~Fighting For Love~

If anyone thought Minerva and Kostas seemed strained with each other, no one mentioned it. The days seemed to fly by and soon the distance between them seemed to die away. No more overtures were made by Kostas and Minerva started to feel at ease. She was relieved at the turn of events but disappointed as well. She needed to decide on her true feelings but now was not the time.

Everyone was on their guard as the target came within one day. Kostas decided the team should stop and review the plan one more time. Camp was being set up and Kostas found Minerva preparing to make a quick trip around the area to make sure none of Grindelwald's followers were scouting around.

"Minerva, please be careful. We wouldn't want anything to happen to you. You are too important." Kostas softly kissed her cheek and was gone. Shaken Minerva headed into the field.

As Minerva trotted through the densely wooded area, she allowed the events of the past several months to replay in her mind, from the time Albus had entered her house unexpectedly to the light kiss from Kostas only one hour earlier. Her emotions were torn. Both Kostas and Albus had many qualities in common but their personalities were very different. Albus and Kostas were both great leaders, intelligent and well-respected. Kostas had a gruffness about him that appealed to Minerva. He was the typical tough guy but she had also seen a softer side. Albus, on the other hand, was always even-tempered and his sense of humor brightened any room he was in. As Minerva thought, she had a realization about her feelings that rocked her to the very core but before she could explore it further, she was interrupted by Filius welcoming her back to camp.

Later that night, Minerva woke with a start and listened carefully to the darkness surrounding her. She was tense and ready to spring into action. Turning into her cat form, the night came into clear vision and she saw Kostas slowly walking out of camp. In the blink of an eye, he had turned into a white wolf and froze. Minerva crept out of her covers and approached him. Before taking two steps, he swung around with a ferocious growl. Minerva's hackles raised and shock set in as she looked into a pair of familiar, soft blue eyes. Out of nowhere, a shouted curse split the air and she was knocked unconscious.

Minerva's head was pounding and even though she had not moved a muscle, she was fighting off a powerful wave of queasiness.  Slowly, she lifted her head and looked around. She was lying on a cold, stone floor and very little light was shining through the one small barred window. A heavy metal door blocked the only entrance and exit to the little room. She sat up and leaned against the closest wall. Reaching for her wand, she realized it was missing. Her mind started to race as she put all the pieces together.

The team must have been spotted by Grindelwald and attacked. They had no warning and Minerva feared there were no survivors. Kostas must have been alerted by a noise and if she hadn't interrupted him then maybe everyone wouldn't be in this position. Kostas had turned into a white wolf and Minerva realized with sudden clarity the eyes of that wolf. She had been looking into the eyes of Albus Dumbledore. But how could that possibly be? Minerva's mind whirled with questions until she could no longer hold off the blackness that waited to consume her.

When she woke again, she felt slightly better. The queasiness had left but the headache still raged on. She was disturbed to know she had no concept as to the passage of time. How long had she been there and what was going to happen to her? She looked around the room searching for an escape and spotted a small bowl in the corner. When she lifted the lid, her stomach growled. Inside was a hearty stew. She was desperately hungry and cautiously sniffed and tasted it. Nothing alerted her to a potion or poison and she quickly devoured it. Her mind drifted as the hours passed. There was no way to escape even in her cat form. A scrapping noise brought her attention back to the present.

"Minerva, thank Merlin you are okay." Kostas rushed through the door followed by a worried looking Medgar.

Looking at the man before her, Minerva started to doubt what she had witnessed. Maybe she had simply wished for him to be Albus and therefore seen the wolf's eyes in the same color. But she knew it was more than that. She had seen Albus in those eyes, his soul had been clear to her. Seeing the confusion rising in Minerva's eyes, Kostas leaned down close to her ear as he helped her up.

"My dear, I am so sorry I had to deceive you."

As he whispered those words, Minerva felt a pulling sensation in the pit of her stomach. The arms she had wrapped around Kostas were the only things that kept her from falling down as they were sucked through a portkey.

Neither one could see where they had landed. It was cold, damp and smelled of death. Minerva had the distinct feeling they were in great danger. After she had successfully become an animagus, it seemed her senses as a human had increased as well. Dread became a ball in the pit of her stomach and when she felt herself suddenly pulled back through the air, she couldn't help the gasp that escaped her lips. She felt the rope as it snaked its way around her body.

With a bright flash, the room was illuminated by hundreds of candles. Minerva was horrified by what she saw. The other members of the team except for Medgar were tied like her to a wall, which was covered with splashes of blood. They seemed to be unconscious but not dead. The room was not much larger than the dueling area they had used in the basement and there seemed to be no way to enter or exit. Only Kostas was left standing and he slowly turned to stare at a high-backed chair, which Minerva could only describe as an elaborate throne. She did not move a muscle. Minerva knew someone was with them and a shiver went down her back

"Grindelwald."

"How very clever of you Kostas. I have heard you were powerful and I am happy that I will not be disappointed." Grindelwald was revealed as an invisibility cloak slowly slid off of him as he rose from the throne. "Let me welcome you to my little play room. As you see, I have fun here testing new torture methods and developing my strength. You can be my first victim of the night. And as such I will allow you the first move."

Kostas eyed Grindelwald warily and didn't move so much as a muscle. "Perhaps you need a little encouragement to start this duel." Grindelwald pointed his wand at Minerva and a fireball shot out and streamed toward her face. A shriek left her lips as it hit. A wet snowball landed at her feet and Minerva felt like she was going to pass out at any moment.

Kostas lowered his wand and faced Grindelwald. "This is between us." Curses started flying and it seemed that Grindelwald had the upper hand. Kostas had been thrown backward and blood was pouring down his face. Minerva feared for Kostas as well as herself and the rest of the team. She lowered her head to see if she could get a hand free and noticed her ropes were glowing like gold. Her head shot up just in time to see Kostas throw a bone-breaking curse at Grindelwald's wand arm. She felt immense pain shoot up her arm and let out a strangled cry as Grindelwald's wand hit the ground.

Kostas froze in confusion as he looked at Minerva. Grindelwald picked up his wand and the laughter that poured out of him had an eerie quality. "How rude of me, I forgot to mention, I have devised a little game just for you and your friends. The ropes that bind them are connected to me." For just a moment, a look of horror crossed Kostas' face. It was so quick that Minerva wasn't sure whether she had actually seen it.

"That's right. Any spell you cast upon me, you will also be casting against one of your dear friends, but with greater power. They absorb the brunt of the spell while I only feel it in a minimal sense. I believe we started with the beautiful lady with green eyes. Minerva isn't it. Once she has passed out or perished, we will move on to the next participant and so on and so forth." Grindelwald waved his hand in her direction and Kostas noticed the ropes around Minerva were glowing. Wiggling a finger at Minerva, Grindelwald continued his speech. "Oh, and don't bother trying to change into a cat to escape. The wonderful meal we left for you has hindered your abilities."

Minerva had never been so frightened in her life but she knew what had to be done. "Kostas, don't worry about me. You have this opportunity to end his reign of terror and my life is a small price to pay."

Kostas glanced in Minerva's direction but did not acknowledge her speech. Grindelwald laughed and turned to Kostas. "You heard her, Kostas. You have waited a long time to find me. I know you have been searching for me since the beginning and now is your chance to fight."

Kostas slowly lowered his wand and turned to face Grindelwald. "You will not win this game. Let the others go."

Minerva suddenly noticed that Kostas now had bright blue eyes—eyes that she would recognize anywhere. She realized that she had not been dreaming when she had seen those same eyes in the wolf and his comment to her now made sense. Her heart felt heavy as she realized that Albus Dumbledore was standing before her in disguise as Kostas. Grindelwald must have noticed something as well for he suddenly stiffened.

"What kind of trickery do we have here?" Kostas' features slowly altered to reveal him as Albus Dumbledore. A hint of fear was in Grindelwald's eyes as realization slowly dawned on him. Grindelwald broke into action and started to hurl curses at Albus. The two struggled for several minutes with Grindelwald casting curses and Albus deflecting them.

Unexpectedly a curse that Albus had shielded against hit the ropes binding Minerva. A scream left her mouth at the same moment that Grindelwald fell to the ground in pain. She felt as if she was being ripped apart from the inside and when she finally lifted her head, the scene filled her with dread. Albus was in a body bind and Grindelwald was smiling wickedly.

"I should have guessed that it was you who was so determined to kill me. The legendary Albus Dumbledore did not do as well as I would have thought. Now you will be responsible for the death of your entire team." Grindelwald paused and tapped a long gnarled finger against his chin. "This seems so familiar. Let me think…oh yes, I remember. This is the same thing that happened to your parents. If only you had not interfered early on, they would still be alive. And I don't need to tell you how gruesome their deaths were, you saw that for yourself."

"I have grown tired of you and your attempts at challenging me. I think it is time for me to move on to a better sport." His eyes sent arrows of fear through Minerva as he looked across the people hanging on the wall. Grindelwald pointed his wand at Albus and Minerva felt a reserve of energy infuse her body. Her mind was whirling with anger, fear and sorrow and the emotions seemed to be spreading to ever cell. She felt the power concentrate just before she passed out.

Minerva was being gently picked up and snuggled against the arms that held her. She heard a voice calling her name and she slowly fought through the haze that clouded her mind. When she opened her eyes, bright blue one's filled with concern gazed back.

"It looks like she will be fine but to be safe we need to get her to a hospital." Albus spoke to the rest of the team, which had gathered around, but his eyes never left Minerva's face.

"I see no way to escape from here." Filius Flitwick nervously gestured with his wand.

"Then it looks like we will have to make an exit ourselves. Filius, please cast a protective charm on everyone here. I don't want any more injuries." Albus gently placed Minerva against a wall and out of the corner of her eye she saw the body of Grindelwald impaled on a spike protruding from the wall. Albus walked over to the throne and pointed his wand at the ground. The reductor curse that Albus cast was stronger than Minerva had ever seen. Debris shot in every direction and the explosion was like thunder. When the dust cleared, the sun shone through the hole he had created.

To Be Continued…