Tags: Protective Newt, Fluff
Length: 1.9k
Collection: Shots to a “Merry” Christmas
A/N: Fun fact, I don't actually remember writing this. Although I'm pretty sure I did it for my sister LOL.
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—Of Balls and Blasphemy—
A ball.
It was uncharacteristic of you to ever step foot in one, much less be part of one. But Newt’s brother had wanted him over in this particular one and had sent owls upon owls over the matter.
Insistent indeed, he was.
It took about five owls at his window before the magizoologist had relented and replied to his brother, Theseus that yes, he’d be there and yes, he’d bring someone along. And so, here you were, standing right at the doorstep of the ball party event.
You weren’t exactly sure whether it was actually a ball, a party or just a gathering but you did understand that it was still a celebration. For what, however, you did not know. Having said that, you still did your best to look the part, dressed suitably for the occasion. You donned a high-low cocktail dress with its beautiful uneven satin skirt cut in a way which made the back of it trail downwards, wisping around your ankles while the front stopped short right before your knees. It was a beautiful thing, the black satin wisping around your form despite it being a semi-open-backed dress.
“You uh, you look really stunning in that today.” Newt complimented, nervously scratching his neck.
He didn’t really know where he should be looking, in all honesty. Taking your hand in his, Newt went inside only to be swept up by Theseus just moments after who pushed two flutes of champagne into his hands.
Clapping a hand onto his shoulder, his brother smiled when Newt took the drinks, handing one to you in turn.
“Lovely to see you here, brother. I was hoping that you wouldn’t stand me up this time. Who is this lady you’ve brought with you?” He gestured to you.
“Well, I’m glad to say that I didn’t let you down this time. This is..." He started off, introducing you to his brother.
"An acquaintance of mine. And um, I did say that I’d bring a companion along…”
You took his older brother’s proffered hand and flashed him a smile. “I see now, so you’re his infamous brother.”
“How are things…” The conversation trailed off as you detached yourself from his side, leaning against one of the many railings and taking the place in.
It was quite a brilliant sight with magically influenced candle-lights and sparkly ornaments all charmed to hang mid-air. There were even a few intricately-designed crystal chandeliers hanging up the ceiling and candle holders of similar craftsmanship on the walls.
You were about to walk away to see what more the place had to offer when you felt someone grab you by the shoulder. Turning back, you found yourself face to face with your ex, as finely dressed as always, looking none too bad for the wear. In fact, he was groomed to perfection and pleasantly gleeful that he had found you amidst the crowds.
“Fancy seeing you here.” He greeted you in that unmistakably silky tone that sent shivers down your spine.
You had left this man for good and now he was here, back to haunt you yet again. Biting back the lump that had suddenly formed in your throat, you gave him a forced smile.
“I could say the same too. Fancy seeing you here but now, if you’d excuse me. I believe that I’ve got somewhere I have to be--” You tried to give him an excuse and make your getaway quickly but he had seen through it and cut you off mid-way.
“Slithery as a snake now, are we? No, dear. You aren’t getting away so easily. Not when I’ve finally found you again.” He stepped closer into your personal bubble before hissing in your ear.
“Excuses won’t work on me, sweet. I know you too well for that and I’m sure that we have a lot of catching up to do hmm?”
The shivers returned and a resounding smack rang out, resounding through the air. You had unconsciously slapped the guy hard in the cheek out of pure instinct. Yes, that guy was getting a little on your nerves a little too much and you didn’t really like how he was advancing onto you like that. The resounding slap had quite a bit of force packed into it and it sent him stumbling a few steps back. Your ex had a hand on his cheek as he snarled a couple of vile names at you.
Sensing that he had an audience, he smirked, deciding to play it up a little. If you wanted a show, he’d show you a real show alright. He’d make a scene. One that would send you running out of the doors, a disgrace to the world. For he was a pure-blood of noble standing and he wasn’t about to let his wounded pride sit, cowering, whining.
Seeing that a crowd was starting to gather around the both of you, Newt started for the other end of the hall where you were, abandoning the flutes of punch he had taken onto an unfortunate server's tray and curtly excusing himself from his brother’s company. A confused bowtruckle peeked its head out of his pocket, looking around before its beady brown eyes landed on Newt’s.
It tilted his head to the side in question.
“Not now, Pickett. Be good.” He warned.
It obediently ducked its head, leaves and all back into the cover of his pocket as Newt ducked and weaved through the crowd. It took a while of skilled manoeuvring among the sea of people before he got to his destination.
He could hear you raise your voice ever so slightly at your ex, a tinge of fear underlaid within your tone. “Stop it, we’re through!”
“No, no, I’m sure that we still have a chance together, don’t we? Please? Won’t you rethink us, together?” Your ex asked before his voice dropped lower so others wouldn’t catch wind of what he was about to say next.
“I’m sure you wouldn’t want to force my hand now so it’ll be in your best choice to play along now, hm?”
Ugh, you really wanted to punch him smack in the face with how smug he was being. You would. But there was a crowd and you certainly didn’t want to draw any more attention to yourself judging from the steadily growing crowd that had suddenly materialized around the both of you.
“Sorry, can’t you see that you’re bothering her?” A voice smoothly cut in.
Heavens, what great timing!
Your ex arched an eyebrow at him, clearly irritated at having been interrupted.
“And who are you? I doubt she would ever associate with someone like you.” Your ex snipped at him.
You lunged out at Newt and grabbed his arm, tugging him firmly to your side.
“He’s my fiance so bugger off now!” You hissed.
Newt stood there beside you, stunned by your sudden proclamation towards the man you had been locking verbal heads with.
You were his what now?
Your ex looked at him incredulously. “Your fiance?” He repeated.
He waved a hand as if to demonstrate. “This…This meek of a guy?”
Newt had been keeping his head down, eyes on the opposing set of feet. Your ex sure had some well-shined shoes, if anything.
Newt pondered over something for a split second before stepping up to break the argument. “Alright now, I’m sure you wouldn’t want to blow this argument up any more than you have to.”
He sent a well-meaning look in your offender’s way, raising his arms out before him in pacification. You blinked at Newt who had pushed you behind him, falling back into his usual habits when dealing with his much larger-sized beasts. Newt continued on, cautiously eyeing the man before him.
“Yes, I am her fiance and it would do you well to back off now. She’s spoken for and I wouldn’t hesitate to take to our wands if we have to.” He warned.
You watched them both, slightly worried that they’d actually break out into a duel. You could feel the crowd shift from the tension and a few more curious heads turned to see whatever the commotion was.
“Newt!” You could hear Theseus faintly calling out for his brother as he manoeuvred through the crowd, chasing after his fleet-footed brother.
“Why you- How dare you.” Your ex seethed, reaching out to his wand and gripping the handle tightly.
He was ready to whip it out and send a particularly nasty slug hex in your direction when something green launched into him. It sent him sprawling and staggering backwards onto the ground as he felt a sharp searing pain across his eyes along with what sounded like a chattering squeak. Picking himself up, he flung out a hand to grab at whatever it was that had just assaulted his face, only to find nothing in its wake. Except for the sharp pain and…He removed his hand and brought it to the light. His own blood.
Bloody bugger had swiped him across the eyes!
Wiping the blood off his eyes and freeing his vision from the red blood, his eyes darted to where the two of you stood.
Or once stood, for the both of you were gone, just like the wind. And it was just in that moment that Theseus Scamander managed to overcome the crowd and pushed his head through to lay eyes on the scene. He saw nothing, except one fuming injured wizard. He shook his head, making his way to the guy and helping him up.
“Come on mate, let’s get you cleaned up.”
Judging from the scratches on his eyes, Theseus could vaguely guess what had just transpired here. He sighed, maybe he should have a talk with his little brother about how he should keep tighter reins on his creatures after all.
Outside, however, found the two of you standing in a garden of blooming night flowers. It was a pleasantly cool night today and for that, you were glad. Newt had taken to giving Pickett a thorough chiding for what he just did at one corner.
He held the bowtruckle up to face him, using the back of his hand as leverage.
“Come on now, I’ve told you over and over again that you can’t just hop out of my pocket to scratch the eyes out of people like that.” He scolded the small creature balanced on his hand.
It turned its head to the side, seemingly ignoring Newt and his sermon session.
“Pickett.” He warned.
It stuck its tongue out at him. Newt rolled his eyes before looking at his creature companion in exasperation.
“Thank you for earlier. You and Pickett, both. He was really grating on my nerves back there and things were really about to turn ugly for a moment there.” You went up to him, making both heads turn to face you as you approached.
“Er, you’re welcome?” He replied, slightly unsure if he had actually done the right thing considering how his presence there had quite literally sent a rabid bowtruckle lunging for his face.
“So about the whole fiance thing…” He started off, his blue-grey eyes fixed firmly onto you.
“Nope.”
“Oh…Okay.” He visibly drooped and looked down at the ground, much like a kicked puppy at your rejection.
“But…” You continued, making him perk up and turn in your direction once more.
Tags: Humor, Fluff
Length: 880
Collection: Shots to a “Merry” Christmas
A/N: It's most definitely not the season, but presenting my oldest works from 2018, Shots to a "Merry" Christmas. Yeah, I know. I have the long-standing tendency to write during Xmas season... despite not celebrating said festival, but that's besides the point!
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—In which a bet is lost and they're now your dress-up doll for the day, for good or for worse—
“…Didn't we agree not to bring work home?” You heard someone sigh as they came up to you, peeking over your shoulder to see the multitude of sketches in front of you.
“Hello, Mr. Scamander! How may I help you today? Would you like one of our new suits or would you rather take something a tad more festive?” You grinned at him, flashing two of your newly made sketches at him as he pulled a face on your take on professionalism.
“What do I have to do to get your mind off your work for once?” He muttered as he plucked the papers off your hands.
A flick of his wand and the mess of papers on the table arranged themselves into a neat stack and a swish made them all disappear from where they were, earning a disgruntled complaint from you.
“Hey! Don't magic my papers away, give them back!”
You were admittedly a little miffed at his little charade due to it being the holiday season, which was a busy time for a fashion designer for a clothing apparel store like you.
“No.”
“Please?”
“No.”
“I bet you'll end up giving in to me by the end of the day! And then I'll make you wear stupid sweaters all the way till Christmas when you do!”
Theseus rolled his eyes and walked away.
“Nice try but that's not happening.” He paused.
“But if I do win, and I will, you'll banish all work outside the door, yes?”
“Deal!” Mirth twinkled in your eyes as you agreed to the terms of the bet, knowing full well that he wouldn’t last.
Not for long, anyway.
Alas, he eventually gave in to your infamous puppy dog eyes moments after. Theseus Scamander, a renowned war hero, digging his own grave and set for humiliation the next day in his own department.
The next day, dressed by the hands of one imp of a girlfriend, he got a peck on the cheek and a wish of good luck before he left for work. You were having way too much fun with this that he could see the mirthful glee in your eyes.
Oh, the joy.
He tried. He swore he tried not to let you have your way but even he knew that you had him wrapped around your little finger. To which he groaned and ran a hand over his face at the prospect of facing others decked out in such…
“Merlin’s beard, Theseus! What's with that horrendous sweater you're wearing today?” A loud voice belonging to one of his other Aurors sounded from the other end of the MACUSA's office.
The guy had spotted poor Theseus while he had been trying to sneak out of his office and grab a cup of well-needed coffee inconspicuously. Apparently, his plan had been foiled and every single head in the department turned to face him and his… Current predicament.
He had on a horrid Christmas sweater indeed.
It was a shade of brilliant bloody red with Christmas-styled patterns all over it along with “Let's get elfed up!” written in big bold letters smack in the center. He could feel his ears start to turn red with embarrassment at all the attention he was getting.
All eyes were on him at this point and he had utterly no idea how he should be reacting. Thus, he decided to settle back into his old habits and played it cool, giving a small cough before declaring. “I thought that it'd be great to make this place a little more festive seeing as Christmas is coming so I took it upon myself to wear…A celebrative artifact of sorts.”
He got himself a few looks of disbelief before he scurried back behind the doors of his one safe haven, his office.
True to your word, you've kept him on a daily sweater schedule much to his displeasure. Knowing that he lost the bet, Theseus sucked it up and wore it…. again and again and again. Until one day, he just decided to give up hiding and simply went about the office as he usually did.
No more hiding.
He walked out of his office with confident strides and his head held high.
“Theseus? Why does that look like something belonging to the shop a couple of streets down?”
Great, now even Mr. Graves himself had come down to preen at his newly acquired fashion sense.
He paused, sheepishly rubbing his neck before answering his higher-up. “The owner's my girlfriend and I lost a bet, unfortunately. This is the result of her getting back at me, you see.”
There was a moment of silence before the man nodded in understanding, moving over to give Theseus a well-meaning pat on the back.
“Unfortunately, yes. But it doesn't hurt to see your colorful collection of sweaters once in a while…Really brightens up the place.”
“Now please Mr.Scamander, we’ve got an important hearing with the board and surely you wouldn’t want to turn up in that now, would you?”
Trust Theseus to never put a bet out whenever you're involved again. He'll never be able to live it down.
Heck, he'd probably be damned if Newt ever saw him on one of those ugly sweaters.
Tags: Drabble, General, Durmstrang AU
Length: 688
Series: Hello, Little Potioneer
A/N: This was unplanned, but well, that's one way to start the day. Somehow managed to cobble this out into coherency during lunch, but it's back to work for me. Good morning, everyone.
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Bumping into one Gellert Grindelwald while half-awake had not been on your agenda for the day, but there he was anyway, giving you a little push towards the waking realm.
Sometimes, even you get dreary days where your eyelids struggle to remain open after a rough night. In the mornings, as the rooster crows to herald a new day, when you know you have places to be, and an ever-long list of things that you need to accomplish by sundown, yet find yourself slightly at a loss as you piece yourself into working order. In short, it was time to get up and face a brand new day, much to your chagrin.
The past few days had been challenging, pushing at the capacities of what you could handle. Or, at least, what you thought yourself capable of managing without effectively snapping at someone at the drop of a hat. More sleep sounded good to your addled brain, but you were sober enough to know that you couldn't feed into that urge, no matter how tempting its lull.
Perhaps you truly shouldn't have stayed up past bedtime, but you had papers to complete, and honestly, time seemed to be escaping you more often than you were aware of as of late. You grumbled as you ran a hand down your face. Whatever the case, that was a problem for the future you.
Mornings, you'd decided, effective immediately, were not your thing.
You hung your head wearily as you ambled through the corridors. There were only a handful of people up and about at this hour, something that you were thankful for. You didn't quite trust your feet not to carry you straight into the trajectory of another while your mind hadn't quite booted itself up yet, still strapped within a muggy fog that had only just started to clear up.
It could've been worse, you reasoned as you let your feet and muscle memory ferry you to the hall for breakfast hour. As you blindly shuffled in the general direction of the location, you weren't quite looking at where you were going either, when something momentarily stopped you in your tracks, or rather, someone— Grindelwald, in passing.
"Wow, don't you look like a nasty piece of work today." He whistled upon catching sight of you, though you presumed you looked a little less like a person, and more like a threateningly looming dementor with how drifty you felt half-awake. You hadn't looked up, much less paused. And if he'd left you then, you would no doubt brush past him without a second thought, not having noticed his presence.
Had you not heard him?
Seeing no response on your part despite the jibe he'd just dealt, Grindelwald cocked his head in slight concern before a lightbulb seemed to go off in his head. Right, you weren't a morning person, were you? Never have been, as far as he'd known you.
He settled for another approach then, halting in his footsteps and reaching out the moment he got into range. "Chin up," He'd said in passing, not in a chiding manner, but merely a gentle reminder despite the minute amusement coloring his tone.
You paused when you heard the familiar voice gracing your ears in a soft, encouraging whisper; blinked, as you felt long fingers brushing against your chin, gently tilting it upwards. Having felt no malice from the action, you let it happen, your eyes slowly drifting up to meet warm browns as you stared at him, nonplussed. "Oh," was the only thought that had registered in your mind as the fog finally receded, and some clarity returned to you. His face was not something you were expecting to see at this early hour, but he was here, unbidden, all the same.
He patted your cheek with something that bordered on a smile then, satisfied by something you couldn't quite name, but he was gone with a swish of his robes before you could string together anything more coherent.
Well, that definitely woke you up.
You'd only barely exchanged a few words, and it would have been euphemistic to even call it a conversation given how fleeting it had been. But, despite everything, it was enough to give you the strength to continue on with another day. And for that, you were grateful.
Tags: Durmstrang AU, Canon-Divergence
Length: 5.2k
Series: Part Ⅰ of Hello, Little Potioneer
A/N: Surprise, surprise. Yeah, it's not Depp's Grindelwald. You're Grindy's childhood friend of sorts.
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—In which you're cajoled into having some fun out in the snow, against your better judgment—
Grim, had been your expression as you stalked down the barren corridors, an armful of books in your hands— a stark contrast to the weak rays of the sun that peeked through the pillars framing the path you were on.
The curriculum in Durmstrang was brutal, for lack of a better word. You'd been keeping your nose to the grindstone trying to finish the copious essays that the professors had assigned. Painstakingly so. So much that you were running low on sleep, and enough that your attention in classes started slipping.
A nap sounded good right about now. Maybe just an hour or two, a quick catnap to boost your energy levels. You quickly dashed the thought, however.
No, you couldn't. You had to finish it, and it had to be perfect. Time spent napping was time wasted. You needed every second to count, and what you really needed was to get this essay done and over with!
The Durmstrang Institution, a wizarding school located in the far north of Europe that only deigned to take purebloods under its fold, saw little worth in students who failed to comply with their strict standards. And failure meant warnings, and with warnings came a whole train of other things down the line that you couldn't bear the thought of. At best, that meant expulsion. And at worst… Well, public humiliation was the least of it. You'd probably be disowned and discarded somewhere, a festering wound to your family's long-standing pride and name.
You felt your blood turn to ice at the prospect. Never mind what the denizens of Durmstrang thought, traversing the Pureblood society beyond the controlled environment of the academic grounds was a whole other issue. One that you swore you would never let it come down to.
You sighed, resigning yourself to another book-bound afternoon in the library.
Oh, how you hated being confined to the library. You bemoaned the way you were forced to remain indoors, especially when the sun was finally out, albeit at a limited capacity. Winters were dark, and awfully dreary in this part of Europe, where you'd missed the warmth of the sun just a week into the chilly season. But knowledge was worth its weight in gold. Your parents had spent no expense to ingrain that fact into you at a young age, and you’d have to put in the due effort if you were ever hoping to get a good grade in this goddamned school filled with elites.
A select few, really. There was someone hailing from the Black family in your class, for one. And you’d heard rumors of there being a student from one of the lesser-known Malfoy branch families being in the same year. You’d never met the person in question. Still, you did wonder on occasion what they were doing all the way out here and attending Durmstrang instead of, say, Hogwarts, which would have been much closer to where the main family had set down their roots in anyway — in wizarding London. Though, you supposed it did make sense considering how this school also held a renowned focus on the darker arts. If there was anything you knew about older families who had withstood the trials of time, it was that they had an equally vested interest in the dark arts, for one reason or another; yours being no exception.
Grumbling under your breath, you were just about to cross the threshold of the connecting building, which housed the library, when something went flying your way. Much faster than you could dodge. Not that you could, anyway. You doubt you could do much, given your weary state after having burnt several midnight oils in your academic pursuits.
“Oof!”
A wet thud fell onto the ground before your feet.
‘What the hell?’
You vaguely felt the warming charm you had placed thinly veiled upon your skin, stuttering ever so threateningly.
‘Hmm…’
You dimly noted that perhaps you should have put more work into it sometime. Fire magic was never one of your fortes, no. It was safe to say that your talents were better placed elsewhere. And for all intents and purposes, the charm was meant to ward snowflakes off you, not take the brunt of a proverbial avalanche.
Was that a snowball?
You glanced at the white pile before your feet, slowly crumbling harmlessly into powdered snow as it lost its shape.
Yup, definitely a snowball. A tight-packed one too, by the looks of it.
But who in their right mind would bludgeon a random passerby with a mouthful of snow, save for a friend — something that was held in alarming scarcity by every Durmstrang attendee?
Having just finished your last afternoon class of the day, getting ambushed by a snowball to the face was by far the last thing you expected to be greeted with. Shaking the remnants of the icy powder that still clung to your hair, you swerved your head around in search of the offender. Only to find no one in sight.
The snowscape was barren, with the exception of only one or two students passing by as they hurried between classes. Granted, no one wanted to be out in the subfreezing temperatures any longer than was required of them.
A pale wind blew past, dry and biting, sending a flurry of snowflakes dancing in the air. All you could see were piles of snow decorating the school grounds along with snow-topped trees. Miles and miles of nothing but the same gradient shades of white…
‘Maybe it was just a stray shot.’ you reasoned.
You had places to be and even less time to spare. Shrugging it off, you turned to proceed back on your journey.
Only for another sodding snowball to hit you, again. This time, you scowled and drew your wand.
Your warming charm was going to break if it kept taking more hits, and you HATED the cold. And while it did help ward off the frigid chill, it wasn't exactly omnipotent. You still felt the fluctuations in temperature and maybe half the brunt of an icy snowball. That, and your charm was shaky, at best. It would hold, but not for long, and certainly not under duress.
Ticked off by whoever it was that had decided to play pranks on you, you waved your wand and sent a whole pile of snow in the vague direction of where the snowball had come from.
Only to get— nothing. There was no sound, no response. No annoyed grumble of getting snowed on or the odd hex that came when you happened to annoy someone who wielded a wand. Silence descended then, as always, and you could even hear the faint whistling of the wind as it blew through the yard.
Huffing at the childishness of this all, you wrapped your scarf tighter around yourself and buried your nose in its warmth. Deciding that you weren't really up for a snowball fight with a ghostly entity, you turned, determined to make your way to the library.
Smack!
A couple of snowballs hit you hard on the back, making you whip around in confusion once more. This time, however, you found a couple more snowballs floating in the air and making their merry way toward their target— you.
Enchanted snowballs.
You rolled your eyes, breaking the charm on the floating balls of chilling disaster with a flick of your wand. The once airborne snowballs flopped harmlessly back down to the ground with a dull thud.
There was only one person who'd go so far to do anything, really. Especially in relation to you.
Putting the things in your arms down on a bench in the hallway, you stomped back out into the snow, intent on seeking out the person in question and giving him a taste of his own medicine.
“Gellert! I know it's you, get out here!”
Spotting his familiar head of pale blond hair darting around the trees and gathering snow as he went, you raised your wand and flung a magical snowball in his direction. If that was how you'd get his attention, then so be it.
Your apt and accurate aim landed square in his shoulder, eliciting a grunt. The floating ammunition he was focused on making fell harmlessly into his waiting palm as his focus shifted to your rapidly approaching figure.
“Hello, love.” He greeted you, his heterochromatic eyes the very picture of innocence, save for the slight, almost imperceptible, quirk of his lips that he didn't quite hide.
Or, maybe, he didn't care to.
“Hello, yourself. Why are you pelting snowballs at me?” You pointed an accusing finger at him as he slowly made his approach.
Gellert looked at you, turned back down to look at the slowly forming snowball in his hand, and squinted into the distance before his eyes settled back on your sullen countenance.
He pauses, cautiously eyeing you before continuing slowly. “You… look like a right wreck. Let me guess, Professor Ferlet has you hitting the books again?”
You mumbled in the positive, quiet curses starting to litter your breath before he snapped your attention back to him. “Well, come on then. I don't have to spell it out for you, do I?”
Not that he had to, the wry smile on his face spoke for itself.
“Fancy a game? It’ll take your mind off things.” He held a hand out in offering, the finished snowball levitating ever so slightly— compact and perfectly packed with a sizable punch.
“Are you insane?” You hiss, eyes furtively darting around.
If anything, it only made the furrow between your brows deepen. Heaven forbid that you two got caught out here by any roaming professors. Students weren't meant to be out here when classes were still in session, frolicking or otherwise.
“Detention would be the least of our problems if we got caught!”
‘But doing things you shouldn't be doing is where the fun lies, right?’ came the tiny intrusive thought, floating at the forefront of your mind.
“Aw, don't ruin the fun. Time out here is better spent than time in the company of those stuffy old tomes, yes?”
How did he even— You know what? Nevermind.
‘Anything’s better than the library, at this point.’ You thought, apathetically.
However, the considerable consequences of failing to turn in your essay weighed upon your mind, holding you in place. The thought of ditching flickered into your mind, and whilst tempting…
“You know you want to.” He drew closer then, egging you on.
But it appears that it was all Gellert needed. He saw the moment the idea had formulated in your head, snagged the wisping thought, and tugged.
“You do, don't you?” He tried again, ever so convincingly as he nudged the snowball in his hand closer towards you.
You'd already resigned yourself to a day perusing semi-crumbling pages, so you'd rather get on with it, but that didn't stop you from being complaintive.
“I absolutely abhor being cooped up indoors, but I actually have to do my work, unlike you. Unfortunately.”
That earned a quirk of his head. “What homework?”
“I have an essay on Ancient Magic due tomorrow and I'm only part-ways through.” You sighed wearily.
Well, that explained why you were on your way to the library when he saw you. It piqued his interest then, eliciting a thoughtful hum of consideration. Ancient Magic meant rituals among many other things, and since you were headed to the library before he caught you, that means you were just about ready to sink a couple of hours into researching. Magicks of the old was something he was well-read on, having spent many hours poring over the texts himself, once. A past obsession, even. He could get behind that, no problem.
“Alright then, how about this? Humor me and I'll help you. All I ask for is a snowball fight, and it can't get any better than that, you know. I'm offering.”
You regarded him dubiously. You never really knew whether to trust him, especially when he had that devious glint in his eye. Was he really saying that he was willing to subject himself to your academic woes? Or did he have something planned, hidden up his sleeve?
“I’ve done my fair share of reading. You'd be surprised by the wealth of knowledge I have here.” He tapped a finger to his temple in emphasis when he saw your hesitation.
An enticing offer, indeed.
The brightest student Durmstrang has ever seen, offering to help you with homework in exchange for a snowball fight?
Consider yourself successfully enticed.
“Deal.” You readily agreed, taking the snowball he'd proffered you.
Except he didn't move. Not for a good while.
It was then that you realized he was staring. His eyes were lowered, almost as if he was observing something… on you. Was there something on your face? You were about to raise a sleeve to swipe at whatever it was when the silence was finally broken after a long pause.
“Hmm... Curious.” He mutters.
You glanced up at him in confusion.
He doesn't elaborate, and you don't ask.
Something had shifted in his eyes, but it was gone almost as soon as it came. You thought it had been a trick of the light. It almost seemed like... disappointment.
He brought his hands up to your face then, smoothing the creases that had taken to your brow before using his thumbs to lift the corners of your lips up into some semblance of a tilting smile. “See? Much better.”
“You should really smile more.” He adds, in a voice so soft it was stolen by the wind, and in such a subtly gentle tenor that you could be mistaken.
Grindelwald? Being nice? Hell must have frozen over somewhere in the nine realms and beyond.
The smile on his face, however, was fleeting. You could see the moment his facade dropped, the little reverent smile on his face morphing into a mischievous grin.
He darted away, charming a flurry of snowballs in your direction as he made his escape into the cluster of trees. “First one down wins!”
“Hey!” You exclaimed as you quickly swerved out of the way, the projectiles hitting the ground where you once stood.
“Alright, it's on now!” Gripping the snowball he'd imparted to you, you sent it flying at his retreating figure.
The muffled grunt that sounded in the distance informed you that you'd indeed landed a hit on your intended target. Score! Now that evened out the playing field.
The fight continued as you darted after him, chasing each other deeper into the woods where the snow lay thicker, exchanging blows as you went. Ducking and weaving through the thicket, both of you used the cover of the trees to your advantage. They were skeletal after having lost all their leaves, but you had to admit that the trunks still made for sturdy shields in times of need as you ducked behind one and braced yourself for the incoming onslaught of snow.
Crystal-clear laughter rang out in the air as you each tried to one-up the other with increasingly absurd conjurations. The snowballs doubled, and quadrupled, and eventually, the ammunition you sent at each other started to resemble waves.
After all, if you couldn't catch your enemy, what better else to do than to overwhelm them? Power in numbers and all that.
And as much as you didn't want to admit it, it did feel good to let loose. It was childish, sure — but you were enjoying it much more than you thought despite your initial reluctance.
Were you even supposed to be pouring this much magic into this? Probably not.
Was it wise? Absolutely not. You were technically breaking the rules to be out here. Not to mention, wasting your magic reserves on an otherwise nonsensical sport.
But was it fun? Hell yeah. You were happy to do it again.
And judging by the way your foe tittered as you both continuously knocked each other off your feet, he was immensely enjoying this snowy affair too. In fact, you don't think you've ever seen him this happy before. He seemed to like the snow. Maybe winter was his favorite season?
It wasn't until you finally clocked him on the back of his head that something started to niggle at you at the back of your mind. While it didn't set off blaring alarms or anything remotely unnerving, you did get the feeling that something was off. You knew him, your friendship having spanned years due to the connections your families had. And as guarded as he’d always carried himself around others, he’d never have let anyone hit him in such a vulnerable spot, even if it were someone he was closer to; that much you knew.
Were you getting played?
But you were landing hits, you were wearing him down, and better yet, you were winning. And most importantly, you could finally wipe that smug grin off his face!
He was slowing, you noted with glee.
Was he finally tiring from your constant bombardment? And how would he feel to finally be on the losing side, for once? The thought alone added vigor to your motions as you doubled down on your efforts, intent on cornering him. Your opponent, however, did not make for an easy target. Whilst you were scoring hits on him, he’d countered you in an equally vicious manner, wearing you down in turn. It took you a while before you finally noticed that your companion had gradually started to go missing, your projectiles starting to hit naught but solid ground.
You wheezed a breath. Merlin’s beard, this guy was slippery!
By the time you realized that he was actually letting you hit him on purpose to draw you out elsewhere, it was already too late. A shadow flickered between the trees. Your eyes darted in its direction as you held your wand out at the ready. Something silvery glinted in the distance, and that was all the warning you got before a sudden surge of snow came at you from the side. It caught you completely off-guard as it barreled straight into you, knocking the breath out of you as you bowled over from the force of it with a resounding “Oomph!”
You had been led like a rabbit to the wolf’s den to an area with a drop in the ground, where Gellert had cleverly hidden his mass of projectiles, and you were the prime unsuspecting target. The snow, you grouched as you picked yourself up from the small mountain of snow that you had been barraged with, was COLD.
Shaking the snow off your person, you growled. “For Circe’s sake, do you intend on burying me!?”
A snicker sounded from nearby as he stepped out from behind the thick trunk of a sturdy oak. “Maybe you should pay more attention to your surroundings, hm?”
You could hear his proud and cocky voice drifting through the otherwise silent air as you grumbled a quiet “bastard” under your breath.
Raising your wand, you smiled as you faced him, a thinly veiled threat masked behind an equally cheerful voice. “Let's see how you like this then.”
And that was all the warning he got. A flick of your wand sent a cluster of snowballs plummeting in his direction, and a twirl and a half spelled an avalanche of them that quickly followed after. You barely noticed the widening of his eyes, the mirth sparkling in them vanishing just as quickly as he stared at the ominous overhang of snow starting to form in the air before it was sent crashing down like a wave.
It was safe to say that by the end of it all, he was positively nowhere in sight.
You glanced around your surroundings as the air settled back into a peaceful calm. You stood there for a while, wand poised and ready for a counterattack that never came. A few minutes passed in unsettling silence before you started to think that perhaps you’d gotten him good.
“Gellert?” You called out to the empty clearing.
You internally grimaced. If you’d gotten him well and good, would it constitute a visit to the medical wing? It wouldn’t be fun to explain to the attending nurse about the circumstances that led you there. Plus, there was a very real chance that you’d both get in trouble with your housemaster. You couldn't have accidentally buried him for real in your chaos of spelled snowballs, right?
Making your way towards the area where you’d last seen him, you called out his name again. “Gellert, you there?”
Silence.
You looked up at the overhang of trees above you. Could he have taken to the trees? It wouldn’t be the first time he did that either.
“Grindy? Old wald, old pal, old friend?” You called out again, in hopes that you'd annoy him enough with the names he hated to show himself; but, nothing.
You tried a few more times before you gave up with a huff. Well, you tried. If he wasn't going to show himself, then you weren't going to waste your time either. That didn't stop the stray strand of worry from forming, however. If he was hurt…
“Really now, this isn't funny Gelle— Eek!!!” You shrieked, your heart stuttering with fright when you felt a hand close around your ankle like a newly awakened Inferi fresh out of a grave.
A low chuckle made you look down at your feet where you could make out a pale silvery-blue eye hidden in the snow. And then, he tugged, sending you unceremoniously toppling face-first into the snowy field with a startled yelp.
The cheeky bastard had camouflaged himself in the snow!
Turning onto your back, you wiped the snow off your face only to be faced with a smiling Gellert after he’d clambered out of the pile of snow he’d been hiding in. He sat on the ground, eyes glimmering with mirth and looking absolutely like the cat that got the cream.
Great. Looks like he was still in one piece; one very proud and irritating piece. Saves you a trip to the Infirmary.
“I win.” He crowed as he looked down at you.
You stared at him, your expression caught somewhere halfway between relief and annoyance.
Something seemed to register on his face then. “Aw, were you worried about little old me? How sweet.”
Your brow ticked at his patronizing tone.
“You didn't really think you could harm me, did you?”
All right, that's it. You launched yourself at him, tackling his offensive self back onto the ground to knock him off a peg. He grunted from the force of the collision, but you soon felt the vibrations rumbling through his chest as the laughter rolled off him in waves.
He held up his palms in a half-pacifying mock surrender. “Okay, okay, but you really should have seen the look on your face.”
You scowled, rolling off him and flopping down next to him. “Try scaring me like that again, Grindelwald, and I'll hex you into the next realm.”
Gellert scoffed at the thought. Your threats were about as threatening as a Jobberknoll, but he could tell that there was no venom behind that bite. Winded, you both laid on the ground to catch your breath. The sun was starting to get swallowed by the clouds again, and the sky still looked awfully dreary. And that was the signal to the end of your sunlight-fueled merrymaking, you supposed.
Your thoughts wandered as you laid there. And it wasn't long before you had to stifle a laugh at the sudden thought that had popped into your head. Would you have found him, as well-hidden as he was, had he not made the first move by scaring the living daylights out of you? That, and as much as you hate to admit it; with his pale skin, hair, and similarly colored eye…
“Has anyone ever told you that you blend in too well with the snow?”
He lifted his head to look at you with an incredulous look. “Well, I can't say they have.”
“But…” He trails off, the lilt in his voice drawing your attention. “I do know of something even better, like say, a disillusionment spell?”
You smacked him with the back of your hand then, more of an instinctive reflex than anything. Still, it was a solid wallop to the chest. And here you thought he had something worthwhile to say. Nope.
He let out an offended yelp, clutching his chest in mock hurt. “Ow! I did not deserve that.”
You rolled your eyes at his dramatic self, which would no doubt carry into his adulthood. “No, but this for scaring me half to death with that stunt you just pulled.”
To which, he then amended. “Okay, maybe I do deserve that.” Followed by a softer admission. “But I don't get to do things like this often, you know.”
‘Pureblood families and their etiquette’ were the unsaid words that hung in the air, but you understood, for you were also in the same boat.
Then, a lightbulb lit up above your head. You were willing to wager that if a snowball fight had managed to brighten up his day that much, he probably hadn't ever had the chance to make snow angels.
“Hey, let's make snow angels while we're out here.”
A scoff of disbelief escaped him then. “You want to make snow angels? With me?”
“Why not? We’re already here.”
“No.”
Despite what he said, Gellert seemed to be entertaining the thought of it, if the wistful look in his eye had anything to say about it. He quickly dismisses the thought, however.
“You’ll find that as much as I do like it out here, making snow angels is something far beneath me.”
Perhaps it was pride, you mused. But you wouldn't force him if he didn't want to.
Raising a skeptical brow, you gestured to the snowy clearing and your snow-covered selves. “Remind me: What are we doing here and who started this mess? Oh right, you did.”
He gave you a look, a cross between exasperation and helplessness. Even he had to admit that it was a fair point.
“Whatever happened to the girl who was afraid of getting caught out here, again? I kind of miss her.” He grunted dismissively as he assessed both of you. You’d both looked like you’d just spent the better half of an hour rolling around in the snow; which you did, more or less.
Gellert sat up, running a hand through his slightly damp hair to shake out the unmelted clumps of snow that still clung to it. “Next thing you know, we’ll be decorating trees and giving house-elves Christmas hats.”
Your thoughts flashed to the Christmas trees that usually decorated the common rooms at this time of the year. That… actually sounded like a good way to pass the time.
You ran a hand down your face because you might just act on the suggestion despite knowing that he’d surely meant it only in jest. “Don’t tempt me.”
The telltale shiver that had gone through you had not escaped his notice. Your charm must be starting to wane then. He got up from the snowy ground, brushing the snowflakes off his black coat and rightening its lapels.
“Maybe next time. I do have a promise to keep, and I’d rather like to be done before sundown. I have no desire to spend the night in the library, and neither do you, I’m sure.”
“Come on, let's get out of the cold, shall we?” He held out a hand for you to take, which you stared at warily.
The irony wasn’t lost on him, of course. A call of your name snapped your attention back to his face when he saw no movement on your part to take it. Could he really fault you for that though? You trusted his hand just about as far as you could physically throw him, which wasn't far, considering what happened the last time you’d taken his proffered limb.
“The last time I took your hand, Gellert, you flung me into the next nearest wall.” You deadpanned.
Yes, he did; possibly bruising a rib or two in the process with the force of it. He internally winced at that, but his outward expression remained as impassive as ever. It was nothing a trip to the Infirmary wouldn’t righten, in his defense. It didn’t help that his magic was strong, and control was a fickle mistress, especially in the heat of battle.
“It was a duel. It was fair game, and you should have known better than to let your guard down before the referee called time.” He supplied dryly, before curling his fingers in a beckoning motion. “Although, I’m going to rescind it if you don’t take it in the next five seconds.”
You took it then, but you were so going to hex him into the next realm if he tried anything funny.
Clasping your hand, he tugged you back to your feet before releasing you. “There you go.”
You groaned as you were shepherded back into the stone-tiled hallway. Time to head to the library you dreaded.
It wasn’t till you reached the cobblestone ground that he spoke up once more. “Seriously though, is that a warming charm? It could use some mending.”
He narrowed his eyes at the tell-tale shimmer above your skin as he flicked his wand to banish the snow that clung to him like a second skin. It was faint but present to a trained eye. And to him, it was a wispy little thing, flickering and uneven from being stretched too thin, wavering from the lack of proper finesse.
“Or a better one, really.” You heard him add, as you shuffled away from him to retrieve your items.
There were other spells you could use, to the same effect. Or charmed articles of clothing to ward off the cold, he noted, choosing not to bring up the fact that you were probably doing it all wrong, resulting in the botched charm. Although, why the thought hadn't crossed your brilliant mind left him a little perplexed. His musing was interrupted when you finally fell into step with him, having reclaimed your belongings and spelling your appearance back to order.
Books and scrolls in hand, you inquired. “Is that an offer?”
His footsteps continued at a steady pace as you headed to your now-shared destination; a slight warmth washing over you as you neared him.
What was that?
You faltered slightly then, a slight half-step. There were no magical fires nearby till you got to the entrance of the library. You quickly glanced over at your companion in suspicion. But, oddly enough, his hands were empty. He gave you a knowing look from the corner of his eye.
“I could be persuaded.”
After all, winter’s only just begun.
And it was the season to be generous, was it not?
Seeing the way his lips loosely curled into a smile at the suggestion, and the rekindled light of satisfaction that was finally alight in his eyes, you decided then that you liked this Grindelwald better. Smiling, carefree, teeming with mischief, and very much unlike the usual way he carried himself.
A/N: I write for almost anyone here so feel free to send requests!
━━ ✥By Series✥ ━━
◈ Shots to a “Merry” Christmas (General One-Shot Collection)
A series of one-shots. 26 Shots and a couple of pennies to spare.
◇ Stalker, stalker! (General Drabble Collection)
A series of one-shots where they deal with your stalker problem... or not.
◈ Hello, Little Potioneer (Young! Gellert Grindelwald x Reader)
A series of loosely connected Durmstrang! AU chapters where you’re Grindelwald’s childhood friend of sorts
◈ Vinculum (Young! Gellert Grindelwald x Reader)
A Hello, Little Potioneer Spin-Off
—He’d given you a bracelet, once. A token of your shared camaraderie over the years, he’d claimed. Except… it wasn’t as innocuous as it seemed.
━━ ✥By Characters✥ ━━
✥ Percival Graves
◈ Shots to a "Merry" Christmas: Farewell Gift
◈ Shots to a "Merry" Christmas: Broken
◇ Stalker, stalker!: Placeholder
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
✥ Theseus Scamander
◈ Shots to a "Merry" Christmas: Sweater Collection
Tags: Dubious Consent (?)
Length: 1.1k
Collection: Shots to a “Merry” Christmas
A/N: I think The Imperius Curse and Grindelwald go hand-in-hand in the sense that they're both their own warnings.
⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹
—Ethereal in the snow, icy when it blows —
You breathed a cloud of white mist, breath warm against the frozen window panes as you looked outside from the intricately decorated mansion you currently stood in.
What a beautiful work of architecture it was indeed, situated in an elegant street of Parisian houses, seemingly from the 19th century itself. It was snowing out, blanketing everything outside with a layer of white as far as the eye could see.
Beautiful.
In an ethereal way, in a sense that only France itself could make it seem as such.
Squinting out of the fairly frosted windows, you could make out a shadow among the piles of snow nearby which made you furrow your eyebrows in contemplation. Was that someone who didn’t mean well or was that simply another one of his followers that often lurked around, popping in and out of this hideout of his on occasion
Granted, being a part of his inner circle meant that you had access to knowledge and Intel that most of his followers were oblivious to.
Whilst being caught up in your thoughts, your mind had failed to register that the speck you had initially registered in the distance had moved, swift as an arrow itself, planting its existence right in front of you in the form of a black trench coat and a pair of distinctively mismatched eyes.
“Ah, yes. How nice of you to join our company. We've been expecting you.” He inclined his head in the direction of the drawing room.
You felt your lips crook into a smile as you followed after him, proceeding to the next area. The drawing room had proved to be rather large and a couple of his followers were loitering around the walls of the room.
The many different wizards and witches, all of different stature and status turned to face Grindelwald the moment he set foot into the room. The conversations that you had heard prior had ceased as silence fell. You could feel all the eyes fall upon the both of you as the entire room waited with bated breath to see what would transpire next.
With a subtle flourish of his hand and a guiding hand to your back, he gently nudged you to the front from your position behind him to face the audience in front of you within the room. He introduced you then, announcing your name to the crowd.
“My brothers, my sisters. Let us welcome her into our folds. I believe that she will serve as a brilliant addition to our cause and have thus brought it upon myself to add her to our ranks”
You gave the most pleasant smile you could muster in the less-than-welcome company you had, politely introducing yourself. “It is an honor.”
Murmurs filled the room but you could tell that everyone was still wary of you. That was to be expected, considering how you were a newcomer. A young man approached you, introducing himself as Abernathy, a former executive of the Magical Congress of the United States of America but a pointed look from Grindelwald had him scurrying away before he could dawdle for long. Well, you supposed that their wariness of you was partially because the man they were following had personally sought you out as an addition to his ranks. A couple of others had approached you afterward, having taken a page out of Abernathy’s book and finding the courage in themselves to do so.
It wasn’t long before you felt a ghost of a whisper come across your ears and you excused yourself from the room. A quick glance across the room informed you that Grindelwald was in fact, nowhere in sight.
Right, of course, he had other motives for so gallantly inviting you to his hideout, risking the chance that they might be exposed.
Of course, you would never do that.
Never had the thought once crossed your mind.
A nagging feeling in your gut made you head to the next room over. Curious, you were about to peak in when a voice sounded close to you.
“Have I ever mentioned that I’ve come to hate Paris?”
“Do you now?” You mused, having not been present for the entire event that had transpired between the congress and the wizards in Paris.
“Spare me the small talk, you know I’m scarcely good with the art of making banter over tea. Now onto more serious matters.”
Ah yes, ever the silver tongue. You had yet to know anyone else who was able to twist words and work around with them as cleverly and eloquently as could.
“I heard that you wanted to massacre the masses of the general populace? I can’t say that I agree with that despite my presence here. You know my stand on this.'”
“We won’t eliminate all the no-magique. No, we aren’t so cruel to do that. They’re useful in their own ways but I’ll leave you to decipher that for yourself.”
He reached out to grasp your hand, bringing it closer to himself. “You on the other hand…”
He shook his head slowly, looking almost slightly disappointed.
“Such potential. Intelligent, deadly, swift, I thought that you’d be the one to understand me best among the masses.”
Your breath stilled as you felt his lips ghost upon your knuckles. A chuckle fell from his lips before he breathed out a silent murmur. “Such a pity, indeed.”
His eyes flickered up to face you somberly as he uttered a spell. Rather than utter a spell, it was more accurate to say that you had felt the effects of it before the word had even rung aloud in the silence. A petrification charm.
You froze, literally.
Grindelwald crooked his head, almost as if he was observing a fine specimen. He took in your mildly mortified expression as you felt the wave of petrification sweep through your body, running through your veins.
“A pity. I loathe to do this to you but it seems like our ideals do not bode well together.”
You felt the cold tip of his wand press against your skin.
“Imperio.”
A yellowish-green mist spewed forth from the tip of his wand, confuddling your every sense as you felt your consciousness retreat somewhere far within the depths of your mind, much to your dismay.
It was an odd feeling, being absolutely aware of everything around you but being unable to do anything about it.
He smiled, pleased as he saw your eyes slowly glass over as the spell took root within your being, turning you into a puppet to his every command.
Tags: Durmstrang AU, Canon-Divergence, Fluff
Length: 5.4k
Series: Chapter Ⅰ, Part 1 of Vinculum (A Hello, Little Potioneer Spin-Off)
A/N: Potioneer's Deeper & Darker Expansion Pack DLC darker cousin! ٩(^ᗜ^ )و ´- Readable as a stand-alone, but since both are being worked on together, take it as you will...
Fantastic Beasts Master List | Also on Ao3! | Hello, Little Potioneer Master List
Part Ⅰ / Part Ⅱ
⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹
—He’d given you a bracelet, once. A token of your shared camaraderie over the years, he’d claimed. Except… it wasn’t as innocuous as it seemed. After all, when were things ever simple with Grindelwald?
—He’d given you a bracelet, once.
A harmless little thing made of thin black string, woven with enchanted threads and bearing a singular polished bloodstone. A token of your shared camaraderie over the years, he'd claimed. A friendship bracelet of the magical sort, in coarser terms.
You'd sensed the magic coalesced within the string the moment he'd put it on you, his unique brand of magic washing over your skin in a faint tingle. It had been enchanted with at least four different spells, none of which you recognized. But at the very least, you could tell that there had been no malice behind their creation.
“Protection” was the only explanation he’d offered. He did not deign to expound on it.
Thinking nothing of it, you'd acquiesced to his request, nonetheless, if only to humor him. Besides, you could tell that whatever spells he'd inlaid within those threads weren't inherently dark. Not that he'd cast anything of the sort on you… Or would he? With his darker tendencies, one couldn't be too sure.
It was a constant in your life, even as the whirlwinds of life took you for a spin. You'd grown apart from Grindelwald then, as scheduling conflicts seemed to widen the divide between you two. Your schedules no longer matched up as much as they did in the earlier years. And while you did share a sparse few classes since you were in a few of the advanced courses that were usually taught a year higher than your own, he, too, had been taking advanced curricula. In fact, he was practically never in classes that the rest of his peers sat in.
Between schoolwork, fieldwork, and educational pursuits, you'd barely seen each other despite being on the same campus. Granted, the sprawling grounds of Durmstrang were rather large, so it was possible that you'd simply missed each other while passing through one of the school's many hallways. But knowing the pale wizard, there was a higher chance of him being out in the field, tinkering with one of his new findings, if he wasn't holed up in a room elsewhere doing the exact same thing.
It had been weeks since you'd last seen him, and he hadn't shown up for any of your shared advanced curricula either. Part of you wondered if he was still alive, or if he'd even remembered that classes were still a thing.
What was his attendance like? Or did he strike a deal with his professors that exempted him from that criterion? Either way, you had to give it to him. It was something you loathed to admit, but the faculty seemed forgiving enough when it came to him, closing an eye and letting him go for things that would usually result in detention.
The other students were not so fortunate, however, you included, having spent your fair share of time serving detention, scrubbing at the bottom of mucky caldrons while cursing the unfortunate souls who created the mess in the first place. But there was no use dwelling on matters that weren't even your own. Grindelwald goes where Grindelwald pleases, you suppose. Not that there was anyone capable of stopping him, really. You'd just best hope that your oldest pal was still alive and kicking, and not dead in a mountain nook somewhere.
Shaking your head in exasperation, you headed to your next class, your shoes clicking against the polished stone tiles as you entered the classroom. You cast a cursory glance at your surroundings. There were only a sparse few students in attendance today, despite this being Runic Studies, one of the more popular classes among the student body. But you weren't too surprised by it, considering the celebrations that had lasted well into the night yesterday after a well-fought victory in the inter-house Quidditch competition.
For how rambunctious it had been, the festivities sure did take out a good many people. Some of the craftier upperclassmen had somehow managed to smuggle firewhisky and other spirits into the compound. And with how you'd had to help get some people settled back into their rooms by the end of it, it was safe to say that everyone had gone a little too hard on the alcohol.
You unconsciously rubbed at your arm as your skin tingled, fingers brushing against the bracelet hidden under your sleeve. Maybe it was a reaction to the lingering traces of magic that had been cast in the previous class? It wouldn’t be the first time that had happened, given your heightened magic sensitivity. The magic that ran through your family was inherently one of a darker nature after all, and ilk tended to attract ilk, no matter how vaguely.
Approaching your seat, you saw your deskmate, Morganfield, asleep in the next seat, sprawled out on the table, hood up and head buried in his arms. He must have had a rough night after the resident dormitory party yesterday. And you didn’t doubt it, considering how you’d been the one to haul his ass back into his room after he’d promptly passed out after his third, or maybe tenth, drink. You hadn't been counting, and neither did anyone care to. Admittedly, you had initially been a little concerned when dropping him off, but you’d left him in the care of his other roommates, also in varying degrees of inebriation, trusting that they’d keep a watchful eye over his drunken self.
And he'd somehow made it to class today. Color yourself surprised, this guy was tough as a nail to have weathered through all that and hauling himself here.
You shot him a concerned look as you settled in next to him, placing your books down. He seemed to be out cold. Probably hung over to hell and back, too, now that you thought about it.
In normal circumstances, you would have offered him a hangover cure or maybe a Pepper-Up potion, but you'd already given what few vials you had left to your suffering roommates earlier this morning when they'd bemoaned their choices from the night prior. It would take a while to make another batch, even if you started now.
A faint grumble snapped you out of your thoughts as he shifted, his hood sliding backwards ever so slightly at the action to reveal a mop of tousled flaxen hair. Something tickled at the back of your mind, an odd feeling that you couldn’t quite name. You glanced back at your friend, a wisp of vague suspicion curling at the forefront of your mind.
The edges of his silhouette blurred unnaturally, as if there was some sort of vague holographic veil shrouding his person. It could’ve just been your imagination, but that muted groan that he'd made had sounded a little different to your ears. And while whoever this looked somewhat similar to him from this angle… something was off.
The image of him blurred, almost as if out of focus, before flickering back into clarity. Was it magic at play, or had it been all the drinks you had last night? You frowned, pretty sure that you hadn't suffered a concussion from last night's activities either, for that matter.
Anyway… had his hair always been that shade, again?
You could have sworn that his was distinctively two tones darker from the mop of hair you were staring at, but you couldn’t be too sure. After all, you didn't have the habit of staring at people too closely, let alone know the exact shade of color their hair was. Despite that, something about this person tickled your instincts… You definitely weren't seated with Morganfield. If so, who was this?
A fleeting thought crossed your mind. Usually, you wouldn't have acted so brashly, but somehow… If your hunch was right… Surely not, right?
Reaching over to the pile of robes, you stretched your hand into the hood and made contact with what felt like a jaw. Their skin felt warm against your own as you gently lifted the face in your discernible direction.
“Huh.” You made a sound of surprise as you blinked owlishly at your deskmate. Or rather, your new desk mate.
Mismatched eyes clouded with sleep opened blearily at the sudden movement, jaw tensing at the gentle pressure being applied. He hadn't sensed any threats in his vicinity, else he’d have been up at the drop of the hat, but one thing was for sure— he did not appreciate being physically handled in any capacity. And, hell, when had he fallen asleep? Was that… a hand on his jaw?
What the hell?
He looked down in distaste, ready to rear backwards or send a wordless zap of warning to the offender who'd deigned to touch him, only for his brow to furrow in slight confusion as his eyes landed on the hand. His notice then fell upon the bracelet that had been attached to said limb, half-hidden beneath a sleeve. A sliver of a molted red stone peaking through the dark fabric, glinting faintly in the light.
A bloodstone? The expression on his face quickly morphed into one of surprise as recognition finally registered in his brain.
He knew this stone. It gave off his magic signature; no wonder he hadn't sensed anything amiss.
And you knew this face. “Gellert?”
Oh.
His eyes immediately slid upwards at the call of his name, the soft utterance of your own falling from his lips. “You know, people usually take me out for dinner first.” He mumbled, voice gravelly from sleep.
What?
Your grip on him loosened as he set his own palm above your hand, pulling your fingers away from his chin. Heat crept up your ears as he gently pressed them to his lips before releasing you.
What was he doing here? He wasn’t even supposed to be in this class; he wouldn’t even go anywhere near runes even if you begged him to. You remembered that he'd once mentioned something about it affecting his sight in passing, to which you’d assumed he’d been referring to his precognitive visions that he was still trying to get a handle on.
Or had he overcome that, too, in the time he'd been away?
You watched as he drew away, blinking the sleep from his eyes, raising a hand to cover his yawn. A lazy smile crept upon his features as he lowered his hand. He watched as an indiscernible look crossed your face, almost perplexed in nature, stuck between the thresholds of annoyance and joy.
Then, he remembered just how he'd ended up here in the first place. Right.
Grindelwald ran a hand through his mussed hair, straightening up in his seat. He'd gone and made a deal with your original seatmate, having caught him stumbling through the halls on the way back to his dorm, seconds away from tripping over his own feet. And while he generally hated owing people favors, he wasn't against accruing his own stash of favors.
He’d initially recognized the guy as a dormmate of yours, having seen him hanging around you often enough to leave a lasting impression. He hadn't cared to know the name of the boy. His family, however… Morganfield, was it? He had a brother— Two, in fact. And he was pretty sure that one of them was in his year; a faint realization that made a note of, tucking it away for later perusal.
The Morganfield family, while of pure blood, was not widely known in the wizarding world, largely due to the fact that members of said house tended to end up as mercenaries, bounty hunters, or, in official capacities, hit-wizards. Whilst small in number, they preferred to remain in the wings of society. The less that was known about them, the better.
However, that wasn’t to say that they weren’t worth their coin. He remembered seeing a passing mention of the eldest heir in the papers once— an accomplished Auror who'd been part of the team who'd closed a case on a couple of high-stakes wizarding murders. He may not have been the one in the spotlight, but he’d gained a certain amount of influence to his name after that feat, and was perhaps well on his way to the higher echelons of his career. Ties to the Ministry were always a good thing to have; a fact that all noble houses worth their salt knew. Befriending one of them would prove to be a valuable asset in the long run. That being said, for someone who hailed from a house that prided itself on effectiveness and precision, the younger Morganfield certainly didn't seem to live up to their esteemed reputation.
Grindelwald's brow twitched as he watched the poor blond nearly careen himself straight into a decorated pillar in his hurry. It was baffling how he hadn't noticed the monument of stone before him, almost as if he'd entirely lost his sense of spatial awareness. He was clearly in no state to be outside, and despite how he was… trying, in his best efforts, to find his way to class, Grindelwald highly doubted that he was going to make it anywhere near his destination at the rate he was going.
A thought struck him then. Hmm, wasn't this guy in the same year as you, again? He had his motives, sure, but perhaps this could be an agreement of mutual benefit.
Walking up behind his unsuspecting underclassman, he swiftly caught the bumbling wizard by the arm before he could take another staggering step in the wrong direction and gave him a firm tug back to safety. After all, it wouldn't do if his target fell off the ledge he had been teetering dangerously close to.
Perhaps a little intimidation might play more into his favor?
He let the glamor drop, brown washing out into cool silver in a minute movement.
He steadied the boy by the shoulders as he stumbled into him from the force, giving him a moment to regain his bearings before drawing away, keeping the boy within half an arm's reach should he make another oddly-placed attempt of drunken idiocy.
“Charming, really. Are you alright?” He purposefully questioned, framing it in an acceptably concerned manner that seemed to belie his true intentions.
Morganfield turned, eyes wide with sudden clarity when he finally registered how close he'd been to tipping right over, only to freeze at the sight of an imposing figure looming over him. Half-clad in the shadows cast by the flickering firelight, the pale eye that glinted down at him was both chilling and downright terrifying. An apt but unconventional wake-up call that shocked his system into momentary sobriety.
He had just been saved by the skin of his teeth by the last person he’d expected to run into.
Grindelwald saw the recognition flash in the younger wizard’s eyes, alongside a faint flicker of fear, before the boy immediately jumped away from him, stammering a reply as he placed a good amount of distance between them. “G-Grindelwald! Thanks… That… That was close…”
“Can’t hold your drink, I take it?” He spoke as he assessed the boy standing before him, nose subtly scrunching up at the undeniably strong smell of alcohol that still wafted off him from the night prior. Despite that, he did well to hide his distaste behind an unassuming expression.
Why you let him hang around you was unbeknownst to him. Not that it mattered to him anyway; he had no say in who you could or could not be friends with, although he did have a thing or two to say about your taste… in company.
He watched as Morganfield fidgeted where he stood, awkwardly shifting from foot to foot, unsure of how to reply, yet seemingly ready to bolt. Eventually, he finally broke the silence with a meek question, his gaze notably darting towards the nearest exit. “Did you need me for something?”
It was clear that the boy was intimidated by his presence. Granted, who wouldn't be, when an upperclassman stops them out of the blue?
Grindelwald changed gears then, relaxing his stance and exuding an air of practiced ease. “Easy. I just have an offer for you.” He placated, holding his hands out. Gesturing at the way Morganfield still seemed to be swaying on his feet despite staying in one place, he added. “And you look like you're moments away from a disaster."
He played his card then— a lucrative deal he saw no reason to be turned down. Who knew when a favor would come in handy, right? It was best to have a few cards hidden under his sleeve, especially in a place like this. It was two birds in one stone, or maybe even three. In doing this, he could get an excuse to test how well his spell held and gain someone under his thumb. Only if Morganfield accepted his terms, of course.
Doing the poor guy a service, he offered to take his place in class to save his abysmal attendance rates in exchange for a favor to be claimed at a later date. And thankfully, your friend hadn't put up much of a fight, content to take him up for it whilst nursing his dastardly hangover. And frankly, with how much he struggled to put one foot before another, it was less of a choice and more of a necessity in his case.
However, that didn’t stop a confused look from crossing Morganfield’s face just as Grindelwald turned to leave. “That’s great and all, but how are we doing this? You don’t happen to just have a vial of polyjuice potion lying around, do you?”
“Polyjuice potion? No.” He'd laughed. That would take too much time and resources, none of which he had at such short notice. It was unneeded either way.
Dragging the poor lad to a secluded corner, he gave him a once-over before he cast a spell with a flourish of his wand. A shudder rippled through him as his features morphed into a foreign set, his frame compressing into Morganfield’s slightly shorter stature while he bit back the groan that threatened to rise from his throat at the uncomfortable sensation. Something that he ought to get used to, quickly, if he wanted to be better at mastering this particular spell.
Once the spell had settled, he cleared his throat, testing the waters in a voice that wasn’t his own before settling on an adequate pitch— Morganfield's.
“Wh—” He heard Morganfield’s exclamation of surprise when faced with the mirror image of himself. He placed a finger to his lips, shushing him before he could draw attention to what they were doing. Wiggling his fingers to test his new body, he then waved his hand with a smile.
The spell had worked. Brilliant.
“This should do it.” He nodded, seemingly satisfied with his own handiwork. Patting the appalled boy on the shoulder, he chimed cheerily in the usual manner Morganfield would have carried himself had he not been in his sorry state, “Go on then, back you get,” before nudging him back to the direction from whence he came. “Wouldn’t want us tripping over our own two feet again, do we?”
But Morganfield simply stood there, eyes wide, and gaping openly at him.
What he'd just done had been a full-bodied human transfiguration— dangerous, notoriously difficult, and not to mention, a spell so incredibly advanced that it was only taught to a select few students in the higher years. Even then, not to the extent of what Grindelwald had just nonchalantly pulled off. He was clearly no amateur at the high-level spell.
Then again, he was a stellar student, precociously brilliant even by academic standards, wasn't he? But despite there being a perfectly logical reason for it, Morganfield still couldn't deny that it unsettled him much more than he had the bearing to admit at the moment.
It was eerie, the way Grindelwald played the part of himself so well. From appearances, mannerisms, and right down to the way he carried himself. Granted, there were a few ticks of his own that he couldn't quite vanquish at the drop of a hat, visible if one were to look closely enough, but still, it was an impressive feat to witness firsthand.
Grindelwald stared blankly at the dumbfounded look the boy was giving him, having forgotten that most of the general populace here wasn't nearly half as competent as he was in the magical department. It was an unfortunate thing, truly. However, he had a promise to keep, and standing around wasn’t getting him anywhere.
Snapping his fingers in front of Morganfield’s face to regain his attention, he quipped. “Now then, how is your spellcasting? Can you manage a disillusionment spell?”
Words seemed to fail the poor boy, but he managed a rapid nod, much to Grindelwald’s satisfaction.
“Good. Do try to get back to your dorm room unscathed. It would be a pity, should you end up in the Infirmary when you're supposedly concurrently present for class.”
The veiled warning was clear enough— ‘Don't be stupid, don't do dumb things, and for the love of god, watch where you’re going.’ He then added an off-handed remark as he turned to leave, “Oh, and do close your mouth; it's unseemly.”
His only response was the faint scuttle of footsteps as Morganfield made his quick exit from the area. One could only hope that his instructions were clear enough, or if that failed, perhaps for whatever inherent and illogical fear the boy held towards him to keep him out of further trouble.
Now, to set his plan in motion…
⊹ ━━━ ✥ ━━━ ⊹
Stepping into the classroom, Grindelwald headed straight for the seat that Morganfield had usually occupied. He dimly noted the fact that he'd just walked into the room with empty hands and nothing to show.
Was this a practical class? He hoped it was. He hadn’t had his textbooks, so he figured that he'd just have to share with whoever was seated closest. However, a quick survey of the layout of the room informed him that the professor who taught this particular subject seemed to have a penchant for pairing people up to work in teams of two.
Great. So he actually had a partner for runic studies? He shook his head. Now, which dimwit and their common fallacies would he have to put up with for the better half of two hours?
He scoured his brain then, having taken the same class before under the tutelage of a different professor. The largely individualistic study and analysis of matrices and runestones hardly needed teamwork. This professor was an oddity indeed.
But now that he was actually seated, he felt the waves of exhaustion slowly creep up on him, lapping at the edges of his consciousness. First, gently, like the soothing lullaby of a long forgotten song; then more insistently, forcing him to succumb to the overarching blanket of oblivion. It was about time his own choices came back to bite him, too. Grindelwald had been out in the field for days in a row, wandering outside after hours, past the curfew that all students were mandated to adhere to. Searching, experimenting, socializing… to an extent. For his face was not his own whenever he ventured out into the shadier places. It wouldn't do for him to be recognized at this stage, after all.
He'd had his eyes set on a particular piece of cursed equipment, with little more than a rumor to guide him. It wasn't so much a dark artefact as it was a trinket, really; elusive and well-hidden, it was something powerful and coveted by many all the same.
Finally, something he'd finally deemed worth studying in his eyes. He had his work cut out for him. And while rest was admittedly something that he'd been putting off for a while in search of his greater pursuit, all his effort and sunken time hadn't gone to waste— he'd finally gotten a lead on where the prized item might be located. All of this for a paper he had to write. A thesis, of sorts. Something that he'd had to hand in to his Dark Arts professor by the end of term as part of his Curse-breaking assignment.
Was it worth it, just for the marks? A distinction in his N.E.W.T.S? Not really. What was yet another ace in his papers? For as much as he'd excelled academically, it was more of a convenient by-product than anything else. There would be questions, of course. Of where he'd managed to get his hands on such a thing, or about the issues of safety, among many others. Perfectly logical concerns, but none of which bothered him. A trivial consequence in his search for knowledge.
Greater knowledge, like those hidden behind locks and keys in the forbidden section, perhaps. Things that he hungered for, far beyond the thresholds of what was admissible for a student his age.
Lying his head down, he conceded to the lull of sleep. He had places to be tonight. Underground, and most certainly dangerous. And a tired wizard made for a dull wand. Might as well get some rest where he could. A small catnap would suffice, he supposed.
After all, he'd only agreed to be in attendance, not maintain whatever reputation Morganfield held. Or lacked, for that matter.
What he hadn’t known, however, was that he’d been your seatmate. Which landed him here now, sitting before you, graced by your presence when he least expected it. One minute, he was drifting in peaceful unconsciousness, and in the next, here you were, poking at him.
Something tickled him at the irony of it all. Of course, you were here. You always had a way of throwing a twist into his plans, didn't you?
“Fancy seeing you here.”
You eyed him with a questioning look, noting your seatmate’s absence with slight suspicion. Grindelwald’s presence was as rare as golden snitches were these days ever since his field research took off. Not that he'd informed you of what he was busy studying, either. Had he done something?
“Where's Morganfield? And what are you doing here anyway?”
“One of my many newfound interests.” He’d replied, the lie slipping smoothly. A wrong move, he soon realized, as he quickly clarified before you could pry further into his intentions. "Your friend, on the other hand, is probably passed out in bed as we speak.”
You contemplated him with a thoughtful sound; his interest being a blatant lie. You both knew that. And he, too, recognized the look in your eye, one that told him that you didn't buy entirely into what he'd just said.
“Too much to drink, I reckon.”
“Sounds a little too convenient. Am I to assume that you had nothing to do with his absence?” You questioned, knowing fully well that he was at least partly responsible for it, some way or another.
He shrugged. “He wasn't going to make it here anyway.”
“What do you mean by ‘anyway’?” You echoed in question.
“He was busy dealing with the consequences of his own actions. I just gave him a nudge in the safer direction.” He'd replied, putting a stop to that line of thought.
And whilst you seemed perfectly content to barrage him with a hundred and one questions from his long absence, he hadn't missed the way you shuffled closer to him. Cocking his head in the same curious yet arrogant manner you'd come to associate with him, he smiled, almost smugly as he'd clocked you. “Missed me, hm?”
“No.” Of course you did. You hadn't so much as heard from him in the weeks he'd been gone doing merlin knows what, but you weren't about to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he was right, either.
“Ouch. After all the effort I took coming here?” He brought a hand to his chest in mock hurt, as if the denial had wounded him.
“And what exactly did you do this time, Gellert?”
“I cut your seatmate a deal.”
He did what now?
“...Should I be concerned?” You asked, hesitantly.
Did you want to know? Not really. But knowing Grindelwald? You probably should be at least a little worried. It was a valid concern, in your defence. The last time he’d brokered a deal with someone, they’d ended up confined to the infirmary for weeks, sporting a broken rib and at least three other broken bones after an experiment gone wrong. You dreaded to think about what that entailed for Morganfield.
“Well…” He paused, giving it a moment’s thought before smiling wryly.
What a question it was, indeed. He had a couple of ideas, but none of which would come to pass quite smoothly, considering how you seemed to hold him to some regard.
Pity, he thought. He could tick off his fingers on the number of things he could potentially hold above the boy's head to make him bend to his whims when the time came, but it looks like he would just have to play nice, wouldn't he? No matter; he was sure that there would be other uses for him in the future.
“He'll live. Besides, Morganfield wasn't too ke—” He started, only to stop short as something brushed against his skin, snapping him out of his thoughts.
—Wasn't too keen on making it to class either, he was about to say. Except he could feel your fingers dancing along his wrist as it rested atop the seat beneath the table. The taunting ghost of touch nipped at his tactile nature, enticing him to respond. It was distracting, to say the least.
He looked down as your wandering hand drifted upwards, absent-mindedly tracing the contours of his knuckles. His eyes flicked back up to you in question, to see if you'd been doing it on purpose, but you seemed unaware. And even if you were, you certainly didn’t show it.
‘Dreadfully honest, even if the speaker isn’t.’ He internally mused, turning around to cage the offender that had started to draw patterns on his fingers with his own. “So you did miss me.” He crowed smugly, interlacing his fingers with yours, trapping them so it could tempt him no further.
“Shut up, Gellert.”
He'd snickered in response, but he allowed it all the same. At least one thing was for sure— the charms he’d come here with the intention of testing had worked; the first of many.
Still, he hadn’t told you what he really was doing here… Not properly, anyway.
It wasn't until he smoothly answered a question posed to ‘Morganfield’ halfway through the class that something clicked— He was under an active charm. But, if so, then what you were seeing didn't make sense. Transfiguration spells affected how one is perceived by others, so logically speaking, shouldn't you also be seeing what everyone else was seeing?
Your brows knitted together as you tried to piece the pieces of the puzzle together, “How are you doing this?” you asked.
“The little gift I gave you grants you true sight, to an extent. It’s not omnipotent, however.”
That explained the silver eye, though he usually hid it under a glamor, having disliked the attention that it'd brought. You'd simply chalked it up to him having forgotten, due to the fact that he'd just woken up.
You were able to see past his disguises? How many times had you crossed paths within the academy grounds, with you none the wiser? But that, too, begged the question. When had this charm taken effect without your knowledge, or was it something that you were only noticing now?
However, your thoughts must have shown on your face, for there was mirth reflected in his eyes as he met your bewildered ones. It stood to reason that you would be surprised.
“These are active experimental spells. They need to be refreshed every once in a while, given their nature, and it will take some skill to master.” He explained, smoothing the pad of his thumb over the stone as he continued, the semi-translucent stone swirling a faint red at his touch, “But this way, you won't ever lose me, will you?”
He'd taken your uneasiness at his absences to heart. You could appreciate that, but along with it came the tacit understanding that what he'd given you had been more than that.
Not an oath, not a vow; something similar, yet different. A choice bound by magic.
Hence, you'd taken to wearing it on your person wherever you went, the weight of the stone sitting snugly against your wrist. It was a sending stone of sorts— a keepsake. After all, it was just an innocuous accessory at the end of the day… Right?
But when was anything ever that simple with one Gellert Grindelwald involved— especially an item, which essentially had his name signed on it?
A series of loosely connected Durmstrang! AU chapters where you’re Grindelwald’s childhood friend of sorts
Series Status: On-going
※Links under cut!
Spin-Off: Vinculum Master List | Fantastic Beasts Main Master List
◈ Chapter 1: The Menace in the Snow
In which you're cajoled into having some fun out in the snow, against your better judgment
◇ Chapter 2: Dueling
Have you ever seen someone so completely within their element that it completely whisked your breath away?
He needed a second. You'd do.
◇ Chapter 3: Venatio - The Hunt
Bored during the holidays, you bully him to go hunting with you, much to his chagrin.
◇ Chapter 4: Starlight
Shall we dance beneath the stars? We'll keep this moment a secret between us.
◇ Chapter 5: Little Potioneer
He'd heard rumors of a dark potion with familiar-sounding effects. It hadn't been a potion, last he'd been made aware of it. No, it hadn't, but he'd explicitly told you to never use the spell again; hadn't he?
◇ Chapter 6: A Moment of Reprieve
A place where no expectations hang over your heads— a moment to breathe. Or in other words, Gellert falls asleep by the fireplace and who are you to deny him.
◈ Drabble: Chin Up
Bumping into one Gellert Grindelwald while half-awake had not been on your agenda for the day, but there he was anyway, giving you a little push towards the waking realm.