A/N : Do I look like the richest British woman nowadays ? No ? Then you know that I did not write the HP books and that none of this stuff belong to me, but to JKR, many thanks to her for the dreams she gave us.

March 1944 - Germany - Berlin

When he finally set foot in Germany, one feeling struck Tom violently, and overwhelmed his ability to think normally. Heck this country was cold ! They were supposed to be in march, but he felt as if they were really in the middle of the winter. Tom usually liked the winter - he was born during the winter - but only when he was wearing something else than a mere shirt, with his arms bare. He started to shiver.

"I should have thought of bringing warm clothes", Rommel muttered behind him in a disgusted voice. "Each time I come back home, it's the same thing."

The German wizard suppressed a cough ; though it had not been so visible before, his condition had notably worsened. He was good at hiding it, whoch was the reason why Tom had not realized the seriousness of his illness before, but now he had reached his limits.

Aldinger went down from the plane right after his superior officer, and visibly refrain a trembling as well. A smile twisted Tom's lips. At least, he wasn't the only one to suffer. It was a poor consolation, but a consolation still.

"At least, the journey was quiet enough", the Feldmarschal added. "Once, when I was going to Africa for the first or second time, my plane was shot on sight by the Italians - they were not familiar with the model of the plane and thought it was an Allied one. And I could not even retaliate, after all we were on the same side."

"If I had been in your shoes, I would have", Tom groaned, rolling his eyes. "What happened when you landed ?"

"You should have seen their faces when they realized who they had fired on", Rommel smirked.

Tom glanced around him, and noticed a car approaching them. Seemed like the greeting party was coming, right on time. There was not a very good atmosphere in Berlin, judging from the look on the officer driving the car's face. That was understandable, since from what the teen had been told by Rommel, the new had not been very good of late on either front.

The staff car stopped a few meters away from them, and the officer got out of the car and moved near, before clicking his heels and saluting in front of Rommel, who returned the salute. Now, Tom could see the newcomer's insignias. Ah, a major, not too bad. Hopefully, he wouldn't be as annoying as Merhoff. But now, that was a ridiculous thought ; no one could be as much of a suspicious bastard as the officer they had left, to Tom's relief, in Libya.

"Sir, I'm major Krantz", the officer introduced himself. "I was sent to greet you and take you to the Führer. He is most eager to hear your report."

"Of course", the german wizard nodded, remaining dispassionate though this kind of meeting, when one had bad news to report, rarely ended well.

Not to mention Rommel's flagrant disobedience when he had failed to carry out Grindelwald's orders to "fight to the last". No, the future did not present well for the Feldmarschal. The man must be crazy to show such offhandedness when confronted to such a danger. Or maybe he was merely very good at hiding his inner thoughts. In any case, Tom was happy not to be him.

They climbed in the car, Krantz opening the door to the Feldmarschal as a mark of respect, and then started up to Hitler's headquarters. Tom could not fail to notice his fellow wizard had kept from introducing him and Aldinger to this major. He probably wanted to avoid drawing attention to his "nephew" as much as possible, though the teen was confident he had one or two good lies in store if anyone started asking questions. Yet, for the time being, it would be more prudent to pretend he didn't exist. It was not really to the liking of Tom, but he knew when to yield ground and when to stand to his positions - one thing he had learnt in this desert.

The route was not too long, little more than half an hour, and the young wizard took advantage of the situation to enjoy this little tour of Berlin. It was the first time he went there ; actually, when he had been to Africa, it was the first time he left Great Britain at all. He had started to learn to speak German after the beginning of the war, with the thought it could come in handy, and it had not been too hard with a little magical help, but he had never before had the occasion to put it into practice. Well, now was as good a time as any.

They finally arrived in front of a gate, framed with two swastika flags. Krantz stopped the car and went out, followed by his three guests, and they entered an impressive hall, crowded with people, either officials, military or quilldrivers. Their entrance went relatively unnoticed, but a few people stared at them and gaped when they saw the short blond man's insignias. Tom smirked, knowing that his fellow wizard disliked being the center of attention. He himself rather enjoyed it, but his turn would come in due time. For now, he would content himself with what he had and keep lurking in the shadows. He did not want his promising carreer be put to a sudden end by an irate Grindelwald.

Krantz talked for a few minutes with a desk clerk, then came back to them with an amiable smile.

"The Führer shall receive you at once, if you will follow me..."

The blond wizard turned toward Tom and Aldinger with a kinda wry smile.

"I think it would be better if you two waited here for my return."

The teen saw the captain bite his lips to refrain from discuting what was unquestionably an order, though it sounded like a request.

"Of course sir", Aldinger nodded. "We'll wait."

His tone of voice showed clearly that he did not intend to leave the building without his superior officer, even if he had to wait for three weeks or three years. That teared a tired smile from Rommel.

"I appreciate it, captain."

He followed Krantz away from them, and Tom couldn't help but wonder if he would see him coming back.

Rommel strode alongside the major, keeping silent ; the only noise was of their boots on the polished wooden floor. He almost asked Krantz what was the mood of Grindelwald, but caught himself on time ; his pride prevented him from caring about such matters. He would take the insane wizard as he was, and never mind if the Führer wasn't happy. After all, the man could not say he had not wanted the war. And now, the responsibility - and the guilt - was his. That is, if he was man enough to take charge. Did he even care ?

They finally arrived in front of a door guarded by two soldiers, as Aryan as one could have wished for, which the two officers ignored as if they were part of the furnishings, and Krantz carefully knocked at the door, then opened it and announced the Feldmarschal before backing one step and asking Rommel in. The wizard complied, and found himself faced with the most feared wizard of that time.

A hand behind his back as he used to, the other on his stomach in a kind of Napoleonian manner, though he reached nowhere near the greatness of Napoleon, the Führer welcomed his Feldmarschal with a fatherly smile. It did not make Rommel feel safer, though, for the shifting moods of the insane wizard were well known and feared among his staff. A smile could hide a backstab, as well as a remonstrance could end up in congratulations. The man was, at the same time, unpredictable and easy to anticipate in a larger scale. But Rommel had to withhold a spurt when he saw that Himmler, Goering and Goebbels were there as well. Obviously, everyone wanted to hear his report. The most dangerous of the three, magically speaking, was Himmler, though Goebbels and his cunning mind could be way more nasty, and subversive. As for Goering, he had once been a good soldier and, in a way, a man of honor ; but the bitterness and hatred had taken the better of him, especially after the failure of September 9th 1923, when, injured, he had left his country and hidden to lick his wounds. From what Rommel had been told, he had never been the same after that, and his heroin addiction did not account for all of it. He was maniac about his appearance, changing uniforms five or six times a day. Maybe he felt somewhat stained ; God knew how very stained he was. But Rommel pitied the man as much as he despised him. Yet, he could of course show none of it. He clicked his heels and saluted smartly the four men. Only wizards, that meant they could speak freely about magic.

"Welcome back, Feldmarschal", Grindelwald said kindly. "Please, have a seat ; I gather your have been better."

The blond wizard complied after murmuring a few words of thanks ; the pleasant attitude of the Führer worried him a little, as he knew it never lasted for a very long time. He glanced at the other officials, but they let show little of their feelings. Goebbels was the most unreadable ; Goering looked rather unconcerned, and Himmler eyed him like a wolf ready to jump on its prey. Well, he knew Goebbels had always wanted to join up in the army, and had never been able to because of his club foot, but it was difficult to know if the man held a grudge against the military because of that, or still wanted to enlist, knowing that he never could. He had the strongest occlumens shield ever ; Rommel's talent at legilimency was rather random, but strong enough for him to realize at least that. However, his natural occlumency protections seemed to hinder all the more his legilimency abilities, and he knew he would never be a great legilimens. When he focused hard enough, he could have a hint at someone's outer thoughts, and detect a lie if it was too blatant, but little more. It was worth his occlumens shieds, though ; without them, he would have been long dead.

"So", Grindelwald went on casually, "I received rather concerning news about Africa, lately. You did not accustom me to such... failures. I would like to hear your report."

Now, Rommel could feel the sharp edge of the words, and he tensed slightly before trying to conceal his reaction. Failure ; this word was dangerous, especially in the Dark Lord's mouth. Maybe even more in Goebbels', but fortunately the propaganda minister kept silent - for the moment.

Until now, Rommel's status as Grindelwald's favourite general, owing to his many victories, had offered him an effective protection. The worsening of the situation in Africa left him much more vulnerable, if the Führer was displeased with him. It would mean that his numerous ennemies (some of them he had never even met but were merely jealous, or disdainful of his "stupid chivalry that had not its place in a war", to quote them) would take advantage of the situation to slander him.

"Yes, mein Führer", the blond wizard nodded obediently - as if he had a choice...

He started to account for the events in Africa, in a neutral and cold voice, trying to remain as objective as possible, and most of all to keep his inner thoughts secret. Grindelwald did not need much to kill ; a shade of doubt, a hint of betrayal, or even giving the impression to be a defeatist was sometimes enough for him to call a firing squad. Many already had payed the price of straightforwardness with their lives.

Yet, he couldn't help but tense slightly when he talked about the retreat to Halam Alfa, and then back to Bir-Hakeim. Losing Alam Halfa was a major blow to the front, as this outpost left the way open for further progress by the Allies. Rommel did not fail to mention the problem he had had to face because of the lack of supplies, and the lack of cooperation from von Kesselring. he even hinted at the lack of cooperation from the Luftwaffe, but refrained from dwelling too heavily on it ; it would be suicidal to look like he was criticizing the Führer. But he knew perfectly well that the insane leader of Germany had never cared much for the Africa front ; for him, it was merely a way to enhance morale amongst his troops, but his main concern was the drang nach osten, namely the Russian front, also nicknamed the slaughter front by many officers.

Once he was finished, there was a silence ; Grindelwald looked thoughtful, and none of his three lieutenants would have dared to speak before him. The blond wizard tried to keep his breath steady ; his fate could be sealed with a fit of temper from the Führer.

"This defeat is annoying", Grindelwald finally said in an almost reasonable tone of voice. "What do you think, Feldmarschal ? Can Africa still be saved ?"

"No", Rommel answered without an hesitation, though he knew his reaction could be considered of a defeatist and be his death-warrant. "Unless I am given more troops, there is no way we can stop the Allies. And, if I may, mein Führer... ?"

The Dark Lord allowed him to talk with a wave of his hand, his dark blue eyes narrowed to a slit.

"I believe that, given the situation, keeping our troops in Africa is a complete waste. It would be better to call them back and send them where they can be useful, rather than let them die in a hopeless situation."

True, the blond wizard was against Grindelwald, and wanted to see him lose the war ; therefore, maybe he should have given him bad advises. But he couldn't let his men die meaninglessly. He owed them that much. No, he owed them so much more, and there was so little he could do for them... But he kept his face harsh, his voice cold, and let show none of his feelings. He shouldn't feel guilty. He didn't feel guilty. Or did he ?

"Hmm", Grindelwald muttered, as he started pacing, clenching and unclenching mechanically his right hand. "No, I have talked about it with my military advisors. The situation may be lost in Africa, but as long as it draws supplies and men from the Allies, it is worth it. Besides, maybe everything is not lost. The courage and self-sacrifice of the German people can certainly overcome these little difficulties."

Little difficulties ? Rommel fought not to react at such an outrage. He knew it was to be expected ; what else could come from a man who ordered his men to "fight to the last" ? It did not make it any easier to cope with. The blond wizard suddenly felt nauseous, and it could not be all put on account of his exhaustion and illness.

"My Seers are downright ; keeping these troops in Africa will be vital in our war-effort", Grindelwald went on.

His seers. The Feldmarschal had to hide his contempt at the word. He did not believe in such nonsense. The future was not decided ; sometimes, one could have a hint at what the future might be, but to base a strategy on such scarce and unreliable information...

"Yes, mein Führer", he managed to utter painfully.

He regretted he had not given the order, before his departure, to surrender. Had he done so, he was not certain his men would have obeyed ; but at least, he would have done everything in his power. Too late.

"I gather you have known about your illness for a long time", Goebbels suddenly said.

"I did", Rommel admitted ; there was little use denying it.

"Then why not inform us before ?" the short dark-haired man attacked.

"At that time, it was already difficult to contact Germany from Africa", the Feldmarschal replied in a steady voice, hoping his explanation would be accepted. "Besides, as long as it did not hinder my abilities to command, I felt it was not of such importance."

"That was not your place to decide about that", Goebbels pointed out in a stern voice, scrutinizing the short blond man that faced him.

"Enough. As I said, this situation is unfortunate, but in the end we shall prevail", the Dark Lord rambled. "I will need you, my dear Rommel, once you are looked after. I will inform you of my plans when you are in shape to take on another assignment."

The blond wizard was surprised at such kindness from Grindelwald ; it seemed like he was still in favor, after all. And Goering and Himmler had not said anything, which meant he was safe enough, even if Goebbels seemed to dislike and to be wary of him.

The Dark wizard's last words clearly meant the meeting was over, but there was another question...

"Does that mean I will not return to Africa ?"

"No, of course not. I will not waste your abilities there. As I said, I will tell you about it later. One more thing remains to be taken care of, though..."

All grounds and sanity seemed to vanish from the Dark Lord's voice, as he uttered the words. Rommel clenched his teeth silently ; he had expected such a shift of attitude from the man, but that did not make it easier to deal with, nor did it ease the grip of fear he felt. He did not consider himself weak because of his fear ; who in their right mind would not be, facing an infuriated Dark wizard ? So he fought to keep his face blank, and hoped it would be quickly over. He was feeling more and more nauseous at each passing moment.

Grindelwald did not use much the pain curses, except on his lowest ranking subordinates, people he did not deem important enough to waste time trying to find a personalized punishment ; he liked to torture people in more refined ways, as he called it, and though he did occasionally use the Unforgivables and other dark curses to punish people, he had other means of creating pain - not necessarily physical pain. With a smile, Himmler gave the blond wizard a small vial, which was glittering with a silvery light. A stream of memory, and not any memory... Rommel took the vial, his heart furiously beating, cold sweat running on his back. Whose death would this memory show ? Which one from his decreasing circle of friends would pay the price for his soldier's lives ?

"You shall remember what it costs to defy my orders. I will stand that kind of disobedience from no one, not even you. I don't care about the results : my desires are the one thing you are supposed to fulfill, no matter the cost. When I say fight to the last, IT MEANS FIGHT TO THE LAST !"

Grindelwald had shouted the last words, in a sudden spite of anger, almost spitting his fury to the face of his officer. Then, he suddenly calmed down, and said the last words almost quietly.

"This meeting is over. Give my regards to your wife and son."

Now, there was the hint of a warning in Grindelwald's words, a reminder that Rommel had not yet lost all of his loved ones, and they were vulnerable. Yet, the dark wizard had been surprisingly lenient ; Rommel was still in favor, but he would better not push it. The Feldmarschal nodded his understanding - as if he had any other choice... He saluted once again in the most perfect military way, and made his way back to Tom and Aldinger. Major Krantz had disappeared at some time during the debriefing, but fortunately, Rommel knew the place well enough not to get lost.

Tomorrow would be another day. But would there be a tomorrow for his men ?

That very moment, Rommel swore to himself, for the last time, that he would get rid of Grindelwald, or be killed in the process.