"Are you ready for this?" asked Grindelwald. He stood in the street outside the enormous beer hall where he'd gathered two or three hundred followers in Munich. This was an unconventional rally, for it wasn't being held in an atrium or athletic arena. Instead, everyone had been packed into a plaster-walled, wooden-raftered building commandeered from the German No-Majs. Steins of Butterbeer had been circulated around, along with salted pretzels and mustard, to prepare the crowd for Grindelwald's arrival. They were squeezed tightly around tables, onto staircases, and hovering round in standing room only spaces.
"Am I ready?" Queenie repeated. She shook her head desperately. "No. Not really." She fingered the red wool skirt of her dress and licked her lip carefully. Grindelwald had told her to wear red so that she would stand out beside him. She was to stand beside him during this speech, he'd said. There would be ten guards outside the beer hall, ready to fend off any enemies. Queenie glanced over to see Krall standing against the wall, his wand at the ready. She gulped and stared up at Grindelwald. "Okay. Let's just… let's do this."
He smirked down at her and tipped his head. He tucked her hair behind her ear and murmured,
"Tonight is an important night, Queenie, and you'll be beside me, hmm? Be ready to smile. Be ready to look angry. Follow my lead. Hold my hand when I take yours. Just do as I guide you, and all will be well."
She sighed heavily and nodded. "Should I cast a Babel Charm?"
"That's up to you," he said. "Do you want to know what they're thinking?"
She blinked a few times and considered her answer before saying, "It's better to understand than to have cacophony in my head."
"Then cast the charm," said Grindelwald. Queenie pulled out her wand and aimed it at the beer hall. She waved her wand it four circles and dragged it, casting the Babel Charm and tucking her wand away. She could feel the buzz of thoughts from the hall now.
I hear he's got some sort of announcement. Wonder what he's going to say.
It's such close quarters in here. We're going to be so close to him!
I'm terrified to be here, but I want to hear from him.
"Let's go," Queenie said firmly. Grindelwald took her right hand in his left one, and he walked steadily with her to the front door of the beer hall. He pulled it open, and the moment people caught a glimpse of him, they broke out into wild cheers and applause. Queenie blinked through the obnoxious No-Maj electric lighting on the ceiling fixtures in the beer hall, and she took in the sight of the crowded hall, filled with tables, stuffed to the brim with followers. They were all cheering loudly, and their thoughts were filled with wonder, joy, fear, and thrill. Grindelwald put his palm to his chest, bowed a little, and gestured for quiet. It took a long time, but eventually silence fell over the beer hall. Grindelwald finally released Queenie's hand, and she took a few steps away.
"My brother and sister witches and wizards," said Grindelwald, loudly enough for everyone in the beer hall to hear him without being Amplified, "I have brought you here tonight to discuss an event in my own personal life which affects each and every one of us."
There were murmurs, and Queenie caught a few spare thoughts.
His wife is pregnant!
They're going to have a baby.
"Recently," Grindelwald continued, holding up a hand to beg silence again, "my wife Queenie was the victim of a terrible assault. She was in England, attending the marriage of her only sister, Tina Goldstein, to the noted Magizoologist, Newt Scamander. While at the wedding, a guest approached Queenie and pulled out his wand. He told her that she would thank him for what he was about to do and asserted that what he was doing was a… gift. Then he Cursed her."
There were gasps, and more murmurs, and Queenie stared at the horrified faces studying her as she listened to their thoughts.
Poor creature! What did they do to her?
Who attacked her?
Why attack his wife? What a cowardly thing to do!
Grindelwald waited for quiet again, and then he reached for Queenie, holding out his hand to her. She took his hand and stepped nearer to him, keeping her face stoic. He kissed her hand and held onto her as he declared loudly to the crowd,
"The Curse which was placed upon my beloved wife was an Infecundum Curse - a wicked, terrible spell designed to permanently destroy the fertility of a witch."
There were more horrified murmurs, more pitying thoughts, and Queenie gripped Grindelwald's hand tightly, feeling her eyes well a little. Grindelwald shouted over the muttering,
"The villain who Cursed my wife did so with the intent of destroying my ability to create a family! They did so because they believed I am not worthy of that joy, and so they robbed my wife of her body's ability to bear children. Without her consent, without her permission, this person stole from my wife her bodily autonomy and our future family!"
People whispered frantically in response to what Grindelwald was saying. Queenie's mind was inundated with thoughts ranging from sheer disgust that someone would do such a thing to wondering whether it could be fixed. Grindelwald waited for silence to fall again, and he held up a hand.
"I am sure, my brothers and sisters, that you are wondering who it was to cast this evil spell upon the beautiful, kind witch who stands beside me. Well. It was none other than… Albus Dumbledore."
Now the room erupted in talk, and Grindelwald just waited. He let people absorb what he'd said. Queenie was overwhelmed by all the shock in people's thoughts.
Dumbledore? I know they don't get along, but I never would have thought him capable of something like this!
I knew Dumbledore was impulsive and rash, but this is too far!
Damn you, Albus Dumbledore!
"Yes!" Grindelwald cried. "Albus Dumbledore performed this base, depraved, corrupt act of dishonest and profane magic upon my spotless wife. He is truly evil, my friends. He is my enemy, and I come before you tonight to declare that unequivocally. Albus Dumbledore is my enemy. Through careful spellwork known only to a rare few, we have been fortunate enough to reverse the awful Curse that Dumbledore placed upon Queenie. But reversing his so-called gift did not come without consequences, and Dumbledore did not intend for it to be reversed. This is a man who saw the potential of a child between Queenie and myself and decided that his best option was to Curse my wife into infertility against her will. What sort of vile, twisted mind, friends, reaches that conclusion?"
"Kill Albus Dumbledore!" shrieked a witch from the back of the room. "Kill him!"
Grindelwald tipped his head and waited for the affirmative cheers to settle down. He shrugged a little and said lightly,
"I could never condone the murder of an individual, no matter how he's wronged my family. Remember - we are not the violent ones. But it is true that he has wronged me at a level that cuts to the core. And that is why I brought you all here tonight… to share with you my own pain, and Queenie's pain, in the hopes that you will all understand what sort of a wizard Albus Dumbledore truly is."
"A despicable one!" shouted a man, and Queenie felt an onslaught of angry thoughts. She could feel tension rising in the room. These people wanted Dumbledore's blood. She stared at Grindelwald, still holding his hand, and she watched his face as he told them,
"Albus Dumbledore is a villain. Let there be no doubt. By the law of his own Ministry, he is a criminal for what he did to Queenie. At best, he is a blackguard and a scoundrel who violated my wife's body with his magic. An offender. An evildoer. Let it be known that Albus Dumbledore, in doing what he did, committed a vicious and destructive deed, and he did it on purpose. He is, truly, wicked. And he is my enemy. I brought you all here tonight to share that news, to share this truth with you. My own truth, Queenie's truth, and the truth of Albus Dumbledore. Go forth now and spread the word. Let it be known far and wide what Dumbledore has done. Let it be known that he is not the benevolent figure he paints himself to be, but is a villain in the truest sense. Go, friends, and spread the truth. Go now."
People began to Disapparate at Grindelwald's command. One by one, they vanished from the beer hall, which began to empty out until it was very sparsely populated. Finally there was nobody left at all except for Vinda, who was standing near the staircase looking solemn, and Abernathy, who was silent on the other side of the room. Klaus Reiner was all the way in the back. Grindelwald nodded at all of them and said,
"Let's go. Back to Nurmengard."
"Queenie."
"Honey, gimme a chance to at least get my shoes off…" Queenie staggered into their bedroom, but he slammed the door shut and shook his head. He yanked at her red dress, pulling it up and over her head. She yelped, standing there in her silk brassiere and knickers once he'd wrenched her dress off. She kicked off her shoes and laughed a little.
"Someone's worked up."
"You know how I get after speeches," he huffed, shucking his trench coat and tossing it to the ground. He made quick work of his waistcoat and white dress shirt, and he growled at Queenie,
"Undergarments off, if you please."
"Yes, Sir." She did some quick counting in her head. It was three weeks since they'd done the transference spells with Nagini. Three weeks since she'd started bleeding for five days. If he finished inside of her tonight, she thought, there was a very good chance she might conceive. She swallowed hard at that thought, climbing quickly up onto the bed. She lay on her back, her hands shaking at her sides as Grindelwald unhooked his Lederhosen-like trousers and shoved them down. He kicked off his boots and pushed his trousers away, following Queenie up onto the bed once he was naked. He stalked to hover above her, but he frowned when he saw how tense she was. He bent to kiss her lips carefully, bracing himself with an arm on each side of her, and he murmured against her mouth,
"What's wrong?"
"It's just… it feels like tonight might be the night, that's all," Queenie said, and Grindelwald sighed. He moved his mouth to her neck, and she couldn't help but relax a little. He massaged her breast with one hand, dragging his thumb over her nipple, and his tongue lathed beneath her ear. He whispered against her neck,
"It may not happen for a year, Queenie; you have to be patient."
She scratched at his scalp and muttered, "I know. It's not gonna happen the first month. But you never know. And I just want it so bad."
"I want you very badly," he countered, moving his mouth to hers and kissing her for what felt like a very long while. As he kissed her, his hand tightened on her breast, and then slid down her ribs and stomach and settled between her legs. He began to finger her folds, to play with her nub, and Queenie moaned against his mouth. His thumb dragged circles around her clit, and he pushed two fingers into her, hooking them. She shut her eyes more tightly and kissed him harder as he pumped his fingers inside of her and dragged his thumb around her sodden clit. It started to feel good - so, so good. His other hand propped him up, but he crushed her mouth with his, and she finally lost herself. She bit rather hard onto his lip, eliciting a groan, and she came. Her walls clenched around the fingers that he had inside of her, and his thumb was pressed against her as her body's rhythmic contractions petered out. She ripped her mouth away, needing breath, and tipped her head back.
"Ohh," she huffed, and Grindelwald slid his hand out of her body. It was replaced almost immediately by his cock; he moved to hover over her and pushed right in. Queenie spread her legs wider and then curled them up around his waist. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, then anxiously slid her hands down his bare arms. He began to thrust, pushing his cock into her over and over again as his eyes met hers. He was so very handsome, Queenie thought. From his blond mustache to his uneven eyes to his sharp cheekbones, he was incredibly handsome. She stared into those asymmetrical eyes and whispered,
"Please give me a baby, Gellert."
"Well, I'm going to try," he smirked, and he jerked his hips a few times rather roughly. He shut his eyes, paused, and shook his head. Queenie cupped his jaws.
"What's the matter, honey?"
"I'm going to come," he declared, "but I don't want to yet. I can't help it; I was hard halfway through that speech."
Queenie giggled a little up at him, petting his face a bit, and she murmured, "It's okay. We'll do it again in a few hours."
He let out a long, slow breath, nodded, and whispered, "You know I love you very much, don't you?"
"Yes," Queenie confirmed. Grindelwald's breath shook as he began to thrust again, and his face twisted as though he were in pain. He tightened up above her, and he rammed himself into a few times before he finally grunted and hissed,
"Mmph, I can't… Queenie..."
"Yes." She felt her entire body tingle from head to toe as he came inside of her, as he filled her with his seed. She trembled with the idea of what he might be doing to her, right this very moment, and her eyes watered heavily. She breathed in deeply and a wrapped her arms around him again, letting out the breath and then whispering,
"Thank you."
"Beautiful creature," he murmured, bending to kiss her lips gently. Eventually he rolled off of her and lay beside her, leaving her to lie with the mess between her legs as she panted a little bit. They linked their fingers together beneath the blankets, and Grindelwald hummed, "What a wondrous mother you'll make."
Queenie's eyes seared at that, and she turned her head a little to stare at Grindelwald. "Do you really think so?"
"Yes, I really think so." He curled up half his mouth and nodded. He leaned in to kiss her gently. "Try to get some rest. It's been quite a night."
"Enter," called Grindelwald, drumming his fingers on his desk and itching for some reason to play the mandolin. His hands were practically strumming out an old waltz. As soon as whomever had come to his office was finished with him, he'd go fetch his mandolin and play for a while, he decided. He needed the break. But then he saw that it was Queenie walking into the office, and she had an envelope in her hands.
"I got a letter from Tina," she said simply, coming to sit opposite him. "I thought I should open it with you."
"That was good thinking," Grindelwald confirmed. "Go ahead."
Queenie tore open the wax seal on the envelope and pulled out the letter inside. She unfolded it and cleared her throat, and then she began to read.
"My Dearest Queenie,
Word has reached England about the rally in Munich. Grindelwald apparently announced that Albus Dumbledore placed an Infecundum Curse on you at my wedding. I remember now that you said something briefly about Dumbledore Cursing you. It was so quick, and I was so confused by it, that I wrote it off as you just being flustered and upset. I thought you were irritated by how the guests were thinking about you. I didn't take it seriously, what you said about him Cursing you.
For that, I owe you an enormous apology.
Queenie, I can't imagine the pain of what you've been through. Even if Dumbledore and Grindelwald are enemies, it's still unfathomable (and inexcusable) to Curse away a witch's fertility without her consent. Especially a witch like you, who's always wanted to be a mother. I can't wrap my head around what Dumbledore was thinking, why he did this. He's tried to explain it to Newt and me. Newt thinks he understands. I don't. You can imagine that it's been a little uncomfortable around here for a few days. It's not your fault; it's just that Newt thinks Dumbledore was trying to protect you from Grindelwald by putting the Curse on you. He also thinks Dumbledore was trying to protect 'all of us,' somehow, by disallowing Grindelwald from having children. But I just can't figure out a way to excuse what he did. I can't figure out a way for it to be right, to Curse a woman's body like that.
So I'm sorry, Queenie. I'm sorry that it happened to you. They say that you managed to get the Curse reversed through some sort of magic. I hope that didn't cause you or anyone else any serious harm. I don't know of any counter-Curse for an Infecundum Curse, so all I can do is hope that it wasn't anything too Dark.
I know there's nothing I can do from England. I know that I'm still allied with Dumbledore, who's the enemy of your husband. And that, in some sick, twisted way, makes you and me enemies, Queenie. I hate that. I hate it more than anything. I don't want to be your enemy. I just want to be your sister. So I'm just writing, as your sister, to tell you how sorry I am about what happened to you. And I hope you wind up with the family you've always dreamed of having.
I love you forever and ever.
Tina
Author's Note: So, Grindelwald's spreading word of Dumbledore's evildoing far and wide. What will the repercussions for Dumbledore himself be, if any? And will Dumbledore try to get in touch with Grindelwald? Hmm… So what do you guys think? Did she get pregnant, or will they need more time? And if she is pregnant, is it little Leopold? Finally, who's ready for another good old-fashioned Nagini/Credence scene? Ooh, and Vinda being the best friend there ever was? Okay, let's charge ahead! :) Thanks for reading, as always, and THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING!