PROLOGUE

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'I KNOW ABOUT the child.'

No one would have guessed that a letter consisting of those five words would be the first exchange between two foes.

His ice blue eyes then fell to the envelope enclosed at the very bottom of the parchment, the unmistakable emblem of Hogwarts chiseled unto its blood-red seal.

The letter slipped out of his hands, falling to the cold stone floor of Nurmengard Castle.

"I'd like to speak to her."

The guard scoffed at his prisoner's words. "Your visiting hours are well over—"

He was unable to finish his sentence as a hand found its way to his throat.

"I'd like to speak to my granddaughter. Now." Gellert Grindelwald hissed through gritted teeth, tightening his fingers around the man's neck.

The guard managed a quick nod, collapsing to the ground when he was finally released. He scrambled out of the room, leaving Grindelwald's thoughts to wreck havoc on his mind.

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A dismal overcast shrouded Nurmengard Castle. Its courtyard was empty, save for the presence of one eleven-year old girl.

Pushing a strand of golden-blonde hair out of her face, she took a deep breath and narrowed her eyes on the little cornflowers below her.

"Come on," she muttered quietly. Slowly but surely, the flowers began to blossom— a perfect Herbivicus Charm. The corners of her lips twitched upward.

"Valerie!"

The cornflowers burst into flames. Dead.

"He wishes to see you."

The young witch kicked the flowers, or the ashes of which it remained, into the dull grass. She spared the guard a quick glance, noticing the paleness of his face and curious red marks forming on his neck. She followed him to the castle entrance, but let her stare linger on the arch that towered above them like a warning.

'For the Greater Good,' it read, words deftly carved on the surface of the signage. The clause was frustratingly fragmented. It kept her awake at night.

She tore her gaze away, walking through the silent corridors of the castle in eerie peace. Nurmengard was a terrible place. Its sinister stone walls seemed to whisper amongst themselves, as if maddened by the ghoulish laughter of bygone prisoners. But, homes come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and this had always been hers.

The guard stepped aside as they approached the wooden doors, steel chains wrapped around like vines. He whispered incoherent spells, and Valerie watched the shackles unravel themselves like shoelaces going untied. Once done, she pushed the doors open, revealing a dingy cell with nothing but a silly excuse of a cot and a man in the middle of the room.

grindelwald | harry potterWhere stories live. Discover now