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Harry saw Grindelwald. He rubbed at his eyes in the event that they were playing tricks on him, but they weren't. The man was truly before him, standing with his arms crossed and a large smile on his face as he looked around, surveying the state of the building as well as the group of four Aurors a good few dozen feet away from him. For whatever reason, however, he didn't launch a series of spells at Harry and the three boys that had accompanied him, rather, he just sat there looking at the four of them as if he was saying; 'look at me. Here I am, come and do it again.'
But that couldn't be Grindelwald. It had to be a person that was using polyjuice potion or some other physical alteration to imitate the man… but Merlin, it was so very uncanny. From the mannerisms down to the stance the person was using, it looked just like Grindelwald had in all of those newspapers. Harry didn't like that, he hated that he didn't know where the other Aurors were, the ones under Urban and the third group on the farthest side, but he knew what his duty was. All of them would have to fight this impostor and however many allies he had alongside him.
"Peverell!" Cried out 'Grindelwald' with happiness in his voice as he uncrossed his arms and held them out in a universal 'welcome' gesture. "How very wonderful for you to visit me. I've been waiting quite some time for you, and now, finally, you've arrived. I do hope you can forgive the state of the place, it wasn't my first choice, it wasn't even my second if I'm honest with you, but it's the best we could do given the current circumstances."
Harry wouldn't play the man's game, he wouldn't feed into whatever conversation or what have you that the person wanted. No, what he did was what was required of him should they truly wish to have any chance of winning. He helped Reinhard and the other two to their feet all the while he kept his eyes on Grindelwald, and when they were all standing, only then did the man begin to move closer to them. If he hoped that would earn him mercy or something of that nature, he had hoped wrong. Harry would offer no quarter to a person that acted the part of Grindelwald, the man was a monster and would die a monster's death; impostors would suffer that same fate.
"Thought you killed this tosser," Reinhard said with a huffing like laughter as he rolled his shoulders and levelled his wand on the man as he strolled with no real speed towards the four of them.
"So did I… guess we'll have to kill him a second time, won't we?" Harry earned a grin from the larger boy and the two others with him seemed slightly more confident as a result. Together, the four of them could likely overcome any enemy of any strength; four wands would always prove fatal even to the best wizards and witches, so long as they weren't a Dumbledore or Elaine-like caster. That wouldn't be the case here, all of Grindelwald's Lieutenants had been killed or captured, and as such, whoever this 'Grindelwald' was would likely be far removed from any such skill level.
There was no action word given or command shouted out, when the fighting finally kicked off. Harry simply raised his wand and released a string of spells, the first of which was filled with nought but the darker spells that would see whoever they hit paralysed, blinded, disembowelled or outright killed by way of their head imploding. As soon as the second spell was out of his wand and streaking towards the impostor, Reinhard's wand raised to mimic Harry's and the other two Aurors followed very shortly thereafter.
Ten spells… twenty spells… thirty spells. After nearly ten seconds and with the total spells fired somewhere near the forty or fifty mark, they stopped; they didn't sit immobile and complacent as they waited for the flashing lights and debris to clear, they fortified themselves as they waited to see what had happened to the man that had been advancing towards them. Harry had used all of his remaining strength — of which it was fleeting by this point — to summon the strongest shield that he could and Reinhard, seeing Harry's many wounds and exhaustion, aided him by empowering it with one of his own. As for the other two Aurors, they transfigured hard-cover all around their small group of four, one of them tried speaking too, but that wasn't to be. Yells were apparent throughout the entirety of the building, explosions, cries of pain or rage and even the collapsing rooms were all conjoined in a chorus of wickedness that prevented any verbal communication.
It seemed that the battle at this building was far grander than Harry and Urban had planned for. That wasn't remotely good for their small contingent of Aurors either. Every minute this fight went on was one in which raised their likelihood of losing the fight on account of attrition alone. There were no extra Aurors or wands that would come to the side of good on this day, for nearly the entirety of the force by this point had been scrambled to this small grouping of homes in a heavily-wooded area… it was very likely that all of the remaining remnants had arrived too, for each side knew this battle could very well decide what happened to the country.
Reinhard broke Harry free of such thoughts when he tapped him with one meaty hand on the shoulder and gestured ahead of them. What Harry saw was, quite simply, mind-numbing and nerve-inducing. Grindelwald's impostor was still advancing on them ever so slowly, only now, he had an animated statue with two shields to block spells ahead of him and a shield after that. There looked to be no obvious sign that any of their spells had hit him save for a bit of blood on his face and a small sign of a slashing wound across his left shoulder. Aside from those two minor wounds, he had come out unscathed. That alone meant that Harry's earlier thoughts were wrong. Whoever this person was, they were skilled and more dangerous than the young man had accounted for. Truly, they would have to be near his skill level, if not a bit higher, to block as many spells as he had — the ones that had been used were brutal, by and large, so the fact that the person had avoided so much dark magic the likes of which were meant to maim or murder, was impressive.
"Come now, there's no need for all of that, I'd simply like to hold a discussion with Mister Peverell," the Impostor said, his voice booming even over the sounds of battle and the house-falling apart around them. "Can't we put our wands aside and speak?"
Harry shook his head so that the others could see as much and with a sneer on his face, he began to counter the mans animation while his friends renewed their volley on him. It was incredibly tough, to say the least. The magic that kept the giant stone statue advancing and together was stronger than nearly any other he had come across. In a way, it reminded him of Elaine's magic, but this was perhaps stronger still. Again, a warning sign rang in Harry's mind but finally, somehow, he overcame the many spells that had been put into the statue so that it was now immobile and, after a few more seconds, turned back into the stone in which it had been transfigured from.
At that point, Harry turned his attention back to the man; he didn't attempt to transfigure any more monstrous allies, he simply kept recasting the shield charm, over and over again and with a speed the likes of which left Harry in shock. As soon as they would break from overwhelming firepower by Aurors that weren't weak by any means, the next one would be up and in its place. On and on that game went even with Harry firing as many spells as he could, but the man was both faster, fresher and as a result of the latter, stronger.
When Harry made to take advantage of his friends' chained spells to transfigure the ground around the impostor's feet, that was countered even while he kept replacing his shield charms. After that attempt had failed, Harry moved his attention to the crumbling debris of the building and when the 'Grindelwald' fake moved closer, he attempted to bring the floor above down on his head. The first portion of that plan worked, the building was brought partially down, but one bubble with a blinding light later and the man was, as he always seemed to be, smiling and in good health. There was only one other option that Harry had when that failed to manifest any results, and that was attempting to ambush or surprise the man; overwhelming firepower had proven useless against the man's quickness and the strength of his shields.
As such, Harry gestured for the others to back up, in the direction of the door that more than likely led to the great outdoors. If they could get him into the woods, the odds were high that they could surprise him or flee. There would be no mistake made here, not this far into the night — ambushing him or fleeing were the only options they had left after seeing how strong this new aspect of Grindelwald was… Harry felt a deep sinking feeling in his chest, one that made his blood run cold and his heart nearly stop at the thought. Voldemort had uncovered the secrets to immortality by way of some cursed magic or ritual that even Dumbledore was loath to discuss. What was there to say that this timeline's Grindelwald hadn't found that same magic on account of Harry's inevitable tampering with the timeline? Mortem had said something along those lines too, but that didn't make sense; 'You're as whole as he is' or something like that, she had said.
But if that meant Grindelwald wasn't whole, that he was alive and using some sort of darker magic to stay alive then what had Harry done that would do the same? That couldn't be, no, that did—
Harry had to dodge to his side and push Reinhard away as a series of spells broke through his and the larger boy's shields with ease. They had been slowly backing up, their shields and transfigured cover moving with them, but it seemed that 'playtime' was over for this impostor or potentially real Grindelwald as the man finally went on the offensive with strength the likes of which was suffocating. Spell after spell ranging from the most vibrant purple to the purest black that Harry had seen in the entirety of his life was fired at them, and unfortunately, no amount of shield charms or actual cover would prove effective.
One spell, blue in colour and with a thunderous sound, tore into the wall on the right of Reinhard, destroying the entirety of said wall for one whole room with a rot-like effect. It was disgusting the way that the would and other materials decayed at nought but the presence of the spell, for the power used and the knowledge that such a spell existed, was horrifying. Harry knew not the way to counter its effects, the next spells, by and large, were much the same; if only he could hear the languages in which they were cast over the sounds of crumbling and the obvious battles happening throughout the property. If he could only manage that, he would be able to tell, hopefully, where these spells were from and how he could have a modicum of a chance to stop them.
That wasn't the case, and after thirty seconds — or less — the first of the four went down. It was one of the two Aurors Harry had picked to join him on the left side of the manor, and when it happened, the boy hadn't even seen it coming. He had been moving backwards as Harry had ordered, the knowledge that this person was too powerful apparent to all of them, and whilst he had been doing so, he tripped. That one simple error cost the lad his life, for the staggering that he did to catch himself and the flailing of his harms to find purchase, did just that, only in a most horrible fashion. The young Auror's arm caught two spells, the first of which began to make him seize as if he had been bewitched but the second cut that effect off without a second's hesitation; he blew apart, his innards on the wall, ceiling, floor and three remaining allies as they continued their retreat.
The second of their number to die happened within ten seconds of the first, for the older Auror, seasoned as he was, had never seen such violence and it drove him to panic — he fled, or rather, he made to flee, but that wasn't to be, for you see, he was struck in the back of the head. He fell to the ground with a horrible sound, his clothes disintegrated as his body turned emaciated and like that, he was gone. Reinhard, ever the faithful friend and unwavering fighter, refused to retreat and as such, the two continued their backwards retreat under a lessening volume of spells, the likes of which seemed less brutal.
"They didn't have to die, but it was your decision that made it happen, Peverell," the Impostor taunted with a tutting-like noise at the end of his words, his tone only slightly out of breath as he advanced on the duo. "I can't promise the rest of your friends will make it against my ever-so-loyal followers, but your life… it's far too important for me to waste. Yes, you'll be joining me the same as my favourite Niece and her family have, only I hope you'll require far less corruption."
Good luck, bastard. I'll die before I follow the likes of you, is what Harry wanted to say in response to the man's words and the tone in which he spoke, but all he got out was a yell. It conveyed his anger, his pain and numerous emotions that were still too raw and resounding to describe. Harry would see this person dead, if not now, later would suffice, but this person, impostor or not, would fall by his wand. The knowledge that Mortem wouldn't let him die stuck with him. He was her champion for one reason or another, and so long as that rang true and there were still changes that she wanted him to make, he would be safe and sound. This person, on the other hand, had no such protection.
"Break for the door, Reinhard, we're only a dozen feet away!" Harry yelled, the noise of the surrounding battles lessened with how far they had gone from the centre of the mansion.
Reinhard gave a sour look that was full of spite — none of which was directed at Harry — but he seemed to know the same thing that Harry did. This foe, in their current state, was beyond them. It wasn't a matter of pride or revenge anymore, but of survival, and if they failed here and now, then all the pride in the world would no longer matter. Revenge, in addition, would be useless, for they would no longer stand a chance at getting it if they were felled by this beast before them. Reinhard made his expeditious retreat, finally, and Harry stood before the larger boy as he did so, his shield raised and his wand ready to summon cover so as to allow his friend to escape, but no offensive came.
Harry narrowed his eyes at the man, and in response, the man grinned at him in an almost unhinged fashion. It was no longer incredibly unnerving on account of Elaine and all the time he had spent around her, but still, it wasn't something that anybody liked to see. Harry could all but guarantee that. When no further spells were fired and Harry was near the now-opened door, he backed out and when he did so, he tore off after the bulkier shape of Reinhard in the direction of the woods. The boy was hauling arse, Merlin was he moving fast, far faster than Harry had ever seen from him before and for good reason. They practically had the devil on their tails and he was loving every moment of it based on those sadistic looks and leisurely spoken words.
We need to make it to the tree line. If we can do that, we stand a chance at being safe and should he follow after us, reckless and self-confident as he is, maybe, just maybe, we can take him.
Reinhard seemed to have a similar idea as he hastily ducked under a bush, and as a result, Harry moved to the opposite side of his bulky friend. They were below a cliff, it was a steep one too and it seemed to wrap around into a half-circle or thereabouts, meaning that one-half of their position was guarded naturally. It was as good a spot as any if they meant to ambush and take the man, and they did. If that failed, far away as they were, Harry could apparate the pair of them back to the Auror office where they belonged.
Elaine… Harry would bring Elaine back with him, and with their wands combined, even as tired as he was, this impostor of Grindelwald wouldn't be a match for them. That effect, whatever it was, proved too strong for the real Grindelwald and as such, even if this man were somehow the true Grindelwald or a knockoff of him, he would be felled the same as the first time they had fought.
Harry hoped it didn't come to that. He and Reinhard, this was personal to the pair of them, and they would, together, stop him here and now to turn the tide of this battle.
As the time ticked by and the seconds turned to minutes, Harry half thought that the man, or Grindelwald himself, had decided to let them go. If that were the case, it begged the question of why that would be, but that wasn't the case. Before too long, there was an eerie sound of humming that grew louder, and louder, and louder… when it finally stopped being muffled by the foliage, that told Harry that the man was close and close, he was. He emerged two dozen feet or thereabouts between two large trees, his wand lazily in his right hand as he moved towards the trail the boys were near.
He didn't seem to know where they were and if he did, he was an excellent actor, for he began to move away from them, his humming starting to get a tiny bit quieter, and that was the point that Reinhard made his most critical mistake yet. Without Aster to accompany the pair of them, his recklessness and overwhelming anger got the better of him, for the large boy started up the attack and initially, for a few seconds, he seemed to have some small degree of success as the Grindelwald impostor had his knees reversed and after that, a large slash appear that instantly began to bleed horribly on his chest… but that was where their chance for victory ended, for even as Harry jumped out to help his larger friend, the man went on his renewed offensive against the pair of them.
His wand whipped between the pair of them faster than it had any right to. One spell, two spells, three spells for Harry before it turned on Reinhard, and that was all in the span of a few seconds. They held on if only barely, the pair of them dodging, twisting, summoning trunks, branches or rocks for cover and failing that, using the natural dense forest to protect them, but that wouldn't last forever. Both of them knew without surprise, this would be a losing battle.
Come to me! Harry mouthed loudly, his arms gesturing wildly for Reinhard to move to him as Harry jumped to the opposite side of the tree he was using for cover in the hopes of drawing this Grindelwald's attention away from his friend. It worked, only it did so all too well and without the distraction of Reinhard, he was near-instantly overwhelmed, it was only thanks to hundreds of hours of training with Elaine that he didn't falter. Almost as quick as the man had, he summoned various objects to intercept the spells or he raised another shield charm only for it to break — the tree on his left was his best friend, for if it hadn't existed, he would have surely fallen to any number of spells that struck it, and by extension, that would have struck his body.
Reinhard finally made his way over to Harry after half a minute of that onslaught, and now that they were together, they used the giant, ancient tree as a form of cover from which they launched spells of their own at the man. He moved closer, gradually and with a pained expression from Reinhard's wound, but still, he wouldn't stop.
"If only the two of you would have heeded my earlier words… the spilling of magical blood is a waste and tonight, there's been far too much watering the ground," The man said with a shake of his head and a huff as he rubbed at his chest, no groan of pain escaping. "Still, I see you can't help but learn without force and violence, suffering will inevitably come with that and you, Peverell, allow me to introduce it all to you. Maybe then you'll understand."
Harry barely had a second to comprehend the man's words before a bombardment the likes of which they hadn't seen tonight — and for Harry, since the fight with Grindelwald — came down on them. He grabbed ahold of Reinhard then, his mind made up and the retreat now abundantly necessary, and with his mind focused on the Auror office, he made to flee. As he did so, his vision was obscured and the sensation took slightly longer, his body exhausted and arguing with him even as he apparated with his friend alongside him. Reinhard weighed him down too, horribly so as the large boy seemed to stumble as they fled.
"Merlin," Harry gasped out loud, his lungs fighting him for oxygen as he rolled onto his back, Reinhard still laying face down on the carpet of his office. "I can't… the others… Elaine, we have…"
Reinhard was still silent and unmoving, he wasn't nearly as out of breath as Harry was, and so he looked to the larger boy. His eyes weren't blinking, his chest wasn't rising and falling, he was simply… there, but he wasn't. There was no divine spark of life or sentience, his eyes were unthinking and dull now.
Harry couldn't believe it, he wouldn't believe it, but as the door to his office burst open and others streamed in, it dawned on him; Reinhard was dead, killed by Grindelwald and in a sick sort of way, himself… if only they had let him go.
Harry was taken to McMacson's room almost as soon as he arrived whilst some of the other Aurors — mostly stand-ins from the Commonwealth — took care of Reinhard's… Reinhard. He wanted to shut down, to return home and to Elaine, but he couldn't. There were still dozens, hundreds actually, of Aurors that weren't accounted for and that couldn't stand. Even as they filtered in from the many Floos in the office or from apparating, it was clear that the Aurors had gambled large, and lost. This plan of theirs to finish off the remnants had backfired horribly when all of them met the Aurors in a battle of both force and willpower, for one force was heavily lacking in experience while the other, wasn't.
There was also the fact that there seemed to be somebody styling themselves as Grindelwald too, one way or the other, and the person was incredibly powerful. McMacson hadn't been alerted yet, but as the man poured both himself and Harry a drink of an exceptionally expensive bottle of firewhiskey, Harry was preparing himself to do just that. He didn't get to, not immediately, however, for another Auror…no, a Cadet Auror, burst in. He was Urban's son if Harry remembered correctly.
"Director Mac- McMacson," the boy said, swallowing as he corrected himself and held out a list to the older man. "This is the current casualty list so far. We still have Aurors coming back non-stop, but what you said earlier seems to be true. I think we've lost, Uncle."
McMacson took a particularly long drink from his glass before he took the list and motioned, silently, for the boy to leave. Clearly, he was in as bad a state of mind as Harry was, but both of them knew that they had work to do and people to take care of. The Director and Deputy Director of the Auror Department could not freeze or give in to grief. So long as they were alive and mostly fine — each was wounded — they had a job to do, and all of those Aurors now filtering back into the office were that job just as much as the public's safety was.
"How bad?" Harry asked when McMacson had finally set down his drink, the answer all but known to him, but the number; Harry wanted to know it, he wanted to know how badly he had failed, for as much as he'd let down his friend, he knew he had let down the Corps at large.
"We've never had so many dead and wounded, not even during the Battle at Hogwarts," McMacson said with a shake of his head and in a tone so heavy, Harry half-thought the man would go catatonic, but he didn't. He instead took another long drink from his glass, and then sat down heavily in his chair. "Too many to name, I couldn't bear it. Their faces are too fresh in my mind… I'm sorry, by the way. I heard about — I'm sorry. We'll avenge them, all of them, but we can't do this on our own any longer. Even with all of those Commonwealth Aurors, we lost. There were reports of some titan on the field, one that was stronger than you or I or even Dumbledore, may he rest well. Do you know anything about that? Did you see him?"
Harry thought about how he would tell his friend about Grindelwald. There were a million and one ways in which he could do so, but eventually, he settled for a straightforward answer that could skip over all of the shite that was going through his head. "Grindelwald's back, Mac. I don't know how, you saw his body for Merlin's sake, but he's back. I fought him, I fought him alongside three others, and we lost."
"You're certain?" McMacson asked, his hand shaking as he raised his glass for a third, more aggressive drink. His glass went from half-full to drained in short order, and when he put it down, his eyes were locked on Harry, his question still hanging in the air.
"I am," Harry said with a nod as he thought about recounting his encounter, but he decided against it. The wounds from it were still too fresh for him to speak about, as such, the Director would have to believe him. "We need Elaine. We need everybody the Ministry can get for us, and we need to go back and end this. If we don't, I can't tell you how many years this will add to the war."
"We'll never be able to get the Ministry to hand over people from other branches and the public, they don't want to fight, fightings all they've been doing for months and months. They're regular people… we were lucky that we had as many volunteers as we did, you know that the same as I do," McMacson closed his eyes tightly, wrinkles forming and he brought a hand up to his head as if he were in pain.
Elaine's the answer… I have to tell her about him, about Reinhard and how it happened, Harry closed his eyes. He couldn't think about it anymore, it was already killing him, and he hadn't even thought about the others or how they would handle this loss. One, in particular, wouldn't be able to. I need Ashe and Joseph, those two could come with me, and we could get our revenge…
"I'm going to send a Patronus for Elaine, she'll bring the officials from the other departments. I don't want to do this, but you know the same as I do, we have to. If we don't, if this gets out before we can tell them all about it, they'll lose confidence in us, the Aurors and the bulk of the Ministry as a whole," Harry finally said, earning nought but a nod from McMacson in response, and as such, he did as he said.
He summoned Elaine, he mentioned that it was important, terribly important, and then the two waited in silence… with whiskey.
Nearly ten minutes later, the final person filtered into McMacson's office, and after doing so, Elaine slammed the door shut, locking it immediately afterwards. There was but one saving grace as she did so, and that was the last view of the still-arriving Aurors that had routed from the battlefield. By this point, there were dozens that had found their way back to the office, and even still as the door closed, there were more returning. Sure, they were shattered, hurt, tired and demoralised, but they had survived. To Harry, the lattermost quality was the only one that mattered and all of those that had been listed as missing thus far, even seeing one name return felt as if a piece of him too had come home.
"Here we all are," Elaine said, gesturing with her arms around the entirety of the office. "Director McMacson, as the Chief Advisor to the acting Minister and with his absence making me the highest of the Government in attendance, I ask that you inform all those within this room about what happened today — in doing so, all of you will understand that this information doesn't leave this room. Should any of you break this confidence, you'll be removed from position and barred from serving as anything but a waiter or waitress. Understand?"
There was a chorus of affirmative responses, some more eager than others and a few that sounded near-mutinous, but all the same, they responded that they understood. With that out of the way and an incredibly pleased look on her face, Elaine gestured to McMacson so that he could begin. He did just that.
"Today, Deputy Director Peverell and I launched an assault with three groups of Aurors on what we believed was a major concentration of Grindelwald's remaining forces on our island. Initially, it went as suspected, with many civilians rescued and dozens of his forces killed, but that didn't last," McMacson shook his head and nearly made for his alcohol, but he cleared himself of that urge, swallowed, and got back to where he had left off. "My team was ambushed, and if not for Harry, all of us to a man would have been slaughtered in some overgrown field as if we were cattle by Grindelwald's followers. Even with his arrival, it was a close fight and one that resulted in the deaths of many a good witch and wizard, but we prevailed. At this point, I had to withdraw, and so if you would continue from where I'm leaving off, Peverell?"
Harry nodded a few times. He knew this would come up, it didn't make him any happier with public speaking in front of nearly two dozen Ministry officials, but still, he would do so. "After Director McMacson had to withdraw for the sake of his life, I led my team — what remained of it — further along a path and eventually came across a group of Aurors led by our Head Auror, Urban Maxis, pinned down by quite a few of Grindelwald's remaining followers. We attacked in the hopes of rescuing them, and we did just that. Most of them were saved, but still, a few died, including from the team that I had led to help them. At that point, we had a decision to make that would prove crucial and I would make it again without a second of hesitation even knowing how it ended like I currently do. We could advance again and finish off his cultists and potentially rescue civilians, or withdraw. We advanced."
"Excuse me. My apologies for interrupting, but why risk the Aurors and yourself? Our subjects won't continue to pass along forces to us even if they do, at the end of the day, answer to our Government. You're aware of that, Deputy Director, are you not?" When the older woman finished, her arms folded and a sour look on her face, she looked around to see if she had support from the others.
Harry did the same and saw that there were a couple that seemed to agree with her, but he simply shook his head. "Out of everybody in this room save for McMacson, I know the status of our Aurors and those from the Crown. We need them if our Ministry is to continue existing, the same could be said if all of you want to go on living your lives, now I'll continue, thank you," Harry smiled softly at Elaine when he saw her grin, satisfied with his response and going so far as to swipe her bottom lip with her tongue; he wasn't in any mood to play around with her. "I continued the advance in the hopes of rescuing who we could and killing those that crossed our paths so that peace, a lasting peace, could be established. Initially, our advance went as it did at the start of the operation, well. That didn't last for too long, for a series of explosions went off, and we found ourselves in a battle again. There were too many to keep track of, really, but there was one bit of information that's vital — I'm not at liberty to discuss the specific ritual or spell, none of us in the Auror Corps are, but…he's back."
Elaine's eyes widened and her face fell into a sneer. "No," she said, crossing her arms.
McMacson nodded. "Yes. He's back. Grindelwald — Harry fought him again, but he couldn't prevail. The man was wounded, he was wounded more than once, but he is back. So you see, we need everybody that we can get, and we need to hunt him down. Now."
There was silence, and then there was pandemonium. Nobody had been prepared to hear that and Harry couldn't blame them, not truly. It wasn't often that a Dark Lord returned from the dead and when it happened, it was jarring.
Elaine spirited him away as the people devolved into arguing with one another. Her hand was on his shoulder, her other one was wrapped around his waist, and then they were gone from the Ministry and back in the comfort of their own home. It was then that he all but shut himself down.
February 15, 1945
Monday Morning
"Are you well, Harry?" Elaine asked as soon as he woke from a surprisingly peaceful slumber, something that did nought but fill him with guilt after he recalled the happenings of the previous day. Her hand was rubbing his back soothingly, her eyes were staring into his with a gentleness he seldom saw from her, and this was all the while he was laying in bed first thing in the morning, after saying that Grindelwald was alive, again.
He smiled up at her as best as he could. "I'll live," he said. It was the best he could manage, and words that filled him with guilt more so than he had felt already. Reinhard and dozens upon dozens of other Aurors wouldn't be able to say them anymore… they wouldn't be able to speak anymore. If only he and McMacson had stayed reactionary, and defensive, it wouldn't have happened.
"If you wouldn't have acted, hundreds and hundreds of those that you care about would have been killed or captured. I'll never quite understand your selfless attitude or your love for the common people, but I respect it, Harry," Elaine said before she threw off the covers and snuggled into his side. "You did what you thought was right, and I can't blame you. With the others, you attempted to dislodge Grindelwald's remaining forces for the safety and security of the common person. It was selfless, I wouldn't have done it, and that's the reason that I love you."
Harry shook his head. "If you would've been in my place, you would've won and all of those Aurors wouldn't be dead. Reinhard, Elaine, he wouldn't be gone either — he was your friend, somebody that looked up to you for your strength and somebody that wanted to do so much in life, and now he's gone because I couldn't get him away from Grindelwald fast enough. I should step down, I should've fallen in his place."
Elaine's eyes turned darker, he swore they did, and she shook her head at his words. "Had you fallen, the world would be a darker place, I would make that ring true," she put her face right above his, her dark eyes staring endlessly into his with an intensity that he was used to, an intensity that was more comforting than her earlier gentleness. "You, Harry, complete me. You'll never understand the depth of my love and affection for you, it goes beyond words and actions. I struggle with expression as you know, but I would kill any person who even thought of ending your life. As we did before when we fought against Grindelwald, we'll defeat him, and for Reinhard, we'll do it slowly. I'll flay his skin, I'll remove his innards and feed them raw to him, as he deserves. All of this, I'll do for you and for our friend, so that peace can be had for Reinhard and revenge, for us."
"Can we beat him? We had Dumbledore with us, he weakened the man… you don't understand how powerful he truly is. I was tired and hurt, but he was immeasurable, unwavering and stronger than I remembered him being. I trust you, Elaine, I've come to love you too, I love our friends, but I don't think we can do it," Harry shook his head and let his body feel as relaxed as it could; his head fell back into his pillow, and the rest of him sagged deeper into the mattress.
His confidence was gone. He knew their positions were at risk, their lives were at risk, but he no longer thought that victory was a possibility. Not as long as Grindelwald could return again, and again, and again. If that could happen, there was no hope of beating him and now, he wouldn't be surprised at their strength and if there was anybody that could devise a plan to overcome them, it would be him.
"Together, we're infallible. My love for you is endless, and my possessiveness the same — you'll be mine forever, as I've said time and time again, Harry. We'll kill him, it won't matter how or when, but we will outlast him, and we will see to it that everything dear to him, his ideals, his followers, any family that he had, is destroyed completely and utterly. If a monster we must become to overcome him then I'll gladly do so for the sake of our family, and for the sake of you," Elaine pulled him up, out of the bed and to a seated position. "Come. If you're not convinced yet, train with me. We'll grow in power, as we've done since we met all those months ago, and we'll practice until you're as confident as ever you were. I'll not pressure you or push you today, for the sake of our friend, my love, but never will I allow you to wallow in defeat when there's so much battle left to fight."
That was that. Elaine got him out of bed, through a shower, through breakfast and into the back garden where they would usually go about their practice. Instead of fighting one another as they usually did, they instead practised ways they could synergize with one another so as to overwhelm Grindelwald, and if they could do just that, maybe, just maybe, they could win. Harry wasn't completely confident, but seeing Elaine as comforting, loving and oddly… gentle in her own sort of way had shaken the funk from his mind. There was the chance that through their link, she had done something more and whilst that would usually bother him, it didn't. He just wanted that pain and the feeling of guilt to be gone.
He doubted they would be well and truly gone until after Grindelwald was killed for good; the thought struck him then to use the stone. Reinhard, Harry and Aster could speak with him again, but the tale wasn't lost on him. If he spent too long with the dead, especially should more fall, the urge to live would turn fleeting.
It was a terrible dilemma, but thankfully, Elaine prevented him from thinking too much about it as she pressed into his side and continued to force him to practice their conjoined spellwork. The thought was an odd one, not nearly as much now as it had been, but Merlin, he loved her more than he had thought would ever be possible.
'Harry,
I don't really know how to start this, so I guess it'll be just like any other letter even if we both know it's not. I can't believe he's gone, and it's not your fault or mine. In a weird way, I'm sort of happy it happened the way it did, you know? It was how he would have wanted to go, we both know he loved a good fight and he hated the idea of getting old, but, well, I guess those words are kind of hollow, aren't they? Druella keeps coming to check on me, she thinks I'm going to do something stupid, I think, but I'm not. I've never been a fighter, I never will be one and honestly, I'm alright with that. You and Reinhard, both of you always made sure I was doing alright. I'll miss him more than anything, he was like a brother to me. I'd like to honour him soon, maybe when I'm out of the Hospital Ward if you'd be willing to do the same. He deserves as much.
Visit me when you can, Pev. I'm likely to go crazy here, and please, don't feel bad. There's nothing else I can say, and I hope Elaine's taking care of you too. You're a good friend, he really liked you, and he respected you too not that he'd say he did. Most of, Ashe, Joseph, me, Reinhard, we all thought of you as this cool bloke that could stand up to Elaine and we were right. Time and time again you'd stand up to her or take the heat off of us. We're all still here for you, mate. You're the brother I never had, and thank god for Elaine coming into your life so you don't try anything weird with my sister.
Seriously mate. We can't change fate.
Aster Rosier,
Best friend of Harry Peverell and Reinhard Lestrange'
Harry had nearly thrown the letter in the fighter after he read it. Aster was great with words, he was a great friend too, and the letter… well, it had been far too much for Harry. He was happy the boy didn't hold a grudge against him, he was even happier to learn that he was fine, by and large, but the words that he had written to him were too moving. Harry couldn't stand the thought of his friend living a life where one of his brothers — by choice — was gone after so much time spent together. Even if Aster didn't blame him, even if Elaine didn't blame him, Harry knew that he should have been the one to take the spell.
He shook his head and looked at Elaine. She was resting on one of the nearby couches, beautiful and with her head in a book, and when he saw that, he moved over to her. He felt weak, he felt like a loser and one that didn't deserve any partner, even one that could be as dark as she could be, but even still, he wanted the comfort that she could provide at such a point in his life.
"Come sit with me if you're going to," Elaine said randomly, her head not even turning to speak to him as she spoke aloud. "You're always welcome to join me. I'll never deny myself the chance to spend time with you, I'd be mad if I did. I trust Aster's letter wasn't what you were expecting, was it?"
"Did you have something to do with that, or was it all him?" Harry asked in response as he slowly made his way over to Elaine, and upon doing, he sprawled out beside her, his head coming to rest in her lap. He had an amazing view of her face, and he didn't have to deal with that book she was reading either; sometimes, he enjoyed intimate moments like this without the urge to study or kiss, the simple closeness was compelling in an odd sort of way.
"It was him," Elaine said as her hands found his hair and they began to move around in the wildness of it. "He's good with his words when he cares to be, and I'm happy to see that he chose carefully this time. I understand how close the three of you were and as I said, we'll pay this loss back tenfold, Harry. Now, I know you don't care to hear talk such as that, so relax, sleep — I'll be making you try harder than you ever have tomorrow, so take advantage of this generosity… perhaps a kiss for payment too, that'd be very welcome."
Harry snorted and raised his head, and in under a second, Elaine's lips were on his. There wasn't an abundance of lust or the like, she was simply kissing him for the sake of kissing him. It was enjoyable, very enjoyable, and before too long, the two were simply alternating from snogging to cuddling before the warmth of the fireplace. Harry didn't know when it happened or how, but her book eventually fell to the floor, a blanket appeared, the couch was transfigured, and they were cuddling more closely; she was on top of him, her head resting on his chest and her hands stroking all over his body.
"When next we return to the Ministry, I want you to know that you're welcome to visit me whenever you so choose to," Elaine said, breaking the comfortable silence as she raised her head to gaze at him, her face illuminated with the same warmth that she was giving off. "You're always welcome by my side."
He smiled tiredly and leaned up for one last kiss. "I love you," was his simple response.