Grindeldore oneshots

2

Tell Me How (This Will Ruin Us)

kantele

Summary:

Albus saves Gellert from execution.

Story :

Auror Waxley carefully approached the figure lying on the dirt, his wand ready to be drawn at a moment's notice. When he was close enough, he gave a sharp movement of his wand and ropes burst out from it. The cords wrapped themselves around the body. With bated breath, he waited for the man to spring up and start throwing around dark curses, but Grindelwald didn't even stir as the ropes tightened around him. Waxley knelt down (still keeping his distance) and waved his wand over him.

"He seems to be knocked out, Sir," Waxley pronounced after a moment's hesitation. Minister Travers came to stand alongside him, sniffing disdainfully at Grindelwald's prone form.

"Good. Tie him up. But be careful, he's a cunning bastard. I'll be damned if he fools us a second time," he ordered and then knelt on the ground, picking up Grindelwald's wand from the mud.

Waxley gave a brief nod, and together with a fellow Auror, grabbed hold of Grindelwald. They dragged him up by the arms and prepared to Disapparate to the Ministry. Before they could, Minister Travers stopped them.

"No. Stay here."

Travers exchanged puzzled glances with the other Auror. Surely the Minister would want Grindelwald behind bars as soon as possible? "Sir?"

Travers stood before the prisoner, a considering gleam in his eyes. He was twirling Grindelwald's wand around his hands. "He has escaped before," he said, before nodding to himself, seeming to come to a decision, "We will execute him."

"Sir!" Waxley gasped, aghast at the notion of killing an unconscious opponent. Even an opponent such as Grindelwald.

Travers spun to face him, a terrible look on his face.

"It's the right thing to do! Just look at the amount of destruction he has wrought!" the Minister shouted, emphasising the destruction around them with the wave of his hand. The village they stood in was barely more than dust. Walls had crumbled, and roofs had given in, and some ruins were still letting out smoke, filling the sky with ash. Bodies were lying on the ground, most of them Aurors, for, fortunately, they had managed to evacuate the villagers before the fighting had started.

Chastened, Waxley nodded nervously. "How are we going to do it, Sir?"

Travers smirked, "The Ministry has just the thing."

Albus Dumbledore drew his coat closer to him in an unconscious gesture, trying to prevent his nervousness from showing. He had heard that Gellert was in the country and that he had been in a confrontation with the ministry Aurors. An encounter which he had apparently lost - if his sources were to be believed. Albus had Apparated to the scene immediately, wanting to find out what Gellert could have positively wanted from such a seemingly inconsequential village. He could only hope that the Aurors had already taken Gellert into custody. He didn't know if his heart could take seeing him.

Stepping over a few pieces of broken wood, Dumbledore arrived at the town square where the battle had apparently taken place. His steps faltered when he spotted Gellert lying prone against the ruins of a small cottage. For a heart-stopping moment, he thought that Gellert was dead. But the ropes around him seemed to say otherwise, as did the small twitching movements of his head. Exhaling in relief (and feeling guilty about feeling relief at all), he went back to scanning the faces of the people around him. A few of them nodded and smiled at him. After a moment, he spotted Hawkins, who was an Auror and a former student of his. (He also happened to be the source of his information in most matters relating to the Auror department, but that was neither here nor there.)