Chapter Twenty Three

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 Credence awoke with a chill that seeped into his bones. His hands grasped for the thin blanket he kept thrown over himself, but where the fabric was supposed to be his hands for nothing but air. He fluttered his eyes open only to find himself face-to-face with the silhouette of Grindelwald's black boot, which was perched directly in front of him on the small cot. "Get up," Grindelwald hissed, though Credence couldn't quite make out his face in the still-dark room. As his eyes adjusted, he could see a snarl on Grindelwald's face, and Rosier pacing in the background. "Get up, boy, move!"

"Wha... what?" Credence mumbled, still groggy with sleep. His brain felt foggy, the chill having seeped deeper than he'd thought.

Rosier grumbled, her arms crossed, "One of our 'friends' sold out our location. We need to move. Now!"

Slowly, memories of the night before began to flood Credence's sentences. Grindelwald's conversation with Rosier, how they had spoken of lies... so many lies, they had said they'd told Credence. What if this, too, was one? And then he remembered: Grindelwald said he was Mr. Graves. The chill in his bones turned to red hot rage, and everything in him seethed to attack.

Grindelwald grabbed Credence by the scruff of the neck and threw him off the bed – or tried to. Credence, with memories of the night before flooding in, threw his weight at Grindelwald, which stunned the old man and threw him backward. Weak as he was, Credence felt a new power surging inside him, fueled by the rage that pummeled him so thoroughly.

The obscurial.

Credence took a deep breath to calm the monster that swarmed inside him. He– he was the monster. And this was his time to attack. Rosier stumbled toward him, her wand drawn behind her back. "Credence, what has gotten into you?" She cried, her nostrils flaring as she stared at her fallen friend. Grindelwald got up hastily, cursing.

"Boy, you've made a grand mistake," Grindelwald muttered, walking toward him with a sneer and his hands outstretched - but not his wand. Not his wand, for when Credence had attacked him, he'd slipped the wand out of Grindelwald's pocket. Mustering up the monster inside, Credence growled.

"I know," He said, voice low as he shakily moved the wand from his pocket. "I know everything. You lied. You... you're Mr. Graves. You betrayed me." Credence's mind began to roar as the monster inside him fought to be let free, to let itself loose on the monster that stood before him. Grindelwald, Graves, whoever this man was... Credence was no longer sure, but he was certain of one thing. That this man was his enemy. He pointed the wand at Grindelwald.

Grindelwald cackled, eyes wide in exasperation. Rosier shifted her gaze to him, a look of confusion and then recognition on her face. Grindelwald clapped a few times, then outstretched his hands. "You got me there, boy!" A humored smile plastered on his lips. "Of course, I lied," He snarled. "You were too stupid to realize the truth. Or so I thought. Rosier, fetch me my wand."

As if something pinched him, Credence's hand flew back and the wand was taken out of his grasp. "Expelliarmus," Rosier had cried, catching the wand and tossing it to Grindelwald. "You want to fight Gellert Grindelwald," Rosier's voice was barely above a whisper, her accent thick. "You are stupid indeed."

Grindelwald claps his hands together once more as he continues to scoff at Credence. "Stupid, stupid boy, we have housed you, we have fed you, we have trained you... for what? FOR WHAT? For you to betray us like this? You speak of betrayal, but we are your only friends in this world. Do you think Newt and Tina want you? They have you on their kill list. You will be killed the moment they lay their filthy eyes on you, Credence. That is for certain."

Credence couldn't believe what Grindelwald was saying. Not after everything, not after finding out he'd been betrayed. "Every word you speak is a lie," Credence observed, his voice as shaky as his body. Withholding that power within him, still, waiting for the perfect moment. "Newt wanted to save me. I know that now. You- you are the evil one. You are the killer!"

Credence raised one arm and sent a shot of black, notorious power toward Grindelwald. It darkened the whole room, the obscurial obliterating everything in its wake. But not Grindelwald and Rosier, for they had suspected this was coming. That's why they had confiscated Credence's wand and stripped it of its power when they had their chance. A reversible spell, of course, but something that made Credence harmless. Aside from the obscurial within him. Which Rosier and Grindelwald knew of, leading them to take their next few steps cautiously. Though Grindelwald could barely keep a cap on his anger and hatred for the boy, despite the powers the boy held.

The power was met by a shield of white light: both Rosier and Grindelwald had cast their own protective charms seconds before the adamant would've knocked them to the ground. Credence sent another whirl of power toward them, only to get knocked back. He gasped as he clenched at his neck, an invisible force seemingly choking him. His body was raised and his back slammed into the wall of the hut, sending shocks of pain throughout him.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Rosier yelled, effectively stunning and freezing Credence. His body felt like solid ice, and he couldn't move a muscle. The power made it's way back inside him, seemingly frozen as well.

"That's it, boy," Grindelwald sneered, once again grabbing Credence by the neck. "You're going where no one can find you. Ever."

With that, they apparated out of the hut and into the world.

+

Credence awoke in a dark room with chains around his wrists. He shook them once, twice, then violently so, trying to free himself desperately.

"It won't work, only Grindelwald has the key," came Rosier from across the room. She stood against the wall with her arms and legs crossed, wearing a long overcoat and thigh-high boots.

"Let me out!" Credence cried, straining against the chains and kicking his feet out. "You're crazy! You can't just leave me here!" He looked deep inside him, traveled far down, but couldn't find a trace of the obscurial. It was like it had been... muffled, silenced. He got to a place where he could feel its light buzz, along with the iron tang of magic, but he couldn't muster up the power to do anything. "What did you do?"

Footsteps echoed outside the dull room, and through the door came Grindelwald, twirling his wand in his hands. Faint morning light shined through a crack in a boarded-up window, illuminating the dust billowing in his wake. "But we can. And we will. You are too dangerous, so you are here," Grindelwald whispered. He took a few more steps in front of Credence. "We've dulled your magic with a potion, can't have you trying to escape now." Credence continued to struggle against the chains, throwing all of his weight, everything he had toward them. Trying to break free. Grindelwald tsk'd. Kneeling, he crouched in front of Credence and swiped a strand of hair from his face, to which Credence knew to do nothing but attempt to bite the man. "Oh, Credence," Grindelwald cooned, "If only there was someone who loved you."

Grindelwald stood, and Rosier straightened, following him out of the room. "Not a sound," she mentioned to Credence and shut the door, the lock clicking behind her.

Credence let out a terrible wail.

+

Credence awoke a few hours later and began screaming again. Screaming, not because of the emotional pain, but in the wake of the morning, where the chains had been were burns all along his wrists. Burns caused by the obscurial breaking free, unleashing its power, and in turn, unleashing the power within Credence.

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