Riddle And Grindelwald (Book 3)

2. Home Sweet Home

After dropping Gellert off at one of his safe houses in Europe, that hadn't been discovered by the Ministry, Genevieve and Tom headed back to their hold home.
"We cannot stay long. Once the Ministry figure out that you are gone, they are bound to search here for us" admitted Tom, as he and Genevieve stepped inside their house.
Genevieve hadn't heard Tom, for she was too in shock at looking at the ruins of her home.
Everything had been smashed and destroyed by Ministry officials, who had raided her home and left nothing intact.
"They're monsters" mumbled Genevieve, as she ran her fingers over a broken mirror.

As she did, Genevieve looked at her own reflection for the first time in 14 years, and she jumped back in horror.
Her once beautiful face, was covered in wrinkles, and her blonde hair, was now grey and tangled.
She covered her face in shame as she turned back to Tom.
"How can you bare to look at me? I'm hideous" admitted Gen.
"Not to me. You are my wife, and I love you with all my heart" insisted Tom.
Genevieve looked up at the portrait of them which hung in the hallway.
Although the portrait had been slashed, you could still clearly see Genevieve and Tom sitting in their thrones, looking like royalty.

"I'm a mere shadow of my former self. If I was you, I wouldn't want to be anywhere near me" said Genevieve sadly.
Tom placed his hand around Genevieve's face, forcing her head up to look at him.
"We have both changed a lot over the years. I look almost unrecognisable from my former self. But I am also much more powerful than Tom Riddle ever was, which is what's important. Our appearances do not matter, for at any moment our bodies could be destroyed. It's our souls that matter. And my soul will always love yours, no matter what you look like" replied Tom.

"You might not care what I look like, but I do. And the minute I get myself a wand, I am changing all this" informed Genevieve, as he pointed at her own face.
"You must do whatever pleases you. But I just want you to know, that I will always be devoted to you. It is not your physical appearance that keeps me loving you, it is your personality" admitted Tom.
"That's because we are soul mates" replied Genevieve.
"Yes, we are... Now, get what you want and put it in a bag, for we can't be here long".

Genevieve found it hard to walk around her home, as it brought back so many happy memories, and it killed her to see her house in such a state.
She almost broke down in tears when she saw the portrait in the dining room.
In the painting, she sat with baby Mathilde on her lap, and Tom by her side. While their sons stood either side of them.
They looked like one happy family, and Genevieve wished she could turn back time, to see her children again.

After collecting what she could find in her and her children's rooms, Genevieve met Tom outside the basement.
"Barty Crouch told me that no Ministry official was able to get inside" revealed Genevieve.
Tom smiled, "That's because I protected it with dark, powerful magic. Only you and I have access to this room".
"Well, since I no longer have a wand, you must be the one to open the door" replied Genevieve.
Tom withdrew his wand from his pocket, and flicked it at the door, causing it to creak open.
He then illuminated the room using magic, so that they could find what they were looking for.

Tom immediately began packing up his dark books and potion ingredients. While Genevieve headed to the other side of the room, where the more sentimental items were.
She began carefully placing her jewellery into her bag, which was luckily bigger on the inside, so that she could fit everything in.
"Have you found your Horcrux yet?" Questioned Tom.
Genevieve bit her lip awkwardly, because she knew she wouldn't be able to keep her Horcrux's location a secret.
"Actually, it's not here" revealed Genevieve.
"It's not? Then where is it?" Asked Tom, as he spun around to face her.
"It's not in this house at all"
"Don't tell me the Ministry has it".

Genevieve sighed, "No, it's not at the Ministry... I gave Mathilde my bracelet, on the day we went to Diagon Alley, because she loved it so much. So, wherever she is now, is where my Horcrux is".
Tom frowned, and marched over to her.
"How come you never told me?" He demanded.
"Because I knew you would worry" answered Genevieve.
"Of course I would worry. Your Horcrux is currently in Dumbledore's possession"
"It's safe though. Dumbledore has no idea that it's a Horcrux. If he did, he would have destroyed it by now. And don't you think I would have felt my only Horcrux being destroyed? If we couldn't find Mathilde back then, then we couldn't find my Horcrux either, so I felt no need to bring it up. Now, get back to packing, because like you said, we can't be here long".

Tom grumbled to himself, before continuing to pack up his rare potion ingredients.
Genevieve then turned to a chest in the corner of the room, knelt down to the ground, and opened it.
The chest contained all the things she had left, from her first life.
She had kept the items from her past safe, for they reminded her that she was a Grindelwald.
Genevieve sighed as she pulled out a long box from underneath a piece of red fabric, and held the box close to her chest.

"What have you got there?" Questioned Tom curiously, as he approached her.
"This chest contains things from my life as a Grindelwald. Items that belonged to my father, which I took from some of his safe houses, before the Ministry of Magic could get their hands on them" explained Genevieve.
"What's that you are holding though? Because it looks like a wand box to me" admitted Tom.
"It is" revealed Genevieve, as she placed the box down and removed the lid, revealing the wand inside.
"Who's wand is that?"
"My father's".

Tom frowned, "How come you've got it, and not the Ministry?".
"My father was using a different wand when he lost that battle with Dumbledore. This is the wand he got when he was 11. But after he was expelled from Durmstrang, he began looking for an even more powerful wand, to help him take over the world" informed Genevieve.
She picked up the wand, which seemed to fill up the empty hole in her chest.
For so long she had been denied the ability to do magic, but now at last she had a wand in her hand.

"The wand won't work as well for you, for you aren't not its master" reminded Tom.
"I am a blood relative of its master, so it will work better for me than a strangers wand. And since I can't exactly pop down to Ollivanders to get myself a new wand, this one will have to do for now" replied Genevieve.
"I suppose a witch or wizard can use any wand, regardless of whether or not they are the wands master"
"Exactly... I will also be taking our sons wands with us, as you can never have too many wands. Their's are on the table behind me"
"I will pack them up, while you finish deciding what you want from the chest"
"Alright. I also want to visit the boys graves before we go"
"Fine. But be quick about it, because we really have to go".

Once Genevieve had packed her final items, she stood to her feet.
Having a wand again finally made her feel safe and powerful once more.
Without one, she had felt lost, but knowing that she now held a dangerous weapon in her hand, did make her feel nervous.
Her father Gellert had committed awful crimes with that wand, even when he was still young.
So, Genevieve just hoped that she didn't follow in his footsteps, for she had enough blood on her hands already.