Hey everyone... I'm back with Chapter 96, enjoy!

The answer to the question, "Who the hell is Gellert Grindelwald?" was the easiest to find out. In her hunt for the Elder wand that had now turned into a hunt for the Hallows, this was the easiest thing to discover. For Jane found one newspaper after another, magazine after magazine, books, photos, and even people who were willing to describe what it was like back in the day.

After hearing the name for the first time, Jane decided to take a tour of the nearby library. If there was an old man who knew his name and was afraid to speak of him, other than by his symbol, then the dark wizard must be someone known to many. And then there was the case of the symbol. Jane knew the chain meant something the moment she saw it. She knew that Grindelwald had to be someone important, and if he was still alive, he'd at least know about the whereabouts of the Elder wand.

She had been there only for the past couple of weeks. And in that time, the small library had become a regular place for Jane to visit and spend her time. Jane began reading the different books she could find at the library, that could have details about who Grindelwald was.

The first book itself had in-depth details about the revolution Grindelwald led in a chapter titled, "For the greater good!". The moment Jane read the title, she felt like she had seen it somewhere before, but she couldn't remember it. The book turned out to be a good start. It talked about the first set of crimes Grindelwald had allegedly committed, most of which involved the murder of muggles or NoMaj, as they were called in the USA. But, the book went on to have details of how he was acquitted of his crimes. The title of the chapter, "For the greater good!" seemed to be Grindelwald's motto. And right in the next page, was the symbol, his symbol, that people recognized him by. The symbol that Jane was now wearing as a chain. The moment Jane laid her eyes on the symbol in the book, she clutched her chain. And almost instinctively, she took it out from under her dress and flaunted it for anyone to see. Grindelwald wanted to rule the muggles, the book said. He thought of the muggles as inferior and wanted the world to be ruled by wizards and witches, the superior beings. And right at the end of the chapter, was a photo of Grindelwald. The moment Jane saw the photo, her jaw dropped. The man in the photo was probably in his early to late 50s. The young boy she had in her memory from Gregorovitch was in his teens. But the resemblance was there. And the timelines seemed to match. Jane was now certain that Grindelwald was the man she had seen stealing the Elder wand from Gregorovitch. But, unfortunately for Jane, the book didn't speak much about what happened to him, where is he now, whether is he even alive, and so on.

Jane went through the next set of books, but none of them seemed to have much detail. She was still apprehensive about asking the librarian for books where she could read about Grindelwald. So, Jane went ahead with her choice and searched through for mentions of Grindelwald in the next set of books.

Jane hit luck once again with another book. This one was much more worn out than the one she had read. Old was indeed gold.

The chapter in this one was written by someone working for the German Ministry of Magic at the time of Grindelwald in his peak. And it read as though the writer had been in close connect with Grindelwald. This chapter gave Jane the necessary insight into the man she was dealing with. As Jane read through the chapter, she realised that Grindelwald wasn't an ordinary wizard. Of course, he wasn't ordinary, but he wasn't evil the way the world thinks Voldemort to be. Grindelwald was talked about as being charming and charismatic, as a man who used words to do his bidding as often as he used his wand. In one paragraph, the writer used one superlative after another to describe Grindelwald's ability to influence influential people around him. It was a time of turmoil, there were apparent rising tensions between the muggles and wizards. The writer went on to question whether Grindelwald brought the tensions, or did he simply use it to his advantage. And then came the superlatives describing his skill as a wizard. The writer described the wizard as a painter who could draw the most beautiful pictures, but at the same time, a butcher who didn't care what he was butchering as long as he got where he wanted. And then Jane read something right towards the end of the chapter that made her sit straight.

"Grindelwald built Nurmengard as his base of operations, of course. An impregnable fortress! But it was also where he was imprisoned."

"Nurmengard?" wondered Jane. "The castle Voldemort captured a few months back," she wondered. And then she remembered something.

"For the greater good!" That's where she had seen it, at the Nurmengard castle, engraved at the entrance.

"Is Grindelwald still at Nurmengard, imprisoned?" wondered Jane. If that was the case, she'd have to break in somehow.

Right at that moment, Jane noticed a couple of elderly gentlemen walking towards her and became quite stiff. She had her wand, hidden, yet in her fingertips.

"You are a young one to be wearing that on your neck," remarked the first man.

Jane stared at him momentarily. "This one?" she replied, smiling widely. "It's a gift I got from my father when I was little," she added. "Isn't it quite... elegant?" she remarked.

"Your father must be a smart man," remarked the second man.

Jane shifted her glance to this one. That was quite an interesting thing to hear, she thought.

"He was," replied Jane.

"Have a good day, young lady," greeted the first man and the pair were about to walk away when Jane called out to them.

"How did you recognize this?" she asked. "Is it something special?" she asked. "My father never told me anything about it," she added. The 2 men looked at each other. "Why don't we get some coffee?" asked Jane, putting on her cute voice. "The librarian will kick me out if I keep talking," she added, in a whisper.

As expected, the 2 men agreed and the three of them went to a nearby cafe.

"I'm Rose... Rose Smith," said Jane the moment they got there.

"I'm Bartosz Nielsen," said the first man.

"I'm Jonas Brandt," said the second man.

"Can you tell me now, how you recognize my chain?" asked Jane, excitedly.

"When I was boy," began Bartosz. "There was a man called Gellert Grindelwald," he added, a shiver went down his spine.

"Grindelwald was our hero growing up," added Jonas.

"The chain you are wearing... this symbol belongs to Gellert Grindelwald," said Bartosz.

"Oh... the symbol belongs to Grindelwald?" repeated Jane. "But, who was Grindelwald? Can you tell me more?" she asked.

The 2 men looked at each other eagerly. It was like someone had asked them about their favourite story, or their best day in life. The 2 men began narrating the story of Grindelwald. At least, the chapter that started right in that country in the late 1920s. From the very first minute, Jane realised that the 2 men were followers of Grindelwald, or at least they aspired to be, as teens. They spoke about Grindelwald's ideals, his principles, his love for the wizards, and how powerful he was. And then they spoke about the muggles as if they were scum. Jane, on the other hand, listened to them eagerly, even laughing with them when they described Grindelwald killing a muggle officer.

By the time, the men's narration ended, Jane realised the gravity of what she was dealing with. The pages told a story about Grindelwald, but the 2 men narrated something so much bigger.

Once they were done, Jane stared at them in awe. "So, what happened? Did he succeed in his revolution?" asked Jane.

"Does it look like that, young lady?" retorted Bartosz, a little angrily.

"Bartosz," exclaimed Jonas. "She's a kid... she doesn't understand," he added. "Miss Rose, Grindelwald did not succeed. He brought together a big community of wizards and witches, all of us believed in him. But, not everyone understands right from wrong. There were those that wanted muggles to be left alone, some even wanted us to co-exist," replied Jonas, glancing at Jane.

"There was one man, above everyone else... I still can't believe my eyes, even today," remarked Bartosz.

"A man? I don't understand," replied Jane, confused.

"There was a wizard, who championed for the muggles. He was a very influential man. Many wizards joined Grindelwald, and many joined him," replied Jonas. "He's still an influential man in the wizarding world. He's the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards," continued Jonas. "Albus Dumbledore," he announced after a moment.

"Albus Dumbledore?" asked Jane, shocked.

"Yes, have you heard of him?" asked Jonas.

"Yes, I have heard of him," replied Jane.

"He ruined everything," sighed Jonas.

"What did he do? I don't understand," asked Jane. "How could such a powerful wizard like Gellert Grindelwald not win his revolution?" she added.

"Dumbledore was just more powerful," replied Jonas.

"No, he was not," interject Bartosz.

"Bartosz... We saw the duel, with our own eyes. All of us did," retorted Jonas. "It's the greatest thing I have ever seen," remarked Jonas and almost got lost in his thoughts for a moment. Bartosz, sitting beside Jonas nodded his head in agreement, but his expression was bitter. Jane was now listening to every word the men said, keenly.

"Dumbledore fought Grindelwald in the greatest duel the wizarding world has seen. And we saw it with our own eyes," remarked Bartosz. "And on that day, our dreams died," he sulked.

"The duel lasted for over 3 hours," sighed Jonas, reminiscing in his thoughts.

"So, did Dumbledore kill Grindelwald?" asked Jane.

"No... he let him live," replied Jonas.

"But he put Grindelwald in prison," added Bartosz. And Jane remembered reading that Grindelwald was sent to Nurmengard.

"So, is Grindelwald alive today?" asked Jane.

"Yes, of course he is," replied Bartosz, in an offended tone.

"Is he still in prison?" asked Jane.

"No... Grindelwald was released more than a year back," replied Jonas. "And ever since that day, we have been waiting for our revolution to resume. And this time, we will succeed," he added, confidently.

"For the greater good," remarked Bartosz, proudly.

"For the greater good," repeated Jonas.

Jane stared at the men and comprehended everything she had heard. After realising the amount of work she had to do, she thanked the men for telling her the story and decided to leave.

"A small advice, Miss Rose," began Bartosz, just when Jane got up. "Don't wear your chain so proudly. Many in this country would find it extremely offensive," he advised.

"Sure, Mr Nielsen, thank you," replied Jane and walked out.

As Jane went back home, there was only one thing on her mind, only one name, "Albus Dumbledore".

"Albus Dumbledore defeated Gellert Grindelwald in a duel," she wondered.

"Gellert Grindelwald stole the Elder wand from Gregorovitch when he was young. He was known to the wizarding world as a powerful wizard," she repeated to herself. If Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald, it could only mean one thing. And Jane knew it, inside her gut, that Dumbledore must possess the Elder wand.

"Oh, no!" she sighed.

Back to Hogwarts!

The students were enjoying their time at Hogsmeade. Especially the ones who had their OWLs and NEWTs coming up in a couple of months' time. It was the best excuse to leave everything aside, go out to the village, and just forget all your stress and tension.

And it looked like Daphne was having one of those days.

"Do you plan on getting sloshed?" chuckled Colin as he watched Daphne chug down another butterbeer.

"Who says I'm not already?" retorted Daphne as she gestured for another.

"Daphne... relax with your exams already. You are a top student, you will be fine," remarked Colin as he gestured to the barmaid to cancel her drink.

"Did you just?" asked Daphne.

"Yes, you've had enough... One more and you won't be in a state to walk back," retorted Colin.

"Cols..." pleaded Daphne. After a moment, she continued, "Yeah... you are right. I need something stronger than butterbeer," she sighed.

"How about this?" began Colin. "I'm going to leave now for the party... How about I bring you back... something interesting?" he suggested.

Daphne considered him for a moment and then nodded in agreement. "You are not lying to me, are you?" she asked.

"No... no, of course not," replied Colin, though that was exactly what he was doing.

Just at that moment, the doors to the inn opened. "Has anyone ever told you, that you look pretty?" asked Daphne. "Someone prettier just walked in," she added and nudged Colin.

"I should have stopped you much earlier," chuckled Colin and glanced at the entrance. And in walked Luna. "You are an absolute lifesaver," he remarked as she sat down beside him.

"What happened to her?" asked Luna, sceptically.

"She wanted to have a drink... and she had about a hundred," replied Colin.

"Oh," sighed Luna.

"She's not going to touch another butterbeer," he remarked getting up.

"Okay," acknowledged Luna.

"Bye, Colin... Bring me some, okay?" greeted Daphne. Colin waved in response and left the 2 girls to themselves.

"Luna," began Daphne.

"We should be going," replied Luna.

"We still have some time... The time I want to spend watching you," remarked Daphne as she caressed the back of Luna's palm.

"I... uh... yeah, that's not a good idea," giggled Luna in response.

"Why don't you get yourself a drink? We will leave once you finish it," replied Daphne. Despite reason telling her otherwise, Luna got herself a butterbeer.

Luna took a sip of the butterbeer and glanced at Daphne, who was staring at her keenly.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" asked Luna.

Daphne continued caressing the back of her palm, lightly. "Why do you have goosebumps on your arm? Is it cold in here?" she asked in return.

Luna cleared her throat. "No... I'm not feeling cold," she replied.

Luna had finished about 70% of her drink when Daphne took the glass from her and finished the rest.

"Let's go back to the castle now," said Luna and got up.

"I'm glad to find out that I have this effect on you," remarked Daphne.

Luna suppressed a blush and got up from her seat. Surprisingly, for all the drunk talk, Daphne seemed quite stable on her feet. The pair started to make their way back to the castle, slowly. After a couple of minutes, Daphne took Luna's hands into hers.

Luna stared at Daphne, confused. Something about this time felt different. All the other times they had held hands before, it didn't feel this way, it felt playful or friendly. While often, in those moments, Luna would still feel nice, and cosy and would want it to last longer, this one felt like Daphne was holding her hands with some kind of want from her end.

The pair slowly reached the castle and walked up to the entrance. The moment they walked a few steps, they came to a halt. Daphne and Luna's common rooms were in different directions.

Daphne went closer to Luna, in a sensual move. "Luna... you're trouble," she whispered and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"I am?" wondered Luna, completely frozen. But Daphne didn't say anything further. With that, she left for her common room and Luna stood rooted at her spot for a few moments.

Meanwhile, in another part of the castle, Hermione was sitting comfortably in the library with an array of books and notes in front of her. After an exhilarating first half of the day, Hermione's brain and body turned back to her books, but her mind, not so much. She sat there in the library and found herself, every once in a while, rewinding to the room of requirement. Harry's revelations about Voldemort were scary, but his revelations about himself were just mesmerizing. Sure, what Harry did with his visions was dangerous, but how could anyone deny the opportunity to look into the mind of an evil being and save lives, if it comes to that?

But, what bothered Hermione the most about Harry's confession, came right at the end, where he told her what he'd have to do to protect his mind from Voldemort going forward. While Hermione was glad to hear that Harry was considering rejecting Necromancy, he gave her a shock by asking her to monitor his mind from time to time. It was a huge leap of trust, even for 2 children who had practically grown up together in the past 5 years. It was a huge leap of trust for any 2 people in the world. Not just that, it was a huge responsibility, and Hermione didn't even know where to start.

While she lived in a world of her own, Cedric walked over to her.

"Hey," greeted Cedric.

"Hi," greeted back Hermione.

"Have you been cooped up in here all day?" he asked.

"Uh... no, I only came here a few hours back," replied Hermione.

Cedric started at Hermione's face for a few seconds. "You have this... glow on your face," he remarked. "What were you doing before that? I didn't see you at Hogsmeade," he asked, curiously.

"Before that? Uh... nothing," replied Hermione, coyly.

"I didn't see Harry at Hogsmeade either, up until late in the evening," remarked Cedric, curiously. Hermione continued staring at her book. After a few seconds, Cedric continued, "You do realise that both of you are prefects? You are supposed to set the standards for everyone else," he remarked, in a serious tone.

"What are you..." began Hermione, confused, but then looked at him as if he was trying to suppress his laughter. "Ugh... Cedric, grow up," she retorted instead.

"So, what did you two do?" asked Cedric, chuckling.

"I... uh, don't have to tell you," replied Hermione and went back to staring at her textbook.

"Whatever it is you two did... you should keep doing it," retorted Cedric. "You look happy today," he added.

"I am happy today," replied Hermione with a wide smile.

"Good, that's good..." remarked Cedric. "Anyway, I got to go now, see you later," he added, and with that, he left the library.

Harry was in a good mood throughout the evening and the morning after. However, as the evening approached, he started to get a bit nervous. He was planning on telling Professor White that he was not going to choose the path of dark magic. Which in itself wasn't a big deal, in fact, Professor White had urged him to do the same. But, the next part, where he was going to tell him about Hermione, that, was going to be tricky.

"Absolutely not," replied White, instantly. "Mr Potter, I admire the trust you have in Miss Granger, but I cannot allow another student to protect your mind... from the Dark Lord," he remarked, strongly.

"Do you have a better idea, Professor?" retorted Harry. "And you cannot be the answer to that question," he added.

"Mr Potter, you are putting not just yourself, but your dear friend in danger as well," remarked White.

"She is an excellent witch, better than me in so many things... And definitely capable of this," argued Harry.

"Come on, Mr Potter... Don't kid yourself. She cannot even access your mind if you two aren't in the same room. How is she going to protect you from the Dark Lord's attacks when the two of you are sleeping?" retorted White. "And what is she going to do when the Dark Lord does attack, fight him off of your mind? Does she even know if that is possible?" he added.

"We will do it together. She may not be able to do it alone, but it's my mind, I'll fight him off," replied Harry, confidently.

"Mr Potter..." began White. "Harry," he continued, instead. "Have the two of you thought this through completely? I don't think you have, you couldn't possibly have thought any of this through," he asked, this time in a calm tone.

Harry knew that he had thought it through on a personal level, he was comfortable in allowing Hermione inside his mind. But, he knew that he was out of his depth when it came to actually protecting himself from Voldemort's attacks.

After a few seconds of silence, White spoke up. "Fine, let's do it your way. But, I'm going to train her to do this," he remarked.

"We will talk to Hermione and let her decide," replied Harry.

And White nodded in response. "Oh, and one more thing, Harry... This is not the end of this. What we have decided here is a temporary solution. I'll see what I can do for a more permanent one," he remarked. And Harry nodded in response this time.

Hope you liked this one... The next one will be out by the end of the week. Until then, Ciao!