Bill Weasley is made a prefect. Albus and Gellert try to reconnect in a civil manner, and fail.

Mixed feels here knowing how many chapters there are left before the Potter era and the end of this little letter exchange.

1986

18th January 1986

Dear Gellert

I do believe we seem to keep stepping on each other's feet recently. I wish to make some things clear. As much as I understand where you are coming from, there is no way I can allow Harry to be taken away from his Muggle relatives due to his mother's blood protection. We need him to be living with a blood kin of hers. We cannot have a guard on him 24/7 and I think you know as I do that Voldemort is not truly gone for good. We are just counting down the days as to when he will reappear. If I float that in the Wizengamot, they will likely lock me up in the St Mungo's long-term care ward and throw away the key.

Rest assured I will be keeping an eye on Harry. I do believe your fears about Harry turning obscurial are overrated.

Your friend

Albus

Spring 1986

Dear Albus Bumblesmore

I am sure you can relate to how I feel, locked up in this miserable cell for four flipping decades! And how often do you see the lad anyhow? Once a year or less with your busy schedule? Or are we just relying on your cousin's reports on the occasion she is left with the boy while his family go on vacation? Do some digging into his mother's family. There might be some distant cousin or other who would make a better guardian for the lad. And that business with his godparent. Have you reviewed his trial yet? Did he even have one? Is he dead already?

Maybe the Potter lad would not be around to worry about Voldemort. Most obscurials do not make it to age eight. Tick tock.

What was that old English rhyme about a large Easter egg, the king's horses, and men? Do be careful you do not end up as an omelette.

Gellert

4th April 1986

Dear Gellert

As much as I empathize with your plight, you only have yourself to blame for your current situation. Just hang in there until that parole hearing in 2000. If only you had not run off and gone on that dark wizard world domination bender back then. You should have faced the music after my sister died. Heck, we should have all faced it, together.

With deepest regrets,

Albus

Spring 1986

Dear Albus

Why are we rehashing events from almost a century ago? You let me take the rap for your sister's death even though none of us have the foggiest idea what the heck happened in there with all those hexes flying about. Since I am a certified dark wizard, killing little girls is up my alley, huh?

Fine, I am going to sit my little cell counting the days to 2000, if I still have a calendar about here. Sure you can deal with this new dark lord yourself or maybe with this young champion Potter?

Gellert

P.S. I hate you.

15th October 1986

Dear GG

I have heard of you from my friends. I have some problems with my brother Charlie. You see, I was made prefect and my brother signed up for the Care of Magical Beasts class. Now I hear that my brother has been breaking curfew and sneaking out of the School into the Forbidden Forest where students are not to go - looking for dragon eggs. Do I report him and let him get detention? Or do I go with him and then we all get detention?

Also, I think Professor Snape has it in for me. He gave me a D for Potions. A D! Everyone else got a T. No, I think he has it in for the entire Gryffindor House year fives in Potions. That is not the worst of it. Apparently, I only got a D from copying from the Slytherin girl at the next desk.

Bill Weasley

Fall 1986

Dear Bill

I can fully understand what it means to be maligned for your brilliance by some fool of a professor you might want to petrify and lower into a vat of acid, slowly. He is likely not worth the trouble. Perhaps he might end up bitten by a viper someday while preparing potion ingredients. One would be so lucky. Hold your head high, do your best for your OWLs and NEWTs and then rub that O in his face when you graduate.

About your kid brother – how dangerous is this Forbidden Forest? What are the risks of him getting maimed or killed by some dangerous beast there? Then consider how fond you are of the little tyke against how fond you are of being a prefect. I think you might find your answer there on how to deal with the situation.

GG

31st October 1986

Dear Grindelwald

It does feel odd that I would be writing to you again about Potter. After getting our bid at adoption blasted off the table by Dumbledore, my hubby and I were deliriously happy until his gardening accident. Needing make ends meet and find purpose in life, I returned to Hogwarts as a teacher. Now I find that I am tempted to risk my employment by locking horns with my headmaster over his placement of Potter and then restricting all attempts to follow up on his welfare. I shudder to imagine what kind of damage would have been done to the child by the time Potter comes to Hogwarts if ever. I have tried roping Figgy in, but her hands are tied. We know Albus pays for her cottage. She would be back in the streets with her Kneazles if she oversteps herself. I do suspect she has been training some of her half-cats in a spot of espionage. Mundungus has been snooping about, as has Diggle. I suspect they are also on Albus' payroll. It appears Muggle child welfare service representatives conveniently get lost on Privet Drive and forget which child they were there to check up on. Suspicion is that Albus' goons are meddling somehow.

He is so stubborn… I doubt anything short of an actual dead Potter kid will convince him the boy would be better elsewhere regardless of the blood wards.

Minerva McGonagall

Fall 1986

Dear Minerva

Yes, he is stubborn. I spent the greater part of the mid-20s to early 30s trying to convince him to join my cause and we all know how that went down. May I propose an alteration to the blood wards? There is a method recorded in War Wardings: Writ in Blood by Bloodhilda Warrick. Of course, it has been declared illegal dark magic in most places by now. If you are lucky, it might still be in the Restricted section of your library. It should instil a drive in those living within the ward to protect the subject at all costs and not to harm him. The catch? It requires an actual child sacrifice, that is the rub. And no replacing it with a dummy or lamb.

If you are squeamish, just try to ensure that you are there when the boy does roll up for School.

Grindelwald

Author's Notes:

Some echoes of Grindelwald the dark wizard coming through.