AN
Atrocious War Crimes and Necromancy.
The Chenogne massacre, to be precise.
December 1944 to January 1945, 7th year
There had been no present from Tom on the day of Slughorn's Christmas Party, nor would there be on Christmas, which Naenia appreciated.
This year's party had been much the same as the ones before. Slughorn had expressed his great regret at hearing that Naenia had not been elected as Head Girl, Naenia had done her best to smile sadly and nod along, and there had been a lot of unwanted socializing and playing pretty accessory. Lestrange had stared longingly at someone in the crowd, ignoring Avery's teasing and offering Naenia a sad smile. Malfoy had proudly introduced his new betrothed and Orion Black had shyly joined their little group a few times over the course of the evening.
A majestic eagle owl swept down the next morning, before they were to depart form Hogwarts. Naenia immediately recognized it as Nott's messenger bird.
She set aside her cup of tea and took the letter from its beak, stroking the beautiful owl while reading over the letter's contents – and then all colour drained from her face. (Not that there was much colour in her pale complexion to begin with.)
"Lémure?" Lestrange asked softly. "What is it?"
Lestrange and Avery would both stay during the holidays to catch up on their homework.
"Black is missing," Naenia said in a strangled voice.
He was dead. She knew he was dead. She had found his body herself, laced with curses, on her doorstep. Perseus was dead, dead, dead.
Tom looked up from his quiet conversation with Avery.
"The House of Black is trying to keep this information secret, according to Nott. But he says it has become quite apparent at this point that something is wrong." Naenia gave Tom a sharp look. "Especially when he heard that not even Tom has been in contact with him."
"I think," Tom said slowly, "that the first person to know something was amiss should have been you and not me."
Naenia narrowed her eyes. "Oh, really?"
"There have been some… tensions between us," Tom admitted. "He and I have not written to each other in a while. But you have always been very close to him and yet you did not question the absence of his letters this year."
That was technically not true, because Perseus had indeed written to her, but if Naenia told Tom he would want to see the letters. Their content would have made it quite clear that this was not the Black they all knew – had Naenia not burnt them all in the first place.
Tom's expression softened. "I am not accusing you of anything, Naenia. I was merely observing an oversight on your part."
Huh. Naenia had not interpreted his words as an accusation, but now that he was saying it out loud… It made her wonder whether he knew something and if he did – how far did his knowledge go?
"If Black is missing," Malfoy interjected, "then why isn't his family doing anything? Heavily implies that they're responsible somehow, don't you think?"
"He had his problems with them for sure," Lestrange said. "And they are always careful to keep their family tree perfect."
The whole situation sounded exactly like something the House of Black would do. If there hadn't been a body on the Lémures' doorstep. Naenia caught Tom's eye over the table. She really should stop thinking about this, lest he discover the truth. (If he didn't already know all about it.)
"There is nothing we can do," Naenia said, putting Nott's letter away and picking up her cup of tea. "As long as the House of Black wishes to keep this a secret, we have no right to meddle in their internal affairs."
"And you're fine with that?" Lestrange asked sceptically.
"No," Naenia answered honestly. She truly wanted to know what had happened. "But it is what it is."
Some sacrifices had to be made, after all, even as a Necromancer, who had nothing to fear in the world.
They dropped the matter after that and Naenia had to leave for the Hogwarts express, so neither of the boys had the chance to pick it up again in her presence. When she arrived at home, having apparated herself – she still relished in that little piece of freedom whenever she had the opportunity to – Perseus greeted her instead of her parents and Naenia felt something in her chest constrict.
It wasn't guilt, but she couldn't tell what it was instead, either.
"Anything worth mentioning?" Naenia's mother asked, when she entered the library.
"They have noticed Perseus Black's absence," Naenia said. "The Blacks are trying to keep it a secret, but some people have realized that something is amiss. Cancelling their annual ball certainly did not help. But it matches their usual approach of handling those that do not fit into their perfect family picture, so no one will suspect anything as long as the House of Black keeps trying to hush up the whole matter." She paused. "Except for whoever was involved in his murder, of course."
Her parents nodded.
"We have expected this," her mother said. "There is no need for us to take action as long as the situation does not change drastically."
They dismissed her after that and Naenia took the rest of the day off to rest, before immersing herself in the Forbidden Arts once more. She had been looking forward to the winter solstice to perform a special blood ritual she hadn't been allowed to do before.
There was a present waiting for her on the morning of the Malfoy's Yule Ball – a wreath of gilded laurel. Naenia didn't comment on it, nor did Tom ask for her opinion when they met at the ball. The Lémures attended the event together and left an hour before midnight. Perseus Black's absence was noted, but no one dared mention it in the presence of his family, although Nott tried to catch Naenia on her own a few times. She managed to prevent that mostly by staying at either Tom's or her parents' side – all of which Nott held a healthy dose of respect and fear for. He didn't have the courage to ask for a moment alone with her in front of them. It was a lovely evening otherwise.
When the Lémures returned home, Naenia went straight to her laboratory, calling out to Perseus with her magic.
Ꝋ
Naenia turned the dagger over in her hands and traced the runes engraved in its silver blade. It had been Tom's New Year's gift to her. There was a leather sheath lying next to Marin on her bed, which she had crafted herself and embellished with runes to keep the blade sharp.
When her mother called for her, Naenia sheathed the dagger and put it safely away.
They had been invited to Europe – by none other than Grindelwald, himself, 'as a show of good will'. Another one of his messengers had arrived this morning with a letter and a portkey that would transport them to Chenogne, a small village in Belgium. The dark wizard had asked for five of their members and the family had chosen the Heads of House, Lore and Catonius, aunt Lethis, Orcus, and Naenia to answer his summons.
Naenia joined the others in the parlour where they all donned their long, black winter cloaks and assembled around the tattered book the messenger was holding. Naenia recognized it as Die Märchen von Beedle dem Barden, the German version of The Tales of Beedle the Bard.
At precisely nine o'clock on the second of January, the portkey activated and transported the five Lémures and Grindelwald's messenger to Belgium. They landed in front of a small wooden hut that had clearly seen better days. The messenger showed them inside, where Grindelwald himself was sitting in an armchair that looked quite out of place in this run-down place, surrounded by a few of his followers.
He was a handsome man, despite being in his early sixties, with blonde hair and a mischievous glint in his eyes that for some reason made Naenia feel at ease.
„Meine Freunde", he greeted them. „Willkommen, willkommen in dieser bescheidenen Bleibe. Bitte entschuldigt die heruntergekommene Erscheinung dieser Hütte. Ich bin sicher, es wird euren Eindruck von mir nicht mindern." [1]
He clapped his hands and rose from his seat to greet every single one of them with an open smile and either a firm handshake or a kiss on the hand. Then he stood before them, his expression turning sombre.
„Ich habe euch hergebeten", he continued, "an diesem traumhaft schönen Wintertag im neuen Jahr, weil die Muggel eine schreckliche Gräueltat begangen haben, die ich einfach nicht ignorieren konnte." [2]
Grindelwald then continued to explain how he had chanced upon this atrocity in a remote little village like Chenogne of all places, though Naenia didn't pay much attention to that far-fetched story. They all knew it was just an excuse and he could have used literally any other Muggle incident to suit his purposes. This one had just so happened to take place on the first of January.
He took them to a field on the other side of the little village, leading them around the Muggle settlement. They sensed it long before they could see the scene with their own eyes.
Once there, Grindelwald turned around and spread his arms wide. „Schaut nur, meine Freunde, was die Muggel getan haben. Gemordet haben sie. Ein Massaker veranstaltet – an Ihresgleichen noch dazu! So kann es doch nicht weitergehen." [3]
There were maybe sixty or seventy people – it was hard to tell – lying in the field, some of them half buried by dirt and snow. And blood – there was a lot of blood. The metallic stench of it mingled with the foul smell of faeces and the sweet scent of beginning decay and rot.
Naenia shuddered, drinking in all the power Death had left behind for his Necromancers to claim.
This was true power. Pure, unaltered power. The power of Death.
It was a massacre, yes, a terrible, terrible sin to commit. But neither of those present felt in any way sorry for the dead lying before them in contorted heaps. And they could not just go ahead and punish those responsible. It would go against Muggle and Wizarding law – because this was a war crime committed by American soldiers on German soldiers in Belgium. There were too many conflicting parties involved already and the Lémures were trying to stay neutral. They would always stay neutral.
"Have you not done this, yourself," Naenia's mother said quietly, deliberately using English instead of German, her own mother tongue.
Naenia watched Grindelwald scowl.
"I and my people have killed, yes," he admitted, his English flawless. "But not like this. No – this is senseless murder."
"Is murder not always senseless?" her mother replied.
"It is indeed, my friend. But sometimes sacrifices have to be made for the Greater Good, to achieve freedom for those that truly deserve it. I wish to rid ourselves of the shackles the Muggles have put on us all those years ago."
Naenia left them to their conversation and joined her brother Orcus, who was kneeling amongst the corpses. He looked up at Naenia's approach but didn't move from his spot.
She carefully lowered herself to the ground.
"Do you wish to do the honours?" her brother asked.
Naenia inclined her head and extended her arm to gingerly touch the nearest body. It gave a sudden jerk and then opened its mouth to take a deep, rattling breath.
„Wer stört meine Ruhe?" it said in a raspy voice.
„Wir bitten ehrfürchtig um Verzeihung", Naenia said softly, letting her hand rest gently on the man's cheek. „Wir möchten lediglich erfahren was euch Soldaten widerfahren ist, die ihr so unwürdig hingerichtet wurdet."
„Unwürdig?" The corpse let out a rattling laugh. „Ja, das kann man laut sagen. Ein Blutbad haben sie angerichtet. Als Vergeltung für das Massaker von Malmedy – um Gleiches mit Gleichem zu begleichen." It laughed again, at its own choice of words this time. „Und nun tun sie sicherlich ihr Tunlichstes um ihre eigene Schandtat zu vertuschen."
„Möchtest du Rache?" Orcus asked quietly. „Gerechtigkeit für das, was euch angetan wurde?"
„Nein", said the corpse. „Denn im Krieg gibt es keine Gerechtigkeit."
Naenia nodded solemnly. „Dann werden wir deinen Wunsch in Ehren halten und die Sache auf sich beruhen lassen. Ruhe nun in Frieden – mit dem Wissen, dass dir und deinen Kameraden ein angemessenes Begräbnis bereitet werden wird."
The corpse laughed again. „Ich danke euch, meine Engel des Todes." [4]
Naenia stroked its cheek with her thumb and the corpse closed its eyes and went still.
"Do you think they all share this sentiment?" she asked her brother. "About not wanting vengeance."
Orcus let his gaze sweep over the numerous corpses. "Probably not. But this is an endless cycle of violence and death that cannot be broken if each party vows vengeance. Let us hope that the culprits are successful in their attempt at covering this up, so no word gets out that could incite more anger and cries for revenge."
"It is the nature of war," Naenia said wistfully. "And the reason we will never join Grindelwald's side – even if we hadn't sworn ourselves to neutrality."
"True spoken," Orcus said. "But our foolish brother has given him hope that he may yet sway our minds and gain an army of Necromancers."
They kept their words and prepared an appropriate funeral for the soldiers. Grindelwald and his people helped them willingly. He did not ask them to join his side again.
"I wish you save travels," he said, when it was time for them to return to England. "May we meet again during times of peace."
Naenia wondered what her mother had said to him, because it seemed like he had given up on persuading them to join his cause without a single trace of lingering resentment. But she would never know, because her mother refused to tell them.
"What did you think of him?" her brother asked her over dinner.
Naenia was the only one left with a need for food, but she had gotten used to that by now.
"He was charming and persuasive. And handsome, too." Naenia tilted her head. "He could come far with that alone. Charming the whole world into submission."
He reminded her of Tom, in a way. But Grindelwald was so much older, more mature and experienced, and his charm appeared more natural than Tom had ever managed. Naenia was fairly sure it was genuine and no mere mask.
"That is very likely to happen," Orcus said, "if Dumbledore continues to sit idly by and wait for a miracle to happen."
Naenia pondered over this for a while, sipping her perfectly warm tea.
"Would it count as meddling," she eventually said, "if I were to talk to him about Grindelwald? Ask him why he is not taking any actions."
Orcus gave her a funny look. "You could get Dumbledore to talk to you?"
"Oh, yes," Naenia smiled. "He has invited me over for tea a couple of times. For dubious reasons, mind you, but he is always willing to lend an ear."
Her brother looked genuinely impressed at that. "The old man never so much as acknowledged me – or anyone from our family, for that matter. He detests everything our name stands for."
"He certainly does," Naenia replied mildly. "And he might pretend not to judge me for it, but he makes a poor job of hiding his true opinion, the hypocrite."
"Ah, yes. Trying to use you for his own gain, isn't he?" Orcus rested an elbow on the table and put his chin on the palm of his hand. "As long as your talk with him is purely factual and impersonal, it should be fine. Just make sure not to put yourself in any position where he might get the impression you are anything other than neutral."
Naenia nodded. "I will keep that in mind."
Her brother smiled and softly patted her head in response.
[1] "My friends," he greeted them. "Welcome, welcome in this humble abode. Please excuse the shabby appearance of this hut. I am sure it will not lessen your impression of me."
[2] "I have asked you to come here," he continued, "on this fantastically beautiful winter day of the new year, because the Muggles have committed a dreadful atrocity that I could just not ignore."
[3] Once there, Grindelwald turned around and extended his arms widely. "Look, my friends, what the Muggles have done. Murder. A massacre – of their own kind at that! It cannot go on like this."
[4] "Who disturbs my rest?" it said in a raspy voice.
"We reverently ask for forgiveness," Naenia said softly, letting her hand rest gently on the man's cheek. "We merely wish to learn what happened to you soldiers, you who have been executed so dishonourably."
"Dishonourably?" The corpse let out a rattling laugh. "Yes, you can say that again. A bloodbath they created. As vengeance for the massacre of Malmedy – to pay back in kind what was done to them." It laughed again, at its own choice of words this time. [AN: I couldn't make this wordplay work in English, sorry.] "And now they are surely doing everything in their power to cover up their iniquity."
"Do you want revenge?" Orcus asked quietly. "Justice for what was done to you?"
"No," said the corpse. "For there is no justice to be found in war."
Naenia nodded solemnly. "Then we will respect your wish and let this matter go. Rest in peace – with the knowledge that there will be an appropriate funeral for you and your comrades."
The corpse laughed again. "I thank you, my angels of death."
AN
Hm… I really liked Grindelwald's character, even in 'Crimes of Grindelwald' to some degree – but I can't say I fully agree with the films' portrayal of him. (Let's just ignore the plot completely.)
His motives were by far more interesting than Lord Voldemort's – unless you agree with the notion that Voldy's true goal was to see the Wizarding world burn. Which I personally prefer, but can't fit in with this story – Tom has no reason to let it burn, because he actually got a friend in Naenia and has built several valuable relationships with other people. The hunger for power though…