I own nothing

Thank you all for your reviews. I'm grateful for all the feedback. Some really confused me though, especially the "Slash" comment. Revealing one's sexual preference doesn't make it slash. I don't have any plans to make this "slash" either

I haven't seen the third instalment of Fantastic Beasts film yet so things I've written may not match up with what's now classed as canon. Remember, this is just a story

I really struggled to write the first part

Professor McGonagall's Office

"An urgent matter has arisen Minerva, I shall be gone from the school for several hours. Only contact me in an emergency". When the patronus disappeared certain things happened, several urgent letters appeared that were addressed to Albus, several trinkets connected to Hogwarts appeared in a cabinet in the corner and a ward stone appeared on her desk. Picking up the ward stone she immediately felt the magic settle on her. She was now temporarily the headmistress, only the death of the Head would make this permanent, at least until the Board of Governors convened to appoint a new Head and finally a phoenix pendant that she placed over her head around her neck. This she knew was the way to contact Albus should the need arise.

What a nightmare few days it had been Minerva reflected sitting down in her chair with a dram of single malt in her hand reading the urgent letters. Some people may call her unprofessional if they saw her right now but she couldn't find it in her to care at this moment in time. First Harry's attempted murder, then Severus riling her up and finally Blood Feud being called. Being the daughter of a muggle Scottish Reverend, she was of course clueless as to the true nature of Blood Feud but you didn't have to be a genius to figure out what it was. Her mother Isobel, being raised a pureblood had mentioned it several times growing up, wanting to pass on certain Ross traditions but she never told her what it truly was. Just threats about how serious it could be. And given how Albus had reacted she knew it was very serious business indeed. He was apoplectic with rage that it had happened on his watch.

"Poor Harry" she said aloud gulping back her drink. She was sure the poor boy was cursed. There didn't seem to be a year that had gone by since he re-entered the Wizarding World that something hadn't gone wrong concerning him. Whether it was trolls, basilisks, dementors or dragons, it was always something. She had prayed that the worst thing that would happen this year would be them losing the quidditch cup, at least that would mean it was a quiet year. Losing to Severus would have been preferable to this. Thinking about that loathsome man always made her angry. Pouring herself another drink she wondered why Dumbledore protected him above anyone else but she was sure she'd never likely find out. He must have something over Albus, or likely given Albus' words earlier it was perhaps the other way around. Given how quiet and meek Severus had become when he lay down the law it must be something big. And something to do with Harry. She was finally going to be allowed to do her job as Deputy Headmistress where it came to the school it seemed. Especially those Slytherins that thought they were above the law because of Severus' protection. Now that that was gone bullying would soon be a thing of the past. All houses including her own would feel her wrath. Anything malicious would be dealt with very harshly

Looking at the correspondence on the table from the five Slytherins mothers she called a house elf to her "Dinky?"

"Yes, miss Kitty?" Dinky asked

"Can you instruct Mr Malfoy, Mr Nott, Mr Crabbe, Mr Goyle and Mr Zabini to come to this office please" Minerva asked "Once you have done that can you gather their belongings and bring them to this office too? They're being sent home. Thank you, Dinky"

Knocking back her drink she cast a breath freshening charm on her while she read the rest of the letters. Twenty minutes later she heard a knock on her door and the five students entered looking wary

Conjuring five chairs she bade them "Sit, you're not in trouble. At least not with me. And nothing I could do to you at this moment in time could supersede what happened this morning. Now, your mothers have had a meeting with the headmaster this morning not long after Mr Potter declared Blood Feud. As a result of that meeting you are all going home for the rest of the week"

"Where's Snape?" Malfoy interrupted making Minervas' lips thin at the rudeness "Why is he not telling us all this? Why you?"

"I am the Deputy Headmistress of this school and Severus Snape will be lucky if he's still a professor at this institution in the coming week Mr Malfoy" Minerva said angrily "You better watch your tone too young man as I will not tolerate disrespect. A lot has happened in the last few hours, most of it doesn't concern you but what does concern you is that Severus is on probation for failing to curb not only your attitude but that of Slytherin house too. Slytherin house in my day used to be for the cunning and ambitious not the cruel and conniving, Slytherins were smart not the entitled" seeing the shock on all their faces she continued "Now, your mothers will be arriving in the next five minutes. I suggest you sit quietly and wait"

Picking up the letters she continued going through the correspondence Albus had left her until the floo blaring to life interrupted her signalling the arrival of the students' mothers. Picking them up and leaving without saying a word to Minerva suited her just fine. After the students had left, she banished the chairs, took her hat off letting her hair fall down and sat back in her chair.

A few minutes later a knock at the door interrupted her musings "Are you in there Minerva?" came a squeaky voice "can I come in?"

Using her wand to open the door she said "Come in Filius"

Walking in Filius closed the door and took in his surroundings. Taking in Minervas appearance he chuckled. Receiving a glare back he simply conjured a small chair for himself and sat down still chuckling "rough day huh?"

"To say the least" came the terse reply "what can I do for you Filius?"

"Nothing really, Minerva" Filius said "I came to see how you are, see how you were faring and to have a chat that's all. I saw the five Slytherin sixth year students leaving the great hall not too long ago. Being the most senior professor still left in the hall the house elves informed me what was going on and I just thought I'd come and check on an old friend, see how she's doing"

"They've been sent home at Albus' request" Minerva supplied "Something about 'spending what little time they have remaining with their loved ones'. Their mothers left not long before you arrived"

"Hmmm" came the reply "may I ask you something?"

"You just have but go ahead" Minerva said cheekily with her eyebrow raised

"Is it wrong of me to think justice is being served?" Filius asked frowning "Maybe it's the Goblin in me but I can't help but feel satisfied for the revenge Mr Potter is due next week. And that with their demise the world will be less five arrogant purebloods. I don't pretend to hold any love for them Minerva, despite my teaching oaths and I will not insult your intelligence by saying I do. Looking at those five this morning as Harry left, and after five years of hearing them spew their blatant racism and intolerance, I felt a strange sort of delight at their comeuppance. I'm sad at the waste of life more than anything else. So, is it wrong?"

"No" Minerva replied after pouring herself and Filius a drink whilst gathering her thoughts "at least not in my book. I felt the same way and while I did feel a small sliver of shame that was quickly tempered in Albus' office when I heard what Severus said. Any sort of lingering guilt or overriding protection to the five swiftly went away. I've not been quiet about how I feel about that man being in a teaching position Filius over the years, and today justified that belief. To have the temerity to say what he said after his students tried to murder another student? I guarantee Severus would have helped cover it up too and we'd have murderers walking these halls! No, if Harry was my child, I'd have challenged their parents to an honour duel myself. We have warriors blood running through our veins Filius. Mine may not be like yours but my ancestors fought the English in many of their wars and it comes out every now and then. You anger a Ross at your own peril"

"I'm glad I'm not alone in this then" Filius replied, relief evident in his voice taking a sip of his drink. Looking around he noticed the trinkets and the ward stone "changing the subject do you know where Albus is? I haven't seen him since the meeting this morning"

"I'm afraid I do not know" Minerva said frowning "he sent me a patronus about an hour ago informing me an emergency had popped up, that he'd be away from the castle for a few hours and to contact him only in an emergency. Do you need to see him urgently?"

"No, no" Filius hurriedly said noticing Minerva was about to grasp the pendant "I was just curious as to how his meeting with Mr Potter went that is all"

"Ah, you and me both" Minerva said

For the next hour or so they talked about several issues that had popped up over the course of the day ranging from visiting an injured student in the hospital wing to wondering who would win the quidditch cup. Seeing the time was approaching curfew they said their farewells to each other each preparing to do their rounds that night. Hopefully it would be a quiet shift and after the excitement of the day there would be no students out of their common rooms

Nurmengard

The cool evening air was disturbed by two flashes of fire, almost simultaneously. With the flash appeared an old man and a young boy with two birds on their shoulders. In front of them lay a massive Bavarian castle, almost fortress-like it lay set deep into the mountains, seemingly only accessible by the narrow winding path leading upwards towards massive double oak doors. The path was set over a massive ravine and Harry wracking his brains for where he'd heard the name Nurmengard before followed Albus up the path, noting the lack of any sort of barriers along the way. It would be very difficult for any sort of siege to happen here he mused with only one point of access.

"Now," Albus said breaking the silence looking very serious "there are rules you absolutely must follow while here Harry. Strictly no magic after you enter the Castle, there are wards upon wards that will detect any form of magic and will kick you out should they detect any sort of aggressive magic. And it will not be a pleasant thing. They're not designed to keep people out rather than keep someone in. Only I can use any form of magic and I promise you I will aid you should anything go wrong. Only my friend and I know the location of this place so other help will not arrive"

"What, is there a monster locked up here or something?" Harry asked jokingly in disbelief looking around

"Many words have been used over the years; Monster is only one of them given how many people he has had killed" Albus replied grimly "secondly, my friend will try and antagonise you, he will almost certainly try and get into your head. Do not let him! And lastly keep your mind open to the topics he will broach with you. He's the most intelligent and charismatic person I have ever met. Now this way Harry, and touch nothing."

With that Albus walked ahead, a bemused Harry following behind him. They seemed like very strange rules and seemed contradictory to what he'd heard from the discussion not long ago. Following through the doors Albus led them through various hallways and up many staircases until they came to a wooden door. It was unremarkable except for the lock. The lock was the same shape as the symbol on the ring he had seen earlier with the circle being a hole, just wide enough for a wand to slide through. Taking his wand out that's exactly what Albus did, unlocking it and motioning for Harry to go through. Hearing Albus close the door Harry looked around at the room they were now in, one wall was dominated by a huge window overlooking the valley on the far end, looking round clearly an expansion charm had been liberally used as it looked like they were in a massive library, books upon books lay on the many shelves on three of the walls, various tomes and scrolls filled up several cabinets and, in the centre, a mahogany table lay with two books on it. Seated at the table reading one of the books was a man dressed in a dark three-piece suit, close to six feet tall, blonde hair and a blonde goatee looking immaculate

"Good evening Albus" came the voice from the man not looking up from his book, his accent had an Austrian lilt to it but his English was perfect "you took your time getting here. Did you get lost?"

"Good evening yourself Gellert" Albus replied "No, just attending to a situation with young Harry here"

"Gellert?" Harry shouted incredulously causing the man to look up sharply. Seeing his face, he instantly recognised him, the heterochromia confirming who he was looking at "Gellert Grindelwald? He is the friend you were talking about? The Dark Lord Grindelwald? You have got to be shitting me Dumbledore!"

"Who is the boy Albus?" Gellert said standing up and walking towards them looking intently at Harry "and why should I not rip his tongue out right now? The nerve of the youth of today!"

"I'd like to see you try old man!" Harry replied releasing both of his wands

"Enough Harry!" Albus said shouting standing in between them both "You also Gellert! Harry what did I say to you not five minutes ago?"

"He started it, Albus" Harry retorted not taking his eyes off Grindelwald "you failed to mention just who your friend was, and it's no longer a surprise just why it took forty years for you to see him again! Nurmengard! All the way up here I was racking my brains at where I'd heard that name before"

"Clearly the family brain cell is with his mother and father at the moment Albus" Grindelwald interjected "And you've still not told me why I shouldn't rip his tongue out for his disrespect to you"

"Enough!" Albus said pinching his nose taking a deep breath and pointing to the chairs around the table "Now, can we all calm down, have a seat and be friends?"

Grindelwald snorted and turned around walking back to his seat "I was never his friend to begin with Albus"

"What he said Albus" Harry replied "and I'm sitting on the opposite side of him. I have had enough experience with the Dark Lord to last me a lifetime. I don't particularly want to become bosom buddies with the previous one"

"Ah, so you're the Boy-Who-Lived then?" Grindelwald said taking a drink of his goblet full of wine not taking his eyes off Harry "you're not much to look at are you boy?"

"Maybe not, but at least others CAN look at me Grindelwald" Harry retorted snidely causing Gellert to narrow his eyes

"Both of you pack it in now!" Albus said warningly before they could continue "Now Gellert, your letter sounded very urgent. Has something happened?"

"Do not play dumb Albus" Grindelwald replied tersely "it is beneath you. I heard the Death Tolls all the way from here as I know you must have done so too, the Hallows have been united and given how you were the last one I knew to have the wand I wondered what had happened"

"The Death Tolls?" Harry asked interjecting himself "is that what those twelve bells were?"

"How did you hear them boy?" Grindelwald asked looking intently at Harry "the only people who are said to be able to hear them are those who are said to own a Hallow"

"Again" Harry said ignoring the question "there's that word, Hallow. What's a Hallow?"

"What the hell are parents teaching children these days Albus?" Grindelwald asked looking at him

"My parents were murdered by Voldemort when I was one" Harry stated angrily "they didn't have a chance to teach me anything!"

"Do you remember me telling you that Gellert and I were planning on travelling the world looking for items of power? And that one was said to be rumoured to be in Godrics Hollow?" Albus asked Harry "well, the Hallows Harry are what we were looking for"

"Again Albus" Harry said becoming increasingly irritated "murdered parents, no time to teach me anything"

"Be quiet boy!" Grindelwald said "if you shut up whining for just one minute you may learn something. The Deathly Hallows are said to be three artefacts of incredible power given out by Death himself to three brothers nearly eight hundred years ago as a 'reward' for thwarting Deaths plans to kill them, but Death is not one to be humbled or humiliated easily" taking out a piece of paper he drew a triangle "a cloak said to hide you from everyone and able to get through any ward undetected" drawing a circle inside it "a stone said to be able to communicate with and possibly resurrect the dead" and drawing a line through the centre from the top to the bottom creating the symbol Harry had seen several times today "and a wand said to be unbeatable in the hands of its wielder. These three powerful artefacts are said to make one the Master of Death when they are united. I myself used to own the wand, known as The Elder Wand or the Deathstick which is why I heard the Death Tolls earlier. Its bloody history is easy to trace if you look close enough. It is now in the possession of Albus after he won it from me. He used it to gain access to this room earlier so, I ask again, which one of the three do you have and why?"

"I have a cloak" he said pulling it out of his bag. "It's been in my family for centuries but was only given to me six years ago by Albus"

"The Potters?" Gellert shouted startling them both "All that time in Godrics Hollow, all that searching through the archives in the local libraries for clues and all this time and it was with the Potters? Right under our very noses just a few doors away?" Grindelwald shaking his head stood up and walked to a tome pulling it out, opening the book he rifled through it searching for something until he stopped suddenly. Walking back to the table he put the book on the table showing the two other wizards what he was searching for. It was a picture of a man, around six feet tall with messy brown hair and deep brown eyes. The title above it read Ignotus Peverell.

"My ancestor" Harry exclaimed "I've read about him in my family Grimoire. There were never any pictures of him though. He was said to have two brothers who died very mysteriously"

"Yes, Antioch and Cadmus" Gellert said "They were rumoured to be the three brothers in question who met Death one day and gained his artefacts. They were said to each have a grim as a familiar, a guardian to look after them, something which is said to have passed down to each subsequent Potter head. There's a reason that the Potter coat of arms is a Thestral and a Grim standing side by side"

"My patronus is now a grim" Harry said "It changed over the summer. It used to be a stag, my fathers animagus form. My Godfathers animagus form was a Grim so I assumed it was him"

"He was likely your father's protector, not yours" Grindelwald supplied "let me guess, it changed after you became head of your house?" seeing a nod "yes, family magic is strange like that. So Albus, where's the Resurrection stone? And do not try and tell me you do not know. The Death Tolls only happen when they've been united once again"

"The stone was part of a ring that belonged to the Gaunt family. It came into my possession earlier this summer" Albus said "it cost me a lot to attain the ring Gellert" shaking his arm out of his sleeve he took off his glove revealing the blackened arm

"A withering curse?" Grindelwald shouted standing up and grabbing the hand "who would dare do that to you? And why have you left it until now to tell me?"

"It actually ties in with a conversation I was planning on having with Harry tomorrow" Albus replied "I have told you my suspicions Gellert of how Tom survived that night. Well, I received proof of it from young Harry four years ago in the form of a diary"

"The one I destroyed?" Harry asked "with the basilisk fang?"

"The very one Harry" Albus said "he created items to ensure his survival, one of which was the book, another his magical ancestors ring. He placed a piece of his soul in these items which is why he survived the rebounding killing curse Hallowe'en night many years ago. I'm certain he created six altogether"

"Horcruxes?" Grindelwald interjected "he was actually stupid enough to create those abominations? Horcruxes do not stop you from dying. When your natural body dies, they can resurrect you but only from the point that you created it. So, you'll only retain the knowledge from the point of creation. And your soul is finite. Foolish things to create. He always was an arrogant cretin"

"You knew him then?" Harry asked "How?"

"I met him when I was in Berlin helping the muggle Hitler wipe out millions of his fellow men back in 1944, the war wasn't going according to plan anymore. I had never intended for magicals to harm each other. But other people thought differently. They believed those who refused to aid me were my enemy and I was far too busy trying to help the muggles kill each other to figure out what was happening until it was too late. Tom came to me hoping to learn from me. Said he was just grateful to kill muggles. He had thought that the bit of power he held over others at Hogwarts automatically meant he'd be powerful elsewhere but I quickly disabused him of that notion. He tried to challenge me for leadership in front of my senior cabinet. I didn't even try when I duelled him. While the Elder wand helped, being a Dual-Wielder made me virtually unbeatable. I sent him away after that, letting him know that I could kill him anytime I wanted to and he disappeared off my radar. It wasn't until '81 when Albus told me what happened that I even remembered who Tom Riddle was. The little urchin had actually proclaimed himself a Dark Lord and then got beat by a baby. I'm still puzzled as to how you couldn't beat him Albus" Grindelwald finished shaking his head in bemusement

"There was always something or someone who got in my way whenever I duelled him" Albus said "It became clear in the late '70's that something was protecting him, spells that I used would have killed lesser men and I never duelled to kill after our fight. It was only when I received the Prophecy in 1979 that I realised he was prophecy bound and I was never destined to end him, just hold him off until the true child of prophecy could do it. Harry here is quite formidable when he wants to be"

"Hmmm" Grindelwald snorted "that remains to be seen. Back to the original point though. I cannot believe you were stupid enough to touch the stone when it had a withering curse on it. If you had come to me immediately then we may have been able to stop it. What on earth were you thinking?"

"I wasn't thinking" he replied "I saw a way of seeing my family again and foolishly grabbed the ring without checking for any more traps"

"Stop it?" Harry asked looking at Albus "you mean you can't stop it? Are you dying?"

"Yes, I am Harry" Albus replied sadly "only the potions created by Severus have halted the spread of the curse but it will inevitably carry on until it kills my magic. The human body adapts rather quickly to any form of medicine and soon those potions will no longer work"

"Can you not just chop off your arm?" Harry asked

"Idiot boy" Grindelwald said "did you not listen to a word he has just said? It's powered by his magic and only the loss of his magic will complete the curse"

"Well excuse me for trying to come up with a way to save his life" Harry angrily replied standing up "I don't see you trying to help him! Maybe you're happy that the man who beat you will no longer be around"

"You insolent little shit!" Grindelwald said standing up going nose to nose with Harry "You do not have the slightest idea what Albus means to me! Don't you dare stand there and try and say I don't care about him! I have known and loved this man for nearly one hundred years! He is literally the only person I have ever cared about so sit down and shut up!" with that Gellert strode from the room to his quarters just behind a staircase slamming the door behind him. From the other side sounds of smashing and a horrible wail came from as sobs were heard when the smashing stopped.

Standing up Albus looked at Harry and angrily said "sit down, shut up and do not let me hear another word from you Harry" using his wand he unlocked the wooden door and he went into the room with Gellert closing it behind him putting up a silencing charm as he did so. The feelings of guilt immediately overwhelmed Harry. Of course Grindelwald would be worried about Albus' health. They'd been in love for nearly a century now and to find out Albus probably only had months to live? How uncaring had he come across? Hadn't he decided that very morning to behave more like an adult? He vowed that as soon as he saw Grindelwald he would apologise, to Albus aswell. Picking up the book Grindelwald had left on the table he started reading about his ancestor and waited for Albus and Grindelwald to come out.