#ghost graves

[evolbones]

Vampire Graves and his Vampire hunter thrall Ghost 😈💖 it’s so spicyyyyyy. Unrequited love?

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[brainrot-palace]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Long time no see! I’ve been a bit of a busy beaver, but here’s my recent post. Bit of a self-indulgent birthday present to me, so enjoy!

If you ever wanted to see Azrael Ghost ruin the hell out of Graves and them both enjoying themselves, this is the fic for you :))

[paintingraves]

They enter the room, young little things with wide eyes and even bigger dreams. Graves hovers above the table, watching them trail in one after the other. They take seats on the two rows of uncomfortable chairs, and Graves knows their backs will hurt when they finally get up. He also knows they won’t care, not after what he has to say.

Percival waits until the last one has quieted down before he speaks.

“Let me tell you what I wish I’d known,” he starts. “When I was young and dreamed of glory. You have no control over who lives, who dies, who tells your story.”

His voice is soft, but it carries across the room and resonates against the walls. The Ilvermorny graduates - some of them future Aurors - are looking at him expectantly, and Graves takes care not to step too close to them as he unravels his speech. He knows how cold his touch can be.

Graves raises his wand arm, showing them the symbol Grindelwald etched onto his skin back when he had enough breath to scream. The scar is a deep silver, much darker than the rest of his body; a triangle, a line and a circle with jagged edges.

Grindelwald used a knife on him, preferring the method to be much more intimate.

"No one,” Graves continues, “Could have predicted my capture and death at the hands of Gellert Grindelwald, or his infiltration at the very heart of the MACUSA.” He sees the eyes of a girl before him catch on the chain still around his right ankle and doesn’t blame her. "Except maybe Grindelwald himself."

"This path you’re taking,” Graves says with a breath he doesn’t need, “Will not be easy. Never. You will fall and break and make tremendous mistakes that may result in the deaths of your camarades. It happened to me. It will happen to you. The only way that it might not is if you leave this room this instant and never come back.” No one takes him up on the offer, but Graves didn’t expect them to. “You will also rise and climb and be proud of yourself. You will teach and be taught. You will fight for your life and the life of those you wish to protect."

“When I first started as an Auror and, later, when I was appointed as the Director of Magical Security, my only wish was to protect my country." Graves says. This is the hardest part of his speech, and he wishes words came more easily to him with time, but they don’t.

"I failed,” he admits quietly. “I let the enemy inside, and MACUSA is still recovering from the damage Grindelwald inflicted while he was wearing my face.”

Silence reigns in the room, only broken by the slight cough of a boy and the shuffle of someone’s feet.

“Even the slightest mistake can cost you your life,” Graves says, looking at each face in turn. “It cost me mine.”

“For your sake, for the sake of this country, for the sake of tomorrow: be aware. In your job, in your life; do not become complacent like I did. Do not let yourself be lulled by the comfort of routine. Because then you will make that mistake, and you will fall, and you will not get up again."

“You don't get to choose your story,” Graves finishes. “No one does. This is war. But you can make the most of what you have and what you are. So learn. Learn, grow, train and get ready. It will not be easy. But we have to win. And when we finally do… It’ll be worth it."

[multi-purpose-tool-guy]

colin broke my heart with his graves theory BUT @hikasho AND @linddzz GLUED IT BACK TOGETHER WITH GHOST GRAVES 

he’s coming to terms with the fact that he can’t even have a damn scotch to soften all this nonsense and he’s... not taking it well

[multi-purpose-tool-guy]

okay here me out but what about no magic AU where Credence is telepathic and Queenie is a mind reader (basically an empath) in the 60’s and together they run a spiritualist shop above Jacob’s bakery where they do ouija board and tarot card readings for clients? like Queenie gets details about whoever the client is trying to contact, knows exactly what to say to give them closure, and Credence moves the planchette/rattles things on shelves/blows curtains to sell the ritual. they both see it as a way to put their abilities to good use that (usually) won’t get them into trouble and as a way to really help people with a service regarding subject matter that isn’t readily supplied in the growing commercialism of the time. they don’t necessarily believe in or dispute spirits or an afterlife fervently, its more just that they don’t know what’s out there, just whatever abilities they have and that surely there must be stranger things out there. Tina is an eager rookie police officer with her eyes on the cheif position who sometimes wishes her job was as fulfilling as her sister’s, and every client that leaves the shop gets a free pastry after the shock of it all.

BONUS if Tina’s boss goes missing and after months of searching and dead ends they fins the body of Percival Graves, dumped in the Hudson. distraught, Tina goes to Queenie and wants to try the board, not fake it this time and just try and get it to work. she has to find out who did this to him. she brings his badge recovered from the body and sets it carefully on the table, all sitting around the board. they’ve never actually tried to contact an actual dead person, so they warily place their hands on the planchette, Credence making sure to not accidentally move it himself, as Tina asks the first question. “Mr Graves, are you here with us?” they all hold their breath for an agonizing minute until slowly the planchette moves over the word ‘yes’. wide-eyed looks all around confirm none of them did that, and shakily Tina asks the second question, to prove it’s really him. “do you prefer coffee or tea?” the planchette makes an almost irritated shuffle beneath their fingers until it slowly slides around the board and spells out 'w h i s k e y’. Queenie gasps, Credence jerks his hand away, and Tina faints in her chair.

(cue ghost graves grumpily hanging around queenie’s shop and criticising the hokey relics and knick knacks and griping about being dead while he helps tina and co try and solve his murder bc I LOVE GHOST GRAVES)

[paintingraves]

more ghost!Graves headcanons

so he’s dead, alright. unable to move on. of course he would be unable to move on. Him, the Director of Magical Security of the United States, killed by Gellert Grindelwald, the number one enemy.  

so he comes back. but he’s not, like, a regular ghost. By some sick twist of fate, he is utterly invisible to everyone, including wizards. 

No one sees him. No one hears him. 

he follows Grindelwald everywhere, sees how people look at each other uncomfortably when the dark wizard does something a little bit too out of character, watches helplessly as Grindelwald obliviates them with Graves’ wand, groans in disbelief when his other self starts fucking wearing the Deathly Hallows necklace in his vest pocket yet no one notices 

he’s there when Tina arrests Newt Scamander, there during the interrogation in which Grindelwald condemns them both to death, and he would cry if he fucking could. he yells instead, hands passing through the walls when he wants to feel the concrete hitting his knuckles until they’re nothing but a broken and bloody mess. At least he’d feel something, something that isn’t his mind curling in on itself and twisting and spitting chunks of memories in his face and repeating that he could and should have done better -- 

he’s there when Grindelwald betrays Credence’ trust, there when Credence turns into the Obscurial - he is frozen on the spot, they’ll kill him, he knows they will, he was the Director of Magical Security- he follows Credence outside, trying to keep up with him, calling him, hoping desperately that maybe, maybe, the boy will hear him since he’s not so human anymore -- 

he doesn’t. 

Graves watches as Grindelwald cradles the last of his hopes for Credence in his hands and drives them through the ground when he attacks Newt relentlessly, forcing Credence to transform again and he watches as Tina arrives and maybe, maybe --- but no, he knew it, he was the Director of Magical Security and Credence is bombarded with spells until there’s nothing left of him but a floating sea of debris. 

When Grindelwald speaks, Graves would be almost inclined to agree with his words if the man hadn’t killed him and stolen his identity. 

And then the young British wizard reveals his face to everyone and Picquery looks barely shocked - or maybe too shocked- to do anything more than order him away. Grindelwald lets himself be taken to prison, just a couple of Aurors at his side, which is incredibly reckless and stupid. Graves closes his eyes and counts to ten. 

And then he tries again. 

To be seen. 

To be heard. 

He follows Newt Scamander and Tina to their homes, almost dies a second time when Newt takes them all into the suitcase and he sees an actual Nundu chilling on a rock there. Mother of God. 

And another one when he learns that Newt intends to gift a No-Maj with occamy egg shells to open a bakery, and Tina doesn’t stop him. 

(He does get a little hope when some of Newt’s animals seem to sense him though - they either scuttle away or stare right at him and he feels a bit better, even if the only living creatures who can see him are Graphorns and Erumpents and Bowtruckles. Not very helpful, but it’s something.) 

He follows Tina to work at the MACUSA, where she takes back her rightful place as an Auror. The President assigns her the mission of finding him. Tina, of course, begins by visiting his apartment. 

Graves doesn’t want to see this. He knows what she’ll find. 

Barely touched wards, because Grindelwald modified them just enough to slip through, tricking them into thinking he was friend or family when he was anything but. Broken furniture, cracks in the walls, burnt wood, and lying in the middle of it all -- his own body. Lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling. 

Not pretty. 

Tina enters his apartment, on guard, the wards letting her pass as his colleague, and immediately puts her sleeve over her mouth. Graves can only imagine what the rooms smell like. 

She cautiously, carefully walks into the entrance, eyes alert, and Graves can’t help but admire her stance. He taught her well. 

He wishes he’d had time to teach her more. 

Tina finally reaches the living room and lets out a soft gasp, her eyes immediately falling on his prone form and traveling from his feet up to his face -seeing your own lifeless body is weird, Graves shouldn’t be there - and she runs and falls to her knees beside him, tears running freely down her face (he had no idea she cared so much), hands hovering above his head before she resigns herself and stays there, trying to get a hold of herself, gripping the edge of her shirt so tightly her knuckles are white. 

She apologizes. Again and again. 

Graves sits opposite her, arms hugging his knees, and talks. 

He tells her it’s fine -it’s not- he tells her no one could have know. He tells her she’s not the one at fault, Grindelwald is, and crying won’t solve anything. He tells her he appreciates the sentiment, but really, they have better things to do now. He tells her she's always made a very promising Auror. He apologizes for those few times he made her cry. He tells her everything he knows about Grindelwald, even though it’s useless, but he has to say it. 

He doesn’t know how long they stay here for. He keeps talking even as Tina gets up and calls for back up at the MACUSA and starts exploring the ruined apartment for any clues.  

She passes in front of his enchanted mirror, the one he keeps closest to his bedroom, and he follows. Tina glances at it and suddenly jumps, takes her wand, turns around and points it right at him. Her eyes are wide with shock and fear, her lips trembling. Graves is too stunned to do anything. 

He sees the mirror and understand. 

He’s there. 

Tina can see him. It’s a bit distorted, his face isn’t quite right, his wounds from his fight with Grindelwald are still present, blood running down his face as if they were fresh - but he’s there. He raises his hands placatingly. 

“Tina,” he says softly. 

“Mr Graves,” she replies shakily, and he’s not sure whether she heard him or if she’s stating the obvious. She looks back at the mirror. He is staring intently at her, his lips moving but emitting no sounds. 

“Did he trap you in there?” she murmurs. Graves shakes his head. “So you’re really d-dead.” 

Graves nods. 

“I’m sorry,” Tina says. 

He shakes his head. Don’t mention it. 

They end up taking the mirror back to the MACUSA, since it’s the only way they are able to communicate with him. 

It is a shock, even to Seraphina, to find herself in front of the accomplished fact that Percival Graves is dead. Efficient as ever, they appoint a new Director of Magical Security, but it’s not the same. 

They mourn him. 

Graves, meanwhile, is getting extremely frustrated with people not being able to hear his voice. 

Goldstein’s mission has switched from “Finding Percival Graves” to “Find a way to make him like any other normal ghost” and it takes time. Lots of time, lots of research, lots of headaches, lots of silent conversations via that damn mirror. Grindelwald takes that time to escape again, Newt Scamander comes to America once more -and he’s the one who offers the solution, in the end. 

Graves isn’t sure how he does it (something something about Demiguises’ powers being used in reverse, how does he even own a Demiguise in the first place?) and before he knows it he is forced to stand still in the middle of a magical circle with complicated runes -the few he can recognize do nothing to reassure him - while Newt activates them with his magic and throws a silvery powder all over him while chanting and then. 

It’s over. 

"Mr Graves,” Tina breathes. “I can see you!” 

He clears his throat. 

“Good,” he says. “Can you hear me too?” 

She nods, beaming. He can’t help but smile back, but before they all get teary eyed, he has one thing to do. 

He runs -glides, flies, whatever- to the meeting he knows Picquery’s having with his Aurors, all of them jumping and immediately standing at attention upon seeing him. He crosses his arms and stares at them. 

Stares. 

And stares. 

Picquery tries to hide her smirk and fails. A few Aurors avoid his gaze, some start to sweat, others fidget uncomfortable. 

“He had the Deathly Hallows necklace. In his pocket,” Graves finally deadpans, voice low. “In his fucking pocket. Right there. In front of your eyes.” 

They advert said eyes. 

“You bunch of incompetent fucks. What the fuck did I train you for?!” 

[paintingraves]

Ghost!Graves headcanons

PART ONE OF TWO. 

Grindelwald kills Graves. Quickly, softly, his body hitting the ground before he has time to blink. No need to keep him prisoner. Grindelwald has all the information he needs after probing at Graves’ mind intensively, and prisoners need looking after and he has frankly much more interesting things to do. 

Except. Except.

Graves comes back as a ghost like 50 minutes later out of sheer spite. Absolutely livid. Furious as hell. He has to inform his people. They have to make Grindelwald pay. 

He’s pretty set on haunting the shit out of Grindelwald too. 

But on second hand, if he barges into MACUSA as a ghost, Grindelwald will have a chance to defend himself. 

No, Graves thinks. They have to catch him unaware. But if Grindelwald respects Graves’ own schedule -and he knows he will- he will be gone tomorrow, an hour exactly between three and four pm to go see Credence. 

What’s there to do ? He waits. 

He waits and strolls through New York and observes the No-Majs. He walks and walks, until night has fallen, and then he reaches Central Park and all is fine until he stumbles upon an Erumpent. An Erumpent attempting to seduce a poor hippopotamus. 

A. Motherfucking. Erumpent. In his New York. 

And Graves can’t even fucking do something because he’s a ghost. 

He’s close to screaming when he hears voices coming his way. Auror reflexes still present, he hides immediately and tenses up. 

Watches in bewilderment as a ginger man starts a mating dance to put the Erumpent back in his small suitcase. 

Watches angrily as the No-Maj gets pursued by the fucking Erumpent and then barely saved on time. 

Graves walks on the ice to meet them. The No-Maj can’t see him, but the wizard’s eyes widen as he scrambles for his wand. 

“I’m a ghost,” Graves says. “Not much you can do with that.” 

A beat. Then Newt whispers, “Mr Graves?” and the latter is very confused as to why the wizard already knows him but well, it’ll make this whole thing easier. 

“Himself. May we go somewhere quiet to talk?” 

They go back to Goldstein’s place. Graves could really have done without the tears. 

“Mr Graves?” Tina asks softly. “But -but I saw you - what- how- you’re not dead, you can’t be !” 

“As a matter of fact, I am,” he replies. “Courtesy of our little friend Grindelwald.” 

“But... But that means... The man we spoke to earlier...” 

“Was Grindelwald, yes.”

“Sonofabitch.” 

Graves couldn’t agree more. 

He explains his plan, a very simple one. When Graves - no, Grindelwald- is out tomorrow, they’ll go to MACUSA and Ghost!Graves will explain everything to the President. When Grindelwald comes back, they’ll all be ready to take him down while Graves kicks him in the face with his translucent foot. If anything, it will at least make Grindelwald feel very cold, which is better than anything Graves can do at the moment. 

With that settled, Graves watches as Newt, Tina, and Jacob the No-Maj go to sleep. 

“Mr Scamander,” he calls out before Newt disappears. “I sure hope you’ve got a permit for that Erumpent.” 

“Yes, sir,” Newt smiles, avoiding his eyes. 

Like hell you do.

Graves is too tired for this shit. 

After all, he thinks idly, he did just get killed today. 

[paintingraves]

Ghost!Graves headcanons

PART TWO. 

- Ghost!Graves giving Grindelwald the middle finger as he is captured and taken to the cells. 

- Ghost!Graves wondering what the fuck he’s gonna do now. 

- Ghost!Graves asking if he can still be a teacher to young Aurors. The President accepts. 

- Newt proposing to Graves that he stays with them, at least until Newt gets back to Britain. He accepts. 

- Graves looking longingly at every dish Queenie makes, thinking that he’d really have loved to eat some of that strudel. 

- Ghost!Graves taking matters into his own hands when it comes to Credence. The President owes him a favor, so it’s not difficult to get Credence out of that terrible home and make him a legal adult, paperwork wise. 

- Ghost!Graves looking after Credence wherever he goes, making sure the boy’s not hurt. 

- Ghost!Graves spending a lot of time in Newt’s suitcase. The animals can sense him and seem to like him. It becomes his safe space when he feels like he is going to burst from all the pent up anger, sadness and frustration inside him. 

-Ghost!Graves visiting his father and grandparents and telling them he’s sorry for dying before his time. 

- Ghost!Graves leaving New York with Newt and Credence, and accompanying the young wizards all throughout the five movies. 

-Ghost!Graves spying on Grindelwald and his followers, because he sees and hears what other people don’t. He did get good grades in Stealth at the Auror Exam. 

- Ghost!Graves helping them watch Grindelwald again by any means when the wizard escapes. It’s not like he’s got much to lose, at this point. 

- Ghost!Graves helping during the final battle by unleashing an army of ghosts upon Grindelwald.

- Ghost!Graves chilling in the air, giving advice and sarcastic comments on everything. 

- Ghost!Graves watching as Credence develops into a fine young man and falls in love. 

-Ghost!Graves being named the godfather of Newt and Tina’s first child. 

- Ghost!Graves being called “Uncle Percy!” by the kids 

- Ghost!Graves watching as his father dies and as Newt and Tina and Credence grow old.