With a dark wizard's rise to power, the International Confederation has assigned two aurors from the British Ministry to apprehend Gellert Grindelwald. The responsibility to protect the wizarding world and to stop an outbreak of war lay on their sho...
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GRINDELWALD IN GERMANY?
Sometimes, Ariadne wondered how reliable The Daily Prophet was, especially when the ministry was able to influence content so easily. It had been two weeks since Ariadne had come face to face with the said man, staring back at her. His face planted on the front of the paper. He had barely been in London, what now was he doing in Germany? However, Ariadne was taken off the case. She couldn't afford to dwell on questions that couldn't be acted on.
How stupid was it that the Minister considered Grindelwald not a threat? After everything he has done across Europe? All his rallies? The destruction of half of Theseus and Ariadne's team? Lying to the public wasn't going to do him any good either. Hector Fawley would be forced out of office if Ariadne could do anything about it. Just like he forced her out of the Confederation's case.
Lost in the maze of her own mind, she let out a gasp as someone seized her wrist. She was pulled from the streets and pushed against an alleyway wall. Panic overtook her as she tried to reach for her wand, only for something to stop her.
"Don't even think about it," Edwin Flint's green eyes stared back at her. This was not the person she thought she would see on her way to work. The morning cold swept through the streets as London began to wake up.
"Get off me," she snapped, her eyes threatening to do much worse. He stepped away, smirking playfully as he pointed up. Following his finger, figures stood above them; wands in their hands aimed at the brunette witch. If she even dared to curse him, she would easily be overpowered by their numbers. She huffed with exasperation, "What do you want this time?"
"You flatter me, Ariadne," he chuckled, "You never answered his question."
"Is he in Germany?" she shot, quick with her retort.
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
"Tell him no," she affirmed, "I am not following power like that." It was easy to think when she was away from his alluring charm. Easier to tell the difference between his truths and lies. Everything that Grindelwald had told her on that day was a lie. There was no way he wanted anything that Ariadne wanted. He accumulated power in ways that Ariadne could not follow.
"Aren't you already?" Ariadne wanted to slap the smirk off his face. It took everything in her for her arms to stay by her side.
"Do not compare my work with him," she snapped.
He teasingly held up his hands, mocking surrender, "Defensive."
"Leave me alone," she started to walk away. She was done. Done trying to sympathise with him. Done listening to him. She wanted nothing more to do with him at this very moment. It was strange to see how different they had become. He was so different to the boy that she met and Ariadne couldn't lie, maybe she was too. Was it the influence of blood prejudice? How was it that they became so different? Something weighed down her heart with each step that she took away from him.
"Ariadne," he called out, "He's looking for the person who informed the ministry of his location," it was almost a warning, though he lacked the malice in his tone that he once had. Ariadne stopped, immediately turning back around.
"It wasn't me. I don't know who it was," she lied easily, "I think he should consider looking within his own ranks. Not everyone following him is loyal. Do you know how many of them are in a cell right now, pleading that they were forced into following him?" For a moment she forgot who she was talking to. Caught up within her own distaste for the tyrannical wizard, Edwin's eyes flashed with hurt.
"It's a means of survival," he added, weakly.
"Not with people like them," she denounced, "People who have boasted about his power. People who hunt muggles for fun. People who are cruel," they were both a little surprised by Ariadne's outburst. Ariadne didn't realise how acidic her tone was until she stopped with a frown on her face. Catching her breath, she composed herself, "I hope I never see you again, Flint."
"You should have said yes," he yelled after her, but she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of a reaction. Her steps were fast while she walked away. As soon as she was at the end of the alleyway, she disapparated.
☆
With a quill in her hand, Ariadne distracted herself with her work. Dip, ink, write, repeat. There was nothing else in her mind except everything that had happened in the past few months. Writing it down on paper, she needed every detail to be present. Nothing missing, nothing lost in her mind. If she couldn't be on the case, she needed her report to show everything that she had learnt, everything that Grindelwald was.
Edwin's visit made her realise that more than anything, she wanted to stop Grindelwald's rein. She wanted to strip his power away from him. His words were too persuasive, he gave false hope to those who needed it most. His strength in duelling was unmatched. He needed to be stopped. Ariadne had escaped from power like that before, now she wanted to stop it.
She had sat at her desk for too long, her legs started to ache as she stood. Gathering all her pages, she made her way to Barracus' office.
Knocking softly on his open door, she stepped inside, "I came to hand in these reports. I couldn't find Melinda." The office had changed quite a bit since she was last in here. Boxes were filled with different objects as the bookshelf looked a little more empty. Draws were hanging open as Barracus was going through each item.
"Melinda needed to do some last minute Christmas present shopping," Barracus dismissed her worries about disrupting him with his hand as he collected her filed report.
"Oh?"
"For the Christmas party tomorrow?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Oh. I'm not going."
"I'm sure we can change that," he replied lightly.
"Good luck," she chuckled, her eyes roaming around the room, "When do you leave?"
"Before Christmas," he stated, his eyes reminiscing as he glanced around his office, "Although Theseus will start just after the new year," Barracus caught the heavy emotions as they flickered in her eyes. With a heavy sigh, he looked towards her with empathy, "Remember what I said."
"Trying," she weakly smiled.
"Try harder," he retorted, "I do not need to see your face looking so down before I leave," Ariadne laughed, shaking her head. As she made her way out, she passed Theseus who was going in, he too carried a filed report. She gave him a small smile and he gave one in return.
Sitting back down, Ariadne started cleaning up her desk. It had been some time since she wasn't overburdened with paperwork and her desk showed it. Loose papers were everywhere with miscellaneous items littering the wooden surface. Sure, it would have been easier to flick her wand, but there was something therapeutic through cleaning.
There were a few books that stood upright on her desk, mostly about the dark arts and different charms. File templates were put back in her draws and quills back their holders. Ariadne couldn't lie, under the mess she had made, she found a lot more objects that she thought she had lost.
Footsteps closing in on her made Ariadne glance up, "I heard you weren't going to the Christmas party," Theseus stopped at her desk, a light glimmer in his eyes.
"No," she replied without glancing at Theseus. Her eyes remained on her desk as she sorted out different stationary items.
"Then consider this your part of our bet," Ariadne's head snapped towards Theseus, making him laugh. She tried to glare at him but was fighting the smile that threatened to appear on her face.
"You are cruel."
"I'll see you at your place, 6pm," he didn't wait for her reply as he walked away. What she didn't see was the biggest grin on Theseus' face. And what he didn't see was the tint of red on her cheeks.
