the marriage stone (Discontinued)

Chapter 51 - Grand Gestures

Albus was still waiting for him in front of the fire when he returned from the bedroom. He closed the bedroom door behind him so that he would not disturb Harry. As he crossed back over to the couch, he saw the sad, introspective look on the headmaster's face.

"They're Odin's familiars, aren't they?" Severus asked as he sat down, wanting confirmation of his fears of the ravens.

Albus nodded. "Yes, I'm certain of it now. I think they are bringing these dreams to him. Trying to show him something, or teach him something."

"And the city - do you think it is meant to be literal?" Severus asked. "Some city that Voldemort destroys?"

"I don't know," Albus shook his head. "I find it interesting that there were no marks on the bodies. Even Voldemort is not capable of using the killing curse on an entire city of people."

"Poison then," Severus suggested. "Or a biological agent."

"Maybe," Albus shrugged. "Wouldn't it be ironic if after all this Voldemort used some Muggle means to kill so many?"

"Albus, that house elf that follows Harry around, Dobby - he said something strange when he brought the hot chocolate earlier." Severus could see that he had Albus' full attention. "He called Voldemort He-Who-Would-Walk-Alone."

Albus nodded, seeming unsurprised by the news. "Yes," he agreed. "They've been calling him that now for several months, but they don't know why. I questioned them extensively when I first noticed the change, but none of them seem to know what it might mean. It's what they used to call Grindelwald. They didn't know what it meant then either."

Severus felt a shiver of unease wash over him. "I've never read anything about that in the history books."

A faint smile twisted Albus' lips, his eyes twinkling behind his glasses. "Doesn't surprise me," he agreed. "Very few people ever sit down and have long conversations with house elves, and even fewer still would think to write down their words of wisdom."

"Words of wisdom?"

"They don't think the way we do, Severus," Albus explained. "Non-humans have their own myths and legends, and they're often dismissed because they're considered lesser creatures. Look at centaurs - they possess intelligence far superior to ours, and yet they are considered beneath us because they choose to live in the wild. I have found that house elves often know things that wizards don't; they just lack the ability to explain any of it."

"And Grindelwald?" Severus asked. "Did you ever learn what the name meant?"

Albus leaned back in his chair and stroked his beard slowly. "Grindelwald was a power hungry madman who preached about pureblood superiority and a return to greatness through acts of genocide. He was like a thousand other madmen before him, spouting the same rhetoric, gathering up the bitter and disgruntled. And then one day something changed. Some new madness gripped him." Albus frowned and Severus watched him intently. The headmaster never talked about those days, and to have a chance to hear something about the war with Grindelwald from Dumbledore's own mouth was a rare opportunity indeed.

"He believed that there was some great secret that would give him the power to rule the world," Albus continued with his story. "He became obsessed with this secret - with finding it or learning it. Everything else became secondary to it, and he began making mistakes, leaving himself vulnerable to attack. Eventually his followers were captured or killed or disserted him, and he was left to face me alone."

"He never learned this secret?" Severus asked.

Albus shook his head. "No, nor did I. When he died, whatever knowledge about it he possessed, died with him."