Gellert Grindelwald

A/N: Pat-reon: HelloDarkness07

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Wind flowed harshly over the mountain ranges of Austria, the Alps. Through these harsh winds, an invisible, intangible being flew, not.. in the physical plane.

Me.

From within the Astral Plane, I looked over the mountains, keeping all my senses open, as I was looking for the Nurmengard, a fortress that I know nothing of. I haven't seen it yet, in any of the minds I've encountered. 

Even Charlus and Vinda, two of his closest allies, had no idea exactly where Nurnengard was. They'd been there, sure, but they almost always portkeyed there, and left the same way. Which means, other than the fact that it is in the Alps, I know nothing.

I also know that it is large, about 50 stories tall, fortress, surrounded by 2 story tall Walls, and a single entrance, with 'For the Greater Good' written on the outer walls. But that's not going to be of much use, in searching for it.

Grindelwald has no doubt hidden it away, which means my sight might not be of much use. He has also developed a Potion to increase Mental defences of his acolytes, which is how Charlus and Vinda could keep my Telepathy probes out, which makes my Mind obsolete.

And if I can create a spell, and an artefact, that can hide my scent and sounds completely, then I'm assuming that so can he.

But, at least I know it's in the Alps, which is why I was here now, albeit in the Astral Plane, to see if I can find it.

My nose, ears, Magic senses, Mind, and my eyes, I had kept all of my senses open, even if they might not be of much use. I could use them to sniff out a blank spot, or something.

I had gotten my preparations over with, practicing using my spells, and my other gifts together, with Rowena's help. I have no idea how strong Grindelwald really is, but I believe I'm ready to deal with anything he throws at me. I've spent months preparing for it, so I know I'm ready. I have to be.

For hours, I keep flying in my Astral Form, not finding anything even resembling a fortress. The only buildings here, were the Hydra and Nazi bases we had destroyed. 

But then, after 10 or so hours of flying around, I hear something that gives me a pause. The sound of thoughts.

The voices were all male, with nothing too.. giving. One was thinking about a woman, fantasizing about her, another was singing a song in his head, while the third was imagining how much damage he could do with the fire in front of him. 

Focusing, I enter the mind of the singer, and smile. The three men were sitting around a campfire, talking about some nonsensical stuff, barely a mile away from me. They were close enough, that I should have been able to hear their thoughts before, or hear them talk, move, or even smell them.

That is, if it wasn't for the Wards hiding them. Yup, they're wizards.

"What time is it?" The pyromaniac asks, turning his head away from the flames.

The singer twitches his wand, already in his hands, and casts, "Tempus." The clock in front of his, and now my eyes, says 2:01 PM.

This causes all of them to widen their eyes, and take the metal flask in front of them, swinging back to take a large swig of the drink, no.. Potion.

Almost immediately, I feel the Mind of the Singer try and push me out, its strength now increased hundred fold. The singer doesn't notice anything, however, and they keep talking.

"We could have been really fucked if we were any late. I doubt a minute of lateness is enough to show anything to Avalon." The fantasizing man says, as his Mind becomes silent once again, his thoughts hidden from me.

The Occluding Elixir, an Alchemical invention of Gellert Grindelwald, which can grant anyone the full benefits of Occlumency, without them doing anything.

This can even protect a simple, untrained muggle from the full force of the Legilimency attack by the highest Legilimency Master. This is what allowed all of Grindelwald's soldiers to completely block my Telepathy.

Unfortunately for the Singer, my Telepathy is subtle, very subtle. And while I can't enter the mind after the Potion has been taken, I can definitely stay hidden inside of a mind I'm already in.

The Potion, however, works only for 2 hours per dose, and these guys missed the next dose by a few dozen seconds, which allowed me to sense their minds.

Potion to protect their thoughts, Wards to hide their minds, smell, sounds, and magic. If it wasn't for the few seconds of delay on their part, I would never have found them. Is it actually a coincidence, or just a lure?

I stay in the singer's mind, to find what they're doing here, using my Telepathy to stay hidden inside his mind. 

Telepathy can come in two forms, I've noticed. The most common one, is the Brute force Telepathy. This has a lot less subtlety behind it, and most of the times, only allows the Telepath to hear loud thoughts, or control people. They might also possess people, to read their memories like I do, but their Psionic powers are so unsubtle, that it causes their Victims to almost always some pain.

Essex had met a few Telepaths of this kind, in his very long life, and I'm betting that Charles Xavier is of this kind.

The other type, the one I have, is very subtle. The Psionic powers are discreet, allowing for me to stay in people's minds without them knowing, or without them going through any sort of pain. This type also gives me better access to the Mind of my victims.

On the flip side, the subtle Telepathy most often lacks the sheer power needed to control more than one person at a time. Essex, and I came under this category. 

Phoenix, is the only being I know of, that has both of these types of Telepathy, since all Psionic Powers do come from her. She can be subtle when she wants to, and Powerful when she wants to. And this also transfers over to her hosts.

Apocalypse, meanwhile, as far as Essex's memories of him can tell, had a very Minor talent in Telepathy, with very little range. Don't get me wrong, his Mind was just so damn powerful, that the minor Telepathy allowed him to take over any mind he wants to. Even other telapths. He can also piggyback on other telepath's Telepathy, which I know of from my memories.

But, it's not important.. for now. Essex is hidden, with no idea I'm responsible for his Clone body's death, while Apocalypse is still asleep.

Taking a few minutes, I go through all of the singer's memories, who's an American Wizard by the name of Mike Hunt, and then, retreat. With a snapping pull on the connection I could feel with my body, I open my eyes, now in my own body, back in the Chamber of Secrets, and smile.

Standing up, I disappear from the Chamber, and instantly appear in the Ministry of Magic's Atrium, and walk towards the DMLE. As a happy coincidence, I see the Head of DMLE, Mr Jeremiah Shafiq, right outside the DMLE entrance, talking with the Minister of Magic, Leonard Spencer-Moon, and Freddie Kelpis, an old man who is the current British representative in the ICW.

They were discussing the latest increase in violence against muggles, and how the ICW was really desperate now to find and defeat Grindelwald.

"What about Albus? Has he broken the Blood pact yet?" Kelpis asks, as I start approaching them.

"No, he's still working on it, or so he says. Alas, we just have to trust in his words." Spencer-Moon says, as he nervously wipes his palms on his robe.

Interrupting whatever Shafiq was going to say, I say, "Well, if he wants a chance to stop his friend, then tell him to hurry. I've found Nurmengard."

At once, all three heads turn to me, with surprise and shock. Shafiq frowns, a bit concerned, and says, "Aves, I know you're stronger than most wizards, and possibly even me. But this is Grindelwald we're talking about."

I ignore his statement, not bothering with proving my strength to him, and give them a paper, with coordinates to the Nurmengard fortress that I had gotten from Hunt's mind. I say, "One hour, that's how long I'll wait for the ICW, the Aurors, and even Dumbledore. After that, I'm attacking the fortress, alone if I have to."

As they just look at the paper with shock, I turn around, and leave the way I came. The only reason I'm even informing them, is that I need someone to deal with the Canon fodder, to give me a clear path towards Grindelwald.

One hour, Gellert Grindelwald. After that, I'll finally have my sweet revenge for everything you've done to me.

My family, the Aves, my capture, involuntary blood donation, and Tim. Not to forget the tens of thousands of people killed by him, or his Army, or even the fact that he's a Nazi. Grindelwald will pay for everything.

-

At the same time, in Hogwarts:

In Hogwarts, in the office of the Head of the Transfiguration Department, who also doubled as the Deputy Headmaster of the prestigious school, a man sat still, staring at the smokey figure of a man, floating in the air in front of him.

The ghost like man looks at the desk in front of the actual, real man, and says, "So, you've broken the Pact. I didn't know you had it in you, Albus."

Albus Dumbledore, the man in question, frowns sadly at the spirit, and says, "You don't know a lot of things, Gellert. You did always believe yourself to be all-knowing, thanks to the handy gift of yours."

Gellert Grindelwald, walks a few steps to the side, to look out the window. He says, "I have improved upon my Sight, Albus. I don't just claim to be all-knowing, I actually am that now." Turning back, he looks at his old friend in the eyes, pleading. He says, "Please.. Albus. I offer this once again, join me. Let's take over the world together, just like we had planned to."

Albus smiles, and says, "Even after all these years, you still don't know me, if you believe I will join you after everything you've done."

"And what have I done? Because of me, Wizards are finally getting together again, uniting! Muggles are destroying themselves, giving us chance enough to finally claim the Earth as ours, as is our birthright! For the first time, us Wizards actually stand a chance of defeating the muggles, all because of me!" Grindelwald says, passionately speaking, boasting.

Dumbledore stands up, glaring at Grindelwald, and says, "And what of the Wizards you've killed in your campaign, Gellert? What of the millions of muggles that died because of your machinations? The three Wizards whose souls you damned by giving the muggles access to a summoning ritual? What of Credence, my brother? And what of Ariana, my sister? You say you're doing everything for the Wizarding World's sake, Gellert, but admit it. This is all for your own benefit, your own spite."

Grindelwald stares at Albus for a while, not saying anything. Finally, he turns around, and says, "You'll see, Albus. You'll all see, when I bring Wizards and Witches to the top of the World." Once again at the window, he turns to glance at Dumbledore, and says, "You know where I am. I'll be waiting for you to come, Albus. Alone."

And then, the transparent figure of Gellert Grindelwald transforms into smoke, and disappears, the spell dissipating.

Albus sighs, looking at the two broken vials of glass sitting innocently on the table, the blood from within destroyed already. There were two of them, one which was always with Grindelwald, the other with Albus. Together, they made the Blood Pact.

As long as both of the Vials existed, neither of them could fight the other, as their Pact dictated. And now, finally, both the Vials were destroyed, the Pact intact no more.

'Alone. He wants me alone, but knowing him, it is not for an ambush. He wants to duel, one final duel to decide it all.' Albus thinks, staring at the destroyed Blood pact vials.

He then waves his wand, summoning his purple robe from the wardrobe. Wearing it, he walks out of his office, towards the gates. As soon as he gets out of the Wards of Hogwarts, Albus apparates away from Scotland, appearing in London. Going to Gringotts, he applies for an international Portkey, knowing that he can't go to the Ministry right now.

Grindelwald wants him alone, he'll get him alone.

Grindelwald had sensed the destruction of the Blood Pact, which had also allowed him to sense exactly where Albus was, and appear to him thanks to some obscure spell. But, just like that, it had also allowed Albus to feel exactly where Grindelwald was, at every moment.

The Pact was very intimate, creating a connection between the two participants, at the moment of its conception. And now, now that the Pact was unraveled, broken, the connection allowed both the participants to feel each other, feel where they are.

Back in Hogwarts, about a minute after Albus left his office, the fireplace burns once again, a face appearing in it. The Floo caller, the ICW representative Kelpis, calls out, "Albus? Albus? Are you there? We know where Grindelwald is! Hello? Albus?"

Alas, Albus Dumbledore had already left for Austria, leaving the ICW and the Aurors no choice, but to leave without him, hoping against all hope, that a larger army is enough to stop Grindelwald's rampage, not knowing that the only one they believe strong enough to defeat Grindelwald was already on his way there, stuck behind only because of bureaucracy.

-

Mason POV:

I open my eyes, the hour almost up. Getting up, I take the swords from the place they were resting in, and store them in Nowhere, along with a few things I'm going to need.

Looking at Blinky, I say, "Wish me luck, Blinky."

Blinky nods, her hands clenched together in nervousness, and says, "Please be safe, Mason Sir."

Smiling, I focus within myself, and disappear, instantly appearing in Brighton, South London. The beach was empty, thanks to the War still going on. I glance at the Portal Ring on my finger, and raise the hand in front of my chest. Spinning my right hand around, I create a Portal to Austria, below the Alps, in a forest I had seen before.

I'd opened the portal about 2 miles away from the Nurmengard fortress, since I have no idea what kind of protection spells there were on the building itself. Besides, knowing Grindelwald, he has probably placed a trap for me right outside the Wards, so better not trip them immediately.

Not hearing any voices, of even heartbeats, blood pumping, footsteps, breathing, or smelling any kind of scent other than those that belong to trees and animals, I open my mind, and find that there weren't any Minds around me either.

It was too silent, which means this is also probably a trap too.

Welp, better the trap further away from the base full of Dark Wizards, than the one near it.

Barely a second after creating the Portal to Austria, I jump in, and immediately duck down, letting a very fast kick go over my head, harmlessly.

Completing a barrel roll, I raise my hand, catching a fist coming at my head, and kick my attacker in the stomach, sending him flying away from me, and into a large tree.

The man was wearing a white shirt, with black trousers, along with black leather shoes. At least he's got style.

He stands up, dusting some of the dirt off, and looks at me with bright red eyes.

"Since when do Vampires work for Grindelwald?" I ask, getting ready for a fight. Grindelwald's Scrying has gotten far more advanced than I believed, if he could still see me coming here. My Runic tattoo should have prevented Precogs to not see me.

I guess the Tattoo lacks the Oomph factor to stop him. Or I was always going to come here anyway, even before I got the tattoo. And Vampires. Seriously?

Vampires are light on their feet, have no scent, have no beating heart, and their blood doesn't make a sound. He's fast, almost as fast as me, in fact, as I've noticed in the small exchange, but his strength is barely more than Steve's.

The vampire, keeps staring at me, and says, "We have an agreement." With an accent, which I'm guessing is Austrian.

Judging by the fact that it's 3 PM right now, with the sun shining above our heads, I'm guessing Grindelwald gave him a little something to allow Vampires to walk during daylight. Why though? Just to delay me? Because there's no way I'm not winning this fight, I have too much at stake to lose.

Feeling something brush my mental barriers, I chuckle, and say, "That's not going to work on me, buddy. I've faced stronger minds than yours."

I'd read that Vampires can Mind Control people, sort of like the Imperius curse without using a Wand, but I didn't think Vampires would be more subtle than the actual Curse.

The vampire smiles, weirdly enough, and says, "Oh, I know. Grindelwald told us that. I was just distracting you."

Us?

Turning around, I catch another fist coming at my head, and with a single movement, stab my pointed hand in the attacking vampire's chest, through his heart. As the vampire in my hands chokes, his body struggling to heal with my hand still inside his chest, I partially transform my arm into the Kasha's, burning the Vampire completely with white hot flames.

I turn around, now looking at more than 20 vampires, all suited up in nice clothes, looking down at me from different spots. Some were on trees, some were down on the ground, beside the first vampire. One of them, bigger than the rest, obviously their leader, was standing in the middle, wearing a suit that was definitely designer.

He looks barely bothered by the fact that I just killed one of his Vampires, and says, "Attack."

With a flourishing motion of my hands, I summon two long daggers in my hands, made by me, out of Goblin's Silver. I'm not going to waste my Galadmagol and Durmagol's enchantments on these.. weaklings.

I start walking forward, towards the main Vampire, as the 25 other Vampires start running towards me. 7 Vampires jump at me from their positions on the trees, their altitude allowing them to reach me first.

With a snap, I throw my two daggers into the necks of the two Vampires, beheading them immediately. I step to the right, letting the bodies fall down, and raise my leg, kicking a third Vampire away from me as he had approached me with his hands raised. 

Summoning one of my daggers, I catch the kick of a fourth Vampire, and stab him in the chest. Pulling the dagger sideways, I cut through his chest, and use it to behead another Vampire who tried to attack me from behind. The third Vampire returns, this time with a rock lifted over his head as a weapon.

Waving my left hand, I cut his legs off, making him slide on the ground, mid run, and causing the big rock to fall on his own head. This doesn't kill him, but a dagger landing on the ground, after cutting through his neck does.

I cut, stab, behead, and burn any vampire that approaches me, and within a single minute, the only Vampire remaining is the leader. 

They're fast, but I'm faster. They're strong, but I'm stronger, and I just have better instincts. 

I look up at the last vampire, the leader, standing just a couple meters away from him. He was bigger than me, taller than me by at least a whole foot. 

He grins down at me, and says, "I'm stronger, you know. You may have defeated my children, but you won't defeat me so easily."

As a show of strength, he puts his left hand to the side, and stabs his fingers into the trunk of a tree, and crushes the wood.

Okay, yeah, he's stronger than me.

Swinging my arm as fast as possible, softball style, I throw the dagger at his forehead. The vampire ducks, seeing the dagger coming, and says, "As if I'm that slow-"

And then, he dies, his head falling down, courtesy of the dagger returning to my hands, spinning around like a boomerang thanks to my Telekinesis. Snapping my fingers, I conjure flames in the air in front of myself, and send them at all the dead.. well, re-dead Vampire bodies, turning them to ash.

And then, I begin my walk towards Nurmengard, completely invisibile.

Barely 10 steps in, however, I am forced to stop, courtesy of a barrier being raised around me. Correction, around us. There were around 50 Wizards, who had apparated in all at once, to surround me from three sides.

Not bothering with speaking, I become visible, and start walking towards them, my wand in my hand this time. Around 30 spells fly towards me, all at once, few of them killing curses. I wave my left hand through the air, casting a Protego, creating a large shield to absorb the non lethal spells.

As for the Killing Curses, small rocks jump up from the ground, intercepting the spells, and take the curses for me before they can even strike the shield.

The shield maintained by my left hand, wandlessly, I wave my right hand, which held my wand, through the air, casting an area wide stunning charm.

Turning the Stunning charm into an area wide spell, is easy enough. It just loses a lot of power, and speed, allowing competent wizards enough time to shield.

The group attacking me, however, were not all competent. Heck, half the people here were yelling spells loudly, even for stunners. Many others, meanwhile, were in the middle of casting spells of their own, when my spell is emitted, not giving them enough time to shield.

Around 15 Wizards drop down, unconscious, while 10 or so Wizards start becoming dizzy, their Magic resisting against the Stunner.

Holding the Protego in front of me, I banish it at the group to my left. As my shield crashes into them, they get thrown into the forest, as 10 stunners hit the 8 people all at once. Turning to my right, I point my wand at the 7 wizards there, and shoot a basketball sized fireball at them.

The wizards jump away, letting the fireball crash into a tree with an explosion, but while they were jumping, stunners take care of dropping them too.

And now, I turn towards the 20 remaining people, to my front, 10 of whom were still dizzy. Catching a flaying curse on the tip of my wand, I send it back towards the caster, and watch his skin start peeling off, not enjoying his screaming even a little.

My dagger comes out of its holster, and flies towards his heart, thanks to my Telekinesis, which stops his screaming.

The 19 wizards all point their wands at me, and yell, "AVADA KEDAVRA!" in unison.

Well, fuck you too.

Throwing my Wand down, I clap my hands together, and create portals underneath all their feet, dropping them on the ground right in front of me, in the paths of their own curses. Another portal drops me on the opposite side, away from the Killing Curse's path.

The Wizards drop dead, their killing curses hitting them. One of them, however, was still breathing.

"Wow, you're so lucky you can't even cast the killing curse." I say, not knowing if I should be impressed, or disappointed. This man's killing curse had no.. killing factor in it. Despite hitting his face, it did nothing to him.

"Hngh!" The man groans, as he starts to raise his wand to attack me again.

"Percutio!" I say, nonchalantly pointing my own wand at him.

From my wand tip, a focused bolt of magic emits, and hits him on the forehead. The piercing hex stabs through his head, and comes out, killing him. Well, he's dying, but his brain is probably already dead.

What? He tried to fucking kill me! He failed but that's not my problem now, is it?

The 50 wizards all dead, or unconscious, I start walking once again, this time in the Mirror Dimension. Not letting anyone else ambush me, to delay me. 

The barrier they had erected to stop me is broken by a simple stab of Durmagol, before me going into the Mirror Dimension. It should allow at least someone to find these bodies.

The Aurors should have reached Nurmengard by now, I gave them enough time to do that. If not, well, canon fodder aren't going to delay me too much.

-

Dumbledore appears out of the Apparition tunnel, around 300 meters away from the outer walls of Nurmengard. In front of him, were thousands of Wizards, all with their wands pointed at him.

One of them raises his arm up, and says, "Stop, it's Dumbledore. Gellert wants him inside."

Albus recognises the Wizard as Heinz Luther, the replacement of Vinda Rosier, and one of Gellert's lieutenants. 

As if Albus was Moses, the sea of wizards part, allowing him to see the gate of the Nurmengard fortress. As the gate opens, Albus sees him, his former best friend, the one man he loved the most. Gellert Grindelwald.

He was just standing there, waiting for him, outside the Nurmengard building. The Lethifolds he was supposed to have tamed were nowhere to be seen, but then again, Lethifolds can hide themselves very easily.

Albus starts walking, knowing that these Wizards won't attack him. It's not Gellert's style, at least, when it comes to Albus. Either he would have had him assasinated, or he would have killed him himself.

Calling him to Austria, and cursing on his back, was not something he would condone.

"Welcome, Albus! I'm glad you came here to witness my victory over the Wizarding World!" Gellert proclaims, as soon as Albus is inside the grounds of Nurmengard.

Albus takes his wand out, as soon as he's inside, and stops, the wand held at his side. He doesn't say anything, not having any words to do so.

He had already said all the words he wanted to, tried to convince Gellert hundreds of times over. If that didn't convince him of his errors, then nothing will.

"Shall we begin, my dear?" Gellert asks, bringing his own wand out. 

Albus notices that it's not the Wand he had known Gellert to possess, and his heart sinks, realising something. The reason behind Gellert's confidence, it wasn't just his Sight.

"The Elder Wand." Albus whispers, staring in horror at the Wand that's rumoured to be the most powerful Wand ever created. Steeling his heart, Albus starts the duel, by firing a thick bolt of pure magic at Gellert.

Gellert's smile widens, as he shoots his own bolt through the Elder Wand, and Albus's magic, the two spells meeting in the middle.

The Battle of the Century, has begun.

---

A/N: How was this chapter? Honest review please.

Sorry for being late! I'm on meds, and hence a bit sleepy all the time. I couldn't find the energy to write, or post here! I'm still sleepy, dizzy, but I'd waited too long anyway, so I wanted to post.

Thank you for your support! Tata!