Chapter Text
The door opened after a few minutes of knocking and Dumbledore's dull eyes met McGonagall’s. He wasn't expecting such an early visit, but it must've been important if she came to him. The sunlight blinded him a little bit, but he tried his best to focus on the matter at hand.
“Albus” the woman spoke up, handing him a newspaper. “He struck again.”
The professor had to rub his eyes and think for a moment to register the implication. He looked at the newspaper and immediately noticed Grindelwald’s surname on the front page. He should've expected that.
“What did he do this time?” He sighed, but figured it out when he read the thick headline.
GRINDELWALD STEALS THE SOULCRACKER FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION!
Of course he stole another artifact! Gellert was far too ambitious to stop on just one. He always had a weakness for magical objects with unknown abilities. Dumbledore's mind was already racing with possibilities despite his sleepy state.
“Two artifacts in a month… Two artifacts that are mostly unrelated…”
“There must be a pattern, Albus” McGonagall sighed as well. The man just nodded and rolled the newspaper, keeping it.
“I’ll look through it.” He assured her and took a deep breath.
***
“I got promoted!” Ophelia barged inside the house, holding a shiny badge tightly in her hands. She was almost jumping from barely contained excitement. Her voice echoed through the rooms, getting the attention of Pilgrim and Garett.
“That’s great, honey!” The man said, patting his daughter’s shoulder. “To what exactly?”
“Is that an Auror badge?” Pilgrim immediately noticed the item her girlfriend was holding.
Ophelia nodded excitedly and handed the badge to her dad.
“Mister Scamander said that I represent the values valued by his department.” She said, her back straight with pride.
“Then don’t mess it up.” Garett chuckled and looked at Pilgrim who obviously didn’t find the jab funny.
“I’m sure Ophelia will be the best Auror out there.” She said, giving the girl a kiss on the cheek. Garett pursed his lips, but didn’t comment on it. He rolled his eyes, walking to the kitchen and closing the door behind him.
“Do you think he’s proud of me?” Ophelia asked, watching him go with sad eyes.
“Of course he is.” Pilgrim said, brushing a strand of hair from the other girl’s face. “I’m proud of you. He must be as well.”
Ophelia nodded, but didn’t cheer up.
“Maybe you’re right.” She walked to the sofa and sat down. “But… I have a feeling I might mess it up.”
“You must be kidding me.” Pilgrim scoffed, sitting down next to her girlfriend and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “It has been your dream ever since our first year at Hogwarts! You were driving me insane with all the praise for the law enforcement…”
Ophelia let out a soft giggle.
“What are you trying to say?”
“That I don’t know a better person for that job.” Pilgrim reassured her, squeezing her cheek lovingly. “Even though I despise the Auror Department.”
The other girl smiled, but then Garret came back. He was holding two teacups and settled one down in front of Ophelia. His expression was smug and Pilgrim felt her jaw clenching involuntarily.
“So,” the man began, “you’re officially responsible for everyone’s safety, darling.”
Ophelia nodded, still smiling.
“And,” Garett continued “you must be aware of the intense background check every Auror goes through.”
Pilgrim’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. She had a feeling where this was going.
“Are you suggesting something?”
“Only stating the obvious.” Garret raised his arms in mock surrender. “Being around someone who’s not supposed to be a member of the magical community… it could damage Ophelia’s trust.”
“Just like it could damage yours. And yet you keep me in your home.” The girl responded.
“The difference is that I've been doing my job for many years.” He wouldn’t give up. “And Ophelia hasn’t even started yet.”
“Dad, stop!” Ophelia finally spoke up, her voice firm. “She’s here legally. She has no criminal record besides the… incident. She helped Dumbledore heal a muggleborn! She wouldn’t even look at them—”
“I’m never doing this again. It was disgusting.” Pilgrim interrupted.
Ophelia continued.
“That’s beside the point. You did it anyway. And Dumbledore trusted you with it.”
Garett simply scoffed, crossing his arms on his chest.
“Dumbledore is a fool. Remember Paris?”
“He tried to warn Travers about it!” Ophelia raised her voice.
“You trust him way too much.” Garett said. “And don’t raise your voice at me, young lady.”
“Ophy” Pilgrim silenced Ophelia before she could say anything else. “It’s okay. It’s not worth it.”
The man smirked, but his expression turned annoyed as he heard a knock on the door. He grumbled something under his breath and walked to the front entrance, opening the door. Behind them stood Theseus Scamander and Albus Dumbledore.
“Hello, sir.” The second man smiled politely. “We’re looking for the girls.”
***
The area looked way different than Vinda imagined. It was far away from the big city, surrounded mostly by trees. The magical residue mostly faded away, yet it was still remarkable. She understood why Gellert had a sentiment for this place. The outside of the house was well-kept, but felt soulless. The only thing keeping it somewhat captivating was the old tree in the backyard. Vinda glanced at it and made her way to the front door. She knocked three times and waited. When they opened she saw a man, probably in his early 50s, his dark hair showing hints of grey. He looked like he wasn’t happy about having a visitor.
“Hello, sir." Vinda spoke up. “Are you Christian Hofer?”
“Depends on who’s asking.” The man said in a thick German accent.
“My name is Vinda. I wanted to ask about your stepdaughter—”
“Ah, Lita.” The man interrupted. “Sorry, lady, but I think you should go.”
He tried to close the door, but Vinda stopped him.
“Mr. Hofer, wait!” She said, keeping the door open. “Grindelwald sent me.”
At the mention of Gellert’s name Christian’s expression faltered and his face got pale. He studied Vinda for a moment, taking her in.
“You’re his wife?” He asked.
“No. I work for him.” She explained calmly. “Is Lita at home?”
Christian tensed, but stepped aside, letting the woman in.
“Lita is gone…” he said, swallowing hard.
Vinda didn’t exactly understand what the man was implying.
“What do you mean?”
“She’s gone.” Christian took a deep breath. “She got expelled from school for torturing a classmate. Always had a knack for trouble, that girl… When she came back we got into a fight. I said too many things… She went to her room for the day. And the next morning when I came to check on her… She was gone. The window was open and a few things of hers were missing. She left a goodbye letter… I haven’t seen her since then.”
Vinda listened to the story, trying not to show how shocked she was. She was hoping to talk to the girl, maybe convince her to go see her dad… The last thing she expected was to find out she was gone.
“Would you mind if I looked around?” The woman asked, not wanting to leave empty-handed.
“Sure.” Christian gestured towards the stairs. “Her room was on the left. I could never bring myself to go there again.”
“Thank you.” Vinda nodded politely and walked upstairs, finding the door immediately. It was the only white door there. She opened it and was met with a bright room. The wallpaper was light blue and the furniture was mostly white. There was a scent of old parchment, cold and wood lingering in the air. Everything was dusty and there were cobwebs in the corners. Yet, the room felt weirdly alive. As if Lita’s essence was deeply rooted into the walls and followed the woman around. She didn’t really know where to start looking or what she wanted to find, so she walked up to the desk by the window. It had pencil marks and ink stains, but was in good condition. It had two drawers, one of which had a lock. Vinda used a simple Alohomora and opened the lock. It was filled with rolls of parchment and leather folders. The woman grabbed one of them and smiled involuntarily. It was a photo album, filled with photos of young Lita and Gellert. Vinda looked through it with a soft smile. She met Gellert when he was already the stern, closed off and ambitious man everyone knew. It was intriguing to see photos of him holding a little girl in his lap, smiling and looking almost content. Vinda also noticed that some of the photos were altered. Lita cut out her mother from them, or simply burned her out. It was surprising. Why would she do this? She didn’t even realise that Christian was right behind her, looking over her shoulder.
“I told her not to go in there…” he muttered.
“What?” Vinda turned around to face him.
“The album.” Christian explained. “Lita took it from his study. I caught her sneaking in a few times, I didn’t realise she was sneaking things out of there.”
Vinda thought for a moment, setting the album down.
“Grindelwald had a study here?” She asked.
“In the basement.” Christian explained. “I never went there. My wife always said it was a place she never wanted to see again. I think some stuff might still be there. You can take those, they won’t be useful to anyone here.”
The man led Vinda back downstairs and grabbed a key. He opened the door under the stairs and handed the key to Vinda.
“I’m not going down there. Just… lock the door when you leave.”
“Thank you.” The woman nodded and walked downstairs. The room was dark, so she used her wand to light the small lamps around the space. It was quite similar to Gellert’s office in Nurmengard, but a bit more messy. It smelled like old parchment, dirt, wood and something she couldn’t identify. The woman walked up to the desk, immediately noticing the open drawers and a few missing books on the bookshelf. Christian was right. Lita was snooping around her father’s old things. She didn’t know what was exactly missing, but something surely was. Vinda picked up a thick folder full of various notes in Gellert’s handwriting. She looked through them without reading, noticing little Lita’s doodles on the edges. She decided to take them with her. Maybe they’d be useful to Gellert. She opened her bag and put some folders inside, along with the photo album from Lita’s room. As she was leaving she took one last look at the basement. It felt cold, empty and depressing. Even more than Nurmengard’s usual atmosphere. Christian was waiting upstairs, keeping his distance from the door like something was about to jump at him.
“Are you done?” The man asked, immediately closing the door behind Vinda.
“Yes, thank you.” She smiled politely. “Can you tell me if Lita had any friends? Classmates she liked, a boyfriend? Somewhere she could go?”
“She never had a boyfriend.” Christian sighed. “Her friends also didn’t know where she went. I wrote letters to all the parents.”
Vinda sighed, thinking again.
“And what about her extended family? Grandparents, aunts, uncles?”
“No, no, no.” He shook his head. “She didn’t have contact with anyone.”
“Right…” Vinda sighed, nodding. “Thank you anyway.”
“Tell Gellert that she was a smart and brave girl.” Christian smiled solemnly, like he already expected Lita to be dead. Vinda nodded again and walked to the door.
“I will.”