Harry had spilled that Hermione was having private lessons. She hadn't even known she was still going to be receiving them now that she had drawn her line in the sand. So when Harry had stupidly, obtusely asked her what to expect in the lesson in front of Ron she hadn't denied it quickly enough. Now Ron was refusing to speak to either of them and, perhaps because he was jealous, was snogging Lavender Brown at every available opportunity.
Perhaps that would have been bothered her in third year, back when she'd experimented with his name after hers. She didn't know what had changed, or even when it had but seeing this explicit demonstration of how petty he was really did nothing to restore her crush.
A letter did arrive for her after dinner, folded neatly in place of the homework she had left alone for only a minute. She stared at the folded scrap and the familiar, elegant handwriting that taunted her from it. Somehow, whilst she had only been a shelf away, Gellert had stolen her homework, and told her to come to Albus' office to retrieve it. She had been blackmailed into attending a lesson with him.
She made her way up to the familiar entrance, consulting the slip of parchment to check the new password. Harry was already there, sitting across from Professor Dumbledore with a pensieve on the desk between them. Gellert lounged against one of tables in the corner, looking completely unbothered by the spindly legs that groaned under his weight as he looked critically at one of the glass instruments. He looked up when she entered, and Harry turned in his seat, interrupting whatever Dumbledore had been saying.
'Ah, Miss Granger.' The headmaster said, peering over his half moon glasses. 'Please, take a seat. Professor Grindelwald, if you could draw up a chair.'
Gellert literally drew a chair, sketching a wooden chair with his wand, which materialised as a wooden chair like the ones one would find in some manor, with wolves carved across the back and arms. He floated it over for her and she sat, him pushing the chair in for her. He then went back to where he had been inspecting the instruments, although now he observed the trio at the desk instead.
'Now that you both are here, I have something I wish for Harry to see which Gellert believes you will not benefit from, Miss Granger. As such, we have agreed that you will meet with him alone for the foreseeable future.' She felt a sinking feeling in her stomach; did Dumbledore not realise how dark a wizard he was? Did he not realise the things Gellert type of magic he could force her to learn if Dumbledore wasn't there to supervise?
'Professor, I really would rather not receive these lessons any longer.' She protested, despite the part of her that shrivelled and died at refusing extra education. Gellert shifted behind her, but she forced herself to stare resolutely at the headmaster, who just peered at her over his half-moon glasses.
'Gellert Grindelwald is a very great wizard who can teach you far more than I ever could.' The Headmaster said sagely.
'Not the kind of magic I want to learn!' The young witch declared, flinching when she heard the wizard standing behind her move abruptly. He strode around the table with rapid, echoing strides until he towered over them all, facing the two students.
'When have I ever forced you to learn anything, when have I ever even suggested you learn something you wouldn't approve of?' Gellert hissed, something like anger twisting his features. She leaned back in her seat, trying to put some distance between them. Dumbledore laid a hand on Grindelwald's arm and the dark wizard took a deep breath, his head dropping.
'He has discussed with me what you will be learning, and I approve. Does that satisfy you, Miss Granger.' Dumbledore said sternly, his eyes suddenly very sharp over his glasses. She looked between the two wizards, still not entirely certain that the dark wizard wouldn't try something anyway. Finally she nodded curtly, Dumbledore said something she couldn't hear to Gellert, then patted him on the back. The dark wizard straightened, beckoning wordlessly before sweeping from the room. She followed, hurrying so as to not lose him but still reluctant to go anywhere with him. Harry gave her an uncertain wave as she left which she did not return. A slight cough caught her attention just as she reached the door. She spun to see Dumbledore looking at her expectantly.
'Miss Granger, I believe it would behove you to remember that he is only human.' The old wizard said kindly and Hermione straightened.
'He is a murderer.' She answered, feeling rather bold.
He led her to his classroom and she paused in the doorway of his office. The room was nothing like she had expected; she had thought it would have the sparsely modern appearance of his muggle home, or perhaps the gothic darkness of Dracula's castle. Instead, the room was carpeted in pale blue, the furniture a warm mid-tone wood with several bookshelves full of books. None of them looked particularly dark from a distance; clean covers, red and green leather spread among the hazels and chocolate browns. In fact, the only book bound in telltale black was trimmed in the brightest of golds.
The other contents of the desk weren't remotely dark either; there was an ornate crystal ball, a massive stack of parchment, a selection of quills and several different colours of ink. Of course, she knew that at least where Gellert was concerned that meant very little – she hadn't even found out his real name for years, until he'd deigned to tell her.
She dropped her bag at the door and held out her hand expectantly.
'Where's my homework.' Hermione demanded. Gellert's expression remained unchanged but he turned away, selecting a parchment from the pile on desk. It wasn't her homework and she wiggled her fingers impatiently.
'Albus is teaching Harry the secret to Voldemort's immortality.' Grindelwald said, completely ignoring her request. 'He wanted to let you in on it at the same time, however I felt that his method was slow and wasted time that could be better spent doing other things.'
'I would rather have had pointless lessons with Dumbledore than you.' She snapped, admitting defeat and dropping her hand back to her side. She wondered if "my teacher stole my homework" counted as an excuse. Gellert hurled the sheet at the desk and it drifted lazily onto the surface.
'What do you want me to do?' He asked, the defeat in his tone contrasting the violence of his actions. He was still facing away from her, but his shoulders hunched as he braced his arms on the desk.
'I want nothing from you.'
'You want me to leave? To go away and disappear?' He sounded strange, still facing away from her. 'If you ask me to, I will. You'll never hear of me again.'
She took a breath to answer, to send him irrevocably into exile. Then she hesitated.
'I tried, Hermione. I tried to help you win in the only way I know how. I haven't done anything you would disapprove of, not since we met.' A shudder ran through him, noticeable even across the office. He sounded sad, defeated, she decided.
'You've done plenty that I disapprove of.' She said coldly. He was a murderer and she wouldn't fall for his sob story.
'I have.' He admitted. 'I'm a twisted, foul creature with no remorse, no conscience.' Another shudder ran through him, along with a grunt of pain and she frowned, her compassion overruling her righteousness.
'Are you okay?' The young witch crossed the room quickly, reaching for his shoulder.
'I'm fine. I deserve worse.' He moaned as another tremor ran through him. She filtered her vision, slipping into the plane of her blessing and seeing his soul. She had to suppress a gasp; the mess of his soul was moving, writhing and twisting beneath his skin. He spasmed beneath her hand as his soul contracted and flexed, another moan escaping him.
'You're not remorseless.' She stated, a silver of wonderment glowing through her like a ray of sunshine, even as blue light blazed along a scar in his black silhouette.
'I'd rather be right now.' He gritted out as his soul gave a violent churn.
'I think you do deserve this.' She said frankly, and his soul stilled suddenly, perhaps as his thoughts were hauled off track. 'You hurt people, and now you can't get what you want without being punished for it.' She paused, checking that he was listening. The black of his soul was still.
'I can't.' He said. Hermione didn't know whether he was agreeing with her, or telling her that he couldn't do it.
'This is all new to you... accountability, right and wrong.' Then something else occurred to her. 'Did you even feel for those vendors, how terrified they were?'
'Does it matter?'
'Yes!' She actually laughed, amazed that someone could have come this far in life without such a basic concept. 'We don't terrify people into doing what we want. That's not right. That would make us as bad as Voldemort.'
'I am as bad as Voldemort. You blind yourself to the truth, then get upset when I do something that reminds you of that fact.' He spat. The trembling had stopped.
'No, you're better than Voldemort because you want to be. You just need to help to get there. I was wrong to shut you out then, when you needed my help.' Her hand ran down his back, tracing the strangely prominent ridges of his spine through his robes.
'I don't need help.' The dark wizard growled, but he sounded uncertain.
'I think you do. You want to be a better person but you don't know how to be. Your moral compass is so twisted that you need someone to help you realign it.'
He stood suddenly, shaking her hand off so that he faced her. She shifted to the other plane, so that she could see his face. He looked desperate, so different to the usually rigidly controlled facade. Then he took her two hands, clasping them in his own.
'I want to be someone you can stand to be with. Morgana damn everyone else, they can burn. Help me with that.' Requested the dark wizard.
'I can do that.' She said evenly, pretending the situation wasn't unusual. It felt slightly like she was dealing with a wild animal, she had to move slowly and calmly or he would spook. 'I forgive you for slipping up, if you can forgive me for abandoning you.'
'Thank you, Hermione.' He whispered, almost reverently.
'You better teach me some really powerful magic though! That's your end of the bargain.' She joked, breaking the thick tension in the room. They took their seats at the desk and Gellert handed back her homework.