Nagini has gone on the run. I was wondering if Nagini and Aberforth had crossed paths before since she was at Hogwarts at the end of the second movie, but I think Albus would keep his cards close and not reveal too much, even to his brother.

The Hog's Head

Nagini knew she had made a miscalculation when she stepped out of the train. Scotland was far colder than she had imagined. The last time she had been in Hogsmeade was at the end of a mild summer. Now in early spring, winter was not yet willing to release her grip. The cloak she had stolen from a fellow passenger did little to protect her from the sunset chill. The witch who owned it must have used warming charms. Or she had a thicker cloak she was using and had yet to notice her loss.

The village was bustling. Too many people, including children making their last-minute purchases from Honeydukes before returning to school after their Easter vacation, around. She hastened to the edge of the village. Away from the bustling main street, the buildings were quieter and more rundown as she went. She would need a place for the night, a barn perhaps? She did not know if or when she might transform again.

She stopped outside a ramshackle building, cold, hungry, and tired. There was the most delicious aroma wafting from a broken window. Her stomach grumbled. She glanced up at the sign of a hog's head swinging above. An inn. Perhaps she might be able to beg a crust.

"Oi, come in and shut the door behind you, or move along!" a gruff voice boomed out from within. "I'm not having you freeze on my doorstep!"

Nagini hesitated before making her decision. She pushed the door open and stepped within the Hog's Head.

"Oh, you're not her…" Aberforth looked up from the glass he was wiping. Catching a glimpse of a dark-haired woman through the grimy glass, he had expected his visitor to be Severine. Nagini froze. The barkeep's eyes were too familiar. The stew pot simmered on the hearth. Nagini glanced timidly at the pot, her stomach growling unhappily. Aberforth sighed. He strode over to the hearth and summoned another bowl. He ladled the greyish slop into it and thrust it at his sole visitor.

"Eat and warm up."

Nagini murmured her thanks and took the bowl. Instead of joining him near the fire, she scuttled to a table in the corner where there was a slight draft coming from below the door.

Women. Aberforth shook his head. He never could understand them, even when he tried his utmost to listen. His mother had yelled at him often enough for not heeding her words and applying himself to his lessons. He did his best. It was that the letters never made sense to him. He had learnt to listen, hear the words in the silence and the lie behind the spoken words. He had loads of practice with his both siblings.

This young witch was very much like his poor little sister – fearful, skittish, torn between running and lashing out in a panic. She appeared lost. Perhaps hiding from the authorities. His brother had enough headaches with the Ministry without him adding her to his burden. First, food and warmth. Then they will see where they will go from there.

"Newt, I'm sorry…"

"It's alright, Thee…" Newt cut off any further self-recriminations from his brother. The hippogriff had long fled the paddock. "Just get some rest and heal…" Their mother was not amused by her elder son's attempt to get himself discharged against healer's orders. The Ministry had given up the search, convinced that the maledictus had caught the Muggle ferry home to France and was well out of their jurisdiction.

"That young man… the Obscurus…" his brother started.

"His name is Credence."

"I am sorry. I hear from the European liaison office the French and Italians have taken out a kill notice… They are no willing to risk him breaking the Statutes…"

"Excuse me but cornering him will be far more dangerous than leaving him be," Newt growled in frustration.

"The Austrians and Germans have refused to take a stand on this. We believe they might be in Grindelwald's pocket… If only we can get one of ours into Grindelwald's inner circle… Have you received that proposal on the War Dragon Project yet?"

"Thee, how much pain soothers are you on? I am leaving for Brazil this evening to research the magical fauna of the Amazon basin. I am not interested in helping the Ministry weaponize any beasts." Merlin help the poor sod the Ministry strongarms to oversee the project. Newt was starting to think Nagini's flight might be for the better. Wishing his brother a swift recovery, he ended the Floo call.

"Is he always so chatty?" Tina cancelled the Silencing spell she had cast around the international Floo Newt had been using.

"Pain soothers make him dopey," Newt shrugged. He was thankful St Mungo's had provided Theseus with a private room and Floo given his status as Head Auror and their parents' generous donations over the years.

"No news of Nagini, which is a good thing since Travers had applied for a kill on sight order," Newt groaned. He needed to catch an early international portkey to Rio.

"Travers is an idiot," Tina sniffed. "Seriously, dragons for war?"

She ended up staying for three nights and did her bit with the cleaning, careful to stay out of sight of the customers. Aberforth had a weekly delivery of his homebrew to a village on the coast. He could go there with the horse cart instead of having one of the village lads do it for him. A short break on the coast might do him good. With a handful of galleons, he might be able to secure his guest safe albeit illegal passage on one of the Selkie fishing boats that crossed the North Sea. There was one half-Selkie captain who split his time between two families, one Scots, the other Dutch. His dozen children would appreciate the extra income.

Nagini – she finally shared her name on the second night – was in hiding from the Aurors. She wanted to flee the country and search out her young man on the Continent. It was a foolhardy plan, but young love was often reckless. What Aberforth did understand was that she needed to leave the country soon.

Aberforth never really understood why some customers' tongues would loosen at the bar and they would find the urge to unburden themselves to him. Was he their confessor and priest? Still, he bit back any rebuke as he listened to Nagini speak of her young man over supper. There had been a bit of a brouhaha at Hogwarts' last summer when the Ministry tried to force his brother to bend to their will. They might as well bid the tide to stop rising or the sun not to set.

"If I had gone with him then…"

"Bad company's bad company, Miss. Your young man made his choice. If he is smart, he'd be regretting it." Just as he regretted not seeking out his Polly sooner and giving up his search so soon, believing himself unworthy. Would he have made a difference to their son? A penniless nobody with no NEWTs and the most dismal OWLs to be spat out of Hogwarts?

Instead, he must face the fact that his child had been so miserable his entire young life and had chosen to nail his colours to Grindelwald's banner. An Obscurus. His dear brother had finally deigned to share the truth as he knew it. Polly was dead. Their child cast out on the cruel winds of fate. His aunts were likely dead too. Polly's sisters would never turn their backs on her, unlike his brother.

As Nagini's words flowed on, Aberforth felt his heart skip a beat. The young man and the rally she described was too familiar. His brother had mentioned that, second-hand of course, taken from his former student's memory of the event. Albus had been on edge after the event. He could tell. He knew his brother. Only one person could have that effect on Albus Dumbledore.

If there was anything good in Aurelius' life, it was Nagini. Hopefully, she could rein him in from the brink. Aberforth resolved to get her to the Continent, even if he must empty his vault to do so. Should he tell her he was Credence's father? Did his son even want him as family?

"Is something bothering you, S-sir? I'm s-sorry…" Nagini stuttered. A lifetime of fear was hard to override. Her chest simply seized up when she saw that scowl on his face. She knew she need not fear the lash of the whip or the strike of a hand… Not now at least…

"Apologies, Miss," Aberforth managed a weak smile. "I am an old man thinking back on my own mistakes of my youth. There was a girl I loved, a long time ago. I made many mistakes and lost both her and our son…"

"I am sorry…"

"She's long gone now, and I do not know if my son wants me for a father… I do not know how to reach him even."

Nagini listened to the barkeep pour out his woes. She had not dared to tell him about her curse. It was fortunate she had not turned in the past few days. She hoped her good luck would hold until she was safely away from the inn. She did not wish to hurt the kind man.

Albus Dumbledore frowned as he put aside yet another useless scroll. The blood pact thrummed against his skin, mocking him. His desk was covered with tomes and scrolls from the restricted section of Hogwarts' library and requested from his old friend Flamel. Blood magics, binding magics, soul-bonds…

If some of the theories were to be believed, he and Gellert had bonded themselves in an unbreakable union unto death. Surely Gellert was not so reckless as to invoke a marital binding… or was he mistaken about the runes? They had been infatuated with each other that summer – stolen kisses quickly growing into passionate bed-games while a clueless Bathilda pottered about her kitchen below. It was almost too much for the sheltered youth Albus had been.

There were few among his schoolmates he considered his intellectual equal. Not even Elphias Doge, who had been his staunchest friend since first year. Doge was a middling student with a sound family fortune. He had little motivation to apply himself beyond the minimum to pass his exams. His teachers were bowled over by his brilliance. He was their perfect student. Talk about his unfortunate family circumstances was quickly quashed. His mother always harped on how he was to make things better for the family once he graduated. His poor mother who tried so hard to keep the family together. Then she was gone.

All his ambitions were to come to nought. He would have to care for underaged brother and ill sister at home. Abe had kicked up a fuss about not being able to drop out of school to nurse Ariana. They had reached an agreement that Albus would take up the Alchemy Mastery once Abe completed his schooling. Then Gellert Grindelwald came waltzing into his life.

Blond hair, twinkling eyes glinting with mischief. Albus had been fascinated with those mismatched eyes. Gellert came from Durmstrang. He did not know or care about Hogwarts' Head Boy or top student. Albus was just Albus. It was liberating to be free from all the expectations his elders piled on him.

He had wilfully chosen to be blind to the darkness in his lover. There were times when Gellert lashed out and allowed his smiling mask to fall. No, he had never raised a wand or hand against Albus. He had flung a Stinging Hex at a Muggle boy who bumped into them in the village square. The boy had fallen into the fountain as a result and Gellert had laughed. He had set fire to a market stall after the stallholder was rude to Albus.

There were the Rosier sisters who were visiting their aunt. The eldest sister had pulled her siblings close and Disapparated at an astounding speed when she spied Gellert and Albus approaching them on the street. The eldest Rosier girl had gone to Durmstrang instead of Beauxbatons. Had he been so wrong about Gellert? If only he could speak openly and honestly with someone about his dilemma. Abe would likely hex him out if he dared mention Gellert in his inn. How was his brother coping with the recent revelations about his son? Albus wished he could promise his brother more – that they would get Aurelius back, that he would live…

A forlorn hope. Even if they did manage to retrieve his nephew from Grindelwald's stronghold, it would only be for Abe to bury his son. There was no cure for his condition. Albus sighed and put away the last useless tome. He had those student essays he needed to grade. The Headmaster was already making unhappy noises about the intrusion of Aurors into Hogwarts and Albus did not need to add any sloppy work in his teaching onto that.

Author's Notes:

I hope this is a good time to stop for this chapter. I intend to have Nagini go MIA shortly to explain her absence in the last movie. More shenanigans at Nurmengard and someone possibly reaching out to his son. I do not intend for Albus to have a chance to talk to Silverfoot or get any leads on breaking a blood pact since the entire incident in the movie seems almost accidental.