Chapter Twenty Seven: The Darkest Wizard Of His Age

Grindelwald's voice was croaky with under use. His eyes were sunken, his skin shrunken back giving him the appearance of a skull. Most of his teeth were lost, what hair he had left was wispy. He stood stooped and bowed shouldered - and his prison robes hung off him in folds, speaking as to how thin he must be beneath them.

This was Grindelwald. The darkest wizard of his generation. Reduced to this - a creaking shadow in his own prison.

'You boys did not come all the way here just to stare,' he said to them - and he grinned, a toothless sort of grin. 'Who are you? Who sent you? Was it him - has he remembered I am here? That he left me here? Has he had mercy - has he sent you here to kill me - at last?'

'N- no,' Remus gave himself a shake. 'We're not here to kill anyone - we don't…'

But Grindelwald peered closer at him, 'you have killed, boy, I see it.'

'That was an accident - we're just here to talk.'

'But you belong to him? To Dumbledore?'

'We know Albus Dumbledore, yes,' Sirius said. 'We fought for him in the war against Voldemort - and that's why we're here now, to prevent another.'

'Voldemort,' Grindelwald cackled - sounding quite deranged for a moment, before the laughter cut off just as suddenly as it started. 'Yes, even in here, I heard tell of him. I heard most dare not even speak his name, so terrible were his crimes, so great was the fear he inspired … but you - only a boy - say it bold as brass.'

'We're not afraid of names,' Sirius said.

'No - you are afraid of bars, and chains, and unceasing loneliness and aching emptiness gnawing its way inside of you. And he,' he turned his gaze on Remus '- he is afraid of the beast inside of himself and what he might do because of it … and what he has already done. With such horrors in your past, why would either of you fear a name? A simple word? No doubt he taught you not to fear names.'

His eyes fell to the floor and darted around, his voice became a low mumble, as if speaking only to himself. 'He understood the power of things. The ancient magic of the everyday. Names have power - but only if we let them. He would teach the boys who belong to him not to give power to the inanimate.'

'Grindelwald,' Remus' glanced towards the door. 'We don't have much time, we could be caught at any moment. We need to ask you for help. Voldemort is trying to rise again. There will be another war. We want to stop him - but we don't know his next move…'

'And you think that I can second guess it.' The sunken eyes were snapped back on the pair of them; they glinted alarmingly in the dark.

'I cannot think of anyone better to tell us what a dark wizard may be up to, than another dark wizard of equal standing.'

Grindelwald tutted, and shook his head. He hobbled his way back to his bed and sat down on it. 'Equal standing - equal standing … look at me. Look at where I am. What makes you think I could possibly know…?'

'You know,' Sirius interrupted him. 'You haven't forgotten who you are or what you are, locked up all these years. I know that - better than anyone.'

'Yes, my boy, yes you do.'

'So - you know we have something in common. We have an understanding. Now, for years, Voldemort was nothing but a spirit, a malevolent whisper, incorporeal and virtually powerless and living in an Albanian forest. But like you - like me - he never forgot what he really was. And now he has a body again - not much of one, from what we can tell. But it's a start. And we want to know what he will do next - so we can stop it from happening.'

Grindelwald shook his head and muttered again … it seemed like he was arguing with himself, though the two of them could not make out the words. All of a sudden, he looked back up at them, grinning his toothless grin. 'And what's in it for me? Why should I tell you?'

Remus and Sirius stared at him … they had not thought of an answer to that. 'It will save countless lives,' Remus said, hesitantly. 'Stop another needless war and…'

'What do you want?' Sirius interrupted. His voice was sharp. But - unlike Remus, he understood prison bargaining. Grindelwald was not asking for a reason, he was demanding a reward. That was how things got done inside. 'Bearing in mind we're not officially here, we don't have much time, and there's not much we can do for you - what is it you want from us?'

Grindelwald's grin grew wider. 'It's always easier talking to someone who understands the unwritten rules of the gaolhouse. Alright - I'll tell you what I want. Do this for me and I'll tell you what it is you need to know.'

'That seems fair,' Remus said.

Sirius hit him on the arm and gave him a disbelieving look. And Remus called him naive! 'Let's hear it first; we're making no promises. Tell us your terms and we'll see if we can strike a deal.'

The ancient head bowed in a nod. 'I want you to take a message for me. To him .'

'To who?' Remus didn't understand. 'Voldemort?'

'Voldemort! Pah!' He spat. 'What do I care for that jumped up muggle born with big ideas and a silly name? No - to him . To the real power. To Dumbledore.'

'We can speak to Dumbledore for you,' Sirius said, though his voice was still wary. This seemed far too easy a request. There must be more to it than that - the other bludger must be about to drop. 'What shall we say?'

Grindelwald didn't answer at first. Instead, he licked his finger and then lifted it, trembling, to the walls of his cell. He traced a shape into the grime - a triangle, with a circle inside and a line running right through the middle. He didn't speak until he was done.

'Tell him - tell him I remember everything.' His sunken eyes closed, his toothless smile became almost wistful. 'Every moment. I remember them all. And tell him I know he remembers too. Because I can still feel him,' he tapped his skeletal chest. 'In here. Tell him I don't have much time left - my quest is almost over, and I am no master of Death. Tell him - if I could have my time again - I would have done things differently. I hope he knows that.'

Remus and Sirius glanced at each other, mystified. 'That's it? We can tell him that,' Sirius shrugged.

Grindelwald looked up at them, his eyes open once more - flashing. 'You must promise to tell him - you must vow.'

'We promise.'

'No - no - make, with me, the unbreakable vow - that you will tell him what I asked of you.'

Sirius barked a laugh, 'are you mad? What 's the point of making an unbreakable vow over something as small as that? We'll tell him - you have our word.'

'No! No!' And he leapt to his feet in a frenzy and thumped the wall with his bony fist - before stumbling towards them, shaking his finger. And, indeed, he did look quite deranged all of a sudden. 'I must know - before I die, I must know he forgives me. Nothing else matters - and you boys, you are a miracle sent to me before the end - two of Albus's boys, walking into my cell, headed back to him. I cannot let you leave here unless you promise - and I can only believe the promise if you make the vow. I cannot bear it otherwise.'

'You don't have the power here, Grindelwald - we can just leave.'

'And if I raise my voice? If I call for a real guard? And you are found? What then?'

'Sirius,' Remus took hold of his arm. 'I think … I think we have to do this.'

'It's madness! Dangerous madness!'

'It is - but it's our only chance … and we will tell Dumbledore that message. There is no harm in it, we will have opportunity. If it makes things easier for him…'

Sirius glared at the old prisoner … and then seemed to relent. 'Fine, but I'm making the vow.'

'I don't mind doing it.'

'I mind you doing it. No - me and Grindelwald understand each other … We will make the vow together. Get your wand out - you will need to be our bonder.' He stuck his hand out and grasped Grindelwald's bony claw.

'What is your name, boy?' Grindelwald asked.

'Sirius Black.'

'Then, do you - Sirius - promise to deliver my message to Albus Dumbledore as I have given it to you?'

'I do.'

A thin tongue of brilliant flame shot out of the end of Remus' wand and wound its way around their clasped hands, like a red hot wire.

'Do you promise to beg his forgiveness on my behalf?'

'I do.'

Another tongue of flame shot out and linked with the first.

'And do you promise to tell him I remember it all - just as he does.'

'I do.'

A third and final tongue of flame shot from Remus' wand and twisted itself around the others, where they hung wrapped around Sirus' and Grindelwald's arms … like chains. They glowed brighter for a moment and then vanished away. 'So,' Grindelwald said, 'what is it you want me to tell you?'

...

Grindelwald settled himself back down on his bed - as if nothing at all untoward had just happened. Remus and Sirius glanced at each other, disconcerted - and then Remus put his wand away, shook his head as if to gather his thoughts and started to speak. 'Voldemort did a ritual back in the forest - we don't know much about it, but it included plockweed and snake venom and I believe the potion was green. It exploded into the air. After that he appeared before us in a rudimentary form of body. Do you know what it is he did?'

'Do I know the exact magic? No - but it surely does not take the darkest wizard of his generation to tell you he devised some kind of potion that would give him back some semblance of physical form.'

'But his form - whatever it is - is small, and weak,' Sirius said. 'He's about the size of a baby…'

'Well it was a rebirth, that would make sense.'

'Will he … grow?'

'No - plockweed and snake venom cannot give him a permanent form, at least not one that is of much use. You know, when a person kills someone it tears their soul apart? And he has killed so many that his soul must have been deeply unstable at the moment of his downfall. What fled to the Albanian forest was merely a fragment of what should have been. That fragment has now been given physical form, but it is a form fitting of a fragment - weak and small and helpless. He will need to build himself a better body. Pour himself into that.'

'Can he do that?' Remus asked.

Grindelwald sighed. He stared up at the strange symbol he had drawn on the wall earlier and then used his hand to smudge it out. 'Voldemort's path to immortality was never my own,' he said. 'In my youth I thought to conquer death - but I saw it as a glorious quest, an adventure. To be young and strong and live forever - because life was worth living and I thought the world was mine for the ruling and it would forever need my presence. To see my ideals stand forever.'

He looked around his cell, his eyes held that same deadened look that mirrored Sirius' own. 'I was a fool. But perhaps I was not so much a fool as Voldemort. I wished to conquer death in order to embrace life. He wished to conquer death merely because he was afraid of it. But whatever our reasons, we both ended the same way - our powers broken, our lives ruined. Our fates are different only because our methods were. Voldemort lost his body because he feared it. A body is mortal - and in shedding it he achieved immortality - and yet he lost everything. I was never in that danger, perhaps I took better care of my soul … but I did once see … a spell.'

'A spell?'

'For restoration. Ancient magic, dark and powerful, to give form to the formless. It was only necessary for those who had performed magic darker than I would ever have wished to do. Darker than I had need to do … and yet still I remember the spell.'

'What is it?' Remus asked.

'Voldemort will have to grow stronger, before he is ready for this. Otherwise he will not survive his resurrection. But when the time comes he will need three ingredients to bring himself back to life: blood, flesh and bone.'

'That's just a body,' Sirius said, frowning, 'that's all bodies are.'

'Yes - but he will require the blood of an enemy, the flesh of a servant and the bones... of his father … And together those three will see him regain all that he once was.'

The boys looked at each other. 'He already has a servant,' Remus said, 'he can take from Peter. And an enemy … there's no shortages there.'

'But he's only got one father,' Sirius said slowly.

'Yes … but I don't know who his father is, or where to find him.' They turned to look at Grindelwald. 'Can you tell us?'

But the old wizard only shrugged. 'I've been in here since Voldemort was only a boy. I cannot tell you who his father is - or where you may find him. I have told you all I know.'

'Then we need to leave, thank you for your time … Gellert,' Remus said.

'I don't need your thanks. Just deliver that message.'

'I don't exactly have a choice do…' But Sirius was cut off by Remus flinging out an arm to silence him. Remus held a finger to his lips - and they all listened. Footsteps were headed their way.

'We need to get out of here.' They headed back to the door and pulled it closed, locking it behind them.

'Remember my message!' Grindelwald called out to them.

They ran back down the dark stairs, to the wooden door at the bottom - and pulled it open. And then they froze. There was a guard standing at the other side. 'Was machst du?' the guard asked. He was carrying what appeared to be Grindelwald's evening meal. 'Warum warst du da oben?'

'Er …'

The guard was starting to look suspicious. 'Wer bist du? Identifizieren Sie sich.'

'Stupefy!' Sirius cried. Red sparks shot from his wand and the guard squealed and then collapsed. The tray of food fell to the ground. 'Quick, in here,' Sirius jumped down from the last stair, out onto the landing, picked the guard up under his arms and hauled him part way up the flight of stairs. Then he pulled Remus out into the hallway, slammed the wooden door shut and locked the guard inside. 'It won't hold him for long - he'll have the keys too - we need to run.'

And as dizzying and as narrow and as winding and as precarious as the spiralling stairs were, the two of them fled downward as fast as they dared. They tripped and tumbled and both nearly went over the edge several times, only being hauled back by the other at the last moment. Round and round and round and down and down and down they ran. They were sweaty and out of breath, and the stairs did not seem to be getting any fewer. They kept on going.

On and on. On every landing they could hear the boots of the guards and the mutterings of the prisoners. Once they could hear someone clanging the metal of their bars, running something across them causing sparks to fly. A bit further on and they heard a wild, inhuman shrieking coming from one of the cells - and the panicked voices of guards, 'Gott - schnell schnell! Lieberman hat einen anderen Anfall.'

Every sound of the prison; from the guards; the inmates; or just the echoes from the walls made Sirius shudder as he ran - his whole body trembling as if he was being hit with curse after curse. Remus took his hand and squeezed - without even breaking stride … soon they would be out of here. Soon Sirius could start to forget again…

But as they finally reached the lower floors - when the entranceway was in sight - they heard the sounds of a disturbance. Juddering to a halt and pressing back into the shadows, they peered down - and saw the two guards they had knocked out with the tree branch back inside, missing their coats and hats and complaining loudly. They were being led down to the hallway - and the two of them waited until they were out of sight before making a mad dash for the door.

But just as they reached the archway to the antechamber a voice cried out 'Warte! Wir versiegeln das Gefängnis.'

Not understanding, they continued to run.

'Halt! Halt!'

They understood that, but they ignored it ...until they felt a jinx wash over them, holding them in place like they were erumpents trapped in tar.

'Wo gehst du hin?' The guard asked. He pointed his wand at the archway. Remus watched, understanding what was about to happen, and only having a moment to act, he wrenched himself free of the halting jinx and shoved Sirius as hard as he could through the archway.

A moment later, bars slammed down - trapping Remus inside, and Sirius just beyond them. 'What did you do?' Sirius sounded panicked - his eyes were staring in horror at the bars.

'Go!'

'Was ist los?' The guard asked.

'Stupefy'. Remus knocked him out and turned back to Sirius. 'Go on - you're free. Run.'

'I'm not leaving you!' He tugged at the bars.

'They won't move. Look - go as far as you can. Get back to Mayrhofen. I'll try and blend in here, hope they don't realise I'm the impostor - and I'll get out as soon as I can.'

'That will never work! You don't understand what they're saying - of course they'll know it's you.'

'Sirius,' he reached through the bars and took hold of Sirius' hand. 'Stop looking at the bars and look at me.'

With great effort, Sirius wrenched his horrified eyes away from the metal that held Remus prisoner.

'I'll be alright.' Remus said gently. 'You need to get away. You can't stay here. I know you can't. Get back to Mayrhofen - and if I've not met you in … three days, apparate straight back to Dumbledore, you hear? Give him Grindelwald's message and tell him where I am and what we were trying to do. Voldemort needs to be stopped - and you need to do it. Dumbledore can help. He'll at least know where to find Voldemort's father. And once your name is clear, mine will be clear - and you can come and get me. I will survive here until then. This isn't Azkaban, Sirius. These guards are not dementors.'

'I can't leave you here alone!'

'You have to!' He heard the sound of guards coming down the corridor behind him, 'go!'

And with one last, regretful, reproachful look, Sirius turned away - and ran through the iron doors to freedom.

...

Remus turned to face the oncoming guards … he didn't speak any German, he didn't think he could fool them for more than a second that he was one of them. He needed to hide, he needed to slip into the shadows and keep himself to himself until they opened the doors again - and then he would escape back to Sirius.

He ran back up the stairs - only going up one flight this time, but getting away from the guard he had just stunned. It wouldn't do to be caught red handed, standing above his victim with his wand out.

There was a window on the landing and - as he passed it - he just caught a glimpse of Sirius running across the valley floor and headed for the mountain slope. 'Apparate away,' he muttered under his breath, 'go on - get out of here.'

And then he heard footsteps. He turned. 'Oh bugger.' A whole swarm of guards had come up behind him - and they were not looking friendly.

...

He was arrested and taken down to the office of the head guard - where he was roughly thrust into a chair and a light was shone in his eyes.

'Wie heissen Sie?'

'What?'

'English? What is your name?'

'Severus Snape,' he answered without hesitation. He glanced behind himself. There were two guards at the door - and then their boss was doing the questioning. Just the three of them, then … and they hadn't taken his wand. Well - they were prison guards, not aurors - they weren't used to dealing with armed wizards. Everyone in Nurmengard would have had their wand taken from them long before they set foot in the tower.

'And why - Herr Snape - did you break into Nurmengard?'

'I'm on holiday in Austria - I came to do some sightseeing.'

The head guard banged his fists down on his desk. 'This is not a joke! What were you doing?'

'I told you - I wanted to see Nurmengard…'

The guard narrowed his eyes. 'What is that you do, Herr Snape?'

'Do?'

'What is your profession? Were you sent here to spy?'

'No! I'm a teacher. I'm the Potions master at Hogwarts…' He hoped they didn't take out a cauldron and ask him to whip something up to prove it - he was lousy at potions. 'I work for Albus Dumbledore. He'll vouch for me.'

'He is not here.'

There was a rap on the door, and another guard entered. He whispered something into the ear of one of the guards and then backed out. This second guard left the door and went to whisper in the ear of his boss.

Remus couldn't hear what they were saying. He eyed up the door… There was only one of them blocking it now.

'You were upstairs,' the boss said; his words came out in short, sharp bursts.

'Hmm, what?' Remus turned back to look at him.

'You knocked out another guard upstairs. Two outside, one by the door - and one upstairs… you had been in Grindelwald's cell.'

'If you say so,' he kept his voice mild and smiled pleasantly.

The head guard leaned on his desk and glowered menacingly at him. 'I do say so. You were in Grindelwald's cell - you spoke with him. You are a dark wizard like he is.'

He made a noise of protest. 'No one has ever accused Severus Snape of being a dark wizard before,' he said … Though that was a lie, Igor Karkaroff had - and he was right to do it.

'You were planning to help him escape?'

'If I was planning to help him escape - why would I lock him back in his cell and leave him there?'

The guard opened his mouth to answer - and then conceded the point. 'Very well - what did you talk to him about?'

'What did he say we talked about?'

'He will not tell us. He seemed agitated to hear of your capture...'

Remus nodded to himself. The only thing Grindelwald wanted in the world was for his message to be delivered to Dumbledore. He would not say anything that would jeopardise the chances of that message getting through.

'Tell me what you talked about, Herr Snape,' the guard said again, leaning heavily on his desk once more and looming over him.

Remus put his hand in his pocket and gripped his wand. He would just wait for the right moment… 'Very well. I was talking to him about … Lord Voldemort.'

The effect was instantaneous. All the guards quailed and - in that instant - Remus took advantage of their distraction and whipped his wand out. 'Impressio,' he yelled, pointing his wand at the desk. It immediately flew backwards through the air, hurtling across the room and pinning the head guard against the wall. The head guard gave a startled cry and began to struggle.

But Remus was on his feet. The other guards rushed at him, and he took them both out with a tripping jinx. 'Incarcero.' He flicked his wand at both prone men, tying them up, and then made a mad dash for the door.

He thundered down the corridor - knowing he didn't have much time. Sure enough, the yells from the office alerted the other guards and he soon found himself being chased. He pointed his wand towards the spiral staircase. 'Reducto,' he yelled. His wand went off with a blast like a cannon and then the staircase came tumbling down - stones and rocks falling on the guards, the debris blocking their path.

The bars were still in place across the archway, and he realised, with a sinking heart, they had not yet unsealed the prison. He pointed his wand at them and cried 'reducto,' again … only this time nothing happened. He didn't think it would, but it still left him with another sinking feeling.

He came to a stop and stared at them … thinking hard. He could hear the wand blasts and the sounds of the guards magically clearing away the rubble, fighting their way through to him. He did not have forever. And those bars would not move by brute force. He needed to be clever…

He took aim. 'Vineumio,' he yelled , flicking his wand the way Professor McGonagall had taught him to, back in first year - when they had studied switching spells. The bars were transfigured into thick, leafy jungle vines. He was just about to push his way through - when the first wizard cleared the blockade and came running after him.

'Halt!'

He didn't halt. 'Diffindo!' He cut down one of the vines, and then flicked his wand again, 'serpensortia'. What had been a metal bar, and then a jungle vine, was now transfigured into a six foot long python. It slithered its way along the ground and then wrapped itself around the guard and began to squish.

Remus ran - pushing through the last of the vines and heading out to the iron doors. Freedom was just a few feet away.

But behind him, he could hear the guards vanishing the python - and then he heard a yell of 'expelliarmus,' and his wand flew from his hand and landed on the floor. He turned back for it.

'Incarcero.' He was suddenly bound in ropes, and he tumbled to the ground. He saw the boots of the guards getting closer … He had been so close … The door was right there!

And then he heard a low rumbling sound - that for a moment he thought was thunder … but a moment later his ears identified as growling. And the boots were backing off - and the guards were sounding alarmed.

And then a giant, black dog bounded over the top of Remus and threw itself at the prison guards, snarling and snapping and lunging at them.

Unnoticed, Remus made a lunge for his fallen wand, used it to cut his ropes and then scrambled back to his feet. 'Padfoot - back,'

Sirius backed away, and Remus thrust his wand out. 'Impetua' and the atmosphere rippled as a charge blasted out of the end of his wand, pulsing through the air and creating a forcefield which knocked the guards off their feet. It held them in place as well - just long enough for the boys to escape.

Sirius was now a man again, and the two of them grabbed hands and raced back through the iron doors - out into the crisp mountain air … and then, once they were several feet clear of the prison, they gripped each other harder, raised their wands, and apparated away.

...

They landed on the mountainside beside the billboard for the ski resort. Remus blinked at Sirius in shock. 'You came back for me.'

Sirius grabbed hold of him, pulling him into a rough hug. 'Of course I came back for you - I wasn't leaving you alone in a place like that.' He kissed his forehead and then his lips - hard, almost angrily. 'You said it yourself, Moony, we're stronger together. We don't separate, that's when disasters happen.' And then he was hugging him again.

'You shouldn't have risked being captured again, for me.'

'You're the only person worth risking capture for - and I'd do it again, in a heartbeat. I couldn't let you stay there alone. Either we escape together or we get trapped together. But we're not being separated ever again.'

'Well - we escaped together. Thank you - by the way.'

Sirius kissed him again. 'You're welcome. I know you'd do the same for me.' He finally let go of him, and they started walking down the mountain.

'So - now we have an idea of what we need to look for when we get home,' Remus said, eventually.

'Lord Voldemort's father … let's hope he's not too hard to find.'

'He's probably dead isn't he? Voldemort's not young.'

'Knowing Voldemort, he probably killed him.'

'True,' Remus conceded. 'We need to find where he's buried then. Come on - let's get the hell out of Austria - before the Ministry Hag realises we were here.'