Chapter 8

Classes went on as normal for the remainder of the day, and when it was over he was thankful. Professor Flitwick had pulled him aside and updated him on the situation with the Goblet of Fire, and reported pretty much what Harry had already figured out. A powerful witch or wizard confounded the Goblet, and they were thorough, not leaving a single trace behind.

His frustration was slightly alleviated by the fact that Flitwick had presented him with a captain's badge for the dueling team. "I think you deserved both to be honest, but we decided Oliver Wood was crazy enough to lead the Hogwarts contingent against the international competition, and he wouldn't question your skill as Seeker regardless of how many team practices you may miss."

Harry stared at the badge, already contemplating who he was going to allow into each of the 10 slots in his team roster. He thanked his head of house gratefully at the faith he had always held for him.

Feeling in high spirits, Harry avoided the glances that came his way as he made his way back to his dorm room. He had been theorizing all day in his head how he would get a head start on the map, and he was anxious to get started. Deciding to retire to his room for the evening, he walked through the common room exchanging quiet greetings with people he passed and sealed his bedroom door upon his arrival.

He picked up the Marauders Map carefully and spoke the activation phrase, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

The map immediately began to animate, and dozens of names slowly began appearing across the parchment. He spotted many familiar names, and a few new ones from the foreign delegation that must have been trying to get a feel for the castle.

He continued studying the map intently, hoping to find a name that would ring a bell, or see one that was somewhere it shouldn't be, but after a while the only odd thing he found was that Alastor Moody, and Barty Crouch seemed to be having a late night rendezvous in the Defense Against The Dark Arts office.

Harry sighed, closing the map, and went towards his desk where a familiar mirror was lying. He picked it up and activated it by saying, "Lily Potter."

A few moments passed before a redhead's face appeared on the mirror, "Hi sweetheart. This is a pleasant surprise."

"Good evening, mother. Can you start a running list of charms that can reverse animations?" Harry asked professionally.

The woman looked thoughtful, "That could be a pretty extensive list. There is animation of the elements, animations for dozens of transfigurations, and hundreds of animations for charming certain things."

"I want a list of all of them. I think it's going to take a lot of experimentation to get started on figuring out how to reverse animate the map to show things that have happened in the past. Then we are going to have to figure out the arithmancy calculations to get this map to tell time so we know how far back we are going once we do figure it out."

"You want to add a clock to the Marauders Map?" Lily asked curiously, her gaze drifting as if she were already calculating the required changes in her head.

"I think it would be a good start. If I'm going to create my own improved map, it should help if I have a good understanding of every charm placed into this crazy thing."

She looked at him in surprise, "Goodness, Harry, sometimes I forget you are in Ravenclaw. Ever consider a charms or arithmancy mastery? The map you're thinking of would be considered an amazing example of your work by any master of the art, and they would almost certainly take you on as an apprentice."

Harry almost said that his master wouldn't appreciate the competition, but he bit his tongue realizing his family didn't know about his mentor. Lily spoke gently, "Sweetheart, is something wrong?"

Harry swallowed hard, "How can you tell?"

"Your father gets that look when something is troubling him. I never saw that look until his seventh year. Now he only has that face when he is trying to crack a particularly hard case, or he wants to tell me something I won't be happy about." she said kindly.

"It is something I want to tell you. All of you, but I don't think this is the right time. I know you would have read the article in the Daily Prophet this morning." Harry said softly.

"Yes, and Rita Skeeter better never cross me in a Dark Alley, because they will never find her body after what she continuously prints about my children." Lily said darkly.

"Lily Potter with a dark side, who would've known? I've heard good things about this infamous Lily Evans power, and after seeing it at the World Cup, maybe I will put it to the test this summer." Harry said cheekily.

The woman grinned, "I warn you, I once handled all four Marauders at once."

"No great feat I imagine." Harry said back quickly, making the woman laugh.

"Sweetheart, whatever it is you want to tell us we will be happy to hear you out whenever you are ready. We are family. We will stick by you no matter what. Our mistakes in the past. They will never be repeated. You have my word."

The boy was silent for a few moments before saying, "Thanks, mum."

"I love you, sweetheart. Try not to get too worked up in this mess. I know projects like this used to drive me to the edge of insanity since I would never sleep while I worked." Lily admitted with a small smile.

"I will do my best to get some rest. Goodnight, mum."

The mirror turned off as he turned it over on his desk and he took a deep breath. Thinking over his conversation with his mother, he only hoped she was honest when saying his family would stick by him no matter what. He was sure the revelation of who his master was would be sure to send shockwaves, not just through his family, but the wizarding world as well.

He worked on the map for several hours before he decided it was time for his meeting. He grabbed his broom, and opened his window, diving out of the castle towards the ground to build up speed, then pulling up and aiming his broom to the skies, his feet nearly skimming the grass as he rose. He soared above the forbidden forest, and went beyond what most Hogwarts students would ever recognize. After nearly thirty minutes of flying he began to descend as he realized he was in mostly normal muggle nature territory. He felt wards wash over him as he flew into a small area that held a lone log cabin.

Smelling fresh food, and a smokey pine, he smiled as he placed his broom up against the house, and pushed open the door as he had done for many years. He walked into the single room cabin and took a deep breath, getting a feel for the magic in the proximity. He was searching for the familiar presence in the room that he was certain he would find, and after a moment he sighed basking in the familiarity, "I hope I did not keep you waiting...my master."

"Good evening, Harry. I suspect you are well." The older man said, rising from his chair in the dark corner.

As he stood he took in his master's appearance. His right eye was a glowing blue that Harry knew was a magical eye that helped calm the pain in his head from the old man's visions. His left was a dark brown color that could've been black in the way he hid in the shadows. The tall pale man however had smooth grey combed-back hair that was spiked in a style that showed the heart of a much younger man. His face was perfectly clean-shaven.

"I am as well as can be expected. I was forced to fight for my life at the World Cup, and now my name has come out of the Goblet. Having that Skeeter bitch call me a rising Dark Lord in the Newspaper has made me pretty cross with things to be honest with you." Harry said testily as he made his way to the kitchen to prepare the tea as his master liked it.

This was a man he could be himself in front of, and he had been so for his entire Hogwarts Magical education.

Harry was walking through the forbidden forest, frustrated with the way things were going. He wasn't relating to his peers like his godfather said he would, and he couldn't seem to be even cordial with the kindest of people in his house. His dark attitude had put him in position to be an outcast and his first year wasn't even half way over.

He hated this day. People were celebrating the fall of the Dark Lord, but today was not a happy day for Harry Potter. He knew this was the day that his life and childhood began to unravel. It was this day eleven years ago that the Dark Lord tried to wipe his family off the map, on Halloween 1981.

Kicking the ground in frustration Harry drew his wand, "Stupefy."

A jet of red light shot from his wand.

"Reducto." A blasting curse leapt from his wand and hit a nearby tree shaking it from the ground up.

"Defodio."A gouging hex. A piercing charm. Fire. Water. Things were shooting out of his wand so fast he didn't even realize he had stopped using words as tears streamed down his face at the frustration of his life. He suddenly plopped down to the ground and wanted to scream, but before he could a man's voice entered the area, "Your piercing charm is sloppy, but your blaster is good."

The young boy's eyes shot up to see a man in a black cloak with a white button up shirt, and black trousers, all illuminated by a white scarf, and a stunning glowing blue eye. The man's hair was slicked back and Harry quickly drew himself to his feet pointing his wand at the man, "Who are you? What do you want?"

The man held his hands up in a sign of surrender, "Nothing, dear boy. You seemed to be letting out your frustrations, and I just wanted to help you with a little wand work. Your piercing charm is good for your age, but it could be better. Your wrist movement gets a little dicey, and if you clean it up with your power it should look more like this."

With a flick of the man's wrist, an arrow-like spell shot out of the man's wand and went through a nearby tree, and into the next, and through the one after, and seemed to go through nearly five trees. Harry stared at the spell in awe, "Can you teach me to do that, sir?"

"I could. I am a seer, my boy. I came here tonight, because fate has ordained that we be brought together. I am in search of an apprentice. One that I can pass my knowledge on to before I pass into the next great adventure. I must do this for the greater good, because all lost magical knowledge is...a travesty." The man said, flourishing his hands around.

The older man was a mystery to Harry, "Why me?"

The man shrugged his shoulders, eyeing the shadows in the forest. "Why not you, my boy? My visions showed our meeting in this very spot, and then I saw us rising up together. You are a titan of magical power that would one day be more powerful than this cowardly Dark Lord your little brother supposedly defeated."

"Supposedly?" Harry asked carefully.

"Oh I think you know the truth. There is no way an infant could have deflected the curse to end all curses. Search your feelings, search your magic, and the truth will present itself." The man encouraged calmly.

"How do I do this?"

"Close your eyes, and think back to what little you remember from the moment it all happened."

Harry did this quietly as he tried to remember anything he could. The moment was all so blurry, but he remembered his Grandmother standing before him. The whispered words of an enchantment, of something powerful building up in the room, "I will protect you boys...Always."

The words hit Harry like a tidal wave, and he realized just what the man was referring to, "How did you know? Why didn't you tell anyone?"

The man rolled his shoulders still pacing in wide circles around Harry as if he were sizing him up, "It was not my story to tell. Besides, I wronged the world long ago for the greater good, and it never forgave me. I wish to make amends with the magic of the world, and do a final good deed, and I have seen enough to believe you could be that final good deed my child. Magic blooms only in rare souls, but you, my boy, could be the most rare magical child I have ever come across."

Harry stared at the man in wonder, "What will you teach me?"

The man grinned and held out his hands in a wide motion, "Everything."

It took Harry a long while to trust the man completely, but years passed and they trained together many nights. He would always send owls or charmed messengers to meet with him to inform them of their next session. Six years later and the two had grown the bond only a master and apprentice could share.

"I understand your frustration, but you must remain patient and in control at all times. The world has only begun to see the extent of your magical abilities, and in time will be awed as they realize it is far too late to stop your rise to power."

Harry chuckled, "I still don't plan on taking over the world."

The man grumbled, "If Albus or I had your power at the age you are now the world would have already been on its knees. Though I respect your desire to keep your power in moderation. Perhaps if Albus and I had done that we could've done the world a lot good...together."

"Gellert, I think you are still within means of redemption. Winning these magical contests will only be the beginning of my magical exploits, and when the world realizes just how powerful I am I will tell them of the man that trained me. The man that practically raised me. The changed man who regretted the actions of his youth. I will make sure the name of Gellert Grindelwald will be a name respected throughout the Wizarding World again one day, I swear it." Harry said with a bit of heat.

The man chuckled, "always the ambitious one you were, but in different ways than myself. I believe you are nearly ready to make a good fight against this supposed Lord Voldemort. I have seen your showdown in my visions many times. It is unclear to me who wins, but I see his rise to power, and the two ways I have seen it are vastly different. One is years of death and destruction with an unclear victor in the devastation brought by the war, and the other is a single night of carnage followed by victory. I am unsure of what path we currently follow, but I hope I am there to face this monster that Albus and I made."

Harry shook his head, "You can't be held responsible for the rise of Voldemort. Dumbledore holds much more of the blame than yourself."

"Had he not been so busy fighting me in Europe perhaps he would've put a stop to the monster before he ever truly gained traction. Besides, I knew Albus would need the Elder Wand one day to keep Voldemort at bay. If I had known that Scamander had laid the trap for me I would've gotten it to him another way, but by the time I allowed Dumbledore to disarm me he thought I was too far gone in the dark arts, and decided to hold me up in that godforsaken prison."

Harry rolled his eyes, "They had all seen your power. They feared what they couldn't control."

"I could've struck them all down when I escaped, but of course that was the day I had my first vision of you. My apprentice that would rise from the ashes." Grindelwald said with pride.

"Alright, enough of the gushy stuff. Are we going to train or not?" Harry said, rising in anticipation.

"Soon. I merely wanted to speak with you of the tournament. I have already seen your first task. Dragons, a Hungarian Horntail for you in particular. If you're curious, your brother will be facing the Ukrainian Ironbelly. Nasty beast if you recall my stories from the war and the Scamander brothers?"

Harry stared at the man to see if he was joking, but when he realized he wasn't he plopped into his chair, "Dragons, huh? That is more daunting than I would have believed the Ministry capable of making children face."

"Well if it makes you feel any better, your brother and yourself have by far the most dangerous breeds of dragons in the tournament."

"Naturally…" The pregnant pause that followed made Grindelwald stare at his young apprentice with great scrutiny.

"If we were to be attacked by a dragon, what would be your first inclination?"

"To blind it."

A powerful stinging charm came from nowhere so fast Harry had no time to move as it hit him in the shoulder, "SON OF A-"

"Wrong! A blind dragon is a pissed off dragon, and a pissed off dragon means a dead wizard. We are attacked by a dragon, what would be your first inclination?"

"Get rid of its ability to fly." Harry said bracing himself for another stinging hex, but none came.

"Not bad. You've gotten rid of its ability to fly. What now?"

"Trap it. Maybe with advanced transfigurations followed by dozens of enlargement charms to scare it, possibly back it into a corner."

Grindelwald nodded, sliding a hand across his facial hair looking bored by his plan, "Good...Good. If the task is to retrieve an object like I believe then that should answer your problem. Get you a decent score."

Harry growled at the taunting nature of his master's comment, "Protego Diabolica. I will kill the dragon, and accomplish a feat that hasn't been seen since the first great war."

This made the man's face turn into a smile, "My boy, you think you can control my spell?"

Without hesitation Harry responded, "I know I can. I will summon the fire through the protection spell, and use it to slay the dragon. Show the world that my power goes far beyond magical combat. You nearly destroyed Paris 70 years ago with this spell. I will merely defeat the dragon, and then stop the spell myself. No one alive has ever seen this spell cast. Not even Dumbledore."

"He will of course heard the story from Newt Scamander." Grindelwald said calmly.

"Then it can be his first hint of just how I grew to this level of power. I would fight circles around Dumbledore now, and the sooner I can take the Elder Wand from him the easier time I will have of protecting my family, and possibly taking down Voldemort."

"It is a bold plan."

"So you approve?"

"Naturally. In fact I think I will be there to witness it myself."

"You plan to attend my tasks?"

"Oh yes. I have seen each of these tasks in my visions, and in each one I have seen you perform incredible feats of magic. I must see my apprentice rise to be a champion." Grindelwald said, looking out a window towards the forest, towards Hogwarts, towards Dumbledore.

"I will not disappoint you, master." Harry said with a bow.

"Of that I have no doubt, Harry. Now return back for your rest. I understand you have a date with a French Veela tomorrow. I would hate for you not to perform to the best of your manners. I, after all, had great relations with the Veela during the Great War."

"If I hadn't seen the way your visions affected you at times I would think being a seer is the best magical ability ever. Your ability to know everything about my life without me getting the chance to tell you is unfair."

Gellert smiled slightly, "A gift and a curse." he said, with a roll of his neck and closing his eyes, "The future is always changing. A constant swirl of visions." The man said, opening his eyes, "We must remain vigilant. I will send for you again in three days. Be well rested. I would like to see you test my old spell before I let you unleash it on the world without practice."

Harry bowed as he felt the dismissal coming, "Is there anything you would like me to bring you next time?"

The man looked thoughtfully before shaking his head, "If I think of anything I will send it in my missive. Be careful out there Harry. Voldemort is on the move."

Harry felt the chill go down his back, but it wasn't really news. The signs were already there with the attack at the Quidditch World Cup, and then his and Justin's name coming out of the Goblet. The young man merely nodded, and returned back to the grounds of the campsite where he had left his broom, and took off into the night.

(A/N) That concludes chapter 8! I have been getting lots of questions on the Grindelwald break out, and honestly its not an important aspect to this story. Grindelwald started having visions of his apprentice, and he wanted atonement. Nurmengard was never truly about him being imprisoned by the castle, it was about him sitting there punishing himself, something that will be explored in later chapters.

If you want to read through Chapter 11 you can join my discord page! Just delete the spaces below, and give me a follow. Please review so I know what you guys are all thinking of the story this far, and I will see you all April 19th! Cheers.

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