Whatever Daphne had expected of her upcoming summer, it hadn't been what she'd gotten. Not even a day out of Hogwarts and she finds out that Rodrick was apparently heir to an ancient families vault. The Lestrange family had overflown in wealth. More so than the average pureblood family. Why?

She'd find out from said inheritor himself. According to Rodrick, from what the goblins knew at any rate, Gellert Grindelwald's marriage to Leta Lestrange had a steep cost. The former dark lord had evidently demanded something in return for letting them join his family.

That price was loyalty.

At the time, the Lestrange family lord had seen an opportunity unlike any other. Loyalty had been easy to give. Only, Gellert had lost. The years following his defeat hadn't had any effect on the Lestranges, claims of innocence and bribes kept them out of Azkaban. Leta Lestrange/Grindelwald, however, had disappeared.

Everything had been fine until another Lestrange lord had pledged their loyalty to Voldemort. For Gellert Grindelwald was still alive, worse yet, his daughter was still free. The actions had closed off the main family vault from reach. Courtesy of a gift Gellert had bestowed upon them for the marriage. A gift cursed to punish the family for betraying him.

For a pureblood family to lose access to their main family vault... The only thing worse would've been their houses extinction.

Of course, they certainly tried to keep the whole disaster under wraps according to her father, families of their stature certainly kept emergency vaults in case any problems arose with their first. Fortunately for Rodrick, the curse had taken effect at a rather good time, for very little of his upcoming wealth had been wasted on the current dark lord. Unfortunately for her suddenly smug boyfriend, he couldn't access any of it until he came of age.

Their contracts hadn't been specifically edited like the one his mother had arranged.

She'd honestly thought that would be the only surprise of the summer.

A week later Rodrick had decided to learn how to Apparate.

The first three days had proven rather frustrating for the Grindelwald, Frustration that had up until that point Daphne thought to be hilarious...

...

"Goddam-" Rodrick barely finished the word before he felt himself sag backwards onto the floor. feeling lightheaded. Every time he attempted to apparate it ended in him out of breath, feeling as if he'd run a mile. Daphne sat in front of him idly reading a book, every now and then glancing towards him.

"Failed again?" The girl asked amused.

Rodrick rolled his eyes, "I can feel it, I know I am almost there... There's just something always blocking me from actually doing it..." He'd been practising in the garden every day for the past three days.

"Could ask dad," Daphne idly repeated for the 15th time.

Rodrick furrowed his brows, "I know I am doing it right, I don't need help with that..."

"Clearly you're doing something wrong Rodrick, just ask."

Rodrick sighed, staring at the girl for a few seconds, "Let me just try it a couple more times."

...

"There's an anti-apparition ward on the house." Daphne deadpanned unamused. "How could you forget there was a ward on the house."

"Still almost did it," Rodrick shrugged.

Daphne twitched, "You heard my dad if you were successful, the ward would've sent you to the hospital!" How could he act so casual about this! For heaven's sake, he almost died! When she'd told her parents on the fourth day looking for advice, her mom looked like she'd almost had a stroke.

As it were, the reason he'd felt so drained? Rodrick thought it likely had something to do with the curse on his arm. Either it knew of the consequences of succeeding and so drained him to the point of exhaustion to prevent the apparition from taking place which meant it was sentient or it was simply the side effect of attempting to forcibly Apparate through a ward.

She doubted it was the second one. If history was anything to go by according to Professor Black, it was that both muggles and wizards alike tended to try very stupid things just to see what would happen. Plus the fact that when anti Apparition wards were invented the number of accidents related to the ability had more than tripled in that year alone. Considering that the daily prophet had run several papers warning the populous regarding the dangers of attempting to force your way through should've meant no accidents...

...

Their friends hadn't shown up much over the summer due to the Quidditch world cup, even her own parents had planned to go though they'd missed the first half. Rodrick had unsurprisingly elected to stay in the house, Daphne didn't really have any interest in the sport and decided to keep him company. Her parents hadn't been happy about it but allowed it. It's not like they were the only beings in that house, what with her family having four house elves. Astoria naturally went with them. The girl seemed to like the game though it was more likely because she knew Luna was going to be there.

Which brought her to the current predicament.

...

After Rodrick had figured out how to Apparate, safely, he'd elected to go onto Transfiguration. Particularly Animagus Transformations. Now, naturally because the idiot simply couldn't settle for normal Animagus forms, he decided he wanted a magical one.

Magical Animagus transformations were not possible, at least historically they weren't. She stared at the overflowing cauldron with mild trepidation.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" She questioned warily.

Rodrick added, "Assuming I got the dosage right, yes."

"Isn't it dangerous?"

Rodrick shook his head, "There isn't any life-threatening ingredient, if anything the phoenix essence is definitely harmless."

Daphne nodded, "How do you even know it'll work?" She questioned looking down on the instructions. The potions book had one specific concoction, most of the ingredients had been simple to get, the last one, however, was unknown. In the sense that it simply wrote, 'Essence of any magical creature'

The idea behind it been that the only reason people generally got a non-magical creature is that magical creatures were made up differently compared to normal animals. The potion was supposed to supply the missing part. If done properly, it would shift one's cells permanently. It was like getting a tattoo. A randomly generated tattoo. The creature you would in theory get wasn't specifically the one whose essence you used, after all, it still followed the basic rules of Animagus transformations.

If Daphne was a betting girl, she'd bet her boyfriend was going to turn into a burning bird. Why? Again, because he's a complete idiot.

The number of times he'd accidentally overdosed was not a laughing matter. No matter how much he laughed or shrugged it off, it was still rather traumatising to witness.

Overdosing on a potion could be fatal! And yet all it did was give Rodrick a concussion.

After the third time it had happened, Daphne had sighed and slapped him across the head before waiting for him to wake up. After the 5th time, she was a hundred percent sure she needed to make better life decisions.

"You know I am starting to think I should be decreasing the amount of essence instead of increasing it with each failed one," He'd said it with a smile on his face as if it was some big old joke. She felt tempted to give him a concussion herself.

Again, she was one hundred percent sure that if and when he finally gets it right, her boyfriend was going to turn into a bird on fire. She'd voiced her thoughts and got a scoff in return.

Apparently, he was betting and rather looking forward to turning into a Basilisk. Courtesy of his suddenly life-saving curse. She was certain he was only risking it and pushing her limits for that matter because the curse on his arm was there to clean up any badly made potions. The day she threatened to tell Snape about his careless behaviour was the day he finally got a breakthrough with the potion.

The irony was not lost on her at the idea of him turning into a phoenix, or frankly any bird animagus form. Rodrick Grindelwald, scared of heights but can turn into a bird. Maybe it might actually get rid of his fear of heights.

Still, it wasn't the right potion, but it was definitely a breakthrough. A very irritating breakthrough. Though the implications were definitely not lost on her.

The first time Rodrick had disappeared in a burst of fire, she'd almost had a stroke.

...

Daphne stared at the ground, at the small burning embers on the ground. She blinked once.

"Rodrick..." She called out hollowly looking at the embers slowly dying out. 'Did... Did he accidentally turn himself into fire?' She turned back to the potions book... What if the potion was to turn yourself into an element instead of an animal...Looking back to Rodrick's position, her eyes widen slightly when she saw nothing in sight.

"Rodrick!" She shrieked, looking around wildly. What the hell was she going to tell her parents? Her school? 'Oh you know he just up and burst into flames, you know because that's completely understandable!'

Before she could fully go into shock, she watched as fire seemed to literally appear out of nowhere before revealing a dazed and very confused Rodrick Grindelwald. She blinked as she stared at him, willing any potential tears from going down. She knew he wouldn't let her live it down, even confused as he was now.

"What the hell just happened?" She questioned. Calmly.

Rodrick blinked before the biggest grin she's ever seen pop up into his face.

"Daphne... I was just in Diagon Ally."

Daphne's face was expressionless.

"I was thinking I needed more ingredients and before I knew it I was staring up at the potions shop in Diagon Ally!" He remarked with glee, his arms hands grabbing her shoulders. "Daphne I apparated through the wards!"

Daphne blinked, they were both currently sat on the floor, Rodrick on his knees and looking down, his hands shaking her shoulders slightly.

"Do you know what that means!?" He remarked, turning his head towards the latest potion, his mind already engraving the amount of each ingredient deep into his mind. There was no way he was forgetting that potion.

"Daphne?" Rodrick called out once again, an eyebrow raised. "Are you okay?"

The question seemed to bring her out of her little haze, sighing as she leant her head forward onto the boy's shoulder. "I am tired, apparate me to my room."

Rodrick frowned, "It's three in the afternoon."

"And I could use at least 30 hours of sleep right now."

Rodrick tilted his head before shrugging, "Alright, I'll wake you up tomorrow."

"You might as well make me a potion to help me sleep," Daphne added on, her hands slowly pulling him into a hug.

"Alright." Rodrick shrugged.

...

She was only joking, he was not.

...

It took another week before he'd finally gotten the dosage right, though he'd managed to annoy her anyway by refusing to tell her what he saw for his Animagus form. Apparently, he didn't need to physically transform to find out, No, all he had to do was meditate. Though in all fairness, the first couple time's he'd attempted to find out she had messed around a little too much with him.

On another note, one could not in fact meditate whilst under the effects of a Petrificus Totalus.

If the way he'd started beaming was any indication, she had a good feeling Basilisks were going to return to Hogwarts...

...

Daphne walked past the garden door before pausing, 'What the hell is that idiot doing now?' She really contemplated whether it'd be worth it to find out. Looking down, she stared at the pile of homework she had left over. She really couldn't delay it any longer... She moved a few steps back and took a good long look outside.

Rodrick looked like he was panting in the middle of the garden, his hands on his knees in an attempt to get his breathing under control. Looking around she eyed all the small circles drawn around the garden, each with a number written beside them.

"What are you doing now?" She questioned out loud.

Rodrick turned towards her before raising an eyebrow, "Still not done?" He questioned as he eyed the pieces of parchment in her hand.

"Don't change the subject," She huffed.

Rodrick chuckled, "I am practising,"

"Practising?"

Rodrick nodded, "The Apparition, with the potion," He clarified, "It's pointless if I can't use it in a duel."

Daphne nodded slowly, her eyes going back to the circles, "The circles I get, why the numbers?"

"The way this Apparition form works is slightly different compared to the regular form, while the normal form you need to picture the location, with the potion all you really need to do is reference it. Plus it's a hell of a lot more pleasant."

"What do you mean?" She questioned. She was somewhat curious.

Rodrick scratched the back of his head, "Well normal apparition feels like your being sucked in through the worlds smallest tube while completely intoxicated. This one, on the other hand, is like using floo travel... Or a wormhole I suppose as floo travel is instantaneous and while this is certainly faster compared to regular apparition it does still require time before I am where I need to be... Oh and a wormhole is-"

Daphne blinked before turning on her heel and walking away. She wasn't that curious.

"Rude..." Rodrick frowned before turning back, with a thought he was already at the designated number. He knew it wasn't fast enough yet. The biggest reason he was trying so hard was that he knew there wasn't anyone else attempting it, normal Apparition was far too uncomfortable, the potion, however, got rid of that particular part. Meaning he could, in theory, use it to great lengths in a duel. Once Cyrus came back he fully intended to learn the Anti-apparition charm.

...

Daphne took one look outside and was well, flabbergasted. Rodrick had for some reason decided he needed several, what looked like, plastic boards? They all had the same colour and were barely big enough to allow one foot to stand on them, let alone two. He was basically bouncing from one to the other. Occasionally accidentally apparating too far here and there and winding up with an injury. Had the boards been on the ground she wouldn't have batted an eye. They were all stuck, literally stuck floating in mid-air, each one was facing a different direction, she could tell by the small points drawn into the middle of each one. Rodrick was attempting to apparate from one onto the other. If she had to guess he was likely using sticking charms to stop himself from slipping but above all it looked relatively dangerous.

She sighed before turning and walking back to her room. She'd woken up way too early to deal with whatever the hell was going through his mind.

...

All in all, it was a relatively tame summer if Rodrick was honest. Birthdays came and went like the wind. England hadn't stood a chance at the Quidditch cup if Cyrus was to be believed and Roxanne had surprised him.

A surprise everyone else was going to be enjoying by next year. Thanks to the world cup, most families had been swept up by the event, particularly the Weasleys which meant they neither had the time nor means to contact him. The Greengrass's to his fortune hadn't really wanted to deal with them and so kept their distance. With his almost infamous hate for the game, none of the current and former Weasley students bothered to look for him. Though he had received two letters by owls, the first had been from some wizard called William Weasley. He didn't even bother opening it, instead he settled for burning it.

Daphne had shrieked in his ear at his actions calling them unrefined and downright insane.

It's not like he'd never used Fiendfyre before, god the girl could overreact.

The second one hadn't had a name written into it, certainly a smarter attempt. However, as he hadn't recognised where it was from, he considered it just as dangerous and had it burnt anyway.

Daphne really didn't think it was that funny. At the very least she hadn't overreacted that time.

It had been about a week before returning to the castle that Roxanne had taken him aside to have a rather amusing conversation with him.

...

"Yes?" Rodrick questioned bemused. Roxanne had asked him to stay behind after breakfast. He hadn't really done anything that he could recall. He felt uneasy staring at the woman, the second chord had yet to disappear, if anything it looked to be even bigger then before.

"I had a question I was hoping..." Roxanne started before sighing, she wasn't sure how she was supposed to ask a question like this.

Rodrick blinked before tilting his head to the side, "Does this have anything to do with the two chords surround-" And then he stopped himself as his eyes widened. Before long he was laughing out loud.

Roxanne twitched slightly, "What on earth is so funny young man?" She questioned crossing her arm.

"You- You're pregnant! Aren't you?" Rodrick questioned in between fits of laughter, "Oh Merlin Cyrus doesn't know does he?" He was about to add on more before he felt the woman's hands clasped over his mouth.

"Shh!" Roxanne huffed, "This is hardly the best way for him to find out!"

A few more snickers out and Rodrick dutifully calmed himself. "So? When did he forget protection?" He questioned, an innocent look in his eyes.

Had Roxanne been drinking anything she was sure she would've spilt it out at the words. Hell, she wasn't sure how she was supposed to even respond to something like that.

"Why do you?" She started the question but felt her face flush at the thought of bringing up such a subject.

"Grandfather gave me the talk when I was like 8," Rodrick shrugged.

Roxanne blinked. She'd known about the boy's previous connection, it was really the only explanation he could give for his rather remarkable ability with magic. "Why?"

Rodrick stared her straight in the eye, "I have absolutely no idea." He deadpanned, "Hell, he taught me the killing curse like a week later, I don't know what kind of message he was trying to send to me but I digress, I was 8, I had no clue what half the words he'd said even meant."

"And you understand them now?" Roxanne questioned, a twinkle suddenly showing in her eye. She almost couldn't help the smile as she saw the boy's face suddenly flush.

Coughing once, Rodrick asked her what she'd wanted to know?

"Right..." Roxanne remarked uneasily, "Well... Seeing as you know I suppose there's no point in hiding it, I was wondering if you could replicate the cure..." She finished, closing her eyes.

Rodrick shrugged, "Yea I suppose, I doubt it'd be harder to if I deal with it early on. I am guessing the curse is something you could pass on?" He wasn't sure why but for some odd reason he felt like the words he'd just used had practically drained the woman of any tension.

"Are you sure?" Roxanne suddenly exclaimed, grabbing onto his shoulders, "It won't leave with you any bad side effects if you do it again?" The boy had been knocked out the last time he'd tried it and while he had been quiet, the headmaster's gaze had betrayed the peaceful calm. The man had known exactly what Rodrick's body had gone through. She felt as if she was asking for far too muc-

"Course, it's a mild headache at most" Rodrick chuckled, "I'd be happy to help-" He couldn't even finish the sentence before he felt himself get pulled into a bone-crushing hug.

"Thank you," Roxanne remarked sincerely.

"It's really not that big a deal," Rodrick remarked uneasily, though he usually would've probably enjoyed the affection, he was finding it somewhat hard to breathe.

Roxanne pulled herself back after a few moments before chuckling, "Perhaps not..." She remarked as she let the boy go off to the others. "Perhaps not to you..." The words barely whispered. But it means the world to me... A cheerful smile on her face, Roxanne called for one of the house elves. 'There was so much work to be done!'

...

Omake on how a Nott had evidently become a Hufflepuff.

Nott wasn't sure at what exact point he'd started, well, accepting his shortcomings. Particularly the ones involving his reputation as a badger. When he'd first been called such a thing he'd been scandalized! However over time, he'd started accepting it, hell by the end of his third year he'd practically embraced it.

But again he wasn't sure when things had started but he knew very well that it had involved Rodrick. Hell, he'd only truly accepted it after he'd found out Rodrick's family name.

It wasn't because it was a powerful name. It wasn't even because Rodrick probably lived up to it. Malfoy likely followed him around for those two reasons. Sure he was powerful, far too cunning for his own good and downright terrifying in the worst circumstances but none of that phased him. Not after he'd learned the name.

Because his father had warned him about it.

Oh, the man definitely hadn't known the secret... No, the man had an entirely separate history with the name Grindelwald. A history he himself had learned a long time ago. His father had demanded he engrain the words into his head. At the age of 9, he was given a history lesson on Dark Lords. Why? He wasn't sure. Maybe his father had wanted him to understand the kind of work that is involved, the kind of things he might need to do... But in the end it was simply another memory. His father had never been the best at raising another. With his mother, dying months after his birth it didn't really help the matter. Really it was a wonder his social skills had developed at all. Sure half the time it meant he acted like a Hufflepuff but it was better a Hufflepuff then a Gryffindor. At least according to his father.

His father had been completely honest with him, had told him of all the horrible crimes he'd committed of all the horrendous things he'd done under Voldemorts name. Had told him of the loyalty he had shown the most dangerous dark lord in his history... The man had explicitly mentioned, wouldn't stop repeating it how Voldemort was the most dangerous Dark Lord in history, The most Ruthless kind. He just wouldn't stop repeating it until Theodore had asked Why.

Why was Voldemort so dangerous? Why did his father follow such a man? Why was he telling him of a dark lord long thought to be dead? Why now. And then he'd noticed it, he'd noticed why his father had kept repeating the words. It was like a rehearsed lie.

"Father, do you really believe all of that?" He was oh so young when he'd asked.

His father had looked him in the eye and told him another story. A story of a man who had been the perfect image of calm, power and above all, a true Pureblood. A man who could look a dragon in the eye and not move a muscle. Who could look down the worst wizards in history, who had looked down on the most dangerous dark lord in history. An action that had cost him his life and earned his son's loyalty. Through fear.

The story about his own Grandfather, the man who had shrugged off Voldemort as a prepubescent child. The man who had spat in the face of a dragon.

A man who had been absolutely terrified of another. His grandfather had never feared death. But he had feared Gellert Grindelwald.

"I didn't understand him then, I couldn't, I had been in Hogwarts when Gellert Grindelwald had risen to power, I hadn't really seen the things he could do... But my father had. Oh, he had. I didn't understand how he could look Voldemort in the eye and sneer as if he were a worm. But I grew and learned. You know, as far as lies are concerned, I did, in fact, travel overseas for a little while, sure it was purely recruitment but the point stands. Before you were born. You know what I saw? I saw civilians standing up to death eaters. Civilians pushing themselves to stop us. Futile. But, I knew there was something wrong with that. Then I'd understood. My father had been one of the most capable wizards in this country and yet he feared to leave his home. Why? Because Gellert Grindelwald had been out there."

Nott had gulped at the words.

"Voldemort was like a dragon, Ruthless and dangerous. But dragons can be taken down. Voldemort tore the Ministry apart piece by piece, but every corner he turned, he found more enemies, until it had become uncontrollable, wizards and witches against him from all the corners of the country, each standing up to face us, to destroy us, and eventually we lost to a babe! However Gellert Grindelwald hadn't seen that same resistance, men and woman hid at his name, feared him to their bones, it had taken the worlds most powerful wizard to stop Gellert Grindelwald. So tell me, son. If Voldemort, a man who had shaken this country but at the same time had united it against himself, was a dragon, what did that make Gellert Grindelwald? A man who had brought the world to its knees. With a smile on his face."

"A Monster." Theo had answered, he had barely understood what his father had told him at the time, but he knew that monsters were scarier than dragons and that's what it had sounded like.

Years later, he'd understood why his father had smiled. Monsters aren't real. Dragons are. That was why Voldemort was known as the most dangerous dark wizard in history. Because the world refused to believe that someone like Gellert Grindelwald could've existed. It threatened their very existence. How could you accept that at a given point in time, the entire world had rested on the shoulders of a man who had shied away from the attention, a man who had wanted nothing to do with the war. It made the situation regarding his classmate all the bleaker, for he was living proof that Gellert Grindelwald had in fact almost taken over the world. That it wasn't just some bad nightmare they woke up from. That it was as real as it could get.

So could you blame him if he decided to follow someone who had torn their school apart with a smile on his face? Could you blame him if he accepted whatever nickname he'd been given by said wizard? Could one blame him for understanding exactly how dangerous his classmate was? How dangerous his blood was?

When he'd told his father that Gellert Grindelwald's blood had lived on. The man had paled. His expression cracking under memories of his own father. It only lasted for a moment but Theo could swear up and down that his father was likely traumatised by those memories.

Theodore had decidedly kept it to that, simply mentioning the boy's ability with a wand and bits of his intelligence. Sure, there was a lot more he could've mentioned. Like the fact, the boy had killed a 60-foot Basilisk? Showed a cunning that would've made a man like Gellert Grindelwald look like a child. For as bad as those stories were, they had been done by a wizard who had come of age. The idea of a Hogwarts students pulling stunts off like Rodrick was unthinkable. He knew it'd give his father a heart attack and frankly he wasn't all that into kinslaying.