Chapter 49: Great Minds
The door to the library opened and Wolfgang's Kobold ushered Gellert Grindelwald in. The blonde took in the fact that Regulus and Kreacher were present with interest that he didn't bother to conceal.
"Hello," he greeted the room with a friendly enough smile.
"Hello," Wolfgang replied, giving the other German a friendly nod. "Regulus was interested in helping us out if he can see a way to do so." The half giant spread his hands. "You know me, the more help the better I always say."
"Nice," Gellert said, nodding and giving Regulus a smile, though his blue eyes were sharp and calculating. His mental shields were still as tight as ever, but Regulus could read clearly on his face that the blonde was attempting to sum him up. He seemed interested in working with Regulus if only to see what he could do. As Grindelwald moved to the nearest empty chair, Wolfgang turned to his kobold.
"Another cup of tea for Mr. Grindelwald please." The little blue creature nodded and left. "Kreacher shall be assisting us as well, if he sees an area he feels he can expand upon or improve," Wolfgang continued to Grindelwald.
Gellert regarded Kreacher with a lively and curious interest as he nodded. "Good. My elf is brilliant, but he's more comfortable attending to the family home and wasting his abilities," he complained, a mildly resentful frown briefly crossing the sharp features of his face.
"You mean Bramble," Millicent asked, speaking up for the first time since Grindelwald had entered the room.
He nodded. "I suppose I shouldn't call him mine, but he does seem to have a particularly special spot in his heart for me," Gellert said with a laugh.
"I didn't think he liked you," Millicent drawled, obviously struggling not to smile.
"Oh I think he considers killing me in my sleep," Gellert agreed readily. As he spoke, his lively blue eyes danced with amusement.
"Blaise used to be the only thorn in Bramble's side, but now Gellert shares the job," Millicent explained to Regulus and Kreacher. "Bramble is the Zabini family elf. He basically just wants to be left the fuck alone to do whatever he feels that his job is while Blaise and now Gellert are always wanting something that he considers trifling."
"What sorts of things does Bramble consider to be trifling," Kreacher asked curiously.
Millicent shrugged. "Blaise always made him apparate him to Knockturn Alley to hang with me and Kereston during the summers when his parents told him to stay home. You know, because Voldemort. Bramble was not directly told to keep Blaise home so Blaise could order Bramble to take him out. This all went down before we were old enough to apparate ourselves. I'm talking fourth and fifth year," Millicent explained.
Regulus and Kreacher exchanged a glance. Back in the day both would've relished slipping out together and browsing the darker shops of Knockturn Alley had it occurred to Regulus to have Kreacher apparate him. Apparently Bramble wasn't as interested in Knockturn alley or socializing with Blaise. It made Regulus's friendship with Kreacher feel all the more special even before it had turned to something deeper.
"And Gellert also wishes Bramble to take him to Knockturn Alley," Kreacher asked curiously.
Grindelwald shook his head. "No, nothing like that. I think I offended him once when I forgot to eat."
Regulus blinked. "Oh?"
"Indeed. He kindly offered to prepare some German food for me so I requested one of my old favorites. He researched the preparation and made it. I ate it and loved it, complimenting him highly, of course. Only I did not eat it for dinner as he intended because...Well I was occupied and did not come down to dinner, so he was very offended, taking it personally."
"Hm," Millicent drawled, grinning. "Well let's see. You asked him to make you something..."
"No he practically asked me to ask him," Grindelwald interrupted, lifting a hand in protest while struggling not to laugh.
Millicent shook her head dismissively. "No, so you asked him to make you something, then rudely didn't eat it, and you wonder why he was offended?"
"I did eat it," Grindelwald insisted. "Weren't you listening? I ate it the very next day, only he did not believe it was as good by that point, being officially leftover. I strongly disagreed, but there was no pacifying him no matter what I said. He just kept giving me this quiet calm look of reproach and condemnation."
Millicent laughed. "You really care that much what he thinks?"
Gellert nodded. "But of course. He is powerful enough to kill me in my sleep, after all."
"Why didn't you just go eat when it was ready," Regulus asked.
"Blaise and I were occupied with something at the time," Gellert explained carefully and Millicent made a gagging sound.
"You were shagging, you mean," she said.
"Well...Yes," Gellert said, having the grace to look mildly uncomfortable. "Blaise even apologized to Bramble, kindly claiming it to be his fault that we missed dinner, but Bramble has no mercy and did not care in the least."
"Was it his fault," Regulus asked, trying not to laugh.
"Well...I suppose we were mutually at fault, but Blaise did...initiate the experience that particular time," Gellert said.
"Okay no more disgusting talk," Millicent exclaimed, waving a hand in front of her face as if fending off a foul odor. "Didn't you come here to get some work done?"
"Yes Troll," Gellert said, giving her an almost fond smile.
Millicent scowled and Gellert's smile grew. He was obviously pleased that calling her a troll had vexed her. Regulus had a feeling this was not the first time these two had exchanged such...friendly pleasantries. The kobold entered with Gellert's tea, and the blonde thanked him politely. The little blue creature gave a gracious nod. At a nod from Wolfgang indicating that there would be nothing else, he departed. Regulus nearly startled himself with his next thought. He was actually having tea with Gellert Grindelwald, or at least watching Gellert Grindelwald have tea with Kreacher, Wolfgang and Millicent! Grindelwald! One of the greatest and most powerful dark wizards ever! For a time, he'd nearly forgotten that. The man seemed so...approachable and...well...human! Granted he was unusual and entertaining as well as amusing and interesting, but these qualities made him friend material rather than particularly larger than life. Millicent's pointed comment about getting to work would allow him to see more of Grindelwald's greatness, though.
"I decided to wait until you were here to explain our current project to Regulus in case you've anything to add," Wolfgang told Gellert, who nodded. "We are working on setting up detect wards in Knockturn alley that will latch onto any dark mark and track the Death Eater to whom it belongs," Wolfgang explained, turning to address Regulus and Kreacher directly. "We've set up the actual wards and they will detect the dark mark, but we haven't yet perfected the tracking bit. Now we only know how many Death Eaters entered the zone where we set up the wards, not where they went afterward."
"Obviously the wards are not detectable to said Death Eaters or anyone else other than ourselves," Grindelwald added.
"You have a spell that will detect your own wards, and that is what you use to check how many Death Eaters were detected, yes," Regulus asked just to clarify. Both Wolfgang and Gellert nodded. "And that detection is how you plan to track the Death Eaters once you manage to set up that part?"
"Indeed," Wolfgang agreed.
"Have you attempted to use a scrying spell for the tracker," Regulus asked, looking at Gellert. He recalled reading something about the wizard being a seer.
"My ability never works as directly as scrying," Gellert explained. "My visions simply come to me unbidden."
"We did try to use a general scrying spell, linking it to the tracking ward but it failed," Wolfgang said.
"That isn't surprising as such attempts often do fail if one does not have a particular ability for it," Regulus said.
"And you don't either, I assume," Grindelwald asked and Regulus shook his head.
"Nor does Kreacher of course. But there are other spells," Regulus shared. Both Germans looked interested. Regulus shot a glance at Kreacher. "I'm thinking of those spells that mothers use to keep an ear on their sleeping babies from other rooms. Do you think we could extend that to something visual and link it to the wards?"
An eager light of interest sparked in Kreacher's eyes as the elf smiled excitedly. "Master Regulus is a genius! Indeed Kreacher thinks we could manage such a thing."
"Babies," Grindelwald asked, expression a mix of confused and intrigued.
Wolfgang chuckled. "As none of us have babies, this spell is a thing we aren't aware of."
"Some simple spells for caring for babies, or cleaning and managing a home can actually be adapted for rather complex magic," Regulus said.
Kreacher nodded. "Kreacher placed wards on the bedchamber of the Mistress and Master when the children were small, so that if they cried in the night, they would be heard."
"So you're saying you could place such spells on the detect wards we have already placed and even convert them to visual wards rather than auditory ones," Grindelwald asked. His blue gaze lit eagerly at the idea.
"Kreacher can place the auditory spells and link them to the wards Gellert Grindelwald and Wolfgang Adler have already cast," the elf said carefully. "Making them visual will be a bit more tricky, but between the four of us, Kreacher has faith that we will eventually come up with something."
"There is a charm that Blaise and I were working on that when linked to an object, allows one to see what has been going on around that object. We're working on it for a home protection device," Gellert explained. "If we could link that to Kreacher's listening spell perhaps we could hear and see what the tracked Death Eaters are up to."
"That is brilliant thinking, Kreacher thinks," the elf complimented.
"We're using these tracking wards to hunt more Death Eaters faster, yes," Regulus asked and both men nodded. "Excellent." He smiled. The idea of killing three or four Death Eaters in a night if the spell was successful was positively exhilarating! When he went to Knockturn alley to hunt, he could only seek out those who were there at that very moment. If this spell could track passing Death Eaters at all hours, the possibilities were far brighter. Thinning Voldemort's ranks, while not as satisfying as getting rid of the monster himself, was still very very good.