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February 17, 1945
Tuesday Afternoon
Harry had to withdraw. There was no other option if he wished to live or avoid capture, and yet, he would not do so. He knew that if he fled in the face of Grindelwald with so many civilians, Ministry employees and fellow Aurors present, he was condemning the vast majority of them to death. Those who survived, most of them would ultimately end up captured and tortured, as those who had previously been taken had been treated. He knew that first-hand, as he was a part of the groups that saved those who had been captured by the forces of Grindelwald, and even then, there were still many, many more that were missing.
No. No, escaping was not an option regardless of the outcome of the fight. He wished to live as much as the next bloke, he knew that he needed to and he knew that Mortem, the being that had divinely interceded in his life would not let him fall. Capture, torture, those were the fields in which that being's involvement wasn't clear, and yet, who was Harry if not a saviour?
He had claimed to be one of two that had felled Grindelwald, and yet with dark magic and spells the likes of which Harry knew not, the man was before him once more. Grindelwald was Harry's problem, and Harry's alone, for there was nothing that could be done by any other person in all of Magical Great Britain that could stop the man short of him and Elaine combined.
Harry dove out from behind his cover and summoned debris in addition to that very same body from earlier to act as an additional barrier. As soon as he did so, spells impacted not only the summoned bits of cover, but the body as well, just as he had suspected. Bits of dust, smaller flakes of stone and cloth, and blood spattered across his body or got into his face, nearly blinding him. Had he not cast a cleaning charm as soon as he did, the odds that he would have been finished right then and there, were incredibly high. Yet he would not give in just yet, and so Harry apparated across the hall until he was at the opposite side and behind one of the Floo accesses. It was a solid brick and stone bit of cover, and Harry used that to his advantage as he fired off a chain of spells in the direction of Grindelwald.
One after another after the next raced towards the man with startling speed and accuracy. There were killing curses intermingled with shield-bashers, jinxes that would see the man's joints frozen and even more juvenile curses, for example, one that would cause him to puke up slugs and thereby rendering him filled with moments of absolute weakness when he heaved them out of his system. Unfortunately, none save for the shield-bashing charm would connect, and the man had let it do so purposefully, likely recognising the spell and hoping to fill Harry with a sense of hope or urgency; Harry wasn't a fool.
He knew that the man was wiser and more experienced. Grindelwald was considered a master of magic and the 'greatest' Dark Lord that had ever lived by many scholars. That Harry would somehow manage to get lucky in the midst of an overcrowded atrium whilst fighting the man one on one had never so much as crossed his mind. He would not be reckless, he would fight as cautiously and carefully as he could, for the fear that the man would beat him without Elaine at his side was ever-present. But what more could be done? There was nothing that Harry could think of short of what he was already doing; apparate, bring forth a chain of spells, apparate again, send forth another burst of spells and continue doing just that.
If he were lucky, the man would be kept on his backfoot… perhaps not even his back foot. All Harry needed to do was provide enough of an annoyance and bother for the man to avoid going after the civilians or the other Aurors, and thus far, he was doing his job perfectly. His fellow Aurors were evacuating the premises as best they could whilst others fought the few remnants of Grindelwald's forces that the man had brought with him. They were doing a commendable job in the face of such an adversary, and should they win, Harry would see them recognised for it.
"Lord Peverell, this is no way to fight — your legacy is ruined by you acting the part of a coward," Grindelwald called loudly, his tone disapproving as if he were speaking to nought but a child instead of a man nearly grown as Harry was.
I'll not let him get to me. If I were younger, or if this was Voldemort, perhaps then I'd answer his calls and go out to fight him, but I'm not stupid… not very stupid. I may be mad trying to fight him, but somebody has to.
Harry remained silent, cast a conjuration of noise that would see the man distracted and he lept out once more from his cover; partially, that was. He stayed with nearly half of his body, if not more, kept behind the bricks and stone of the Floo access. If any more of him were out from behind it, he wagered his defence would degrade drastically, for even now he had all that he could do to avoid half of his body from being struck by any one of Grindelwald's many counter-spells. That still left Harry deep in wonder and awe despite the circumstances, for the man could not only counter all of his spells by way of a shield, dodge or banishment, but he could fire back with precision, speed and the utmost prejudice.
In another world, one in which Grindelwald was a force for good instead of evil, the man would have likely invented hundreds of useful spells for the everyday witch and wizard whilst also improving their lives in other meaningful ways. That wasn't the lot this version of him had been given, nor was there any chance Harry would ever go to see that other world. No, this one with Elaine was eno—
He apparated just as a spell streaked past his eyes. Harry wasn't certain if that spell had been the one he thought it to be, but even if it wasn't, the closeness and nought but the chance that it was what he thought it was, that was enough for him to leave that immediate area as quickly as he could. He thanked Merlin, Mortem and whoever else was listening that there weren't any civilians or Aurors near that position. If there were, they would have been killed or heavily wounded, and there would have been nothing that he could have done to stop that from happening.
When he reappeared behind equally as thick a cover and a good twenty or thirty meters from his previous position, his eyes couldn't help but seek out whence he had come from. They widened at what they saw, for his prediction had been correct. Where once he stood had been a Floo access, large and sturdy, it was nought but a ruinous structure and large, cavernous hole in the ground and wall. There was debris still raining down from the ceiling and the upper portions of the Floo, dust, smoke and other common side effects of a great explosion, but there was no fire. For the moment, the majority of the Ministry was safe from an all-encompassing fire that would see it destroyed.
Whether that was a mercy or not remained to be seen, for Harry would gladly see the Ministry, Hogwarts and perhaps even Diagon Alley burnt to the ground if it meant preventing Grindelwald from capturing it successfully. That way of thinking was dangerous and stupid, he knew that, but Grindelwald would be the Emperor of Ashes if he would ever come to power. There had to be more than enough like-minded people to see that ring true.
"Deputy Peverell! Everyone's safe, come on!" shouted a nearby man with Auror robes on; he seemed to be from Canada based on his accent that sounded particularly Yankee-like.
Harry nodded at the man, and sent the meanest chain of spells that he could think of; killing curses, torture curses, organ-liquifying curses… whatsoever he could think of that could result in grievous injury or death and was moderately quick to say, he cast in the direction of Grindelwald, and then, he apparated once more.
When he came to this time around, it was behind a large, thick door with thicker walls surrounding them. He was only a good few feet from one of the elevators too, and with it so near and there being plenty of space left on it, Harry boarded it. If he were lucky, he would just about manage to hold Grindelwald and what remained of his followers off until Elaine found her way to his side; he knew she would do just that too, for she had said as much before, perhaps not in so specific of words.
Come on, Elaine, Harry thought to himself, hoping the urgency and sense of danger would convey itself through his mind and into hers… however that worked. It was ever so annoying that they hadn't the time to figure that bond or connection out thus far. But, with any luck, they would have decades and decades to do just that. They simply had to deal with that troublesome dark lord that was hellbent on chasing after Harry.
It sounded simple enough.
"Deputy Director? Are you sure this place is safe? Couldn't we make it to the Floos and use them to escape from here?" Asked a Ministry employee from one of the other departments, the young man nervous-sounding and looking as he fidgeted constantly with his pockets.
"Grindelwald had a good plan of attack, he stopped us from being able to reach any of the Floos short of a fight, and if we fight him, there's a very good chance he won't be alone. I can keep him away from all of you for a decent amount of time, but without Elaine, I can't beat him," Harry shook his head and huffed at the admission, but he had to be honest, and after doing so, he continued. "The Aurors that are with us, they're all mostly new and young or wounded. If he has more than a few of his best with him, I'm not sure we'd have the strength to punch through and get the lot of you to the Floos. If we lost that fight, there'd be more than just hell to pay."
That sobering reality seemed to sink in for the Ministry employee who simply nodded and went back to sitting in silence. Harry was glad too, for there was nothing he wanted more than to let all of them — every single one — escape, but he couldn't manage it alone or with a depleted group of Aurors. Even now, barricaded with nearly two hundred civilians and other Ministry staff as he was, he could hear sounds of battle all throughout the Ministry complex. He wished, and very badly at that, to go out and hunt down Grindelwald's fighters, but to do so would mean leaving so many souls without protection.
He wished more than anything else that Elaine could be with him, that she had started the day with him, but that wasn't the case and no amount of wishing would see it through. Thus, with a shake of his head and upon hearing a cry of pain, he resolved that he would not sit idly by as the battle played out. Harry wasn't particularly gifted in healing magic of any kind, but for those few who were wounded badly and the many dozens upon dozens more that were wounded minorly, he would try his best. The Aurors that were wounded to any degree would be his priority.
"Thank you, sir," the final Auror said as Harry leaned back, tired and sweating.
"Glad I could help, and thank you for getting all of these people to safety. They'll remember it just the same as me," he responded to the young woman, smiling when she did and finally moving on, back to whence he had come from for a breath of fresh air, or as fresh as he could get.
He was tired, not horribly so, but the earlier skirmish with Grindelwald and then aiding nearly twenty witches and wizards in under thirty minutes had been trying. Perhaps he would once again work on his endurance when this was all over with, but that time wasn't remotely close and until it was, such thoughts needed to be banished from his mind lest they distract him.
"There you are," Came a familiar, comforting voice from Harry's left. "It's good to see you, Peverell."
Harry smiled at the man, stuck out his hand and shook it gladly when the man mimicked his gesture. "It's good to see you too, Urban. How're the kids and the rest of the Aurors doing?"
"My kids are safe, the rest were already sent home along with my own children, and all thanks to you having them barricade themselves away in your office. I came across them when I was looking to find where you were — McMacson made sure I was back here, I don't know if he had a gut instinct as he claims to constantly have or what have you, but I'm happy I made it back here in time," Urban looked around at the gaggle of people and shook his head, a particularly angry expression on his face. "For Grindelwald to target women, children, the elderly and the weak, it's simply despicable. People with my background are familiar with that monster, I'm sure McMacson's said as much… when the time comes for you to fight him, give him a curse for me, will you? I want his end to hurt."
"It will. Everything he's done will be repaid tenfold, I can promise you that. He got one of my best mates killed and the other seriously wounded. There won't be a happy ending for him, and however he's coming back, I'll find a way to end that. You've got my word, Urban," Harry promised, his tone just as angry and vindictive as the other man was; they each had a score to settle with Grindelwald, and by Merlin would it be handled.
"Good," Urban said with a nod of his head as he looked around the room once more, and then, sighed. "We've got too many people in here and more just keep on coming. It'll only be a matter of time before we're attacked, you know that, don't you?"
"I do," Harry said in agreement. He knew it was a bad idea to gather as many people together as he had, but there was nothing else that he could do and there simply wasn't enough time to spread people around. Even if he wanted to and he could do just that, there simply weren't enough able-bodied Aurors to provide the security that was so badly needed. It was a horrible situation.
Urban huffed as his eyes scanned the many dozens of people in the room. "We have to get as many of them to safety as we can, and that asshole knows he holds the main means of escape," he exhaled, blowing the air out of the corner of his mouth before he continued with an idea of escape. "We could try and break through to the Auror Corps as McMacson and the others trickle back from the faux attack on Diagon Alley. I'm sure with them and the current garrison we have to hold the office, we'd be able to hold Grindelwald off — who knows, maybe with McMacson at your side, the two of you could handle Grindelwald. It can't be that far off from when it was you and Elaine, can it?"
Unless he has the same core as I do or from the same creature, it'll be a huge difference.
Harry wanted to say just that, but he bit his tongue and shrugged with as much hope as he could interject into that action. "Maybe. We'd have to see, I just hope and wish Elaine was here. We'd be much better off if she was."
Urban opened his mouth to respond, but a loud explosion from the largest entrance to the room sounded off, alerting Harry, Urban and the rest of the Aurors that they had finally been discovered. Grindelwald could be upon them in short order, and if not him, then the vast majority of his followers, for the explosions that followed were loud, powerful and never-ending.
"We could still try that breakthrough," Urban muttered as he withdrew his wand and slowly started towards the source of the noise.
"With our luck, there'll be whatever's left of his forces just waiting for us the moment we open the door. We have to fight," Harry pointed at the split in the room. "Have the civilians put behind that and transfigure as big a wall as you can, and thick too. We'll keep them safe and I'll see to it that we have as much cover as we could want before they're in here with us. If they're going to try and kill us, I say we take as many of them down as we can, yeah?"
Urban laughed and slapped him on the shoulder. "Us? Making a last stand? It'll be glorious for us and hell for them, my friend."
Harry agreed. If this was to his grave, he would ensure the same for his enemies. That much he was certain of.
Harry sat in wait alongside many of his fellow Aurors, the majority of them with bandages or sealed wounds and of those, many of whom had been healed by his own wand. When Grindelwald and those he had with him finally broke through the barricades they had set in place, the fight would be close and vicious. Harry had seen to it along with those that were more able that cover was placed and conjured all around the entirety of the room. They required it if they wished to stand a chance, and Merlin, every meter taken would be paid in blood.
There was one hiding spot after another, and within the maze-like fortifications they had made were little holes in the ground. They were the work of Urban, for he suggested a term Harry had yet to hear; foxhole. It was typically something that Muggle soldiers used when defending a position, so the man had said, but it was incredibly useful for ambushing and wizards wouldn't expect it nearly as much as Muggles would. With those additions, charms, wards and whatsoever else they had managed to set up, there was a chance, however minor it was, they could hold this position whilst the civilians were tucked away safely in the back, with the newly made room separator.
Elaine had yet to show up — Harry had hoped by the time Grindelwald broke through, she would be nearby or at his side via some secret entrance or the use of apparation or even some other means of travel, but that wasn't the case. He couldn't apparate himself, nor could any of the others, for Grindelwald had set up wards to prevent anybody from retreating. This was very likely the final fight, and he had forced it before the Aurors had recovered their previous losses, and Harry had to commend the man for his quick thinking. Grindelwald's losses were irreplaceable, every time a man was killed or wounded, that was it, there would be no replacement. Not for the first time and with that on his mind, Harry wished that Yaxley had provided a modicum of help, but he had not.
It was claimed by Elaine that Yaxley had gone dark, perhaps even dead, yet she didn't truly know the status of their friend. Whensoever he asked, there was a new story or theory as to his location or true allegiance, and that wasn't remotely good for them. The other boy had been in Grindelwald's camp, he knew much and more of what the man's capabilities were, yet that information could not be retriev—
"They're starting to break through, everybody, to your positions," Urban called over the loud explosions as the stone before the group of Aurors began to crack in many various places.
It's almost time, Harry thought as he looked around. There were thirty-four Aurors and volunteers in total, and of that number, nearly two-thirds were wounded to some degree. Still, they likely had the numbers advantage, for all the good that would do them. If they were lucky, Grindelwald wasn't currently with this group and when they burst through, the vast majority would be instantly cut down by the spells of the defenders. Now, obviously, Harry didn't think they would end up lucky in the slightest, but it was a good wish to have.
"I don't think Grindelwald's with them," whispered Urban, the man now suddenly at Harry's side. "If he were here, I think that stone wall, thick as it was, wouldn't have held him up for as long as it has. If I'm right and these are simply his followers, whatever remains of them or a group of them, we could overpower and send them running. We'd have to be quick, but if that works, if everything goes well, we could get these people out of here."
"The Auror Corps has to be the final place that we're still in control of. I don't think Grindelwald would have attacked it, not with the wards and wands set to defend it," Harry said, continuing the train of thought that Urban had set them on as the barrier before them began to slowly, agonisingly slowly, disintegrate.
Urban nodded once, firmly. "It would be a waste of his time to go after the Aurors while you're here," the man patted Harry on the shoulder and smiled gruffly at him as he palmed something at his waist; it was large, silver and had some sort of metal rodding sticking from the end of it. "If he's not busy cleaning up something specific or hunting down that wife of yours, he's here… and if what you seem to think is true, if you need that Gaunt girl to be here and at your side to win, then I think we've already lost."
"I fought him off long enough for the majority of the room to escape from the main atrium. I have it in me to fight him off again, and if I do, it'll fall to you to see everybody out, yeah?" Harry's eyes went to the wall that now split the room in two when he finished. He couldn't see the many civilians within, but he could still hear the occasional cry or cough, and in doing so, he could all but hear their fear and pleading. Simply put, losing here wasn't an option, and if it came down to it, he would go — gladly at that — to Grindelwald to spare them from any suffering.
"You did. I heard from many of the younger Aurors how you frustrated Grindelwald, and if we survive, I'll buy you a pint for doing so," Urban opened his mouth to speak again, but as he did so, more of the wall began to crack. It was with a large, horrendous crack and upon that noise, many of those small wounds began to connect, forming deep, ugly marks in the stone.
It would seem that the time had finally arrived, that Grindelwald's forces were breaking through, and if that were true, what could amount to one of the final fights, if not the final fight, would soon be underway. Only time would tell, and that time was fast approaching, and in a cold-blooded fury at that.
"I'll want a whole case," Harry said back to the man as they watched piece after piece fall from the wall, leaving less than half of what had originally been in place, where it once was. "We have to hold, Urban. Stress it to the others, will you? Everybody's counting on us — don't let them forget what they're fighting for."
Urban nodded. "I haven't forgotten, and I doubt any of them will," he gestured to the shaken, but resolute faces of those nearest to them. "Any of the cravens or posers are long gone. Every witch and wizard here knows what must be done, and more importantly, how to do it. They'll hold."
Harry took another glance around the room as the sound of the explosions dampened. Witches and wizards from all across the commonwealth were present, and whilst some looked nervous, wounded or tired, they didn't turn their attention away from the one thing that mattered; the wall before them.
Every person kept their gaze on nought but the wall as it crumbled, their wands raised and revenge on their mind. For many, this seemed as if it were a personal fight in which they would get their revenge for any number of possible wrongs committed by the attackers. For Harry too, this fight in particular, had turned personal. Reinhard's death should not have come so suddenly and so early on in their friendship. It was a robbery, one of the worst, most horrendous type and Harry would see Grindelwald's soul crucified for the many wrongs the man or his followers were responsible for.
Azkaban wasn't deserved, no, destruction of the utmost is what the man needed.
Harry watched with his wand at the ready as the last vestiges of the wall before his very eyes began to give way. It was slow-going, and the explosions on the other side slowed towards the end when the cracking was obvious and the end of the wall was soon to come. He figured that whosoever was attacking, was getting their people into position before the wall crumbled into nought but ruins. Grindelwald's forces that had survived so many battles were smart if nothing else, but where they were smart, they were arrogant.
Soon enough, when that wall fell in the coming seconds, they would be attacking Harry, the remains of the original Auror garrison and many angry volunteers in positions that were charmed and transfigured to provide the utmost advantage to those defending. It would be slow-going for the attackers, and Harry, as soon as that wall was over, would be welcoming them with a curse the likes of which he had stolen from one of Elaine's personal trunks. The spell was a nasty piece of work, and whoever had created it was just the same based on the little information Harry had of the man.
"Ready?" Harry mouthed to one of the nearby and nervous-looking younger Aurors.
The fellow boy, perhaps eighteen or twenty years of age, nodded back at Harry despite the violent shaking of his wand arm. Without a doubt, he was deeply nervous about the upcoming fight and Harry couldn't blame him. It was incredibly likely that many of those within this room would die, Merlin, for all of his talking Harry wasn't truly certain if even he was safe. Mortem had played him as a fool before when he was initially sent here, so who was to say she couldn't do so again?
Harry didn't have the time to contemplate that very question, for within seconds, the wall was finally breached and upon its fall, hell was unleashed. There were ten, twenty, thirty and as the time continued to pass, a number of spells truly uncountable were fired from the many nooks and crannies of the defenders. Even then, there were five or so people placed so perfectly that they had been ordered not to fire off spells so they could remain hidden and avoid drawing attention to themselves. That group was placed near the front of the room, and it was Harry's hope that as the fighting progressed and as they were eventually pushed further into their maze of fortifications, those fighters would strike at the rear of the attackers and allow a counter-attack.
He wasn't confident that would work, but it was truly all he had remaining at this point in time, and as such, he would take whatever he could get.
"Left side, left side!" Urban yelled over the explosions, screams of agony and crumbling of stone.
Harry turned to the aforementioned side not more than a second or two after hearing the command, and he saw three cloaked figures trying to sprint in with shields raised and a transfigured shield of stone before them, eating up the majority of the more dangerous spells that made it through the shield. Those that made it through both were dodged or had sailed wide in the first place, and as Harry watched whilst stuck in his position combatting the main group of attackers, he witnessed an amazing feat; one that filled him with hope, but it was fleeting.
An Auror that Harry didn't know the name of, nor the nationality or any other information save for the figure that he was seeing, lept up and out of his little stone cover as those three drew closer and closer to flanking a larger position. The man charged towards them, and somehow, he managed to make it to the very middle person with his wand raised, and it was only then that those three managed to see him falling upon their rear. By the time they reacted, the middle of three was felled, a blur of green striking their chin as the man turned his wand on the first man, and again, his wand went alight with green, but not more than half of a second after that man fell, the third and final attacker sent the man back whence he came with a sickeningly loud crack as his body hit the wall; he was no longer moving when Harry's eyes fell upon him.
The sweet sense of justice that came from that third man being hit by many a spell was short-lived, for even with that sacrifice and that entire flank now cleared, a new figure meant all hope, was lost.
Grindelwald had arrived. He was strolling up from the rear with confidence and two people wearing Harry's sigil at his sides. For whatever reason, the man didn't seem to care that the vast majority of his followers had been killed, nor did he seem to mind when a chunk of rock struck his cheek and a small cut was formed thereon. He simply continued forward with a twisted smile on his face and arrogance in his posture.
Harry, upon seeing that, bowed his head and nodded with his eyes downcast on the ground. This was his lot in this world. Mayhaps his whole reason for being was before his very eyes — he was to be sent where he sat, tired and filled with an urge for revenge, just for all of the changes he had managed to make. If that were the case, he had done his best and before the end came, he would ensure that Grindelwald would remember him.
Who knew? Perhaps he could get lucky and land a lucky curse.
"Urban," Harry called as he began to climb from his cover whilst the battle on the right and in the centre raged on. "I'll leave the rest up to you. He's here, and so my time here has run its course."
Urban was shaking his head and trying to tell Harry 'no' or something of that sort, but he was too busy fighting, and the only true acknowledgement Harry had that the man had heard him at all, was that aforementioned motion made with his head. It didn't matter to Harry. He climbed up from his cover, and next, he went over what remained of it with his wand in his hand and murder in his eyes.
Elaine wasn't with him, he didn't have the Elder Wand on his person, and Grindelwald had a sick look about him. There was so much going against Harry, but for all those behind him, he would do his best effort to see the monster defeated.
He raced forward, and Grindelwald grinned as he sent away the two guards at his side. They would fight, again, and this time there would be no running nor outside interference.
Harry had whisked Grindelwald away from the main battle, and even now, back in a thin hallway surrounded by doors as he was, he could hear the fighting back whence he had previously been. It sounded as if it was dying down, like many of those from one side or the other had fallen, and whilst he moved ever backward, attempting to keep Grindelwald as distracted as he could, he could only hope Urban had rallied their Aurors for the sake of the hundreds of people that had looked to them for protection.
If that were the case, Harry could rest easy in whatever afterlife he was brought to; not wholly easy, he suspected. Reinhard would be there waiting for him, and the trouble those two could get up to together would be the stuff of legends so long as Harry had his way.
"Stand your ground, this is incredibly tedious when you simply continue to run and hide — wouldn't you like to speak face to face rather than keeping yourself tucked away behind doors or desks or walls?" Grindelwald called teasingly as he strolled after Harry, his wand flicking in silence as Harry did all that he could to keep the man at bay.
Eventually, however, he knew that he would hit a dead end and when that time came, he would have to ante up, as the saying went.
Harry grinned when he spied something nearby and he sent a spell at it. As soon as that spell connected, he retreated back to another corner, holding at it as Grindelwald strolled peacefully towards him. From the corner, Harry launched another series of spells at the man. They weren't nearly as fast or powerful as his earliest attacks had been, but Harry's endurance from that first fight was improved, as was his repertoire.
Grindelwald found that out when he stepped near the spot Harry had hoped he would, and in doing so, he activated a wailing charm. It was loud even to Harry, and the brutality of the noise was near-deafening. The smile that had been on Grindelwald's face shifted for a moment, but only a moment, for he dispelled the source of the noise with a huff— likely thinking Harry's trick was juvenile or bothersome — but he had played into Harry's hopes.
No sooner had the spell fallen, did the second portion of that quick, simple plan activate. It was the final portion too; the spell being done away with meant that Harry had nought but a moment of opportunity, and he used it to cancel the spell he had only just cast. When that happened, a letter-opener fell upon Grindelwald, striking him directly in the neck, and when Harry saw the blade, sharp and ornamental, penetrate the man's skin, he launched his counter-attack with the entirety of what remained.
Spell after spell fired from the tip of his wand. Grindelwald tripped when the first connected and as his free hand sought out the blade. He fell onto his back when two more connected, one of them bending his joints so horribly that they went inversed, and the cracks that came, as a result, were nearly as horrible as the noise that the wailing charm had made. Ultimately, even with that, it hadn't been enough.
Harry tried to continue that advantage that he had created for himself, but Grindelwald had touched something around his neck; he was gone. When that registered on Harry's mind, he couldn't help himself as he fell to the floor with his back pressed up against the nearest wall. He was bleeding from many, many small cuts and his mind was beyond exhausted even if the adrenaline that coursed through his body told him that he could continue the fight. Harry knew that he couldn't take even a second to rest, he would be condemning others to death if he did, but he couldn't himself for the minute of peacefulness that he was allowed.
Grindelwald had underestimated him, he had toyed with Harry on account of some perceived superiority, and yet, Harry had pulled through… somehow. Elaine would be happier than he could ever imagine, and even he himself was surprised at the outcome.
All was not well elsewhere in the Ministry, however, for a loud explosion conveyed that fighting was still prevalent and hearing that, Harry began to struggle to his feet, bleeding and with a migraine. At least until he felt a cool hand press against his forehead, a surge of warmth flow from the depths of his mind and finally, a voice reached his ears that he had yearned for over an hour.
"You've been playing without me, haven't you?" Elaine asked as her wand began to trace his wounds. "I'll have to punish you when we're home tonight, you bad boy, you."
He cracked a grin at Elaine's light-hearted, teasing tone. "I'll look forward to it," he answered honestly, but he shook his head and winced a second afterwards when she healed one of the nastier cuts that had come as a result of a rock embedding itself into his shin. "We have to get to Grindelwald if that date's going to happen."
"Please. That won't be a problem — we'll kill him again, my love, and we'll dance upon his grave and celebrate again," Elaine pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. "We'll find out what magic he uses to make his return, we'll kill whosoever aids him as gruesomely as we can, and when his name is removed from the pages of history completely and utterly to the point that nobody remembers his name, we'll begin living the life that we should have had since our conceptions. Conception, it's a rather attractive word, isn't it?"
Harry couldn't help the laugh that rattled forth from his body. Elaine was sweet when she wished to be, and horribly sour or dark in other instances, but he could always count on her to bring forth the idea of family, children or marriage; one option would simply have to be brought forward whensoever he spoke with her.
"Let's go find him, and then we can talk about conception and Minister Gaunt. I suppose Minister Peverell, really," Harry leaned forward when Elaine aided him to his feet, and this time, it was he that initiated a kiss. There was a chance that he got a bit handsy too, but who truly knew which of them brought his hand to her rear for a kiss?
"We'll kill him quickly, his followers and homes, his possessions and very soul if we must," Elaine said, her eyes staring into his as she licked her bottom lip. "You'll finally be mine when we do. My equal… I'll finally be whole."
He didn't fail to notice how she kissed him whilst palming her ring that had been worn since he had first met her, but that topic would come later, for he truly believed she knew more than she had let on, but that issue could wait to be resolved.
"You're tired," Elaine said softly, her voice barely reaching his ears as they slowly walked through long, empty hallway after longer, empty hallways. "Grindelwald will continue to come for you until we've killed him. You've done well to fight him off as you have today, but it was a fight you shouldn't have taken — you're exhausted, you're wounded, and you're distracted."
Harry met her eyes with a fire behind his. "If I left him here, he would have murdered and pillaged as he did across the entirety of the continent. No, that wasn't an option, Elaine. I did what I needed to do to ensure the survival and safety of hundreds of people. If it matters, they'll remember what I did, and by extension, they'll associate it with you when we make our grab for power."
Elaine raised a brow. "A point you may have, but it would have been pointless if you were killed or captured. You'll not risk yourself so recklessly again, I forbid you from doing so."
"I'm the Deputy Director of Magical Law Enforcement. I'll always put our people first, and when you're the Minister and we're changing one law after the next, I would expect you to do the same," Harry raised his off-hand when she looked ready to fire back at him. "Enough of the politics. We have bigger, more important matters at hand right now. Grindelwald's lurking around somewhere, and until we find him, his plans will continue without anybody else to keep them in place."
"Nobody is near us. I've checked thrice as we've been walking down this specific hall," Elaine said, seemingly letting the matter drop as she checked over her shoulder.
"He's close. He won't have let me go this easily, even if I did manage to wound him during our fight. Now that you're here, I expect he'll take me seriously… be careful, please, I think he'll tr—" Harry's eyes went wide, and using nothing but his instincts, he pushed Elaine away from himself and to the ground as he conjured up a vase to eat another spell — his wand waved frantically, and again, he managed to cut-off another few spells as they impacted the transfigured stone from the ground.
Grindelwald was standing before them, his clothes were still stained red, but he was vicious-looking and ready for a fight; Elaine was already on her feet, smiling, and Harry… he realised now that he was about to witness and take part in a monstrous fight fit for the history books.
He wished he had brought a pepper-up potion.