(So Sorry for the delay, will try to post more frequent updates!)
—
Harry found that in her need to survive, she was justifying her inaction. She had become complacent living in Nurmengard, isolated from the world burning outside.
Worse, she was beginning to forget that she was supposed to be fooling Gellert, thinking she was on his side, but she was being drawn in.
It was late, she and Gellert were sitting by the fireplace, and he was fiddling with the Stone. Harry rested her head on his shoulder, and they stared intently at it. She could feel the hum of the Hallows so close together, the Stone and Wand in his hands, and the Cloak hidden in her dress. (She never left it out of her sight)
"What will you do, once you have it?" Harry asked.
"Test its limits," he muttered. "Does its limits extend beyond the Master, or will it also protect others around me. Experiments will have to be conducted, of course."
Harry wrinkles her nose. "Please, no talk of experiments.
She would lie awake, thinking of what could be done. What could she do?
What could she do, that wouldn't lead to instant death for breaking her vow?
Grindelwald gazed at her fondly. "You are the first person in a very long time who has believed in the Hallows as much as I have."
She saw his eyes stare into the distance, and she knew he was remembering the past. Perhaps he had cared for Dumbledore after all?
He shook his head. "No matter, once we find the cloak, we will be unstoppable."
He gave her a sly grin, as if he itself was aware of the irony of his words and was waiting for her to slip.
"Has there been a Master Of Death before?" Harry asked, feigning disinterest.
"Oh, not that I can recall. There have been Masters of each of the Hallows individually, but no written record of a true Master." Grindelwald recounted as he stroked her hair.
"If there was, they are presumably dead," Harry snarked.
"Or they are in this very room," Grindelwald replied. He had stopped acting playful, and Harry tensed. She knew she was walking a fine line when Gellert was in his moods.
He handed her his wand. "Humor me, my dear. Try it out, cast anything your heart desires."
Nervously, Harry clasped the Elder Wand once again in her hand. Oh how she did not miss the feel of it's cold lacquered wood.
"Wingardium Leviosa," she shouted quickly, watching as the vase on the round table behind them started to float, first and inch off the ground, then higher and higher, until it burst of its own accord, shards littering the floor. Embarrassed, Harry flicked the wand and reassembled the mess.
Nervously, she handed the wand back to its Master, who stared at her in curiosity, appraising her in a new light.
"For what it's worth, I found it took much longer to gain that level of finesse with the wand. It's almost as if you're a natural."
Harry blushed, unsure why she was letting herself act this way in front of him. "It was a fluke," she dismissed.
"It was not," Grindelwald replied firmly. "And if I am not to be the Master, I suppose I must accept having her on my side," he replied in resignation. "Over fifty years of searching, only to get so close," he added bitterly.
Harry studied his posture. Was he manipulating her, or could she use this to her advantage?
"You can be the Master, it is within your grasp, for a price," Harry suggested.
Grindelwald looked at her skeptically, and laughed. "I certainly didn't think you were so mercenary, Mäuschen."
"Didn't you?" Harry asked rhetorically. "What else had you been training me for?"
Grindelwald gave a menacing smile, something she'd only seen on the battlefield. "I knew you had it. I always knew."
"I want the diadem in return," Harry replied stubbornly.
Grindelwald cackled. "Darling, you're in no position to bargain."
"Be that as it may, the diadem. Do you have it?" Harry pressed.
Noting that she was completely serious, Grindelwald stood up, grabbing her by the hand. "Very well, let's get that blasted piece of junk."
He dragged her down to the dungeon, passing the torture chambers, down to the laboratory. It was here Gellert conducted his experiments- on magical creatures, artifacts, even the occasional maledictus for Credence's sake. Gellert had even kept a small space for Horcruxes after listening to Harry's supposed past. While he was unwilling to undertake in creating a living Horcrux of his own, he had been convinced when he saw that it was possible and promptly destroyed it and the test subjects. Harry wished she hadn't been forced to see that.
When they reached a small antechamber, Gellert picked up the diadem and examined it before handing it to Harry. "I've prodded it quite a bit, but I haven't entirely unearthed its secrets. It's a well crafted bit of magic, but isn't entirely worthwhile."
"Would it be helpful in solving a problem without knowing the solution?" Harry asked.
Grindelwald frowned. "Doubtful, it gives wisdom, not knowledge."
Harry gingerly felt the intricate filigree of the diadem, hoping to find a switch. Disappointed, she placed it back in her pocket. "I suppose a deal's a deal."
She hated herself for doing this, but now that she'd given away her hand, it would be foolish not to fulfill her part of the bargain. Carefully, she took out the folded cloak from her dress and unfurled it, it's glittering fabric shining in the dim candlelight.
Grindelwald gently ran his hand over the fabric, then grabbed it tightly, trying not to cry. "It's even more beautiful than I could imagine." With a flourish, he wrapped it around himself, turning invisible. He cackled with glee. "I've done it! I am unstoppable."
Harry nodded, hoping this wasn't Gellert's cue to kill her now that she had outlived her usefulness.
Instead, he pulled her under the cloak and kissed her.
In all her years and the many, many people she had hidden under her cloak, none of them had done that.
His hands on her waist, hers around his shoulder, they kissed for what felt like an eternity, before Gellert gently touched her shoulder.
"You should rest, I have plans I will need to alter," Gellert commanded.
Harry nodded. "Will I be joining you in battle?" Harry asked.
Gellert chuckled. "Not any time soon, you are not yet ready. Perhaps you should continue training with Queenie. Your Occulmency is still weak."
Harry relented. "If I must." She kissed Gellert goodnight. "Don't stay up too late."
He gave her an indulgent smile and escorted her up the stairs. Harry made an effort to look like she was walking to her room, then took a detour straight to the library, where Credence's face was inches from a scroll, taking vigorous notes.
Harry lifted the diadem in the air. "I've got it."
—
Wearing the diadem was nothing like Harry expected. She had never worn it as a Horcrux, but it's power was intoxicating on its own, heady like wine. She understood why Helena betrayed her own mother for it.
She felt an unparalleled confidence, an almost godlike ability to tap into the deepest recesses of her brain, to collect the smallest data points with her senses, and to be able to connect them. It was all quite overwhelming.
In the depths of her mind, she remembered a phrase she had heard in passing in the Muggle world. Somehow, it felt right.
"Gene therapy."
Credence's face fell in confusion. "Who's Gene?"
"No, it's Muggle medicine. Genes are the blueprints for how our body is built. If they're faulty, it can cause problems. If you insert a vector into the genes, you can remove the faulty information and add the proper sequence." Harry replied enthusiastically.
Credence looked skeptical. "Muggles figure this out? Are you sure it would even work?"
Harry bit her lip. Technically Muggles were just beginning to mass produce penicillin, so she was getting a bit ahead of herself. "It's just theory for now, but it's sound. Maybe we could cast a curse as a vector into her body? The Dark Magic will unwind the curse that's bound her to soul because it wants to stick, but we remove it before it can."
"Essentially killing her in the process," Credence countered.
"But if we could strip the curse and counter it with Light magic?" Harry asked.
"Last I checked, we needed to expose her soul to strip the curse, and we were at a loss as to how to do so without killing her. The Horcrux ritual would only take out part of her soul." Credence argued.
Harry's eyes widened as she came to a realization she felt was so obvious! Why hadn't she thought of it before? "Dementors!" She screamed.
"Are you mad? How would we have a Dementor partially kiss Nagini without it losing control and absorbing her whole soul?"
"We'd use the Patronus charm, obviously." Harry replied.
"You can cast a corporeal Patronus?" Credence asked in surprise.
"You can't?" Harry quipped.
Credence scowled. "Do you have an idea of what curse you'd want to replace the Maledictus curse?"
"The curse itself doesn't matter, it would need to be darker than the Maledictus curse itself to replace it, but then undone before it can settle in the soul. I was thinking the Homunculi curse since it also involves transformation. One of us will cast it and cast the countercurse, the other has to monitor the Dementor and focus the Patronus at the right frequency to keep it from not completely kissing Nagini, but not completely repulse it either."
"So one false move and Nagini turns into a husk of a person either way. Why not use the Lyncantropy Curse if you're so fixated on transformation?" Credence asked acerbically.
Harry rolled her eyes, "Because that can be only transferred through a bite. Once we've finished the process we'll have to probably settle her with a potion. Her body will he used to transforming and might go into shock if she can't. I suggest we try something similar to the Animangus potion. Not sure if it will work, but it's the closest solution we have."
"So it's all conjecture?" Credence asked sourly.
"It's better than nothing," Harry replied, taking off the diadem. "Our only issue now is to find Nagini, and see if she agrees."
—
Harry hated training with Queenie. The woman was a natural Legimens, so she never needed to use the spell like Snape, so it was painless. But unlike Snape, she never stopped prying.
And Harry honestly tried, it's not like she had successful attempts at Occulmency before, but she thought she had been able to protect her secrets.
At least she thought so.
"Do you think Ron and Hermione would agree with what you're doing? Is this really what you want?" Queenie asked calmly as she dodged a Diffendo.
"Shut up!" Harry shouted as she sent an Embolism Curse towards her. Harry has found she was developing a taste for Dark spells.
Queenie quickly cast a Protego, and frowned. "You're getting sloppy, Potter."
Harry paused in surprise. In her moment of weakness, Queenie sent a Body Bind.
Harry struggled and tried to scream.
Queenie confidently strode over towards her and watched her squirm. "Are you finished?"
Harry glared at Queenie, but nodded in defeat.
As she undid the jinx, Harry jumped up, ready to strike.
"I think you've gotten into enough scraps, haven't you? Let's talk about your past, or well, your future," she giggled. She was much too old to be trying out that Betty Boop routine.
Queenie raised her wand to summon two chairs and motioned for her to sit. They were in one of the larger dueling chambers in the castle, and the weather was beginning to turn warm.
"Do you want me to call for some coffee? I personally can't stand this Viennese stuff, but it's all we've got." Queenie complained.
Harry grimaced. "I'm fine, thanks. How much do you know about me? And how long have you known?"
"Well, I want some coffee. And Punschkrapfen."
She ignored Harry's protests and called Süsse, the House Elf, who arrived with steaming cups of coffee and small pink iced pastries.
Queenie thanked the elf, and picked up a pastry, examining its intricate decoration. "My Jacob makes these at home, you know. The kids love them. He picked up the recipe when he was training to be a pastry chef before the war."
"That's nice, but you didn't answer my questions," Harry replied irritably.
Queenie gave her a steely glance. "I've known since the moment we met, bits and pieces I've seen unintentionally - and I put them together. And I know that you've revealed part of the truth to Gellert and Credence, so you don't need to be so secretive anyway. What I wonder is why you're letting yourself fall into Gellert's plans."
Harry uneasily rubbed the scar on her arm from the Unbreakable Vow. "I'm trapped here."
"You're letting yourself stay trapped. I saw what you're capable of, Harry. Would you have let Voldemort keep you here under the same circumstances?" Queenie asked.
"This is different, you wouldn't understand!" Harry shouted.
Queenie frowned, and waved her wand, allowing a coffee cup to float into Harry's hand. Reluctantly, she took a sip. It was excellent.
"What I see is that you're letting your desperation to stop Voldemort blind you to the fact you're actively helping Grindelwald. You just gave him the Invisibility Cloak. Even if that wasn't what he needed to complete his mission, Gellert could do devasting things with it."
"What do you know of Gellert's plans?" Harry asked.
"He's going to try again for Britain- perhaps assassinate Dumbledore, but that might just be a fantasy of his. The Muggles are trying to force him into bringing his magical troops into France. Though they won't say why. But they haven't been too cooperative since they lost Crimea."
Harry dropped her cup. She grabbed her hair in panic. "Bloody hell. I'd forgotten about D-Day."
Queenie raised an eyebrow. "Do you know what that is?" She lifted her wand to repair the broken cup while Harry glared at her in distrust.
"Something that I can't tell you about. I don't know what bizarre reverse-psychology you're trying to pull on me, but I'm not going to let you or the rest of your lot win the war. You'll have to kill me first." Harry declared.
Queenie gave a sly grin. "It won't come to that."
She conjured a small calling card with the flick of her hand between her fingers and slipped it in front of Harry.
It was an embossed Phoenix, glittering gold as it flew across the paper.
"Fawkes," Harry whispered.
"So you've met." Queenie guessed.
"Not in this timeline. So, are you a part of the Order? Or whatever it's called nowadays?" Harry asked.
"Let's just say I'm a friend. If you had to leave this castle right now, is there anything you would need to take?" Queenie asked as she grasped Harry's hand.
Harry kept the diadem on her person, she didn't know why, but she had felt some comfort having it around after giving up the cloak. Perhaps the lure of its magic was stronger than she'd expected.
"No, but I need Credence. I promised I would help him find Nagini and we would cure her."
Queenie's blue eyes widened. "A cure? Are you sure?"
Hardy shrugged. "More or less, but I'd need a Dementor."
Queenie shook her head. "Listen to me Harry, I have been working with my contacts outside the castle. I can guarantee a safe passage for you, but you have to leave now. This might be your only option to survive now that Grindelwald has the Hallows."
Harry thought about it. "Very well, but I need to find Nagini. And I need Credence to know I didn't abandon him."
Queenie scowled. "Harry, the man's a war criminal. He's abandoned the people he claimed to love without a second thought, and I might add, his actions have killed thousands."
Harry stood up angrily. "But I still made a promise. And I intend to keep it."
Queenie stared at her in disappointment and sighed, tapping the stones of the wall in a rhythmic pattern. Instantly, the wall started to pull itself apart, Stone by stone.
"Fine. I'll tell him. But you need to go, now. Come with me."
Queenie cast Lumos, lifting her wand in the air and clasping Harry's and roughly as they stride through the secret tunnels of the castle- passing skeletons both human and goblin, and a petrified dragon's egg. The labyrinthine passageways were rank and damp, and Harry tried not to trip over the thick stones dislodged on the floor. The castle must have been built on a mountain cave, as stalagmites remained, and there were visible veins of glittering quartz. The darkness was ever present, suffocating. As they kept walking, Harry felt the chill of the mountain air against her shoulders, and shivered. Soon, she could see a pinprick of light growing larger and larger.
She felt Queenie pull her upwards as the clambered towards the mouth of the cave. Another hand grasped her and pulled her upwards. It was a middle aged man with curly red hair and a sea of light freckles on his face. He had sharp cheekbones and a thin nose, and a beautiful dusty blue suit. Beside him was a woman with a similarly angular face, small brown eyes, dark hair cut into a short bob, and a long leather duster.
As the woman checked her with diagnostic charms, the man lifted his hand out for Harry to shake.
"I suppose introductions are in order. Newt Scamander," he said in an awkward frenetic way.
"Not the time Newt," the woman grumbled. "She's clean. No tracking charms or compulsion curses. I guess Grindelwald was getting too cocky."
"She has an Unbreakable Vow," Queenie clarified.
"Figures." The woman replied. She gave a nod of acknowledgement to Harry. "Tina Goldstein."
"Harry Evans," Harry replied. Queenie gave her a curious glance, but said nothing.
"We better skedaddle," Tina said as she started walking towards the trail. "The Anti-Apparition wards expand towards base camp. We'll have to climb down by foot."
As they braved the steep rocks in the bitter cold, Harry tried not to slip on the icy path into the large crevasses, their inky depths leading into the unknown. Her guides were silent, turning back to check on her. Tina cast a warming charm on the group, while Newt guided them with the help of a large bird.
"Patrick's got a keen eye when it comes to mountains," Newt shouted. "He'll get us back to base camp in no time at all!"
Harry accepted this, not bothering to question Newt's rationale.
After what seemed like hours, they had finally descended to base camp. It seems there was an army of wizards and witches in the encampment, frantically rushing about. There were groups practicing flying drills on hippogriffs, others engaging in mock duels, and Portkeys transporting rations and more volunteers.
"When did all this happen?" Harry asked in awe.
"We've been here for weeks." Tina replied. "We thought our wards were keeping us protected from Grindelwald's notice, but it seems he knows we're here. He's preoccupied with other matters."
"Tina! I have the latest numbers on the troops positions." A wizard slightly older than Newt with large spectacles rushed over to hand Tina a stack of papers.
"Thanks Monty. Keep an eye out for any unusual occurrences on the Muggle side too. Any word if they had anything to do with Slapton Sands?"
"Just friendly fire, I'm afraid," Monty frowned. "Though I'll keep digging."
"He's not going back to England," Harry said firmly as Monty retreated into the tent. "Your intelligence says he might, but it's a decoy. He's staying on the continent. So if you want to fight him, you'll have to go to him."
The rest of the group paused at what she had revealed.
"You didn't die," Queenie remarked in surprise.
"I'm just stating a fact. Also, I never specified who I was talking about, no betrayal necessary," Harry replied.
"Can you be sure of this?" Newt asked.
"As much as he doesn't want to admit it, he needs the Muggles. So he'll help them with providing charms to ensure accurate ballistics, basic technomancy for their ranks and aeroplanes, healing potions, and detection charms for submarines- they provide the manpower for him to subdue his enemies. You saw how the magical governments of Europe, Africa and Asia are all under his sway. As soon as their wands were taken, the sheer number of Muggle soldiers is enough to maintain his presence even when his magical army is fairly small."
"So in order to maintain power to suppress the Muggles, he needs to keep the Muggles happy?" Newt asked skeptically.
"The irony does not escape me, and he probably sees it too, he's too much of an egomaniac to acknowledge it," Harry replied. "And they're gaining the upper hand. With radar, and with the advent of antibiotics, his contributions are going to become less useful as time goes on, and he's going to lash out."
Queenie agreed. "He's been gone more and more, he hasn't called a meeting with his wizard generals in a while."
"Anything you could find out?" Tina asked Queenie.
She shook her head. "You know he doesn't trust me. If anyone knows what's going on in his head, it would be Harry. And I better head back before he realizes I let her go. I'll need some time to build an alibi."
Tina grabbed Queenie's hands in hers. "Be safe." She looked stern, but was obviously trying to hide her tears.
Queenie gave a mischievous smile. "Hey, they're the ones who'll have to worry about me." She shook her head, and her face became pinched. "Tell Jacob I love him, okay?"
Tina looked uneasy. "He's still on the front. I tried writing to him...but, the letters keep coming back unread."
Queenie's lip quivered, her eyes turning glassy. She closed her eyes tightly and squeezed Tina's hands. "Right. He's busy. I better get going." Queenie gave a salute, then turned around, wiping her face.
"Take Astrid with you," Newt said, holding the reigns of a hippogriff. Queenie nodded, bowing to the creature, who bowed back, giving a chirrup as it climbed onto its back. As they watched her fly off into the distance, Newt held onto Tina. Harry felt she was missing some context for what she'd seen, but felt it wasn't her business to pry.
"So what are your plans? A full scale assault?" Harry asked.
Tina raised an eyebrow. "Of course not. That would be suicide. I think you should be more worried about what we will do with you."
"Azkaban, I assume," Harry shrugged. "But before I go, I was hoping you could help me find a witch."
"Why would we help you?" Newt asked.
"I believe you know her. Her name is Nagini, and I think I might have found a cure to save her."
—-
"It's not gonna work," Tina said as they sat in her tent, drinking instant coffee. A worse tasting counterpart to what Harry had that morning, but all the more welcome as her first taste of freedom in months.
"The Arithmancy is sound, except I'm not sure where I'll get a Dementor," Harry replied, chewing on her bottom lip.
Newt looked up. "I think I might have a solution for that." He stood up and lifted his suitcase from under the bed. He placed it on top of the bed, opening the fastens. He turned to Tina. "Should we give her a tour?"
Tina sighed. "She's our prisoner, Newt. We can't just let her into your menagerie." She saw Newt's disappointment and frowned. "Alright, just for a minute or two."
As Harry climbed into the suitcase, she thought her captors were mental. When she found herself in Newt Scamander's hidden world of Beasts, she knew they were- but she didn't mind.
As they walked deeper into the enclosure, they found a dark pit, the temperature of the air lowering to freezing levels.
Harry could feel the sensation of the Dementor even before she heard its scream.
It was weak, she could tell it was not as robust as the ones she had encountered in Hogwarts- it listlessly floated in its confines, wailing.
"This is Mel," Newt answered. "Isn't she beautiful?"
"Is it unwell?" Harry asked.
"No, but Dementors that primarily feed on animals are less aggressive than ones that feed on humans."
Newt released an okapi, letting it trot around the enclosure until the Dementor floated toward the creature, promptly sucking out its soul. They watched silently in trepidation. When it was finished, the okapi collapsed on its side, alive but unresponsive- and the Dementor gave a screech of contentment.
"Good girl!" Newt responded encouragingly. The Dementor floated in what Harry assumed was a happy manner.
"Would she be able to feed on a human, temporarily?" Harry asked.
Newt frowned. "Once a Dementor is exposed to human feeding, it's very difficult to get them to return to animals. I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with that risk."
"I'm just asking for one try. If we get this right, we could save Nagini a lifetime of pain, and we could possibly have a cure for other Maledicti." Harry pleaded.
Newt opened his mouth, then closed it. His eyes were very wide. "You get one attempt."
Harry smiled. "Thank you!" She thought about her plan. "I had devised the cure as a two-person endeavor. If we find Nagini, would you or Tina be able to help me?"
Newt looked surprised, again. "Oh, Nagini will be easy to find."
—-
Papua New Guinea
As they Portkey brought them with a thud, they heard the shattering sound of shells and the rumbling of the ground beneath them. As Harry heard the whir of airplanes, she saw the planes growing larger as they zipped across the shore of the beach they had landed on, aiming directly for them.
Harry cast her largest shield, and so did Newt and Tina as they ran into the jungle. As they ran, they could feel the bullets of the machine guns on the ground narrowly miss them as Tina cast Disillusionment Charms, the tense screaming of the battlefield retreating into the distance.
"Are you sure you still want to come with me?" Hardy asked.
"You're still technically our prisoner, we can't let you go," Tina admonished.
"Though we wouldn't have let you go through with this on your own. I mean, if you succeed, the ramifications could change how we view cursebreaking forever." Newt replied excitedly before composing himself. "Also, we need to make sure you're safe."
"I'm not a child, I would have been fine." A bullet whizzed past Harry's face, grazing her cheek. She gasped, clutching her face. "Why would she be here of all places?" Harry hissed, trying her hardest to keep quiet in her heightened state of adrenaline. Tina looked over her, casting a quick Episky.
"You might not be aware, but this is also the focal point of the magical side of the war too. We just had a battle further down the island. Our forces were able to get the Akuma's army to retreat, but at heavy losses." Tina replied.
Harry remembered that Gellert had aligned himself with another Dark Lord who had taken control of East, and from what Gellert had mentioned, he was just as dangerous and as much of an egomaniac as himself. Harry was disappointed when meeting him one time at a dinner in Nurmengard and saw he was in fact not an actual Fire spirit, he just happened to take the name. His specialties were Fire magic and Necromancy, so perhaps he had chosen this spot for its supposed advantages.
As they cut through the bush of the forest, wading through the thick mud and avoiding Muggle artillery, they were eaten by mosquitos and leeches, swatting them away as they waded on.
Finally, they reached the encampment.
Heavy losses were an understatement. The number of beings- wizards, giants, creatures with fox tails and animal faces lying on stretchers was beyond what Harry had expected. The remaining witches and wizards were frantically rushing about, tending to the wounded, while the rest were lifting out their fallen comrades, taking them to a makeshift hut where preparations were occurring for a mass wake later on. Harry could smell the incense and feel the wave of emotion as the magic in each grieving person was swirling, untethered power creating a cloud of suffocating energy that was only made worse by the sound of gunshots in the distance.
"You're here."
Harry turned to spot the woman she had seen only in Pensieve. "Nagini!" She shouted.
Nagini blinked. "Can I help you?"
Harry babbled anxiously, "Well I was hoping to help you, you see I think I might have found a cure for you."
Nagini turned to Newt and Tina. "I thought you two were here for me to debrief you. Who is this?"
"I know Credence! We were working on a cure to save you from your blood curse. If you give me a chance, we can…"
"Stop right there," Nagini ordered. "I don't ever want to hear that man's name again. If you knew him, you're obviously not someone I can trust. And as you can see I'm too busy to think about something as selfish as my own vanity."
"But it's your life at stake!" Harry pleaded. "How can you help others if your transformation becomes permanent?"
"She has a point, Nagini," Newt added. "We know this is not the best time, but it is something to consider."
Nagini looked conflicted, turning her head away from them. "I've already lost so much. I don't have time to think about this."
"Then allow us to help you," Tina urged.
Nagini relented as the three of them joined her in treating the injured, and stayed until evening, when the sky was ablaze from the mass cremation ceremony. As the group mourned and prayed, Harry was amazed at the stillness of the mourners. Above their protective dome of wards, airplanes roared, raining fire.
As they buried the remains, some wizards were dismantling large rocks along the island and carving a list of names into its face. Harry used Blasting Hexes to polish the slab, turning it into a shiny black granite memorial to those who had fallen.
"I thank you for your help," Nagini said as the three of them rested with the others, eating a small meal of rice and preserved fish. "But I must refuse your offer."
Harry nodded. "I understand. If there's nothing I can say to you, then we will leave."
They felt a rumble from inside the wards as everybody raised their wands in anticipation.
With a thud, a Portkey appeared in front of them- a brass teapot, and Credence, holding onto an annoyed Queenie. There was another guest perched on his shoulder, who flew around them in circles.
"Fawkes!" Harry screamed in surprise. The bird chirped, Though Harry knew he wouldn't recognize her. They'd never met.
"It's Aurelius Dumbledore, we've been found!" Shouted one of the oni soldiers.
"We're dead!" Shouted a wizard. The group started to shout in panic as their voices rose.
Nagini lifted her arms to quiet the crowd. They complied. She turned to the wizard, who only stared at her.
"What do you want, Credence?" She asked.
"You look well, Nagini," Credence murmured.
"I am very much not well, though it seems you're aware of that if you sent this girl to cure me, as you claim." Nagini replied acidly.
Credence turned to Harry. "Is that why you're here? Gellert already assumes you'd defected, he's very upset."
"You know he wouldn't have let me go," Harry insisted, omitting the part where she actually did defect.
Credence nodded. "And so have I. Nagini, if this works, I will leave Grindelwald. He has promised nothing but lies and I can see his solution is only more destruction."
"Do you think I can forgive you just because you apologize?" Nagini shouted. "You're a murderer! You've destroyed homes, countries, and for what? Because you're still hurt by your family and you want to hurt others?"
Credence stiffened. "Nagini…" he pleaded.
"And what do you hope to gain from this? I can't promise you the type of power Grindelwald could," Nagini sneered.
"Power isn't the answer, I found it doesn't bring anything but emptiness. I don't want that, I just want you."
Nagini frowned. "Credence, it's been so long. I don't know if I can forgive you, or if I even love you anymore. Do you even love me?"
Credence walked up to her. As he moved, everyone lifted their wand towards him, anxiously waiting for his next move. Instead, he embraced her.
"I never stopped loving you," he whispered. Nagini let out a sob, throwing herself into his arms. When she collected herself, she turned to Harry.
"Alright, Let's try this."
—
As they drew a circle in the sand, Credence began the ritual to neutralize the magical energy around them- there must be no interference, even with such a high concentration of magical energy.
Newt and Queenie helped Nagini lie down on the ground, while Tina help administer pain potions. "You'll be fine," she said in an encouraging manner.
Nagini smiled sadly. "No, I will not."
As Credence and Harry lifted their wands, they looked into each other's eyes, starting their incantations simultaneously. No one moment could be out of sync if they would all be jeopardized.
Harry silently nodded to Newt, who opened his suitcase, summoning the Dementor.
As others scurried away from the creature, it floated close to Harry, as if sensing the psychic scars of the Horcrux. Hardy stepped aside, allowing the Dementor to float in front of Nagini. The darkness of her blood curse was irresistible to the creature, and it began to feed. Nagini screamed, thrashing on the floor as the others could visibly see her soul leaving her body.
In that moment, Credence cast the Homunculus Curse. The deep blue color of the spell wove into the glimmer of Nagini's soul, which was already a clear verdegris. Harry wasn't the only one who noticed it was not the usual milky color one would see from a soul extraction. Judging from Tina's surprise, she must have seen quite a few extractions in her time.
But Harry had to focus.
"Expecto Patronum!"
As Harry's stag leaped towards the Dementor, she had to consciously control its power, for the first time trying to decrease the effectiveness of her Patronus as to not scare the Dementor away, but not keep it from completely devouring Nagini's soul.
As Credence's lower guttural incantation increased into a shout, the Soul fragment was turning a deeper shade of blue, as the green was leeching out into a whisp of a snake. Soon, the fragment of the snake turned sentient, floating out of the soul, disappearing into the air.
Nagini's color was increasingly draining. Her lips were turning blue as her eyes retreating into the back of her head. She was convulsing.
"Stop. Stop the procedure!" Shouted Tina. "She's turning into a full homunculus." Tina lifted her wand, ready to act.
"No!" Credence shouted back. "We need to complete the curse of she'll revert back!"
As Credence ept shouting the curse, Nagini kept shaking and crying. The veins in his arms were bulging, sweat visibly running down his face as he held his wand tensely, his knuckles turning white.
Finally, in a flash of light, the soul turned bright blue and Nagini fell completely still- dead.
In a flash, Fawkes flew towards her, perching next to her. His elegant face leaning towards her as he emitted a tear.
Harry made a final push against the Dementor, the stag turning into a large beam as it chased the Dementor across the coast. Newt ran after the creature, presumably to retrieve it. Fawkes looked up, and followed him.
As Nagini's soul was about to float back into her body, Harry and Credence cast the countercurse, allowing the soul to stay in stasis as they unraveled the curse in tandem.
As the color returned to Nagini's face, they heard her gasp, coughing awake.
Queenie rushed over to revive her while they placed the finishing touches.
When they were done, Credence knelt down and embraced Nagini, leading to a passionate kiss.
"Did it work?" Nagini asked, rasping.
"Transform," Credence suggested.
Nagini closed her eyes and focused, nothing.
Her eyes opened wide. "I can't."
She laughed, and burst into tears as they kissed again.
—
They stayed with the camp for dinner. Newt was able to retrieve Mel, relatively unscathed. Fawkes was confidently perched on his shoulder, looking unimpressed.
Tina and Nagini discussed logistics, and Queenie made dinner for all hundred in the camp, with mixed results.
"What are you going to do now?" Harry asked Credence. "You can't go back to Gellert."
"I might have to," Credence replied somberly. "I am bound to him, but I'm going to stay with Nagini as long as I can." He clasped his hand in Nagini's who gave a wan smile.
"If we can push out Akuma's forces, the war will shift back to Europe. I'll need you to take Fawkes back with you though, it's a lot to ask of him to fly back."
Hardy nodded. "Are you sure you two will be fine on your own?"
Credence smirked. "Of course we are. But I appreciate the concern. Take care of yourself, Harry."
Harry felt uneasy, now that she had time to process the fact that she was once again a prisoner, this time for the light. "Thanks, you too."
As Harry joined Tina, Newt, Queenie and Fawkes to grab to Portkey, Tina spoke up.
"Change of plans, we're going to have to make a detour."
Harry looked up in surprise. "We're not going back to base camp?"
Tina smiled wickedly. "No, we're going to deliver Fawkes home in person. Have you ever been to Hogwarts?"
—-
(Yes I promised No Hogwarts, but change of plans. We'll only be there a little while.)