Back to square one

It was almost the end of May and yet still young, the spring started to get nutty. Carefree and innocent, she'd spilled drops of color all over the silky grass and, as if it hadn't been enough, she tickled the layer of the water with her frisky fingers. Only the mountains stood tall and mighty like two sentinels, too serious and cold for the display of life and energy that filled the air.

Had it not been for the stone citadel, just opposite one of the mountains, none would have guessed that someone had ever gone as far as the eastern bank of the lake. Sheltered by water and guarded by its looming height, the citadel looked as imposing as the bulky giant on whose shoulders it had been built.

It was early in the morning and the sun hadn't shown its face yet. If one were to follow the path that led up to the top of the mountain, they would come to face the massive wooden door of the citadel. It would have taken them a long time to get there and they would have been exhausted, but their journey would have finally come to an end only to start again when climbing the flight of stairs that went up to the last floor. It had a lot of floors, apart from the underground ones, where no visitor was allowed to go. In fact, there were few that knew where the entrance was.

This entrance would permit access to another flight of stairs. With every step, one would go closer to hell and farther from the light of day. Only by magic could the prisoners taste some of the joy that came from the sun on their faces and fresh air in their lungs, innocent pleasures they hadn't felt for decades. To be specific - for five decades.

This place was Nurmengard Castle and the date was May 21st, 1997. The current prisoners of the citadel were Grindelwald's followers. But Grindelwald himself wasn't there. The top-most cell was reserved for him. His cell had a narrow window – a security measure to prevent someone from entering or escaping the place - and almost no furniture, except for a hard bed and a table.

Nurmengard Castle had also been the headquarters of OZD (Osterreichischezaubereidienstleistungen) the place where Austrian Aurors had their offices and their meetings. After the defeat of Grindelwald, the Austrian Aurors had gained autonomy and cut ties with the Ministry. The two institutions still collaborated, but OZD was away from any form of Ministry interference. So, when the Minister of Magic had to decide on matters of security and the defense of both the Muggle and Magical worlds, he would need the approval of the Head of OZD. Why they had demanded autonomy and how the institution was functioning were questions that would require a lot of time to be answered and we don't want to get tangled in irksome and bureaucratic details that won't help this story. What the reader needs to know is that the Ministry had always been more preoccupied with its political fights and too corrupted to move their fat asses when the world needed them. That, and the fact that the Aurors were sick of being used for the Ministry's political agenda.

What could be found beneath the first floor was one of the best-guarded secrets of Nurmengard. Some said there were dragons and griffins as well as different types of magical beasts such as giant dogs with three heads, birds whose claws were stronger than steel, sphinxes, and mermaids. Though the only creatures that roamed around Nurmengard were a very playful Egyptian cat, a mischievous Labradoodle puppy, and a noisy Bowtruckle as well as the owls that had inherited the citadel's owlery from their ancestors and they had kept thriving since then. From time to time, Sturm, the cat, would pay a visit to the owls or would run after them when they attempted to deliver the daily letters. Yet, the birds had gotten used to the antics of their furry friend while the cat had vowed to always be as friendly as she could with her feathered companions.

This other part of the citadel was the opposite of everything that lay behind that door. It was dedicated to the Aurors's offices, the departments of International Cooperation, Internal Affairs and Interinstitutional Cooperation, the Department of Security and Law Enforcement, the Library, the training quarters, the Potion Lab, the Medical Centre, the financial quarters, the Department of Reparations and Internal accidents and, of course, the canteen.

Visitors were only allowed on the first floor. This floor was designed to host important meetings, lunches, dinners and to provide accommodation for the foreign officials. (The international conferences usually lasted for quite a few days and it wouldn't have been good for the visitors to travel from one country to another each time. Austrian officials could stay overnight as well if they wanted (though, they rarely wanted to).

That day, though, the place resembled more a kindergarten than an office. They had hardly arrived at the office and the place was already full of noise and energy.

"Would you stop acting like a child?" asked Frau Margaret. She was a kind-hearted woman and was always willing to help others, but she simply didn't like the noise and childish behavior of some of her colleagues. Fun wasn't something she could tolerate - at least not combined with work.

It was quite right as the two house-elves who were playing around the office were laughing and shouting so loudly that it was difficult to focus on the tasks.

"I'm sorry, Frau Margaret," said the tallest of the two, and he lowered his blue eyes as a sign of his remorse. He was a bit older than Ivy - his elf companion - and a bit chubby; he seemed so innocent when he played the guilty child.

Alfie was the house-elf of one of the former Aurors who had died in an accident, a year ago. It had been a difficult time for Alfie, and without the support of his colleagues, he would have most certainly succumbed to sorrow and desperation. Alfie still missed his former master, but he was happy to think that he would see him again one day. Now he was a free elf, but he had decided to stay at OZD. He helped the other elves in cleaning the place and feeding the prisoners. He was one of the few that participated in missions with the Aurors or went down to the village to gather information.

His crime partner was named Ivy, and she was the Head Auror's house-elf. Well, she was, in fact, a free elf, and more of a friend than anything else. She was small, yet always full of energy.

"We're very sorry, Frau Margaret", Ivy said, her green eyes shining with the innocent joy of a child. To make her remorse look more genuine, even if she was being more polite than remorseful, Ivy let her long ears droop and clasped her hands in front of her. She slowly shifted from foot to foot, her colorful dress billowing around her ankles.

Upon seeing her actions, Alfie needed to concentrate on not bursting into laughter.

"She's so cute." he thought. Even if he couldn't see himself, Alfie knew that his face must have been red. Being around Ivy had always made him nervous, and her cuteness made things even worse.

They'd always been like that. Well, not only they but the rest of their party companions weren't around at the moment: Amberrose and Edgar were on a top-secret mission in town; Andreas was most certainly sleeping as he was having a free day, and Bruhild must have been drinking her coffee while Allan was late as usual.

Things at the office had got even worse after they'd discovered the Muggle toy guns and began to play like little kids. Boys and girls, elves and she-elves, they all fought, hiding under their office desks while toy bullets flew everywhere. Each had their boxes of munitions at arms reach, just in case. It didn't matter if one wished to be out of it; if they weren't fast enough, they'd be shot (the only damages were to their big ego). Even Sturm and Struppi knew better than to go close to the battlefield.

It had lasted over a week. Every time there was a break, they would turn the music loud and resume their last battle. And the night shift was their favorite time for practicing.

But as the rest of the team wasn't around, the two elves left the office quietly. The fun hadn't ended, though. They would only look for a better place. Far away from Frau Maragaret's bad moods.

"Have a nice day, Frau Margaret!" Ivy wished her before leaving the room. She hated Frau Margaret's bad mood.

"Don't be sad!" Alfie tried to make her feel better. "She's a good woman. She's just...too stressed lately."

"I know. We all are. With everything happening in England. No one knows how long it's going to take until we're going to have an attack against our Muggles. There are still a lot of purists around here. Amberrose had worked so much lately. She must be tired and stressed, too, but she never complains."

"She's the coolest boss in the world," Alfie declared, trying to distract Ivy's attention from the subject. He was also afraid that the war would extend to the rest of Europe as it had happened during Grindelwald's campaigns. He'd only known about him from stories. He had been to his cell once or twice, and he'd brought food to the other prisoners, but behind the grills, they all seemed powerless and quite ordinary. All of them were already old, and with Amberrose around, he felt that there was nothing to be afraid of.

"She's so strong," Ivy muttered. "So brave. I wish I were as brave as her." There was silence for a moment. Alfie didn't know what to say. Nothing seemed quite appropriate.

"You're amazing the way you are. Everybody is afraid of something. Even Ambberrose is..."

"...but she finds strength in protecting others." Ivy continued. "She told me about Grindelwald. Do you think it's going to be as it was back then? Are people going to die? People we love?" She could hardly control her tears.

"Amberrose is going to keep us safe. I know she will." Alfie tried to encourage her. He was sure Amberrose would do her best. After all, she was quite amazing and very clever. "She would find a way to defeat him if she were to fight him. She'd fought Grindelwald, after all, hadn't she? And they had won. She and her friends….Well, Albus Dumbledore was indeed the one who had defeated him, but I'm sure our Amberrose had played a part, too. So, you don't have to worry. She knows what she's doing."

Ivy took her hands away from her eyes and watched him. She seemed mad at him.

"You don't understand," she cried, "I'm not afraid for me. I'm sure she will, but….that's the problem. I don't want her to get hurt while protecting us as she had done back then. You know, she...the burns on her body...she tried to distract Grindelwald and his followers to help her friends escape. It backfired...exploded...she….almost died. She could die, Alfie, and I…. I don't want to lose her. I'm too weak and useless." Ivy muttered through sobs. Her face was already wet and puffy.

"No, you're not. You may not be able to fight dragons and Death Eaters, but you are her friend, and that's what she needs the most. A friend. That makes you stronger than those Death Eaters. Stronger than HIM." His voice was fierce. "You'll be surprised how strong you are, Ivy."

Even if there were over 7 miles distance between Nuremgard and England the Death Eater were already infamous in Austria to be a frequent topic among Aurors.

She smiled for the first time and wiped away her tears. When she spoke, her voice was firm and strong.

"I don't think she needs a weepy elf. I'll be strong. Very strong. I'll fight HIM if I have to." Alfie smiled, too. He didn't doubt Ivy would do anything to keep her friends safe and sound. Right now though, he wished that time would never come.

"Let's find a better place to play, shall we?"

"And a cookie," continued Ivy…..

24.05.2019