Disclaimer: I don't own Rose Granger-Weasley, Newt Scamander or any other character created by J.K. Rowling. My aim is merely to entertain and play around with them a little.
Chapter twenty-eight: In which Grindelwald uses his silver-tongue
"Oh Queenie," Rose said as she cradled her friend to her chest, caring little about the rain that poured onto them and soaked them to the bone, "I thought we'd lost you…"
"I couldn't find Tina," her friend sobbed. "And all these voices…these voices that don't stop…" She squeezed Rose tighter. "Why don't they stop?!" She'd yelled that last word, attracting some curious glances from those people walking by.
Rose held her tighter. "Listen to my voice, Queenie, not theirs. Only mine. Listen to what I'm telling you." And she kept repeating in her mind 'I've got you, I won't let you go, you're safe. We'll find Tina together, and we'll fix this. I've got you, you're safe. You're safe.' until Queenie settled a bit, but kept crying.
A few seconds later, a tall, dark-clad woman with strikingly beautiful features tapped Queenie on the shoulder, prompting both witches to raise their gazes to the stranger. "Mesdames? Tout va bien, Mesdames?" Are you alright?
Rose knew a bit of French, thanks to her mother's meddling. "Tout va bien, merci." Everything is fine, thank you.
But the dark-haired witch kept staring at them intently. She switched to English, probably because of Rose's appalling accent. "You look like you could use some warmth right now." She straightened and gestured them to stand. Queenie did, eyes puffy still, but strangely affixed to this strange woman.
Rose stood too, but was far less trusting. "We are grateful for the help, but our friends will be looking for us."
"Do you know where they are?" the stranger asked, voice mellow and eyes calculating.
Rose nodded. "I know where they were headed."
"Then you do not really know where they are." A smile, one of those predatory ones, formed on the woman's lips. "Come with me, please. I'll welcome you in my home until you are both dry and warmed up, and you can send a Patronus to your friends so they do not worry."
Queenie, still dazed and staring, nodded almost absent-mindedly. "That's nice. Isn't it, Rosie?"
Rose almost scowled. But the stranger's eyes went back to her, and the smile turned a bit more…pleased? "I assure you, I do not wish either of you harm."
Queenie nodded again. "She's telling the truth, you know," she told Rose, and she leaned down to grab her umbrella and her own suitcase before following the dark-haired woman.
Rose cursed, but followed, her hand poised on her wand inside her jacket. Queenie was acting weirdly, but she wanted to know why…
The three women hurried down streets and paths that Rose couldn't begin to remember, under a pouring rain that didn't seem to affect either of her companions. Queenie was still walking in a state of dizziness, and their guide was putting a determination in her strides that Rose didn't like one bit.
"I'm sorry," she asked at long last, as they turned yet another corner, "what did you say your name was?"
"I didn't," the dark-haired beauty answered with a small smile. "Would it help if I did?"
"Yes, it would, rather," Rose countered, lips pursed.
The other woman looked pointedly at the hand that Rose still had buried in her jacket, holding her wand, as if showing that she knew that she was being held at wand-point, but didn't care. "My name is Vinda."
"And your last name?"
The dark-haired woman – Vinda, then – chuckled. "Now now. I know both your first names, as well, but not your lasts. Seems fair not to share mine in those circumstances, don't you think?"
Rose's mistrust didn't falter, but it appeared that they had reached their destination.
It was a tall, city-house made of several storeys of apartments, in the Muggle side of Paris. The style was very 19th century, but Rose couldn't pinpoint exactly where they were. She didn't have time to cast a location spell, however, because Vinda opened the door, ushering both her and Queenie inside, and her blonde friend pulled her to shelter by the hand holding her wand.
The flat they were brought to was heavily decorated, with velvet-covered armchairs and sofas, many portraits – not moving, Rose noticed at once – and books. 'Vinda' led them to the sitting area and offered them tea. Queenie, without thinking, shed her coat and accepted the offer. Rose didn't, but sat next to her friend anyway.
Her eyes darted from side to side. She was feeling more and more uncomfortable, without being entirely able to say why…
"This is a lovely place," Queenie said conversationally, as the teapot hovered over her cup. She took a sip, a kind smile on her lips, as always.
Rose nodded. "Very nice. Very…Muggle-like."
'Vinda' smiled again, looking more like a predator than ever before. "Thank you. I like their…accommodations."
Rose's eyes narrowed. Unless she was being mistaken, this woman was implying that the house wasn't hers, and that she had 'merely' taken it. But why? And where were the owners?
But their for-now host didn't let her dwell on her suspicions, as she sat regally in the armchair facing them, holding her head high in the way only Purebloods tended to do. "I am so glad to have been of assistance to you, my dears. The weather truly was dreadful."
And as on cue, Rose realised that it was no longer pouring outside. The sun had come back, as if the rain hadn't been there at all. Another…suspicious thing…
Queenie seemed to get the memo, at last. Perhaps she'd overheard Rose's thoughts, what with her Legilimency being a bit on edge that day, but she refused the refilling of tea and stood, followed by her friend. "Well, you've been very kind, but my sister Tina's probably worried sick about me, knocking on all doors and so- I think we'd better be goin'."
"But you haven't met your host," Vinda said, prompting Rose to bare her teeth, this time.
"Alright, what is going on? Who are you? Answer me!" She pointed her wand at the other witch, who merely kept on staring at her, not worried in the least.
"Are you married?" Queenie asked, as if oblivious to Rose's anger and threat.
The other smirked. "Let's say…deeply committed."
Rose understood before Queenie said "You see, I can't tell if you're telling a joke or if you're just…French."
Vinda chuckled, and left the room, as if someone hadn't been pointing a weapon at her face at all.
Queenie huffed, and went to sit back on the sofa. Rose turned to her, incredulous. "Queens, we have to leave. This woman…I think she's with Grindelwald."
Queenie's eyes widened, but she didn't move. "Grindelwald? But, Rosie, she's been so nice, she can't be!"
"And yet…" a cold voice said at the door, and Rose whirled around, a shiver running up her spine as Gellert Grindelwald himself strode into the room, calmly…
Queenie jumped to her feet, this time, and drew out her wand.
"Don't come any closer, Grindelwald," Rose hissed.
He took two paces forward still, a smirk forming on his lips as his mismatched eyes settled onto her. "Miss Rose, you cannot begin to imagine how happy I am to see you. I would have been content with just your Legilimens friend, but you…you, my dear, are a present far more precious to me."
She hissed again. "You don't seem to think I would jinx you where you stand, but I will, if you do not let me and Queenie go."
"Now now, no need to be this drastic, my dear." He smirked still, eyes glittering with mischief. "I remember that you and I had quite the…connection…when we met in New-York." He paused, enjoying the look of pure hatred that she sent him then. "Tell me; is it true that you are to be thanked for dear Percival's rescue? I was very impressed when I heard… But then again, I never doubted your talents…"
Queenie gasped behind Rose. "He…he knows, Rosie."
Rose felt all colour leave her cheeks. "What do you know?" she asked, no, demanded of the Dark Wizard facing her then.
He chuckled. "Ah, but dear Newton does not have a sister, you see. Nor has anyone started…existing quite the same way that you have. Dumbledore may have forged you a little life, but we both know that the Rose who is standing in this very room wasn't born in 1905, was she?"
Another shiver of pure dread. "I…I don't understand what you mean…"
He took another step forward, until he was only a few inches from touching the end of her wand to his chest. "Miss Rose, please, do not pretend to be stupid. You would do yourself a great disservice… Imagine, now, what we could achieve, together, you and I. We could shape the world in a way that what you knew would change for the better. We could change the future…"
Queenie came to stand by Rose, this time. "He wants to use you, Rosie. He wants what you know."
Grindelwald's smirk faltered for a second. "I don't want to use you, Miss Rose. I want to work alongside you, to make this world a better place."
She narrowed her eyes again. "For the Greater Good?"
His eyes widened in surprise. "Yes, Miss Rose, for the Greater Good."
She sighed with a dark chuckle. "Ah, but you see, Mister Grindelwald, I've read about many other wizards who claimed to want to make the world a better place. And they all lied. And they all hurt people I love. So, you can kindly shove your proposal…up your arse!"
She pushed Queenie out of the way as she cast a Protego Maxima around them both and tried to jinx Grindelwald at the same time. With a wave of his hand, her curse rebounded off him, and a tired expression appeared on his face.
"Alas, if you do not want to join me, Miss Rose, I cannot possibly let you live." He then took his wand out of his sleeve so quickly that she didn't see it, and the curse that touched her Shield was so powerful that it blasted it and part of the sitting-room with it.
Rose yelped in surprise, but cast another Shield at once, grabbed Queenie's hand, and Disapparated.
When they reappeared in the same spot as when she'd taken the Portkey with Newt and Jacob, Rose was panting, and Queenie was wide-eyed, visibly shaken and afraid.
"Queens?" she asked, and the blonde turned to her.
"He was thinking…he was thinking…" she faltered, and drew Rose into a hug.
For a long moment, they tried to calm down, embracing in a side-street of Muggle Paris…
When the adrenaline had left their body, both women entangled from one another, and started walking through Montmartre, aimlessly enough. After all, Rose didn't have any Muggle money, and she didn't think it safe to cross into Wizarding Paris yet.
After a while, they both settled on a bench in a small park, and Rose silently cast a Muffliato so that they wouldn't be overheard.
"I'm sorry, Queenie," she said immediately. "I can't imagine what you've seen in his head…"
Queenie shuddered. "It was horrible. He was thinking about wars, about…weapons. About destruction. And you. In the middle of it, in black clothes, standing next to him, looking as crazy as he is… He wanted you as a trophy."
"He wanted me because he knows I know how this ends for him…" Rose pursed her lips and watched several Muggles pass by with a glare in her eye.
"So it does end?" Queenie asked in a small voice.
Rose took her hand. "It does. Dumbledore sees to it." She knew that Queenie already knew far too much about her, about her future, and that she had to stop giving her more information. After all, with what she'd seen of Rose's thoughts, she already knew what the next century looked like, and that was…some kind of anachronism!
"I'm glad," the blonde answered, before another sob shook through her, surprising her friend. "I've been so stupid with Jacob! I should never have bewitched him, I'm such an idiot! A cruel, selfish idiot!" She leaned down to cry in her hands, and Rose placed hers on her back to soothe her.
"Queens, don't beat yourself up." She sighed. She couldn't say she understood her friend's point of view: she had grown up in a world where Muggles and Magical folk could marry, and did, often enough. One of her father's closest friends, Seamus Finnegan, was the son of a Muggle man and a Witch, after all… But she couldn't let Queenie feel miserable either… "Jacob has come to Paris to find you, you know."
The blonde sniffed, but raised her puffy eyes to her nonetheless. "He has?"
"Yes, he has. He loves you more than he is angry." Rose smiled. "And I'm sure that he'll understand why you did it."
"If only we could… But MACUSA…"
"MACUSA is behind on many laws, and it's unfortunately the same for its Muggle counterpart…" Rose gritted her teeth, unwilling to go into details as to why the US of A was such a joke of a democracy even a century later. "Maybe he'll agree to stay in the UK, you never know. But not right now," she added after Queenie sent her a hopeful glance, "it's still too fresh. Let him think by himself. After all, Brooklyn's been his home all his life. Leaving your home is never easy." She smiled a bit.
Queenie sniffed again, and took a handkerchief from her coat's jacket before dabbing at her eyes and making herself more presentable again. "What do we do, now, Rosie?"
Rose stopped minding about the nickname. After all, Theseus had started to call her that too, and the memory of Ron Weasley wasn't so painful nowadays…
She sighed. "We have to find Newt. He'll have found Tina by now…" She looked around, but no one suspicious was visible. "We can cross into Wizarding Paris. With any chance, he'll have done some….Newt things that would help us locate him."
Queenie had a little chuckle. "Knowing him and Jacob, they wouldn't have been discreet…"
Rose chuckled back, thinking about Newt licking the pavement earlier that day. "No, they definitely wouldn't have been…"
They had found the ballerina's statue without issue, and had crossed back into their world; mindful of the people they crossed and if any resembled that blasted 'Vinda'.
Queenie, her Legilimency back under control, scanned suspicious-looking people regularly, and nodded at Rose when there was no trouble.
Rose would have cursed her choice of clothes for this incongruous trip to Paris. The fact that she wore trousers instead of a dress, and that she wasn't wearing any robes attracted the curious glances of many wizards and witches who, apparently, thought she was a man at first glance then were shocked to see her feminine face. Queenie bristled at that more than once.
"You'd think there is something worse goin' on in the world than a woman wearing pants…"
Rose chuckled.
They tried to retrace Newt's steps earlier, when they had been following that feather, but when they reached a large avenue flanked with shops, they froze, as did most of the passers-by.
A large, black, veil-like thing was gliding on the buildings' façades, making people gasp and others flee. Rose and Queenie exchanged a look, and the red-head nodded at her friend who focused on the thoughts of those around them. Her blue eyes widened, and she turned back to Rose.
"It's Grindelwald. He's calling his followers."
Rose gritted her teeth again. "Queenie, do you think we ought to go?" The blonde seemed at a loss. "The Ministries, they're bound to send someone at a rally like this. Maybe…maybe Tina will be there."
"You're right, Rosie. And if Tina is there, Newt will be. And if Newt is-"
"Jacob will be too." Rose nodded, but still remained back from the veil that glided past them. "It might be dangerous."
Queenie nodded back, jaw set. "We're not helpless."
"No, we're not." Rose got closer to the cloth, and the drawing of a raven appeared, clearer as she got closer still, until it shone bright through the veil. She turned to Queenie, nodded again, held her wand high, and touched the eagle.
She passed through the cloth as if it'd been water, and emerged in…a cemetery.
Queenie followed her almost immediately, and both women ran to a side-alley away from anyone who'd follow to rally Grindelwald's ranks with more…ingenuity.
Rose looked around, trying to figure out why this place looked familiar – apart from the fact that most cemeteries looked the same – and cast a location spell.
"We're at the Père Lachaise," she whispered a second later. "I came here with my family when I visited Paris." Under Queenie's incredulous gaze, she added "A lot of Muggle and Magical celebrities are buried here." The blonde didn't seem to understand why that made the place a tourist attraction, and Rose couldn't blame her.
When they finally glanced up at the archway they had appeared under, they both gasped.
There, in elegant medieval lettering, was written-
"Lestrange?!" Rose muttered. "Leta!"
Queenie turned to her. "You think this is her family's vault?"
"It must be… But why would Grindelwald hold a rally here of all places? What does he want with her?" Her anger towards the manipulative Dark Wizard rose again, this time in regards to her newest friend. If Grindelwald wanted something with Leta, she was ready to stop him by any means necessary.
Queenie visibly caught the passing thought. "You might not have to," she said, answering Rose's thoughts, "this could be a coincidence."
"Somehow, Queens, I doubt it." She turned to her friend more frankly, this time. "Do you know human Transfiguration? I'm not good at it but, the moment I step inside that vault, he'll seek me out."
The blonde's face turned into a mask of gravity, and she nodded. "He is quite obsessed with you." She raised her wand. "Into a man?"
Rose grunted. "Given what I'm wearing, do your worst."
Queenie bit her lip as she cast the various spells that modified Rose's features, and the red-head grimaced when she felt it. Her friend shrunk her hair first, giving it a pale blonde colour that almost matched Scorpius' back home; gave her a rounder face and a more crooked nose, thinned her lips and turned her eyes green. Then, Rose felt the wrinkles.
She now looked like a fifty-something man.
And grunted, her voice still quite feminine. "I hate this."
Queenie tilted her head to the side. "You know, you're not that ugly."
Rose rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Queens," then winced at the sound of her voice. "Alright, let's switch to silent speech, okay?" Queenie didn't seem to understand for a second. "Listen to my thoughts. I can't speak out loud."
"Oh," her friend said, surprised. "Do you really want me inside your head, Rosie?"
Rose smiled, even though she knew the sight must have been horrendous with that new face. "I trust you." She squeezed Queenie's hand, took a deep breath, and thought "Let's go."