'What were you thinking, taking on an entire Khete nest alone!' Mrs. Weasley's shouts were deafening even in the corridor. Hermione dithered around y the door, undecided as to whether she should risk going in and seeing what was going on.
'It's not like I had any other options.' That was Grindelwald sounding surly. 'I didn't expect anything to be growing in there.'
'You could have been killed! You're lucky it only scratched you.' Hermione entered the kitchen to see Molly fretting over a shirtless Grindelwald who was bent over the table, rubbing a toxic yellow paste over a long lacerated cut down his back. She paused thoughtfully as she regarded the angry looking brand on his right shoulder before rubbing more of the paste over the strange symbol.
'It's nothing – I would have been fine if those two boys hadn't left their fake wands out.' He grumbled, hissing slightly as the witch drew her wand along the cut and left nothing but a pale line where the injury had been.
The dark wizard stood up as soon as he could be free of her and retreated from the room, scowling and muttering to himself. Hermione smiled, because it seemed Mrs. Weasley's motherly instincts had kicked in with full force when it came to the younger looking Grindelwald.
'Morning, Hermione dearest, your Hogwarts letters are here at last. Could you take them to everyone please?' Mrs. Weasley handed her a thick stack of letters and turned away to begin laying rashers of bacon in a hot frying pan.
Hermione met Ginny on the stairs and handed her Harry and Ron's letters, then took the rest up to the fourth floor where the twins and Gellert were staying. She left the twin's outside the door; going in wasn't a risk that she wanted to take, then she took Gellert's to his room and knocked on the door.
It opened magically and she slipped in to find him strapping his wand into a holder on his thigh. He had put on a shirt now but seemed to be forgoing a jacket for once.
'Your Hogwarts letter.' She told him, holding out the envelope to him and tearing open her own. For a moment she just started at it, shell shocked as the badge fell out into her hand. She had expected it of course, the chances of her not getting it were slim but it was still an amazing feeling to actually be holding the prefect badge in her hand.
'Congratulations.' Gellert said, looking at the badge over her shoulder. She turned around to see him holding an identical one.
'You're a prefect?' She demanded, snatching the badge to double check it. True enough it was a red and gold shield with a "p" emblazoned across it.
'I told Albus I didn't want to have some stupid curfew. He seemed to think this was the best way to deal with it.' Gellert said breezily, as if he didn't understand that he'd just stolen an accolade that he hadn't deserved.
'But you don't deserve it!' She protested and the dark wizard gave her a strange look. Then he summoned a thick bundle of parchment from his briefcase.
'I was expelled just before OWLS in my fifth year. My school records are exemplary, even my behavioural record was perfect – until my expulsion of course. These are the original documents; fortunately nothing is dated so I have genuinely transferred to Hogwarts as a student to complete my education. I imagine there is very little precedent but I might have been in consideration even if these were not unusual circumstances.' He handed the parchments to Hermione and she glanced at the results he had been predicted for his owls. Then she had to do a double take as she looked over them again.
They had very different subjects – Transfiguration and Charms had been amalgamated into a single subject, Potions, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Astronomy and History of Magic were the same, but he also had Dark Arts, Rituals and Ancient Magic, Duelling, Magical Politics. There was also a side note that he'd been tutored in Divination and Legilimency but never been examined. Of course, he had been predicted Os in every subject and had been top of his year group by a margin that put Hermione to shame.
'Oh.' Hermione said quietly. Gellert smirked but didn't seem too upset.
'We should head down; we'll probably be going to Diagon Alley soon.' He decided, leading the way downstairs where everyone was indeed waiting for them.
They were escorted by Moody and a tall black auror called Kingsley, Sirius came in dog form and of course Molly Weasley was there to organise the whole trip. They ended up apparating – Molly took her youngest, Sirius his godson, Moody and the twins disappeared with a triplet of cracks, then Kingsley took Ginny and Gellert left last with Hermione. It was a horrible experience, as if she was being squeezed through a tube. It felt like her eyes were about to pop out of their sockets and her ribs crushed, then suddenly they were standing in a side alley beside the leaky cauldron.
Their group was hurried to Gringotts first where Molly, Harry, Hermione and Gellert made their way to the desks, in the meantime the rest of the group went to start picking out books.
'Have you got your own vault, Gellert dear.' Mrs. Weasley asked the dark wizard kindly and he brushed past her to speak to the goblin at the counter. He handed over his wand and suddenly the Goblin bowed like it did to various purebloods around the room before hurrying off to fetch the goblin manager.
'Ah, Lord Grindelwald. We have liaised with the German branch and transferred one of your vaults here under the name "Abernathy", if you and your companions would follow me please.' With another bow the goblin lead them straight past the queue and kicked a couple out of the cart that was waiting, letting their group climb in instead.
They all gave their vault numbers and they rocketed off to Hermione's first. As a muggle born her vault was very close to the surface and she handed over her key to open it. Her allowance was a small pile of coins in the middle of the small vault and she swept the lot into her bag. It would comfortably cover her for the year but little more. The next vault was Harry's and as usual he seemed embarrassed as he quickly shovelled coins into his bag and then the goblin announced that they were off to the Weasley vault. This one was almost completely empty, and Mrs. Weasley swept the entire pile into her bag with a concerned huff.
Then they were off to Gellert's vault. They plunged downwards, through a waterfall that left them all dry but bleached her enchanted bag of its Gryffindor colours. After a dizzying turn and an almost vertical drop they arrived at a vault. This one had a much heavier looking door with no key hole, the manager ran his finger down the surface as if stroking a loved pet. The door shimmered, then vanished into smoke, revealing mountains of glittering gold, jewels piled into rainbow hills and silver fetching up against corners like snowdrifts.
'Ten minutes, Lord Grindelwald.' The goblin informed him as he opened his briefcase and used a shovel that had been leaning against the wall to shovel gold into his case. Then he grabbed a couple of handfuls of galleons held them out to Mrs. Weasley. She began to shake her head, to proud to accept charity.
'I can't be pulling out my case every time I need a knut. Put this in your bag for storage and you can buy my school supplies with it.' He groaned and Mrs. Weasley pinked, she took the offered galleons and dropped them into her bag.
'Lord Grindelwald?' Hermione whispered to him as they exited the bank into the gleaming sunlight.
He gave her a look as if she was stupid.
'I've been head of house Grindelwald since I was seventeen.' He answered. She paused, remembering Mr. Malfoy as being addressed as Lord Malfoy, even though Harry wasn't Lord Potter. She quickly realised that he must have come from a house as least as influential in Germany as the Malfoys were in Britain.
They met the others in Flourish and Blotts, purchasing the books that the others had already found for them. Gellert stayed with them long enough to get his robes measured, then with a defiant sneer towards the two Aurors, he disappeared off down Knockturn Alley. Hermione finished her shopping with the rest of the Weasleys, collecting the remainder of Gellert's supplies along with hers. It was only when she got home and counted out how much of her allowance was left that she realised Gellert had given the Weasleys far more than he ever could have hoped to spend on school supplies.