Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Everything else belongs to someone else and that's just the way things are.

Always The Blondes

The Auror's eyes sharpened at the new name being thrown into the mix, having already figured out that Anya was the key to finding out the truths he sought. It was just a matter of finding the right lock for that key. "And who is Tommy?" Frank asked the girl in a barely interested tone, ignoring the other adults in the room vying for his attention as he sought to turn the key a little.

When Anya and Gellert stubbornly ignored the Auror like he hadn't spoken Anya's father volunteered the information. "Tommy isn't real, Mr. Frank. He's her imaginary friend. A house elf."

"He is not a house elf, Papa!" Anya yelled at her father, her tone and volume shutting everyone else up as she glared at her father. "How many times do I have to tell you that Tommy's an elf, not a house elf!"

"Interesting."

Katara's gaze went to the Auror coolly, obviously not finding the new topic any better than the last. "And just why would my daughter's imaginary friend interest you? Or is having one illegal now too?"

"It interests me because I know a thing or two about an ancestor of yours, Mrs. Hiegel. A very famous ancestor in fact who shaped much of Eastern Europe during the nineteen thirties and forties." Frank began, seeing that the adults all knew who he was talking about right away. No reaction from the Stalanski heir though, he was still as cool as a cucumber as the saying went. "You might not be aware of this, Mrs. Hiegel, most people aren't, but your ancestor, who I would assume your godson is named after, was a proponent of Elf rights. He believed that they should be treated with the same rights and respect as they are currently being given in the United Kingdom and some other European countries. It's said that he once permanently removed the arm of one of his top men because the wizard in question attempted to punish Grindelwald 's family elf after the creature refused to serve him. It's even said, by some who were closest to your ancestor, that that elf was the closest and most loyal member of Grindelwald 's army."

"We're well aware of that. The elf in question was buried at the family estate by Grindelwald personally after the elf was killed by Aurors sent to assassinate him. The marker still stands today." Gellert's mother shot back impatiently. "And for the record Gellert is a family name."

"And what does this have to do with my son?" Gellert's father asked, his voice soft but with an underlying steel rarely heard from him.

"It's interesting because most little girls wouldn't choose an elf for an imaginary friend, Mr. Stalanski. Nor would they imagine that elf to be a source of potential violence. Most see that particular species as being domestic, weak, and harmless. How long has your daughter had this imaginary friend called Tommy?"

Mentally thinking about it Katara paused when she realized something. Something that had her looking down at her daughter and then over towards her godson. It had never occurred to her before, but she had had a lot of time to think about any encounters Gellert might have had with Mr. Odin since she'd heard what her husband was accusing her godson of doing. And having gone over those details again and again Katara was suddenly struck with the realization that it was the day after Gellert's first introduction to Mr. Odin that Anya had started talking to her imaginary friend Tommy. And now, seeing where the Auror was going with his questions and history lesson, Katara felt a chill run down her spine as she thought of the strange words Anya sometimes used, words she'd often wondered about since no one else in their family would have used them. She'd just assumed Anya had been picking them up at her friends' houses, but what if...what if her daughter hadn't been holding conversations with thin air all this time? What if there had really been an elf there all those times, being with her daughter day and night. There would have to be a reason for that, some reason that an elf would suddenly enter her daughter's life and dedicate himself to Anya. And the timing...

Slowly meeting Frank's prodding stare Katara swallowed hard and got straight to the point. "Mr. Frank...you have a reason for thinking Gellert did what you're accusing him of. He never does anything without a reason, so what reason do you think he had? What do you think Mr. Odin did that would make Gellert remove him permanently from our lives? And how does it involve my daughter?"

"The girl in the picture...he has a picture of this Odin person's sister and she looked just like Anya." Gellert mother told her cousin, seeing where Katara and the Auror were going with their questions. And she was drawing the same horrifying conclusions. Anya had become devoted to Gellert since Odin had entered the Hiegel's home as a guest. They'd always wondered about the change in their children's relationship with each other, now they both knew in their guts that the answer was staring them in the face. Gellert had done something, something for Anya that had completely changed their relationship. The two were keeping a secret from them. A terrible secret.

Having put the pieces together too Albus's fingers tightened on Gellert's shoulders as he did his best to hide his reaction and the bad memories threatening to surface. Whatever had happened that night was because of Anya, he was sure of it.

Looking like a man who'd been dealt a horrible blow Anya's father stared at his daughter while he spoke in a voice that quivered. "You said that the girl in the picture had died...how did she die?"

Frank looked at Anya too when he answered. "According to newspaper accounts and people's memories Marlena Odin fell when she was sixteen years old and broke her neck. The official records went missing apparently; no one could tell me what happened to them. But as it happens one of Mr. Odin's less wealthy third cousins was happy to tell me the truth once he had some Fyre whiskey in his system. According to him her neck wasn't broken accidentally but that she did it on purpose. She hung herself in her bedroom using her brother's school necktie. There was a note too apparently, but he couldn't tell me what it said. But maybe you would have some idea, Gellert?"

Everyone was so silent after the Auror's statement that Anya's whispered words seemed to echo around the room like a shout.

"The monster got her."

Pale as death Katara turned her daughter around in her lap, framing her daughter's face with shaking hands as she stared into her baby's solemn eyes. "The monster got her? He hurt her?"

Anya nodded her head. "Don't cry, Mama. Don't cry. The monster can't hurt little girls no more. Gellert promised."

On a choked sob Katara clutched her daughter to her, her husband stumbling out of his chair like a drunk to rush over to his family, wrapping his arms around the both of them from behind as he looked at Frank with wet eyes that demanded answers.

Annoyed with the situation but being human enough to at least feel for his godmother, Gellert turned to look at her and began to speak in mermaid, knowing his godmother, mother, and Albus would be the only ones who would understand the words he spoke. They could still try to translate his words later of course, which was why he chose his words well.

"You have no reason to cry, Aunt Katara. He did not harm her. I made sure of that."

Staring at her godson with painfully grateful eyes Katara knew he was telling the truth. Gellert wouldn't lie about such a thing. He'd kept her baby safe for her.

All the adults once again started talking over themselves as those who didn't understand what Gellert had said asked for answers, and those who did know wanted the Auror to tell them what he knew about Dominic Odin's past misdeeds.

The only one in the room still perfectly composed Gellert looked up at Albus, waiting until the redhead met his gaze before speaking. "I think it's time to leave now."

Backing up automatically Albus watched Gellert calmly push back his seat and get to his feet.

"This interview is over." Gellert stated, master to servant, ice in every syllable as he met Frank's gaze.

"He was friendly with her parents, and you're very observant." Frank said softly, as though he hadn't even heard Gellert's demand. "She came to you or you saw something, something that alerted you to the fact that Odin posed a threat to your godsister. And regardless of your feelings for her she's your godsister, your flesh and blood. Your responsibility. You had access to an elf, one you hired to protect her in your steed, and then you went looking for answers and started planning. You would never rush this sort of thing. The night Odin went missing Mrs. Hiegel was out of town, it would have been just Mr. Hiegel and Anya in the house. The evidence of a memory charm having been used on your godfather wasn't you, was it? You're too good to leave such an obvious clue. Odin used it that night to get Mr. Hiegel out of the way and then went looking for Anya. But he found you waiting for him instead, Mr. Stalanski. You had a showdown and he is responsible for the knee injury that almost lost you a limb. You either killed or permanently incapacitated Odin as a result. Through the use of a charm or Polyjuice potion you had someone disguise themselves as you so that no one would make the connection between his disappearance and your injuries. You teachers tell me you were unusually quiet for a time, almost mute in fact. You couldn't have anyone realizing that your imposter wasn't as smart as you in the classroom. Then, when you'd healed well enough to bear what had to be unimaginable pain, you faked a potions mishap at school. You probably used a memory charm on every healer your parents took you to so that they wouldn't tell the authorities the truth about the cause of your injuries."

And now just a hint of a smile ghosted the Auror's face. "And most of what I just said is guesswork. My own gut feelings. You're a chip off Grindelwald's block, young master Stalanski. You know how to protect yourself and your own interests. The truth is in yours and your godsister's heads, but no court would issue me the warrants I'd need to force the answers from you with the evidence I have. And even if they did and I found the proof I needed you were a minor when this happened and given that, the circumstances, and your social status it's unlikely you would be charged and incarcerated. So you can go, Mr. Stalanski. I didn't intend to end today with your arrest; I wanted to know if Odin was still a problem I would need to deal with at a later date. I can see from your eyes he won't be."

Gellert eyed the man consideringly. "You live up to your reputation, Frank."

"As do you."

)

By unspoken agreement Gellert and his family, plus Albus, left the Aurors Headquarters and headed home to the Stalanski estate. Once they were all safely in the main parlour with no one around to observe and comment Katara handed her daughter over to her husband and gave Gellert a bone crushing hug that conveyed the gratitude she could never express with words. She'd often wished for her cousin's sake that Gellert were a little more normal, but now she was fiercely glad he wasn't. It was what made the boy different that had given him the strength and resourcefulness to protect her baby from harm.

As soon as her cousin turned her son loose Felicia took over, hugging her son just as hard.

Tolerating the shows of affection Gellert kept an eye on Albus, who was standing just slightly apart from the rest, obviously lost in thought. This could have potentially brought up painful memories for the redhead, ones he'd sooner Albus didn't think about.

The hug Gellert's father gave him was shorter, but just as strong before he drew back to give his son a hard, penetrating look. "Now why didn't you tell your mother and I what was going on? You know we would have believed you and done something."

"You would have turned him over to the law." Was Gellert's matter of fact reply, not a doubt in his mind. "And Odin had been bribing his way out of trouble for decades. It would have been his word over Anya's, and even with the data I had dug up he had powerful friends he could have used to get his case thrown out. Had that happened he would have come after the two of you and Tristan, as he threatened to do when I confronted him. He would have waited until I was in school to attack and Tommy can't be everywhere at once. My way was the most logical course of action."

While the boy's parents absorbed Gellert's matter of fact answer Katara posed another question weighing on their minds. "She came to you then? About what he...that he was after her?"

"He caught me hiding from Mr. Odin." Anya piped up from her father's arms, glad to finally be able to tell her parents the big secret she and Gellert had been hiding for what felt like forever. Once her Papa knew how Gellert had saved her he would like Gellert as much as she did. "I didn't like the way Mr. Odin smiled at me and the way he was always touching me. He made my stomach hurt. So I hid when you said he was coming but he found me. But Gellert found me too and he gave Mr. Odin the scary look." Here Anya scrunched up her face in a poor imitation of Gellert's 'Mess with me and I'll cut you open one vein at a time' look.

Gellert rolled his eyes at her attempt.

"And it was Odin who hurt your knee, Gellert?" Felicia demanded to know.

"That was all my fault!" Anya blurted out, tears welling up as she was finally presented with a chance to confess her horrible sin. "Gellert told me to go back to bed but I didn't. I wanted to tell Mr. Odin how he was going to be sorry for what he did. It's cuz I'm blonde!" The girl added with something close to a wail.

"What's her hair color got to do with anything?" Gellert's father wondered out loud.

Anya sniffed and hiccupped her way through her explanation. "After his leg got hurt I heard him tell Tommy that the fates really, really hate him cuz they had surrounded him with blondes. He said bad things always happened to him around blonde girls. And Tommy said my head would have ex-ploded like a dropped melon if Gellert hadn't grabbed me and taken the curse instead."

"You weren't supposed to hear that." Gellert muttered to himself, audible thanks to the stunned silence.

"Tommy said it was a good thing I couldn't understand you when you were hurt. He said you said the F word in fifty three different languages. I asked him what the F word was, but Tommy wouldn't tell me. But it's bad." Anya told her father solemnly.

"And that was only what I said when he was around." Gellert drawled out, fairly sure that number was higher.

"He was aiming for her head?" Albus asked softly, horror in his blue eyes.

Gellert nodded. "She was on her knees, she thought I wouldn't see her creep into the room and hide behind the couch. When he took the shot I moved instinctively, it was a knee jerk reaction. No pun intended." The blonde added with a hint of humour, trying to lighten the mood. He didn't like seeing his man upset. Reaching out Gellert linked his fingers through Albus's, giving them a light squeeze. "It wasn't as bad as she's making it out to be."

"It was too bad." Anya countered stubbornly. "I dropped a melon down the stairs to see what would happen. It was a real mess."

"So that's why you did it." Katara muttered under her breath, too in shock to reaction too much to the imagery creeping into her mind. Later she'd freak out and break some things in her rage and relief, but she felt numb at the moment. It was all just too much for her to take. She hadn't known Mr. Odin that well, but he'd seemed like a nice, kindly man. She'd believed him when he'd talked about being sorry he'd never had children and thus grandchildren, giving Anya candy and trying to engage her in conversation all the time. How had she not seen? How could she have not known?

Walking back over to her daughter Katara stood there and reached out, framing her daughter's face between her hands once more as she spoke in a soft but firm voice. "Anya, if anyone ever makes your stomach hurt like that again, or does something to you that you don't like you need to tell your papa and me. We'll believe you, it's our job to protect you."

"I know that, Mama."

"If you know that then why didn't you tell us about Odin, Anya?" Her father asked, feeling like he'd failed his baby beyond any hope of redemption. His daughter had needed protection and his nearly sociopathic godson had had to come to her rescue.

"But I couldn't tell you, Papa. Gellert said that if I did you'd end up in jail and we'd all be sad, just like the Dumbledore family."

Blondes, Gellert thought darkly. Always the blondes.