"I received your note. It did help to clear a few things, but I'm not sure how useful it will be for your case," Saul Croaker informed the aurors, having come into their office only a few hours after they had left word about their most recent encounter with Gerald.
"Anything is something," Harry replied half-heartedly. "What is it?"
"I originally said his blood seemed inhuman, but not like any creature I had before seen so I had been working under the assumption that those properties were something else- some sort of magic imbued to him rather than that of another being entirely. When I heard your description of his transformation, this assumption led me to first compare him to a being that behaves similarly, a werewolf," the unspeakable shared. "Werewolves, as I'm sure you know, are simply humans that have been infected with a virus. Gerald's blood did not present in the same manner as this. That would typically lead to thinking that he is instead a hybrid creature since there is distinctly human blood and that of a second species. However, that did not seem logical to me."
The younger men exchanged glances when Croaker paused, each wondering the same thing, "Why didn't it make sense?" the lead auror asked, switching his weight from one foot to the other as he stood in front of the other two seated wizards, and crossing his arms in focus.
"Several reasons, actually," the unspeakable cleared his throat, "Take any hybrid being: a half-veela or a half-giant even, such as your old friend Hagrid. These beings are a mixture, a blend, of two species. Hagrid, for example, shows traits of both his human and giant parent at once. He doesn't shift from being human to being giant. Gerald might have at first fit this bill, but after knowing of his morph...it would make more sense if he were infected with something that caused the change or otherwise used magic such as transfiguration to become the beast."
"Sort of like an animagus, you mean?" Ron clarified.
"Precisely," Croaker gave a small nod, "But it appears that he is not willing of these transformations and his blood is permanently altered. Both of these are not traits of animagi, who voluntarily change themselves while retaining their full humanity whilst in human form."
"I guess that rules out the possibility of someone else using transfiguration on him as well," Harry mused, eyes gazing momentarily downward as he put the thought together, "Because he still would have fully human blood when not transformed."
"His being a hybrid and being able to shift forms might not be usual, but it's obviously what is going on though, right?" Ron stated bluntly. "This second species is not something known so it could very well be some sort of natural shape-shifter."
The elder wizard gave a gruff and reluctantly affirmed, "Yes, and I would love to get a sample from him while he is changed in order to study this further. Also, I was able to get information from an American contact that confirms Delilah Davis and Gellert Grindelwald were both human on all accounts."
The dark-haired auror dropped his arms to his sides and the redhead twisted in his seat. Both stared at the third wizard in their company for a moment, considering what was said. "If...if both of his parents were human...and he's a hybrid...then...one of them wasn't his parent," Ron awkwardly mumbled the conclusion.
"Ah! but they are," the unspeakable chuckled slyly, "My contact compared the blood to what was in MACUSA's resources as Gellert's own blood as well as Delilah's and Gerald is, beyond doubt, their son. You see why all this is confusing to think him a hybrid?"
"So he has the blood of two different species...but both parents are human," Harry was staring at the floor again, "That means Grindelwald's experiments on him had to be merging this demonic DNA with his human son," the auror looked up, straight into Croaker's eyes, "He wasn't conceived a hybrid, he was created. He technically has three parents."
"As fantastical as it sounds, it has to be," the unspeakable sighed. "This demonic blood...its DNA...is a very strong essence. It presents as both physical and ethereal."
"Ethereal?" Ron repeated.
"Magical," Croaker answered.
A brief silence fell upon the room as each wizard took in the surrealism of their current predicament. Harry ran over each detail in his mind to attempt to make the most sense of it. Gerald had two human parents, yet also had a third unknown creature's life in his blood. This essence wasn't a virus or a spell, it was part of him. It was apparently also a shape-shifter and Grindelwald forced this blood to meld with his son before he was even born...and most importantly, Gerald didn't have control over this part of him...
"Is that why he's so angry?" Harry asked, breaking the quiet and looking back upon Croaker. "You were struck by the amount of anger Gerald held onto when you first read his blood. Is it trying to control this demonic side of him that makes it so great?"
The unspeakable stared at the younger wizard for a minute or two before swallowing, "I believe that has a lot to do with it. Like I said, it seemed to be much like a werewolf except werewolves can only transform at a very specific time. They can also prevent it with certain potions. Gerald...doesn't appear to have this luxury. His morphs have been at random times. His difficulty with control has been evident from the start. I can't imagine a constant battle with a beast like that is easy."
Harry slowly nodded his head in understanding and leaned back to sit on top of the desk behind him. Raising a hand to his chin, he stroked the bottom of his jaw line with a thumb and set his vision blankly to the door of the room. Recalling his third year at Hogwarts when his godfather, Sirius Black, had tried to make Professor Lupin hold onto who he was while he transformed into the were-creature and everything he had learned about werewolves since...it once more made the auror feel sympathetic toward Gerald. But he couldn't let it keep him from finding justice. Hardship or not, Grindelwald's son had a dimly colored past and present. Many underwent terrible lives and yet still chose to do right by their fellow men. As sad as some things about the dark wizard, he continued to be just that: a dark wizard...and Harry was sworn to protect the world from such.
"Well, that was all I had to give," Unspeakable Croaker stood carefully from his seat and strolled to the closed office door, resting his hand upon the handle, "I will continue to see if I can find anything more about this 'demon' blood. Please inform me if you also find anything of use."
"Of course," Harry answered absentmindedly, not moving from his position.
"Hm," Croaker hummed in response and then opened the door and let himself out.
Ron sat forward in his seat, tipping a wand at the door to close it behind their departed associate before placing his sights on his partner, "What is it, mate?"
"Nothing, just tired," the lead auror shook from his thoughts and smiled at his friend, "We've spoken to Croaker. Stephen assures us he will notify our department should his brother come around and I've sent word to Karkaroff... How about we take lunch and see if what Hermione has come across?"
"Sounds good, mate. I'm starving!" Ron grinned.
Harry chuckled to himself knowing his friend's wife would have something smart to say about his insatiable appetite, but kept silent himself as the two made their way out of the office and through the usual trek to get back to their homes. It was normal for them to stop at the Granger-Weaseley residence first on such occasions, so it was no surprise when they saw Ginny was already there, having anticipated the aurors' return for the midday meal.
"You're right on time, boys," the redheaded witch smiled, skipping over to peck her husband on the cheek before scurrying back away. She flicked her wand toward the kitchen to command already filled dinner plates to fly into the living area where the other witch was huddled over several bits of parchment.
"You get anything interesting?" Ron neared his wife who was too focused to register that he had kissed the top of her head.
"After I learned about wizardry, I never paid much attention to ghost stories," Hermione shared, seemingly at random. The blank looks from the wizards as they sat down and took their plates caused her to laugh and clarify herself. "What I mean is, it's near common knowledge in many muggle cultures that there are demonologists, people who study demons."
"What's that have to do with ghosts though?" Ron asked through a mouthful of mashed potatoes.
"Muggles have typically connected the two, seeing both as types of spirits," Harry answered. "Ghosts being spirits of the dead and demons being malevolent creatures that exist in spiritual form."
"You've heard of them, then?" Hermione's question sounded almost accusatory.
Harry looked up from his plate to see that the others were confusedly looking at him. "Uh, I...I didn't really think about it, but no. Not really. I just remember sneaking books into my closet. Before magic as well..." he glanced at Hermione, receiving a small look of sympathy for Harry's horrid childhood with the Dursley's. "I read a collection of ghost stories. It mentioned it, is all."
"I didn't realize that muggles saw ghosts, actually," Ginny admitted.
"No, you remember, Ginny," her brother gulped down a mouthful of food, "Dad was telling us once that some muggles see them, it's just easier for people of magic to."
"Oh. I guess I don't remember that..." the young woman seemed keen to recall the event, yet couldn't. So instead, she kept on with what she had previously learned from the her sister-in-law, "Anyway, there seems to be a lot of proof and disproof on the subject of spirits for them. Nothing certain either way. Some take these demonologists seriously and some don't."
"Yeah, Dad said," the ravenous auror shoveled down another bite, "That muggles have had lots of different theories like that about wizardry over the years. Uh...religions, they called it, yeah?"
"Ron, you are so disgusting," his wife sighed as he went in for yet another quick bite.
"A-what?" he gave her a dumb look.
"Slow. Down," the witch ordered. Ginny and Harry both giggled as Ron shot them a glare. "I know what religion is, but my family was scientifically focused. What about your- uh, the Dursley's, I mean?" she asked Harry.
"I don't believe they focused on much other than themselves," the lead auror's voice was suddenly hollow and Hermione felt badly for having asked. "Demonology," he breathed, "Does it seem to have any truth to it?"
"Surprisingly so," the researcher nodded, enthusiasm coming back, "It also makes a lot of interesting points although I am fully convinced that many of their 'demons' are just ghosts, wizards, or other magical creatures having a poke at them. In any case, demonologists work with occurrences both present and ancient," Hermione continued, "Demons have generally come to be regarded as mischievous creatures, even evil or parasitic, but one thing that stood out to me was the Ancient Greek accounts of them. In that time and place, demons were simply said to be beings of divine power. Many were even thought of as guides."
"I've never heard the term demon meant as something other than dark and evil," Harry interjected.
"You see, that's just it," Ginny picked up, "People today usually see dark and evil as the same thing, but in most older cultures they weren't. Neither were light and good."
"How's that?" Ron asked in confusion.
"It's said that good and evil denote intent. An evil person, for example, would do something for the sole purpose of being cruel. A good person would act only to help someone else. That's putting it very simply, of course," Hermione explained. "Light and dark, however, are an essence. Take a spiked mace-"
"A what?" Ginny asked.
"It's a weapon," her brother laughed at her ignorance, "It's basically a baseball bat with spikes on the end."
The witch furrowed her brow, "Lovely..."
"The mace would be dark and say, a bouquet of roses would be light," Hermione finished.
"Or daffodils, yeah?" Ron chuckled, recalling to everyone's mind the flowers that Gerald had given him the day he was made to prove his powers. The redhead's smile fell quickly as a new thought struck him. "Do you think he was flirting with me?"
The room erupted in laughter as the man sulked, still questioning the gift. It was an inappropriate time for such jovial fun, but none in the room were able to resist. Order did settle back upon them eventually and then an awkward silence fell. Harry was the one to remedy it.
"Both the flowers, something of light, and the mace, something of dark, could be used in a good or evil manner. I see what you're saying," he mused, "So demons are dark, but not necessarily evil."
Hermione nodded, "But that is not so important. I was just pointing out that the Greek were a large part of history for demons since Oliver spoke Greek to Gerald and Lucius is bound to only speak that language. Thought it was too much of a coincidence. There are other connections as well. Demons were told to prey on or help the weak. People without magic would be weaker. Just like vampires...it makes sense that both creatures go without much notice because they tend toward staying in muggle environments."
"Even after knowing magic, Gerald stayed amongst muggles and each time we've seen him around wizards, he's been more on edge. His paranoia and loneliness would definitely make more sense even knowing his past," Harry inferred.
"What did these demonologists have to say about breeding?" Ron asked, "I mean, how would Grindelwald have merged a human with a demon?"
"It's not like that," Hermione sighed. "According to all this," she gestured a hand across the paper covered table in front of them, "They are spiritual. They are creatures that exist in another realm or dimension or what you will. Like the afterlife. They travel between that world and this one. I'm not sure how Grindelwald would have done this, but from what I read, it's believed that it's possible to summon a demon through certain rituals or what frail thing that muggles perceive as magic. Muggles are susceptible to possession. What if Grindelwald intentionally called upon a demon to possess his son so he could bind and control it?"
"If demons are ethereal beings, then somehow Grindelwald merged one with a physical being...his son..." the lead auror rubbed his chin, as he looked down at the plate in his lap, "Gerald doesn't have control of himself, but he's not possessed," he looked solemnly back up, "Croaker said that his blood was like a hybrid of two creatures, not a parasite or a virus living inside him."
Quiet stilled the house once more. It appeared that the picture was becoming clearer, even if this was all educated conjecture and not solid fact. All of them sat, silently contemplating the complexity of the case and the idea that the non-magical community might actually know things of the world that they, themselves, did not. It was all an intriguing discovery, yet also frustrating and a bit terrifying.
"Well, perhaps while we're waiting to hear from Karkaroff," Ron picked up his fork and started eating again, "We can go back to where we met the vampires," he chewed a few times, "and lost Gerald and Oliver," more chewing, "After we finish lunch, of course."
Hermione exhaled loudly and rolled her eyes, "It is a good idea," she reluctantly agreed, grabbing her own fork.
"If anything, to see if we can find a clue to whose bones those were," Harry added. "I don't think I'll be able to stop thinking about it until they're returned..."