— — — — — —
There was deep blood between Gellert Grindelwald and Viktor Krum.
Back in the day, Grindelwald had killed Krum's grandfather.
At the time, Krum's father was only a few months old. So if Grindelwald had acted a little sooner, Viktor Krum would never have been born.
Because of that blood feud, the Krum family had always carried a fierce hatred toward him. In the beginning, it didn't amount to much. After all, Grindelwald had been locked away in Nurmengard Castle, and they had no way to storm in and take revenge.
Too many people hated Grindelwald anyway. The Krums were nowhere near the front of that line.
But once Grindelwald became headmaster of Durmstrang, everything changed. Krum was cornered. Either he dropped out, or he submitted to Grindelwald's rule.
Dropping out didn't really solve anything. Bulgaria itself was also under Grindelwald's control right now. The family couldn't exactly pack up and abandon their homeland.
So Krum endured. He kept his head down and stayed at the school.
As for Grindelwald, he didn't remember everyone he'd killed. There were simply too many. Often, he'd taken a life before even learning the person's name.
However, he had a capable lieutenant, Vinda Rosier. Vinda knew perfectly well that among Durmstrang's students there were bound to be descendants of old enemies. So she carried out a careful investigation.
That was how Krum was exposed, along with several dozen other students.
Once unmasked, they were all taken to the headmaster's office. When Vinda called out their identities, some students were so terrified they collapsed. Others broke down crying and begged for mercy.
Only Krum, after a brief moment of panic, drew his wand and aimed it at Grindelwald, casting the strongest spell he knew.
Vinda blocked it with ease. Grindelwald didn't even bother to lift his eyelids.
And at that moment, Krum had fully expected to die.
But Grindelwald merely smiled faintly and said, "Well, that one wasn't bad," then dismissed them all.
Not only did nothing else happen afterward, but once Krum passed the selection process, Grindelwald even arranged for several elite Aurors and professors to train them personally.
Krum felt both the relief of surviving a brush with death and a stifling sense of being completely disregarded.
Now, faced with Grindelwald's question, Krum's deep voice rang with confidence."I will definitely bring the championship back to Durmstrang."
He mentioned only Durmstrang, not Grindelwald.
Seeing Grindelwald's brow crease, Krum's heart skipped despite himself, convinced he had angered him.
"You're too arrogant, Viktor."
Grindelwald rose slowly and walked up to him. The two locked eyes, and Krum quickly lowered his head.
"I'll admit it. You do have some talent. But that's all. Compared to real monsters…" Grindelwald paused, then corrected himself. "No. You're not even qualified to be compared to them."
He wasn't talking about Tom. There had been countless geniuses and prodigies throughout history, but Tom was one of a kind. Using him as a standard for Krum would have been outright bullying.
The "monster" Grindelwald meant was Ariana. Even setting aside the Obscurial, no matter how hard Krum trained, he would never come close to her level. Still, she served well enough as a way to provoke him.
"Krum, do you want revenge?" Grindelwald placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I…"
"There's no need to deny it."
Grindelwald shook his head. "Isn't it obvious from how you usually act? What's the point of denying it now?"
Seeing Krum at a loss, Grindelwald smiled softly. "I'm training you so that one day, you'll be qualified to stand before me, just like your grandfather did. Your grandfather was a brave man. He didn't agree with my ideals, because I would drag the entire wizarding world into the vortex of war, and that meant he couldn't protect his family."
"Out of respect, I killed him. That wasn't a personal vendetta. It was a clash of beliefs. So we are not enemies."
Grindelwald turned and returned to his seat. "If you don't agree with me, then grow stronger. Defeat me. Prove that I'm wrong, just like Albus Dumbledore once did. That's why you shouldn't underestimate his students. Only by defeating them can you prove you're even qualified to think about what comes next."
"I understand. I won't underestimate anyone," Krum said solemnly, nodding.
When he looked at Grindelwald again, there was a change in his gaze that he couldn't quite explain.
The blood feud with his family was real. Yet Grindelwald's breadth of vision left him shaken. If their positions were reversed, Krum knew he would never have thought of nurturing someone who hated him.
Grindelwald waved a hand, dismissing everyone. Among the group, only Krum, a sixth-year, was worth watching. As for the seventh-year deadweight, he had no expectations at all.
Vinda watched Krum's retreating back, her eyes full of disdain, mixed with a trace of pity.
'Foolish child. The reason my lord is training you is because, even if you give it everything you have, you still won't pose the slightest threat to him. And besides…'
'Heh.'
'This time, my lord is no longer alone.'
"Vinda, you can go too. No need to follow me."
Vinda bowed slightly and left the office as well. She already knew where Grindelwald was headed next.
And sure enough, not long after she left, Grindelwald stepped out of his room, planning to swing by the headmaster's office and freeload a breakfast.
He had barely been outside for thirty seconds when Professor McGonagall hurried over.
"Mr. Grindelwald, you're still unfamiliar with the school, aren't you? Would you like me to show you around?"
Grindelwald gave her a teasing look. He knew this was Dumbledore's handiwork. At this school, only a handful of heads of house were qualified to keep an eye on him.
"Perfect timing, Minerva," Grindelwald said lightly, neither accusing nor exposing her. Instead, he put her straight to work. "Take me to Albus. I'd like to see how the headmaster's breakfast compares to mine."
McGonagall didn't refuse. If anything, she wished Dumbledore and Grindelwald would stay glued together. That way, everyone else could stop living on edge.
They soon reached the seventh floor. After speaking the password, McGonagall left, and Grindelwald entered the office alone.
Dumbledore seemed to have anticipated him. Two breakfasts were already set out on the table.
"How does it feel?" Dumbledore asked with a smile once Grindelwald had taken his seat.
Grindelwald grinned. "Very nice. The climate here is much better than Durmstrang's. Staring at pale snow-capped mountains every day gets old. Green hills and clear water are far more refreshing. Albus, what do you think about us switching roles?"
"I'll be the headmaster of Hogwarts, and you go run Durmstrang. Sounds fun, doesn't it?"
"..."
Dumbledore realized that since breaking out of Nurmengard, Grindelwald's thinking had become increasingly wild. More often than not, he couldn't keep up, and every time, he ended up on the back foot.
Even casual small talk like this left him being led by the nose.
"Gellert, I'm afraid you'd turn my school into an acolyte recruitment camp. Let's not."
Dumbledore started eating first. Grindelwald dropped the subject and dug in with clear enjoyment. The room fell briefly silent as the former headmasters on the walls quietly cracked their eyes open, staring at the bizarre sight of a Hogwarts' Headmaster and a Dark Lord sharing breakfast.
If it were Voldemort instead, something like this would never happen, even if Dumbledore were dead.
Phineas stroked his beard. To be honest, he found this Dark Lord rather stylish, and his ideas weren't entirely unacceptable. If Grindelwald had risen in his own era, Phineas might very well have joined him to rein in Muggle expansion.
A pity he was born too late.
Well, might as well enjoy the show.
...
After a while, Grindelwald broke the silence, sounding almost casual. "By the way, where's your phoenix? Why isn't he here?"
Dumbledore's expression darkened slightly.
Why did he always have to bring up the sore spot?
What was he supposed to say? That his bird was practically Tom's bird now, following that boy around all day and barely coming home?
Recently, Fawkes's closeness to Tom had gone far beyond anything before. Dumbledore had asked him about it, only to be ignored, with Fawkes muttering something about a mother's scent.
If he told the truth, Grindelwald would definitely seize the chance to laugh at him.
So rather than retreat, Dumbledore pressed forward. His gaze sharpened. "I've heard that recently you've been getting quite friendly with the Lithuanian and Hungarian Ministries of Magic."
"Your intelligence network is impressive," Grindelwald said casually, offering a halfhearted note of surprise before shrugging with a helpless smile. "Looks like you've planted another mole around me."
"There are no absolute secrets in this world," Dumbledore said sternly. "When it involves the movements of two countries, do you really think it can be hidden?"
And he was already putting it mildly. It wasn't just those two. Western Europe, Northern Europe, even parts of Central Asia had begun secret communications with Berlin. Not personal contacts, but official channels.
Those two were simply the most obvious, and the most openly inclined.
"Can't be helped." Grindelwald spread his hands, looking utterly innocent. "You know me. I've always been soft-hearted. When people ask for help, I find it hard to say no."
"..."
Dumbledore took a deep breath.
How did decades in Nurmengard make Grindelwald this shameless? What had he gone through? What had he figured out?
Compared to the past, this Grindelwald was clearly harder to deal with. Before, he cared about his image. And caring about one's image meant having restraints.
Now?
Heh. Like a hedgehog, all spikes, nowhere to grab.
And faintly, Dumbledore felt a strange sense of familiarity. He'd felt this same helpless frustration somewhere else before.
Where was it again?
For a moment, he couldn't remember.
.
.
.