Shots to a "Merry" Christmas

Gellert Grindelwald x Reader: Snow-bound

—Ethereal in the snow, icy when it blows —

You breathed a cloud of white mist, breath warm against the frozen window panes as you looked outside from the intricately decorated mansion you currently stood in. What a beautiful work of architecture it was indeed, situated in an elegant street of parisian houses, seemingly from the 19th century itself. It was snowing out, blanketing everything outside with a layer of white as far as the eye could see.

Beautiful.

In an ethereal way, in a sense that only France itself could make it seem as such.

Squinting out of the fairly frosted windows, you could make out a shadow among the piles of snow nearby which made you furrow your eyebrows in contemplation. Was that someone who didn't mean well or was that simply another one of his followers that often lurked around, popping in and out of this hideout of his on occasion? Granted, being a part of his inner circle meant that you had access to knowledge and Intel that most of his followers were oblivious to.

Whilst being caught up in your thoughts, your mind had failed to register that the speck you had initially registered in the distance had moved, swift as an arrow itself, planting it's existence right in front of you in the form a black trench coat and a pair of distinctively mismatched eyes.

"Ah, (y/n). How nice of you to join our company. We've been expecting you." He inclined his head in the direction of the drawing room.

You felt your lips crook into a smile as you followed after him, proceeding onto the next area. The drawing room had proved to be rather large and a couple of his followers were loitering around the walls of the room.

The many different wizard and witches, all of different stature and status turned to face Grindelwald the moment he set foot into the room.

The conversations that you had heard prior had ceased as silence fell. You could feel all the eyes fall upon the both of you as the entire room waited with baited breath to see what would transpire next.

With a subtle flourish of his hand and a guiding hand to your back, he gently nudged you to the front from your position behind him to face the audience in front of you within the room.

"My brothers, my sisters. Let us welcome (y/n) (l/n) into our folds. I believe that she will serve as a brilliant addition to our cause and have thus brought it upon myself to add her into our ranks"

You gave the most pleasant smile you could muster in the less than welcome company you had, politely introducing yourself. "It is an honor."

Murmurs filled the room but you could tell that everyone was still wary of you. That was to be expected, considering how you were a newcomer. A young man approached you, introducing himself as Abernathy, a former executive of the Magical Congress of the United States of America but a pointed look from Grindelwald had him scurrying away before he could dawdle for long. Well, you supposed that their wariness of you was partially because the man they were following had personally sought you out as a addition to his ranks. A couple of others had approached you afterwards, having taken a page out of Abernathy's book and finding the courage in themselves to do so.

It wasn't long before you felt a ghost of a whisper come across your ears and you excused yourself from the room. A quick glance across the room informed you that Grindelwald was in fact, nowhere in sight. Right, of course he had other motives for so gallantly inviting you to his hideout, risking upon the chance that they might be exposed. Of course, you would never do that. Never had the thought once crossed your mind.

A nagging feeling in your gut made you head to the next room over. Curious, you were about to peak in when a voice sounded close to you.

"Have I ever mentioned that I've come to hate Paris?"

"Do you now?" You mused, having not been present for the entire event that had transpired between the congress and the in Paris.

"Spare me the small talk, you know I'm scarcely good with the art of making banter over tea. Now onto more serious matters."

Ah yes, ever the silver-tongue. You had yet to know anyone else who was able to twist words and work around with them as cleverly and eloquently as could.

"I heard that you wanted to massacre the masses of the general populace? I can't say that I agree with that despite my presence here. You know my stand on this.'"

"We won't eliminate all the no-magique. No, we aren't so cruel to do that. They're useful in their own ways but I'll leave you to decipher that for yourself."

He reached out to grasp your hand, bringing it closer to himself. "You on the other hand..."

He shook his head slowly, looking almost slightly disappointed.

"Such potential. Intelligent, deadly, swift, I thought that you'd be the one to understand me best among the masses."

Your breath stilled as you felt his lips ghost upon your knuckles. A chuckle fell from his lips before he breathed out a silent murmur. "Such a pity, indeed." His eyes flickered up to face you somberly as he uttered a spell. Rather than utter a spell, it was more accurate to say that you had felt the effects of it before the word had even rung aloud in the silence. A petrification charm. You froze, literally.

Grindelwald crooked his head, almost as if he was observing a fine specimen. He took in your mildly mortified-expression as you felt the wave of petrification sweep through your body, running through your veins.

"A pity. I loathe to do this to you but it seems like our ideals do not bode well together."

You felt the cold tip of his wand press against your skin.

"Imperio."

A yellowish-green mist spewed forth from the tip of his wand, confuddling your every senses as you felt your consciousness retreat somewhere far within the depths of your mind, much to your dismay.

It was an odd feeling, being absolutely aware of everything around you but being unable to do anything about it.

He smiled, pleased as he saw your eyes slowly glass over as the spell took root within your being, turning you into a puppet to his every command.

"There. Now, grace me with a smile..."

You smiled.

"Much better, love."