Disclaimer: Oh you know the drill by now

A/N: I'll poke all my lovely readers with the conspiracy stick now. Did you know that Adolph Hitler's footwear was very strange? While most of his companions are wearing square toed boots in shades of brown, photos show Hitler in round toed boots of an olive tinged material. I have assumed it was crocodile, alligator, or snake hide of some sort, but watch how easily this tidbit slides into the story. Poke. Poke. Of course, color photography of the time was not the best.

And now...

Chapter 10 – Grindelwald and Hitler

Elijah sat back in his chair, staring at an undefined point on the wall. Both Nicholas and Albus said nothing, but shot looks at the man occasionally, trying to gauge whether he was ready for more or not. Eventually Elijah sat forward, his face in his hands, probably going over things in his mind which had plagued Albus for more than a year. He knew the questions well – if Hitler turns out to be nothing more than a puppet, how do we proceed? Is there a line of interference that wizards must not cross when dealing with the muggle world, and is that subject to how much interference had existed in the first place? Is there ever a moment when it becomes best to let a muggle suffer blame for that which he might be blameless due to magical manipulation? What if it's all wrong and Hitler really is the malevolent being he's believed to be, but it's only discovered after wizards thwart his capture? – In fact there were far more questions than answers and after months of hunting, that fact had not changed.

Finally Elijah broke the silence. "I think I need a drink." Albus turned his gaze automatically to the empty ale glass, but said nothing as Elijah ordered a stiff round of fire-whiskey.

The bar owner delivered the drink, disappearing unusually fast. The smoking drink seemed to revive Elijah some. When he'd finished his sip, he looked from Albus to Nicholas. "Getting to Hitler may be difficult for the muggles. It shouldn't be for us. Surely you've taken the steps to see if you can read anything from him?"

"Indeed," Albus replied. "That was my first move. I should tell you that it was not as simple as I originally thought it would be..."

"Magical protections?" Elijah interrupted, wiping his mouth with his sleeve, despite the provided napkins.

"Some magnificently complex charms," Nicholas revealed. "Oh they dared not do something so strong as the Fidelius Charm where muggles are involved, but we were amazed at the steps that were taken to keep wizards away."

"Repelling charms, binding charms, confusion charms, all set off by apparating into the leader's vicinity, as well as a few other means of magical transport," Albus added. "And these were not just around Adolph Hitler. Himmler, Eichmann, Heydrich, Göring, Goebbels, Ribbentrop, Meissner -- every senior officer in the Reichstadt that we tried was as well protected. These kinds of protections were not in place for Mussolini, and we were able to establish that no magic was involved in his case at all. He led the way to fascism with the help of clever advisors; but everything he did was part of his own misguided ambitions. If he is executed in the coming weeks, as the Italian Government has promised, it will be justice"

Elijah listened to the whole thing with his mouth hanging open. "You did eventually get around the charms and curses, obviously. How?"

"We'd like to say it was due to our brilliance, but in this case it was luck," Nicholas answered.

"Again and again, we failed to break through the protections and began to wonder if we'd ever find the right combination of spells; as it turned out that was the problem -- the counter spells had to be completed in a certain order, and even so, we might not have succeeded, had it not been for the efforts of Von Stauffenberg's plot," Albus explained. Whenever he considered the actions of the German Resistance Fighters, Albus couldn't help but marvel at the courage it showed. Too many of the German People had not fought back against their government and the few that did were hunted with ferocity. Even knowing that would probably be his fate, Claus Von Stauffenberg had schemed with rebel forces to assassinate Adolf Hitler. In July of 1944, they had very nearly succeeded by planting a bomb in a briefcase at a meeting of Hitler's inner circle. The plan forever emblazoning the young muggle's name in history and it was now well known all over Europe, especially since von Stauffenberg was executed. "When the explosive was set off, we were in the process of trying a new combination of spells, and were in place to apparate in and test most of the senior officers. The blast destroyed a charmed object that we had not yet found a way to disarm. We didn't even have to use any memory charms – we were well cloaked by invisibility spells and a few other exceptional charms.

Elijah considered this for a moment. "Von Stauffenberg might well have been braver than any wizard I've ever known. I'd never expected anything like that from a muggle," he muttered. Albus felt a slight irritation at the prejudice, but he decided not to dwell on it.

"Ultimately we were unable to read Hitler and his associates, despite the fact that some were injured, which only left us more uncertain about what has taken place," Nicholas divulged. "While the muggles all wonder how Hitler survived, it became apparent that there are protection charms on him, as well as some unusual apparel for a muggle. Imagine our surprise at seeing dragon-hide boots, for example."

"Well what the hell does that mean?" Elijah demanded, slamming his fist into the table for the second time that evening.

"It means, Elijah, that it is possible Hitler has knowledge of the wizarding world. Or, it is possible that they were simply a gift and he doesn't really know what they're made of," Albus replied. "Unfortunately, it only added further questions to ponder."

"And you haven't heard the most damning thing that happened that hot summer day, Elijah," Nicholas remarked. "Grindelwald appeared immediately after the blast and put the flames out with his wand."

Elijah lurched to his feet once more, in the process knocking over the table and sending his remaining fire-whiskey flying along with the empty ale glasses and used napkins. Albus cleaned up the mess with a flick of his wand before the unhappy bar owner was left with the chore. "Surely you went back to the ministry at that point!" Elijah exclaimed.

"Oh yes, we most certainly did," Albus responded, indicating himself and Nicholas. "I tried to apprise them of everything that we had witnessed. I foolishly thought that Minister Starkey would listen, especially given the rumors that surfaced after Liam Figg's untimely death. In the three months that had passed, speculation had grown extraordinarily, and yet he still stubbornly refused to hear me out. Crouch, however, was not so closed-minded this time. However, he told me we would have to keep our investigation incognito for a time and that he needed something solid to take to the Wizengamot if he was going to disregard the Minister of Magic's orders."

Elijah resumed his chair and seemed to calm some. "That's good. Took him long enough though."

"Elijah," Albus started cautiously. "It took Crouch even longer than that. Ask yourself when he actually assigned your predecessor to poke around, or when you yourself got the assignment. Moreover, what I'm telling you tonight may seem new information to you, but I assure you that I have not kept it a secret. Perhaps I didn't shout it from the rooftops, but then I have students to consider and no desire to bring them to harm by recklessness. Also, there was Lorelei and Hagrid, both of whom are – were dear to me." And like so many times before that evening Albus found himself swept into a wave a grief. For two years they had been mostly inseparable. He had not spent a single day without at least glimpsing her smile and hearing her laugh. Her mostly bubbly attitude was occasionally darker. But somehow, even her tempers had become softer in his memory, and he knew he'd give anything for her to shout at him for the risks taken in setting the trap, instead of knowing he'd never see her again. She would have yelled at him passionately and when it was over, they would have made up the way they always did, clinging to one another as if nothing else on Earth existed but them and the emotion between them. He had known there were changes on the horizon, but it was not supposed to have been like this. There was supposed to have been joy, a wedding, a real family – he knew his mind was wandering into dangerous territory. There were things he could not allow himself to dwell on until Grindelwald was stopped. And then – what came then?

"... you at the Ministry?" Elijah was asking.

"Hmmm?" Albus had been so caught up in his thoughts that he'd mostly missed the question.

"No, Lorelei was with Perenelle and Hagrid," Nicholas answered for him, shooting Albus a worried look. "Minerva had traveled to see her family, taking her two friends with her in case there was trouble. Perenelle had thought that Hagrid and Lorelei needed a day of frivolous spending and ice cream. It was a decision they'd made before Albus and myself decided to try the spells again. Lorelei was quite angry that she had not been included that day, but then, we'd never imagined that we'd actually break through the charms, and as I said, it was pure luck."

"Lorelei was angry for being left out, angry at the ministry, and hurt over something she'd seen in the Daily Prophet," Albus clarified. "Two days earlier, Arabella had married Wilhelm Grindelwald. It was a blow to see the announcement in the paper and her sister had not invited her despite how close they had once been. As you know Diagon Alley is slow to pick up muggle news, even when it affects the wizarding world. Consequently they'd not yet heard about the explosion. Also, judging by the number of shopping bags they'd returned with, I doubt they stayed in one shop for long." Perenelle and Lorelei had probably visited every shop, dragging a mostly disgruntled Hagrid along in their wake as they ogled antiques, tried on dress robes and gowns, and examined cookware. Lorelei had appeased the teen by purchasing a new pet for him, one which Albus was not sure he approved, simply because it kept eating his best socks – a crup which someone had named Fuzzil. Hagrid was delighted with the creature and spent the evening encouraging it to chase things twice its size, including Fawkes, Albus' pet phoenix.

Lorelei and Perenelle had sat down with Albus and Nicholas that evening to watch Hagrid chase round the garden with Fuzzil and Nicholas' wolfhound, Speckles, and to discuss the events of the day. When they had relayed everything that had taken place, Lorelei had looked stunned. "Dragon hide boots?" she'd repeated in shock. "Grindelwald showed up personally to clean up?" She shook her head in disbelief.

Perenelle had patted her arm sympathetically. "One thing I've learned living as long as I have -- this too shall pass, Lorelei," she'd soothed. "Though it may take about five more pink parasols," she added with a grin, referring to one of the items they had purchased during their shopping trip. It was Lorelei's favorite acquisition of the day.

Lorelei had chuckled at that before replying despondently, "You realize this man is now my brother-in-law, right?" She'd stood restlessly and stared out into the settling night, placing one delicate hand on the porch column. "When Arabella was a little girl, she told me how much she wanted to find herself a handsome wizard who would sweep her off her feet. They'd have a huge wedding and live in a big house. It never occurred to me to remind her to wish that he was a decent human-being, or that he'd actually love her. Unfortunately, she got all she wished for and nothing more." She had then begun to cry silently, leaving her companions uncertain what to do.

Albus had stood and put his arms around her. "It's not too late, you know. If we stop Grindelwald, she can start over. She's a beautiful young woman and I know there will be some great love in her life."

Lorelei had turned in the circle of his arms, looking at him imploringly. "It cannot be a case of 'if', Albus. We must stop him. Promise me that no matter what happens, we'll find a way. Please, promise me?"

Albus wondered now if some part of her had known she would die. He would keep his promise to her and not think about his losses until it was done. But then what? Hagrid was fifteen and hardly needed care – only enough supervision to keep the Ministry off his back. In what felt like mere minutes, Grindelwald had destroyed that which Albus had never thought he'd have in the first place – his family. Strangely, though existence before Lorelei had seemed perfectly fine, even sometimes happy, he couldn't imagine what came after her death, or ever wanting to smile again. Sometimes one person could change another so profoundly that it was impossible to go back.

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