Hermione woke with a jump when Gellert touched her shoulder. Immediately adrenaline flooded through her, sharpening her senses. It was dark, darker than it had been in weeks. The dark wizard crossed the room on silent feet and threw open the curtains, as if to emphasise what she had already realised herself.
She got up, pulling a silken gown over her nightdress and joining him at the window to peer out over the valley.
The assault on the wards had stopped and they could finally see past the protective dome to the ICW camp. Purple tents had been decorated with flags and banners, representing individual countries' auror contingents and several quiddich teams. Witches and wizards milled around in the spaces between the tents even as a small contingent made their way up the mountain towards the entrance. The leading figure carried a white flag ahead of them, illuminated by the light of somebody's wand.
'Do we go and talk to them?' Hermione asked the more experienced wizard beside her.
'I would advise it. Your publicity plan would fall apart if we refused an offer of peace.'
'How should we do it?' The propaganda campaign had been her idea but she was happy to fall on Gellert's greater political acumen when it came to situations like these.
'We need a formal representation; I assume you want to portray this as a democracy. The leader of each group in the castle as well as you and I, call the press if you want, it will force them to behave.' He decided, sending his patronus to rouse Lupin and Harry. Hermione quickly followed suit, waking Neville, McGonagall and the two Malfoys.
'Wear something formal.' He advised as she opened her wardrobe before he hurried out of the room.
Ten minutes later, she was dressed in elegant maroon robes with a phoenix embroidered on the skirts. Her hair was in an immaculate bun held with copious amounts of elf magic and she was wearing an impressive pair of dragon hide boots with a delightful charm that made the heel seem almost nonexistent as she walked.
She met Narcissa in the corridor and the older witch looked over her approvingly before transfiguring the pin in her own hair from a flower to a phoenix.
The boys were already waiting for them in the living area, Harry looking like he'd just drunk a wideye potion and Draco looking as suave as always in a three piece suit. Grindelwald had defied his norm with a jacket that fastened with at his shoulder and a cloak pinned and thrown open so that his wand arm was free. Harry shrugged on a cloak as they headed down stairs, meeting up with the others along the way. Everyone was dressed to the nines, and with Narcissa's help, soon sported a subtle phoenix emblem.
The ICW were already waiting by the time they reached the edge of the wards and so was the press. The cameras outnumbered the ICW by at least double, but every one of them kept a respectful distance. They paused as a group at the boundary and Hermione forced herself to take several deep breaths to calm her nerves.
Gellert drew his wand and cast a witchlight so bright that it was almost equivalent to sunlight and sent it soaring out over the press and the ICW. All activity ceased, those on the other side waiting tensely.
Then Hermione and Gellert stepped out. Cameras flashed with an almost deafening round of clicks but strangely no questions were shouted. Silence fell as the duo approached the delegation from the ICW. They paused when they were within speaking distance and the rest of the Nurmengard team emerged and fanned out behind them. Cameras rattled again and Hermione used the time to look over the delegates.
Without exception the politicians all looked worn; lines of stress and dark bags under their eyes. The uniform robes were subtly rumpled, the shirts un-ironed and hair un-washed. The auror team that flanked them looked barely alert, wands drooped occasionally and one woman looked ready to fall asleep on her feet.
'Erlaucht Grindelwald, Miss Granger...' The wizard speaking hesitated as if unsure how to address the rest of the assembly, 'honourable representatives of Nurmengard. I am Babajide Akingbade, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards.'
Hermione nodded to each member as the Supreme Mugwump introduced them, memorising every name and face.
'We have come on the behalf of the international wizarding community to discuss...' Akingbade's eyes flashed quickly to the waiting press and he seemed to quickly modify what he had been about to say, 'an end to this unfortunate misunderstanding.'
'A misunderstanding?' Hermione questioned breezily and the politicians shuffled nervously. 'I'm not quite sure what you are referring to; your failure to act when the legal government of Britain was overthrown perhaps? Or maybe when you attempted to arrest the one who saved us on land outside your jurisdiction? Perhaps how you imprisoned him in an inhumane cell without a trial and put his safety at risk when he was kidnapped and used for malicious purposes? Or was it the one where you launched an attack on a home for war orphans? I do hope you could clarify for us.'
Quills scratched as reporters hastily copied down her words. The delegates now looked like a herd of deer in the headlights, the Supreme Mugwump gave a resigned sigh and unrolled a scroll for his robes.
'In light of recent events, the International Confederation of Wizards has moved to accept the plea of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for the pardon of Erlaucht Gellert Graf Grindelwald for numerous crimes against the International Statute of Secrecy and against International Wizarding Law. The International Confederation of Wizards has agreed despite the severity of his crimes, recent actions and time already served in custody must be taken into account and have voted to pardon Erlaucht Grindelwald of all crimes.'
For a moment, there was silence, then an almighty cheer thundered across the valley and it seemed everyone in Nurmengard had been waiting in silence beyond the ward boundaries. They flooded over the line and into sight as Gellert's political facade crumbled and he swept Hermione into the air, spinning them in a circle and laughing joyously. She found herself laughing too, amazed that her plan had worked and that Gellert was a free man for the first time in almost a century.
'Three cheers for The Phoenix!' Someone bellowed from the back of the crowd and the raucous reply rang out, almost deafening her with its volume as Gellert placed her back on her feet and placed a kiss on her lips.
It was nothing special, quick and light, hardly more than a quick brush of skin but it sent tingles through Hermione that somehow managed to make the moment even more perfect than it already was. Their eyes met and Hermione reached up on her toes to place another one on his lips in reply. This one was fractionally longer, she could feel the softness of his lips against hers this time, the slight brush of his moustache and then she pulled away again, smiling shyly up at him as cheers rocked the valley.