This is part two. I have completed my exploration into how Grindelwald would have affected (and made more probable) the fall of Voldemort and have decided to continue it into a Hermione/Gellert exploration. If you wish to stop reading now, feel free. I might even add a non Hermione/Gellert ending to the oneshots book. If you wish to continue on this journey with me, thank you. Let's see where this goes.
As before, all unedited.
They arrived in the living quarters, and she led him into his room. He sat back on the bed without protest and stared off blankly into space. He roused slightly when Dumbledore asked what was wrong, enough to conjure a blanket over the portrait. Then he was back to staring dejectedly into space.
'You should put me back in the cell now.' He told Hermione. She took a seat next to him and took his hand. It was icy cold.
'I think you can be on house arrest for now.' She compromised, but the dark wizard shook his head violently.
'I thought I could do it. I thought I could honour Albus' cause but I corrupted it. You shouldn't let me corrupt you too.' Gellert fiddled with the two wands in his hands, his fingers running familiarly over the strange bumps of the Elder Wand, then less familiarly over the smooth wood of his newer wand.
'I don't understand what happened but you were angry. Everyone does stuff they regret when pushed far enough.' Hermione tried and Gellert let out a hollow laugh.
'It's difficult to explain. It's like every dark spell puts you deeper into darkness, but this time there's always been a piece of string to follow to find the way out. It's like I went so deep that I lost the string. I know too much to be allowed... I can't lose the string again.' She wondered if he knew how mad he sounded.
'I won't let you lose the string.' She told him sincerely.
'No,' He smiled slightly. 'You can take my magic away.'
'Professor Dumbledore says that you've changed since he last saw you.' She told him, Gellert smiled weakly again. 'Is that because you found the string?'
'No, there was no string that time. I was deep in the darkness, it took about five years to realise I had right and wrong twisted. This time there's always been string to come back.' He explained.
'Maybe its love, Professor Dumbledore always says love is powerful.'
'I don't know; I have never believed myself to be capable of love.' The dark wizard admitted and Hermione scoffed.
'Of course you are, Harry and I are your friends, right? That's love.'
'Last time I was friends with someone I tortured their brother and murdered their sister.' He argued and Hermione laughed again.
'Well, good thing neither Harry nor I have any siblings or parents then.' Hermione looked at him closely, he seemed more disappointed in himself than upset. Maybe she should have considered the implications of him being more devastated at the thought of upsetting a portrait than the fact that he'd just tortured someone.
'Come on, let's go back and help with the cleanup.' She ordered, pulling the dark wizard to his feet. He sighed and tucked both wands away as they both used their port keys to return to the scene of the battle.
It was still carnage. It seemed the order had managed to deal with the remaining death eaters who now lay stunned and magically bound in rows on one side of the field. Gellert caught a third year student as they wandered past and gave him specific directions to magical restraining handcuffs that were stored in his castle. The student nodded energetically and popped off to retrieve the items.
The pair then continued across the field towards where it seemed an emergency field hospital had been established. It was fuller than it had ever been, even in Hogwarts. The lack of cover had taken its toll on the students and almost everyone had sustained at least one hit – equally as many were hexes and jinxes from allies as from enemies.
Madam Pomfrey and Andromeda were rushed off their feet tending to the seriously injured, so Hermione easily cast the counter curses for those just under minor jinxes. Gellert joined her, freeing up several more people to join the workforce. She then stood back again to assess; it seemed as though the patients had been divided into minor injuries that were tended to by the youngest of the students that hadn't been allowed to participate. It was heartbreaking to see eleven and twelve year olds so capable with healing that they could fix a broken bone with a twitch of their wrist.
Those that had been designated as time sensitive were being tended to by Madam Pomfrey and Andromeda with the assistance of Slughorn. The potions master must have sent people to fetch healing potions because he was followed by a train of students carrying sleeping draughts and blood replenishing potions.
Kingsley and the adults took the more gruesome task of sorting through bodies, separating living from dead, death eater from order.
Gellert stuck to her as she hurried through the rows of injured and dead, checking for anyone she knew. There was nobody close to her, although several that she recognised from the halls of Hogwarts. They stopped occasionally to perform a counter curse, she didn't know the method behind which ones he chose – some were as simple as finate incantatem and others complex, involving several different stages.
Once they had searched all the rows, Gellert led her over to Kingsley. The recovery effort had moved to the opposite side of the decimated cottage and they took a shortcut through the garden, which served them well because they were hidden from view when the ICW appeared.
Roughly twenty wizards appeared in the middle of the field. Quickly confronting Kingsley, they could hear the demands for surrender and indignant shouts from the order members.
'What's going on?' Hermione hissed as they peered around the hedge.
'We haven't got time for this.' Gellert growled. 'We need to put a new person at the head of government by tomorrow. As soon as you can, summon the wizengamot, Kingsley will know how. You need a temporary minister for magic. First order is to change the laws – legalise what you've just done, revoke any laws that ban your supporters, reinstate any that incriminate your enemies. Get your enemies locked away before anyone can mount resistance.'
'What about you?' She asked urgently, knowing before he answered what he would do and that she couldn't stop him.
'I'm going to get the ICW of your back.' His eyes flickered momentarily and he pulled the elder wand out of his sleeve and handed it to her. 'Keep this safe for me please.'
She reached for him helplessly as he left watching as he strode confidently across the charred grass towards the ICW. They turned almost as one and the dark wizard spread his arms wide tossing his ebony wand aside. He was forced to his knees and his hands bound behind his back, a witch summoned his wand and a nervous looking wizard crept up behind him and clipped a pair of silver handcuffs around his wrists.
They spoke for several minutes, Kingsley and Mr. Weasley fighting in his defence before the ICW wizards finally disapparated with their prisoner. Hermione hurried forwards as all but two of the representatives followed suit.
'What's happening?' She asked Kingsley urgently. He turned to look at her with a troubled expression.
'They arrived at Nurmengard to help us with the situation and the only inhabitant was a boy in a cell, apparently the information he gave them was that Grindelwald had imperiused you and was using the order to take over wizarding Britain. We have a week to prove that Voldemort's government was not a legitimate government, otherwise the ICW will arrest everyone here.' Hermione gasped in outrage.
'Ronald!' She seethed. 'I'll kill him! What about Gellert?'
'Grindelwald is under arrest, they won't return him to custody in Nurmengard.'
'He left me with instructions.' Hermione said sadly, reaching out to touch her bond with Gellert. His presence was muted with the effect of the manacles so she couldn't feel where he was or what he was up to.
Kingsley nodded as she relayed his instructions, then he side-along apparated her to an unfamiliar town. It was picturesque, looking out over one of the many white cliffs that edged the south east coast of England. The auror led her down one of the wide, empty streets and up to a neat house that just missed the sea view.
He knocked on the door and they heard shuffling inside, then the door was flung open and they were staring down the wand of a slightly familiar witch. She was tall with a sharp, angular chin and strong nose, her eyes were narrowed in obvious supision.
Without wasting a second, the woman began quizzing Kingsley on the events of a fourth year Hogsmede trip. When he managed to answer every question perfectly, her expression warmed considerably.
'Madam Bones, please meet Hermione Granger.' He introduced and Hermione shook the woman's hand as they were welcomed into her home. Everything was light wood and white walls, which came as a shock after the dark greys and reds of Nurmengard. Pale yellow orchids decorated a table in the hall and a soft white carpet padded the golden floorboards.
They sat down at the table as Madam Bones made tea, claiming that she couldn't take any more bad news without it. In fact, she managed remarkably well, scoffing at the mention of the ICW and nodding her head as Hermione described the steps that Grindelwald had recommended they take to secure the country. As they were talking, the older witch summoned a parchment and pen and wrote out a quick note, passing it to a handsome barn out that met her at the door to her garden.
'I have called an emergency session of the wizengamot, we will have a temporary minister for magic by nightfall. Once the wizengamot is assembled, it will not be difficult to establish how many have been under the imperius curse. I believe that is sufficient evidence that the government has been perverted. With it now obvious that blood-supremacy will not be the way forwards, most of the wizengamot will vote in favour of revoking the ban on muggleborns. It would be political suicide to do otherwise. The captured death eaters can legally only be held for 24 hours without trial with the current status quo, although it will be trivial to change as there are far too many for the wizengamot to deal with in 24 hours.' She sat back at the table and took a drink from her tea.
'Don't worry Miss. Granger, everything will soon go back to how it was.' Kingsley comforted, laying a hand on her back. They misinterpreted her sob as a relieved one.