...

He knows he knows, he knows, HE KNOWS!

The thought ran rampant through his mind, his body shaking as his magic fluctuated in and out of his control- The question the man had asked was practically the proof he needed to be sure... Right?

Why else would he have asked about grandfather right now, after a professor freakin' died!?

His mind calmed down the slightest bit as he considered-

"Rodrick?" The man's words washed over the silence of the evening, freezing his thoughts. "It's alright." His heartbeat slowed. "There's no need for you to worry about your name anymore." The man finished with a chuckle.

His magic swept out of control as everything, from the death he'd caused to the fear that curled around him, came crashing down all at once. Including himself for that matter as the branch beneath him crumbled and he found himself hurtling down to the ground, albeit slowing down as some force washed over him at the last moment, the sound of footsteps coming closer ignored as his feet found something solid to stand on and his stomach's contents found the ground as he heaved.

Blinking a few times as he stared at it, he immediately switched his gaze towards the suspiciously silent and frozen wizard beside him, finding a pair of widened eyes staring at him.

It took him a moment to realize his transfiguration had more or less crumbled- The only thing untouched by it, though slowly reverting back anyway was the top half of his face.

With a gasp of breath, he reached for his wand and immediately reapplied it on instinct as he wobbled to a standing position.

That action seemed to shock the headmaster all the more as the man ignored all pretenses and simply remarked-

"Remarkable..." Dumbledore shook his head, a whimsical smile on his face that set him on edge. "You really do have Gellert's talent running through you, don't you?"

"..." Calming down the slightest, he fidgeted on his feet and promptly started ignoring all pretenses himself as he relaxed his arms, though his wand was still held in an iron grip.

Briefly giving the vomit he'd let out a glimpse, he held in the urge to sigh at the sheer weakness he had...

His grandfather was going to be more disappointed about that, than the fact he was probably going to a ministry jail, or worse.

Closing his eyes, he let out another breath. "I am keeping this on..." He remarked, referring to his transfigurated face. "Call it denial or whatever," He shrugged. "Let's just get this over with." He promptly settled down on the floor, his gaze on the ground.

A few beats of silence was all it took for him to raise his gaze back up to- A confused Dumbledore?

"Get what over with, exactly?" The man questioned genuinely.

"...I am Gellert Grindelwald's grandson." He bit out, earning a quick unsurprised nod from the man. He briefly turned his gaze towards the... Corpse at the end of the clearing. "And I've probably killed someone way earlier than him- Which might be a record for my family." He let out a derisive, albeit weak, snort.

At least he'll be proud about that?

Dumbledore's face turned pensive for a moment.

"I do believe that Professor Abatoth hadn't been long for the world all the same- If anything you might've saved him a great deal of pain."

"Doesn't matter," He hadn't really paid attention to what the man had said in truth. There really was only one conclusion to this story. "So?" He questioned bemused. "When are they getting here then? Have you already called them?"

Once again, bemusement filled the headmaster's face.

"The ministry," He clarified. "When am I getting thrown in jail or whatever it is they do?"

The bemusement disappeared in an instant- Only, instead of an agreement to his words, all he found was... Rodrick blinked once at the sight.

Was that sorrow?

Maybe his grandfather was right about-

"...Rodrick, you're not responsible for your grandfather's crimes."

"Doesn't matter." He repeated himself. "Quirrel wasn't responsible for his own and they still threw the book at him." Exile with a watch over his every action for the rest of his life qualified as such anyway. "What do you think they'd do to me?" He let out another derisive snort, one broken by a whimper of all things. "Pricks might even consider it payback against my grandfather if anything!"

There was a heavy expression on the man's face as he stared at him, one that frankly set him on edge.

"... I wouldn't let them do that." The headmaster remarked eventually, a resolute expression growing on his face. "To judge a child for the sins-"

"You're joking right?" He couldn't help but interrupt the man. "You're the last person they'd take any biased advice from when it comes to my grandfather's... Crimes." He deadpanned, before letting out a scoff. "The only reason they didn't arrest you back then with him was that you're the one who bloody stopped him!"

The heavy frown from earlier momentarily turned into confusion before settling into wariness.

"What makes you say that?"

"It's not exactly a secret you conspired with him before he went..." Instead of finishing his original point he simply waved his hands in a shrug. "Either way, it doesn't matter. Even if you could do something about it, as soon as I am out of the castle I am done for anyway."

His gaze dropped back down towards the ground.

"It was a long shot, to begin with," He couldn't help but mutter, his head shaking in the process. "What was I even planning anyway... Hide behind a transfigured persona for my freakin' future?" He let out a sigh. "Some future..."

The two settled into a momentary lapse of silence at his words, the headmaster's expression unreadable to him on account of him not even looking his way.

"I am sorry." The older man remarked eventually to his surprise. "I don't imagine I can even begin to understand what you must be going through-"

"I'll say," He scoffed. "Your dad beat up a bunch of muggles, my grandfather started two world wars." He shook his head. "Worlds can't be more different than that..." Yet, the moment he looked up back, he found shock on the man's face as opposed to anything else.

"...How do you know that?" The older man questioned warily.

"'Cos he told me?" He answered, somewhat bemused. "My grandfather..." He paused for a beat, a frown making its way onto his face. "Who do you think taught me my magic?"

Dread was his answer apparently.

The older man opened and closed his mouth at the words before an understanding of all things seemed to fill his eyes.

"Rodrick. I can't begin to understand the logistics of how he's been teaching you from Nurmengard... And until you feel ready to, there's no pressure on you to tell me-" The man briefly paused. "If you wish to keep your ancestry hidden in the castle, I will ensure it stays so-"

Hold up.

Had he been speaking hypothetically about... Letting him stay as a student or was the old man really crazy enough to ignore his dark-lord genetics!?

"-I only wish to know one thing for now... Based on your stories regarding the... Orphanage..." The man remarked with pity of all things filling his gaze.

"Has Gellert been the only adult form in your life so far to take any interest in your upbringing?"

"...Uh... Kind of?" He answered warily, before quickly nodding. "Yes actually, he has." He finished somewhat uncertain.

Needless to say, Dumbledore started looking at him like he was crazy.

"Oh, you poor boy." The older man deadpanned. "That fool didn't have a parental bone in his body,"

He blinked at the words, the surreality of the situation finally settling in for a moment as he tilted his head the slightest bit. "Funny that, he thinks you're a senile old fool-"

Dumbledore scoffed at him of all things.

Today just kept throwing surrealities at him it seems.

Was it because he insulted the tests or something? Was Rowena Ravenclaw doing this to him from beyond the grave?

"Of course, he would," The older man remarked crossing his arms. "I imagine it's the grudge in him talking."

"...You hired two possessed defense professors that tried to get your first years killed."

"He started two world wars."

"You hid an ancient artifact in a children's school."

The older man shrugged, a slight grin growing on his face as he stared at him.

"He started two world wars-" He made to object the repeated point, only for the old man to continue. "-And lost both of them."

"Funny that, he told me his goal was accomplished."

"I am certainly not surprised he's in denial about it."

He was officially done with both of them.

At this point going to a ministry jail was looking a lot more preferable to being the messenger between the two fools.

With that thought in his head, he let out a sigh and promptly got up, set a disillusionment charm on himself, and started walking to the castle, uncaring of the old man walking in step behind him, amusement dancing in his eyes.

He might've gotten a little ahead of himself at worrying about a future outside of the castle.

Odds were he wasn't going to survive Hogwarts, to begin with.

...

Later that day, when Daphne Greengrass threw a warning glare at him for his 'stupidity' when the news of the Defence Professor's accidental passing filled the school, he figured he'd be lucky if he made it past the next few years.

...

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