AN-This chapter is a tiny one not planned and written in just a few hours. Grindelwald insisted on having his say. A regular chapter will be coming soon and will be answering reviews then. Love ya all.

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CHAPTER TWENTY

Interlude

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The sound of the bootheels on the stone floors of Malfoy Manor seemed obnoxiously and almost painfully loud to Grindelwald as they approached him cautiously where he sat at the desk he'd had moved closer to the fire in once had been Lucius Malfoy's office.

Oh course most noises seemed to loud for him now. After decades spent alone in Nurmengard castle with nothing but his books, house elfs who barely spoke to him and annual visits from his former lover Albus he'd become much too accustomed to silence. The first few years it and the isolation had nearly driven him into insanity a state many would have claimed he'd reached many years before his imprisonment, but eventually he had adjusted. Becoming reacclimated to the outside world wasn't taking as long as most would have expected though as his fierce intelligence and massive well of magical power where easing his way. As was the disgust for the creature he was temporarily required to work with.

Tom Riddle, Lord Voldemort, whatever he chose to call himself may have been a brilliant, and powerful wizard at one point but tearing his soul to shreds in order to preserve his life had destroyed his sanity. It wasn't a trade Grindelwald ever would have made. He had been useful in escaping his prison, finding a new base to operate from and even providing a selection of new followers but truthfully if it hadn't been for the whole Horcrux nonsense he would have already have disposed of the thing that had been left behind after the dark spells the idiotic half-blood had used on himself. Especially when he considered how badly he had bungled everything with the girl.

Juniper Maria Potter. Sole heir of both the Potter and Black families. Voldemort may consider himself Grindelwald's equal but in truth the only magical in the world who came close to matching him was the seventeen year old the creature had failed to kill over and over. And it still hadn't occured to him that he was approaching the entire problem from the wrong angle. Maybe in the beginning he'd been blinded by the prophecy and fear. Fear of the little girl who was destined to vanquish him. He should have realized by now though that the way to defeating the girl didn't lay in killing her but by stealing her loyalty from the so-called light. But then Voldemort preferred to have his followers, his minions cowering below him on their knees in fear meekly agreeing with anything he said. Grindelwald preferred stronger followers those who had opinions and initiative those who stood by him through loyalty and belief in his ideals not through fear and intimidation. His leadership style actually more closely resembled what he'd heard of Juniper Potter than Voldemort.

That was the reason he had chosen two of Voldemort's most loyal acolytes to seduce away from the creature and become the first of his new inner circle. Severus Snape, and Barty Crouch Junior. They where both extremely intelligent, very powerful and cunning and both had been in contact with Juniper Potter enough so that they both had given him insight into her although Snape's had been tainted by his hatred for her father and godfather. Drawing the spy away from his master hadn't been as difficult as he had thought it might be. A appreciation for his skill and a promise to keep the Potter girl alive had been enough. He already knew his former master was insane and with Albus dead and Potter's hatred of him his options had been limited. Barty had taken a little more work having seen Voldemort as a father figure but he hadn't really wanted to harm Juniper. After a year as a mentor to her masquerading as Mad-eye Moody his feigned affection for the girl had become real. That was the real reason he hadn't killed her after the third task no matter what excuses he gave Voldemort. Not to mention Grindelwald was much better at playing the concerned fatherly role than Voldemort was. After all unlike Voldemort he actually was capable of experiencing the emotions he just didn't let them interfere in his goals.

The other two Fenrir Greyback and Bellatrix Lestrange he wasn't interested in cultivating. The werewolf was barely more than a filthy animal. He was handy for controlling the other werewolves but in the long run he would be a liability. Couldn't have a monster running around attacking children in the new world he was planning on building. The werewolf would have to go and rather sooner than later. The woman was mad. And not in a useful way but in a unhinged blood-thirsty and unpredictable way. She would be useful though. She and Peter Pettigrew the animagus known as Wormtail would be a nice gift for Juniper when he convinced her to join them. He knew the girl hated the two of them with a intensity that perhaps rivaled that she held for Voldemort himself. He only had to decide if she would appreciate their heads on a silver platter or the chance to kill them herself more. He wanted to see her kill them but she had the persona of the good girl hero so deeply entrenched in her mind that she may subconsciously feel more grateful if he did the deed for her.

"I've got the picture for you Master." Barty said from behind him his voice still slightly timid.

"I've told you Barty you must not call me Master." Grindelwald said his voice warm not showing the impatience he felt for the young man. "You are not a house elf. You are a wizard a member of a elite and honored class. You deserve respect."

Barty held himself a little straighter as Grindelwald took the photo from him studying the 3 couples in it. The 4 champions of the triwizard tournament and their dates for the Yule ball. Cedric Diggory didn't interest him, nor did Roger Davies a wave of his wand faded them from the picture leaving behind Fleur Delacour, Viktor Krum, Hermione Granger and oh course Juniper Potter. He wanted all four of them. The three surviving champions of the triwizard tournament and the brightest witch of her age. Her muggleborn status didn't matter as much to him as it would have to many. To the surprise of many people Grindelwald had nothing against muggleborns as long as they had the power and intelligence to hold their own among the purebloods which Hermione Granger had proven she did. Unfortunately Juniper's other best friend Ron Weasley was a member of a family so deeply entrenched in the light that he would probably have to be sacrificed for the greater good. He would just have to make sure it seemed to be Voldemort, or Hydra who'd done it without his input.

He turned his attention to the one in the picture who interested him the most. Juniper Potter. He was a bit surprised when he set eyes on her. Snape had described her as a plain annoying brat, Barty had insisted she was a cute kid. Newspaper pictures of her had invariably caught her with either a annoyed or traumatized look on her face but in this picture She was smiling at he camera as she leaned back slightly against the now absent Diggory. She was beautiful. Long dark hair usually in wild curls in the newspaper pictures tamed into wavy locks that framed a face with high cheekbones and full lips, the eyes where the biggest surprise. The black and white newspaper pictures had done them no justice they where huge and the most gorgeous shade of emerald green he'd ever seen brimming with power.

"My Lord Grindelwald." Grindelwald raised his gaze from the picture to see the two Hydra agents he'd sent to poke at Juniper and her friends had returned. Elizabeth Lane and Cheyenne Navara if he was corrected.

"Ah Sisters. You have returned you are as always welcome here." Grindelwald said with a smile ignoring the way Barty frowned at the two muggleborns.

"Problem Barty?" Cheyenne asked scowling at him.

"Mudblood." Barty muttered.

"Barty you know I don't like that word." Grindelwald reprimanded lightly. "These two girls where gifted with Magic just like you and I. They unfortunately started off with the handicap of having muggle parents. They have risen above their birth to find their true birthright. They should be commended for that not condemned."

Barty looked down as if ashamed and Grindelwald turned his attention back to the two girls. "May I?" He asked them. They nodded as one and he placed one hand on each of their cheeks. Then silence filled the room as he reviewed the girl's memories of their meetings with his spy in MACUSA , and with his new obsession.

He didn't much care for the discovery that she was truly a muggleborn but that disappointment faded as he realized who her biological father was. Stark blood that wealth and intelligence added to the Black and Potter magics she had through magical adoption. By the end of the memory he was by and large pleased. Yes she presented as a light witch honorable and moral until she was pushed. The darkness was there lurking behind the innocence in those green eyes just waiting to be unleashed all he needed to do was find the right button to push. And perhaps he'd seen the right button. A tall dark and handsome button with a metal arm.