Disclaimer: This story is based of the fine work of JK Rowling. Don't sue, I own nothing.

A/N: I feel I owe a brief explanation of what comes in this chapter. Because the story line follows history as well as fictional characters, some actual notorious people get mention. I do not believe that anyone forced Hitler, Himmler, Mussolini or any of the murderers of the holocaust to do what they did. I did manipulate history to suit my own fiction. I believe that knowledge of the events of that time is very important, and through this story I am imparting tidbits that will hopefully encourage others to look up facts. I believe that by studying our own history, we can avoid repeating mistakes of the past – mistakes that we are even now tangoing with in the most dangerous fashion.

And now……………………

Chapter 9 - Reasons

"So the journal was in her possession for a year and a half?" Elijah demanded angrily rising to his feet. His eyes flashed with rage for a moment before he added, "It may have convinced others. It certainly convinced me of his guilt when I saw it."

"The original journal was in my possession for a year and a half," Albus corrected, but a perfect copy had been delivered to Bartemius Crouch, who then turned it over immediately to Minister Starkey. I assume the Minister of Magic then gave it back to Grindelwald. You might recall that Bartemius Crouch can speak more than 200 languages. I'm sure he is capable of reading them as well, and I know one of those many languages is German. At best, he passed the journal on without reading it – a decision which seems highly remiss to me. However, I am not the Head of Magical Law Enforcement, am I?"

Elijah looked down, but fidgeted and then ultimately began to pace the room.

"I speak German fluently," Nicholas interjected. "So Albus, Lorelei and Minerva brought the journal to me the following Saturday. Minerva had sent Grindelwald an owl to resign, but stayed hidden, unsure what he would do when he discovered the missing journal."

"If she'd used a copy, he might never have noticed," Elijah observed, stopping the path he was nervously treading.

"Except that we were all certain that the minister would return the book to Grindelwald as a show of faith. Something that Bartemius Crouch had told Minerva suggested as much," Albus supplied. "So from the moment she walked out of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Minerva's job was over, her reputation within the ministry had been sullied, and her faith in the system had been obliterated. Both she and I knew she would never work for the Ministry of Magic again, which was a shame really, as I had once pictured Minerva as a future minister of magic."

"I never knew that," Nicholas said, turning a curious expression toward Albus.

"She's a brilliant girl and very focused. If she ever decides to go into teaching, Dippet would be a fool not to hire her," Albus replied.

"So Nicholas did the translation," Elijah cued impatiently, forcing himself to return to his seat.

"Yes," Nicholas replied. "I did a complete translation and confirmed what Minerva had already suspected; Nederhausen had carefully documented the actions of a man he believed to be dangerous, and he specifically stated that Grindelwald should be considered the primary suspect if he or his comrades at the German Ministry met an untimely end."

"We sent copies of the translation to the aurors' office, hoping to get someone interested in investigating before Crouch would have opportunity to forestall things. As you may have guessed, we were unsuccessful," Albus explained.

"Did Grindelwald go after Miss McGonnagall?" Elijah asked.

Both Albus and Nicholas turned a curious expression on the auror. "Did you never ask her that yourself?" Nicholas queried.

Elijah ran a hand through his hair, tilting his head toward his hand, attempting to distract them from noticing his lack of eye contact. "It – it didn't come up."

Nicholas shook his head in disdain. "I would think that was an important detail," he said.

"Perhaps attention to detail is not his strong suit," Albus retorted. He was beginning to think he'd been wrong when he thought that Elijah was basically a very good man. He turned to look at Elijah again. "Yes, though it was quite subtle. Initially he sent a polite response by owl telling her he was sorry to lose her and offering to write her a fine recommendation. He stated he hoped to keep in touch with her, of course certain helpful spells made it impossible for him to do so. He didn't know she was staying with Nicholas and Perenelle. He did try various methods of locating her, but between Nicholas, Perenelle, Minerva, Lorelei and myself, she was well hidden." Elijah met his gaze contritely.

"Shortly after that," Albus continued, "I was approached by Howard Dawlish and Nathan Madson, both of whom had been ordered to find her. The task was such a far cry from what they'd been hired to do that both began to question. Figuring that Minerva might have come to me if she was confused, both contacted me and asked what I knew. After a brief discussion, they went into hiding as well."

"We had always hoped that more of those Grindelwald had hired might come around," Nicholas added. "But it didn't happen. It is possible that he didn't chance their loyalties again, forcing it instead."

"Still, the fact that we were able to save those three gave us hope. However, Lorelei's family was not so lucky," Albus stated. "I had known that she continued to write to Arabella, hoping to dissuade her from marrying. It seemed the more she pushed, the more defiant Arabella became, and as the marriage drew closer, Lorelei began to try other avenues of persuasion. She contacted each of her brothers and shared pieces of the journal with them. Only one seemed to be convinced -- the eldest brother, Liam."

"Is this the reason Liam Figg was killed?" Elijah guessed.

"We believe so," Nicholas responded. "Unfortunately, Grindelwald managed the murder on a night he was dining with the Minister of Magic. Nevertheless, it seems an impossible coincidence that the one brother who was investigating Grindelwald so openly should have an unfortunate accident, don't you think?"

Elijah nodded, frowning. "Liam Figg was very vocal in his suspicions, and when he died it was the first time I heard any rumors among the aurors. However, they were still just rumors at that point and I trusted that the Ministry would look into them."

"Unfortunately your trust was betrayed, Elijah," Albus said bluntly. Again Elijah nodded, though he was staring at his shoes in the process.

"That was April, and I went with Lorelei to attend Liam's memorial service. Lorelei was very broken up. When she got the news, she'd cried for days. She attempted to pull herself together for the funeral, but anyone who knew her could see by the puffy eyes and drawn complexion that she was grieving. I had expected to see a similar appearance in Arabella, so imagine my shock when she stood there flushed and healthy, with the hint of a smile on her mouth. What's more, Arabella called me 'Albus', something she had never done before, even though I had considered us friends. It was for that reason alone that I searched her mind, but it was closed to me. No squib could manage that feat."

Elijah looked up, shocked. Albus was not certain if he was surprised at the open admission of legilimency, or the revelation that Arabella was unreadable.

"There are certain spells," Nicholas supplied, "rare though they are, which would prove incredibly effective in controlling the minds of squibs or muggles. A victim could literally be controlled to behave in a way entirely contrary to their nature – and convinced to do terrible things, perhaps even kill hundreds of thousands of people."

Elijah gasped. "Surely you aren't suggesting that Adolph Hitler might be the victim of mind control?" He looked appalled at the notion. Albus knew that Elijah was aware of the accusations of mind control in this case, though by his reaction, he must have dismissed them.

"I didn't bring up that name at all, dear boy." Nicholas responded. "However, it is interesting where one's mind leaps when given this information, isn't it?"

Nicholas and Albus watched each other for a moment as they let the pregnant pause stretch.

"It simply can't be!" Elijah exclaimed, shaking his head from side to side. It was not the first time in this conversation that the hint of mind control had been given. For the most part, Elijah seemed simply to have dismissed it until that moment.

"The point is, Elijah, that we do not know absolutely," Albus pointed out. "It is that doubt that makes the situation that much worse, and leaves us with a curious question should it prove to be true." He stood adding emphasis to his point by looking down at Elijah's face. "Should Hitler prove to be a victim, how do we treat him? Can this be undone? Can millions of people forget the actions of a leader without the magical world revealing itself? This is why we could not simply kill Grindelwald. The trap had to be set."

- - - - -

Now surely you must respond to that