When the Roses Bloom Again by TheBlack'sResurgence

Chapter 35

A Call to Arms

He stared at the wand he held in his hand; his eyes narrowed as he tried to feel anything different about it. There was nothing. It felt as it always had after he had liberated it from the wandmaker, yet, it had behaved very strangely indeed whilst he had been duelling The Serpent.

Was it something the Hit-Wizard had done, or was it a failing on Gellert's part?

He could not be certain, but it was unsettling.

All had been going to plan, though admittedly, his foe had put up a much better fight than expected, had even held his own quite admirably until the very end, until the Elder Wand had turned on Gellert.

He had tried to rationalise such thoughts, but he couldn't.

The wand had attacked him with the same ferocity it had done his bidding, and when it was done, Gellert had been whisked away from the cave, his impending victory stolen from him by the same length of wood he held.

How was that possible?

Gellert was no expert in the workings of wands, and he knew there was magic in the world beyond his understanding, but he needed to understand this.

Why had the wand acted as it had?

That was the burning question, and though he knew that he couldn't formulate an answer that would leave him comforted, it did not prevent him from trying to do so.

Never had been so flummoxed.

He was pulled from his musing by a knock at the door, and an eager Cassiopeia Black entered without being bid and took a seat in front of him.

The bright smile she wore faded as she took in his demeanour, and her lips thinned in displeasure.

"What happened?" she asked.

Gellert shook his head in response.

"I do not know," he replied honestly. "It was going so well, and then…"

He flicked open both of his hands, and the wand he had sought out for much of his life clattered on his desk.

"So, he is alive?"

"As much as I am," Gellert confirmed. "He has been quite the enigma, and now, quite the concern."

"What will you do?"

Gellert pursed his lips.

"I must understand what happened," he mused aloud. "It would not do for us to meet again only for the same thing to happen."

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Cassiopeia asked.

"Unless you are an expert on wandlore, I do not think so."

"Why don't you speak with Gregorovitch?"

Gellert snorted.

"I would not give the man the satisfaction," he denied. "I could do without his smugness."

"Then why not Ollivander?"