When the Roses Bloom Again by TheBlack'sResurgence

Chapter 42

The Wilting of a Rose (Part One)

It had been a scene of horror that Harry had arrived to when he entered the magical streets of Norway. As far as they eye could see, both sides of the walkway were lined with mutilated corpses hung from lampposts or lashed to any other fixing that could be used for such a thing. Each person had been stripped naked and the sign of the Deathly Hallows had been crudely carved into their chests.

Not for the first time since Harry had begun his campaign against Grindelwald, he found himself sickened to the core.

The Norwegians had not been so accommodating to the invading forces, and they had paid dearly. Their punishment the macabre display to serve as a reminder that defiance would not be tolerated.

It was the first time that Harry had seen the cruelty that Grindelwald could exact upon those that did not share his vision, and although Harry knew the man was to blame for what had transpired here, the blame equally lied with those that did nothing to prevent it.

The ICW had indeed deployed a token force to protect Norway, a force that had immediately fled when Grindelwald's men had arrived according to what Harry himself had uncovered since his arrival.

To the young Hit-Wizard, the inaction here was unacceptable, and it only brought Nicholas's words to the forefront of his mind.

'You must be more ruthless than the enemy you face. If you're not willing to do to them that they will do to you, you will lose.'

Harry knew those opposing Grindelwald had lost in Norway.

Whether it was because they fled instead of fighting or they became one of the unfortunate casualties in the aftermath, there was no victory here, but that didn't mean there couldn't be any justice, that there was nothing he could do to give those that remained hope for a brighter future.

In the days he had been here, Harry had observed he comings and goings of Grindelwald's men who continued to harass and torture any citizens they came across.

No, victory was indeed unattainable, but Harry was not content to leave before he did something to assuage the wounds that had been inflicted.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked the man he had captured.

He was a German that Harry had come across assaulting a woman who was cradling a dead infant to her chest.

She had been unresponsive, any fight she may have once had all but absent as her attacker had been fumbling with the buttons on her dress.

"A dead man," the German sneered.

Harry chuckled darkly before ploughing his fist into the man's nose, the bones snapping under the force.

The German spat on the floor, his mouth and mangled nose oozing with blood.

"You have no idea who you are messing with," he sneered.

Harry nodded and hissed as he waved his wand.

He watched as the flow of blood increased, the man's eyes bulging in a mix of fear and his oxygen being cut off.