Chapter 7
A/N: Hi all, sorry this chapter is a bit late. My in-laws paid us a surprise visit last night.
…Marvolo's POV…
Marvolo didn't know what to expect as he opened his eyes, but he was relieved to wake up in a room with a single bed and with only his shoes removed.
Even his wand was still in its holster, and he didn't need to lecture himself to know that he could have easily found himself in a very bad situation.
His mind now felt clearer after his rest and the implications of what he had done finally caught up with him.
Sure, he had been in shock, but he still had many enemies, and traveling halfway across the world after another man of all things really took the cake above anything he had done during his bout of insanity.
And passing out outside in the elements proved to be the layer that finally toppled the entire cake.
He just hoped that his host knew nothing of the wizarding world so that he could obliviate them.
Scratch that, he would obliviate them even if they were a witch or a wizard.
Marvolo suddenly felt the need to leave, and he cast a freshening charm even as he put on his shoes.
He still needed to find Hadrian and enlist his help.
That much hadn't changed at all from his previous thoughts.
The smell of bacon and eggs hit him the moment he opened the door though and he suddenly felt very hungry as he realized he had barely eaten the day before.
He followed the mouthwatering smell down the hall and found himself in a kitchen where it looked like an older man and his son were chatting animatedly and having breakfast.
A message tone rang out and the young man seemed to glance at his phone before he froze.
Both looked familiar though and he took a step closer.
The 'son' took that moment to look up from the phone in his hands with wide eyes and recognition hit him like a punch in the gut.
He didn't know whether to be relieved or apprehensive that it had been the Hadrian that found him.
He was sure that the other man wouldn't let him live it down even if their meetings so far had mostly been a game of cat and mouse.
The sound of a cough reminded him of the other man in the room and he was about to politely greet the man when he finally realized why the man had looked familiar as he came into the kitchen.
Hadrian was having breakfast with none other than Gellert Grindelwald.
…Harry's POV…
The sound of a kettle woke Hadrian from where he had been sleeping on the couch, yet he still kept his eyes closed.
Gellert wasn't a morning person, and it was almost impossible to have a conversation with him before at least two cups of coffee had been consumed.
The thought brought a grin to his face before his thoughts abruptly turned to the darker subject of how he met Gellert in the first place.
It had been due to the one mission he had assigned to himself after Dumbledore's death and that was to find out why the man did it.
The twins had helped to distract everyone of course and entering the office had been all too easy, not that he had been able to find anything anyway.
He had been disappointed, but then again, who in their right mind would hold incriminating evidence in a place where someone could stumble upon it?
He had been about to leave, but Fawkes suddenly appeared and grabbed the back of his shirt before flying up a bit, and the next thing he knew they were both burning.
It took him ten seconds of flailing about to figure out that he didn't feel any pain and another ten seconds, after the fire disappeared, to register that it was freezingly cold.
He didn't even try to recount how long it had taken him to realize that he stood in front of a frozen fortress and Fawkes had insistently nipped at his fingers until he finally cast a warming spell on himself.
The phoenix then dragged him into the place past numerous empty rooms until they finally reached a wing that at least seemed a bit warmer, and the warmth led him to the only room that seemed to be occupied.
A dying fire was crackling away next to a small desk and on the bed lay a man that looked to be around forty or so, but Hadrian recognized him through his pictures, and he knew it wasn't possible unless the man had used something to greatly reduce the rate at which he aged.
He had looked frail and cold as if the blankets did little to keep him warm and he kept mumbling in his sleep.
As Hadrian stepped closer, he realized that the man seemed to have a raging fever and that prompted him to immediately act.
It didn't take long to summon the man's things and he realized with a start that the reason the man was trapped here was due to his wand being taken from him and braving the elements outside to escape, would only mean certain death.
It hadn't occurred to him that he was setting another Dark Lord free until he placed the man on his guest bed though.
By then it had been too late and the months after that had been quite interesting.
Hadrian had been taking care of Gellert and studying at the time so the man had used every opportunity he could find to escape the house once he was able to move around more.
The close calls after that had Hadrian cringing in thought and although he understood the need, he knew panic would erupt the moment someone recognized the man.
To say the least, Gellert didn't take kindly to someone ordering him around and they finally reached a compromise when the man informed him that he owned a house in a place where people wouldn't come looking for him.
Since then, Gellert had stayed on the island and Hadrian had visited him to help with the trauma of being locked up for so long, but it hadn't been long before he visited simply because of the strange friend or grandfather and grandson relationship they had formed…
"Hey, stop letting that run through your mind, it will spoil your appetite."
Hadrian blinked as a mug of coffee was held in front of his face and he realized that Gellert had been talking to him.
The older man didn't like it when he allowed his thoughts to stray to the past, so he gratefully took the cup before following the man into the kitchen.
It didn't take long before breakfast was done, and he set a plate aside under a stasis spell.
He didn't know when the Dark Lord would wake up, so he sat down at the table and they started eating.
They kept the conversation light, and Hadrian found himself wondering what the wizarding world would do if they ever found out he willingly stayed in a house with two Dark Lords.
The thought almost had him cracking up, but his phone alerted him to a message, and he reminded himself that he still hadn't checked his last messages.
He could hear the Dark Lord entering the room even as his scar slightly warmed and yet his eyes felt like they were glued to the message on his screen:
"The Dark Lord knows that Harry Potter is alive! Contact me as
soon as possible!" – Sev.
He tried to stop himself as his eyes immediately shot towards the Dark Lord, but the man seemed to be in shock himself.
A glance at the direction he was looking in had Hadrian on edge though.
Sure, Gellert knew who Marvolo was, but Hadrian didn't know how his Dark Lord would act when faced with the fact that Gellert Grindelwald, a Dark Lord with a reputation much like Marvolo's, was still alive and free.
He looked back at Marvolo, only to find a wand in his hand, and he instinctively grabbed for his own.
A/N: Hey all, yes, I know this chapter is a bit shorter, but it refused to let me write any further.