Queenie stared at her ring as she sat in the bath tub, her hair stringy and wet from having just been washed. She swiped at her eyes with her right hand. How could she not be emotional? She was getting married, and she couldn't even tell Tina, who was living as a No-Maj in a cottage in Wales with Newt. She sniffled a little and studied her beautiful ring. Grindelwald's symbol was on both sides of the rose gold. The centre diamond glittered, and the two pink diamonds on the sides were beautifully feminine. She loved it. She loved this ring. It was her ring; he'd made it just for her.

"Queenie."

She looked up. He always surprised her, because she could barely feel his mind through his thick shields of Occlumency. It was so comforting, the way his thoughts failed to invade her own mind the way others' did. She blinked at the bathroom doorway to see him standing there, fully clothed down to his boots and up to his trench coat, and he came stalking slowly into her bathroom. He would have locked up her doors, she knew. He always did when he came into her rooms; the two of them together earned privacy that she alone did not.

"Hi." Queenie smiled up at him, knowing she looked a mess with her wet hair, probably with eyeliner smudged around her eyes. He didn't seem to mind. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Hello."

"Did you tell him?" Aurelius, she meant, and Grindelwald nodded. He sighed.

"I held a brief meeting and told everyone. No use with rumours and whispers. Vinda already knew. That was obvious. You told her straight away, then?"

"Sorry. Couldn't help it." Queenie chewed her lip, and Grindelwald smirked. He shrugged.

"She didn't seem surprised."

"No. She wasn't as surprised as I was," Queenie said. She sat up a little straighter in the bath and reached to drain it. She asked, "Since they all know, will they… um… will they be there?"

"Are you asking whether Gellert Grindelwald will be married in a public or a private ceremony?" He seemed to consider the idea, and he tipped his head. "It seems incongruous with my movement to be secretive and private about something like this. I've been rather showy about just about everything so far. I think we advertise this and do it in Rome, at the Colosseum."

Queenie's eyes went wide. "In front of that many people? Thousands of people?"

He nodded. "I think the best course of action is to make it as profoundly public as possible. We'll surround ourselves with blue flame for protection on the floor of the Colosseum, but I want those stands filled with every single follower I've got. And I want the news to reach Albus Dumbledore that Gellert Grindelwald is marrying Queenie Goldstein."

"Queenie!"

"Vinda? What's wrong?" Queenie whirled around as she walked down the corridor of the castle. Vinda came dashing toward her, clutching an envelope in her hands, and Queenie scowled. "What is that?"

"Queenie," Vinda said breathlessly, "This just came for you by long-distance owl. From England. I didn't know whether to take it to him or to you first."

Queenie took the envelope from Vinda and immediately recognised Tina's handwriting on the outside.

Queenie Goldstein, Nurmengard Castle, Austria

"Let's go to his office," Queenie said anxiously, and she and Vinda hurried down the flight of stairs and through the corridor until they reached Grindelwald's office. Queenie banged insistently on his door, but there was no answer. She could hear voices murmuring inside, so she knew he was in there. Her stomach churned with impatience, and she banged loudly again.

"Please, Gellert; it's urgent!" she cried, and the voices stopped. There was the sound of footsteps, and Queenie sensed German confused thoughts. Krenn. The door opened manually, and suddenly Grindelwald was standing before her.

"I'm meeting with Krenn," he said, seething a little, flicking his eyes between Vinda and Queenie. She held up the unopened envelope Vinda had brought her and said,

"A letter came, addressed to me, in my sister's handwriting."

A look of bitter realisation came over Grindelwald's face, and he turned to face Krenn.

"I'm afraid we'll have to continue talks about logistics for Rome at a later hour, Herr Krenn. Thank you."

"Of course, Mein Herr." Krenn hurried past Queenie and Vinda, bowing his head to them as he went by. Vinda hesitated, unsure of whether she was wanted or needed in this next meeting, but Queenie beckoned her into the office. Vinda followed Queenie inside, and the two witches sat in chairs opposite Grindelwald as he sank down at his desk and commanded Queenie,

"Open it, then."

She did as he said, her fingers shaking like mad as she tore the envelope and carefully pulled out the letter inside. She cleared her throat and read aloud,

My Dear Queenie,

You'll have to explain to Gellert Grindelwald that no memory replacement charm will ever be stronger than the force of Albus Dumbledore's will when he's determined to find and restore Newt Scamander. I'm just lucky I was with Newt. It only took Dumbledore a few days to track us in Wales, and when he found us, he restored our memories quickly. I remember everything - the Norwegian man who told us about the rally in Vienna, the Polyjuice Potion, the way you went running onto that field and dragged Grindelwald straight to us. I remember Nurmengard. I remember you saying you loved that man, that you didn't want Jacob anymore. I remember everything, and so does Newt. He badly misses Pickett. Please, if there is any way of sending or safely delivering Pickett to Newt, I beg you to do so. Please.

I forgive you, Queenie, for everything that has happened so far. But when Albus Dumbledore told me this morning that he'd received word of your engagement to Gellert Grindelwald, I'll admit… I cried like a baby. I always wanted you to get married, to be a beautiful bride. But I wanted to be happy for you about it. With Jacob, I was frightened for you… nothing like this. I fear for your very life, Queenie. I fear for your soul. I fear for who you have allowed yourself to become and who you will be.

Please do not marry this man. Dumbledore is absolutely devastated over the news. He was shaking and inconsolable about it. I think he knows you are lost, Queenie, just like I fear you are lost. Please come back to us. It is never too late. Please give my sweet Newt back his Pickett. Just send him safely to the Ministry; they'll know how to get him to Newt.

Queenie, I've always wanted your happiness, but right now it seems like your happiness comes at the expense of others'. I ask you to take a long, hard look in the mirror and ask whether you are actually acting in any sort of good - greater or otherwise. You know I love you and I always will. Please do not marry this man.

Your sister forever,

Tina

"Albus Dumbledore is the supreme enemy," Vinda hissed. "I was incredibly careful wiping and replacing their memories and placing them in a very remote part of Wales. For Dumbledore to find them so quickly and just…" She snapped her fingers and scoffed. "How dare he?"

"The man has absolutely no shame, and I'm sure once Newt Scamander was noticed missing, Albus Dumbledore put every ounce of his strength into finding him," Grindelwald said smoothly. "Tina's right; she just happened to be with him. Vinda, will you kindly excuse us?"

"Of course." Vinda quickly rose from her chair and turned to walk right out of the office, her heels clicking on the floor as she went. Queenie listened to the office door open and shut with Vinda, and she sighed once she and Grindelwald were alone. Her eyes watered.

"She knows," she whispered. "Tina knows. She remembers everything. How did Dumbledore -"

"Albus Dumbledore is a very powerful wizard, Queenie." Grindelwald sounded almost impatient. "Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't try some trick to attend our wedding without me knowing."

"Why would he do that?" Queenie narrowed her eyes, supremely confused, but Grindelwald scoffed softly and looked out the window. He licked his lip and said quietly,

"Let's just say that I'm sure Albus was very surprised to learn that I had proposed marriage to a beautiful young witch."

Queenie's brows knitted together in consternation. She didn't understand Grindelwald's relationship with Dumbledore at all, she thought. She sucked hard on her lip and asked him,

"Have you had any visions in your skull about us? About the wedding?"

"As it so happens, I have." Grindelwald nodded crisply. "I was discussing the matter with Krenn. I saw you and I standing surrounded by blue flame, with Vinda officiating the handfasting."

"Vinda," breathed Queenie, and Grindelwald continued,

"There were several thousand followers gathered in the Colosseum. Perhaps ten thousand. Probably everyone who adheres to our movement. And you… you looked like a dream."

"I did?" Queenie smiled weakly, and he smirked at her. He sighed.

"The amount of security needed will be unprecedented. People like your sister, like Theseus Scamander, may try to come and break it up or interrupt it. They may try to come just to ogle it. We can't put flame around the outside; we need to let the curious come and watch Gellert Grindelwald get married. So security will be a top priority like never before."

"And if Tina comes?" Queenie asked cautiously. Grindelwald tipped his head.

"Then your sister sees you get married. Work with Madame Trousseau. I'm not showing you the vision; I want you to design the gown you want in your mind."

Queenie had a sudden mental image of a gown constructed of white and gold lace cut in a V, draping over her arms. Beneath it would be white chiffon, which would continue into tiered white chiffon skirts that would go into a long train. Her vein would be the same white and gold lace as her bodice. Could Madame Trousseau craft something like that, she wondered? She huffed a breath and marveled,

"I'm getting married. To you."

"So you are." Grindelwald drummed his fingers. "I hope you realise that it is not my aim to turn our wedding into a rally or a spectacle, Queenie, but there are certain tones that need to be upheld, and some little ceremony here at Nurmengard with a public announcement wouldn't be fitting. Not for Gellert Grindelwald."

"No. I understand." Queenie felt a quiver of nervousness at the idea of getting married in front of thousands of people, but for some reason the idea of his blue flame surrounding them as they wed comforted her. She would marry him inside the blue fire that she'd crossed when she'd promised herself to him for the first time. That would feel good, she thought. She asked him,

"Should I let Vinda know that she's officiating a wedding?"

"Yes, I suppose you'd best do that." Grindelwald glanced out the window again at the dark clouds that were forming. "Storm's coming in. That owl was lucky to fly in before these clouds firmed up."

"I still can't believe Dumbledore," grumbled Queenie, though for some reason a small part of her was secretly emotional about the fact that her sister at least knew she was getting married. Grindelwald seemed to read her feelings without reading her mind, and he said,

"It is only natural that you would feel some small measure of happiness at her memory being restored, Queenie. She is, after all, your sister, even after all that's happened. Even after all the ill will she bears you. Even after all the wickedness she has committed. Even after all the unhappiness she wishes upon you."

"She says she wants me happy," Queenie insisted, but Grindelwald frowned, looked confused, and said,

"If she had really wanted you happy in New York, she'd have quit her job as an Auror and fought with you against the injustice of the law barring intermarriage. No? Or she'd have told you, at the very least, that she wouldn't turn you in. If she'd wanted you happy in Paris, she would have accepted that your joining my movement was the result of you unhappiness, and she would have wished you all the best. Instead, she repeatedly captured you, attempted to sway you back to her philosophy, used Polyjuice Potion in an attempt to kidnap you, and wrote you a letter telling you not to marry the man who adores you."

There was silence then as Queenie gulped and realised her sister didn't want her to be happy, after all. Grindelwald reached for Queenie's hand and pet her fingers gently. He said in a soft voice,

"You do know how I adore you?"

She nodded and stared into his uneven eyes, his frosty one and his much darker one. She dragged her teeth over her lip and suggested,

"Maybe we should invite them."

"Invite them?" Grindelwald sounded very surprised, and Queenie nodded as she clarified,

"If we're expecting them, they can't be a security threat. Nothing they could do, no one they could bring, could surprise our security forces. So we send them an invitation cordially inviting them to the wedding. If they ignore it, then, fine… we're enemies. If they come, maybe we're still enemies, but at least she can't try to do anything in Rome like she did in Vienna. We'll know she's coming, or we'll know to expect her."

"What a perfectly brilliant plan," smirked Grindelwald. He flicked his eyes out the window as ice began to lash the glass. "You'll have to wait to get an owl out. Now, go talk to Vinda. And then go wait for me in your rooms. I have every intention of peeling that dress off of you and doing some rather… obscene… things to you. It's been quite a day. Dismissed."

Author's Note: Managed to get one more chapter up on my birthday writing late at night here! Woo hoo! I had an EXCELLENT birthday here in Disney World, and wanted to say thank you very kindly for all the birthday wishes. So, will Tina and Newt actually take the bait and come to the Colosseum for this Wedding Extravaganza? Who's surprised to hear of Dumbledore's reaction? And who's surprised that Grindelwald has to basically have a rally with all his followers for his wedding? Ha. Thanks as always for reading. Please do leave a review if you get a moment.