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"Harry," McMacson said as the group neared the outskirts of Godric's Hallow, the man's voice low compared to the whipping wind and cold temperatures. "I think it's best if we split up, at least until we converge on the building — we need to find wherever that special object of Grindelwald's is specifically. We'll approach from a few directions, and once you see the sign, we all go in together. It'll be us against him and those few survivors. With any luck, it ends tonight. "
In response to the lattermost words, Harry nodded. One way or another, it had to be over. There were hundreds of dead, most of them had come from the Auror office or allied countries that had seen the plight of the Magical British Government… for them, for the innocent Magicals and Muggles, Grindelwald had to be finished off. It was imperative to the success and safety of the world at large.
"I'll take Elaine and we'll approach the front. If that's where the majority of the traps and wards are as our source said, it only makes sense that it's the two of us that have to handle them," Harry responded after nodding a fair few times to himself.
McMacson grimaced. "You're right that the two of you are best equipped to handle that, I only worry that he'll ambush you or have something that our captive wasn't privy to."
"If that's the case and you think our captive didn't know everything, we're already at a pretty big risk as it is," Harry shrugged and patted the older man on the back. "Elaine and I will be fine, we'll handle everything as we've done before. It'll be us and Grindelwald, that means you, Urban and the others have to handle his followers and find wheresoever that object is hidden — once you find it, Elaine seems to think she knows how to handle it. Just make sure you don't touch it and keep it tucked away."
Elaine hasn't been too forthcoming with her thoughts on the matter, but for better or worse, I'll find out more from her when this is over and we have whatever that object is. After all, who but us could be entrusted to destroy anything related to Grindelwald? As the temporary Minister, until an election can be had, there's nobody that can say otherwise.
"I'll make sure we keep it for the pair of you. I don't fancy playing around with magic that I'm unfamiliar with, least of all when that comes from Grindelwald," McMacson said in agreement as he patted Harry one more time on the back before he promptly made his way away to the left, grabbing the few people that would join him on that side; the man had chosen to take the second smallest group after Harry and Elaine so that Urban's team and the fourth group would be stronger.
He was a good leader and a better man than most. When everything was over and done with, Harry would have him and Urban both over to Peverell Manor. Their families could come along with them, they would even be welcome to spend the night…
Harry couldn't contain the grin or the memories that the night brought along with it. It had been months, years even, that he had known Elaine and yet, finally, the time had come in which they'd done what most teenagers in his true time had done within a few months, perhaps even a few weeks. Had he known it would change her personality and make her so loving, far more so than she already had been, he would have done so ages ago.
Perhaps if he had, Walburga wouldn't have been feeding Grindelwald information, he wouldn't have spent time with the Goldhorns in the hopes of subverting Elaine's influence. Merlin, there was much and more he could say, but most of all, he had to settle on something in hindsight; he had been an idiot. Elaine wished nought for closeness, and since it had been given, in those few hours that weren't even at the point of a day yet, she had been at her most pleasant, confident and polite.
"Thank you," he heard from his left side as a cool hand grabbed his. "Your kind thoughts and love for me are so strong that even with your side of the link closed, I can still feel them pouring through," Elaine cooed, her lips right up against his ear and her body pressing into his side.
He wasn't aware of when she had snuck up on him, but he shrugged and rested his head against hers. Their heights were similar-enough now that he had aged and eaten well, no longer did he need to look up so that he might look her in the eyes — they were equals in height, nearly in prowess or so he thought, and to the public, equals in renown and looks. She had been speaking the truth for a very long time insofar as calling him her 'equal.'
"You never close your side, do you?" Harry asked with a laugh as Elaine pressed herself further into his side at a loud and powerful gust of wind.
"Never," Elaine said seriously. "Whensoever you're comfortable enough to leave yours open as well, we'll be all the stronger because of it. In fact, would that I could order you to leave it open as we approach Grindelwald's lair…"
Harry rolled his eyes and, in an instant, he removed the many walls by way of magic that he had constructed so as to dampen their mental bridge. Even now and beyond the twinning of their wands, neither truly understood why they could see through the eyes of one another when they dreamed or powerful emotions were at play. They weren't aware of why they could feel one another's emotions, but not communicate decisively. It was a weird, and yet, strangely helpful and enlightening quirk that magic had given them.
When this was dealt with and Elaine had consolidated her power, perhaps he would study their connection in depth. If they could understand it better, they could control it better and mayhaps even utilise it more than they already had. Whatsoever would be the case, Harry dropped his barriers and freely felt the wholeness of Elaine's affection towards him. It was overpowering, nearly enough to knock him off-kilter.
"I'm going to trust that you won't use that to poke through my mind," he said teasingly as he squeezed her hand.
Elaine snorted. "If you think that was stopping me, lover, you're even cuter than you already were," she pressed her other hand against his cheek, and after a moment, pinched it before she leaned over to lick his neck from the base to the underside of his jaw; it was strange and in her own way, affectionate — next time he would ask for a kiss. "I'll give you a kiss right now, we needn't wait."
He looked over at her with a brow raised. "I don't think getting distracted and stumbling into one of these nearby Muggle or abandoned homes will help us or the others."
"We could be quick," Elaine suggested innocently as she fluttered her eyelashes at him and gestured towards a pub.
"Please. One time turns to thrice which turns to the entirety of the night," Harry said with a shake of his head as he tapped her on the nose, nearly rolling his eyes when she shuttered at the innocent contact. "When we're home tonight, the others are safe, the object is taken care of and the last of them are all dead, we'll take a week away from everybody and everything. How's that sound?"
She raised her nose and fixed him with that old domineering and lustful gaze he had gotten when their relationship was new and beyond that, non-existent. "If you mean that you'll be mine for a week and we'll not leave the bed, splendid."
When she was finished, her pace picked up so much so that Harry was practically being dragged by the strength of her grip on him. Had he not gained weight and height since first they met, he likely would have stumbled or been dragged across the cold, hard ground.
"I would carry you before that happens — you'd be so cute in my arms, and you'd be so angry with me for doing so…" Elaine shuttered again and licked her lips, her dark eyes focusing on his own pair of lips.
"I've created a monster, haven't I?" he asked rhetorically, the answer already known to him.
"You've unleashed it, my love. You've also given me the perfect reward so that I'll be enticed to do beyond my best. Within the next five years, I would like our family started, your life extended to the end of time and our power complete," Elaine smiled at him as they finally grew closer to the building wherein Grindelwald and his final few followers were supposed to be. "It'll be a wonderful life. You'll be mine, forever and I'll be yours, forever."
Harry, surprisingly and finally, didn't truly mind the thought of that. When that time came, Grindelwald would be dead, there would be no other Dark Lord that pops up and those that would try and spread discontent, would be dealt with to the full extent that Harry wished. Magical Great Britain would be secure and safe for all people, even if Elaine wasn't fond of Muggleborns. All that mattered to a great many of their friends was the continued existence of their ways, and with a few carefully worded letters or words shared over meals, they could gradually loosen up the stricter laws so that the Muggleborn would be welcome.
It would be perfect, and through all of that work, they would have plenty of time to rest, relax and spend time with those they cared for.
"You're already mine forever, you've been mine since we first met at Abraxas' house," Harry finally responded, much to the delight of a grinning Elaine.
"You're quite right, lover. I only wish we would have done more since first we met," Elaine sighed and shrugged as she took out her wand. "I care not any longer, for you've finally done as I wished and we're together as we were always meant to be. Walburga failed to steal you from me, you knew you were mine for all of these months and years even if you didn't act upon it. All mine."
The more I think she's changed, the more I realise some parts of her will never truly change. I suppose it could be far worse.
"We're close," Harry said with a nod towards the building before he spoke about what she'd just said. "Walburga wasn't truly a threat, and we still have to deal with her to some extent. I have to meet with the Potters too, so that I might get the last piece of the prize, so to speak. Them, the Weasleys, the Goldhorns… sometimes I think I've made too many friends."
"You don't need any when you have me," Elaine said immediately. "I'll change my attire or hair so that you can treat me like a host of other witches, and if you find one you find you come to like more than me, I'll banish her and take her place. Whatever you need or desire, my love."
He blinked at those words. She was still Elaine, alright. That was something that she would have said regularly back in their earlier days and yet, now, it was but a rare outburst from her.
"You as you are is fine. I don't need you to change, but I do need you to handle these wards before we go further in… you're better at dismantling them than I am — don't think that means you're better at everything though. I still reckon I could take you in anything related to flying," Harry said with a grin as she laughed and stuck her tongue out at him.
It was definitely the influence she had on him that nearly made him flick her tongue with his. That sort of thought wasn't natural to him but wholly normal of her.
"When we return home and after our week together, I'll teach you how to better and more quickly destroy whole ward schemes," Elaine said to him with her eyes focused solely on his person, the girl unbothered with the complex spells and movement of her wand. "Perhaps I'll offer up a reward for mastering such an important piece of magic. Would you like that, my lovely?"
He swallowed and willed his lust away, especially when she focused solely on a lower portion of his body as her cheeks coloured. Harry had truly made a monster that only seemed to grow when danger or violence would soon arise. It was almost as if Elaine loved those moments and now truly had some sort of post-fight bliss she could achieve thanks to him.
"We'll see," he said after he swallowed again and moved slightly closer to her, his body covering hers thanks to his heavier weight so that the cold didn't bear into her as much as it had been whilst she was working; they could have enchanted their clothing, true enough, but none of the group had dared to do so in the fear that there were other wards that their source wasn't aware of.
He wouldn't put it past Grindelwald to have very minimal, near-useless wards set up that would do nought but alert the man to magic. They hadn't spotted any, nor had they looked particularly hard for anything out of the ordinary that they knew, but it was always best to be safe rather than sorry.
"Finished. It was as easy as I thought," Elaine popped up to her feet, pulled him up along with her and planted a kiss right on his lips. She didn't stop until he nearly ran out of air, and only then, sorrowfully, did she pull away from him. "I'll expect a kiss until the air leaves your lungs every time I clear a set of wards or disable a trap. If you take over that role, you'll earn the same reward. Aren't I a kind Minister to you?"
"You're going to use that, are you?" Harry asked with a quiet chuckle.
"I can order you as your wife-to-be or your Minister," Elaine answered as her hands fell to her hips. "I think it would spice up much, don't you? Mayhaps I'm overthinking it on account of those foolish girls that rattle on about their desires or troubles. I'm aware that if I so wish, I simply need to push you on your ba—"
Harry did just that; he pushed Elaine onto her back and rolled the pair of them a few feet further to the left before he apparated — with her still connected to him — nearly fifty feet back whence they had come.
Whilst Elaine went on about her desires and what she would do to him, he had only just noticed a spell streaking towards them from a dark, nearly pitch-black window. It lit up only just bright enough for him to see the spell coming, and be it Mortem's assistance or his own reflexes, he had saved Elaine's life. He wasn't sure of the spell, but it couldn't have been anything that would leave her alive or in a state that wasn't incapacitated.
He wasn't stupid enough to think that it was worse if he went down than if she went down. Elaine knew much and more in regards to all forms of magic, and so it was she that would better know a counter-curse or spell that would fix him.
"Peverell, Missus Peverell," called the voice of Grindelwald as the man seemingly appeared out of thin air in the doorway of the home he was meant to occupy. "I had thought the pair of you might visit my humble home soon enough. Imagine my surprise when my wards fall within seconds, and when I go to greet the person that's opted to visit me, it's the pair of you."
Elaine and he, within seconds, were back on their feet with their wands out; no words were exchanged as the man might have hoped for. Had it been up to Harry, he might have fired back at Grindelwald, but the unhinged look on the man's face and the jolliness of his words had Elaine firing the opening chain of spells at him. They were nasty, he recognised nearly six of the first twelve or so that she shot at him; some would see him gutted or blown apart, a few others would have him leaking blood from every pour or his bones turned to liquid… all were lethal or lethal enough.
We're back to this again… I hope McMacson and Urban will be ready soon enough with the anti-apparation and anti-portkey schemes. If they aren't and we manage to gain the upper hand, Grindelwald will only flee again.
This can't be prolonged.
That was Harry's final thought as he jumped into the fight alongside his Witch and fired off his opening chain of spells. Only then, when Harry joined the fight, did Grindelwald truly begin to fight them. To any and all onlookers, it had to be awe-inspiring and fear-inducing to see three titans of magical prowess fight as they were.
When Harry and Elaine's wands served only to empower one another tenfold, their spells streaking through the air in a way that was barely visible and the results whence they struck their target leaving whole craters or destroying Grindelwald's shields… the fight was the likes of which he hoped never to see again.
Sure enough, and as he and Elaine moved ever closer to Grindelwald, Harry saw a flash of light go up behind the man's 'humble home' as he had called it. McMacson was in place, and the others would soon join the fight before Grindelwald's followers would come out and strike at them, and all of that meant but one thing.
For better or worse, finally, the true end was approaching.
As was usually the case when Harry had fought Grindelwald, be it with or without Elaine, the man was incredibly strong. Initially, when the fight had only just begun and the others joined the assault on the house from the other three directions — of which they were likely only guarded by one person, perhaps two at the most — the fight went as it always had.
Elaine and Harry would fire a devastating chain of spells that would outright murder or incapacitate any person short of Grindelwald, and in response, the man would raise a new shield, transfigure cover or summon an object that was nearby, perhaps even rubble, to protect himself with. Thankfully, he never once attempted to apparate, or if he had, the efforts of the others had been successful.
Harry had no doubt that, were the man in his prime instead of injured and recently restored back to life, he could have figured a way around their efforts to keep him trapped where he was. Even with that as it was, he was still a horrible person to fight, and truly, Harry didn't fancy his odds against the man if he had been alone. But he wasn't alone, unfortunately for Grindelwald.
With Elaine at his side, his spells were beyond powerful and their speed of them was equally as dangerous. Together, the two were a force that could be matched by none, and as they pressed Grindelwald back, towards the entrance of the building, Harry made a move that was vital to keep the fight contained from the rest of the occupants. He moved out to the right whilst Elaine kept up the barrage, he even fired off the occasional spell so that he might get lucky, but once he was at the angle he had desired, he did as he wished.
Behind Grindelwald, Harry transfigured a wall from the debris and wood of the porch. It was made of stone and thick enough that it would be incredibly hard to punch through in a timely manner. Grindelwald laughed, but even that sounded pressed and breathless.
Harry couldn't blame him. He couldn't apparate anymore than Grindelwald could, and whilst that was good for them, all it took was one lucky or well-placed spell and that would be the end for him. There was nought that he could do short of pray for intervention from Mortem.
He shook his head at the thought of that being helping him and moved steadily closer to Elaine. They hadn't stopped firing spell after spell at Grindelwald, and the man still stood, but only thirty or so feet away from them now. He would be lucky if he were to still be standing ten minutes later. There was little else that he could do other than dodge, summon cover or bring forth a new shield.
Elaine was enraged and empowered, and there was something about her this time around that screamed she was going beyond her typical capabilities.
If that were truly the case too, then Harry and Elaine would be the two that were left standing when the end of the fight came around. There was little and less that Grindelwald could do; he was weaker than before, there was no way he could retreat short of a spell that neither Elaine nor Harry knew, and finally, unless he fled back into the building that was currently under attack and with them hot on his heels, it would be over.
It felt odd. Harry didn't feel as if he were himself as his body moved rapidly and oxygen left his lungs just as quickly — the adrenaline he felt in the moment and as his wand arm whipped all around firing spell after spell at Grindelwald was astounding. Even as the man dodged and parried by way of a barrier that didn't seem to make sense to Harry's previous grasp of magic, even as Grindelwald summoned cover and transfigured massive barricades all the whilst remaining silent… it was a fast-paced fight the likes of which he doubted he would have survived if his body hadn't started to act on nought but instinct.
There was an audible gasp from Grindelwald and in response, a sinister giggle from Elaine. The man's off-hand was bloody, with a near-steady stream of red liquid falling from the tips of his fingers and onto the dirt below. He was wounded severely, all of the previous scrapes or cuts meant nothing, and even as he took a split-second to stem the blood lest he goes dry, that aided Elaine and Harry.
They pressed on with their wands moving through the air so quickly they could barely be tracked. Harry and Elaine, side by side and in silence, moved forward perfectly. They had practised together for so long that by this time, they knew the moves that one another would take and their minds remained vaguely conscious of where the other was — there was that link, but in the fight as they were… it seemed nearly non-existent.
Harry pivoted and spun around once he reached his new spot, only just avoiding one of the rare defensive castings of Grindelwald. The man had attempted to catch him whilst he was moving forward, but that had failed and Elaine had knocked him off balance as a result, for the explosion by Grindelwald's cover had partially penetrated, and as a result, the concussive force of the blast sent Grindelwald out and to the left. He no longer had that wall of transfigured support that he had been constantly reinforcing, instead, he had open ground and twenty feet between him and Harry, with only another five to ten further for Elaine.
Harry spat out a few pieces of debris from whatsoever had gotten on his person and in his mouth, and at the same time that he saw more spells crashing towards Grindelwald's person thanks to Elaine, he fired off with a volley of spells of his own. One after another after the next streaked at Grindelwald.
That was it, Harry thought. There was nothing somebody could do against so many spells, especially when some were lethal and others were meant to break shields or destroy transfigured materials. He and Elaine were a great pair for their spell variety.
But it wasn't. Grindelwald, somehow, twirled around and whipped his wand quickly and intricately, and shortly thereafter, a barrier of blue rose from the ground. It looked as if it were a shield, but one that was far, far stronger than that of the typical shield that most any Magical could cast. One spell after the next hit the barrier the man had summoned, and all of them had no effect.
Harry took the time that Grindelwald had encased himself in such powerful magic to move, and he did so quickly. Within seconds, he was but a few feet away from Elaine and as soon as he was there, he called to her. There weren't any words specifically said, nor was Harry yelling or hollering. He pointed out the barrier that Grindelwald had made and after doing so, he waited to see what she would do next.
He had come a long way in a short amount of time. Harry knew that he was skilled, experienced and far better than he had ever previously been, and yet, the magic that Grindelwald showcased was stronger than most any other and was a spell with which he had zero knowledge. Slughorn's father, perhaps, would have known how to counter it or where it was weak if such a point existed. The man seemed very knowledgeable, albeit a bit unhinged… still, he had been correctly nervous about Elaine.
Speaking of Elaine, whilst Harry was watching Grindelwald and idly transfiguring cover between the man and the two of them, she was standing stock still with her head cocked to one side. Her wand was still out and a shield was still cast to protect her, but she seemed curious and experimental. Each time she waved her wand and a new spell with a new colour would strike the barrier; nothing ever changed.
Whatever Grindelwald had done, had encased the man completely and as the seconds turned to minutes, it only seemed to grow larger. It wasn't quick nor was it gaining size rapidly or even at a pace that would suggest danger, but it was present. Whatever Grindelwald had done, the spell seemed to act as a mixture of an incredibly powerful shield charm and something more, something that almost seemed alive the more Harry watched it; Fiendfyre — the thought raced through his head, but he shook the idea free.
Fiendfyre never protected somebody as it was currently doing for Grindelwald. It acted as if it had a mind of its own, that much was true, but it would never lash out and do away with any and all spells.
"We'll wait for him," Elaine said with a shrug as she patted Harry on the shoulder, her chest rising and falling rapidly and her eyes eerily calm. "He can't wait forever."
"What if he heals or regains his strength?" Harry countered.
"He's a shade of himself. Weaker, more volatile and — never mind, it matters not. He's not himself any longer. Against you and I whilst united, he hasn't the strength nor the means to beat us. We wait," Elaine walked one of her hands up Harry's off-hand, up his upper arm, across his shoulder and finally, up the side of his head so that she could take a handful of hair.
When she reached that hair, she sighed and her shoulders slouched.
"Do you have a fascination with my hair? Did he do something to it?" Harry asked with a small smile on his face as Elaine began to massage his scalp.
"It's soft, and touching you pleases me. I hadn't thought this faint touching was such a small sliver of what you have to offer me. It's indescribably perfect. I wish I could stay by your side every second of every day — fighting like we just did, however, has me yearning for our victory so that we might celebrate," Elaine gave a rough tug of his hair that pulled his face closer to hers, but he didn't make a sound; he was too tired. "You're ready, aren't you?"
Harry's eyes flickered between Elaine's wanton gaze and the circle of blue magic that Grindelwald still lay entrapped in. "I'm always ready, I just like making you wait sometimes."
"If you ma—"
He silenced Elaine by darting in for a quick, cautious kiss lest Grindelwald surprises them. "Why don't we take a quick look at how the others are doing? I'm sure you'll have no trouble planning what we do when we get home, but if we're going to take some time away from the Ministry, he has to be gone and so do his final few followers."
Elaine made a face that showed she was annoyed more so than anything else. In a way, it was cuter than he could believe; she was the 'acting' Minister of Magic thanks to Grindelwald having killed most of the others, and if that wasn't enough, they were fighting the strongest enemy they would likely ever face in their lives. It was absolutely astounding that, with all of that taken into consideration, she was annoyed at the fact that she had to wait until it was all over before they could return home and play their newest game.
"Nevermind," Harry said when that train of thought was finished and he spotted something in a second-floor window nearer to Grindelwald than them. "It looks like they've finished what they had to do… I wonder how many of them didn't make it."
"Those few that pass will be remembered for their work against Grindelwald and service to us for the completion of this attack," Elaine said as she finally began to move — slowly — towards Grindelwald's blue bubble.
"McMacson's fine, so I can only imagine Maxis is fine too," Harry said more so to himself as he followed after Elaine.
"They'll both be a problem in the future. You'll have to speak with them or figure something out. I know they're rather important to you," Elaine said as she began to go to work; she started by forming deep, thin, trenches all around the entirety of Grindelwald.
Harry took up her work and began to widen them as she made them deeper. "We could make McMacson take the position of Chief Warlock or put him in a position that would see him working directly with us. If we have him, we have Maxis — the latter won't ever go against his friend."
Elaine didn't respond, but he knew that she heard him. She was right, he supposed. McMacson and Maxis were good men that truly cared for the average Magical, and that alone was a rare quality for any person in the Ministry to have. For them to risk their lives as often as they did and with as little recognition as they typically got… Harry wanted to make sure they wouldn't eventually become enemies. He wanted that least of all as a result of Elaine's tenure as Minister, for he knew that no matter what happened, there was little chance that she was going to give up the position of Minister.
It didn't matter to her that it was 'acting' on account of much of the staff, nearly all of it really, being killed. So long as she was called the Minister, she would remain the Minister. Those thoughts ran through his mind with little trouble as he worked alongside her, and later, a few others as they worked to ensure that Grindelwald could not escape.
His visage and body were visible, if only barely, through the barrier he had made. He still looked wounded and his face spoke of exhaustion; his features, now that Harry could actually study the man, seemed vaguely off. There was a sense of perfection and almost ageless quality that hadn't been apparent when he had first been killed back when Dumbledore had been alive.
"Good?"
Harry blinked himself back to reality and turned towards the source of the voice; McMacson.
"I'm good, yeah," Harry said back to the man before he cleared his throat, smiled at Elaine and moved completely over to the Director. "How about Urban and the others? How'd everything go?"
"Not one death. Adriel got banged up pretty badly, but he should be fine. He's worked with you before, as I recall, and if he could make it out then, he'll be just fine now," McMacson said with a grin as he slapped the younger man's shoulder.
Harry recalled the man fondly. He was a good fighter and a lucky person. "Why'd we do so good this time around? Did you think up some new strategy, or did they not expect us to attack?" Harry pointed at Grindelwald when he paused. "He expected us, or at the very least, he didn't seem too surprised that we were here."
"He's Grindelwald," McMacson said as if that explained everything. "And yeah, I would say we got pretty lucky. They didn't expect shite. One second, they were lounging or healing, and the next, they were under attack from every side and their master wasn't able to save them. There were only three here too, one for each side. As soon as one side fell, that was it."
"That easy, huh?" Harry asked with a small frown. If the other battles had been this easy, there would have countless lives saved and so much grief removed from his life. It wasn't fair, but he knew that life often proved unfair.
If it wasn't, Reinhard would still be around when they had fought Grindelwald together.
"Sorry," Harry said before McMacson could say anything. "I'd like to settle the score with him sooner rather than later — we'll probably have a meeting when we're back at the Ministry, right?"
"We will," McMacson confirmed.
"Wicked," Harry said with a nod as he started to move back towards Elaine and Grindelwald. "I'll be there."
Harry walked away from McMacson and back to the source of a majority of his problems in recent times, and the rest of his problems in the earlier days of his life back in this time. It was absurd how much had changed, and more absurd how much Elaine had changed. As he moved closer so that he could more readily see her, she was aiding one of the Aurors; he had never seen her using healing magic so easily.
"What is it?" Harry asked Elaine as she prodded at the barrier with a piece of levitating rock.
Before she could answer, Harry saw the rock go through the barrier for all of a second — if even that — before it was taken out of Elaine's control and sent flying outwards, until it hit the side of the building.
"Whatever it is that he's created is a spell known only to him, and as such, short of a lot of time spent studying it, I can't tell you how to accurately remove the dangers it presents. We have to wait until the spell falters or he cancels it," Elaine conjured a chair and sat with all the grace he expected from her. "It won't be forever. I doubt it'll be all that much longer. He's simply wasting our time at this point."
She's not wrong. It's not like he can avoid the need to eat, drink or rest while he's trapped inside that circle. He'll have to sleep and if he doesn't, there's only so much he can do to stave off the negative effects that are only going to build the longer he takes.
"You don't think we could blow the floor up beneath him so that he falls into a hole, do you?" Harry pondered as he sat on a transfigured chair alongside Elaine, the cushion incredibly comfortable as he relaxed into the softness of his own creation.
"That magic would likely prevent us from doing so — whatever that spell is, I'd be very keen to learn the inner workings therein. It's not often that we'll come across somebody with a level of knowledge that exceeds my own. If only we could pick his brain rather than slaughter him, it's a travesty" Elaine trailed off shaking her head before she smiled and turned her head lazily to look Harry in the eyes. "So, my love, any thoughts on how we'll spend that week at home?"
Harry raised a brow and gestured to the coward concealed in the circle before them. "Unless you can figure out a way to kill him while he's hiding, I think we'll be camping out here for a day or two. After that, we'll have Merlin only knows what to deal with before we can take that time away. He's gone and ruined our plans."
"I'd like to kill him," Elaine said in her own way of agreeing with him.
I'd like to kill him too. He's stolen my 'family' and done far more that's far worse than that.
"Do you think McMacson ever found out where that item was?" Harry asked, changing the topic as he looked over at the aforementioned man and the Aurors that were standing near him. "You seemed to have a pretty good idea as to what it was… so what're you thinking we'll have to do after we're done here?"
"Destroy the object and be free of this problematic peon," Elaine responded immediately as her hand grabbed one of his and kept it in a tight, cold embrace.
Harry didn't mind. He let her do as she liked.
"I suppose we'll find out soon enough. I'm too comfortable to move and I bet he's just waiting for his chance to strike," Harry eventually said as he cast another look over at Grindelwald, who seemed to be happily standing with his eyes closed and that infernal wand still in his grip.
By this point, the man was more a nuisance than a threat. With McMacson, Urban and the rest of the 'best' Aurors behind Harry and Elaine at his side, the moment that Grindelwald decided to get back into the fight, he would be dealt with. There had to be a plan that the man had, or perhaps more functions of the spell that neither he nor Elaine was aware of.
Simply put, there had to be something that was keeping the man where he was, otherwise, what would be the point in drawing it all out?
One hour went by and nothing happened. Grindelwald remained in his circle, hidden away and safe from them. He didn't try and attack, he didn't attempt to move, he simply was content in his position and didn't so much as respond to them in any sort of way. He took so long, in fact, that the Aurors and McMacson had raided the entirety of the first floor.
Merlin, the treasure they looted was jaw-dropping. There were all sorts of various icons, statues, gold, precious books and more that were found just about anywhere that you chose to look. It was like they discarded thousands upon thousands of galleons and years of history with no care in the world, but as Urban had said, it was likely all they had managed to secure when they had lost their main base to the Auror Attack.
The one that had cost Reinhard and many others their lives at the cost of slightly more of Grindelwald's followers; the first floor was clear of the item they had sought out too. Harry had made sure to ask after it, for the person they had captured seemed convinced that it was Grindelwald's most prized possession, which meant there was a secret or multiple secrets therein.
Right, there was also the fact that whatever it was, Elaine was convinced it was how he had come back. If some item could bring somebody back aside from the one she had willingly turned over to him well over a year ago, that was a problem. Harry couldn't recall any magic that was able to do so short of the cauldron… but that wasn't quite back from the dead.
"Finally," Harry heard Elaine say as she snapped to her feet and pulled him up with her. "Look, he's opened his eyes and the barriers dissipating. We'll finally murder him, and then we'll return home so that I can have you."
Harry blinked a few times at her words, shook his head and finally, readied his wand. It was as she had said, Grindelwald had opened his eyes and that circle of his had started to weaken. Whatever he had done, it would soon be over, and finally, they could finish the fight they had started well over an hour and a half ago.
Slowly and second after second, the barrier grew weaker and weaker. It took nearly half a minute before it was almost gone altogether, and as soon as it reached that stage, a barrage of spells from his wand, Elaine's and all the others greeted Grindelwald.
When it was over, the man's circle was gone and he was dead where he had been standing. His wand was splintered, his eyes were bloodshot, his skin was greyer than Harry had recalled seeing and finally, on his face, was a smile.
That was more unsettling than anything else, and so Harry turned to Elaine feeling a sense of urgency that he wasn't quite sure was his own.
"Wha—" he only just began, but Elaine stopped him.
She grabbed him, stormed over to McMacson, and demanded an answer to his earlier question; he didn't suppose that meant well for them.