Thanks to my lovely reader who told me I posted the wrong update. Sorry! Here is te REAL one!
As promised, another update! wahoo. There is not Snape in this chapter, but he will return next chapter, I promise. There are a lot of important plot points in this chapter, so be sure to pay attention! I intend to try and get the next chapter out in a couple of days :) so we can be well on our way to book seven!
And now let us embark and MEET GRINDELWALD
The late afternoon cast the lovely face before her in a vibrant glow.
"Time to wake up, sleepy head," Lupin said softly, his finger skimming along her face.
"But I don't want to, this is such a nice dream," Penny replied, pulling the blanket higher in her sleep haze.
"That is precisely the reason I sat here for far too long watching you. But we really must be getting a move on now."
"Fine," Penny groaned, pushing the blanket aside and giving a large stretch. When she'd finished her yawn, she turned back to Lupin finding his eyes fixed on that grotesque mark of hers. "Remus. . ." she said, reaching for his face.
"I won't revisit what's already been said, Penny," he said before she could finish her own sentence. His gaze flicked back to hers, eyes hard. "But I cannot pretend—I need you to know I will never forgive him for this. It's impossible. So please don't ask me to."
Penny nodded, a confused mixture of thoughts and feelings getting knotted up in her chest. Maybe it would have gone differently if she'd just been honest from the start, if she and Snape had not been so desperate to feel some sense of control in the situation; when in reality the entire ordeal had sent them spiraling. But their choice was made, and now they had to live with the consequence of wanting to preserve their peace.
They got up and dressed, Penny packing her things while Lupin sent word back to Dumbledore about their run-in with the Death Eaters. When he returned, there was not a trace of the sadness and guilt that had wracked him the night before, and with a brilliant smile he tossed her a pastry and led her through the village.
They had to walk to the opposite side of Durbuy to meet a wizard who reminded Penny immensely of Mr. Weasley. He went by Maes and was an elderly man with more energy than a toddler. Maes' house reminded Penny of a junkyard, except it was only littered with antique muggle vehicles.
Being a wizarding village, there were no forms of muggle transportation to be found, and if Maes had not so graciously agreed to drive them, Penny and Lupin would have had to make a day's journey on foot to the train that would take them across into Germany.
They squished into the bed of his pickup, his dog, Lambert poking his head through the window from time-to-time to give Penny a kiss in exchange for a pat. It made her think about Fleamont, who Hagrid had agreed to care for while Penny was away. Fleamont did not seem to mind the arrangement at all, and settled right on top of Fang when Penny had dropped him off. Fang seemed less sure about this arrangement, giving the cat a wary look, but seemed to decide it was better just to let the cat take the lead.
Night had risen by the time they reached the station, Lupin shaking Maes hand while Penny gave him a forced smile. Something about his sharp eyes made her uneasy, but he'd had a pleasant enough of a conversation with Lupin that she told herself she was just being outlandish.
An hour later, Penny sat across from Lupin, the train rumbling beneath them. The sky should have been dark, but the uncountable stars that glittered within it lit it up so spectacularly that Penny spent a long time admiring them, her mind lost in thought.
"I realize I've never asked you, but I'm curious how long you studied the dark arts for?" Penny said to Lupin, finally dragging her gaze away from the window.
"I never really stopped," he replied, looking up from the book he was reading.
"You were obviously the best Professor we ever had, no contest," Penny went on, making Lupin smile. "But I don't exactly know where you land when it comes to the plethora of information out there. Would you say you're an expert and familiar with it all?"
He considered her for a long moment, his fingers stroking that stubble of his. "I am by no means the authority, and quite confident Severus has likely explored more avenues than me, but I decided against some on principle. The Dark Arts is ever evolving, something Vold—You-Know-Who made abundantly clear. But I would say I am well informed on most topics. Why do you ask?"
It was Penny's turn to consider Lupin. She was walking a fine line, but she had not found any answers on her own and Harry still hadn't confessed to her what he was doing with Dumbledore even though she'd made a few of her own confessions. She could not leave it to chance and hope for the best for her brother, she had to try.
"Not that long ago, with the Death Eaters," Penny began, hoping the twinge of guilt in her heart was interpreted as the fake memory being hard to recount to Lupin, "they made mention of some term in passing, one I'd never heard before. Snape wouldn't explain it to me, so I went looking in the library and only found a single mention of it, but no explanation. I was wondering if you were familiar with it."
"What was the term?" Lupin frowned.
"Horcrux," Penny said, doing her best to subdue the urgency that was boiling beneath the surface of her skin.
Lupin's features darkened, harshening the handsome lines on his face, his jaw clenching as his hand fell from his face. "And what exactly did they say about a horcrux?" Lupin said, voice sharp.
"I don't remember. They usually say awful things so I typically try and tune them out," Penny said nervously.
His features softened slightly and he let out a sigh before running his hand through his hair. "That's probably for the best. A horcrux is some of the darkest if not the darkest magic out there."
"But what is it? Will you at least tell me that?"
"Were I still your Professor, I would say no. But given your current situation, I do not think ignorance does you any favors. I want you to always be on your guard with them, Penny. That is of the utmost importance."
"Yeah, okay. I can do that."
"In essence, a horcrux is a magical container to hide a fragment of one's soul. The purpose, as I'm sure you have worked out, is to avoid death. So if the body is destroyed, that piece of soul remains. But the act of splitting your soul requires an act of great evil. That process alone turns the person into something entirely different—inhuman. They gain time, sure, assuming no one destroys the horcrux, but the cost of mutilating your own soul is steep. That is why it is taboo and those who know the process refuse to speak of it, lest the foolish try, not knowing what they are bartering."
Penny's stomach had fallen through the floor, she was sure of it. A horrible prickling coldness was clawing up her spine as she thought about that unseen source of her life—identity, and she imagined what it would be like to tear off a portion of it. The thought revolted her, like some natural law, carved into her DNA, knew it was a violation of something most sacred. It was an answer she never even imagined.
Surely Dumbledore was not helping Harry make himself a horcrux? That was unthinkable, but then why would they have been discussing it and why had they approached Professor Slughorn on the topic?
But then Penny remembered that monster, barely alive, seated on that chair before the fire as she knelt before him, his prisoner, and she understood exactly what the cost of such an act was, who would be willing to pay such a price for immortality and why her brother was learning about the topic.
"I need the toilet," Penny said, getting abruptly to her feet.
She made it just in time, her guts spilling out into the bowl, thoughts swirling through her head. He hadn't died because he'd split his soul; needed a new body—made a new body with Harry's blood, her blood. Suddenly the mysteries that had been the source of all her waking nightmares were laid bare and Penny found their exposure only made her even more frightened of that monster and the lengths he was willing to go; afraid for her brother and what he was clearly endeavoring to do.
There were too many unknowns, too many questions Penny wanted to ask her twin and could not because he had to keep this truth from her because, she now realized, to not only protect her, but protect the hope of ever having a chance at killing the monster. But her own snooping already put it all on the line, because Voldemort need only look into her mind and she would be helpless to stop him.
Taking several steadying breaths she told herself that now was not the time to travel down this road—she had her own endeavor to think about, her curse. She could not become distracted by this when she was so close to her own answers. Once she overcame this particularly hurdle, then she could figure out how to proceed, what to think about what she'd just worked out.
She spat into the toilet one last time and brushed the sweat from her face before returning to Lupin, who offered her a damp cloth looking deeply apologetic.
"Are you—" he began.
"I'm fine. Honestly," Penny cut across. "That answer was just. . .unexpected."
"You never were much of a fan of the Dark Arts."
"Yes I was!" Penny said, a little too defensively.
"Is that so? Because I recall a time or two where you complained that it was 'too frustrating' and wished it was 'more like Potions'," he said, amusement rich in his tone.
"I just do not find the subject as intuitive," Penny said sourly.
"Ah yes, Penny the perfectionist, ever averse to struggling," he teased.
"And Remus Lupin, ever desirous of a bop to the nose," she said, swatting at his leg with her foot in warning.
"What did you get on your Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL?" he said, looking very much like he wanted to continue riling her up, but instead resisted.
"An E," Penny said with an indignant sniffle.
"Respectable."
"You sound like Snape," Penny scowled, taking his comment as a critique.
"Only you would find something wrong with such an excellent mark," he said with a shake of his head. "How is the class now that Snape has finally achieved his dream?"
"I prefer him as the Potions Master," Penny admitted, reaching for the hot chocolate she'd been neglecting. "He's different with the Dark Arts, consumed by it. I don't like it."
"I imagine Dumbledore had a good reason for denying him for so long."
"It bothered me, finding him in that classroom, but then I realized I didn't know why I thought things would always be the same, as though the outside world didn't exist. Maybe what I really wanted was to just hold onto it for a while longer."
"To what?"
"The certainty of it; the ease; the way things have always been between us. I wanted to stay as simple as when arguing about homework assignments was all there was to worry about. But it's gone and I'm not really sure when it all changed, I just know something weighs on him these days. He won't tell me what it is, but I know it's terrible; I feel it in my bones. It makes him push me away, like there's something he plans to do that he doesn't believe he'll come back from."
Lupin attentively received her admissions, his mouth curving in sadness. When she'd finished, he gave her a moment, contemplating his own thoughts, and giving her room to add if she so felt the need.
"You two have always had an unconventional relationship, and given the connection between you, we can assume it will remain so indefinitely," he finally said, tone gentle. "But I can't help but wonder if the change might be good for you. Too much of your life has been caught up in the affairs of adults; precious time that should have been yours to enjoy the whims of youth spent entrenched in truths you should not have been forced to witness so early. Maybe Snape see's that now, and it's not so much he is hiding things from you, but is trying to change course, give you the room to make decisions about your life without unnecessary considerations," Lupin said in that Professor's tone of his, the one that always made Penny attentive and she'd sorely missed.
His words weren't unkind, and she knew they came from a place of deep concern for her, but they still hurt. Unsettled all the things within Penny that she often tried not to let bother her.
Change was hard for her. Her fear of abandonment made her terrified that the slightest shift in the dynamic between her and Snape would mean the end of not only all that they'd crafted together, but how she understood herself; her brain feared that acceptance of any alteration to their habits would suddenly render all the time they'd spent together insignificant.
And yet, despite her dislike of Lupins words, she did not reject them outright and could not help but think of Sebastian and the uncomplicated companionship the boy brought. Was that what Lupin wanted for her? What Penny had been missing out on all this time? Though, she still wasn't sure it even appealed to her, but the truth remained: He had not already lived a lifetime, did not harbor such secrets, yet. Like her, Sebastian was simply trying to make sense of himself while not failing his classes and developing a smoking addiction as he did so.
Was that how life at Hogwarts had been for Remus, Sirius, James and Lily? The Marauders, concerned with nothing but sneaking out and learning all the secrets Hogwarts had to offer. The thought put a smile on her face while making her incorrigibly jealous.
"Severus has had plenty of time to learn to take care of himself, Penny," Lupin said, observing her turmoil, "I promise you he will be just fine if you spend some time focusing on yourself."
"I suppose we're there whether I wanted it or not. Seeing as he was so against my going, he'll probably ignore me until summer now."
"While I am very proud of you for letting this decision be your own, I encourage you not to think about some natural distance between you and Snape as punishment. Sometimes we all need a little extra room to spread our wings."
"Is that why you've been sitting over there this whole ride?" Penny quipped with a small smile.
Lupin laughed as he leaned forward to snag her wrist and pull her across the compartment. "No need to look so grumpy, my darling. The seat beside me is always yours."
"We'll see if you're still feeling that way in a week's time."
"Are you actually feeling neglected, or trying to abandon this conversation?" he asked, as he pulled the hair band from his wrist and began attempting to get Penny's short locks into it.
"Likely the latter," Penny said sheepishly. "But it's not because I disagree or resent what you're saying. It's just hard to let go. I don't think Snape has ever known what it's like to have someone—someone believe in him and choose him," Penny mused, thinking of the words written in his journal, of the life he'd had no say in. "And that's significant to me, because I know what fears those kinds of experiences spawn."
"He is a lucky man to have your thoughts," Lupin said, admiring his handiwork. The affection in his eyes made Penny highly suspicious of how successful he'd been in taming her locks. "But as exquisite as your kind heart is, I think you should also consider what role Snape's own choices played into the production of those circumstances. I know that he is not the man he once was, but some things never do change, no matter how much we wish they would."
Penny had to agree Lupin had a point. There were many similarities between Snape and his preserved younger self, but there were also several important differences, making it much too difficult for her to lean one way or another. She mulled over it for sometime while Lupin read out loud to her from a book about the political history of relations between the MACUSA and the Ministry of Magic in Britain. It was an intriguing genre for her, seeing as she'd had some personal experience with the MACUSA. By the end of it, she found she disliked them even more than she already did. A feat she hadn't thought possible.
When they arrived in Frankfurt, Penny was too bleary-eyed to take much note. Lupin decided it was better not to stay for the night, a decision that was solidified by whatever the response Dumbledore had sent back was.
So tired and hungry, they boarded another train that would take them across Germany's expanse and to the border with Austria. Thankfully, they had a little bit more room this time, so Penny stretched out and went asleep, falling again into that room of doors, the humming vibrating through her mind getting more urgent even though she remained unsuccessful in finding its source.
It was a blessed relief when they finally arrived in the alps to a real bed to sleep in and a warm, unpackaged meal to eat. They would remain at the inn Dumbledore had arranged for them and wait for the Nurmengard guards to arrive to escort them through the mountain and into the prison hidden somewhere upon it.
It was surprising to Penny, that a place holding some of the worst humans on the planet could be located in a place as beautiful as this. On every side she was surrounded by views of high-tipped peaks that reminded her of ice-cream cones. Snow lingered at the very tip, but down in the valley they were staying, spring was just beginning to blossom, the beautiful array of flowers starting to bloom.
Seeing as they had some downtime since sending word up the mountain of their arrival, Penny spent much of her time wandering through the many fields, taking absurd amounts of pictures to share with Harry and perhaps even Malfoy to remind him the world was not limited to the awful reality taking up residence in his house.
After a couple days of bliss, exactly what she'd signed herself up for on this excursion made its appearance, and the fun holiday she'd been having with Lupin came to an abrupt end.
The guards arrived in the early hours of the morning, dressed in military garb, straight faced and harsh. Their pounding at the door startled Penny awake, but Lupin, apparently, had already been awake, and rose from his chair in the corner, assuring Penny it was alright before answering the door.
Bleary-eyed, Penny crawled out of bed and adjusted her clothing just as the three visitors entered the room. The first, a tall man with a sharp nose and annoying face introduced himself as Leon and his companions as Niklas, who gave Penny's very untidy hair a pointed look before taking up residence against a wall, arms crossed, and Johanna, who smiled as she dropped a bag on the table Leon made himself comfortable at.
Lupin nodded toward the table, so Penny took the seat across from the man as he rifled through his bag, Lupin taking the spot beside her.
After an exaggerated amount of fiddling and huffing, Leon apparently found what he was looking for, beady eyes finally scrutinizing Penny. She shifted uncomfortably, very confused by the amount of animosity he seemed to exude.
"Your name," Leon said, rather harshly.
"Er, Penny," she said, feeling they had to have already known that, making her wonder why he was asking.
Silence. Blaring, displeased silence.
"Penelope Evans Potter," she corrected, having learned from years of being Snape's pupil to never give a wrong answer twice.
"Date of birth."
"July 31th, 1980."
"Good year," mumbled Johanna.
"Place of birth and current residence," Leon went on, ignoring the comment and flicking through the paperwork he'd extracted from the bag.
"Godric's Hollow," Lupin answered when Penny shot him a panicked look, having never bothered to inquire where she'd been born.
The blue eyes darted up from his paper to survey them as though they were conspiring to give him false information, but he remained silent.
"4 Privet Drive, Surrey when I'm not at Hogwarts," Penny added nervously. This felt too much like an interrogation to be natural.
"Year of acceptance to Hogwarts—"
"For Merlin's sake, Leon, it's clearly her, we have her photo!" Johanna said in exasperation.
"Need I remind you what would happen if we let just anyone in," Leon said, that steely look of his turning on his comrade.
"She isn't just anyone, though, is she? She's here at the behest of the Albus Dumbledore, not to mention the girl's a Potter," Niklas chimed in, his voice much lower than Penny had expected.
She surveyed him more intently now, noting how his eyes, unlike the other two, who had blue-eyes, were hazel, and his hair, where theirs was blonde, his was a beautiful bronze.
He observed Penny right back, they all did, a strange kind of stillness settling over them, as though they were waiting for something, but Penny did not have the slightest inclination what.
"And who's to say this isn't some imposter—"
"Don't mind Leon," Johanna interrupted. "He got a promotion recently and has been prone to take himself too seriously since." She placed a comforting hand on Penny's shoulder before turning to Leon and snatching the paper from him. "Is it true?" she said, eyes flashing back and forth along the paper.
"Is what true?" asked Penny.
"That you're a whisperer too," she clarified.
"A what?" Penny said, trying to recall where she'd heard that term before.
"What do they call it over there?" Johanna said to Niklas.
"Expression."
"Ooh," Penny said, remembering Davian Martikov calling her that word like it was an insult. "Yeah, it's true." Penny felt nervous at the admission, wondering if they like the Martikov's and Durmstrangs would resent her for it, find her guilty of evil before ever knowing her.
"Prove it," Niklas challenged quietly from the corner.
It was not the request she expected to receive. She looked to Lupin, who seemed to be remaining purposefully quiet, but he nodded, so Penny pulled out her wand and gave it to him.
It'd been some time since she used her magic, seeing as she mostly relied on her magic these days. Her thoughts jumped to Tom as she considered what to do for them to convince that would not reinforce any prejudices they might have. He'd been unnaturally quiet for a while now, and while she wished that was simply a good thing, she knew, with him and his conniving, it most certainly was a bad sign.
Pushing that particular problem to the back of her mind, Penny wracked her brain as she reached for that pool of magic in her veins, the connection she felt flowing between her and every living thing around her. It was a bit anxiety inducing, performing magic on command, so she shut her eyes and let that warmth she felt all around her take shape in the palm of her hand.
When she opened her eyes, she found it glowing, a long shoot sprouting up from the center of her palm, leaves branching off and large petals taking shape. It climbed and climbed until the glowing faded, leaving a large sunflower grasped in her palm, a sunflower that was such a brilliant shade of yellow it might have been plucked straight from the sun itself.
Smiling at it, Penny set it down before her brown-eyed friend. Sunflowers were Lupin's favorite. He reached out and gave her hand a small squeeze in thanks as he admired it.
"I guess that settles that,"Johanna said after an extended, shocked silence. She tossed the paper back at Leon who scoffed in irritation.
"It most certainly isn't! Regulation 74 states—"
"Yeah, yeah," Johanna said dismissively. "We'll need you to relinquish your wands for the duration of this trip, and we'll have to search your things before we leave."
Lupin handed over Penny's and his own to her and then got up from the table to go fetch their bag of things.
"Why'd you come all this way? Why do you want to see him?" came Niklas's voice. He wasn't accusing by any means, but the way he watched her, Penny could not help but feel she was being tested, but on what, she did not know.
"He's the only other person like me," she blurted out before even giving the question any thought.
"And?"
"And wouldn't you want to know?"
"Know what?" he said, eyes narrowing slightly.
"If you were the same. Or if there was a chance you could be something else."
Half a smirk spread across that stiff mouth of his as Niklas finally unfolded his arms and pushed off the wall and made for the door, pausing beside Penny. He looked down at her, hazel eyes moving left and right as he considered her, trapping her in the depths of them. "You're an entirely different make than him," he said, surprising Penny with his candor. And then he reached over her and took the sunflower Lupin had left on the table. "A tax," he said, now inspecting it as he made his exit, leaving Penny sitting there feeling very confused by the exchange.
"You can trust what he says," Johanna said quietly. "He's one the few able to guard him. Isn't susceptible to his tricks, understands him in ways others can't."
There was a look on her face that Penny couldn't quite comprehend. It was knowing, but not in that pitying fashion. It was more friendly than that, like she could imagine part of what Penny felt and wished to pass something the years of life had taught her onto her. Penny found herself reassured by that, a small fluttering in her chest making her feel suddenly less nervous, less afraid to confront what she had imagined would be a mirror, one that would show her a reflection of what waited for her.
When Leon was satisfied, and after much complaining about allowing Penny to 'roam unrestricted' which apparently was a reference to existing with expression, they began their ascent, which was quite literally a hike. No form of magical transportation could get them to the prison, a safety measure to prevent attempted jailbreaks.
The magic protecting it was strong, and Penny could feel it thrumming through her very fingers as they climbed upward, over peaks and snow.
"She's of a tougher make than she looks,"Johanna smirked at Niklas as Penny climbed over the side of the open faced cliff they'd just scaled.
Penny muttered her thanks when Niklas tossed a canteen of water at her. "You've trained." It was an assessment not a question. "Who? And why?"
"My godfather," Penny panted between gulps of water, glancing back at the unnerving gaze of his. "And probably because I attract a lot of trouble," Penny shrugged.
"I imagine you do," Niklas said, the faintest of smiles twitching at the corner of his mouth. "Can't say I'm upset about not having to carry you up this mountain, but don't get your hopes up that it'll give you an advantage inside. It won't. Not against him."
"Yeah well, can't say I was planning on challenging the guy to an arm wrestling match or anything, but I'll keep that in mind," Penny said, dryly, making Johanna burst out into laughter.
Lupin came up over the ledge, Penny all too happy to turn away from Niklas and focus on something else. She didn't know what she'd expected, but certainly not an audience who would be evaluating whether she was worthy or not. It irritated her, and yet, she wondered if maybe she was being overly sensitive, and hadn't yet truly accepted what she'd undertaken or comprehended exactly what was waiting for her at the end of this mountain road.
"Now I know why Severus declined," Lupin said, gasping for breath as he collapsed onto the rocks, looking exhausted.
Penny couldn't help but grin at the thought of her pretty Potions Master and his soft hands roughing it like this. Surely, he would have lost his sanity after the first mud puddle.
"Up! We need to keep pace with the light," Leon said in a thoroughly irritating voice as soon as he followed over after Lupin.
Scowling and looking very much like he was contemplating tossing the guy back over the ledge, Lupin forced himself to his feet and then offered Penny a hand.
"Carry me over the next one," she begged.
"After watching you back there, I think it's you who should be carrying me," he replied, eyebrow arched.
"That's because you haven't seen my hands,," Penny said, showing him the scratched up mess they currently were. She did not have the calluses the others did and was certainly feeling their absence.
Her hand was intercepted by one to her left before Lupin could get a good look. It was firm but unexpectedly gentle. Startled, Penny tried to tug her hand back. Niklas glanced back at her as though daring her to complain before swiftly wrapping a bandage around both hands. "Rely more on your legs and your hands will fare better," he said, his hold lingering on her when he'd finished, hazel turning back to green.
"Alright, thanks," Penny said, a bit taken aback and trying very hard not to be distracted by Lupin, who was eyeing the hand holding hers with a very displeased expression.
When Niklas finally let her go and started hiking again, Lupin grumbled, "I can't take you anywhere."
"I didn't do anything!" Penny said incredulously.
"Maybe not, but I think I preferred it when you were 13," he sighed, pushing her after the others, and smiling when he found her indignant expression fuming back at him. The other three moved too quickly for Penny to argue with him, but the annoyance made it a bit easier to keep pace.
Niklas' advice turned out to be sound and Penny's hands were in his debt. The second climb was about a half hour longer than the first, but it was the last they would make. The rest of the journey would just be hiking, which went on for about another hour before Johanna stopped to point saying, "There she is."
For a long moment, Penny thought the woman had lost her mind, but then whatever magic was protecting the place from unwanted visitors began to roll away, and the large pillars of what Penny could only describe as a fortress burst into view. Voices yelled down at them from above them on the ramparts that were set atop the very face of the mountain.
Lupin dragging Penny under his arm because she barely had the energy to remain upright; they stepped through the gates some 20 minutes later, Penny having horrible flashbacks to the pain she endured the morning after her first training session with Sirius.
Like their companions, everyone inside of Nurmengard was dressed like soldiers, Johanna, Leon and Niklas reporting to several wearing varying colors that Penny assumed signified their rank, before beckoning them toward the door Penny hoped led inside and to dinner.
The people they passed didn't bother to hide the way they stared at them, muttering amongst themselves as Penny and Lupin passed. It reminded Penny of Harry and the kind of flagrance people often displayed when looking at him and even invading his space. Lucky for Penny, none of the soldiers seemed inclined to approach them.
The interior of Nurmengard was not at all how Penny imagined a prison would be. The halls were bright and the windows tall, letting in all the light bouncing off the mountain peaks around them, while giving a marvelous view of the landscape below.
"It's beautiful?" Penny said to Lupin.
"She sure is," smiled Johanna. "And you haven't even seen the best parts yet. I'll show you my favorite spot tomorrow. I'm off to my next post, but Niklas will take care of you tonight. Toodles."
With a wave she departed, leaving Penny and Lupin with Niklas, who nodded to a door on the opposite side of the hall.
Much to Penny's despair, the door led into a large room made entirely from windows with a massive hot spring set in the center, and not to the five course meal she'd been dreaming of.
"No one wants to smell you while trying to enjoy their dinner," Niklas said at the look on Penny's face when he tossed her a towel and ducked around a wall to start shedding his dirty clothing.
Penny gaped after him and was about to complain to Lupin, but he'd already followed after the other. Resigning herself to her fate of starvation, Penny retreated behind another wall, stripped down and then wrapped the towel around herself. A hot bath would be nice, but the setup did not offer much privacy, nor did the towel. There was nothing to be done about the uppermost portion of her mark peaking out the top of her towel, but with any luck, others would just assume it was a tattoo.
Niklas and Lupin were already soaking by the time Penny resigned herself to join them, Lupin looking so exhausted she half worried he would fall asleep where he sat and drown. He didn't so much as stir when the water rippled around him, his eyes firmly closed, but Niklas looked toward her. It was an effort not to let her eyes linger on his well defined chest and arms as he stood there in the shallows, brushing his wet hair from his face.
Stepping in quickly and averting her gaze so her cheeks would not betray her, Penny settled in, letting loose a quiet sigh when her angry muscles eased their tension. Perhaps a bath was not such a terrible thing.
"You'll want to like him," Niklas said, taking a seat beside Penny, though he left a fair amount of distance between them. "It might feel easy to do so and hard to believe why he's in here. Don't trust it, question the very reliability of your senses if you have to."
"Are you trying to tell me that bothering to come here was pointless? Because if so, I don't care. He's the only one that can answer these questions. I have to try."
"He won't lie to you, he doesn't have to. But you can bet he knew you were coming long before you ever decided to, and he prepared accordingly."
"I'm not here to help him get out," Penny said, glancing sideways at him.
"Oh I have no doubt Grindelwald knows he will spend the rest of his days in this prison," Niklas said with a dry laugh. "Your being here can't change anything for him, except offer some change and amusement to the monotony. No, it was you I was referring to. Don't make the mistake of walking in there without first acknowledging he has the power to change everything for you, and he knows it. All of it comes with a price. And I mean all of it." Something about the harshness in Niklas' voice made Penny feel like he was speaking from experience and that he wanted to keep her from something that haunted him.
"This isn't the first time I've encountered his type," Penny shrugged, thinking of the long list of men and monsters who had tormented her in the last two years. "And I find them all to be so boorishly similar. If Grindelwald wants to play games, then I'll play. There isn't anything that he can ask of me that I'm not already prepared to give."
"Normally I'd think you were bullshitting yourself so you didn't have admit you made a mistake coming here, but for someone reason I don't feel you are," he said, eyes flicking down to portion of the mark protruding from her towel.
"Just don't make any bets on me, I can't be responsible for anyone taking you for all your worth."
Niklas let out a loud laugh that Penny hadn't been expecting. That straight face of his softened even as the amusement eased. "Ouch. You could have at least done me the courtesy of pretending to accept my vote of confidence."
"Guess you should have taken me to dinner first."
The chuckle that followed was Remus's, Penny turning her attention from Niklas, who'd somehow ended up sitting closer to her over the duration of their conversation, to the warm eyes observing her from across the way.
"Decided to return to the land of the living, have you?" Penny said, abandoning Niklas, lest the man watching them far too closely make an accusation.
"Barely," he replied, wincing as he shifted beneath the water to give her space to sit on his knee.
Penny ran a hand through his hair, frowning at him. "I thought you were fit."
"So did I," Lupin replied darkly.
"Is this old age?" she smirked.
"You're lucky I don't have the energy to thank you for that."
His eyes glinted in that mischievous way of his, promising to repay her at a later time.
"Well, perhaps I should play to my advantage while I have it."
"Then perhaps I will do the same when mine returns."
"You know you can let me win sometimes," Penny sulked, knowing he would mak good on his threat.
"I could. But I'm just not the losing type."
"And I am!" Penny scoffed.
"Evidently. You keep coming back even though all you do is lose."
Penny opened her mouth to object, but Niklas placed a hand on her shoulder.
"C'mon, I'll get you that dinner you so desperately wanted now," he said, his features returned to that stiffness and tone somewhat harsh.
Dinner was as glorious as Penny imagined it to be. The Galley was large, filled with benched tables, though when they entered it was almost empty. The walls were high and the ceiling was covered in vast skylights that gave them a marvelous view of the stars. Between mouthfuls of food, Penny gushed about them, unable to tear her gaze away.
Niklas obliged her interest and even taught her a few of the constellations while poor, exhausted Remus nearly fell asleep in his bowl of soup. Though Penny had so many more questions she wanted to ask and Niklas did not seem as though he was ready to get rid of her just yet, she decided for Remus' sake to ask to retire early.
"We'll be staying in the same room," Remus said when they stopped before a door that he indicated was for Penny. There was a note of finality in his voice, one Niklas seemed to notice. "Pick whichever you prefer," he shrugged. "But we'll be locking you in. Johanna will come back for you in the morning."
Lupin nodded and made his exit, Penny lingering a moment longer.
"When will I get to see him?"
"He expects you tomorrow," Niklas said, his hazel eyes looking past her and through the door Lupin left open.
"And if I decide not to show?" Penny said, eyebrow arched.
He smirked, turning his attention back to her. "Then I'd have to sneak you out the back before any of his other guards got their hands to make you pay for the living hell he'd make our lives for such an offense."
"So that's why you're locking me in. Got it."
"You're under no obligation to go in there, Penny."
It was the first time he'd used her name, and something about the way he said it made her feel he was intent on making her believe it.
"I appreciate you saying so. But as absurd as it sounds, I want to go in there. I'm not afraid, nervous, or even uneasy. Maybe it's stupidity, but I just feel like there is something there I've been looking for."
"Then I'll see you there tomorrow."
Penny smiled at that, oddly happy to have his presence there to look forward to, especially if she lost her nerve at some point.
"Goodnight, Niklas."
The door shut and Penny clambered her way into bed beside Lupin, surprised to find him still awake.
"He's too old for you," was all he said.
"Funny, because I was thinking he was too young."
Lupin growled disapprovingly into her ear, making Penny laugh softly.
"Come July I'll be 17 making anything fair game, then what will you do?"
"I will cross my fingers by then some silly boy your own age has managed to attract your attention," he sighed.
"Or you could just marry me yourself," Penny offered hopefully.
"Goodnight, Penny," was Lupin's only response.
The morning moved past Penny with unnerving speed. People spoke to her, Johanna, Remus and she responded, but she had no recollection of what was said or done during the hours leading up to finally finding herself walking down that hallway, at the end of which stood a door.
Nothing about it gave any indication what hid behind it, except perhaps guards that flanking Penny on either said. They knocked thrice, someone within responding. Penny was told to take three steps back, and then something inside the door creaked and shifted as the door groaned like it was alive. Once ajar, Penny and Lupin were quickly ushered inside a foyer.
Penny blinked in confusion, she'd been expecting a cell, not this. The door shut behind her and she looked at the soldiers waiting inside, Niklas stepping forward to meet her.
"You haven't changed your mind, have you?"
"Not a chance."
"Then let me introduce you," and turning he plodded across the expensive looking carpet, pressed his hand against the door waiting there and stepped aside to reveal a sitting room waiting just beyond it.
The furthest-most wall of the room was one giant window that looked out over the cliff face of the mountain and onto the valley beneath. The view was absolutely stunning and Penny might have gasped at the beauty of it if her breath hadn't caught in her chest at the sight of the figure sitting before those windows, apparently too absorbed in the paper he was reading because he did not bother to rise or even to turn to see who approached.
For a long moment, Penny just stood there, staring at the back of his head, completely at a loss. She could sense nothing from him. Unlike everyone else around her, there was only silence between her and Grindelwald. Unsettling silence.
Placing a reassuring hand on Penny's shoulder, Niklas stepped through first.
"You have a guest, Gellert. Will you not even greet her after she came all this way to be disappointed?"
"Two guests, Niklas. Or did you think I wouldn't notice the deliciously worried specimen who escorted her?" a smooth voice replied.
"He is your type," Niklas said, glancing at Lupin. "But I have a hunch arrogant sociopath isn't his type."
"No, perhaps not yet," Grindelwald agreed, finally putting down his paper. "As you can attest, mine is an acquired taste," he went on, standing and turning on Niklas with a smile that was so alluring, for a moment Penny felt taken in by it.
He stood tall, but perhaps not as tall as Dumbledore. But he retained a youthfulness Dumbledore hadn't. A handsome curve of his jaw; lines around his eyes that only seemed to deepen them; a shimmer to his skin. The tailored suit and well kept hair, too, made him look decades younger than Dumbledore, but perhaps that was his first deception, the first indication her senses had been beguiled.
That smile turned on her now, eyes pensive. "Hello Penny, how good of you to come and provide a lonely man some much needed company."
Still frozen, Penny just stared at him, brows meeting in the middle, unable to even force her mouth to open, to respond.
"Please, do come in, I have been waiting ever such a long time to meet you," he said, gesturing to the open seats like some eager, gracious host. And her feet, they obeyed him, not caring that she was their master. She crossed that threshold, passing Niklas, eyes fixed on the curious creature before her, enthralled.
But before she made it to him, she faltered because as soon as her left feet set down beside her right, it was like all of her senses were suddenly ripped from her body, and that eerie silence that kept her from feeling him now swept over her, blotting out any connection she normally had to the world around her—to her magic. In its place there was only a horrible silence, a stillness that made Penny feel as though she'd suddenly been thrust into the sea and no longer knew up from down.
Horror struck, she looked down at her hands as though doing so would tell her where her magic had gone.
"Malevolent, is it not. Ingenious, perhaps, but undeniably cruel—the magic they use to keep me here. It's Albus' own handiwork, if I recall," Grindelwald said, watching Penny as though her reaction was the most normal thing he'd seen in a long time. "Of course none of them can sense the difference because life does not whisper to them as it does us,"—he nodded to those standing behind Penny—"They cannot even fathom what drowning in this silence does to one's psyche after living your whole life arising each morning to the earth singing her secrets to you."
"It's wrong," was all Penny could say, still staring at her hands, pressing on her veins, certain they were shriveling up inside of her. She was feeling light headed, nauseous, disgusted.
There was something terrible, disturbingly terrible about this feeling—this place. It set her nerves on fire and ignited an overwhelming urge to flee and a sense of doom. Even though she knew it was the room, some magic like the one that governed that awful collar of hers, she wanted to be free of it, to step over the threshold to check; just to be sure they hadn't stolen something from her.
Grindelwald looked mildly surprised by her assertion. "They would argue we're what's wrong. But you already know that."
"How do you stand it?" Penny said, flexing her fingers in agitation, still unable to give him her full attention.
"While the barrier is successful at disrupting our magic and keeping me here, it cannot keep me from the paths."
She looked at him now, his features shifting ever so subtly beneath her scrutiny. Did he know? But how could he? Even if her family had a seer lineage not all of them had that ability. It had to be nothing other than a guess; a guess he was gauging the answer to.
"When the world went quiet, I learned to listen to other things, and a little bird happened to tell me in passing about the most intriguing turn of events. Apparently you swiped Davian's eldest son right out from beneath him and even had the audacity to make him your guide."
"It's not like Davian bothered to be anything other than a hindrance, so I hardly feel bad for it," Penny scowled, making Grindelwald break out into a melodious laugh. It might have been charming, had Penny not noted the way his eyes appraised her like some show horse.
"You are quite the intriguing girl, Penny. Do come in and bring that pretty friend with you, I'd quite like a better look at him."
Grindelwald moved to the chase sofa, Penny taking up residence on the one across from him, a table separating them and Lupin taking up residence behind Penny in an effort to offer a semblance of privacy. Grindelwald turned his eyes on him in full force now, looking very pleased with what he saw.
"I hope you appreciate, Penny, the sheer importance of this moment," Grindelwald said, still undressing Lupin with his eyes. "They will write history books on this—us. Our dear friends here will be asked to give their accounts for what they beheld on such a momentous occasion," he smiled.
"I think you grossly overestimate the world's interest in either of us. But I would have thought the first set of history books you've been penned into would have been enough. What's the matter, suddenly regret what you'll be remembered for?"
"I would have thought that you, better than anyone, would have learned by now that average people are incapable of seeing the nuances of the decisions we make. To regret would suggest I did not acknowledge the cost when I made my choices," he said, turning away from Lupin and looking pointedly at her chest, as though he could see the mark emblazoned there beneath her shirt. "I did what I had to, and it seems you have as well. But that isn't to say, given the opportunity now, I wouldn't choose differently. Though I would wager one as young as you hasn't learned that particular lesson just yet. I do, however, hope you fare better than I," he said, lifting his hands as though to highlight that cage that snared him. "But it's poetic, this meeting. Never in recorded history has destiny dared ordained that any others like us should ever meet another like themself. They have historically been lone wolves, for a lack of a better word, because as you well know, we are never alone, and certainly not after finding our coordinate. But here we are, not only whisperers, but seers as well. You must feel it, the significance of this moment."
"I can't say I'm at all inclined to celebrate anything I share in common with you, and to be frank, I came because I wanted to know if I could ever free myself from those things that tie us together," Penny said, feeling slightly turned off by the rank self-importance he seemed to be steeping in.
"Afraid of your propensity for taking over the world?" Grindelwald said wryly, leaning forward and pouring himself a cup of tea. "It's a weak lie, even to tell yourself. A desire for righteous retribution is something we all harbor, and I have heard your inklings for revenge are well earned. So do not insult me by trying to convince me you're actually worried that something about the gift bestowed upon us could somehow compel you to do anything. No, no, Penny, in my house we only speak in truths and the truth is you came to me for the instruction Albus and your friend here have been keeping from you. It is a mentor you came for, and here I am."
He dropped a couple of sugars into his tea and then straightened himself, sipping it quietly, his gaze holding hers, daring her to deny it; accuse him of manipulating her. But she couldn't, Penny could not argue against the words because they were true, even if she hadn't realized it until this moment.
"Penny," Lupin said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We don't have to stay."
"No. I want to stay," Penny said, shrugging out of his hold.
Grindelwald flashed Lupin a brilliant smile that came across as somewhat gloating before reaching for a biscuit.
"Have you been watching me?" Niklas had told her, warned her, and still the thought unnerved her.
"Of course. Even if I wasn't curious, the days are long."
"And why would you be curious about me? You don't strike me as the sentimental type."
Niklas had also told her he wouldn't lie, so why not let him play games and show her hand and see what he would do then.
"Good. You know how to ask the right questions, but you'll have to understand I have no intention of giving my answers for free."
"What do you want?"
"No need for such an accusatory look, Mr. Lupin. Were favors on the table I'd be asking for yours not hers," Grindelwald said to Lupin, eyebrows receding just slightly into his hair. When he turned back to Penny, his features were placid again. "All I ask is for my own answers in return."
"Deal."
"Lovely. Now then, I will admit my curiosity was not piqued until your visit to Vallaki. Hopefully I need not bore you with the details about my own visit. But as coincidence would have it, I happened to be looking for that same portal you so happened to open. Tell me, dear, how did you do it"
Penny blinked, confused by the stillness that settled over Grindelwald's features.
"You mean the stones? I don't really know, Adrian had to help me," Penny said, perturbed by his interest in the subject. No one had really thought much of her excursion, and Penny often wondered if they sometimes thought she made it up; not that she would blame them, she claimed to have seen her dead father on the bridge between this life and the next.
"The Martikov boy? Your guide?" Grindelwald clarified, his tone skeptical.
"Yeah. He told me what to do."
Again that eerie laughter rang through the room, unnerving Penny.
"Why is that so funny?"
"Is that another question?"
She considered him and then, jaw clenched pushed her whims aside, she needed to stay focused. There were more important questions to be asked. "No."
He waited, swirling his tea and looking far too enthralled with for any normal person.
"How did you know it was Dumbledore?" Penny said quietly, fully aware everyone in the room was listening intently.
"How do you know how to breathe or think?" Grindelwald challenged. "Your coordinate might as well be written in your DNA."
"That's not an answer."
"Because you didn't ask something you did not already know the answer to. Consider it a freebie and encouragement to trust your instincts," he said, leaning back in the cushions and crossing his legs as he brushed off her question with a hand.
"Does-does it feel the same for them? Are they aware of it?"
He peeked up from his tea, looking far too fascinated with her now. "You didn't bother to ask him?" An accusatory smile. Did he think her weak for it? Regardless, Penny remained determinedly silent, refusing to let him sidetrack the conversation. "I will admit, I am surprised Dumbledore wouldn't have told you himself unless—even after all this time," he trailed off, looking toward the window, apparently too lost in his own thoughts to bother answering her.
Just when Penny thought she might burst from waiting, ready to prompt him to answer he said, "Whatever you think you feel, I assure you he feels it ten fold. It is easier for us to drown it out with all the other noise. But they, they only hear us."
"But they get a choice, surely they get a choice?"
A pitying smile as he mulled over his response.
"The choice you speak of was made in the bowels of hell, or so legend claims; when refusing to separate, two mortal lovers traversed the inbetween and arrived at the gates of hell to beseech death to cement their union into the universe. Well, death had been so intrigued by their quest through his kingdom that he agreed. But being foolishly trusting of death and ignorant of his nature, the lovers did not foresee the cost of such a bargain. Death granted their wish, but because they didn't specify how he should grant it, he ordained to ensure his continued amusement for eternity by making them two halves of a whole, cursed to be continuously reborn with the insatiable need to traverse the earth in search of the other. But even if they succeeded, death ensured human nature would always wait just beyond the horizon to rip them apart again. So yes, if you call that a choice, they had as much of one as we did."
"Do you even believe that?" Penny frowned, trying to make heads or tails of such a story. A year ago she might have rejected it outright, but given recent events and her growing suspicions about death, Penny found the story suddenly too eerily convincing. Something that did not placate a single fear or settle any of the guilt she felt over Snape being thrust into this whole situation because of her.
"In the endless or the madness of love?" Grindelwald clarified as pragmatically as if they were speaking about whether they should eat chicken or pork for dinner.
"Either—both. I don't know, the story," Penny said, feeling slightly exasperated.
"Don't be greedy, Penny. Tell me first, do you believe in it—the endless, death, hell?"
It was such a strange question to be asked coming from a grown man. A grown man dressed like a college professor, who'd lived over a hundred years and likely studied more magic than Penny could ever dream of. And yet, he sat before her on the edge of his chair asking her what more or less surmounted to believing in a fairytale. But nowhere in his features could she find the jest, the admission of absurdity.
"The first time I went into the paths, I was pulled into the inbetween by a Will-o'-the-wisp," Penny started, not entirely sure why she was telling him this, but somewhere along the way she'd internalized his words: we speak truths. So she spoke hers. Even if the rest of the room would think her nuts for the admission. "I heard the drums in the deep before Adrian pulled me out; told me about death and the endless. I might not have believed him, but things, strange things had happened—I'd heard those drums before." She took a steadying breath, "Maybe it's coincidence, but something, I don't know what it was, a spirit maybe? It told me he was looking for me, that I'd stolen something from him and that there was a price to be paid. Maybe I could have brushed it off if I hadn't learned my lineage; a long line of only children of only children, you see. And where there were multiple children, premature deaths, and weird superstitions that death was looking for us handed down to every generation. So to answer your question, yes. But I not only believe death is real, I believe he's looking for me because he thinks I have something of his."
Saying the words, admitting those things that she'd been unable to share for fear of being called insane, it was like a weight lifted off Penny's chest, the escape of a very long nightmare. Looking into those handsome, cunning eyes, Penny did not feel absurd. No, Grindelwald was looking at her as though he could not believe his ears. And for a fraction of a second, his mask slipped and she got a glimpse of an insatiable hunger, but he'd composed himself a fraction of a second later, glancing toward her guards and smirking at whatever looked back at him.
"You are unusually morbid for such a pretty girl, Penny. And here I thought you were going to tell me how true love could conquer all, even death," Grindelwald said casually, his eyes unusually bright as a faint air of boredom settled over him. "I thank you for not boring me with such unfounded assertions. I heard them enough times when Albus and I were still on speaking terms."
"It's your turn," Penny pressed, wary the man would try and avoid giving any further explanation and push the conversation in the direction he wanted.
"I have had many years to sit with the story. Naturally, my thoughts are complicated. So why not have some tea while I collect my thoughts into something coherent," Grindelwald said, a look of distinct displeasure rippling across that pretty mouth of his. "Needless to say, whatever I say will pale in comparison to that peculiar admission."
"I'll try to keep an open mind," Penny said, reaching forward for the tea cup, feeling suddenly exhausted by their exchange and desirous for the comfort tea offered. Speaking to Grindelwald was not natural, and required an obscene amount of energy to stay on her guard. He wanted something from her, that much was clear, but he hadn't given the faintest hit what.
Lost in her turmoil and worry that she would miss what he was doing, the fatigue in her brain so heavy it made her senses foggy; she looked away from him and let her guard slip for a fraction of a second too long. She hadn't considered it, the distance between them, and she reached a little too far for the bowl of sugar cubes Grindelwald had set down in front of him.
Penny did not know which happened first, Grindelwald's movement or Niklas' yell of warning, "No, Penny!" but her reflexes lost either way, moving much too sluggishly for her to pull her hand away before a hard, cool one wrapped around her wrist.
In the second it took for him to move, everything erupted around her, people shouting, furniture moving, but green eyes still found that triumphant gleam looking back at her a moment before her entire body erupted into agony.
Pulsing from that hand was an unbearable amount of energy that flooded through Penny's veins. It felt as though it were melting everything in its path, making Penny let loose a blood-curdling scream of agony; the tea cup she was holding dropping from her grasp and shattering on the table. And still his magic moved through her, surging through her heart and making straight for her brain. And once it had stopped melting, it started reforming, rebuilding Penny one atom at a time. She was the same and she was wholly different, her cells, body, thoughts now responding to his beckon call, turning against her to heed his command as his voice whispered, not as an intruder in her hard, but a living breathing part of it, "Come, let's finish this discussion where we won't be interrupted."
And then something foreign latched itself into the very essence of herself. Was it her soul? Penny couldn't be sure because she'd never known what it felt like or where it resided, but whatever it was he was touching was never supposed to be felt in this way. Not by anyone. It was a violation, the worst violation.
Still it tugged. And dragging Penny kicking and screaming, it pulled her from the room; her body; consciousness, and into darkness.
Nooo, Penny doll, you really got be less trusting of people.
SORRY. I LOVE YOU ALL. TOODLES. lol