A/N: I hope this lives up to your expectations.

For the disclaimer, please see the prologue.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: March 1945, Pt. II

Minerva snapped her neck around to look at Albus. "Oh, my god..."

"Minnie, we don't have time for your sanctimony. Get the hell up and join us out there. We need you. Both of you," Callum added. "Seriously, we've been ambushed."

"Thank you, Callum, for telling us," Albus said. "Give us a minute to look decent, and we'll be out."

Her brother arched an eyebrow at her, and Minerva swallowed, nodding towards the door. "Go, Callum. We'll be right there."

Callum shook his head, murmured something under his breath, and took his leave. Once Minerva heard the zipping of the tent, she jumped off the floor, summoning their clothes. "Albus, if anything happens to anyone..."

"My dear, it won't be entirely our fault. This was bound to happen eventually." Albus kissed the crown of her head. "Stay safe, all right?"

"I promise." Minerva smiled grimly, tying her boots with a wave of her hand. "You, too. Don't you dare go looking for him without backup."

There was a crash from outside the tent, and Albus' eyes flickered in that direction. "I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe."

"Albus, that's not what I—" she was cut off as he rushed past her out of the tent. "Ugh!" Minerva scoffed, running after him.

The world outside was mayhem, and she rolled her eyes at herself, already having lost track of Albus. Spells were flying across the field, lighting up the sky. In the distance, Minerva could hear screams and smell fire. Tents were in flames, and she could barely hear someone shouting orders at her.

"Minerva, move!" Callum barrelled into her, shoving her onto the ground and out of the way of a particularly nasty hex. "Jesus, Minnie, you have to move!" Before she could reply, he was off again, shooting spells at whoever had just come after her.

Realizing she was damned if she did and dead if she didn't, Minerva entered the fray, flinging hexes and spells at Grindelwald's forces. To her surprise, her spells were returned with vigour. She duelled with all of her might, dropping and rolling to avoid a well-aimed Crucio. Minerva fought harder, smiling wryly when she saw two of her opponents fall to the ground.

A strangely familiar voice laughed behind her, and Minerva whipped around to see Katrina Rowle, Aidan's cousin, standing over someone, blood gushing from her arm. Almost like a movie, Katrina looked up slowly to meet Minerva's gaze, and a slow, sick smile spread across her face.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the little McGonagall," Katrina drawled, lazily shooting curses at Minerva.

Minerva spun around, casting a wide Protego. "Why am I not surprised to see you here?"

"Because you would know that I've already come for you and your poor, weak sister...I wonder if your brother is up to the task?"

"You will not touch him!" Minerva screamed, disabling her protective shields so she could send curse after curse at Katrina. "You have come after my family for years," she grunted, dodging a spell, "and I am going to end you!" They exchanged spells back and forth, their parrying speed growing as Minerva did her best to harm the girl in front of her.

Katrina's eyes widened in glee and she shot a green light out of her wand. At once, Minerva noticed her mistake. She had become so overwrought with emotion that she had forgotten to protect herself while casting spells, and her defences were completely down. Quickly, she transformed into a cat and leapt into the air, narrowly missing the green steak of light. Minerva weaved her way through people and debris, followed closely by Katrina.

She didn't see the crooked, half-dead tree in front of her until it was too late, and all Minerva could do was attempt to jump over it. She felt her paw awkwardly catch a branch, and she lost control, transforming back into her human form as she plummeted towards the ground.

Suddenly, she was floating slowly, a loud crack reverberating through the air. Minerva opened her eyes to find herself in Albus' arms, his blue eyes crackling with anger as he propelled Katrina backwards towards a group of captive Grindelwald supporters.

"Albus!" Minerva cried, squeezing his neck.

"I'll always catch you," Albus promised, a wry smile upon his face. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." Minerva lowered herself to the ground slowly. "I need to go after her!"

"No, Minerva! She's with the others; she'll be taken to the Ministry and locked in Azkaban. No, you need to keep yourself safe! You can't go looking for duels!"

"Albus, she can't hurt anyone else!" Minerva begged, pushing at his chest. "Please!"

"Minerva, no. There's a war going on. We have to," Albus swallowed, "we have to end it."

She raised an eyebrow. "You mean together?"

"I'm not bringing you into his lair with me, if that's what you're implying," Albus answered, lazily levitating an enemy towards the captives. "I mean that I can't end it if I'm worried about you picking fights."

"Picking fights?" Her voice rose, octaves higher. "Are you serious?"

"Minerva!" Albus shouted as hexes started coming their way. "Focus, please!"

Her wand joined forces with his, both of them expelling curses and hexes and spells every which way, attempting to hold off the enemies coming at them.

"Duck!" she yelled, pulling his arm down to avoid a Bombarda. She thrust her arm out, shouting, "Reducto!" as she did so.

Albus turned Minerva around so they were fighting back to back. She felt her soul thump wildly, almost like when that light had burst from their bodies in his tent. Minerva could feel his magic touching hers, as soft as a whisper. "Albus?" she called wildly, her eyes on her arms, trying to see the magic.

That split second of distraction cost her.

Everything happened in slow motion. As Albus began to turn at the sound of her voice while trying to simultaneously duel four people, a rough hand clamped itself around her wrist, pulling her away from Albus.

"Albus!" Minerva shrieked again, this time in desperation. Just as she was apparated away, her terrified eyes locked with Albus' as he finally was able to spin around.

Albus' eyes narrowed in fury as Minerva was taken away. Angered, he lost all regard for the enemies in front of him, killing one and Imperio-ing the other three. He watched them march over to the group of French Ministry officials, and he forced them to hand their wands over. His heart hammered inside of his chest. Albus had lost the one person he had told himself he couldn't lose, and he had to find her.

"Albus!" Callum came running over. "We've handled most of them at this point. Foucault is conducting one last search before we attempt to enter the main lair. Where's Minerva?"

"Someone apparated her away," Albus said grimly. "What about Aidan?"

"I don't know; I haven't seen him in a while. I lost him near the beginning." Callum shook his head. "How do we get Minnie back?"

"I think we need to enter his lair." Albus looked at Callum, feeling a need to be transparent. "I would bet that G took her to bring me to him."

"Albus, if something happens to her because of you..." Callum's voice shook in a hybrid of terror and anger.

"I know, Callum. I know." Albus' eyes were shining with unshed tears.

It took Callum a moment to place the emotion, but he recognized the fear and hurt in the man before him, and he shook his head again, not liking the discomfort of seeing such emotion from his professor.

"Albus? What if we break into the lair ourselves?"

Albus raised an eyebrow. "Do you really want to take that on? We don't know what will be waiting for us on the other side."

"I want my sister back," Callum answered, a little coolly. "Minnie needs us, and she's expecting us to come and get her."

"You're probably right," Albus chuckled morosely. "Do you have any intel as to where the entrance is?"

"Yeah, follow me." Callum jerked his head to the right. "It's behind some trees over there, deep in the forest."

They walked for a few minutes before a disturbing thought entered Albus' mind. "Callum, you're not taking me in this forest to kill me, are you?"

"Why would you think that?"

"I can tell, well, that you're...not thrilled with me after what you saw in my tent," Albus winced, "and there doesn't appear to be anything around here."

Callum rounded on Albus, taking the older man's jaw in his hand. "One: I'm not stupid enough to take you on alone. I don't have a death wish. Two: I want my sister back, and you're the best chance she has at survival. Three: I have no bloody idea what is going on between you and Minnie, but I sure as hell hope it was all above board."

"It was, Callum. Truly." Albus' voice was muffled as a result of the pressure on his mouth. "She means the world to me. I want her back as badly as you do."

"Good." Callum released his jaw roughly. "I'm glad you feel that way," he took a few more steps along the path, feeling for something, "because the entrance is here."

Albus joined Callum, his arm outstretched. He felt an invisible barrier and knew instinctively what he needed to do. "Oh, Gellert," he sighed, rolling up his sleeve.

"Albus, what are you doing?" Callum frowned.

"It would appear, Callum, that Gellert intended it to be a duel between him and me from the very beginning," Albus answered grimly. "This shield can only be broken with my blood."

"And then what happens?" Callum had paled considerably.

"Presumably," Albus winced as he drew his wand across the back of his hand, causing blood to coat his hand, "this will drop the shield, and then we duel."

The men watched as the shield shimmered for a moment before disappearing. Albus took a tentative step forward and released a shaky breath upon realizing he could step through. "Are you coming?"

Callum glared as they reversed roles; he followed Albus carefully across the terrain. It seemed calm, with no sound to be heard. His eyes widened as he saw a door appear before his eyes.

"Callum?" Albus murmured quietly, aware that enemies could be listening to their conversation. "I need you to help me disarm enough of me for me to get through to Minerva. Once we've done that, you go and return with backup, all right?"

"What in Merlin's name did you ever do to Grindelwald?" Callum asked. At Albus' questioning gaze, he elaborated, "This guy clearly wants you to be the one to suffer, out of everyone. Why?"

"That's a very complicated question," Albus said, his voice barely audible. "I can give you the basics after we save Minerva and get out. Ready?"

"Ready," Callum breathed, and before he could say anything else, Albus had pushed open the door. They fought in tandem, duelling anyone and everyone who approached them. It was utter mayhem, and it occurred to Callum that he was lucky that Albus was on his side.

Albus moved majestically, his arms whipping through the air. His wand arm sliced the space in front of him, systematically taking down his opponents. His other hand moved rhythmically, his wandless magic protecting Callum and himself. Albus rarely got to use the full extent of his power, and he relished the opportunity, banishing Gellert's henchmen to the holding area where Ministry officials would surely be waiting. He waited for Callum to stun the remaining duellists before them, smiling slightly in relief as he banished them, too.

"Merlin, Albus." Callum sucked in a breath. "You made quick work of that. You sure there's no one else here?"

Albus performed a quick hominem revelio and saw only themselves and two other people, whom he presumed were Gellert and Minerva. "There are only four of us here, Callum, so I suggest—"

And that's when he felt it.

A slow, aching throbbing coming from somewhere deep in his chest. His eyes widened as he realized he was now connected to Minerva through their bond. Closing his eyes for a moment, Albus focused on it. As he moved towards the wall to take a quick rest, the throbbing quickened ever so slightly, and Albus understood what their soul bond was telling him.

"Albus?" Callum asked tentatively. "Are you all right?"

"I know where she is," Albus murmured. "Callum, can you go and get help?"

"Are you sure you don't need me to help you?"

Despite the moment, Albus smiled at Callum's bravery. "While I appreciate your loyalty, I fear that I wouldn't be able to protect both you and Minerva. And," he swallowed roughly, "I don't know if Minerva will be in a condition to fight." They looked at each other grimly, unwilling to consider the subtext of that statement.

Callum stared at his old professor. "Good luck, Albus. Take care of yourself...and Minnie, too."

"And to you, lad. Now, go." Albus nodded in the direction from which they had come. "Be quick, but be careful." He watched Callum run off before muttering, "Minerva will never forgive me if something happens to you." Shaking his head clear, he followed his heart around the twists and turns of the bunker. He felt it get colder and darker until, finally, a door was before him.

Minerva was quite annoyed, both at her current situation and at herself. She couldn't believe she had been so stupid as to get captured. That was something she would have expected of a fifth-year, not a trained Auror. And then, she thought as her eyes slid over to observe Grindelwald out of the corner of her eye, there was her current captivity to consider.

When her captor had apparated them, they had landed here, beside Grindelwald. He had simply raised his eyebrow at her before killing her travelling companion. Her eyes had widened, and Grindelwald had cooly responded, "If you wish to avoid the same fate, you'll stay there. No movement, no noise. I'll even let you keep your wand."

So, Minerva hadn't moved. She had no idea how long she had been there, nor what the status of the battle was. All that she knew was that her stomach was in knots. Grindelwald hadn't moved much, either. His facial expressions changed dispassionately, and Minerva could only presume he was somehow monitoring the progress of the battle. He had not deigned to talk to her, either. Minerva had briefly considered attacking him, but she knew that even if she was the greatest witch of her age, she had no chance at besting Grindelwald. Especially not from her current position. Minerva looked him over carefully and tried to assess what Albus had seen in him. He definitely had an aura about him, she noted, and he was clearly powerful. Add in his looks, and yes, Minerva could understand falling in love with this man.

"Ah, finally!" Grindewald exclaimed suddenly, glancing up at the door. "Are you ready to see our mutual friend?"

Minerva's eyes shot to the door, meeting Albus' gaze as he entered. Even though she knew she was far from safe, she breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Are you all right?" Albus asked, his wand pointed at Grindelwald, his eyes not leaving hers.

"She's a bargaining chip. She's fine." Grindelwald rolled his eyes.

"I'll let her tell me, if you don't mind, Gellert."

"Fine. Speak, girl."

"I'm fine, Albus." Minerva tried to smile at him, to be brave, but she knew she had failed when his eyes tightened. She realized he must be able to feel her nerves and did her best to calm herself. The situation was precarious enough without them both being nervous.

"See, Albus? I'm a generous host," Grindelwald chuckled, smiling. "I wouldn't dare touch a hair on my hostage's head. At least, not until the guest of honour's arrival." He inclined his head slightly, and before Minerva knew what was happening, her body was on fire.

"Ah!" she cried, falling to the ground. The pain was coursing through her blood, making her skin crawl. "No!"

In the span of a breath, Albus had flung himself between Grindelwald and Minerva, a massive shield separating them: Albus and Minerva on one side, and Grindelwald on the other.

"Oh, Albus," Grindelwald tutted, "you're the one who taught me how to wandlessly cast Crucio."

"I remember," Albus thundered, helping Minerva to her feet. His voice dropped an octave, becoming gentler. "Are you all right?"

Minerva could only look at him, her mouth too dry to speak. She wished he could take some of the pain away. Her eyes met his, and she felt it ebb slightly. The bond, Minerva understood, was helping. While she felt terrible that he had to endure a portion of her pain, she was also overwhelmingly relieved.

"Enough of this," Grindelwald interjected, bored. "Albus, you're too intelligent to play dumb. I clearly brought her here to entice you: if you agree to let me go, sacrificing yourself, then she walks free. If you'd prefer to duel, well, this pretty little toy of yours will have to disappear."

"Albus," Minerva croaked, "you have to duel him."

"Listen to the girl, Albus," Grindelwald grinned. He picked up his wand and shot light at Minerva. It was direct, burning a small hole through Albus' shield and striking her across her abdomen.

Minerva screamed in pain, immediately falling to the ground. Her head thudded against the concrete floor, and her eyes rolled back into her head. Every nerve ending was on fire, and she couldn't stop herself from shrieking into the air.

"Minerva!" Albus, meanwhile, had been caught unawares by Grindelwald; he was trapped by his own shield, effectively blocked from helping her. "MINERVA!"

Grindelwald was relentless. He levitated her, torturing her in the air. Again and again, he zipped Minerva around the room, tormenting her endlessly. Albus was powerless; he'd free himself only to be captured again moments later. Minerva's pain was too much of a burden on him and his abilities.

"Let her go, Albus," Grindelwald sneered after five rounds of torture. "After all, you had no problem letting go of me." He flicked his wrist at Minerva, and the pain intensified. She wailed in response, hiccuping as the tears flowed freely. Grindelwald twisted his wand, and Minerva was lifted into the air again, zipping around, making her feel sicker than she already did. Eventually, he left her hanging there to catch her breath.

"Al...Albus...please," Minerva whimpered, doing her best to carry her voice from above. "Let me go. I can't. Not again."

He looked at her hard, his eyes despondent as he saw the fight leaving her eyes. Albus glared at Grindelwald, who merely smirked and cast another Crucio on Minerva. She groaned, low and full of pain.

Albus snapped. He summoned all of his power and realized it would barely overtake this singular protection spell keeping him in place. Apologizing inwardly to Minerva, he fed off of her power, knowing instinctively it was his best shot. With a yell, Albus pushed the protection spell outwards, causing it to fly up and hit Minerva, sending her careening towards the floor. He flung his arm out, transfiguring a stray chair into a mattress to blunt her fall.

"Oh, so now you've decided to play?" Grindelwald smirked. "Have you picked up any tricks since we last spoke, Albus?"

"A few," Albus snarled. He snapped his wrist, and jets of blue and brown flew out of the tip of his wand. Water and mud splattered all over Grindelwald. Using it as a distraction, Albus charmed the hanging chandelier to fly directly at his opponent.

Grindelwald reacted quickly but not fast enough. He grimaced as shards of glass slashed his forearm and shoulder, causing blood to slowly start to trickle. His lips curled as he shook his arm free of glass shards. In retaliation, Grindelwald cast an Oppugno at a chair, directing it to fly towards Albus at a reckless pace.

Albus jumped on Grindelwald and tackled him to the ground, wrestling him to get out of the way.

"Albus, if you had wanted to be on top of me, you just had to ask," Grindelwald smirked, pressing himself against Albus with significant force. "Honestly, dearest, there's—"

"I DON'T WANT YOU NEAR ME!" Albus bellowed, followed by a strong "Expelliarmus!"

Grindelwald flew back, crashing into a wall. "You shouldn't have done that, Albus."

"No? Consider it payment in kind for how things ended!"

"What in Merlin's name are you going on about?"

Unbeknownst to the two men, Minerva slowly started to stir. She groaned quietly, paying attention to the men's heated conversation.

"You left!" Albus screamed. "You left me there to pick up the pieces! After my sister—after Ariana—"

"She was holding you back!" Grindelwald responded angrily. "How many times did you complain about her? How many nights did I hold you while you cried about how she was holding back your potential?"

"My potential," Albus breathed, "maybe. But that doesn't mean her life was forfeit!"

"That was always your problem, Albus," Grindelwald sneered. "You lack a killer instinct. An ability to see the big picture. I could kill the girl, and you still wouldn't be able to kill me because you know she wouldn't want you to. Love is a weakness."

"Love might be," Minerva raised her voice, and both men turned towards her, surprised to see her standing with her wand outstretched, "but anger sure as hell isn't." She cast a spell at Grindelwald, intent on causing him pain. Her target, sensing it was coming, hit Albus with the same spell, causing both men to groan. Minerva's insides twisted as she kept her spell on Grindelwald and cast a protection charm to save herself and Albus. She looked at him and knew from the heartache in his eyes —the anguish she could feel seeping through her veins— that he was incapable of capturing Grindelwald. Albus' eyes closed imperceptibly, and Minerva knew what he was asking her to do. She nodded grimly and pulled on his magic, effectively draining him. Instantly, she grew stronger, and she placed Albus in a protective bubble as she gently floated him far away from Grindelwald and towards the floor.

"You plan on taking me on by yourself?" Grindelwald cocked his head to the side. "How precious. Are you able to talk while you duel?"

Minerva cast a Diffindo in his direction before setting his cloak on fire. "I think so."

"Cute," he muttered, ridding his robes of the flames. "You have spirit, I'll give you that. Albus sure knows how to pick them."

"How did you even find out?" Minerva grunted, spinning around to avoid a hex. "We were discreet."

"You think you were discreet," he responded, blocking one of her spells. "At first, I thought we could simply capture one of his team members so we could lure him in with his sense of duty. We were able to keep tabs on the apparition point his team was using. His team was good, but we were able to de-ward the apparition point. Then," he paused to roam his eyes over Minerva, "imagine my surprise when Albus Dumbledore wanders into the apparition point without bothering to cast protective spells, muttering about a girl named Minerva.

"'Oh, Minerva, please be alive! You can't be dead. No, Minerva, please stay with me. I love you!'" Grindelwald mocked in a low register, and Minerva was sickened that he had that information. "Once I had heard that little monologue, I knew I had to meet you. I had to see my replacement for myself."

"Well, you've seen me," Minerva replied bravely. "What do you think?"

"I think he chose well," Grindelwald chuckled. "You're clearly smart and talented. It'll be a shame to kill you, truly." With that, he stood and transformed into his own animagus form. Minerva's eyes widened. Her cat would be no match for his ocelot. Her animagus was a house cat; his animal form was a wild breed at least five times her size.

Time slowed. Grindelwald reared back on his hind legs, clearly preparing to run at her. Minerva swallowed, feeling her blood run cold. She chanced a look at Albus, who was still useless, strewn across the floor where she had put him.

Well, perhaps useless was unkind. He was otherwise occupied.

As Grindelwald began to lunge towards her, Minerva closed her eyes and focused on Albus' magic. A foreign feeling took over her, and she let it, praying that it wouldn't result in her death. When the impact didn't hit, she blinked her eyes open. She looked down at herself and smiled. Their bond had allowed their animagus forms to merge: Minerva had become some sort of winged cat and was now floating behind a light fixture at the other end of the room. Using her new position to her advantage, Minerva flew down and landed on Grindelwald's back, scraping him with her claws as she did so. He roared, but Minerva couldn't look back at the damage that she had caused. Instead, she caught hold of his wand and transformed mid-flight, landing on her feet at the other end of the room.

Minerva could feel it: she was closer to magical depletion than she ever had been. Please, don't stop now, she begged her body. Just a little bit longer. Breathing in, she summoned Albus' wand and caught it deftly. Wielding all three wands, she pulled upon all the power in her body, along with Albus', and cast the most powerful Incarcerous spell she was sure had ever been cast. The ropes weren't just ropes; they were knotted, impenetrable cages that folded around Grindelwald. Knowing they had to be perfect, Minerva closed her eyes and thought of her Occlumency practices with Albus.

She imbued the ropes with the same locks she put on her mind: they were a vault at Gringotts, personalized to her magical signature. No one else would be able to get through them. Minerva quickly worked on adding magic-deafening handcuffs to the ropes to eliminate any chance that Grindelwald would be able to use wandless magic. For good measure, she transfigured the mattress from earlier into a beater's bat and, with a loud "Wingardium Leviosa!", Minerva whacked Grindelwald over the head with it.

Within seconds of knowing she had ended the war, Minerva toppled to the ground, completely drained. She fell first, followed by all three wands clattering to the floor, rolling away from her reach.

Albus came to, groaning as he rolled onto his side. His muscles pulled, and there was a sharp pain in his chest. He opened his eyes slowly at first before the scene before him registered in his mind. Wincing, Albus sat up quickly, his eyes scanning the room.

Gellert was both completely restrained and unconscious. Albus had never seen that type of Incarcerous before. He marvelled at Minerva's talents for a moment before turning his head to look at her. She was crumpled on the ground, unmoving. His heart jumped into his throat. He was utterly exhausted and could only imagine how much of her magic she had drained. Albus turned his head and noticed his wand on the ground in front of him. He rolled over, feeling the comfortable surge of power that flowed through him as he grasped it.

Albus went to help Minerva, and then his eyes caught sight of Gellert's wand, strewn across the floor, a few feet from his own. His heart pulled him in two different directions: love for her versus a forgotten, forbidden desire for power. Albus took one glance at Minerva and then changed directions, moving slowly towards the magical instrument. He hesitated for a moment before picking up the wand —the Elder Wand, he was sure of it— and as much as he knew he shouldn't, he delayed helping Minerva, betraying her solely for the intrigue and glory of clutching that elusive wand. Albus took a moment to twirl it in between his fingers, frowning when the expected rush of wand meeting master didn't occur. It dawned on him that Minerva must have been the true master; she had been the one to disarm Gellert, after all. Albus looked between Minerva, crumpled and still, and Gellert, unconscious and constrained. He rushed towards his love, shaking his head to himself as he crouched beside her.

"Oh, Minerva...do you have any idea what you just accomplished, my dear?" When she didn't respond, his heart skipped a beat, and he knelt down, feeling for a pulse. He sighed audibly when he felt it, fluttering lightly against his fingertips. Albus bent to pick her up but was interrupted by the door crashing open, revealing Callum, various other fighters, and to his horror, members of the press.

His eyes widened as he took in the scene from their vantage point: Gellert, disarmed; Minerva, on the floor; and finally, Gellert's wand in his hand. He opened his mouth, knowing that he had to correct their impression. "No, this isn't what it..."

A press member spoke loudly, effectively drowning out Albus' words. Albus hung his head, knowing what was coming and that Minerva was likely to kill him once she found out.

"It's Albus Dumbledore! DUMBLEDORE DEFEATED GRINDELWALD!"