hollow // credence barebone

31. complications

———

he returned to the stone cold castle a little before the sun rose. the corridors were empty as he made his way to his chamber. whiskers looked at him suspiciously and croaked a greeting. aurelius walked towards it and scratched its head, surprised when the phoenix finally didn't bite at his fingers. the bird's golden eyes stared at him with even more confusion, and aurelius bent down to its level.

"shut up and keep a secret, alright?"

whiskers nibbed him right below the eye. aurelius made his way towards the bathroom, rubbing at the bleeding skin and cursing the bird under his breath.

as soon as hot water swallowed his body, he felt exhaustion finally return. perhaps the illegal international teleportations were convenient for a variety of reasons, but they were a huge pain all along. he felt like he had ran out of stamina, but maybe it wasn't strictly due to the travel.

he chuckled to himself.

the day went as usual. everybody followed the given orders as they emptied out of the castle. this time, aurelius remained alone with his thoughts. grindelwald had noticed the shadows under his eyes and unusual exhaustion, so he gave him a day to rest and regain his strenght. aurelius slept, but no more than a few hours before he was roused awake by a throbbing pain in his chest. it didn't leave him the entire day as he shuffled his feet from one room to another. he finished reading every book in the library already, so he didn't even bother going up the staircase. he took whiskers outside, but the sunlight was particularly evasive that day. he then locked himself in the piano room, but music wouldn't come out. he just sat there with his cheek on the table and eyes half-closed, getting lost inside his head.

by the time eight o'clock in the evening stroke, they gathered at the table. aurelius noticed that this time only a bunch of people joined. theodore was cutting his steak, going on and off about the idiocy that is the international rule of no broom travels during the day. aurelius suspected that his support for grindelwald came from the convenience it would bring if they won. he wouldn't have to hide the wand under the table whenever he charmed a girl's drink. he would be able to fly his broom across all skies regardless of time. his little life would be simply better as long as it was only his.

gellert grindelwald hardly even listened. he leaned back on his chair, a glass of liquor in his hand, gazing from the window to aurelius and then back again. his eyebrows furrowed slightly as he watched aurelius stir the salad on his plate, hardly even eating anything at all.

he was not the only one who was casting him secret glances. in the corner of the table, under the disguise of drinking from her own glass, queenie was continously staring at him. when he caught her eyes, a tiny smile would bloom on her face before she packed it back. he knew she was sitting inside his head and enjoying every detail of his memories. he made sure to very loudly request her to leave. as a mental note for later, he decided to learn how to block his thoughts from the curiosity of others. she only wiggled her eyebrows and got herself another piece of red velvet cake.

after dinner, grindelwald held onto his sleeve and asked him to stay. with everyone else departed from the room, the man's eyes rested on him in deep thought. aurelius kept a straight face as his head filled with all possible ideas to what grindelwald wanted. he was ready to assume that the man knew about his secret or would find out soon anyway. but he didn't mention anything about it. with a deep frown, he opened his mouth.

"i'm afraid we need to increase the dose of curative potions."

aurelius blinked surprised. grindelwald took his wrist and pressed his thumb into his vein. the frown on his face deepened. a few moments he let go of aurelius's hand and sighed.