As Harry, Colin, Dennis, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Susan, and Lily sat in the Lily Potter Hall awaiting lunch, a school barn owl carrying a newspaper in its beak swooped down upon them, dropped the newspaper into the middle of the table, and flew off again.
Harry grabbed the newspaper and unfurled it.
The headline that met his eyes was a shock to the system and he held the newspaper up for all of them to see, receiving seven stunned looks as he did so.
The headline read:
GRINDELWALD FOUND DEAD IN NURMENGARD CELL. CIRCUMSTANCES UNCLEAR.
On Saturday evening, a Nurmengard guard had gone up to the cell of the infamous dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald to bring him his dinner. The guard found Grindelwald's body on the cell floor, unmoving and lifeless. The guard immediately summoned a medical team to examine Grindelwald's body. The medical team was unable to find any abnormalities with the body and the guard concluded that Grindelwald had been murdered via the Avada Kedavra curse. The situation is under investigation and no motive has been established in this case yet. As Grindelwald has never been seen as a threat again after his defeat at the hands of Dumbledore in 1945, it is suspected that there is a behind the scenes motive in play here. The Nurmengard guards all agreed that the two most likely possibilities were that Grindelwald was killed because he was suspected of having information that someone wanted kept quiet or having a possession someone was desperate to get after. While Grindelwald isn't likely to have many tears shed for him, his murder is nevertheless a chilling case that serves as a shocking reminder of the dog eat dog world the Wizarding World tends to be."
"I think this is tied to the hope of bringing Lord Voldemort back to power," said Harry instantly, "It's too much of a coincidence that Grindelwald was found dead mere hours after our encounter with the Death Eaters in Zonko's."
"I agree," replied Hermione a nanosecond later, "So many things happened on Saturday and it's improbable that they aren't all tied together."
"I wonder," said Susan thoughtfully, "If a group of Death Eaters or an individual Death Eater tried to recruit Grindelwald, even offering to break him out of Nurmengard. If he refused then he, she, or they would have killed him on the spot."
'Why would he have refused them if that is what happened?" wondered Dennis.
"Maybe," suggested Colin, "He hated the idea of being a follower. I can't imagine he was being recruited to be a leader. Anyone recruiting him would be more likely to have a similar mindset to Dolohov in hoping to become the next Dark Lord. He or she would want to have Grindelwald in the fold for his magical abilities. But once Grindelwald refused, he would be seen as a threat to someone hoping to become the next Dark Lord."
"More proof of how Death Eaters have as much intelligence as mountain trolls," smirked Lily, "If Grindelwald is that powerful, he'd have escaped from Nurmengard a long time ago. He'd never sit in there idly for almost a half century if he had real power left."
"True," agreed Luna, "He might also have been too scared to say yes. I mean, Voldemort punished his own followers with torture, including the Cruciatus Curse. Any potential Dark Lord could be just as ruthless."
"Perhaps Grindelwald actually felt remorse for his past acts of terror," piped up Ginny, "He's obviously had a LOT of time to sit, think, and reflect. Maybe he truly realized he was in the wrong in the front half of the century and felt sincere remorse for what he had done. If that is the case, he would reject any offers to be part of groups of Death Eaters or Dark Witches and Wizards."
"There are many theories, each as unlikely as the next," said Harry uncomfortably, "Either someone wanted Grindelwald out of the way, or they wanted to use him, or they wanted him to join them. Some kind of Dark Side is on the move. There could be several different Dark Sides on the move that are both related and unrelated at the same time."
"That's the scariest thing," reasoned Luna, "There are storm clouds gathering from the north, south, east, and west."
"We also have to consider that the guards are right about Grindelwald being suspected of having valuable information, " added Susan wisely.
"There's possibility after possibility here," sighed Hermione.
"No matter what happens we're going to fight even when there's no fight left," declared Lily fiercely.
"I agree," transitioned Harry, "But, Lily, may I be honest with you about something?"
"Of course, Harry," replied Lily a nanosecond later, "I know you have my best interests at heart. After all, you helped save my mom's life and keep my family together. To me, Harry Potter will never be the Boy Who Lived but the Boy Who Saved. As in, the Boy Who Saved My Family. "
"Lily, I believe you have VERY recently made a major mistake. I want to talk to you about that mistake and try to convince you to change your mind about something."
"I have no clue what this might be about," admitted Lily, "But, fire away Harry, I'm listening, and I trust you completely."
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