"Corvus Lestrange is already dead, I killed him!" Leta yelled. "Accio."
A small, chain-bound case flew off the wall of the tomb and onto the floor.
"My father owned a very strange family tree," Leta said. With a flick of her wand, the small container opened to reveal a green mat with a tree growing from the center, much like a pop-up book.
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"It only recorded the men." Small flowers began to blossom as faces appeared along the tree's branches. "The women in my family were recorded as flowers. Beautiful, separate. My father sent me to America with Corvus. Irma was to pose as a grandmother with two grandchildren. Corvus never stopped crying . . . I never wanted to hurt him. I only wanted to be free of him, just for a moment, just a single moment."
"You didn't mean to do it, Leta," I said at last. "It wasn't your fault."
"Newt, you never met a monster you couldn't love," she said.
"Leta," Jeanne began softly. "Do you know who Creedence really is? Did you know when you swapped them?"
"No," she responded quietly.
The silence was broken by the sound of rock scraping against rock. The wall to the side of the tomb was sliding open. Voices were coming from within.
"It's a trap," Jeanne whispered to me.
"Yep . . ." I said. "Queenie, the family tree, it's all been bait."
"We have to find a way out of here right now," she whispered.
"You go find the others," I said, walking towards the stairs.
Jeanne caught me by my jacket. "What're you going to do?" she asked.
"I'll think of something," I said and went off.
The stone Ampetheater was packed full of wizards. I knew Tina was here. And if Tina was here, Queenie was here. And if Queenie was here, so was Jacob. Well then, who was with Amy? I swear to Merlin if Jacob brought her here . . .
From out of the shadows, Gellert Grindelwald emerged, strolling slowing into the center of the theatre. Every witch and wizard alike began clapping and cheering.
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As their applause subsided, Grindelwald spoke: "My brothers, my sisters, my friends, the great gift of your applause is not for me. It is for yourselves. You came today because of a craving and the knowledge that the old ways serve us no longer."
"You came today because you crave something new. Something different. It is said, that I hate les non-magie, the Muggles, the No-Maj . . . I do not hate them, I do not. I do not fight out of hatred. I say the Muggles are not lesser than others. Not worthless, but of other value. Not disposable, but of a different disposition. Magic blooms only in rare souls. It is granted to those who defy things. Oh, and what a world we would make for humanity who live for feeling, for truth, and for love."
Grindelwald clasped his arms behind himself. "The moment has come to share my vision of the future that awaits if we do not rise up."
Upon Grindelwald's lapel, I noticed a small glass vial with red swirling around within.
"And take our rightful place in the world."
A witch brought forth a skull with a lit fire within and a tube for inhalation to Grindelwald.
The wizard took a long draw then breathed out, exhaling images of destruction into the amphitheater. Images of another war.
The dust faded, leaving a room full of horrified witches and wizards.
"That!" Grindelwald began, "is what we are fighting. That is the enemy. Their arrogance! Their power-lust. Their barbarity. How long will it take before they turn their weapons on us? Do nothing, they tell us. We must remain calm and contain your emotions . . . There are Aurors here among us."
The crowd broke out into whispers.
I looked around, trying to spot Jeanne. Even as an Ex-Auror, she could be in danger.
"Come closer, brother wizards, join us," said Grindelwald. "They have killed many of my followers."
Men from the Ministry slowly entered the theatre and came down the stairs.
