Unspoken // Theseus Scamander

Chapter Thirty - Emotions

Word Count: 1,818 words. 

Warnings: Is it another filler to create storyline and context for the third movie? Yes. Is there more to come? Absolutely. 

I was staring at the letter when Aberforth entered The Hog's Head. He had not expected me, it being the early hours of the morning – that small moment between when the tavern had closed and when it would open again.

"Nat..."

"When I was a child," I cut him off, hands grasping the edges of the table, "did I almost drown?"

Confused, Abe's expression fell. "I... yes, you did."

"I don't remember it."

"You were very young." Her brother had a bag in his arm, which he placed on the table as he approached.

They hadn't spoken since she told her about Credence, but when I received the letter now opened in front of me, he was the only person that I could think to go to. Albus wasn't trustworthy anymore.

"Where is this coming from?" Abe asked, taking the ingredients for his stew from the bag.

"I got a letter this morning," I told him, shuddering. "It was left on my desk. From Grindelwald."

That got his attention, and any thoughts he had had previously were gone. He looked at the parchment in front of me before grabbing it and turning it to read. I had already committed the madman's words to memory.

Natty

I hope that you haven't missed me in my time away, but I am afraid that there are more pressing matters than our reacquainting. I wanted to apologise for how I treated you in Paris, clearly you are a lot stronger than I gave you credit for.

I am glad to see that you survived, and I wait with bated breath for our next meeting. You will never find the messenger that gave you this letter, and so do not waste your time chasing after them.

I wish only to remind you of the times that we spent together when you were a child, and how we can work together again. However, I would prefer it if you did not drown.

With love,

Gellert.

Abe's expression was murderous as he looked up at me, placing the letter down. "What is he playing at?"

I leaned forward. "It's clear that he still wants me to join his ranks."

"Which you will never do," he countered, "and even if you did, it would never be honest, would it?"

"Of course not," I replied. "I'd rather suffer the Cruciatus curse than join his ranks of wizard supremacy."

Sighing, Aberforth began nodding his head slowly. "I don't know what happened that day," he explained. "One minute, you were running outside to find Albus and the next you were a dead body floating on top of the lake."

Shocked, and with no memory of the event, my eyes widened. "What?"

"Grindelwald," – there was no lack of hate in his tone when he spoke that name – "managed to resuscitate you and you slept for days. No one knows exactly how you ended up there, only that I thought I was going to have to grieve you and that... Anna might have died beside you." His jaw tensed at the mention of her name.

Aberforth never did love anyone else. I hadn't known it when I was a child, but it was clear the moment the pair met that there was to be no one for them but each other. He had loved her every day since she died, and I had no doubt that he would love her until the day he himself finished on this earth.