Chapter 8: Defeat of Grindelwald
Professor
Connerly closed her book with a loud SNAP, causing half the class to jump.
"Put
away your books," she said, gesturing absentmindedly, "In thirty seconds, I
don't want to see a single book on anyone's desk."
Everyone
put their books into their bags, wondering why she had stopped them halfway
through their chapter on 'Common curses gone wrong'. Connerly plopped herself on her desk, holding the end with her
hands and swinging her legs idly. Slowly, she gazed around the room, looking each student in the eye.
"I
don't know about you," she finally said, "but I'm sick of all this bookwork."
It
was as if the whole room let out a relieved sigh. Most had thought they were going to be in big trouble.
"So
it's story time," she grinned, making herself comfortable, "How many of you have heard of Professor
Dumbledore's defeat of Grindelwald?"
Nearly
everyone raised his or her hand.
"Now,
how many of you know the story behind it?"
Azar
was the only one that kept her hand raised.
"Good,
so this will be a new story to most of you. I'm not surprised that most of you don't know it. It was never really brought to public
attention, and kept pretty much under wraps. I'm fairly surprised that even one of you knows the story. Fifty-one years ago, Professor Dumbledore
created a new hope for the world. However, the story starts quite a few years before."
She
paused here, and a map of the world was pulled down over the board. As the map began to pull in, focusing on
Europe, Harry realized it was a Thoughts Projector. He had seen one used once in Charms. It would project images just by the teacher thinking about them.
"There
was a wizard living in the country of Albania who had very medieval ideals,"
Connerly continued, as the map focused now on Albania, "Grindelwald had created
a wizarding school there after the first Great War; a school devoted entirely
to the Dark Arts."
The
map had now disappeared and in its place was a photograph of a gigantic castle.
"Grindelwald
believed strongly in the Nazi cause, but only his own version. He started teaching his students that
pureblooded wizards were the only creatures that had a right to rule and that
all other humans must be killed or forced into slavery. He began slowly, taking control of the
Albanian Ministry of Magic first. Then,
as Hitler began to attack and defeat surrounding countries, Grindelwald
followed suit."
A
wizard picture was now up, showing Grindelwald's men destroying wizarding
cities. Harry felt strangely hollow,
and a good number of the students had to look away.
"Many
of Europe's Ministries warned Grindelwald to stop, but that did little
good. We were as idiotic as the muggle
governments; all bark and no bite, just watching him take country by
country. We finally rounded up armies,
but by then it was too late. Hitler
took France, and Grindelwald came in his wake. The United Kingdom was Europe's only hope."
Through
all this, the map had returned, showing Hitler and Grindelwald's advance on
Europe. Then it switched to a wizard
photo of many people gathered around a table in council. Harry recognized one with a long beard.
"This
is where Professor Dumbledore came in. At the time, he was only a Transfiguration teacher here at Hogwarts, but
he was known to be one of the most brilliant strategist of our time."
The
picture was replaced with one of battling wizards.
"We
fought bravely and managed to stave off the attacks, but it would only be a
matter of time until Grindelwald's forces destroyed us. One country couldn't possibly hold up
against him. And then, Japan bombed the
Americans. Though it had nothing to do
with Grindelwald, the attack was just what we needed. The Americans declared war and started sending reinforcements,
both muggle and wizard. Professor
Dumbledore went over to America and signed a treaty with the American Magic
Administration."
Up
came a muggle photograph of soldiers.
"The
muggles, meanwhile, were doing well at fighting back Hitler's troops. They kept pushing German forces farther and
farther back. Grindelwald, however, was
stronger than Hitler. In January of
1945, his forces made it into England. But the Ministry had a plan. On
the night of February 5th, Albus Dumbledore managed to apparate into
the headquarters of Grindelwald. He met
with Grindelwald alone and challenged him to a Waning Wizards' War."
This
had varying affects on students, depending upon their wizarding world
knowledge. A few gasped or went
bug-eyed, while the rest just stared.
"Dumbledore
said that it would be to the death," Connerly went on, "and Grindelwald agreed,
knowing that if Dumbledore died, the Ministry would lose its greatest
weapon. Nothing is known about what
trials the two faced in the Hall of Adversary, but Dumbledore was the only one
to return. Their leader gone, Grindelwald's
forces retreated back to Albania, led by Grindelwald's right-hand man…Lord
Voldemort."
The
class gave a collective shudder at hearing the name.
"Though
he had only ended the war and not conquered Grindelwald's forces, Dumbledore
was proclaimed a hero. He sacrificed
his very life for his country and the world, not thinking twice about what
would happen if he lost. He was willing
to die for us."
She
paused letting it sink in.
"And
that, my dear students," Connerly said, smiling, "is why your headmaster
Professor Albus Dumbledore is and always will be one of the greatest wizards
that has ever lived."
No
sooner had the sentence left her mouth than the bell came that class was
over. Everyone filed out in an awed
daze. It had been a very interesting
lesson.
"She's
Dumbledore's niece all right," Ron grinned.
"Great-great-grandniece,"
Azar corrected, "She's his sister's, son's, daughter's daughter."
"How
do you know that?"
"What? None of you ever asked your teachers about
their personal lives?"
"Of
course not," Hermione answered, looking a little dismayed at the thought.
"Then
you've missed out on a lot, Herm."
"…eye-oh-nee…"
Ron heard Hermione mutter under her breath.
"What
is the 'Waning Wizards' War'?" Harry asked, not really wanting to know about
his teachers' private lives.
"Basically,
an ultimatum," Hermione began, "To settle a dispute of grave importance, two
wizards will agree to the war and to the results. Then they touch wands. As
soon as they do that, there's no turning back and they must follow through with
it. No one knows what happens after
that, because they challengers are sworn to secrecy or something."
"But
I'll bet it's a nasty way to settle an argument," Azar added, "You're not
supposed to do it unless it's absolutely necessary. The only times I've ever heard of it was in life-or-death situations. Well, I'd better go. See you three Saturday when Ravenclaw
achieves an outstanding victory!"
"In
your dreams, Azar!" Harry called back, "It's Gryffindor all the way!"
"Ha! With that blind seeker of theirs, a
Gryffindor victory is inconceivable!"
Azar
disappeared before Harry had a chance at a comeback.
****
Harry
glanced around warily. It was strangely
cold and he wished he had his cloak. A
dense fog lay on the ground and as Harry took a step, he realized that several
inches of snow had fallen. A dark shape
seemed to appear and he walked toward it, perplexed. It was a tent; and beyond it was another and another. There seemed to be thousands upon thousands
of small tents covering the frosty ground.
He
walked by them, still wondering where he could be. Then he noticed another tent, much larger than the others. A light was coming from it. Determined to find out where he was, Harry
walked toward it, brought out his wand, and then entered. At first, it seemed empty except for a
table, cot, and lantern. Then a hand
reached out and grabbed Harry's arm, spinning him around as a sharp pain shot
through his forehead.
"So
the mouse walked right into the lion's den?" Voldemort said, laughing cruelly.
He
pulled out his own wand, looking maliciously at Harry.
"The
Waning Wizards' War," he hissed, "to the death."
Harry
tried to struggle against it, but Voldemort forced him to connect wands.
Then
he woke up. The dormitory was black and
silent except for a soft snore coming from Neville's bed. He got out of bed, putting on slippers to
guard his feet from the chilly stone floor. He went to the mirror, washed his face, and then put on his glasses with
a sigh.
"I'm
sixteen and I'm having nightmare's from a story my teacher told," he muttered
quietly, shaking his head.
He
leaned against the wall, gazing idly out the window. Suddenly, he froze and then stood up straight, looking intently
at something on the grounds. Either he
was having a very convincing hallucination, or there was a large black dog
wandering the grounds.
"Sirius,"
he murmured.
Quickly,
Harry opened his trunk and snatched out his invisibility cloak. He slipped it on as he rushed down the
stairs and through the common room. He
got out onto the grounds without meeting anyone in the corridors and looked
around frantically. He wanted to call
out to Sirius, but knew it may not be the best thing to do. An idea struck him.
"Snuffles!"
he yelled, "Snuffles, where are you?"
He
was answered by a bark ringing through the frigid air. Harry ran in the direction of the bark, then
paused.
"Snuffles!"
Another
bark answered. It was coming from the
Forbidden Forest. He ran in and was met
with his godfather.
"What
are you doing out here, Harry?" Sirius asked.
"I
could ask you the same thing."
"Good
point," Sirius smiled, "I have good news for once, Harry. Dumbledore thinks there's a way to prove my
innocence."
Harry's
eyes widened. "How? When? That's wonderful!"
"You
know how Wormtail saved your life," Sirius continued, "Well, his body was never
found. We've just received information
about where it might be and if we find it, there's a good chance that will be
proof enough that I didn't blast him to pieces."
"Oh,
wow. Is that what you're doing now?"
"I'm
on my way to the rumored gravesite, yes. Now why are you out here?"
"I
couldn't sleep, looked out my window, and saw you."
Sirius
furrowed his brow. "Well, I hope no one
else did the same. You'd better get
back to bed."
"Yeah,
okay."
Harry
put on his cloak and Sirius transformed.
"Sirius,"
Harry said hesitantly.
The
dog stopped, turning around.
"Good
luck."
~*~*~
A/N: This is my third failed attempt at bringing in a Quidditch game! *sigh* Next chapter…I'll do that next chapter.
Not much point to this chapter, I guess. I was just wondering about Dumbledore's defeat of Grindelwald and…this came out. Oh, and I promise I'll give a somewhat okay explanation of why Hermione's a hawk. I know what it is, but…haven't put it in the story yet. ^-^
Thank you all for the reviews! Oh, and these 'thank you' s are for ch. 6&7, so, well just to let you know if you reviewed both that I'll probably thank you for both…yeah.
Lin-z: Thanks!
Lady Grizabella: Oh wow. *blushes* Thanks so much! "Kiss the Cook" *grins* Yep, that's Moody.
Potter fan: Um…I've got a scene for that coming up.
Allison: Thanks! And the ending there…yeah, it can be confusing. I was just trying to say that after Dumbledore just said 'Now that's interesting' Harry was thinking, 'Well? Anything else?'…er, I sometime confuse even myself.
Jona: Hehe…you haven't even SEEN me put in romance. *grins* And I've got to tease about the ending. It popped in my head so wonderfully!
Abbey: Thanks! And Dumbledore…he knows more than he lets on….I just can't remember what right now. *d'oh*
Kelly: I'd love to become a writer. But that's up to the publishers to decide. *sigh* Thanks!!!
Jeanne: I'd faint too if I found out I was dating a bird. ^-^ Yeah, Hermione's cooler than she lets on. Of course, she's nowhere near as cool as Azar. ^-^ Thanks!
Herm: I did!!! Thanks. ^-^
Princess: Thanks! And don't worry. Shameless plugs are a part of reviewing. ^-^
Sweets: Hehe…Thanks!
Daydreamer: Oh wow, thanks. ^-^
Lucky Woods: I did! And I'll try to again, because these kinda chapters are probably getting boring.
Jewels: Thanks! And I definitely will keep on writing. Heck, to me it's like breathing. ^-^
Julia: Me? Alta pride?! lol ^-^ Um… a bit of Dumbledore's profound wisdom should be coming up… It's about November, I should say and Christmas vacation is the only thing coming up…at the moment. ^-^ Oh, and Harry's girlfriend. Hehe…I just wrote an scene about that, but it'll be much later in the story.
Vmr: Thanks!!!
Well, toodles for now. And be excellent to each other!
-Ady
