Over the next couple of weeks, everyone who wasn't working at Wealsey's Wizard Wheezes or doing something important for the Order (or, you know, working at their job) was working on the Lupin house, which was moving along quite rapidly thanks to Hagrid and a few werewolves who had come to help, hoping to use this opportunity to thank Remus Lupin for his role in helping them find jobs (indeed, since it had been known that the Weasley Twins had hired werewolves, more people opened their doors to them, understanding that with the right potions and fewer hours on the full moon, everything was fine).
At the moment, Voldemort and his Death Eaters were pretty quiet and while everyone agreed that this was the calm before the storm and that they should enjoy it while they could. They all feared that the storm that would hit them afterwards would be monumental. Even Armand Malfoy was worried, he had told them that even though there were a few Death Eaters hiding at the manor, Voldemort hadn't been back in a while. He had come a couple of days after Narcissa and Draco left, told his Death Eaters to lay low, that he was going to look for a new ally, and not to act until he was back. Neither he nor Nagini had been back since then and it worried everyone. Who was this new ally Voldemort was looking for?
"It should be almost done by the time they come back." Sirius informed Arthur that afternoon, when he came to help after his work at the Ministry.
"That's great, they'll be able to move in quickly." Arthur nodded.
"Yes. Thank Merlin for magic, I don't know how I would like doing this the muggle way." Sirius sighted.
"It sure would have been longer. As fascinated as I am by muggles and their way to do things without magic, I've seen them building a house, it takes them forever and it looks like a much more dangerous task. And the number of people it takes! So many men, so much sweat..." Arthur nodded.
"You know, that actually sounds quite appealing to some of us." One of the female werewolves joked with a wink to Arthur, making him and Sirius blush with a little chuckle.
"Now come, let's help them finish this. Then all we'll have to do once the newly weds are back will be to make the corridor to link the two houses and place barriers all around the yard, unless they've decided on bushes." Sirius encouraged.
"And finish the garage, and the shed." Arthur smiled.
"Yes, but Remus insisted that this could wait, especially since they don't have a car."
.
Voldemort had decided to go alone with Nagini. He didn't want any of his Death Eaters to know that he had troubles with his wand. A wizard's wand was his pride, his strength, his power. It had to stay secret and so he had left with his snake, telling his followers that he was going to look for a new ally and that they should lay low until he came back. No attacks. He wanted to give people a false sense of security before they hit big on the 31st.
He traveled all the way to Bulgaria where he took his time to torture Gregorovitch to force the story of the most powerful wand in the world out of him. He had owned it, at least he believed it was it, until a young blond man broke into his shop and stole it. He didn't know the thief's name, he just saw his face, half in the dark, half light by the moonlight, before he jumped out, ran and disapparated away. The wandmaker wasn't able, much to Voldemort's frustration, to tell him more. he was old and had forgotten even what the wand was made of.
"This face looked familiar..." Voldemort whispered before he left the wand maker dead on the floor of his house.
He didn't cast the Dark Mark above the house. Nobody could know who had killed him, nor could they know why he had done it. It had to stay secret. He already suspected Dumbledore of knowing about the problems he was having with his wand. Still, he took a few wands with him. they weren't special, they were made of common ingredients, but the followers he'd break out of Azkaban would need wands, and since he had some laying there in front of him, he grabbed them. It would always be useful and maybe it would look like someone broke in to steal wands.
As they left the house, the Dark Lord didn't stop thinking until, finally, he remembered where he had seen the young man's face, the one he had seen in Gregorovitch's mind. A newspaper, a long time ago...
"I think we need to speak with Grindelwald. I'm not sure, the picture I saw of him... he was older than the one in the wand maker's memories, but I think it's him." Voldemort told Nagini.
"I met him when he was a bit younger, shortly before Dumbledore took care of him... I was still human half the time back then. I don't remember his wand being anything special though... not that I paid much attention to this detail." Nagini replied.
"Well, let's go and ask him. We're not too far, might as well cover all angles." he said, deciding to go to the ancient jail fortress to interrogate Grindelwald.
Maybe he'd just ask him questions and end up bringing him back as an ally, someone who knew Dumbledore very well and who could turn out to be a great pawn on his side. After all, their ideals, their goals, were pretty similar, though Voldemort would never use a motto like 'for the greater good'. If the old man refused to help, then he'd simply kill him. Maybe torture him a bit too, for good measure.
Gellert Grindelwald had been imprisoned for a long time, a very long time. Sure, he hadn't been surrounded by dementors, so he had probably kept his sanity, but he had been alone, wand-less, for so long... And if this was really the wand he had stolen, where was it now?
He was old, as old as Dumbledore... What state would they find him in? Would isolation have driven him crazy, weak? Would he be willing to help them, to join Voldemort's side?
As they made their way to the fortress, more and more questions ran in Voldemort's head, questions he absolutely wanted answers for.
Voldemort and Nagini made quick work of the guards before they quietly made their way to Gellert's cell. They had managed not to raise the alarm. The only people who knew they were here were now dead.
"Gellert Grindelwald." Voldemort simply stated, so the old man could know that he wasn't alone anymore.
"Yes, that's me. You're Voldemort, right? I've heard the guards talking about you and the fact that you're on the rise again." Gellert replied.
"I am, yes. I have a few questions for you. And, if you answer me honestly, if you help me, then maybe I'll free you." The Dark Lord spoke, deciding to let pass that someone had dared call him by his name.
After all, this man couldn't be expected to call him Master. At least he wasn't calling him Tom Riddle, like Dumbledore foolishly insisted on doing.
"And allow me to get my revenge on Albus Dumbledore?" Gellert Grindelwald asked.
Maybe, if he pretended he was on the same side as Voldemort, that he didn't have remorse for what he had done, he'd be free, he'd be able to see Albus one more time, to apologize for betraying his trust... Make amends for Ariana's death, maybe gain Albus' respect once more. Wasn't it too late for him though? Could he really still make up for what he did? He knew that his mental defenses were still strong and he'd be able to fool Voldemort, at least for a while... But why did he come here? What had pushed him to come all the way to him when he was trying to gain control of England?
"If that's what you want, then yes. I can help you get revenge on Dumbledore." Voldemort nodded as he opened the jail cell with a spell and entered, followed by Nagini.
The old man's eyes fell on Nagini and Voldemort saw recognition in them.
"You've met Nagini, right?" he asked.
"I have, a long time ago. Back then, she could still change back to a woman." the elder man nodded.
"She can't anymore, but she's my most faithful ally, my friend." Voldemort replied.
"Yes, I see you've changed a bit since I knew you." Gellert told Nagini who didn't answer.
Voldemort watched the old wizard. He was obviously still sane and he could feel that he was still strong. He couldn't penetrate his mind, so he was obviously a Master at Occlumency, probably Legilimency as well. He wouldn't be able to read his mind, so either he convinced him to help, or he'd have to hope he wouldn't be able to resist torture.
"I need the wand." Voldemort spoke, going directly to the main subject that had caused his visit.
"The wand?" he asked back, confused.
"You know the wand I'm speaking about, you looked for it as well." Voldemort replied, trying his best to be patient with this old man.
"The Elder Wand? That's the wand you want?" Grindelwald asked, surprised.
Of course Voldemort would be looking for this wand. Could he really tell the truth though? Could he let Voldemort have such a powerful wand or should he lie, hide that the one who presently held the wand was Albus? Sure, Albus was on Voldemort's list one way or another, but telling him would be taking the risk of Voldemort gaining control of the wand eventually, and that was something bad.
"If that's how it's called, yes. I've interrogated Gregorovitch. I know he had it and that you stole it when you were younger." Voldemort declared.
He had to come up with something plausible and quickly, otherwise, he'd be dead and it wouldn't take long for Voldemort to know who the knew master of the Elder wand was. He answered in a slow, tired, voice, pretending he needed rest before he could speak faster.
"I did steal a wand from Gregorovitch's shop, and I truly believed that it was the Elder Wand for he had spread the rumor that he had it. I figure it served him well, everyone would want a wand made by the man who owned the Elder wand. Such a powerful and legendary wand... So of course, knowing what I wanted to do, I went in the middle of the night and stole it. For someone who spread such rumors about this wand, he definitely should have had more security. His security wards were primitive. A third year could have gotten rid of them, I'm sure of it. I went home, proud of my deed, sure that I had in my hands the most powerful wand in the world..." Gellert declared, speaking slowly.
"It wasn't?" Voldemort asked, trying to be patient with this man who could turn into a great ally, even if he never had the wand.
"No, it wasn't. Probably a copy of something that had been seen before, but once I took it out of its box, I realized that it wasn't special. No superior power, nothing special about it. Just a normal, though slightly stronger than the norm, wand, made of YEW and Unicorn tail hair. 21 inches. Very disappointing for one who expected such a powerful and legendary wand. The Elder wand, the legendary stick of death, couldn't be such a disappointing mix. It was dark and covered with runes, but they only told the tale of the 3 brothers, nothing more. I'm pretty sure the actual Elder Wand won't have "Elder wand" written all over it, for everyone to know." Grindelwald spoke, trying to appear as honest and sincere as possible.
"What did you do with it?" Voldemort asked with a frown, obviously believing the old man.
"I gave it to one of my followers who had lost his wand in an attack. Didn't serve him much since he died too." Gellert replied.
He couldn't even tell Voldemort that the real Elder wand was made of Elder wood and Thestral hair, this information could end up valuable. No, he'd keep the secret and, as soon as possible, he'd warn Albus, try to make up for his past mistakes.
"I need a new wand, mine isn't working properly against the Potter boy, but this is information that is secret, none of my Death Eaters know of it. Either you join me, fight by my side, or I'll kill you to ensure you won't speak." Voldemort spoke, his red eyes shining with determination.
"I won't speak a word of it to anyone, and I'll do my best to help you find a solution for this wand problem. All I want is a chance to be face to face with Albus once more, tell him what I've been waiting so long to tell him." Gellert replied, not telling the complete truth but not lying either and obviously Voldemort believed him.
"Very well, you can come with us. We'll provide you with a room, a safe place for you to rest and gain your strength back. We have a big attack planned on the 31st, only a couple of days away. You won't join us, you'll stay hidden. We'll reveal your presence later, once you're strong once more." Voldemort decided.
"What about your wand problem?" Nagini asked.
"Nagini is right, I still haven't solved my wand problem." Voldemort frowned.
"Well, as long as it keeps on working perfectly against everyone else... All you have to do is avoid the boy and knowing Albus, he'll try to keep him shielded and protected until the very last moment, until he really can't avoid it anymore. Knowing Albus I'd say you have until Harry Potter graduates before you have to start worrying, maybe even longer. I think you'll be able to decide on when you'll kill him." Gellert spoke truthfully.
"You're right. Come along, now." Voldemort spoke.
Before he left, he transported the dead guards in the cell, and locked it back up before casting a strong fire spell inside, to burn the bodies and traces of the escape. Once this magical fire was done burning, all that would be left would be ashes.
He didn't cast the dark mark over the fortress either, people couldn't know that he had come this far, nor could they know who he had brought back with him.
What did you think of this new ally? Will he eventually be truly on Voldemort's side or will he end up helping his old friend? What is stronger, hate for Muggles and desire for revenge, or Love?
Review please
Lorelei Candice Black