Chapter Two
Memories
Author's Notes: Certain pronouns have been capitalised with reference to Grindelwald. These capitalisations are intentional. Such capitalisations have been made only when his followers speak about him, and when Grindelwald speaks about himself.
Bexley and Chalk Wood are real places located within London. Budleigh Babberton is a fictional village, according to the Harry Potter Lexicon.
My apologies for the delay in writing the chapter and putting it up. (end of author's notes)
Five minutes later, Dumbledore had stepped inside his office and locked the door. He moved towards a Pensieve that lay on his modest mahogany desk. There were not many papers on it, but that was bound to change soon.
Dumbledore took out the crystal phial from the inside of his robes and emptied it into the shallow stone basin that he had borrowed from Nicolas Flamel. He looked closely at it and saw ten black-robed people in a dark room. He bent over the Pensieve and fell headfirst into it.
He landed on his feet a few seconds later, to find himself in a room made of stone. It was small and thickly curtained. Two black curtains were opened very slightly. Very few rays of light found their way into the room through this gap.
Mark Yaxley was standing a few feet away from the present Albus Dumbledore. There were two jet-black doors in front of him. Yaxley was gazing at the one to his right, his face showing a mixture of fear and anticipation. He looked much younger; one could almost say that he was in the prime of his youth.
Dumbledore looked around the room. Eight men and two women were present in the room, including Mark Yaxley. Six men were looking at Yaxley, while the other three people were engaged in a whispered conversation that Dumbledore could not hear. There was another door right behind the third wizard from the left.
A door behind Dumbledore opened with a little click. He turned around to see a tall, black-robed figure that was hooded and cloaked. The hood was so low that the face was hidden. Dumbledore thought that he had seen the hooded figure once before, but he could not recall exactly when. Yaxley was looking at this mysterious person as Dumbledore moved closer to the former.
A quiet male voice said from behind the hood, "The Dark Master awaits you, Yaxley."
Dumbledore walked in quickly, even before Yaxley entered the room right behind him. Last of all, the hooded man stepped in, locking the black door behind him.
This room was larger than the previous one, with only one small top-window. There was a thick black curtain drawn over it. Two torches were burning on either sides of the door.
The blond-haired wizard, Yaxley, was now gazing at a man whose name made the average witch or wizard's blood run cold.
Grindelwald stood up. He was a tall wizard whose long, coarse black hair fell to his shoulders. He had a thin black moustache. His icy, grey eyes did not betray any emotion as he looked at the pale wizard. The hooded man walked towards Grindelwald and stood beside his now-empty chair, as though he was a servant awaiting his master's command.
"Yaxley," said Grindelwald, in a voice laced with authority. "You have a job to do, for an unwanted person has chosen to visit the village nearby. This person, unfortunately, happens to be highly important."
Grindelwald was saying this in a slight hurry. It occurred to Dumbledore that Grindelwald might not have trusted Yaxley completely.
"Master, am I to understand that You are talking about the German Minister for Magic?"
"Your guess is correct, Yaxley. My well-placed allies have informed Me that Garin Kaiser is planning to visit Magische Festung along with his Aurors in three days time. This is the right time to put an end to his life. As you know well, Yaxley, he is hard-pressed to find our location. The Fidelius Charm may be an efficacious protection; but I do not want his entourage to come too close to our hideout. A trusted minion of Mine is currently at Magische Festung. You are to join the other assassin soon and eliminate Kaiser," said Grindelwald.
"I will do as You command, Master. I hope You will forgive me for mentioning this, but there is every possibility that he will be accompanied by an unusually large number of Aurors -" Yaxley stopped suddenly, seeing Grindelwald's narrowed eyes.
"Mark Yaxley," said Grindelwald. His voice was low and scary. "Do you dare to doubt the success of My plans?"
"Not at all, Master, not at all –"
Grindelwald's thin black moustache quivered in anger. "Remember, Yaxley," he said clearly, "that I am the only Dark wizard whose immortality is too well-preserved for any accursed filthy Mudblood to think of challenging Me! My plans never fail. You may leave now, Yaxley, and do not return until your task is finished."
Yaxley did not know then that he would never return to Grindelwald's hideout, thought Dumbledore, feeling satisfied.
Mark Yaxley turned and left the room after opening the door. The light from the torches was extinguished as the scene dissolved into blackness around Dumbledore, who knew it was time to leave the Pensieve.
A second later, he was soaring weightlessly through the blackness and had landed on his feet in front of his desk. As he took his seat at the desk, Dumbledore pointed his wand at the fireplace and thought, Incendio. A roaring fire came to life at once. He lowered his wand and placed it on his desk, deep in thought.
He recalled what Grindelwald had said in a brief flash of rage. Remember, Yaxley, that I am the only Dark wizard whose immortality is too well preserved –
The truth hit him with the force of a Blasting Curse. A part of his soul was well preserved by an ancient and most evil form of protection – a Horcrux. That was the reason why he was immortal! At last, Dumbledore's suspicions were confirmed beyond any shadow of doubt.
A bigger problem reared its head. Where would Grindelwald conceal a part of his soul? What sort of object would he use for the purpose? Did any of Grindelwald's followers know about his Horcrux?
Dumbledore thought that Grindelwald's mysterious, hooded accomplice might know about his secret. Even Yaxley might know about it, but he was in no position to help Grindelwald or hinder Dumbledore.
It occurred to Dumbledore that Grindelwald's hideout might be somewhere near Magische Festung. Magische Festung – Magical Fortress in German - was one of two all-magical towns located in Germany. Ten years ago, on the fifteenth of July, Mark Yaxley and another Dark wizard had tried to assassinate the German Minister for Magic, Garin Kaiser. Luckily for Kaiser, the duo did not succeed. Kaiser's Auror entourage managed to capture Yaxley. However, the other Dark wizard escaped. Yaxley was a wanted wizard for many murders in Britain. Therefore, he was deported to Britain and convicted by the Wizengamot.
Dumbledore suddenly realised that he was nodding off. He looked at an elegant grandfather clock beside the roaring fireplace. The clock had just chimed, jerking him out of his stupor. It was one o'clock in the morning. He decided that it was time to rest.
Dumbledore and a friend were surrounded by five black-robed wizards. One of them was hooded, such that the face was concealed completely. Undoubtedly, they were Grindelwald's followers. Dumbledore shot a surreptitious glance to his right. A blond-haired wizard of average height stood next to Dumbledore and had his wand at the ready.
"Alexander, be ready for my signal," whispered Dumbledore.
The five Dark wizards were closing on Dumbledore and Alexander. This place had Anti-Disapparation Jinxes cast all over it. If they were to escape safe and sound, it was now or never.
"Now!" shouted Dumbledore. Both wizards cast powerful spells at random. In a matter of seconds, three Dark wizards were on the ground. Before either Dumbledore or Alexander could begin to run, the hooded person yelled, "Avada Kedavra!"
The jet of green light hit the blond-haired wizard in the chest. Dumbledore gasped in horror, and ran towards –
Dumbledore woke up from his sleep all of a sudden. He was sweating all over. He knew at once that this dream was no ordinary dream; it was a memory. The incident had taken place three years ago. Of course, Dumbledore had managed to escape unhurt, but Alexander James had not been so lucky.
He thought about the dream, and another realisation dawned upon him. The hooded wizard who had killed Alexander was probably the same man who had appeared in Yaxley's memory. Dumbledore wondered whether Yaxley knew this mysterious hooded wizard's identity.
The first rays of sunlight had begun to make their way into the room through a gap in the curtains. He decided to go to the library when he was ready. Perhaps he would come across more clues there.
Half an hour later, Dumbledore was looking at a book called Terrible Wizards Who Patronise the Dark Arts. A brief entry on Grindelwald was found in the last page. Of course, Grindelwald was referred to as "The One Who Shall Never Be Named" in the entire book. Dumbledore found it mildly amusing how many wizards were afraid of speaking his name out loud (as if they would be struck by the Killing Curse as soon as they spoke his true name). The article read:
The One Who Shall Never Be Named
The One Who Shall Never Be Named is the most vicious Dark wizard of our time. His followers always refer to him as the Dark Master, and state that he is immortal; and therefore the most powerful wizard on earth. While his power cannot be doubted, the authenticity of his immortality remains an unanswered question for most of us.
It is rumoured that the One Who Shall Never Be Named has a dwelling in Britain. However, Ministry officials continue to state that the One Who Shall Never Be Named is currently in hiding in his country of origin (Germany). If recent Daily Prophet reports are to be believed, the German Minister for Magic, Garin Kaiser, is not fully co-operative.
Dumbledore paused to think, Political rhetoric. The German Ministry was working as hard as they could to capture Grindelwald; however, most Ministries of Magic across the world had to focus more on keeping their existence a secret from Muggle society: the Muggle Second World War had begun, and was showing no signs of ending. He looked down at the book, and continued to read.
The One Who Shall Never Be Named is responsible for many horrendous crimes involving both wizards and Muggles. Ministries all over the world are on the lookout for him. His followers are known to be many in number –
Dumbledore glanced at the rest of the essay. There was no information that was of further use for Dumbledore. He closed the book. His thoughts went to Nicolas Flamel. Flamel was Dumbledore's partner in alchemy, but in recent times, they had resorted to discussing about Grindelwald very often. Dumbledore searched his memory for important bits of information regarding Grindelwald's hideout. Nicolas Flamel had his ways of gathering information.
Flamel's austere face came into focus as Dumbledore dug deep into his memory. "It appears that Grindelwald's hideout in Britain is near the outskirts of London," he was saying. "For some reason, he has abandoned it now."
"Where exactly is it?" asked Dumbledore.
"In a village near Chalk Wood, a suburb of Bexley. However, I cannot recall the name of the village properly. It was something like Budleigh … Budleigh …" muttered Flamel.
"Budleigh Babberton?" asked Dumbledore. Oddly enough, Dumbledore had been there twice before, paying visits to two Muggle-born children, in order to explain about Hogwarts.
"Exactly," said Flamel. "If what some of my other trusted friends have told me is correct, his hideout is somewhere near the church."
Dumbledore came out of his reverie. Nicolas Flamel had spoken to Dumbledore about Grindelwald's whereabouts six months ago. If Flamel's information was correct (it probably was), Dumbledore knew now exactly where Grindelwald's Horcrux was. The question remained – what was it? And how was it to be destroyed? How was it protected?
Even though the search was now a lot easier than he had expected, it required more planning and discretion. But Dumbledore was not someone who was content to sit back and allow Grindelwald to gain more power. It would be easier to destroy the Horcrux if Grindelwald was sufficiently detached from the part of his soul that was outside his body. Dumbledore hoped that it would be so.
Beta Comments:
I like this chapter. It explains a lot, and it's very well written. At first, I didn't understand why you were writing this as though Nicolas Flamel was still alive, but I went back, reread your first chapter, and remembered this story was set in 1940. Good luck with having this chapter accepted, though there shouldn't be any problems. It was fantastic!
Author's notes: There will be a delay in posting chapter three, as the family's going to get a new computer. EXTREMELY Sorry for the delay.
Review Responses:
InkandPaper: Thank you for the review! You're right, Grindelwald's Horcrux is an important part of my Book 7 predictions. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!