"Good work as usual Gorbey." I praised the elf. It has been a few days since my arrival here, and Daphne invited me to their house for his mom's birthday celebration. Daphne could be inviting me either for genuine purposes, or to build a possible connection with me. Either way, I accepted the invitation, and Gorbey is responsible for preparing me for the event. I already have outfits that suit the event bought from muggle stores. They actually have more sense of fashion than those dress robes sold in Malkin's store. Naturally, Gorbey picked up and dressed me for the party. My outfit was almost the same as what I wore back in the Malfoy Manor. What only changed was the color and the accessories I wore. This time, I have my ring and my magical necklace. I actually transfigured it to be more elegant, but the Grindelwald symbol is still there.
I had difficulty thinking about what to gift Daphne's mother when Gorbey provided me with one that he thinks the family will like. It's a silver necklace enchanted with basic protection charms engraved inside a green gem. It was the same jewel I used when I practiced my enchanting skills. The spells imbued may be basic, but it can last very long because it only consumes a bit of the wearer's magic when the reserves are emptied. I already knew how to make it, but I learned the more advanced types and ways inside the family library. I have dedicated some of my time studying the art because I have noticed that no wizards actually try to enchant their clothes and accessories, so I made some for myself. The only thing that protects the wizard is his wand, which kind of useless if you're caught unaware by the attacker.
After that, I hid it inside a simple cube-shaped black container. The inside has a cushion where the necklace is placed neatly. I had Gorbey make the container because I don't have anything to store it in. After double checking everything, I am ready to leave the house. I went to the fireplace and picked up some floo powder.
"Greengrass Manor," I said as I was consumed by the green fire.
"Dorry meets young wizard." A house elf greeted as soon as I appeared inside the Greengrass fireplace. The place was quite neat considering the walls are painted white. It felt like a noble living here. There were chandeliers hanging on the ceiling, with a bunch of other fireplace lighting up every now and then, revealing more guests for the party.
I handed my invitation to the elf as she opened it and read the letter. She nodded shortly and guided me to the guest area. It seems this elf even inherited the Greengrass etiquette, she seemed to be similar to Daphne. Not too jolly like Gorbey, and not too grumpy like Kreacher. She acts nobler compared to the other elves I encountered.
When I reached the venue, I was approached by none other than Daphne. If I didn't know better, I would say that she only waited for me since she's been standing near the doorway when I saw her.
"Hello, Fred. Good to see you today. You look good." She spoke while eyeing my dress robes. I have Gorbey to thank for that. I am Dressed in a coffee brown slim coat with a walnut brown vest underneath. My suit vest was darker in tone compared to the rest of my brown outfit with a set of buttons that hugged my whole torso. The dress fitted perfectly with my white long sleeves. My Grindelwald necklace rested against my chest, as silver as the color of my eyes. Even my leather shoes are brown in color.
"You look quite gorgeous yourself Daph." I joked as I scanned her gown she chose for this evening. She wore an emerald green gown that suited both her body and eyes. The elegance of the color mixed well with her body that is still in puberty. I'm sure she will be a fine young woman when she grows up.
We chatted a bit until she decided to bring me to the host of the party. In front of the whole venue stood a woman quite well in her thirties. The raven black color and black eyes that emitted an aura of a mature and powerful woman. Her appearance was too young for her age as she could be seen as Daphne's older sister. Antoinette Greengrass.
"Good evening, Mrs. Greengrass. It's an honor to be invited to your celebration." I said as I kissed the back of her hand. I also gave her the black box that contained the enchanted necklace. I found that my box was rather simple compared to the more luxurious looking gift boxes that Dorry has. It's the thing inside that matters the most so it doesn't bother me at all.
"Ah, Mr. Grindelwald. It's a pleasure to meet you at last. I'm glad you liked the party. Also, thank you for the gift too." She replied. We chatted for a bit while Daphne was gone to welcome the incoming guests. We exchanged pleasantries as I noticed her probing my situation. Unfortunately, I am not an adult yet and I do not possess the power to decide for my own house. Still, the queen of the Greengrass household implied some sort of political alliances. The Malfoys are already on my side, so having me and them as allies will be beneficial.
"I've heard stories about you from the children Mr. Grindelwald. I heard that you're a skilled duelist yourself." She spoke.
"You flatter me. It's actually through the teachers' instructions that I attained my skills, nothing more." I responded. News surely travels fast.
"Perhaps a demonstration is in order?" The birthday celebrant requested. Not to come off as rude, I just agreed to her request. I can refuse, sure. But I came here to form connections with other nobles, and the Greengrass is a formidable family. Their alliance with me will be very fruitful. With the war looming over the horizon, preparations must be made in order for my family to survive.
"Well, we can certainly have you fight with some of the Aurors here." She continued as she turned to a wizard talking with other Ministry officials. I got scared for a moment there. I thought it was Kingsley or Moody. Those two are monsters themselves, so I'm not looking forward to fighting them. Still, I chose to observe the man and his movements. Experienced wizards have some sort of pressure and aura that can tell you not to mess with them, but this man does not exude that same aura. I won't be cocky of course, I've learned to not underestimate opponents during my hunts with Logan. Even the tamest looking creatures can prove deadly.
After talking some more, I separated from her and decided to find some familiar faces within the hall. There are the same pure blood faces I saw back at the party last year, but there are also new ones too. They must be Ministry officials, judging from the same badges they have on their clothes. Then there's Umbitch. I've been evading the halls back at the Malfoy manor because I know she wants to see me. I will never involve myself with that woman.
"Hey, Fred." I heard Daphne as she neared me. She must be done greeting all the guests so I decided to become her company for the night.
"You looked tired Daph." I teased her. I got a slight pinch from that.
"Dealing with purebloods drains me." She said. We decided to move towards the area where the heirs are staying, so we joined them. I saw Neville there talking with Luna, which I found cute. They definitely looked good together. Neville was not as shy back then, he seemed more cheerful and sociable as he chatted with the other nobles aside from Luna. Neville has come a very long way.
"I heard from mom that you're going to duel someone?" She asked.
"Well, whose fault it is that someone told her about that?" I asked her. She looked a little guilty at that, so I just shook my head.
"It's okay though. I have to battle some Auror inside the party. Do you know that man that kept tailing the minister?" I asked her.
"Oh, that one. He's actually his nephew, Judas Fudge. Cornelius got him a job inside the ministry after he became the Minister." Daph said with a disappointed tone.
Ah, nepotism. No wonder that the British Ministry is lagging behind in magical laws compared to the other wizarding nations. I only wonder how people consider them one of the most powerful nations. The reason must be because of Dumbledore and Hogwarts. Hogwarts has produced countless wizards and witches that started revolutions inside the magical world after all. The school is also the first institution that taught magic to every magical person. Dumbledore was the one who also defeated grandfather and his group back then.
"Is he strong?" I asked. There's no point in underestimating the man.
"No, he just landed the job because of his uncle. He's not competitive. He even hated being around Moody because the man kept grilling him. " Daph replied. Well, there's that. It might be ridiculous ending the battle quickly, and embarrassing long enough will sour my relationship with the minister. Not that I care about that though.
"Well, you can expect a good show tonight. I'll do my best to entertain you." I chuckled.
"I'm sure you will do that." She said while laughing.
We passed the time chatting with each other until the host announced my demonstration. Even the guest was intrigued by how the young Grindelwald will fare against an Auror, but their excitement dampened a little when they found out that it was Judas that will fight me. The man was not special at all. All he got was an Auror job due to the minister, and even his colleagues do not approve of him. He's an incompetent wizard. Not that they have a choice since the Ministry slashed their budget again.
With a stage set up in the middle of the party venue, both Judas and I went up. All of the audience's eyes were all on us, especially me. All of the house heirs we're watching my fight too. Kingsley Shacklebolt, who was actually invited to the party, volunteered as the referee for the match. We did the wizarding bow for the duel before going back to the positions.
"You're going down boy," Judas said while smirking. I just smiled at the man and chose not to answer him.
On the count of three, Judas quickly chanted a stunning charm, which I just deflected back at him. He could be an incompetent wizard, but he's still a Hogwarts alumnus. Naturally, he knows a lot of spells.
"Petrificus Totalus!" He shouted. With a slight title of my neck, the spell was easily dodged. I was trying to predict his movements while he kept firing spells from his wand. Once I figured it all out, I quickly toyed with the man. I cast different jinxes and hexes, making him bounce and slip around the stage. The experience was very dizzy for him as he found it difficult to even stand straight. The audience felt it amusing that an Auror was bouncing on the stage, except the Minister. He's definitely frowning, ashamed of seeing his nephew being toyed with. With the last banishing spell, he was sent outside the stage. Kingsley quickly tended him and cured him with a simple Episkey. He only has bruises from the bouncing he did, so he is fine. I did the wizarding bow to show sportsmanship, but Judas saw it as mockery.
"You showed good skills there Mr. Grindelwald. Would you mind if I have the honor of dueling with you?" A man said below the stage. The man's black hair was tied in a ponytail, l and he was dressed in a typical dress robe. He is old, but I feel that he is powerful enough to give me a hard time. Rufus Scrimgeour. He's a former Auror, and almost the level of Kingsley in skills so I don't know my chances of winning.
"I won't mind Mr. Scrimgreour. It is actually a pleasure to fight an experienced and former Auror like yourself." I agreed. I want to experience fighting good opponents too, and fighting an ex-Auror is a good way to learn.
After Judas was brought to a table to rest, Kingsley became our referee again. This time, the spectators were anticipating a good battle from us. The grandson of the previous Dark Lord against the veteran Auror that fought in the last war. Some journalists were also invited, so they are delighted to have a very interesting scoop for the Daily Prophet.
"Let's give them a good battle, shall we?" Scrimgeour said.
"With pleasure." I smiled.
As per traditions, we did the wizarding bow before returning to our positions. Kingsley started his counting as I took a deep breath. I reinforced my Occlumency shields and felt my mind become clear. As soon as the counting ended, we quickly both fired spells that met in the middle, which caused both of them to explode. With my training with Professor Flitwick, I managed to keep up with Scrimgeour in his barrage of attacks.
'Incendio'
'Aguamenti'
'Bombarda'
'Reducto'
Multiple spells were cast as we deflected, dodged, blocked, and counter the incoming spells with our own. The audience was shocked at the performance, some even took a picture of our battle. I am feeling excited about our fight too. The same feeling I have with Professor Flitwick whenever we engage in combat.
Of course, Scrimgeour increased the pace of his attacks as he started chain casting. I quickly saw through the ring and quickly evaded all of them. There were times I was forced to cast the Protego spell as the attack was powerful and sometimes unavoidable.
The battle took a significant amount of time as the magnitude of spells fired kept increasing. Knives made of fire were even thrown at me as I turned some of them against Scrimgeour. Our fight was quite a sight, with a multitude of colors lighting up the venue, the spectators were astounded by the two duelists' skills.
I formed a plan inside my head to lure Scrimgeour into a trap. I made him dodge to a big puddle of water left behind by my spell. It was successful as I immediately froze all of the water, making him slip even a little. I capitalized on that opening as I fired my own chain casting spells. Even then, Scrimgeour endured it all and managed to get back at me. It was quite a mistake though as I broke the ice and transfigured it into ice shards, cast an Oppugno charm, and willed them to attack Scrimgeour. He was overwhelmed by the number of ice shards he has to block, and he was surprised to see an incoming stupefy spell. The battle ended with me being the victor. Scrimgeour was a very tough opponent to beat, but I managed to win at the end. The whole crowd was clapping at the amazing performance and realizing how skillful I am as a fighter.
With a quick Finite, Scrimgeour went back to normal and realized that he lost. We bowed again as a form of sportsmanship before congratulating me.
"It seems my bones are getting old. Thank you for the performance, Mr. Grindelwald. " The old man shook my hand before walking down the stage. Before I left though, I was approached by none other than Kinglsey Shacklebolt
"An excellent duel, Mr. Grindelwald. Seeing your fight with Rufus, I can see that you can achieve great things. I hope we meet again." The Auror spoke. he left to enjoy the arty and left me behind to recover my breath.
I am tired of the battle with Scrimgeour, so I went to a nearby balcony to breathe some fresh air and quench my thirst.
"You never cease to surprise me Fred. I know you're skilled, but not THIS skilled. Winning against Rufus Scrimgeour is a big thing. He holds a certain amount of power with in the Ministry and a veteran wizard himself. You'll make it to the Daily Prophet by tomorrow morning for sure." Daphne spoke.
"Yeah, it was actually hard to beat him. No wonder he survived the previous war." I said while praising the man. We chatted for some time to regain my breath. After that, she compelled me to go back to the party venue.
"Now, come on. Mom was searching for you." Daphne urged as we returned to the hall. Every pureblood and Ministry official thanked me for the wonderful demonstration I made. Scrimgeour even offered a toast for me.
"That was quite a performance, Mr. Grindelwald. I can say you're a prodigy in the art." The woman of the house spoke.
"You always flatter me, Mrs. Greengrass. I just felt that Mr. Scrimgeour is a very capable fighter himself, so I gave him the fight he wished to have." I spoke.
"But you can't deny that you win against a veteran. That says something about you." The woman implied. Of course, I know. People will consider me a genius. Knowing that I'm a Grindelwald, more people will pay close attention to me.
"Thank you for humiliating Cornelius's nephew too. That man was just insufferable." The woman said with a significant amount of venom in her voice. I wonder what made her hate the man?
It was then that the music stopped. The Greengrass woman lit up as she heard the change.
"It must be time for the Ball. I must leave you here then and find my husband. Enjoy the ball, Mr. Frederick." She said as she quickly disappeared to search for her husband. Come to think of it, I haven't seen him for the whole night. Where did he even go?
I quickly erased my thoughts as I turned to Daphne. It seems she's expecting something.
"Hello, Ms. Greengrass. May I have your first dance for the night again?" I offered my hand.
"With pleasure." She grinned as she took my hand. We went to the floor together with other purebloods and danced. The music was very soothing to hear since it was made of magic. We swayed our bodies through the music as I saw her looking up at my face. Her emerald green eyes that matched her gown was very captivating, so I let myself be sucked into those eyes of hers.
"Will you run away again?" I teased her. The last time I danced with Daphne, she ran away and disappeared from the party.
"N-no." She replied while blushing. Of course, she remembers that.
It was when the music ended did we finally part. Although she looked a little reluctant when she let go of me.
The next dance partner I had was her sister, Astoria Greengrass. Unlike her sister and mother, she has raven black hair, but she has the same green eyes that the Greengrasses possess.
"Hello, you must be Astoria." I greeted her.
"Wow, you're that boy who used magic earlier!" She squealed.
"That would be me. Did you like it?" I asked her.
"Of course! I already saw you back in the dueling club. But I didn't know you will do the same thing here. I want to be like you!" She cheerfully said.
"Well, you can do that if you study," I spoke to the child. She was actually the same age as Luna, but she was the most cheerful child I've seen.
"If I do that, will you fight me too?" She said while her eyes sparkled.
"Make sure to study all of those first. Then we'll fight." I chuckled as we danced to the music. She asked a lot of questions while we danced, so I answered her as a senior in the school guiding the younger years.
"See you again, Astoria." I wave goodbye to the girl.
"See you later, Fred!" She said as she left the hall. I danced with other heirs too, and I kept receiving praise from all of them. Some even asked me if I could teach them, which I definitely refused. The Professors were very adamant about not teaching the students that have not received their permission, so I don't have a choice but to obey them.
Eventually, the ball ended as the guests began leaving the mansion after thanking the hosts. It was surprising that the whole family was there to see the guests on their leave, including the patriarch of the house. He has the same blond hair and emerald green eyes similar to Daphne. With his elegant dress robes matching the colors of his wife's dress, he looked very noble.
"Thank you for inviting me again, Mrs. Greengrass. It's also a pleasure finally meeting you Mr. Greengrass." I spoke to the man while offering my hand.
"I've watched your match earlier, and I'm sure you will achieve great heights when you get older." The man praised, impressed. Like what Daphne told me earlier, what I showed will reach the wizard newspaper, and a lot of people will pay more attention to me. After all, my grandfather himself was considered a genius and prodigy during his time in Durmstrang, then he became a Dark Lord and started his group that has terrorized the whole magical world. One can only wonder what his grandson's ambition and motives are. Either make a path for himself or follow the footsteps that his grandfather took and continue where he finished.
"I only won by a fluke Mr. Greengrass, but there's still room for improvement." I replied.
"Still, we look forward to meeting you again, Mr. Frederick." The man added.
"I hope Daph can invite you here again. Who knows..." The matriarch trailed off and smiled while turning her head to her daughter. I was confused until I saw a blushing Daphne. Astoria must have known something as she grinned mischievously at her sister.
"U-um, I guess so. I'll take my leave now, and I thank you once again for hosting a wonderful party." Feeling out of place in their conversation, I bid farewell to them as I stepped into a fireplace while holding some floo powder.
"See you at school, Fred!" Astoria waved energetically. I waved her goodbye too as the green fire consumed me.
I returned to the familiar sight of my own fireplace as I laid myself to the nearby couch. Gorbey quickly appeared and offered tea, which I quickly accepted and sipped. Dealing with political shenanigans and noble undertones are very exhausting. Still, it was a good day since I made a connection with the Greengrass family and possibly Rufus Scrimgeour. That man was a powerful official of the Ministry, near the level of Amelia Bones herself. So having the back of the wizard is very helpful.
Now that the Chamber issue is finally solved, I can go back to my work as I research more to the Hogwarts founders. There are more books that can be found about them than outside the castle. They were the most prominent people that roamed inside its walls after all. Slytherin and Ravenclaw's legacy has already been solved. There's only Gryffindor and Hufflepuff's own room that is still hidden inside the school. I already have some leads for Hufflepuff's chamber, but Gryffindor's is much more difficult. He was the most skilled duelist of his time, both wand and sword. So the legacy he left must have something to do about martial dueling. But why would he create that if the Room of Requirement can already provide one? Thinking deeply, my mind flew as I fell asleep. I would spend my next year exploring the castle. Who knows what I might discover?