Embracing His True Self

Chapter 92

"Alright, what the hell is going on?" Barty asked Harry entirely perplexed, "The Dominican Republic?" as soon as they were for sure, out of hearing and sight of the Dark Lord. Making their way towards the manor doors. Why on earth would this mission lead them there? Why were the Lestrange's giving Harry permission to use their little paradise. Even he had only been there once, and what a paradise it was, that summer had to be his favourite of all times. His family didn't have the kind of funds to have a private piece of land, definitely not on that particular beach.

Macnair glanced at Barty, remaining silent, watching their interactions. So far, he had never interacted with Harry on a one-to-one basis. He'd heard from the others, especially Dolohov, now that was someone who had a lot to say. Still, to talk to the Dark Lord's consort that way, was pushing it. Harry had a nasty temper, just look at what he had done to Bellatrix. Yeah, most of them had automatically gained a healthy dose of respect for him after that.

"We're breaking into Nurmengard and getting Grindelwald out," Harry began to explain, opening the doors and out they went, "I was just going to Apparate him here, somewhere…but this works better. The anti-dote…will kill him, eventually, it…Dumbledore designed it really well." Spitting out dumbledore's name as if it were poison and utterly vulgar.

Macnair's eyes widened a little in surprise as Harry actually began to explain everything, he hadn't expected that. Not even the Dark Lord gave them more information than required. They were left to garner their own thoughts on what was happening. Even those in the inner circle weren't given full details, it was for the best in case they were caught. Although, by the sounds of it, it wasn't going to be a worry for long. Soon, the Ministry would be theirs for the taking.

"A stasis spell will only give him a few hours, before it too breaks down and the potion takes him," Harry said grimly.

"So, if you had been given the potion…" Barty realized, horrified.

"Yes, I would have had to be killed for the anti-dote to work." Harry confirmed, "Even I didn't notice the potions would interact that way until Severus pointed it out." Exasperation lacing his voice.

"He's a Potions Master, he knows every conceivable ingredient," Macnair pointed out, "You do not." Blunt as always, as most of the Death Eaters were.

"He's right," Barty agreed.

"I know, it's why I went to them, but no surprise, they were attempting it on their own," Harry said wryly, veering off to avoid hitting the gates. It wasn't due to the fact they wanted to help Grindelwald either, it was pure intellectual curiosity. They wanted to see if they could come up with something, it wasn't as if the Ministry would have paid a lot of money for the antidote. It was only one wizard, an imprisoned old wizard at that. Hell, not even the German Ministry would have either.

Gellert Grindelwald was still seen as the Monster under the bed, the unholy terror regardless of his innocence.

"Why do you care? Just kill him." Macnair grumbled, he meant nothing to anyone, he was useless, old and decrepit.

Barty winced, he reckoned he had a good idea why Harry was going to these lengths. He evidently felt a kinship with Grindelwald. He'd nearly went though the same thing, regardless of whether he was playing the part or not, he just about ended up given that potion and would have ended up exactly like Grindelwald.

"Yeah, and you could have been saying the same about me," Harry stated curtly.

"To be fair, I was until you took out Bellatrix." Macnair revealed bluntly. Most of them now knew better than to think about touching Harry never mind actually following through with their thoughts.

Harry laughed, "Yeah, true enough," not at all offended, he knew that all of the Death Eaters hadn't trusted him, except a select few. Hell, he suspected a few still held a grudge against him, for something he didn't have a hand in at that.

"Alright, duck under," Harry said, withdrawing his cloak, and flinging it over the three of them. Macnair was already protesting that the three of them wouldn't fit under only to stop when the cloak actually expanded to encompasses all of them. "That…isn't normal." He said staring down at his covered feet, normal invisibility cloaks didn't have that sort of ability.

Harry smirked, "My cloak is…unique," he settled on an appropriate word.

Now Macnair wanted to dissect the cloak, find out what made it unique, the magic swathed in it was quite strong and comforting. Whoever had made it, had made it very well indeed, powerful, especially considering its longevity, invisibility cloaks weren't made to last. He knew Potter had it while in Hogwarts and had passed it on to his son evidently.

"I'm going to Apparate us," Harry said, clasping a hold of Barty and Macnair's shoulders, wrapping his magic around them. At the same time, making it so that not a single bit of his magical signature leaked out by cloaking his magic from detection. The invisibility cloak doubled that protection as well.

With that the trio Apparated out of Slytherin manor, and reappeared just beyond the wards of Nurmengard prison.

The fortress was a bleak sight indeed, such a big building for one wizard. Then again, it hadn't been meant for a single wizard, it had been meant for any wizard or witch who crossed Dumbledore and Grindelwald.

"Yeah, about that…I'm not sure I can do this," Macnair confessed after a few minutes of staring at the prison. "The wards on this place are…very well done…and might deserve the impenetrable fortress title it got. Unless I just smash through them, and that will take time."

"Don't break them, part them, create a tunnel, so that we can bypass the wards, they'll be at their weakest where we want them." Harry told Macnair, staring at the prison.

"Where people get in and out," Barty nodded, getting where Harry was coming from, "It's theoretically sound."

"It is actually," Macnair agreed, "A tunnel, huh?" he muttered, withdrawing his wand, pointing it at the prison a wicked gleam coming to his eyes this was going to be so much fun. He didn't really get a chance to use much magic, or at least hadn't until the Dark Lord's return. Killing dangerous creatures…he did that with a weapon, not magic. It was the most humane way, since they weren't allowed to use the killing curse on them. One stroke and they would be dead, he was good at what he did. He hoped when the laws changed, they could use the killing curse. It was the most painless way to deal with them, and it wouldn't cause the sort of fear facing the hangman's noose so to speak. Tied down and killed, yeah, there were better ways.

"Do you think he planned it all? Had Grindelwald built his own prison? Or do you think something went wrong?" Barty asked, as Macnair exuded magic, focusing entirely on his task. Barty wouldn't be surprised if Macnair didn't hear what he said.

"Probably, the war ended, the Muggles were still alive, he probably revaluated his plans, realized his way wasn't going to work. Regardless of the hell his puppet wreaked on the world. I've said it before, there are too many of them compared to us. The population has boomed even more in the time since World War Two." Harry said thoughtfully, "Pieces were moving onto the chessboard that he didn't count on…couldn't control."

"I don't know…taking out an all powerful 'Dark Lord' would be a wicked quick way to gain control everywhere." Barty said, giving his own opinion. "Tried it again when our Lord came around, funny isn't it? Dumbledore honestly believing in Prophecies that bought him down in the end."

Harry smirked, eyes gleaming, "His hubris is thinking he knows everything and everyone, that he could predict them. I don't get how he couldn't. Tom, Severus and I all suffered similar childhoods, and ended up with the same sort of personality, how he thought it would go any other way…I honestly don't know." three different generations.

"You all went against the grain when it comes to abuse suffers," Barty shook his head, he had read all the books he could on the subject. He knew what he was talking about at the end of the day. "It's normal for those who suffered from abuse to look up to the one who removed them from the abusive environment. It creates an attachment that can survive well into adulthood."

Harry grimaced, "Explains why Hagrid was sent then," he said dryly, how many times had the old fools name been mentioned? It was ironically, what had set alarm bells blaring in his head. Even then it had all been a grand manipulation, so he was well aware of who had been sent to 'save him' despite not coming himself.

Barty snorted, "Yeah," well aware of how much Hagrid worshiped the ground Dumbledore had trod on. Ironic given the fact Dumbledore could have had him proven 'innocent' but that went against everything Dumbledore was. A Half-giant was quite a boon to keep close. "I can s…" pausing when he felt pulsing magic wafting around them, he inhaled sharply, Merlin, that was…strong magic.

"If anyone is here, they'll feel that," Barty warned, his head zooming around, as if he expected to be ambushed at any second.

"The cloak and my cloaking spell will prevent that," Harry shook his head, "Plus, no doubt Macnair has cloaked his own magic." As a Ministry worker, his would be on record, so he definitely wouldn't want his magic recorded here. Although, it wouldn't be hard for him to disappear. He had taken the metamorphamagus potion after all.

Barty eased at the words, but kept vigilant a little, it didn't hurt anyone to be cautious. Plus, if they returned with the Dark Lord's consort injured or worse wasn't worth contemplating. They would be killed, there was little doubt about it.

"Let's move, I can't keep it up forever," Macnair murmured quietly, "Don't go ahead of me, I'm still working on creating that tunnel as we move." He added cautiousness steeped in his words. He had never actually created a 'tunnel' before and he was having to keep his magic around the 'tunnel' to keep the wards from just falling back into place. It was thrilling to be doing this, but he had never done it before, he hoped he didn't screw up somehow.

"We're with you," Harry said, as they both grasped a hold of his cloak, "Lead the way." And with that the three began to shuffle following were Macnair went.

It was a long walk when you were actually moving normally, but for the trio? It was long and excruciating, but Barty and Harry were aware of the magic Macnair was expanding to do this. They took a step maybe every five seconds, oddly enough not passing a single guard at the entrance which made them triply cautious.

"Why no guard? This smells like a set up," Barty whispered, aware that there was a silencing spell under the cloak so they could speak freely without being heard.

"He's been here for over six decades, they don't fear him escaping, and clearly our Ministry isn't communicating their fears with the German Ministry." Harry said, his distaste obvious. "If they had, this place would be packed with Aurors, use your senses, there's only two people here, well, except us."

"They could be hiding their magic," Barty pointed out, stepping along with Macnair, he noticed that they were stepping up and moving quicker.

"True," Harry conceded, "They won't see us coming." Nothing could be detected under the cloak, that's just how powerful it was. "When they realize something is going on, we'll be gone." the portkey was untraceable, there wouldn't be a damn thing anyone could do.

Barty nodded, wishing they had some light, the prison wasn't exactly a beacon of light. He'd almost tripped up on a stone that had been left lying there. Almost twisted his ankle and probably would have caused Macnair to lose focus. It was worse when they began to head up the stairs.

"What a waste," he muttered, this place was massive, there were people out there homeless and they had this damn place sitting basically empty. Would be empty by the time they were finished.

"Way behind, I thought it ages ago," Barty teased, before getting back to focusing entirely on what they were doing. It wasn't as easy as it looked following someone's lead…at least they knew a little of what direction they were going in since there was nowhere else to go.

Harry snorted, as they rounded the corner of yet another staircase. It was a good job they were all in optimal health. Otherwise, they would have been surely aching by now, the stairs were rather steep.

Exactly eight minutes later they were finally at the top tower, and still felt or saw nothing untoward.

"Evanescet!" Harry cast, and the door disappeared entirely. "Quickly!" with that Harry ran towards the wizard, rolling his eyes at the stunning spell that zoomed by and hit Grindelwald in the chest. Sometimes they were way overprotective, the wizard didn't have a wand and was bloody over a hundred years old. His mind flashed to Dumbledore and he wanted to smack the back of his head. He knew better than to underestimate his opponent.

A loud blaring immediately surrounded them, causing them all to wince at the sheer volume thrumming their ears. "HOLD ON!" despite the alarm blaring, Barty and Macnair heard and grasped his shoulder, and the portkey, Harry fumbled to get Grindelwald's hand onto it before he trapped it and recited the password.

They were gone before anything could happen.

The four of them landed strewn across the beach, it had not been a comfortable Portkey ride for sure.

"You guys alright?" Harry asked scrambling to his knees, staring at Barty and Macnair.

Barty grumbled incoherently, "I'm dying!" he said dramatically, he felt like he was burning in his clothes, the weather change was an abrupt shock to the system. "MERLIN'S BLOODY CHRIST!" he cried out when Harry soaked him to the bone with a water spell. "I'm going to kill you!" spluttering as he rapidly cooled from the jet.

"Macnair?" Harry asked, concerned, "Go get us some water, will you?"

"What happened to your last servant?" Barty grumbled in complaint.

"She lost her magic." Harry said dryly, "Dobby?" he called his House-elf to them. Standing up and making his way towards Macnair who was still lying there way too still. "Get me water and lots of it! And some shade!"

"He might need a magic replenishing draught," Barty said joining him. "Grab a magic…" pausing when Harry pulled a vial of the stuff from his pocket.

"I thought we might end up needing it," Harry said wryly, feeding the potion into Macnair's mouth, rubbing his throat to make him swallow it.

"Just how prepared are you for this outing?" Barty asked in amusement, he thought it was a last-minute thing?

"I'm always prepared," Harry said, accepting the bottle from Dobby the moment the House-elf apparated back, reminding his manners, "Thank you, Dobby." Before pouring some of the water into Macnair's mouth and splashed a bit around his face. Within moments Dobby had a canopy up keeping the four of them from being directly under the suns glare.

Sweat was already beginning to pour down Barty's face, as he hastily removed his cloak. Crudely wiping his face with his cloak as well, it was utterly boiling here, "I don't remember it being this hot," he confessed.

"This is the coolest time too, it's five hours behind us," it was barely breaking dawn, Harry yanked off his own cloak.

Macnair groaned blinking rapidly before trying to jerk himself into sitting position realizing how vulnerable he was. "Easy, you're alright, you passed out due to magical exhaustion. I've given you a potion to help with that," Harry stated, pressing Macnair down so he didn't try to get up too quickly. "Sit up slowly, we've got some water, you need to drink it."

Macnair wanted to complain that he was fine, but seeing Harry's stubborn face he realized he might as well just endure this weird as hell version of mothering. He was suddenly grateful for the aid when he was helped up, as dizziness swarmed through him. Between Barty having his back and Harry easing him up, the bottle of water was pressed into his hand and he was suddenly unbelievably thirsty.

Macnair drank the bottle of water, as he took in the gorgeous view, his gaze eventually landing upon Grindelwald. He recalled pictures of him in the newspapers when he was a teen. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but this emaciated bald haired wizard wasn't it. He didn't look like he could hurt a fly let alone anyone. He couldn't help but think 'that's the Darkest Wizard the world had ever seen until his Lord' it did feel a little surreal.

"Doesn't look like much does he?" Harry said dryly, able to guess what they're thinking, he was too. "Dumbledore doesn't either." And he most definitely looked like that now. Maybe he should put Tonks in beside him with Dumbledore drugged to the gunnels with Veritaserum. It would certainly break her in a way none of the information had yet, but then again, she just believed they were lying through their teeth.

"I wouldn't know," Macnair said dryly, "It's not like we're allowed to see him, are we?" that irked them something rotten, it made them feel as if they were suspected on being on the old fool's side.

"Oh, don't worry, his time is coming and you'll see it, all of you," Harry said with a vindictive grin.

Surprise flickered over Macnair's face, as he glanced at Barty, seeking confirmation on whether he was being screwed with or if Harry was actually telling the truth. Barty nodded once, confirming that Harry was indeed serious. Not that Harry noticed he was rummaging around in his pocket a panicked look on his face until he found it.

"Merlin, I thought I'd given you the antidote for a second," Harry said breathing out in relief, feeling a little silly for the earlier panic as brief as it was.

Barty glanced at it shrewdly, "Wrong consistency." Magical replenisher was waterier than that vial.

Harry nodded, "Yeah, and it's more deep blood red than this, this is browner. You guys can do whatever you want, I'm going to tend to Grindelwald now." Making it clear he didn't want them hovering over his shoulder. Flicking his wand, he put on something more…suitable for the weather they were currently experiencing. A t-shirt and a pair of shorts, he added a cooling charm as well while he was at it.

He smiled when he noticed there was a towel under Gellert, along with bottles of water to the side of him. "Thanks Dobby," he murmured despite the fact he couldn't see the House-elf. He wouldn't be surprised if Dobby was nearby though, just in case he was called again. Which he would be, he wanted to give Gellert whatever he wanted. His last meal, part of Harry thought with a grimace.

He wasn't used to failure; he didn't take it lightly. He wondered if that was how Severus and Tom were feeling. Severus maybe a little bit, but Tom probably didn't care. He wasn't a Potions Master and didn't love potions the way Severus did. The way he did, Potions had probably saved his life a time or two, well, okay, more than a time or two, but that was just a number.

Kneeling back down, the sand warm under his knees, as he made himself comfortable. Uncorking the vial, he shoved it into his pocket. No rocks, no glass, no pebbles, nothing but sand. It was unusual, the beaches he saw on the telly weren't exactly like this. Regardless he was going to be cleaning sand off of him for days afterwards he reckoned.

Opening Gellert's mouth, wand right next to him at the ready, he tensed as a coiled spring. He poured in the potion, and harshly rubbed his throat, peering into his mouth until the potion was gone. Heart pounding, he used the stasis spell after a few seconds, that would allow it to do its purpose, but stop Gellert Grindelwald from dying so soon. Grimacing in heartfelt sympathy, Merlin, it wasn't fair.

Then blindly gasping for air, the elder wizard's eyes sprang open, blindly groping for a wand. Blanching at the sight of his hands, old wrinkled hands, and blackened nails that not even a hundred manicures could right.

"It's October 12th 1997," Harry said softly but firmly, "The potion is nullified for now, BUT CONTROL YOUR MAGIC! IF YOU KEEP IT UP IT'LL STOP MY SPELL!" Harry yelped out, sensing Grindelwald's magic lashing out just as Severus and Tom both feared.

"I…I can't," Gellert said, tears springing to his eyes, it had been so very long since he felt it, so long since he'd been able to control anything about his life. Watching his own life as a movie, unable to do a damn thing, not even itch his nose when he needed to. Staring at the same walls, going slowly insane, he dared never think on the years before Nurmengard.

"Shit, shit, shit! Stop it, come on! I can't keep the spell on if you're going to do that!" Harry said "Just…just look at the scenery! Er…I'll tell you about Dumbledore?!" shoving as much magic as he dared into the stasis spell to keep it contained. Gellert Grindelwald was more powerful than him, way more powerful. He could feel it, and this was a wizard who hadn't used his magic in decades.

He really did have power levels off the charts.

"Dumbledore?" Gellert's voice was filled with rage and betrayal with the likes Harry had never heard.

Harry licked his dry lips, opening the bottle taking a sip of it before handing it to Gellert. Letting him know wordlessly that the bottle wasn't drugged or contaminated with any sort of potion. He opened another one and drank from it, the magic had stopped pulsing so badly, but he could feel it just waiting to unleash again. He had no idea how long Gellert had.

"He's suffering, I promise you, stuck in a room that he can barely sit in, getting barely anything to eat, being tortured when we have a moment to spare." Harry said holding none of his dark amusement back. "He'll be dead soon enough…I promise you that."

Gellert's eyes narrowed in on the teen, "You're Harry Potter." He deduced before an incredulous laugh slipped out of his mouth. It was croaky and harsh, like someone who had smoked every day of their lives.

Harry cocked his head to the side, "Dumbledore bragging or newspapers? Hey, hey, hey focus on me, just…just focus on me," he added as the magic began to flare again…perhaps Dumbledore wasn't the best thing to talk about, but he seemed to focus when he was brought up. "Easy, calm down…" he couldn't give him anything, not even a calming draught, which would have helped things immensely. There was no way Gellert had hours…he'd be lucky if he had half an hour, even when calm his magic was eating through his spell. "Listen to me, the antidote is under stasis because it will kill you, control your magic or it's going to happen now." Squeezing Gellert's hand in sympathy, wondering what Dumbledore had told Gellert.

"You stopped him? You?" Gellert asked, staring at Harry in shock, he could feel the boy wasn't anywhere near as powerful as him. maybe marginally more powerful than Dumbledore from the last visit. A sudden seizure had Gellert writhing on the sandy beach.

Harry hooked his arm around Gellert's head, keeping a lock on him, pressing his hand down on his chest. He had no idea if he was doing the right thing or not. Heart pounding, he watched uselessly as Gellert writhed in agony, as his features twisted in pain.

"Kill me, kill me, kill me," Gellert begged, panting as pain unlike anything he'd ever felt consumed his entire body. "Please, have mercy."

Harry felt tears sting his eyes, "It wasn't meant to be this way," he told Gellert once the fit had stopped. "I tried…I tried to get an antidote…something…anything." He hadn't felt this useless since the incident with the troll where he'd had to rely on Ronald Weasley who despite being a pureblood didn't know a damn spell to save his life. Nor could he perform them! That was having grown up amongst a wizarding family.

Another seizure hit full force, the strangled sounds that came from the wizard was inhumane.

"It's time," Barty said, "I'll do if you want?" nobody would let an animal suffer like this, and there was no getting better for him.

"You stopped him, it's more than I managed," Gellert whispered, tears running down his face. "Please, kill me," he could feel the poison at work, the agony searing through him. Even just twitching was the equivalent of the Cruciatus curse. The seizure…he didn't want to experience that again.

Leaning down, "I'll make him suffer like nobody else has," he promised Gellert, "Is there anything you want me to tell him?" seeing himself in Gellert and it was excruciatingly painful to observe.

"Ich habe dich einmal geliebt und wäre dir bis ans Ende der Welt gefolgt."

Harry stared incomprehensibly, he didn't understand a word of that, "Is he delirious or…"

"It's German, he's speaking German." Macnair told them, "He says 'I loved you once and I would have followed you to the end of the earth.' That's it, that's all he said."

Harry inhaled sharply; he had stupidly thought that he could give Gellert one good day. Something to eat, drink, conversation, warmth, something he'd been so deprived off for so long…a little bit of a happy ending. Swallowing thickly, he breathed out, pointing his wand against Gellert's temple. He owed him this at least, for making him endure this pain, he'd just wanted to make it right.

"Ihr Komfort bedeutet mehr als Sie wissen ... Danke, dass Sie mich befreit haben." Gellert said, his lips were tinged blue as not enough oxygen was getting through.

Barty and Macnair stepped away a bit, they didn't want to be anywhere near a killing curse.

"Avada Kedavra," Harry whispered the words out, and just like that it was over.

"He said, 'Your comfort means more than you know...thank you for freeing me.'," Macnair told him quietly, staring at the sea, uncomfortable with Harry's emotional display.

A/N – Sorry if the German isn't right, I used google translate but I hope it is 😊 I did consider a more bloodthirsty approach from Gellert but this somehow felt fitting, he was a broken man after all, betrayed by someone he thought he could trust, who understood him and would have done anything for…that is what love is at the end of the day. Another likeness between Albus/Gellert and Harry/Tom with naturally one big difference Tom didn't need to use a potion on his partner! Not sure if it's tissue worthy after all but I enjoyed writing it! so will he be buried where he is or will Harry bury him in his family plot? In German? Or perhaps in the UK? Where he settled down after being expelled from Durmstrang? Will they shove Tonks in beside a Veritaserum filled Dumbledore and get through to her at long last? Before they finally take care of Dumbledore or will it happen after they take over fully? R&R please!