Chapter Three

Later that same afternoon



Minerva, having left the dungeons in a hurry after being forcefully dismissed by her potions' professor, did not linger in the halls, but made her way speedily to her dormitory in Gryffindor Tower. It was empty, of course, as the rest of her year had remained with Professor Krohn, and she did not envy them for it, not by any means. She had rarely seen Krohn lose his temper. He was considered by many to be a cold and calculating man, accustomed to having his own way and manipulating people and situations to get it. And on some level Minerva truly regretted provoking him, especially on a topic so emotional as Grindelwald.

"But he was asking for it." she told herself. "He could have ... What? Avoided the issue? Not very likely. Not him."

His words came back to her: "My own family ..."

She shuddered and wondered what those words had meant. Had they been killed by Grindelwald? Krohn had come to the school from the Akademie der Zauberei at the start of her first year at Hogwarts, just before the rise of Grindelwald and the beginning of the muggle war. The two events often presented an odd parallel. It seemed that he had departed from his native land in a very timely manner, unless, of course, he was escaping, which seemed unlikely not because of his character, but because the world had been at peace, or close to it, until after the start of the school year.

A knock at the door roused Minerva from her musings. It was still a bit early for anyone else to be returning from class, unless her friends had chosen to come after her.

"Yes?" she called, leaving her bed.

The door creaked open to reveal Professor Dumbledore. He looked vaguely concerned.

"Professor Krohn informed me that there was a bit of a confrontation between the two of you during his potions' class." he stated. "He wanted me to look in on you and to apologize on his behalf if you were upset."

"I'm fine." said Minerva stiffly. She longed to add, "And if he wants to apologize, then he can do it himself." But she didn't want Dumbledore to think her petty or childish.

Dumbledore looked over his glasses at her. She looked away quickly.

"For someone so young he can be quite formidable if properly provoked. But you must understand something about him. He is under a terrific amount of strain and desperately trying not to let it show."

"He mentioned ..." Minerva began. She stopped and shook her head, uncertain as to whether her professor would answer the questions she had.

"Yes?" Dumbledore prompted, putting a hand on her shoulder. She was trembling, and it surprised him. He drew her closer as her face scrunched up as though she were holding back tears. Minerva was a very tender-hearted girl, and no matter what front she put on to hide it, Dumbledore could always tell.

"He mentioned something about his family, professor. Were they ...?"

Dumbledore could not hide his surprise. Krohn's family, two older brothers and a younger sister, had been murdered by Grindelwald nearly three months earlier. His parents, Dumbledore knew, were hiding out somewhere in Eastern Europe, possibly at Durmstrang, where Krohn's father had been a professor. Three dead and two in hiding. It was common knowledge among the staff, but Krohn had never spoken of the matter, remaining impassive and aloof whenever the topic was skirted by other faculty members. Many of them had lost friends who worked for foreign ministries and bureaus, but Krohn, the greatest opponent of involvement and the only staff member to have lost family, said nothing and rebuffed all attempts to give him consolation or sympathy until they were no longer made.

But Minerva had managed to strike a chord so deep that it brought his loss to the surface. Dumbledore was eager to know what had been said in the classroom, so much so that he considered questioning Daniel Vector, one of the Gryffindor prefects, who had been already been called out of class to inform him of the incident in class inasmuch as it had involved Minerva.

"Reynard hasn't told us anything himself, but many of the staff are allowed to read the reports and so forth that come in from the Ministry on a weekly basis. His parents are on the run from Grindelwald, though no one is certain exactly why as it was rumored that they were among his supporters for some time. We all have our own ideas, of course, but nothing substantial."

"Then they aren't dead?"

"Not yet, but his siblings are another matter. They were supposedly ardent supporters of the Dark Wizard and yet all three were murdered only a few months ago, presumably by Grindelwald himself."

Minerva gasped sharply and her eyes widened. She understood her professor's helpless rage now, for though she had no brothers or sisters herself, Minerva knew how much Poppy and Daniel loved their own siblings and could only imagine how they would feel if something happened to them.

But, she realized, her fellow Gryffindors would never sit idly by and allow the murderer to go free and continue killing with impunity. How was it then that Krohn was still so opposed to fighting Grindelwald? Was it cowardice?

"Why doesn't he do something about it? Why doesn't he fight?" she questioned.

"The cause to him seems too hopeless, I think. His own helplessness and grief have paralyzed him. You see, at first he believed that Grindelwald would be destroyed by the great witches and wizards with whom he had trained or that Grindelwald's own followers would see the light and turn upon their master. When that did not happen ..."

"He gave up?"

"Precisely. And it is a shame. You see, Professor Krohn is a powerful wizard, or would be at any rate, and the best potions' master that Hogwarts has had in almost a century. He would be a very useful ally for those of us willing to involve ourselves in the war."

"Perhaps in time." said Minerva.

"Yes." Dumbledore agreed. "Though there is precious little of that left."

"Professor, it is so difficult to find out the truth about these things. Would you consider perhaps telling me more of what is going on over there? I know I'm young, but I want to know."

"I will consider it, Minerva. It could be for the best perhaps if your generation is more informed about this situation. I am going to France again tonight, but I won't be returning until Christmas. When I do return, we will talk again." he promised her.

"Do be careful, professor." she cautioned, looking up into his twinkling blue eyes.

"I will take the utmost care, I assure you. I have no intention of being added to Grindelwald's growing list of victims." he said as he turned to go.

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A/N: Urg! I meant for this chapter to be longer. I will try to update more often. (I'm applying to grad school *twitches* and have been busy.)


Inca: I took a number of German language and history classes in school, and a few of the professors were a bit touchy about things from this era. Perhaps they have made me somewhat cautious. But I do agree with you about Hitler. Very scary. Thank you very much for reviewing!

Sasha: And Minerva fics are so hard to find! Thanks for the review!

MK: You were right. Not that I'm trying to drum up sympathy for him or anything. Thank you for the review!

Sanguine Quill: I prefer writing stronger than average female characters (it's the feminist in me struggling to get out). Thank you for reviewing!

Isis Malfoy: Well, "Another World" does kind of give away a few points here and there, but believe me this story has some surprises in store. I hope. Unless I'm really transparent. Thanks for reviewing!