"Welcome to Nurmengard" The old man smirked.
"W-who might you be mister? And w-where am I?" I tried to calm myself but the flashbacks of being stabbed kept popping up in my mind. The old man raised his eyebrows at my behavior before chuckling.
"Don't worry kid, I won't harm you. In fact, I'm here to tell you who you really are." The old man said calmly. But I felt the pressure became a little bit heavy. Now that I think about it, I never knew who my parents are. I just thought that they are random strangers who don't have enough responsibility to take care of a child. I felt a bit angry back then since they abandoned me, but I moved on since I already considered Sister Anna as my family. Even then, I can't help but feel a little longing when I think of them, maybe I still have the heart of a child even if I am mentally mature. Every child wants to know who their parents are, don't they?
"The note that was left in your basket. It was your name wasn't it?" The old man continued.
Knowing that I'm in the world of Harry Potter. I already know what spell is being cast. The old man was reading my mind using Legillimency. But I'm curious. How come this old man can't see my past life through my mind if he can read me like an open book? Maybe the one who reincarnated me hid all of that metaknowledge? I probably won't know.
'Wait, there's something I'm missing here. Old man, white hair, Numengard...'
When I looked at myself, I remembered all of my odd appearances.
'...Silver hair, gray eyes... OH SHIT I'M A F*CKING GRINDELWALD!! And if I'm a Grindelwald then this man should be...'
When all of the puzzle pieces connected together. My eyes widened in realization.
'This old man is Gellert! Gellert F*cking Grindelwald!'
"...You're a Grindelwald, kid. And I'm your grandfather. Gellert Grindelwald."
I almost fainted in shock. Not only I'm in my favorite fantasy novel. I'm the grandson of a former Dark Lord. With his infamous reputation, I don't know what awaits me in the wizarding world.
'And I thought I'm having a good life here. It would be better if I was reincarnated in my own world instead here.' I sighed.
I faced the ol- my grandfather, ready to ask questions.
"If you're my grandfather, where are my parents? And how come I only met you now?" I asked the most sensible questions I could think. Even I am curious about the answer. I might be in an alternate universe after all.
"You're smart kid, even at your age." my grandfather said, impressed. Yeah, most children will ask the first thing that comes in their mind. And I am not most children. I am a sort of anomaly. I know about the butterfly effect. Even my existence will affect the timeline I'm in. Especially now that I found out I'm a Grindelwald.
"Now to answer your question, I'm afraid that your parents are already dead. They abandoned you and joined the war so they can be with that noseless brat..." Gellert said while looking angry and a little sad. I didn't know dark lords can be sad. Well, Voldemort is a different case himself. He was a mad man who conducted experiments on anyone, even himself. Not that my grandfather was much different. From what I've known from the books and wiki pages, he was kicked out of Durmstrang because he was caught conducting illegal experiments and studying dark magic. The magic is so vile that it made the Unforgivables look like cheering charms.
"I only met you now because the magic within Nurmengard is very strong. I was the one who built it after all. Now, I called you here because you're the last member of Grindelwald aside from me. So I'll train you to become a proper heir and a strong wizard so you can continue our family line." Grandfather continued.
Now I'm interested. I didn't know Grindelwald was a wizarding family.
"I was planning on training you when you are ready to go to a magic school. But the Fidelius charm I cast broke down, so your secret will be revealed the moment you received your letter. I can't protect you while I'm imprisoned. I can only prepare you for your future. So what I did was to train you early. I know that you're a smart kid, seeing the moment you arrived. But still, never get cocky. Arrogance will only get you killed." Grandfather warned and I made a gulping sound at that.
I didn't dare ask why he was imprisoned as I know it is a sore topic for him. Still, we talked for a little before he started training me. The first thing he made me work was Occlumency. He gave me basic pointers in training the basic level of Occlumency. Luckily for me, I've learned enough fanfictions to train the mind arts. The lowest level is where you empty your mind and sort your emotions. It would help me think about things properly and make rational decisions.
Well, let's take things slowly. I don't want to mess things up since magic is very volatile. There was a time when I was too happy that I made all the lights in the orphanage glow brightly until it all popped. It was a disaster back then, and the nuns were nervous that the orphanage will catch fire. Fortunately, no one was hurt.
But one thing is for sure. I had my first accidental magic, and I am sure I'm on my way to becoming a wizard.
Our training continued for months. We can only meet at night when I sleep, so I made sure to train myself within the day or when I'm not doing any house chores.
***6 Years Later***
I may look like sleeping in the room. But in reality, I am currently inside my mindscape. Arranging my memories. The day I managed to make my own mindscape, which obviously, was like a library I saw in my past life, I decided to explore inside my own mind. What intrigued me the most is the invisible vault that was housed in the basement of my library. Even my grandfather was unable to see the door to my basement, much less the vault itself. That vault contained all of my memories from my past life, and I would like it to be that way.
I had a rough time in the past with my grandfather, but I learned to cope with it. I mean, why would you teach a 5-year-old child the unforgivable curses? Yes, grandfather already told me his story. His quest to find the Deathly Hallows, how he was able to find the Elder Wand, the time when he was a wanted criminal in any magical government, his fight with Dumbledore, and his imprisonment. I resented him for what he has done, but he was my only living relative so I accepted him for what he is. Although the lessons we're still difficult since I'm casting all the spells without a wand.
A few weeks after that, grandfather found out that I'm a rather gifted child. So his training regiment became a lot harder. He made me learn more complicated spells and taught me advanced lessons in Arithmancy, Dark arts, Ancient Runes, Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, Potions, Duelling, Alchemy, Transfiguration, Charms, Enchantments, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Proper Etiquette, and of course, Politics. It's as if I'm going back to my college days. This could be a world record with the youngest person to ever have a mental breakdown.
After a series of torture sessions called training, I tried to convince my grandfather to not train me in using the Dark Arts, but grandfather was not having any of that. He said that I may not follow his footsteps as a Dark Lord, but he can never have a weak heir.
I may not like my grandfather's methods, but it will be immensely useful especially when Voldemort decides to come back.