Chapter 7

Alrighty readers. Exams are coming up. So... me being quite the procrastinator, you guys get more chapters. YIPPEE!!

Yeaaa.... I'm fucked.

Also am changing my writing method. If you dont like it deal with it.

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Kaiser woke up to the soft morning light streaming through his window. His head was all messed up with everything that went down yesterday. A dull ache throbbed behind his eyes, as well as from his left hand. 

Kaiser gazed at his hand and noticed a mark, or more accurately, a tattoo of a coin on the back. "When did this happen?" he asked himself. He tried to remember what happened the previous night, and as soon as he did, the floodgates opened. Memories of the night before flooded his mind.

Tears started welling up as he realized he could've done something to stop it from happening. He kept thinking about Gellert and how messed up things were for him, for the both of them. His parents were gone.

Stefan and Sofia didn't deserve what happened to them. Kaiser beat himself up for not seeing the signs earlier, for not connecting the dots sooner. It was quite laid out. Gellert needed a reason to go dark. He needed a reason to hate muggles. It wasn't like there was a button and poof, he became the greatest dark lord in history. There had to be some sort of backstory. There always was.

And the worst part of all? It all made sense. The 7th birthday. Them getting their wands. The horrible weather of the past few days.

Yovar interrupted his thoughts, walking in without even knocking, while holding a tray with breakfast. Kaiser tried to put on a brave face, but Yovar could see through it. Even a blind man would see how badly Kaiser was taking the news.

"How you doing, Kaiser?" Yovar asked, trying his best to be comforting.

Kaiser looked at him and tried to answer, his voice rasping, to his surprise. "I'm hanging in there." Grabbing the cup of warm tea, he took a moment to sip, tasting the herbs inside, before asking, "Who did this, Yovar? Who killed them?"

Yovar paused for a moment, not expecting the question, before answering as simply as he could: "The attackers were muggles, but there were wizards mixed in with them too. Haaaaaaah... They broke the Statute Of Secrecy."

"Who?"

I don't know... My guess is rogue wizards who enslaved deserters or soldiers of the war."

"Are they all...?" Kaiser asked, his eyes focusing on the drink in his hands, noticing the slight difference in his pupils. 'That's weird'

"Yes. The wizards had been dealt with. The muggles, on the other hand, were released and obliviated."

"Why?" Hearing this, Kaiser's voice started to shake. 'Why were the muggles spared?' 

"Because they weren't in control, Kaiser. You have to understand. Losing control is something all beings do. Even you and Gelle—"

Kaiser interrupted him, realizing Gellert also lost control at the news.

"Gellert? Is he okay?"

Yovar took a deep sigh and took a seat at the bed, next to him. "He's holed up in his room. Won't come out. I'm really worried about him. I know he will get better, but he won't be the same. Not anymore..." he admitted, while resting his face on his hands. His shaking hands...

Kaiser glanced away from them and looked around the room trying to avoid seeing Yovar so weak and tired. As soon as he did that, his eyes rested upon the mirror beside the closet and noticed something weird.

His eyes. They had turned amber. It was almost like Geralt of Rivia kind. Except for his pupils, his eyes had turned into viper slits. At that point, he realized the room was more colorful. Vibrant. Lively...

Yovar looked up and noticed Kaiser staring at his own reflection, before trying to lighten the mood. "You and Gellert sure got a new look going on. I'm sure the ladies in Durmstrang will fall head over heels with those eyes of yours," he joked, but the joke fell flat.

But the mention of Durmstrang did make Kaiser ponder for a moment.

"When do I get my letter to Durmstrang?" Kaiser wondered aloud.

Yovar turned to him, his gaze turning softer. "You'll get it when you're eleven," he reassured.

Sighing for a final time, Yovar stood up and placed the tray at Kaiser's bedside as well as a pinkish potion which he called the drowsiness draught before leaving Kaiser to rest.

It took him a while to stop staring into the mirror and even more to settle down and dig into his meal. After finishing it though, Kaiser couldn't sit still anymore. He left the room, still in his sleepwear, and headed to Gellert's room. 

Reaching it, he softly knocked a couple of times. However, a hollow silence answered his knocks.

Just as he was about to turn round and go back to his room. The lock clicked, but the door remained motionless. Seeing this, Kaiser pushed it open and found Gellert seated on his bed, seemingly frozen, staring at the floor. His hand was outstreched towards the door for a moment before falling back down beside him. The absense of light casted shadows on his face, as the rays of sunlight barely pierced the cotton curtains.

'Non-Verbal and Wandless Magic?' Kaiser asked himself in amazement, but then realised it wasn't the time for this.

"Gellert, are you okay?" Kaiser asked, concerned. It took Gellert a moment to answer back, his voice, shaky. "Are they really gone?" he asked, his eyes closed for a moment before opening once more and turning towards him, revealing his transformed eyes.

"Your eyes..." Kaiser sat beside him, taking a better look at him.His eyes had turned heterochromatic, reminding him of Gellert. The future one. The Dark Lord. However what Kaiser started to worry about was not the colour. But the lack of emotion. His eyes were dead, and his face neutral. No emotion was visible. Not even sorrow.

Gellert turned away after not hearing Kaiser answer, there was no point in answering. Yovar wouldn't lie. He never did...

Kaiser saw his brother fall back into his thoughts. However he had nothing to say. He couldn't say anything.

So the brothers sat like that for a minute. The minute turned into 10 and then an hour. In complete silence, the two brothers looked back at the past and the joyfull times they had experienced.

This would have gone on if not for Gellert finally doing something. He pulled out his wand and stared at it for a moment, before finally talking.

"You remember what Yovar said? About the characteristics of Silverlime" He muttered, his eyes not leaving the wand.

"Yes? It was favoured by wizards skilled in Mind Arts, and was a symbol of s-" Kaiser answered back startled, not expecting his brother to ask something.

"I had a vision," Gellert interruped, before going silent once more "In my sleep."

Trying to get Gellert to talk, Kaiser asked, "What did you see?"

Gellert stared at his wand, his eyes not moving. "Death," He said suddenly. "Wizards running. Hiding. Large explosions resembling red mushrooms. Muggle weaponry shreddng through wizarding families with no remorse." He paused for a moment, his hands holding the wand, started to quiver. "Blood... everywhere."

Kaiser's heart sank. "Did you see anything else?"

Gellert whispered, "Just... darkness, Kaiser. Like nothing survives."

Chills snaked down Kaiser's spine as the memory replayed. He watched, helpless, as his brother shivered.

But then, a sudden calmness washed over Gellert. "This world needs to change, Kaiser," he murmured, a low growl in his throat. "Wizards need to change. Muggles are adapting at an alarming rate. Soon, they'll possess the power to level cities with a flick of their wrists. Magic won't be our downfall - it will be science, and our lack of actions."

He paused, brow furrowed in deep thought. As his perspective shifted, Kaiser held his breath.

This was the tipping point.

This very moment, where Gellert Grindelwald, destined to become history's most powerful Dark Lord, stood before him. This moment would ignite a war that would claim the lives of tens of thousands of wizards and millions of muggles. And Kaiser... Kaiser wouldn't stop it.

A raspy whisper broke the silence. "Kaiser," his brother rasped. "I want to change the world. Fix it. Make it a safer place for all witches and wizardkind." Gellert's voice burned with conviction.

Kaiser stared, momentarily stunned. Then, a slow grin spread across his face. It wasn't a friendly grin, but a predatory one, the kind a hunter wears before the kill.

"Why not..."