Regency in Diagon Alley [Theodore Nott | Harry Potter AU]

Chapter Fifty-Five

He arrived in Ogygia just as the sun started to show in the horizon. Upon reaching the shore, Theodore fell out of his Animagus form and landed harshly on the sandy beach, his shoulders felt like they were about to fall off, his body ached all over, as he laid there, all he wanted to do was to sleep. To get some rest. But this was not the time for rest, he was in Ogygia, he needed to act fast and get the person he needed before the island and its inhabitant knew he was there, and it was only a matter of time before the Titaness scents the new company.

Calypso was not always a bad company, in fact Theodore pitied her for being trap here for centuries now, but he did not pity her enough to give her company. The last man who came ashore, she trapped in her island for nearly a decade, and that man almost did not make it home. He did not want to have the same fate as Odysseus.

Opening his eyes, Theodore saw a silhouette of a man. "You fucking bastard," Grindelwald said with his deep and hoarse voice and left his sight.

Theodore got up from the sand, forcing his aching body, his protesting legs and arms, to follow the older man who looked far better than him. Grindelwald looked like he had been living like a prince – fresh new clothes, no sign of sunburn even when he was living like an islander, hair kept clean and combed, even his shoes were shined – curtesy of Calypso, no doubt. Speaking of which, where was his cousin?

"Why are you here, Nott?" Grindelwald questioned.

Panting, Theodore said, "I came for you."

The old man laughed. "Was that supposed to be a romantic gesture to get me on your side again? You threw me in this island, you promised me freedom."

"I said I knew a place where you could be free from your crimes, and here it is," Theodore threw open his arms, gesturing to the island. "It's fitting, don't you think?!"

Grindelwald ignored him and continued to march towards the makeshift home in a cave. For a cave though, it had a complete set of a house furniture – a bed, a lounging chair, a table, a bathtub, and a chest where his clothes were kept. Calypso must have furnished this... cave because Theodore did not. He did make sure to give Grindelwald the same sentence as the man suffered for the past decades since his fall, since the Ministry gave him the freedom, a half-life as he called it. Stripping him of magic while he roamed freely. What could be crueler than taking away a wizard's magic?

"You freed me from my cage and put me in an island where I can never leave," said Grindelwald. "And tormented by that witch."

This was crueler.

"I see it as a compromise – you have your magic; it is only right that your freedom is taken." Theodore said. "No man can have everything. You must choose: your magic or your freedom in the world."

Grindelwald sneered at him. "You said I would have my freedom."

"And you do, you're free to roam this island. Free to make it your home, free to prepare your food with magic, and free to... repopulate it if you please." Even he hated the idea of Grindelwald having his own island, populated with the man's own spawns with – he mentally vomited – Calypso. Maybe this was the cruelest form of punishment. "I'll give you a better offer."

Grindelwald snorted, he prepared his tea with a wave of a wand –

"Where did you get that wand?" Theodore demanded.

"Calypso made it for me with her lock of hair. Olive wood, a lock of Titaness' hair, eleven inches, yielding," Grindelwald brandished the golden-brown stick fashioned to a simple wand. "I believe your wand is the same."

Theodore shook his head. "I got mine from Ollivander – Cherry wood, Phoenix feather, thirteen inches, unyielding."

"Cherry wood," Grindelwald offered him a cup of tea. "That is a rare kind of wood, said to possess a strange power. To master it you must have an exceptional control on yourself, a strong mind... I'm not surprised."