I am not sure how often I'll be able to update this story, but for the moment my muse's come back to life and I am hoping to get a few chapters out for it!
For the moment, however, here's a brief interlude to help build up key aspects of the coming years.
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Four figures slowly walked down the muddled, broken, pathway. And while all four favored the same coloring and exceptionally similar features, age was the one discrepancy between the brothers.
A pair of ghostly eyes slowly wakened, the magical chains surrounding his soul tightening as his magic seeped through for the first time in two decades. The ghostly redhead let out a sigh as his dance began once again, for another heir had come off age, and the hollow which condemned and kept him alive had wakened once again. In the back of his soul, he could practically feel the elder Grindelwald's attention on him, far away on another part of the world he may have been- The man certainly always enjoyed the show, though he wasn't sure if it was due to it being a reminder of his actions against the true owner of the Hollows, or simply amusement at his own suffrage.
The four slowly came upon a small crossing, one missing a bridge. The river looked rather rough however what grabbed any who passed its attention was the subtle hints of magic in place for someone had cursed the river... Placed a condition over it. The four brothers, before it, started squabbling amongst each other.
He didn't need to pay attention to the words to know what was said, partly because he'd seen this place so many times since his imprisonment, and partly because he had, so long ago, played a part in it.
The eldest brother was the first to attempt to cross alone, his confidence and ego preventing the man from working with his siblings... Or perhaps it was more out of pride that he'd wanted to solve it himself. Regardless, he failed.
Even after all this time, he wondered if anything would've changed had his brother had a tad hint more of humility in him? Perhaps they would all have lived... Healthier lives. And in his case, even ended.
The second brother followed, unfortunately receiving the same result, and then the third had his turn. Both of them, much like the first, refused to cooperate together, though none could blame them- For the opportunity to prove themselves greater than the manifestation of pride that the eldest was, was an opportunity too great to pass.
He turned his gaze, even if the vision, scenery, play, followed him. For Death was not one to be ignored.
Before long it was the youngest turn, however, unlike the others, he asked them all to help him. Finally succeeding in creating a bridge to cross over the cursed river. The four crossed over while the youngest fell back, his eyes glazed over as he stared at a necklace dangling off a tree.
Guilt, regret, and terror filled him as he watched his greatest mistake repeat itself before him.
The scenery quickly changed the moment the youngest had picked up and put on the cursed Hollow as what looked like a basement took over. The youngest brother, hidden under an invisibility charm watched the oldest work away on something.
'If only he'd let me help... I know what's missing...'
The sound resoundingly filtered through his head- His thoughts from a time long past, coming back to haunt him once again.
Time flew by as the youngest hidden position slowly revealed itself to the other, the offer of help, barring his own credit in the work, accepted. It wasn't long before one item took its place amongst the table before the two. The Elder Wand in all of its glory.
He couldn't help but close his eyes, to no avail, for the thoughts betrayed his guilt and regret. Betrayed the truth he had long since wished to forget.
The scenery once again changed, to that of a graveyard... The words Antioch Peverell were instilled into the stone. Before it stood the youngest Peverell brother, a look of anguish on his face. "Why... Why now... The moment we get close to finishing the wand... You just leave..."
The sound of Gellert Grindelwald's mocking laughter filtered through his soul. The man always had a twisted sense of humor.
The world warped once again as a rather large room came into existence, filtered with all kinds of books, and in the middle, the second eldest and the youngest brother interacted over something.
"You really think it would work?" The second eldest questioned.
The youngest simply nodded as he held the Elder Wand out in front of the strange object.
On top of the table lay a single incomplete stone.
"We'll find out who killed him," The youngest voice reverberated across the room as the room quickly disappeared.
"This part really does never get old..." Gellert's voice washed over the scenery.
The scenery shifted back to the graveyard, only this time, two graves stood proudly instead of the one. The words Cadmus Peverell etched onto the second stone.
"He got you too..." The youngest remarked mournfully, resigned to the loss of another brother.
To the side, the third brother hid at the entrance to the graveyard. A look of anger, shock, and most of all of fear as he gazed at his younger brother.
"Gifts of death require death itself to create- Who woulda thought it?" Gellert Grindelwald cackled at him, as he always did.
It wasn't as if he ever had a choice.
"Are we really skipping the epilogue?" Gellert Grindelwald questioned as he felt the man's magic wash over the Necklace. "Come on now, we've all pissed on Death's glory, there's no need to be ashamed!"
And without a missed beat, the youngest Peverell watched on without consent as the scenery shifted once again.
The man let off a mirthless chuckle, "I was angry and alone and disillusioned by power. I was meddling with things I did not understand..." His words stopped for a brief second. "What I did, I did out of desperation- Out of anger. Unlike you, who chose spite!"
"You tried to destroy death's gifts- Add stupidity to that list." Gellert's voice resounded. "And spite or not- When I learned of the necessity of that singular hollows existence, I chose to curse it to my will alone- To curse Death's success to my blood's hand! You on the other hand tried to retaliate in vengeance, tried to destroy his necklace, and wiped yourself of the annals of history!" The man paused in his tirade for a split moment. "Do not presume to insult me, Peverell."
The scenery changed once again, returned to the bridge of misery that had spelled the doom of the Peverell line itself. The broken pathway that led to Death. Only now, three figures walked it, towards the fourth on the other side, shrouded in Death's cloak.
He had been the first to gather all four of the Hollows- The first to come close to fulfilling Death's desires, and while he may hate the man for it, Gellert Grindelwald was right in saying that he had doomed his family for the second time when he'd chosen to ignore the being's desires and attempt to make up for his own guilt and mistakes by handing them over as a reward. Resulting in an eternal curse thrown into his own soul, forever bound until someone finally fulfills Death's wishes.
Yet thanks to a curse by the current owner of the Necklace, his hopes lay in the hands of Gellert Grindelwald and his descendants alone.
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