A/N: Next chapter done.
I would like to get some things off my chest before we continue. If you don't care, then please skip to the end of the AN and enjoy the chapter.
Firstly, thank you, to everyone who decided to give me their feedback concerning the question I posed at the end of the last chapter. I wasn't looking for reassurance or allowance to write how I write, but I wanted to simply ask of you to state if it seemed understandable to those who read this far. There had been a little discussion with one or the other people reviewing.
I hope you will all understand, that I will not be having a discussion with you about my intentions of writing this story. I simply want to have fun and create a story interesting enough to read through from start to finish.
Review and critique me, it helps my process of becoming a better writer and allows me to create better content for you to enjoy.
So that was that :/
Secondly, I am not too sure about this chapter. I had to scrap and redo multiple parts of this one, hoping of making it better. It isn't my best work, so please be patient with me, the next one will be better. I would rate this chapter a meh out of ten, and to add to that, there are multiple parts simply filler. But there are also some important parts for the upcoming chapters present.
But enough of that, you have been warned and I hope you enjoy this chapter.
How I write dialogue:
"Hello" = English
"Hello" = Foreign language
'Hello' = Thought
(That's the reason why sometimes people will speak with an accent and sometimes people won't.)
Chapter Four
Greetings and Goodbye
Four years later, present day.
1988
Fleur had been listening to Harry gently playing the violin for a few minutes now. A blissful smile was resting on her features while losing herself in the notes. Even Gabrielle had woken, a goofy grin on her face, completely enchanted by the music.
Harry finished up the piece he had been playing, a similarly lost expression on his face, having lost himself in the music like his French companions.
Both Gabrielle and Fleur began clapping as he put the violin back into its stand. "That was magnificent." the younger of the two whispered.
"Thank you, Gabrielle." Harry answered, striding over to the bed, before sitting down on its edge.
"So you're going to be visiting Beauxbatons?" Harry asked this time his gaze directed at the older of the two witches. "Yes, I 'ad 'oped zey would invite me to join." Fleur answered "I was so relieved when they sent me that letter. Mama wouldn't let me practice before school as your Father did."
Harry laughed out loud. "Oh trust me Fleur, you wouldn't want to have the training I had to go through." he gently shook his head "The last two years had been some of the most stressful and partially terrifying as well as scaring moments of my life." The boy paused, his gaze shifting to the violin in the corner of the room. "The music was a way for me to relax for a while."
Harry shook his head as if waking up from a trance, his gaze returning to the two girls. "I wasn't sure If I wanted to attend school after the training I had received. After all, these years wouldn't be of any help for me. I trained with some of the best in their respective subjects." Harry had pulled out his yew-wand and turned it in his fingers. A thoughtful expression was visible on his features. "But father said it could help our cause if I went. He said it would help if I had a better connection to our allies. They would be coming from Durmstrang and Hogwarts largely anyways."
Fleur closely watched the boy. She could see that he wasn't happy with his father's decision, but he also showed impassiveness. Acceptance. "Where are you going then? Surely Hogwarts. You are an Englishman. It would help you, wouldn't it?" Fleur asked.
"That is what I would have hoped. But no, Father believes it is easier for us if I didn't go to Hogwarts." Harry muttered. "Durmstrang will be a better place for me anyways. It will allow me to continue my studies unhindered, as the headmaster will follow my father's instructions.
"In Hogwarts, I wouldn't be able to further myself, Dumbledore would realize who I was far too soon. Durmstrang will also allow me to wear my true name without fearing hostilities from other students. They are mostly firm believers in my father's -, in our cause, no little thanks to Karkaroff." Harry snapped with his wand in hand, pointing it at the large owl-cage.
The black eagle-owl, who had awoken during the musical performance of his owner, flew out of the cage and landed on the headboard of the bed. Deep red eyes inquisitively watching the three humans interacting with great interest.
Harry had named the owl 'Xerxes', which had turned out to be a terribly unfitting name. While, surely, the owl possessed an immense ego, he was far too thoughtful and intelligent to be named after a warrior king.
With another snap of his wand, the window flew open and allowed the owl to spread its wings. The black owl did just that, leaving the headboard and flying out into the cold air of the Austrian Alps.
"You already know non-verbal magic?" Fleur asked, her mouth agape, eyes focused on the yew-wand. She, unconsciously, started rubbing the palm of her hands where the wand had left its non-visible imprints.
Harry simply nodded to answer her question, a rueful smile appeared on his features. "Not that hard to learn if you got the right instructors. But I'm not that great at it yet. I couldn't use it in a real duel." he paused, before switching to French again "It isn't even that useful if you are duelling against someone like my father. He just knows all the spells already, knows which ones to dodge or which ones he can block."
"You used a malédiction impardonnable against your father." Fleur suddenly said after a short pause in their conversation, "And he used one against you." she continued.
She could remember Harry's face, contorted with the pain of the torture curse his father had laid upon him. She had screamed, not even realizing it herself. She had blamed herself, having distracted Harry for a split second gave Grindelwald the opening he needed to disable his defences and overpower him with the unforgivable.
"I had to." Harry simply stated. "As had he. Hell, if he had actually tried, I would be dead by now. It was a simple practice duel."
He met her gaze, a smile tugged on the corners of his mouth "And no, I do not blame you for distracting me. I should have paid less attention to you and focused more on the duel. It was my fault."
Harry got up and walked towards the door, only pausing as his hand had already pressed down the handle. Harry looked back over to the two witches "I believe your parents are done with my father, we should probably go and meet them by my fathers study." and with that, he opened the door and held it open for the two girls to leave his room, so he could shut the door behind his back.
While they were on their way to the study, Fleur began to hum the violin piece the wizard had played back in his room, the two eleven-year-olds completely lost in their thoughts while the young Gabrielle happily skipped next to them.
A few days later.
"Ah, my boy, come in come in." Grindelwald heard the knocking on the door of his study.
Hadrian and he had spent the last few days going over the elementary principals of advanced runes. Just as he had predicted, the boy excelled at the subject, just as he did with most of his other studies.
Hadrian seemingly had a hand, in terms of non-wand subjects, for Magical creatures as well as Arithmancy and Runes. To the displeasure of his father, he didn't share much of his gift in divination. Nor did Hadrian possess much skill in Herbology or Potions.
He was usable in all of these subjects, still far beyond any other eleven-year-old in any of them. But it was a disappointment to the old man none the less.
But when it came to wand based subjects, the boy already seemed masterful in many of them. Far beyond his peers, yet by far not on the level he had to be by the end of his educational career.
He duelled like a sixth or even seventh year could. He knew spells that could kill a person in far more than one way. He was agile enough to evade a large portion of spells thrown at him, yet still far too predictable.
A flaw, the old man liked to think, which had eased away far more than it once had shown, largely due to the constant duels the boy demanded with different followers of his.
He seemed to enjoy these duels more then he used to. Both Karkaroff and Dolohov taught him much, making him one of the more feared duellists roaming the castle at any point in time. But the tutoring the dark lord bestowed upon his son was the key part in his development.
The boy tried to always give his best, constantly pushing his limits, when he was around. By now, duels with the boy turned out to be far more interesting then they had been to the old man before.
Since he was beaten by the boy a few days back for the first time, he seemed to have worked out a way to press the old wizard for more desperate measures. But what was even more remarkable was the boys seeming natural resistance to the unforgivable curses.
Any, who would try to cast an Imperius curse at his son would be greeted with a nasty surprise. Hadrian was able to shake off the effects with ease, which showed the immense will power the boy possessed. Even the torture curse left the boy, while not unscathed, less affected.
A remarkable piece of willpower the old wizard had to regrettably witness first hand.
Of course, that still left the last curse. The killing curse. The boy had been the first and only survivor of the curse's effects in the history of the magical world.
Lastly, there was the boy's mental magic. He was capable of basic Occlumency and very very basic Legilimency. It had taken extremely long for the boy to begin showing even the simplest of mental defences as if something had been hindering him from developing them to start with.
Grindelwald had his suspicions, yet there was no actual evidence to his theories. He still wasn't sure about the boy's trapped mind.
Any, who dared to enter would find themselves pulled into the centre to be trapped there for the remainder of their existence.
It was like Hadrian was possessed, yet he was able to use his body mind and soul like any other. It was like there was some form of a parasite in his head. Nothing natural, nothing that came on its own. It had been planted there.
It was very dark magic, magic even he hadn't dared to tamper with. Gellert had always been careful with mind magic, not entirely comfortable with the idea of manipulating his own soul.
But he remembered having once read something about soul anchors, that would allow the person who created them to force his soul to remain after his or her death. They could be planted in any object the caster desired to, yet Gellert didn't know if the was possible for the anchor to be bound to a living human being.
It seemed impractical, if the boy would have died, the anchor would have been gone, leaving the caster with a useless link.
This led him to believe, that whatever happened to cause the anchor to be where it was, entirely happened by accident.
He had researched this topic over the last seven years since he had discovered the boy's corrupted mind. He hadn't found many ways of removing said Horcrux from the boy without killing him.
The soul fragment of whoever caused this infection would have to either leave on its own or be removed by its creator. This put him in a tight spot. While having no indications who would have created this anchor, yet he had a very good idea, the person would like to be uncooperative in the very least.
But should the original owner of the soul fragment not know that the boy possessed the fragment, this would give him and his son a perfect opening.
The boy would have to duel the witch or wizard and be hit with the killing curse once again. This could cause the fragment in the boy's soul to be destroyed and ultimately leave the boy to survive.
This plan had two large problems though.
Firstly, he wasn't sure of this as much as he wished to. There was a good chance that both souls would be destroyed, ending in the death of the boy as well as the removal of the fragment.
Secondly, if his suspicion was correct, then the original owner was no less then Tom Riddle himself. This would cause a rather unpredictable encounter, leaving no leeway in terms of ideal outcomes. Yet, he could be completely off course and it might be something entirely different. He had, sadly, not been able to find much else, leaving this to be his only real idea. He would spend the next few years of his life continuing, finishing and perfecting the boys training.
He, just like his son, didn't like the idea of him leaving for Durmstrang. It greatly hindered his progress in tutoring his student. While Karkaroff had ensured the old wizard that the boy would get as much time as he required preparing and studying, he was not sure if it would be enough.
He would, once each weekend, stop by in Durmstrang and privately tutor the boy over the day. This, while maybe not ideal, was the best idea the headmaster and he could come up with. It would allow Hadrian to spend the lessons, as well as his spare time with the soon to be followers of him. He could create social and emotional bonds in the school. Friends.
If receptive enough, they could make up his own inner circle when he would take over. If not, they could make difficult enemies or even potential rivals. Yet, it was a risk the wizard would have to put his son up to.
Karkaroff had brought up the idea of privately tutoring some of the other students together with his son, as long as he would find them agreeable. They wouldn't reach the level of magical prowess the boy possessed, yet they would possibly become feared duellists that loyally followed the cause.
Grindelwald had agreed to let the idea rest for a while and that he would discuss it with his son as soon as possible. This was partially the reason Hadrian was sitting before him now.
Hadrian looked at his father, expectantly. It was rare that his father called him into his study outside of their scheduled tutoring lessons. Even then, they didn't spend much time here, usually leaving for the castles library or the duelling circle in the grand hall.
"Hadrian, -" his father begun "- you have achieved much during your tutelage under me, as much as under Karkaroff and Antonin."
Grindelwald pulled open a drawer in his desk, pulling out a sleek, bound leather book which had small runes engraved on its cover and spine. The runes were perfectly drawn, dripping with the magic they had absorbed from the sounding area.
"This book is one of a kind," Grindelwald spoke, intoning every word carefully. "Possessing this book puts the one who does into a unique position. It is enchanted with some of the runes used in powerful protection spells and other kinds of artefacts. But most importantly, it possesses the magical properties of an object under the Fidelius Charms." Gellert opened the book and wrote something in it.
A gentle rush of magic could be felt as he finished writing. He closed the book and looked up at his son. "Who was your biological mother?" the old wizard asked, a gentle smile tugging on the corners of his mouth.
Hadrian thought, he remembered her clearly yet not at all. She was there, he could feel her presence in his mind, but she was a blur. He couldn't make out her appearance, her voice or her name.
"I -" he stuttered, slightly overwhelmed, confused at the sudden loss of memory. "I don't remember."
Grindelwald only nodded, "That is to be expected, my boy." opening the book again and scratching the lines away he had written.
"Now think again, who was your biological mother?" Grindelwald asked blue eyes focused on the boy's features.
Hadrian suddenly remembered everything about her again. Auburn Red hair, fierce green eyes and very beautiful. Strict yet loving, proud yet supportive and friendly yet so fierce if need be. Lily Potter.
He choked at the thought of her. A single tear ran down his cheek at the memory of his birth parents.
"Lily Potter" he uttered, barely audible. Looking up from the floor, where his gaze had shifted to, meeting the ice blue eyes of his father. "Lily Potter," he said again, this time more confident.
He stared down onto the book in the old wizard's hands. "The book made me forget what you wrote into it." Hadrian realized, trying to read the runes on the spine of the cover.
His father nodded, closing the book, letting his hand glid over the cover before looking up at his son.
"This book will allow you to hide secrets away from others in a far more powerful way then you could realize. You and I will be the only ones not affected by the influence of the book, as you possess it and I created it." he paused, handing the book over the table to his son. "This is your second most valuable possession, protect it, keep it with you and do NOT lose it!" intoning every word of the last part. "Only your wand is more important than this book. No one who doesn't carry my doesn't carry our, blood or magic will be able to write in it or read from it."
Grindelwald leaned back in his chair, reading the boys features as he processed this information. "Regard this as a birthday or Christmas present if you wish, you know I don't care for these sorts of celebrations."
It was true, the old man wasn't interested in celebrations of the simpler kinds, like birthdays. Hadrian had only ever gotten four presents in his life by the old man.
His wand, his owl, the violin and now the book. While the violin was more or less a present that came from Queenie Goldstein, it still was bought with the old man's money.
The education and home he received were no presents. For both, he had to work too hard for it to be truly considered a present.
"This wasn't all we will be discussing today," Grindelwald spoke thoughtfully, the mandatory letter of acceptance from two schools was laying before the old wizard.
Both Durmstrang and Hogwarts had sent letters, as Hadrian had some or the other connection with both of the schools.
He was a wizard born and partially raised in England, his first sprouts of accidental magic had been occurring on British soil.
He also was a wizard raised in Germany and Austria as well as France. The first two indicating schooling in Durmstrang. Beauxbatons had never been on the table. He was too multicultural for that. "I shall visit you in Durmstrang each weekend for a single day, as long as my schedule allows me to. This will be to further your knowledge in the advanced subjects of magic, as well as training for duelling and other helpful skills you are yet to acquire." Grindelwald paused, his son nodded, signalling that he was listening. "The headmaster had an interesting idea I would like to discuss with you."
Gellert stood up and walked to the window, looking out onto the widespread mountains of the Austrian Alps. "He had the idea, that, if sufficiently potentially strong students arrived with you, I would extend these private tutoring sessions by two or three other students, who would learn from me in similar fashion you did, thus furthering their knowledge and skill, allowing them to possibly take higher ranking positions in out noble cause when they finish their education.
"But there are some requirements these students have to meet before they are allowed to participate," Grindelwald added, looking over his shoulder to find the boy staring at him expectantly. "They will only join if you believe they have the potential to be helpful enough and you accept them as allies, or friends if that is how you want to call them."
"I don't see anything wrong with these limitations and I would be willing to accept them into our training if it doesn't hinder me too much," Hadrian answered the question behind his father telling him about these plans.
"So be it. I won't be able to join you for your tutoring for the first two weeks. Karkaroff will take my place and help you select a few students from the pile who he will believe to be fitting enough." Grindelwald sighed and sat down again.
"At last, there are two more things we have to discuss." he took a sip of a steaming tea mug that had been resting on his desk. It was portably the most British thing Hadrian had ever seen his father do.
"Firstly, we have to discuss a topic I am not keen on discussing with you at this point in time, yet I don't see any way around it, as it could immensely harm our relationship with the Delacours if not addressed early enough." he build in another pause, letting the gravity of the words sink in.
"I know you are rather fond of their eldest daughter, Fleur," Gellert spoke slowly as if testing the waters or making sure that the ice was thick enough to walk on while wandering on a frozen lake. "I don't want to pry, yet it seems like she is capable of pulling your attention rather easily. If I may remind you of our duel a few days ago which ended in a rather… nasty way."
"I don't know what you are talking about father," Hadrian spoke, a slightly irritated look in his eyes. "I don't see what this has to do with anything regarding our cause. She is a friend, probably my only friend I feel like I can talk to -"
"And that is the problem, my boy." Grindelwald interrupted him. "You do realize she is a veela, correct? If she spends too much time with you, she will slowly, but surely bond her magic to yours. This is completely natural for Veela, as they seek out a mate for them feel comfortable enough around."
"You make her sound like an animal who can't control herself." Hadrian cut in in an accusative tone, instantly regretting his decision as he was met with the firm glare of his father's cold eyes.
"I am simply warning you, as it is more than possible for her to get attached to you, in which case she would lose me and her parents a great deal of political leeway." Grindelwald reprimanded his son in a warning tone of voice. "She won't be the reason why this cause fails. I will personally make sure of that." the wizard spoke, leaving the meaning behind his words open for interpretation.
"But enough of that, we have more pressing matters to attend, do you remember a few years back when I told you about your strange condition in your mind?" Grindelwald spoke, completely dismissing the other topic and changing to a new one.
Other then its British counterpart, Durmstrang wasn't reachable by train. The students would have to board a large wooden ship that would take the pupils, new and old, on the journey up north to the school, hidden way up in Scandinavia.
Hadrian stood near the boarding plank, watching on, down onto the students. Some greeting their friends, some saying goodbye to their parents and family.
Just like he had expected the morning before, the weather was harsh. It was very cold and windy. The old Galleon was gently rocking in the waves, the captain had made the ship ready with a single flick of his wand.
Hadrian had luckily prepared for the weather, wearing a heavy black leather coat with a soft fur collar. A black suit vest and shirt as well as suit pants and Italian black leather boots.
He had worn rarely something else similar to this, not taking the leather coat into account or the rather heavy boots. His father had made sure he would be carrying himself like the descendant of Grindelwald, looks and style were part of that just as much as magic and skill.
A large suitcase was standing next to him. It was filled with heaps of books and other personal belongings. His wand safely holstered in his sheath, bound to his underarm, allowing him to be ready at all times. His owl was sitting on the railing of to his left.
The large black eagle-owl was giving everyone the side-eye, judging silently.
Hadrian let his gaze wander a bit, landing on two other eleven-year-old boys that pulled his interest.
Just like him, they had already boarded the ship and were looking over the railing of the Galleon down onto the groups of students slowly getting ready to board.
Both were rather tall for their age, the boy on the left only two inches smaller, while the other was about the same height as him. They were talking very quickly and silently in Bulgarian, a language Hadrian had learned a few years ago thankfully.
His father had back then already known that he would one day join Durmstrang over Hogwarts. It was his plan after all.
"Do you think that they will teach us dark magic here?" the boy on the left asked. "Well it is part of the charm of this place isn't it." the other answered, a strong sarcastic note could be heard in his tone.
Hadrian frowned. It sounded like they didn't support the school's ideals and so, to a certain extent, the ideals of 'the noble cause' and his father. An error Hadrian would have to rectify immediately.
He slowly approached the two boys, they hadn't noticed him as of yet, silently he crept up next to them before clearing his throat to gain their attention. Both of them jumped a little, not having expected to be disturbed, looking at him warily.
"Your first year here too?" Hadrian asked them in fluent Bulgarian, yet still, a bit accentuated. The two shared a look, before nodding in his direction. "I hope you won't mind me asking your names, won't you?" a charismatic smile spread on his face, lulling them into a sense of security.
"Stanislav Kostov." the smaller of the two answered, a sceptic look on his face. He had been the one to ask the other before.
"Viktor Krum." the other answered, less sceptical, but far more distanced. Hadrian looked the latter up and down. Viktor Krum was thin, dark, and sallow-skinned, with a large curved nose and thick black eyebrows.
He looked older then one would expect him to be. The eyes of the boy, dark, black almost, showed indifference to the world around him.
He didn't want to be here.
"Viktor Krum, you said?" Hadrian asked the boy. "The one who's grandfather served Grindelwald in the last war? The one who tried to sneak an attack against one of the greatest wizards of the last century and got killed in the attempt?"
Krum looked slightly unsure at what to answer. He only nodded slightly, his eyes now glowing in slight wary at the boy.
"I do wonder, do you share your ideologies with your grandfather? Or are you welcoming of the coming wizarding revolution's ideals?" Hadrian continued his questioning, one eyebrow raised in scepticism. "Are you two going to betray those who will liberate you from the curse that is our governments fear of confrontation with the Muggles?" this time, an accusatory tone rested in the young wizard's voice.
Krum stepped forward, a dark touch graced his features, trying to intimidate Hadrian into submission. Hadrian didn't waver, facing off against one of the most feared duellists in history did wonder for one's self-control and confidence.
"I hope you realize what you are saying is -" Krum started talking before Hadrian raised his hands in mock surrender.
"Before this gets out of hand, I will say two things." Hadrian interrupted. "First things first, I don't want conflict, yet you will not be able to stay neutral in the upcoming times. You will need to choose your side, don't get caught on the wrong one." "And how would you know which side will win and which will lose. Are you such a fanatic that you think you know what is going on? They are using you as they did the last time with others." Krum interrupted him this time, a dismissive expression mirrored the nearly hostile glare in his eyes.
"Secondly -" Hadrian continued, uninterested in what the boy just said. "My name is Hadrian, Hadrian Grindelwald, the son of the Revolutionary."
Krum took a startled step back, while Stanislav suddenly became immensely interested in the conversation. "You are lying!" Krum uttered, a shocked expression had replaced the former. "That Monster doesn't have any children!"
Hadrian only chuckled slightly, it was an interesting reaction, not one he expected. He would have bid good money on the fact that the boy would have simply punched him. "You will find his blood matches mine as your fathers matches yours." Hadrian simply answered.
"Listen, I will make you an offer," Hadrian stated matter of factually. "If you accept, my father and I will forgive your family the treachery of your grandfather and you will all vow to join us and our noble cause. It is your choice."
Hadrian stood silent a few seconds, eyeing the boy carefully one last time, before turning around and walking back to his trunk and owl.
"What happens if I reject your offer?" Krum shouted at his back, a challenging undertone crept into his question. Hadrian stopped, a smile appearing on his face. He slowly turned around to the two Bulgarians again. "If you dismiss this opportunity and lose yourself and your family the option of redemption, thus going against us and our principals and will be viewed as an enemy of the cause," Hadrian stated coldly.
He took a step towards the two again and said in a low tone "That goes without saying, that these will be some troublesome upcoming years for you and anyone who shares this… opinion of yours." pausing and giving the other boy a side glance before turning back to Krum again. "Of course, only if you stand against us and dismiss this offer."
With that Hadrian turned away again, while leaving yelling over his shoulder "Don't take too much time to think. I am patient, but not overly.", leaving the boy to his thoughts.
'Krum hopefully will take the time thinking about my offer' Hadrian thought, 'He could be quite the asset if tutored by father. The other boy, Stanislav, seemed open enough to our cause.'
So, Hadrian grabbed his belongings and went under deck, finding a berth to lay down and read until they would arrive in school. He would have time to make social interactions later.
"And now, for the last announcement of the evening." Igor Karkaroff bellowed out into the filled hall. "This will be the first of the next seven years, in which we are honoured by the presence off one very gifted young wizard. Hadrian Grindelwald."
Silence followed, everyone was shocked. No one knew of a son that Grindelwald supposedly had. Searching eyes roamed the hall. Different intentions on every mind. Some wished for revenge for a fallen family member, some wanted to put themselves in good terms with the German wizard and some wanted to see who they would have to avoid to be still believed as neutral.
"You will be careful when interacting with him. Show him respect. And if one of you decide to duel with him, it will not be my problem when your parents arrive to inspect your splattered remains." Karkaroff continued, his eyes sweeping the hall, looking into the eyes of every student at once. "While he is here, there will be certain classes taught at weekends, by a very special teacher for him and selected other students. Prove your worth in the upcoming weeks, show your potential. And maybe, just maybe, you will be honoured enough to be taking part in these lessons." Karkaroff finished his speech and the doors of the hall opened, allowing students to leave the hall.
Antonin Dolohov stood a few feet behind the headmaster, scanning the hall with a watchful glare.
He would be teaching dark arts at Durmstrang for the foreseeable future. Partly it was to actually teach, partly it was to keep an eye on the boy and partly it was to scope out any new young students that could potentially help Grindelwald and his cause. For this, he would be having certain students of the higher years more in his focus than younger ones.
Karkaroff had used the hands-on approach, telling the students what exactly was happening at school, rather than hiding the truth behind white lies and deceptions. It could be beneficial, even if it caused the world to know that he was sympathetic towards the ideals of the German master duellist.
The next few years would be challenging, as they could prove to be imperative towards the upcoming conflict. They would have to lull the students into a sense of security at their school, tell them that no matter their ideals, they would be welcomed here. No matter the truth behind those words. Then they would have to seduce them to the cause. It would be a painstakingly long process, with many hurdles to overcome along the road.
Yet the pay-off would be grand.
Grindelwald was now focusing on the other school, Beauxbatons. With the help of their French allies, some of the younger students could be persuaded to overthink their ideals. The older ones, much like in Durmstrang, would have to make their own decision. No matter the consequences.
They planned to slowly, but surely, prepare to reveal themselves over the next half of the decade. By the time Hadrian would turn seventeen, they would finally reveal themselves as the heads of the Hydra. Hadrian then would be able to step in at any time, politically or militarily.
But until then, there was still much for the boy to learn. To duel wasn't everything. There would be a situation where he would have to rely on his own instincts, his own knowledge. His resourcefulness and his cunning would be helpful, yet his experience was the lacking factor.
Sooner or later, he would be faced with the right challenges. In those, he would have to step up and prove his capabilities in leading, improvising and adapting.
This time was not now, now he would learn and expand his knowledge. Train to become strong enough, crafty enough and fast enough, to take on his challenges.
Northern England, Four years ago.
1984
"Hello young lady, -" the woman began "- we were looking for you."
She was a tall woman of white skin; and long, thick, shiny dark hair. Her face had a strong jaw, thin lips, and heavily-lidded eyes with long eyelashes. She had one hand on her hip, while the other twirled a wand in her hand.
She had insane eyes, ones you could easily get lost in, ones that if you looked at for too long would cause you nights of sleepless unrest and horrific nightmares.
The woman gently took a step forward, lowering her wand, and approaching her as a caring mother would do to a lost child. Carefully, she rested a hand on Irises back and sat down next to her on the bed.
Iris was scared. She didn't know these people, yet they seemed to be here for her. Maybe they were here to kill her, send on the orders of the Dark Lord. She gently began to sob, her eyes like wells, making way for the tears to roll down her face. She didn't want to die.
"Shush -" the woman whispered into her ear, pulling her close and gently rubbing her back like her mother had done when she had cried as a toddler. "- everything is going to be okay, little lady," she whispered soothingly into her ear. "Mummy's here, I will protect you."
Iris gently rocked against the woman, feeling the vibration going through her chest as she spoke. The circles she drew on her back with her finger, whispering into her ear.
The two men still stood near the entrance of the room, silently watching the scene unfold before them.
The one on the left, a tall, thickset man with very dark hair, seemed much more at peace than the other. Both looked rather similar, the one on the right a bit thinner and far more fidgety. One would guess they where brothers.
"Bella, we have to leave soon our -" the one on the right started, but was quickly interrupted by the woman herself. "Be silent you worm, we will leave when I am done here!" Bella screamed at the man, who quickly fell silent again.
This outburst scared Iris, causing her to begin crying again.
As quickly as Bella turned into a seething Hippogriff, she turned into a caring mother again. "Do you want to get out of here?" the woman asked Iris gently, still softly stroking the girl back.
"Well, then come with us, we will bring you away from this place and make sure you will be taken care of." with that, the woman got up and pulled the girl with her.
Iris thought about resisting, thought about fighting the woman, trying to get away. But what use was there.
They were wizards, she would have died in the blink of an eye.
So she went with them. She left the house she had to spend countless days, weeks, months and even years in. Went with those that promised her a better life, yet did not prove the weight of their words.
As they walked through the entry hall, she saw two maimed and mutilated people, nearly undistinguishable due to their injuries and wounds. Corpses, nothing more. Blood spilt onto the floor.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" the woman asked her, a dreamy look on her face. A maniacal cackle escaped her lungs, her eyes glinting in pure unhindered joy and malice.
Suddenly, Iris was very happy that she decided to not stand against the woman as she offered her her companionship.
The four of them stepped onto the front lawn, looking around one last time before apparating away, Iris being pulled away by the woman.
Durmstrang, Four years later, present day.
1988
Antonin Dolohov was standing before his class of first years, his eyes focused on the blond-haired boy sitting relatively far in the back of the class.
The class was in a miserable shape. Most of the girls within the class weren't able to perform the easiest of curses. The boys had a slight edge, yet weren't looking much better.
There was a group of students that quickly crystallized itself from the rest of the class. Namely Krum and Kostov, as well as two other boys who he was yet to learn the names of. Of course, Hadrian would have counted to that group, but the 'professor' believed him not to be a student of this school, or at least not of this class.
He had already mastered most incantations a sixth-year student in Durmstrang should manage, so these exercises were little more than late practice for him.
Yet he had proven himself, showing how to cast the cruses correctly before the class. He did this to prove his dominance over his peers and to prove that he was far more skilled then any of them would or even could be.
He didn't offer his help to students who needed it, he even refused to help those who asked it of him. He rather focused on his own studies, reading a tome with an unreadable cover, entirely black with some pages burned or torn out.
He decided not to bother the boy for now, while he knew he couldn't show open favouritism towards Hadrian, he also knew the punishment his father would lay upon him if he decided to disturb the boy's studies.
Southern France.
Gellert Grindelwald had been searching all over France for Nicholas Flamel over the past couple weeks. His reputation as famed alchemist and discoverer of the Philosophers Stone was what had gained the old wizard's interest.
As of yet, he had little success in tracking down the man, but he remained optimistic. He had first searched Paris, a small stone house, little more special than any other aside from its time of construction, supposedly had housed the alchemist. While he had found few traces of a former inhabitant, possibly of magical nature, he hadn't found any further hints. The house was empty, any who had lived here before, left many many months ago, carefully having cleaned up behind them.
After that, he had searched through the known magical communities all over France. It had been tedious and unrewarding work. He had to remain in the shadows, not showing himself to any. His appearance alone would cause mass panic and would gather unwanted attention.
He had kept an eye on the papers across Europe since he had fled from Nurmengard. They had no clue of where he was or what he was doing, some even speculating his retirement or even death.
It had been rather laughable, but it assured him that the people had little more then whispers when it came to information about him and his plans.
There had been an outcry across the continent, as Hadrian didn't arrive on the first of September in Hogwarts this year. There had been few out there who had hoped that Harry Potter was still alive, still fighting and training. Preparing himself for the invariable rise of the Dark Lord. While leaving open who they were talking about.
Grindelwald's plans where perfectly proceeding on multiple fronts, yet when it came to his personal plans, none of them seemed to be working as well as he had intended.
He had little information on the Deathly Hallows, his search for the Philosophers Stone had been fruitless and other options where only to be chosen once he would grow desperate.
Which he was, as of yet, not. He still had many years and his search would continue, but once he would have to reveal himself, he would have little time for his search. To add to that, he wasn't able to hand the task to one of his followers, as many of them had the annoying trait of being shameless opportunists.
Should they miraculously succeed at the near-impossible quest of searching, acquiring and gathering the three Hollows, there was no guarantee that they wouldn't simply turn against him and use them to build their own legacy.
Hadrian possibly wouldn't, he was a far too loyal and at times annoyingly generous soul. His trust was hard-earned, but he would do what he believed was right. Hadrian still was only eleven-years-old and while that meant little to offset him from any of his followers in his duelling capabilities, he still lacked the experience of any seasoned wizard or sorcerer.
No, he wasn't able to pass on his quest in search for longer life. For that, he had chosen the wrong side in the first war.
Grindelwald had been using an excessive amount of glamour charms and transfigurations to hide his true identity while he was on the hunt. It, of course, was only a very temporary and makeshift way to go about things, yet it allowed him to remain somewhat hidden.
He would soon leave for the Delacour manor, from where he then would use a Portkey to Nurmengard and prepare for his first meeting with Hadrian and the other students he and Karkaroff selected for possible tutoring.
He had heard very little from Karkaroff and Dolohov about Hadrian. He seemed to perform well enough in school to remain top of the class but did little more than study the entire day.
He wouldn't have needed to do so. The only reason Grindelwald even send the boy to Durmstrang was the fact that he was supposed to bond with some of the students there, who would later turn into trusted allies and supporters.
Of course, it had only been little over one and a half weeks, but the boy had supposedly only made little progress so far.
Albus Dumbledore had overlooked the sorting ceremony, not really paying attention to what was happening.
The old man was lost in his own thoughts. He had remembered the day he had entered Privet Drive number four, seeing Harry's aunt and uncle, their son, and most importantly Harry himself lying dead on the floor.
The wards around the house had collapsed, people had entered the house and killed the four inhabitants. He didn't know who but he knew that it had to be someone powerful enough to cause the blood wards to fail. They hadn't fully developed at that point, but they would have kept him safe against most enemies.
In his mourning, he hadn't managed to carefully examine the boy's corpse before having to give it up to the ministry.
His only hope had rested with Iris, but that had been shattered quickly. As he arrived near the orphanage, the house had been burned down and the body of the girl had been missing.
There was hope for the young girl to still be alive, but it was rather slim. The chances stood higher than she had been simply reduced to ash.
He had lost both of the siblings, no matter if dead or not. He would have to win them back if he could. They were imperative for his plans and the future of the wizarding world.
Harry might be dead, yet Iris still posed a possible turn of events. She could be the downfall of Tom if trained properly. The death of Harry Potter simply had caused his plans to be restructured. Fragile, yes, but still standing.
He and the rest of the staff would have to prepare the students for the upcoming conflict. It was undeniable, Tom wasn't dead. And with Gellert roaming around, where ever he was, there would soon be a third party joining this conflict and Dumbledore wasn't sure how dangerous they would be.
Tom might have been the most skilled duellist of them, but Gellert was, by far, the more dangerous of the two.
The murmurs in the shadows of an old man slowly but surely building a network of allies and followers all across Europe made the headmaster feel uneasy.
Nurmengard had fallen and was now resting under the Fidelius, tucked away somewhere he couldn't quite remember.
The signs of Grindelwald's rise stood before, but this time, he was far more dangerous, having learned from his errors of the past and having spent half of the past century to plan another attempt.
Another generation of followers and allies would soon rise from all across Europe, even Hogwarts could be affected, and declare themselves for Grindelwald. The world stood at the edge of an international wizarding war, the size none had ever seen before.
A/N: Thank you for taking the time to read, as usual please consider reviewing, helps me to improve.