When Namora arrived in New York, Percival had been waiting for her on the docks. She greeted him with a big hug, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing both of his cheeks before pressing her lips against his. He hummed a little and held her body close to his for a moment before pulling away. "I've missed that," he commented and Namora smiled. "And I've missed you Mr. Percival," she said jokingly. He chuckled and grabbed her suitcases. "Follow me. I want to show you our house. "Our house?" "Yes my love. I wouldn't just have my fiancé' living in some apartment. You deserve the best."
Over the next year, Percival and Namora reconnected over many picnics in the park, taking pictures by the monuments there, and falling in love with each other even more. "I'm going to marry you," Percival told her. "Just as soon as I get this case over. Then we can go and travel for awhile. Would you like that?" Namora smiled. "I'd love it." Little did she know...those events would not come to pass. Not in the way she wanted at least.
~
"There is a new threat lurking in the shadows of New York. I have no doubt in my mind that we will capture this thing." Percival grave's face fell gravely, "I would keep in mind that this thing is dangerous and I would advise you keep your distance until the ministry is informed...if you do find it."
Gasps and whispers immediately erupted among them and wizards questioned and wondered what this "thing" could be. After some time about half of the room disappeared out into the streets of New York and only the few that still had questions or other work remained. Namora and Theseus were among those few, but decided it would be best of they helped with the search. They both headed to the corner office to get prepared.
Percival saw Namora and Theseus turn to go and waved off his friends and advisors to go to them. He came up behind them and placed a hand on Namora's shoulder. She turned, alerting Theseus, but he smiled and went into the office. Namora stood, facing him and stared into his eyes, "This is serious isn't it?" Percival's face dropped and a grave expression came upon his face. "I just don't want you to…" Namora sighed. "Namora, please, I just don't want my future wife to get injured before we marry," he said and ran his hand down her cheek. "Fine, but perhaps send another auror with Theseus, he works well with a partner. Percival laughed, "Alright, as you wish," Percival said sarcastically and bowed.
They both laughed and Percival left her to talk to Theseus. He came out a few moments later. "I sent one of the younger ones with him. He should have quite the time," he said laughing and looking back at Theseus and a young auror with blonde hair, shaking his hand delightedly.
Namora and Percival walked hand in hand out of the ministry and made their way back to their house. They strode down the street for a good five minutes until they saw the statue up ahead. It was like a doorway and would lead them to the wizarding part of New York. Namora didn't mind the muggles much though and Percival smiled and tossed a coin and winked at a young boy sitting on the street. the boy was confused at first because it was wizarding money then the coin grew into a large, cooked chicken. The boy smiled gleefully and yelled after them: "Thank you kindly sir!"
Namora looked at Percival's face and saw a small smirk appear. A horse-drawn carriage passed them along with another couple. Percival led her across the street to where the statue was, but found that he was mistaken as they ran into a pole. Fog was rolling in And it was beginning to get harder to see. Namora tripped on a dent in the road and fell, her coat and purse flying into the air. she looked around wildly for Percival. "NAMORA!" She heard him yell. She picked up her things and slipped her wand out of her coat sleeve.
She heard shoes on the cobblestone street and dodged two horses coming down it. The tip of her wand lit up and she waved it around her to try and see her surroundings. No use. The fog was too dense. With another spell she the fog started to clear, slowly. She heard Percival's voice again, "Namora...get out of..!" The hair on her arms stood up and she turned around, trying to depict where the voice had come from.
She saw a flash of green in the distance and ran to it. "Percival, where are..?" "Argghh" a deep voice interrupted and Namora was thrown to the ground again. Her head was bleeding on the side from the fall and a horrible noise sounded from behind her. She flipped onto her back and saw a ever changing wave of darkness. It striked at the buildings around her and she scrambled to get out of the way as debris fell around her. The street was almost clear of the fog and she could faintly see two figures wrestling in the distance.
The moon light shined on the cobblestone and there were no lights on in the shops and the street lights were dim. There was a sudden rumble that shook the street like an earthquake. The darkness came toward her again and she was pulled by an invisible force into an alleyway. She struggled to escape her capture until rough hands turned her to face him. "Theseus," Namora said astonished and gladly. "Are you alright, what happened?" "The thing, it, it took Percival!" A loud shrieking sound came from above them as windows began to shatter. They deflected most of the shards with the help of his partner, the blond-haired man. He nodded at Theseus and then went out into the street. "Thomas!?" Theseus yelled as the darkness overtook the man and threw him up into the air.
Namora pulled out her wand, but was reminded that it was no good. Her wand was somewhere buried in the rubble of her parents house. A black mass of darkness and matter filled the street again and Theseus fired a spell at it, but it just got sucked into the matter. Namora stood, frozen on the street as her mind filled was helplessly infiltrated..
She wondered if this had ever happened to Queenie as her mind filled with memories that were not her own. She saw a boy that slowly became a man and watched everyone that he loved die and he was helpless to do anything. Her mind then twisted and turned and she let out a shrill scream as she was reminded of the fire that killed her parents and the unsuspecting man who did it.
"Watch out!" Theseus said, pushing her down onto the street as the matter erupted and flew over them. " Are you…" She shook slightly and her eyes were widened with fear. Theseus squinted, "What did you see?" "I, I, how did you…" "I know you're a legilimen."
"There was fear, I saw him. He, he is an obscurus." Theseus calculated the information and his eyes darted, like he was organizing the information in his head and making room for it all. "I'm heading back to the ministry, we need help." Just then, ten aurors appeared onto the street and held their wands defensively in front of them, shelidong Theseus and Namora from the obscurus.
Theseus looked around for Thomas and found him face down in the street, he rushed over with two others as the rest tried to cross tol the thing. "Its an obscurus!" Namora yelled, climbing to her feet. "That is not possible!" a man farther down said. A younger man with glasses looked scaredy at Namora and his wand shaked as it came toward them. They ducked and fell to the ground as it scraped over their heads and disappeared down the street.
A few muggles lay on the street and a small crowd had gathered and were terrified. "Call the obliviators!" An older man with a long nose said, nodding his head toward the petrified muggles.Theseus came back to the group and shook his head then looked at Thomas as the other two carried his legless body. The aurors were horrified and wore grave faces.
Another auror yelled, "We've got one over here! A wizard!" Namora rushed over with a group of aurors along with Theseus to a small book shop. The window had been broken and blood splattered the ground and book cases. "Oh no, Namora cried. She was already running through the scenarios. "He's gone," she said and cried into Theseus' coat. "He's alive," a young wizard said, touching his hand on the forehead. "Who is it?" Theseus said between the sons from Namora. "It's Percival."
10 minutes earlier
Percival was separated from Namora and was drug on the street through the fog. "Namora!" he yelled. He looked around and pulled out his wand. "Who are you, show yourself," he said nodding his head at the slightest noise. He was picked up from the ground and was flying through the air uncertainty. He yelled and fired spells around him, trying to hit his attacker. Either he hit them or they threw him, but as soon as the spell disappeared into the fog he fell through glass.
He mumbled and felt his arm which he was laying on crack on the inside. Shards of glass littered the space around him and he bit through the pain as he moved his arm. It was definitely broken. He held it against his stomach and with the other hand held his wand out in the darkness. Outside he noticed the fog was disappearing and he started to see the light poles and the shops and the tops of buildings.
"Namora, where are.." Someone was suddenly behind him, he felt the prick of their wand against the back of his neck. He held his wand hand up in the air. "Drop.. your..wand," a woman's voice said. He started to turn, "I said.." he fired a hex at the woman and she stiffened and fell to the floor, petrified.Percival glared around the shop, waiting for another wizard to appear. Instead a shrieking noise sounded and he cringed at it.
His eyes widened as he saw Namora stumble and run and then Theseus. "Namora," he said under his breath. His focus was directed to a black mass that levitated in the street. He was horrified by it and felt an urge to run. A bony hand squeezed his injured arm and he held back a scream as the hand dragged him backwards. Another hand seized his wand and he struggled to escape their grip.
He was drug backwards and shoved against a bookcase. He moaned and held his injured arm tightly against his chest as a shadow crested his face. He stared into the eyes of a criminal, a man with one white eye and one blue. He bent down towards him, "Isn't he something?" He said and looked at the destruction caused by the obscurus outside. Percival looked to a woman with black hair and then he saw a man with a odd-shaped noise.
"Credence will bring us to a new wizarding age," the man with the eyes said, his white hair gleaming in the moonlight. Percival scoffed and spit out a was of blood, "The ministry will here of this, you will not prevail...Gellert Grindelwald." "Ahh, so he knows my name, perhaps you would know it better if you joined the cause. Think of your fiance, she would join the cause to let both muggles and wizard-kind live in harmony…" Percival looked away from his persuading eyes, he knew what he had to do.
In a swift move, Percival snatched the woman's wand and dived for Grindelwald. In a few seconds he had the wand up against his throat threateningly.
"Stay back traitors, unless you want your leader to die a painful death." The man lunged at him and Percival pushed Gellert aside to the floor and in seconds the man was disintegrated from his hex.
The woman backed away, but it was someone behind him that made him fall. Gellert yelled, "crucio" and Percival fell to the floor in unthinkable pain. He tossed and turned and grinded his teeth as he saw the woman smirk and grab the wand lying beside him. I love you Namora, I love… and just like that his life was done. Over.
The woman watched, curious as the body of Percival Graves wasted away into dust. In the pile was left a small trinket. The woman picked it up, it was silver and shaped like a small crystal. She handed it to an one-handed Gellert and he studied it daintily. Looking closely, he saw flashes of the man's memories. He smiled and added it to a chain on his waistcoat.
Gellert turned to see aurors appear in the street and he signaled for her to leave. The woman apparated instantly. Gellert grabbed the man's wand and stuffed it into his pocket. He heard voices and scattered the dust around. He slowly started to change and morph into the man, taking his exact appearance before he had died. He even had his injuries. Gellert shuffled over to a bookcase and sat down slowly, resting his head against the books. He heard the shrieking noise again and shut his eyes and smiled…
~
Namora held on to Percivals hand with one hand and held the other to her mouth. The Healers and Obliviators arrived around six minutes after. They healed some of the bruises and scratches on his face and arms then levitated him up in the air with their wands. "We will have to take him to the infirmary miss," a Healer said to Namora, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
Theseus watched from afar as another Healer attended to various scratches on his face from the falling debris. Leta came and hugged him tightly then kissed him for a long time before pulling away to hug him again. Namora walked out of the bookshop and sat down on the curb and watched the Obliviators work on the muggles. The ministry would have to come up with some reason why four muggles had died.
Leta sat down by her, putting her hand over Namora's shoulders. "It's all right, everything will be fine." Namora leaned into her and yawned. Leta laughed, "you did always get tired after a duel Namora," Leta smiled. Theseus came over and put a hand on Leta's shoulder. "We should probably get some rest. You should too," He said, looking over at Namora. She nodded and with one last look at the scene around her, she apparated.
The house seemed lonelier than ever. It was if it knew something was wrong and was just in a depressed mood. Namora hung her tattered coat and walked up the stairs, her wand's light guiding her upwards. The house creaked faintly as she walked into her bedroom and turned on the lamp. Light filled the room and she sat down on the bed, taking her pins out of her hair and tossing her socks into an ever piling laundry basket.
She put her wand on the nightstand and walked over to a corner of the room where an office sat. Two bookshelves sat directly behind it full of spells, magical creatures, and artifacts. She went over to it and scanned the shelves for her favorite, hoping to lift her current mood. It was an old Hogwarts textbook that caught her eye. She read over notes she had taken and stopped at a drawing of a wand. She had not seen that wand in over seventeen years. She snapped the book shut, angry at herself for what happened.
She went through scenarios of what happened that year at Hogwarts and considered using a time Turner. To her knowledge, those only worked in class and there was a lot more complicated details. If her past self saw her future self...no, that would not work. She sat at her desk and rummaged through work from the ministry. Struggling to keep her eyes open she saw a letter from Hogwarts in the desk drawer, it was still sealed.
Namora yawned again, holding the letter in hand. She slumped slightly and decided to close her eyes for a bit. "BANG"! Namora sat up, her eyes wide as she awoke. She shoved the letter into the cupboard and stumbled over to her night stand,snatched her wand, removed toward the door. Opening it,she listened for any sounds, but heard nothing. Namora stuck her head out and looked down the hallway, expecting to see someone pointing a wand at her, but again, she saw nothing.
Namora tiptoed down the hallway,turning to the left, she looked down the stairs, her eyes darting everywhere, but it was only darkness that meeted her. "Lumos" she whispered to her wand and swished it through the air. A small light at the tip of her wand glowed. She stuck it out in front of her descended the steps. She thought it odd that no one had appeared or even fired a spell at her.
Namora wandered around her house for a good twenty minutes before giving in. It must have been a cat or dog outside. She wondered how Percival was after the while ordeal. Her body shivered at the thought, but Namora was perfectly calm. She decided that she wouldn't go back to sleep and pulled her coat off the hook. Putting her hat on and tied the drawstrings to her coat, she prepared to leave for America. "Where has my scarf gone?..." Namora yawned again, she supposed that she could find it later. Namora pulled a hat over her ears and pulled her wand out of her pocket. As she disapparated she thought she could feel the eyes of someone staring at her.
A Day Before (Grindelwald) :
Gellert didn't hate the ministry, he just had a horrible disliking for it. He believed that their rules were unfair and that wizard-kind should deserve to live without fear that the muggles might find them. Today he would infiltrate the ministry.
He knew of only a select few that might be able to aid him. Unfortunately one of those "select few" worked at the ministry. Gellert remembered her well though. He remembered how she had aided him to get a powerful object and he relieved it many times. He shook the thoughts from his head and glared at the ministry workers. He was disguised as a middle-age man with a mustache and rested against the wall. Which one, which one? His eyes scanned over them. His eyes locked onto a man with dark hair that was walking into a meeting. Somehow, he knew that that man was the one. That man would be of great means to "the cause".
Gellert stared at the man and turned to leave, what he came for was implanted in his head. A picture, a image of his next disguise.Gellet skipped down the steps and held onto his hat as the wind blew at his face. He strode down the street, his ears filling with the words of muggles talking of witches. The Second Salemers. He had heard of them when he was in Manhattan. It is quite easy to get a muggle drunk enough to speak of secrets and news. He still had the boy that the man described in his mind. "A young man with dark hair and sad eyes.." Gellert almost felt bad that the man had died.
He passed by the small, but growing crowd and looked at the banner that hung on the building. The banner was red with flames with protruding arms snapping a wand in half. He came closer to the rally and stood by a woman eating a hotdog. She seemed more engaged in the food then the rally though.
Then, he saw "it"."It" was more of a "who" though. A young man passing out pamphlets to the crowd. That must be the young man that the drunk man had described.The boy stared at the ground as he passed out pamphlets, almost like he was scared of meeting the eyes of the New Yorkers. Someone shoved past him, making the pamphlets fall from his hands, calling him a "freak" as they did so. Gellert looked at the boy solemnly and watched as he gathered the pamphlets up shakily and hurried past him.
Gellert would have to deal with him later. For he would be the key to finding the answer to the destruction that was happening in New York. Gellert looked up as a woman with a persuasive voice stood before them. "Something is stalking our city, wreaking destruction then disappearing without a trace. Listen to me. We have to fight, join us, the Second Salemers, in our fight!" Gellert turned to leave as the woman yelled at another man, asking him why he had come to the meeting.
He walked a little ways before disappearing into an alleyway and disapparating. He apparated in the woods. On a hill was a small cabin and far behind him was the towers of Durmstrang. The sky was darkened and the stars were shining above him.Gellert waded through the snow like water and listened to the hoots of an owl and the scampering of small creatures.
He took his time walking up to the cabin knowing what he had to do when he got there. A pathway lined with stones welcomed him to the old cabin. On the rocks were the names of his ancestors. At the very bottom of the rock pathway was his name, GELLERT GRINDELWALD.
Memories flooded back, but he pushed them away as he made his way to the old wooden door. "Revelio", Gellert said as he pointed the Elder Wand between the cracks of the door. He opened the door and what should have been a cozy cabin was really a lavish house. Portraits hung of the Grindelwald family and the black forested scenery behind it created a sense of wonder.
Vinda Rosier sat in a green armchair and turned toward him, her small black and snake green hat shading one of her eyes so she looked much more intimidating then she really was. Vinda stood as if she was standing at attention as Gellert walked past her and sat on a large sofa. "The rally?" "Nothing to be concerned over." Vinda nodded and sat down. "Vinda, I need someone on the inside, someone who works for the ministry." "I presume you want me to take the polyjuice potion... or have you found her yet?" Gellert shook his head slightly, "Not yet, I haven't gotten her, she has to join to us."
Vinda nodded and looked to the side as if she was studying the walls and the forest with occasionally blinking, green eyes. Gellert rubbed his temples and left without another word into a small room. Vinda lifted her chin slightly as she slowly came up with a plan. She disapparated from the cabin-like mansion and apparated into an alleyway. She tipped her hat down as the sunlight flooded into her eyes. She crossed her arms and leaned against a brick building as she waited for her accomplice to arrive. A clock rang a few blocks over signaling it was noon.
Soon enough, a man came running down the steps of a large building, putting on his coat as he tripped down the last few steps. He pushed past a group of New Yorkers holding the Second Salemer banners as they chanted a catchy song about witches. The man looked wildly around and finally skidded into an alleyway.
The man bent down and huffed out a puff of air before standing to straighten his coat. Vinda stepped out of the shadows of the alleyway, startling the man. "Abernathy." "Oh, yes, madam uh, miss, " Mr. Abernathy said as he fumbled some papers in his hands. Vinda looked at the papers and lifted her chin. "You have the files?" "Yes. The Goldstein sisters and the other one," he said as he shoved the files into her hands. Vinda glanced at them momentarily before making them vanish into thin air. "Mr. Abernathy, how would you like to do something for me?" Mr. Abernathy smirked, his slim lips curling as his fedora formed a shadow over his eyes. "That would be just fine miss."
~
Vinda disapparated from the alleyway and apparated in the woods, an unfortunate side effect of the hex on the Grindelwald cabin. Anyone who disapparated near the cabin would be apparated back a mile away. Vinda cringed as snow fell hard and she cursed as she fell into the snow. When she had had enough, she finally slipped her wand out of her sleeve and waved it around in the winter wind.
The snowy trees and ground melted with each step she took and behind her, as she walked, the landscape changes back into a horrific blizzard. She reached the steps of the cabin as the spell began to wear off and hurried to step inside and shut the door behind her. "Revelio" she said and it all changed suddenly.
She jumped on the inside, seeing Grindelwald sitting on the sofa, but on the outside she was the description of confident. She sat down on a green armchair and crossed her legs and as she pulled out the files. Gellert watched her silently as the files magically floated over to him. "So, you have found someone that works on the inside." Vinda squinted, wondering how he knew that Abernathy was faithful to the cause after Vinda had persuasively convinced him.
"Yes, Mr. Abernathy. He works closely with the Goldstein sisters..." "The Goldsteins?" Vinda raised an eyebrow slightly, wondering how he knew them, but decided to keep quiet on the subject. She stood, "I'll leave you to it," Vinda said and disapparated. Gellert opened the first file..
Queenie Goldstein
School: Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Wizarding Skills: Excel at charms, baking, Legilimency
Sibling: Tina Goldstein
Wizarding Workplace: Magical Congress of the United States of America
….
Gellert was fascinated over Queenie's files, and remembered his seventh year and how they had to obliviate Queenie. He shivered and went on to the next file, Tina Goldstein. Her files were considerably less interesting, seeing as she made frequent mistakes at MACUSA. He pulled out a pocket watch and saw that it was two o'clock.
By now the MACUSA workers and the man with the dark hair, Percival Graves would be getting off and returning to their homes. Gellert had had Vinda's spy, Abernathy, watch Percival and he had given them a schedule consisting of Percival's times.
Glancing outside, he saw that the sun was starting to rise which meant that in New York, it would beginning to get dark.He stood as Vinda came through the door with two more accompliences dressed in cloaks. Gellert stuffed all of the files into his coat, nodded at Vinda, and the group disapparated. They all apparated in an alley. "So where is…" One of the cloaked figures said, but Gellert held a finger up to his lips, shushing him as a man and a woman walked past them. Gellert glared piercing daggers at the cloaked figure and the figure bowed his head shamefully. They disapparated again on top of a building and watched the vehicles and horse drawn carriages bump down the cobblestone street. Vinda nodded her head toward a man walking down the street with a woman.
"Cast the spell Jynn," Vinda said in a commanding, but proper voice.One of the figures, Jynn, stepped forward and pointed his wand at the street and waved it around. Gellert squinted, trying to see who the woman was, not preparing to kill two people tonight. He gasped as he thought he saw a familiar face, but the fog rolled in quickly, submerging the street and the cars, and the carriages, and the Percival and the mysterious woman.
Vinda nodded at Jynn and looked sideways at Gellert. "Handle them," he said and felt the air woosh past him as all three apparated. He watched from the rooftops as Percival was lifted into the air and thrown across the street. The woman lay on the ground and was wildly looking around. Gellert saw Percival flying through the air again and then smash into a window.
Gellert disapparated from the rooftop and apparated onto the street. He saw streaks of red, green, and blue lights streaking across the night sky. He squinted as he made his way through the fog. "Percival!" Gellert presumed was the woman's voice calling out. Something about the woman's voice was oddly familiar. A cloaked figure, who Gellert couldn't tell whom, touched his shoulder and pointed him toward the building.
Gellert hoped the encounter would be over quickly, he didn't want a long drawn out thing. He smirked seeing Vinda and the other cloaked figure apparate beside him. He slipped his wand out of his sleeve as they stepped into the shop…