"Look who we have here. It seems fate likes to play with us, always bringing us together, right?" I said when I opened one of the train cabins. I found Neville and Hermione inside, chatting casually. Neville is still shy.
"Why are you here, Fred?" Hermione questioned.
"H-hello, Fred." Neville shyly greeted.
"Well hello to you too Hermione, Neville. It's just like yesterday that we met on the boat right?" I continued.
"And a year after the fiasco in the sorting ceremony, " Hermione reminded.
"Well it's just a name, right? It's not like I'm doing something evil." I spoke.
"But you being elusive makes you suspicious. Ron and Harry may have cleared their suspicions on you, I don't," Hermione talked back.
"Why, I am flattered by that Ms. Granger. I didn't know I already have secret admirers." I joked. Her glare was rather cute given the fact that she was blushing.
"We're still friends though. Right, Neville?" I asked the shy boy. We haven't talked at all during the year because I was always in my Room. Maybe I'll ease up a bit after I finished some of my spells? I'm not even on a deadline.
"W-well, I suppose." He answered.
We were awkwardly silent after that.
"What are your plans for the break?" I finally spoke.
"My parents have plans to spend Christmas in France. Naturally, I am going with them." Hermione said.
"W-well, my grandmother was invited by the Malfoys since they will host the Y-year End party. They said that they will also invite an important guest. T-the other houses were curious about the guest, so they decided to accept the invitation. I-I think of spending Christmas in the h-house." Neville told us.
"What's your plan, Fred? Care to share with us?" Hermione asked. If I didn't know her, I would actually think that she's a secret admirer or something.
The moment Hermione ended her question, the compartment was opened, revealing Draco Malfoy and his two goons.
"What are you doing here Malfoy? You're not welcomed here." Hermione taunted him.
"I am not here for you mudblood," Draco smirked, then turned to me.
"My father would like to invite you to the Year's end Party, heir Grindelwald. He hopes for your reply soon."
"Most appreciated heir Malfoy. It seems I now have plans for the break." I used my business smile at him. After exchanging pleasantries, the Malfoy left together with his minions. Draco must have been impressed with my etiquette knowing that I grew up in an orphanage.
"Well, we now know who the mysterious guest is. Would you mind not telling your grandmother for now, Neville?" I smiled at the two.
"I-I don't mind. Actually, it would not be a surprise if I t-tell her." Neville said.
"It seems the pureblood households find you interesting, Fred." Hermione sounds impressed.
"Well, who wouldn't?" I cheekily grinned. I heard Neville chuckle a bit, which is progress here. While Hermione was just rolling her eyes.
We chatted for a bit, and I realized that I should really find friends aside from Cho. She's always surrounded by her friends, so I can't always talk to her. I even think she may grow distant, now that she's quite a celebrity in the house. It's just been difficult for me since I always work on my project, and students tend to stay away from me. Neville is a good friend too. He may be shy, but can be very brave and loyal to his friends. I can be friends with Hermione, but I will never involve myself with them. Trouble seems to love playing with them.
I'll see if I can manage to find allies with some Slytherin students. Some will surely be happy having a connection with the Grindelwald heir, especially the Malfoys. They already made a move by inviting me to their Year-end party.
I could only look forward to the future. Well, I could befriend Luna then. We could both use some company. Knowing that she would be bullied because of her oddness, I will volunteer myself to be her friend. We're both weird after all, and birds with the same feather stay together. I have a hunch that Cho's friends will be the culprits. I never liked them anyway.
After a few hours, the train arrived in King's Cross, and I shortly disembarked from the train after having said my goodbyes to the two.
I stepped outside the station and found Sister Anna waiting for me. I was happy for a moment before a feeling of sadness struck me. I swallowed the lumped feeling inside my throat before I approach her. It's very sad that I will be leaving the place I once called home soon. But I'm doing it so they can stay away from harm. They are all vulnerable to magic, and I can't risk them being hurt just because I was there.
"I didn't think anyone would actually miss me. It's good to see you again Sister Anna." I greeted her.
"You rascal. Come on, even the nuns missed you too. You can tell me about the school on the bus." She said while leaving.
We rode a bus and chatted for a while about my school. I didn't tell her that I only have one friend and two acquaintances. That will just depress her. After we got off the bus, we strolled the streets towards the orphanage. We eventually reached the orphanage, and it was still in the state when I left.
I was greeted by the nuns when I stepped inside. There were more children than when I left, but the place sure is very lively.
"Welcome back, Fred." Sister Elizabeth said. She was the one who taught me when she found out I'm quite gifted. She was very proud of me when I was at the top of my class. Not that it was hard since my classmates were just children, and I'm mentally older than them.
" Thank you, sister. The place didn't change, but it became livelier than when I went to boarding school." I said.
"Yes. The younger children missed you too, you know? They noticed that you were missing by the time you were already in the station." she chuckled.
" Where are they anyway?" I asked.
"They are in the backyard. Assisting Sister Victoria in the garden." She answered.
The orphans that are the same age as me found me odd, but the younger ones are very friendly to me. They always called me big brother which I found amusing. I won't be sad that I'll have to go. I'll just make sure to spend time with them as much as I can.
After checking the other orphans, with some of them recognizing me, I went to my bed. Hogwarts may have better beds, but this is the bed that I grew up with.
'No place like home.'
Then I went to sleep.
A few days later, Sister Anna called me downstairs, saying that I have a visitor. This must be what my grandfather has been telling me. When I got downstairs, I noticed that Sister Anna was looking quite sad.
"What's wrong sister? " I questioned her.
"Well, you'll have to see for yourself, Fred. I'll be in the kitchen." Sister Anna said as she hurriedly went to the kitchen.
When I went to the visitor's area, I saw a middle-aged man sitting on the sofa. He was quite tall and dressed in a navy blue pinstripe suit. He was carrying a suitcase with him. The moment he saw me, he smiled and greeted me.
"It's a pleasure to finally see you Young Master Frederick. My name is Gorbey, and Gorbey is the house elf of House Grindelwald. Great Master Grindelwald sent Gorbey here to 'adopt' the Young Master so Young Master can finally live in the Manor." Gorbey introduced himself. Well, I wouldn't be very surprised that our house possesses house elves. It's a symbol of power for Magical houses since House elves are very expensive and rare to buy. Only a handful of shops are able to sell House elves. But there were elves with no Master in the Knockturn Alley. But those are runaways from their previous owners.
"So Gorbey, what did grandfather tell you to do?" I asked the human disguised elf.
"Great Master Grindelwald has ordered Gorbey to sign some muggle papers that will acknowledge Young Master's adoption," Gorbey said. It seems that grandfather was really serious about getting me out of the orphanage. I sighed at that. It seems I will have to leave this place soon.
"Well, I'll talk to the nuns first," I said as I proceeded to the kitchen. Sister Anna was surrounded by the other nuns while sobbing. As soon as I approached her, she hugged me tightly and wetted my shoulders in her tears.
"It will be okay Sister," I spoke while patting her back.
"We should be happy that I'll finally be adopted, right?" I comforted here. The other nuns were quite depressed too. They all witnessed me growing up in the orphanage after all. I was some sort of their younger brother, if not their child.
"Yes, you're right. But it seems Sister Anna was quite attached to you Fred." Sister Elizabeth mumbled. The nuns laughed at that.
"I will surely visit everyone here. you can wait for me then." I smiled everyone as I went upstairs to pack up. There are other children in the bedroom, so I have to do it manually. It surely is hard living without magic when you know you have it.
When I was finally done, I moved downstairs and saw the nun and the orphans I looked after while I was here. Sister Anna was trying hard not to sob, the nuns looking quite sad, and the orphans clueless on what's happening.
I waved goodbye at them as I stepped outside the orphanage, ready for a new life that's about to begin. We kept walking until I could see the orphanage no more. Then, we took a turn into an alley.
"Ready, Young Master?" Gorbey turned back into a house elf and I took his small hands.
"Ready." As soon as I spoke, we vanished.
The next thing I knew, we were already in the Manor's living room. The whole place radiated elegance. From the marbled floor was covered by a carpet with Victorian designs, to the curtains made in acromantula silk were hanged across the walls, giving the place a cozy feeling. The classically styled furnitures were well crafted that they emitted a feeling of luxury and extravagance. Whoever planned for the internal designs surely went overboard.
"Gorbey will take you to your room, Young Master." We walked across the hall and my evaluation didn't lessen at all. The entire house was designed beautifully., and I can't wait to see my own bedroom.
Feeling too excited, I quickly opened the door the moment Gorbey pointed me to my room. What greeted was a sight to behold. The theme of my room was the same as the Ravenclaw common room, but more elegant. The whole room was decorated in midnight blue and bronze. The furniture was also classical. But my bed was truly magnificent. The sheets are very smooth, and the mattress is very soft that I felt like sinking when I tried lying on the bed. The softness of the cushion was enough to make me drowsy.
'Can I just stay here forever?' I thought.
I immediately swept the thoughts away and stood up. There's still a letter that needs a reply.
"Gorbey, do we have our own owl?" I asked the house elf.
"Yes, Young master. The owl seems too eager to deliver letters again, so Grobey might suggest that Grobey will have Dorry spread her wings." He answered.
"Dorry?"
"The house's owl Young Master."The elf replied.
" Very well. Also, change your uniform Gorbey. You will have to represent the House Grindewald. So might as well play the part." I told him.
"Yes, Young Master." Then the elf disappeared.
After that, I sat on the chair near my desk, and rook out a parchment and quills to write. The party is still a week away, so I'll have time to familiarize myself with the house.
I spent the next three days exploring the whole house. I thought of asking Gorbey if there are secret passages inside the house. But where's the fun in that? So I spent lots of time observing every item inside the house. Some of them might contain a secret button or mechanism that will open hidden passageways. I had a lot of fun in that. It turns out, the house does have a lot of hidden rooms and passageways. Some even have ancient books and artifacts that were owned by the family.
Grindelwald was actually a very old family, but we are not known to many aside from the oldest families like us. The House Grindelwald likes to live in solitude, so they really value their secrecy. We do not hold a seat in any Magical Government body and the world only found out about my family when grandfather rose to power. In fact, our family was dated back in the years where the Hogwart's Founders were still alive. Meaning, we held power within the ancient wizarding council that disbanded when the Ministry of Magic was formed. My family decided to live in secrecy after that, never to appear in the political scene again. Now that an heir was revealed to the world, magical houses wanted to form connections with my family. They also know that I possess more wealth than even the Malfoys, the richest Magical family in Europe simply from the international group that grandfather once led, and the countless properties and investments that the government was never able to hold. We could almost rival the Black family in the number of artifacts that my family owns. The only difference is that the Blacks were famous for creating dark artifacts, and no one really knows how many does the family truly has since they were very protective of their valuables.
"Young Master. The Great Master wanted to give this to you." Gorbey called behind and handed me a key.
'Bloody hell, even the vault key is cursed.' I shouted in my mind. Seriously, is there even a Grindelwald property that is not cursed at all.'
Even though I am a Grindelwald, it's still very scary to think that everything here was cursed by the family. If you're not a Grindelwald or not recognized as one, the curse on the items will latch on you. It will be either you become cursed for the rest of your life, or death will come knocking on your door. Every curse here functions differently, from simple death to painful torture. The possibilities are endless! If I didn't know, I'll definitely think Grindelwald is a family of Dark wizards.
I'll need to go outside a bit. The storage room for artifacts is swimming in dark magic it almost drowned me.
'Should I call a friend here? Am I even allowed to invite guests here?' I wondered. I know that the Grindelwald Manor was hidden from the rest of the world, but how will I be able to bring anyone here? No, grandfather will absolutely refuse. He's still the head of the house, so the magic that circulates here will definitely follow his orders, unless if I asked of course. But if he really refuses, there's nothing I can do.
With a sigh, I settled my matters for now and decided to relax. I told myself that I'll have to rest from everything and only continue the moment I return to school. Besides, I have to look presentable at the upcoming party.