Chapter Text
1st of February 1933,
Dumbledore's office, Hogwarts.
Dumbledore was pacing in his office while he was waiting for Newt. Earlier that morning, he had owled Newt, asking him to come to Hogwarts urgently. What he was about to share with the magizoologist was extremely important and must be shared in person. He had tried to delay it as long as possible but the election of Adolf Hitler has changed his plans.
Dumbledore knew Gellert, he knew that Gellert would use the election, of whom many were already calling the devil, to rally more followers and he knew that many would fall into Gellert’s trap.
Obviously the election of Hitler was not the only reason why Dumbledore had asked Newt to come, the rumours about Gellert being in the UK were becoming harder and harder to ignore and it was about time to act on them. Dumbledore knew why Gellert was back to the UK. He could have chosen to go to the Ministry and have a talk with Hector Fawley but Dumbledore knew better. Having a chat with Fawley would be pointless. Fawley would not be the man to stand against Gellert Grindelwald and Dumbledore has understood that years ago.
Dumbldore sighed, stopping his ex lover madness would not be easy but Dumbledore was a believer and he was certain that Alice and Newt would find a way to localise, before Gellert and his team, the two missing Hallows. Of course before to have them working on his new master plan, he must find a way to convince them to jump in but Dumbledore was confident, that would be the easy part of his plan. Alice has already agreed to it, sort of, as she has been working on the Peverell’s family tree for a couple of months already, as for Newt, well when has the Magizoologist ever said no to him? Never.
Dumbledore smiled and looked at his watch, two minutes past 3pm, Newt would be here within seconds, he was never late.
The knocks on the door of his office almost made him chuckle, never late indeed.
…
Newt stepped into Dumbledore’s office and greeted his old professor warmly. They spoke briefly about the cold weather, about Queenie’s pregnancy and her upcoming birth in a few weeks, about Newt’s beats and a few more things before Newt cleared his throat and asked Dumbledore if he had asked him to come for a lovely chat of for something more.
« You know me too well Newt. Please have a sit. » smiled Dumbledore
Newt sat down while Dumbledore was doing the same thing on the other side of his desk.
« Tea? » asked Dumbledore nicely
Newt accepted gladly yet he reminded Dumbledore to do not add three sugars in his cup which made Dumbledore laugh.
« I am an incorregible sweet tooth, am I not? »
« You are Albus. »
They drank in silence for a minute until Newt gathered up his courage and asked why he had been called. He asked if it was linked to Hitler’s election in Germany or the rumours of Grindelwald being in the UK, or both. Dumbledore’s silence was making him somehow uncomfortable.
« Both and neither. »
Newt’s eyes widened and not because Teddy was trying to stuff another spoon into his sack. He was confused.
Dumbledore noticed, it was time to be clear about his intentions : « I wanted to see you to talk to you about something very complex. »
Newt smiled shyly and said that he was all ears. He was really curious to know why Dumbledore seemed so cautious.
« The rumours about Gellert being here are not rumours. I haven’t seen him nor do I need to, to be sure that he is here. You see, I’ve always known that he would come back sooner or later to the UK and now that Vogel has cleared him of everything, Gellert is a free man. Do as you please Gellert could have said Vogel. Unfortunately, I can tell you this is exactly what Gellert is going to do. »
Newt agreed on that point even though he was still not seeing where this conversation would lead. He asked what Grindelwald could possibly want to obtain from his trip on the British soil. Given the outcome of the elections and the triumph of Hitler, Germany seemed a much better option to rally followers.
Dumbledore did not answer, instead he asked : « Are you familiar with the Tale of the three brothers Newt? »
« From the tales of Beedle the Bard? » asked Newt confusedly
Dumbledore nodded
Disconcerted Newt answered that he was familiar with the Tale of the three brothers. He said that was not a fan of the story, his older brother was a fan of the story though. He added that when they were younger, Theseus was constantly asking Newt which one he would choose between the wand, the cloak or the stone. It had been a recurrent theme during their youth.
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, that was an interesting detail to learn. He would have thought the contrary, he would not have pictured Theseus as a fan of the Tale.
Intrigued he asked : « So what was your choice Newt? »
« The cloak of course. To be honest, I was rather scared of that Tale as a young boy. Our mother was always adding a frightening description of Death, description that got worst when my brother substitute our mother as the narrator so the cloak seemed to always be the reasonable choice. »
« Indeed. And out of curiosity what was your brother’s choice? » asked Dumbledore who was really curious to see if his thoughts were the right ones. He was having the feeling that Newt’s older brother choice has never been the cloak. Newt saying that the cloak was his choice was not a surprise. In another life, Newt could have been the true owner of the cloak
Newt stiffened a laugh as he was remembering his older brother’s odd choice : « He was always choosing the stone but it was the wand that he wanted to choose. He never said it out loud but I knew. He was fascinated with the idea of the elder wand, a wand that could grant you pretty much everything you’ve ever wanted. He was fifteen and I was seven so perhaps I misread but I don’t think I did. »
Newt had a sip of his tea before to add one last thing about his brother’s choice : « He mentioned the tale again, once after the war, that time he said that in the trenches, the wand would have been more helpful than the stone.»
« Interesting, not very Hufflepuff of him though. I guess that’s why he was always picking up the stone in the end, until the war, but interesting nonetheless. » said Dumbledore who was certain that Newt had not misread his brother’s true intentions.
The wand was the logical choice for someone like Theseus, unlike his younger brother, he wanted to be seen and appreciated and he valued power. Like many Theseus was not black or white, he was spread in a palette of grey even if he would never admit it but Dumbledore knew, he had studied him.
« I would not read too much in our past choices if I were you Albus.» Said Newt as he could tell that this was exactly what Dumbledore was doing.
Dumbledore smiled and evasively answered that he had just asked out of curiosity. He finish his tea, swallowed a sugar and finally dived into the real matter : The Deathly Hallows.
« The three items have been named the Deathly Hallows. » clarified Dumbledore
« But it’s a story for children, it is a work of fiction.» replied Newt who was finally getting a hint of what Dumbledore wanted this time.
« No, it is not a story for children. They do exist and as a matter of fact Gellert is already in possession of one of them. »
Newt asked which one even though he could have guessed this one alone.
« Ah Newt! The wand of course. The only Hallow that was not in the UK. Now he is back here to find the two others. »
« Why? »
« Because, he believes that once he will possess the three items, he will become the Master of Death and invincible. I can’t confirm what would happen if he were to get in possession of the three Hallows but honestly I do not wish to know. We need to stop him and this is why I did ask you to come.» Explained Dumbledore calmly
Newt did not exactly know what to say. For him, the Tale of the three brothers was nothing more than a story for children at bedtime. For him, Dumbledore and Grindelwald were powerful wizards who once read too much into meaningless details. Two young men in love who decided to conquer the world.
Dubitative he asked : « How exactly do you want me to stop him? I am really not sure I can. »
« I need you to find the Hallows, the stone and the cloak. You won’t be alone Newt, I have someone that I hope will accept to work with us. She has already been working on the Hallows and the Peverell’s family tree for a couple of months now. The Peverell’s are the three brothers. If my friend is to accept to stay around, you two can have a hand on the hallows before spring time. She is a talented witch, very talented and a wonderful woman. You two will make an incredible team.»
Newt was observing Dumbledore in silence. He was processing the information. Part of him was still wondering if Dumbledore and Grindelwald have not lost their minds. The Deathly Hallows, the master of Death, Invincible, all of this out of tale for children…
He did not want to question Dumbledore’s sanity, he was trying to picture the hallows but alas that seemed impossible. Over the years, Dumbledore did ask impossible things but this time it was different because for the first time, Newt was having a hard time believing in the true existence of the Hallows. As surprising as it was, for Newt, this time Dumbledore was placing his bet on the wrong person and not just because he has other plans like going to America to conquer Tina’s heart, no he was simply not the right person to find the Hallows. To find them, the person must believe in their existence and that was not his case.
« I believe you are wondering why can’t I look for the Hallows as I do know a great deal about them? » asked Dumbledore who was trying to read into Newt’s silence.
Newt nodded. It seemed the right thing to do besides Dumbledore’s question was very on point, why was he not looking for the Hallows himself?
Dumbledore got up and started pacing. He told Newt that he could not. The ministry was already watching his every move. Fawley was not doing much to stop Grindelwald yet he was doing everything he could to prevent him from getting out of Hogwarts.
Newt knew that to be true, his brother had told him so, yet he was still believing that this time Dumbledore might be the best person to jump in and stop Grindelwald.
« The blood troth might be broken but mine and Gellert’s story is more complex than a blood troth. I can’t look for the Hallows, I simply can’t. »
« Albus are you afraid of finding them? » asked Newt as he knew that Dumbledore has demons and the Hallows could very much be part of them.
« I am that’s why I believe it to be best if I stay here teaching. Power is a dangerous thing to everyone, to me even more. So what do you think? When can you start?» Asked Dumbledore enthusiastically
Newt fell silent. How was he going to tell Dumbledore that he could not accept this time…