called despair and you should remember it. Without me, it would have been inevitable for you to lose the war and your life. You're barely human now and that's not something to be coveted. You barely feel anything anymore and certainly not any of the most worthwhile emotions, like joy or lust or love. You're struggling merely to hold onto your sanity. You've become weak and vulnerable and you haven't even had the presence of mind to realize what you've lost."

Gellert stood from the throne and walked around Voldemort slowly. Voldemort stared unseeingly at his empty throne, struggling against his own despicable emotions. He whispered, "Are you capable of fixing me?"

"Oh yes," Gellert purred softly in reply. "Indeed I am. I'll even find the pieces of your soul that have passed beyond the Veil. Together we'll make you whole and human again. After that, I'm going to teach you everything I know and I'll also explain to you why exactly I call Harry Potter yours. Then finally, you're going to help Harry and I burn this world to the ground."

— END OF CHAPTER FOUR —

A/N: Uh oh, seems like Gellert is still set on world domination. What do you think of chapter four? Was it what you expected? Chapter five will be about the end of Voldemort. Gellert is going to make him Tom again.

Thank you to Raizel-Renai, Little-Moon-Wolf, Gurgaraneth, Millie, and krabi for leaving reviews! Thank you also to everyone who has favorited and followed the story! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.