A/N: Hi! I'm back again after much less time than last chapter. This one is a lil short, but the end point felt very natural so I stopped early. Hope y'all are doing well, I've been distracted playing the Elden Ring DLC and GBA Fire Emblem lately, so not too much of my downtime has been spent writing.
Flower of Life
'Albus Dumbledore Pledges Support for Allies Against Grindelwald!'
'In a letter to the press on January 7, 1941, Albus Dumbledore has pledged his support for the ongoing wizarding/muggle war between the Allied powers and the forces of one Gellert Grindelwald. It has long been questioned why a wizard of his stature and ability was staying out of the war, considering the considerable impact his presence could have in counteracting the considerable might of Grindelwald himself.'
'Without a considerable countermeasure against the incredibly dangerous wizard, the Allied forces against Grindelwald's Axis Powers have been pushed back at every step when the wizard has shown himself to lend his considerable might to his forces. In his letter to the press, Albus Dumbledore had the following to say about his reluctance to involve himself.'
'It is with a heavy heart on this day, the 7th of January 1941, that I announce my support for the Allies in their ongoing war with Gellert Grindelwald and his Axis Powers. I have no love for violence, and it is for that reason that I have not involved myself in the fighting up to this point.'
'I have seen the cost of my reluctance, however, and that cost was more violence than perhaps might have occurred if I had involved myself sooner. It is with this in mind that I have come to my decision to involve myself.'
'When the Allies have need of me to face Grindelwald, I will come.'
'I will lend my support elsewhere as much as I can as well, but I believe that where I am truly needed in this fight is in counteracting the power of my old rival.'
'Signed: Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore'
There was more there after that, but it held little of meaning. Just journalistic speculation. Albus set his copy of today's Daily Prophet on the high table in front of him and looked over the gathered students in the Great Hall.
It made sense why such a hush had fallen over the student body, even on the day of their returning feast from winter break. This was not small or inconsequential news, and everyone gathered in the Great Hall knew it.
Taking aside the meaning it had for the future of the war, Albus was a professor to many of them, a colleague to the rest. He was someone they knew, someone that at least some of them cared about, and he had volunteered himself to stand against the most dangerous and sizable force of witches and wizards the world had seen in centuries.
He sighed and set the newspaper down beside him before proceeding to begin eating his dinner as if nothing was amiss.
~FoL~
"When it comes to your time at Hogwarts, darling… Power will matter much more than blood. It would be in your best interest to avoid angering this girl further and remedy the situation if she is half the witch your story implies."
Her parents were wary of her aunt for reasons they had never told her, but for this particular bit of advice given over their Yule family dinner, they had simply nodded in agreement.
All her life, she had been taught through her family's actions and words that they were better than mudbloods inherently, and now she was supposed to what? Apologize? To a mudblood? Why the turnaround, was she not supposed to take pride in her blood?
It didn't make any sense.
It was advice from the people she trusted most to have her best interests at heart though, and so she had decided to take it to heart.
They were also the same people she would have most expected to be disappointed in her if she made peace with a mudblood.
It still didn't make any sense, but Evelyn Rosier trusted her family.
She looked over at the other bed in the dorm room, where the girl she'd just been thinking about was laying sideways as she read some tome or another with her head propped up on her arm.
Even while relaxing in bed reading a book, the girl seemed to radiate confidence and self-assurance. Most would have assumed it to be arrogance, and maybe that was there as well, but to Evelyn it seemed earned. That casual confidence, like many other things about Morgana Fata, infuriated her. The other girl didn't deserve to have all that she did, Fata should have been beneath her in every way.
But she wasn't, and Evelyn knew it.
Evelyn swallowed her distaste for the other girl. "Say, Fata?"
Morgana looked up to eye her for a moment, seeming to consider her before replying. "Yes Evelyn?"
'Evelyn? Since when were we on a first name basis?' She frowned a bit, choosing not to bring it up before responding. "Can we start over?"
Fata's eyes narrowed and she seemed to take another moment to think it over in her head, before she shifted on her bed to sit upright with her legs crossed. "Sure. Friends?" Morgana held out her hand towards her.
'Friends?' That was not what Evelyn had had in mind. Acquaintances sure, even allies if the other girl had wanted it. But friends? She opened her mouth to say 'no', but stopped short. What if saying no made Fata think she wasn't serious? If the other girl thought she was lying about starting over, that might just make her hate Evelyn even more.
Feeling almost like she was making a deal with a daemon, Evelyn shook the other girl's hand. "Yes, friends."
"Great!" Morgana smiled charmingly before turning her gaze back to her book, apparently considering the matter resolved.
Evelyn Rosier laid back down on her bed and stared at the ceiling, she needed some time to process what she'd just agreed to anyways.
~FoL~
"So I should allow myself to be led by my partner, is that what you're saying?" Morgana was looking at her like she'd grown a second head.
"Yes Morgana, the wizard leads. It's just how it's done, I don't know why these things are so hard to grasp for you." Evelyn sighed, teaching her… friend etiquette was an exercise in futility, there was always more- "But why? What if I want to lead?" questions.
"Like I said, that's just how it's done. I didn't make the rules, I'm just teaching you them." She deadpanned, feeling very done with Morgana's nonsense already.
"What if I didn't want to go with a wizard, what then?" Aaaand another question.
"What, like alone? Then walk with grace. You'll probably look out of place without a date, though." Morgana seemed to consider that answer for a few seconds, and Evelyn could guess what that meant easily. Question time.
Morgana smiled, she clearly seemed to be getting some enjoyment out of barraging her with questions. "And what if I wanted to do neither of those things?"
This time Evelyn tilted her head in confusion, not knowing what that was supposed to mean. "What do you mean neither of those things? You either have a date or you don't have a date, there's not some secret third option."
Morgana's smile widened into an amused grin. "Sure there is, what if I wanted to bring a witch with me?"
Evelyn felt her face heat up slightly in embarrassment. "Why would you bring a witch? That would be… uncouth? It isn't done."
The other girl rolled her eyes. "Sure, but what if I did anyways? Do we lead each other? Do we both just stand there or aimlessly wander?"
She crossed her arms, frowning at Morgana. The younger girl seemed to have made it a goal to rile Evelyn up whenever she could. "It doesn't matter, it isn't done. That kind of thing is… supposed to be kept private."
"Ah, dirty little secrets hm? I thought magical folk might be different about that. Oh well." Morgana shrugged, not seeming bothered by that at all.
"Are you…?" Evelyn trailed off, not sure how to word what she wanted to ask.
"What, a lesbian? I wouldn't say so, but women are far from unappealing to me." The 'not lesbian?' girl paused for a moment, before continuing with a grin. "Anyways, I think I get it. I was just teasing you. Now, I suppose we should get to that charm you wanted help with?"
And so their study session went on, Morgana finding new and interesting ways to get under her skin. It was just one of a routine she'd agreed to with the other girl, and oddly she found herself not feeling all too bothered by that idea.
Sure, Morgana was irritating at times, but at least talking to her felt natural enough. She hadn't had such luck with the boys in their year up to that point. They had this nasty habit of treating her like an afterthought, or like she was beneath them. It didn't make for great conversation, to say nothing of how inaccurate it was.
~FoL~
'It is with a heavy heart on this day, the 7th of January 1941, that I announce my support for the Allies in their ongoing war with Gellert Grindelwald and his Axis Powers. I have no love for violence, and it is for that reason that I have not involved myself in the fighting up to this point.'
'I have seen the cost of my reluctance, however, and that cost was more violence than perhaps might have occurred if I had involved myself sooner. It is with this in mind that I have come to my decision to involve myself.'
'When the Allies have need of me to face Grindelwald, I will come.'
'I will lend my support elsewhere as much as I can as well, but I believe that where I am truly needed in this fight is in counteracting the power of my old rival.'
'Signed: Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore'
He ignored the rest of the drivel that the propagandists at magical Poland's leading newspaper had written. Their speculation was irrelevant and he knew more about the man that had written that letter than they did.
He had expected Albus' answer, of course. The man detested violence these days, but he knew better than to think he had become a coward. The man would not stay hidden in that school of his while the world crumbled around him, that was not in his nature. There was a fire in Albus Dumbledore, despite the man's attempts to stifle it.
It was a bold move, provoking one of the few men who could stand against him. When he'd learned of Muggle Germany's plans to bomb Great Britain he had almost felt a need to step in and "change their minds" so to speak.
But he was ready for Albus.
When his old friend and former lover came to fight him, he would win. The Elder Wand would provide the edge he needed for that he was certain, his visions of their fateful future duel had changed since he had acquired it.
In the meantime, it was prudent to plan for the future beyond that duel now that his visions didn't consistently predict his defeat. He set aside the newspaper and turned with the 'crack!' of apparition.
He found himself standing on a paved road, a gate a short distance in front of him with simple brick barracks buildings on the other side. The guards on either side of the gate glanced at him before returning their eyes to watch for any disruptions. They knew who he was, and that it wasn't any business of theirs what he was doing.
Grindelwald turned his gaze up briefly to eye the sign above the gate as he walked.
'ARᗷEIT MACHT FREI'
If only that were true. The people imprisoned there would never be free.
Grindelwald stepped through the gate.