Hello everybody. This chapter involves a Flashback, which I wrote after the first Trailer dropped and it was revealed to us that Dumbledore sees None other than Grindelwald in the mirror of Erised, not woolen socks like Harry. But maybe Dumbledore didn't really lie at all.

Hope you like it,

xoxo Leviosa

Chapter 23

"Happy Birthday, Albus!" "Hey, it's probably midnight or later, what are you doing here?", Albus hissed. "Celebrating your birthday, Al. It's currently midnight, as you were smart enough to notice, which means your birthday begins now", Gellert smiled and it seemed as if his smile brightened up the dark room. "How did you even get in to my room? Umm – I don't even want to know. All that matters is that you're here now. I don't know any other person I'd rather celebrate my birthday with", he confessed, as he casted Lumos. "I've got presents for you. One from Aunt Bathilda and one from me" "Neither of you had to give me something. I'm fine with knowing you and grateful that Bathilda made you meet me. That's enough, I don't need presents, I have got everything I want already", Albus said. Gellert lifted both of his eyebrows. Albus had no idea why half of their communication was whispering and the other half was facial expressions. "You know, maybe you've got everything you want and I don't", he whispered, and it felt as if he was trying to just move his lips, so Albus had to listen to every single word. "Then it is a present for you and not for me", he whispered, as silent as Gellert had. "Kind of. It's more of a selfish present really", Gellert commented, while he handed Albus a big package, which was wrapped in red gift-wrap-paper and with a huge bow around it. "Open it. Bathilda actually wanted them to be your gift for Christmas. But you know, she believes that we always have minus degrees, where I live. So she said, if you'd ever want to meet me at home, you'd need those", Gellert laughed, as Albus unpacked the gift and saw a pair of thick woolen socks. "Well, thanks.", he said, truly the english gentleman. "I don't want you to go, you know", Albus continued. Gellert nodded. "I don't want to go either. But when I go, I want you to have something to remember. That's my gift", Gellert said, the smile in his face faded slowly, just the look in his eyes stayed. Albus did not know how long they sat on his carpet and looked at eachother. He did not want this summer to end, he did not want Grindelwald to go. Albus corrected himself. He did not want Gellert to go. There was too much that connected them, more than any reason why they had to be apart. Gellert was the only person that really knew him, the only person that understood how much he wanted Ariana to be okay, how worried he was about Aberforth being lonely. But there was one thing he wanted more than anything else. Just one second, just the blinking of one silver and one brown eye. "I want you to remember me", Gellert whispered. And then he kissed him. No, Albus Dumbledore would never forget this day, just like he would never forget the person in front of him.

Theseus was a hero. Everyone said that, even his family, his future wife and people on the streets. But he did not feel like one, as he apparated, as he heard that his brother had to save his wife, because he had to beg the minister so he could be chosen for the auror team to hunt Grindelwald down. Finally, as he was accepted, he reached Paris. But Leta was gone, and so was Newt. Why was he always at the right place to the wrong time? He should have listened to Newt weeks ago, he should have taken Leta with him. He shouldn't be here alone, he should not wish to be somewhere else. He felt his bones shaking, when he just thought about what could have happened to Leta. There was no reason to worry, there had never been. Leta could defend herself. But Grindelwald did not fight against people. Grindelwald had never ever been challenged to a duel, no one had been brave enough to do so. Gellert Grindelwalds favorite weapon was not a wand. He did not need anything but his own tongue, and tthere were more than just a fiew people in the world that loved him for the things he said, as well as those who wanted to cut his tongue into quarters and wanted to hang it into their living rooms. Theseus was neither the first nor the second category. He also had the opinion that people couldn' be sorted into categories. Theseus did not think that he was a hero. A war hero. In war, you did not think of yourself as a hero. It did not matter if you killed a hundred or no one, the others would kill you no matter what. The only thing that mattered was to survive. Gladly, he was as good in duelling as his brother was with his creatures. Grindelwald was just a dictator, the same as many before. Heroes and villains, all the same. Theseus did not like books. They made you think that people were different, just because they had different titles and names. People were different because of their soul, their heart. What difference did it make if someone was a Lestrange and another was a Scamander? He did not understand the pureblood superiority mania, which Grindelwald wanted. Leta was the best friend of his brother, and for a long time he forbid himself to even say her name. Theseus might not believe that Grindelwald could sort people into categories. But he definetely believed that life had rules. Rules that had to be followed, not because he liked rules – he hated them – but because they told you what the real good meant in the world. To be good did not mean to be a hero, hero was relative. Heroes and villains – in the end titles were just lies. Grindelwald had told the wizengamot that he had seen in his vision that he had to rule the world. Of course. Theseus did not believe words, he believed in experiences. It doesn't matter if someone tells you they love you, if they don't mean it. And you feel it if they really mean it. Grindelwald could manipulate the whole world, but he would not manipulate him. He could decide between the truth and lies in a second – he learned it as fast as he met Leta. She did not want to talk about her father, because he lied to her and she lied to him. But she was honest to him. Grindelwald could lie as much he wanted, his tongue could tell lies, because it had learned it, But your body language did not lie. This was the reason why he had to help Newt – because Newt was a believer, he wanted to believe in the good. Theseus knew that chaos did not make anything better, nor did violence. Wars did not solve problems, they just made more. Newt tend to believe in good humans, but Theseus knew that people were not good or bad, not black or white. Everyone lived in his own shade of grey. Just like the man that turned up out of the shadows, directly in front of him. He smiled at him and Theseus said, calm and serious: "Grimmson, finally"

"Do you really think this is a good idea?", Tina said nervously. "Umm... I don't know. Probably not. But its the only chance we have, so we should try", Newt commented, as he opened his case. "Oh, now I know why you have all these beasts in your case. You know, sometimes it is best to think before doing things", was her opinon. "Yeah. But sometimes isn't now. Trust me, Tina", Newt said. Too many thoughts in his brain, too many things to say, but still this was the only thing he was able to say. "Every time I trust you, we end up either kidnapped or someone dies" "Or free" "I can't argue with you, Newt", Tina smiled at him, while he made space for Leta, who was the only one except Queenie and Jacob who already had an idea on how to encounter the case. Or maybe Tina just imagined that. Leta couldn't possibly ever seen his case before, could she? Or maybe she was just stupidly brave. "I don't know if that is a good or a bad thing for you. I – I personally enjoy discussing my opinons with you", he said. Tina looked at him for a second, but avoided his eyes as the moment was over. She slowly climbed into the suitcase and helped Credence and Malena into it. The circus said goodbye and they took their dragons with them. And witth the dragons, they took the suitcase with herself in it. Tina tried to take some time for herself, she wanted to think. There were too many things she had to think about. But the most impoortant was that Newt had her patronus. She did not sleep nights over nights and the only thing on her mind had been this socally awkard wizard, the one with the suitcase full of beasts and a picture on his desk and his heart. She had told herself that she shouldn't hold onto him, he was clearly in love with Leta Lestrange. But after finding out that Leta wanted to marry Theseus and after Leta told her that she wanted to let go, her heart did not listen to her anymore. There was a strange happiness in her soul, it flooded her brain with adrenaline and the stone that laid on heer heart was finally gone. Newt had her patronus. But then she finally realized that he did not. And that it was more than just him being in love with her. They did not have the same patronus, their patronuse were the same species, male and female. Her mother had once told her a story about a witch and a wizard, whose families hated eachother. It was actually Romeoe and Juliet, but with more patronusses and pureblood racism. The moral of the story was that some people have the luck to meet theeir soulmates in their live, and if they do, their patronus take the form of the same species. United – in life and in magic. As she saw Newt again, she smiled at him. He was not like other people, he was not normal. Not even for a wizard. He was Newt Scamander, with all his awkwardness and all the strange things he did, with all his beliefs and all the things he stood for. And Tina loved him more than anybody else in this world.

"How much?", Theseus asked. "As much as it takes to hunt him down, if you understand what I mean" "I give you information and you bring me what I want" "First the information", Grimmson decided. Theseus knew what he was going to do: Grimmson would take the information and run away with it. He had worked with too many hunters like him before. "You'll hunt him down as fast as possible. If not, no money, no more information", Theseus said harshly. "So what is the information?", Grimmson asked curiously. He rolled his eyes at him, "The information is... You know what, maybe I shouldn't tell you", he said, calmly. In his head, he was smiling. "I'll do anything, please tell me", he begged. Theseus was truly smiling in this moment. Victory. "The information is... There is a dangerous person in the circus Arcanus. His name is Credence Barebone and if you don't find my brother, he will destroy us all" "Does this mean you get money if you find this Credence?", Grimmson whispered, one of his eyebrows almost disappeared under his hat. "Probably. I don't know. We'll talk about the money when you find Newt", Theseus decided. Sometimes he had the feeling that most people were manipulative. This was how it had to feel to be Gellert Grindelwald. Grimmson was one of the bounty hunters he had sent out to search for Newt. None of them would give him information, he knew about that. They wanted to get the money for Credence, now that they knew. Grindelwald was wrong. Muggles weren't ignorent, and even if they were, then wizards were more ignorant. Credence wouldn't tolerate anyone trying to catch him. Not Grindelwald, not anyone else. Theseus would be the only one able to catch Grindelwald, together with Newt. Every other auror was busy trying to find out about the obscurial – which was useless, obscurials couldn't be killed easily. They all made the mistake to concentrate too much on other things, things Grindelwald could use, people Grindelwald wanted to kidnapp. But Theseus had learned, after he kidnapped Leta, that hunting down Grindelwald had to be a priority and that they could deal with the rest afterwards.

I will save you, Malena. I will save you from your fate, I can save you from the snake inside you. Just listen. "I don't want to listen!", she screamed, trying to run against the walls around her. But instead of fading, they just came closer to her. "I won't give up! You cannot save me, Grindelwald. No one can! So don't try to manipulate me, as if it would help me! I accepted my own death, my own fate. But you don't seem to do so. You will never win, you can't win. You see it yourself, you won't win. Don't try to fight against it, don't try to manipulate yourself.", she whispered. Liar. Liar. Liar. You are too scared of death, Malena. Do you really believe that you can lie to me? You are nothing. You are nothing but your own lies, your own snake skin. They don't know, do they? You are nothing but your own fear and don't expect me to not use it against you. Malena, don't they know about your curse? You should have told them but you didn't. The only reason why you accept the curse is because it is your own fault. Tell them and you'll be free. That's the only thing I'll tell you. She hated Grindelwald more than she hated herself, more than she hated the curse. Just because he always thought he could manipulate her. And Malena really was scared, scared of giving in to the things he said.

Queenie kissed him, she did not say anything, she just ran into his direction as she saw him and kissed him. "You are alive", she whispered into his hair, her arms wrapped around his neck. Jacob had missed her, missed her every second, even as he didn't remember her, even at the time where he had thought it all had been a dream. But she was here and that was all that mattered. Queenie couldn't say anything and neither could Javob. Ords couldn't express his feelings. Luckily, she could read his mind. Jacob had never seen Queenies ability as a curse, he never had wanted her to stop doing it to him. For him, it was a part of her and he accepted her as she was. And she accepted him. He loved Queenie, no matter what other people said, and he was lucky that she loved him the same way. "You saved my life", she said, a bright smile on her lips. And that was all Jacob ever needed in his life.