Riddle and Grindelwald (book 2)

9. Villian

The following evening, Genevieve dressed up in a green, sparkly, full length gown, and headed to the address that Alec Wilde had given her.
The house she apparated to was small, but it was on the outskirts of a town, far away from any other people.
After knocking on the front door, Genevieve stepped back and waited for it to open.
A moment later the door swung open, and Alec gestured for her to come in.
"You look stunning" complemented Alec, as he hung up her black fur coat.
"Thank you. You don't look too shabby either" commented Genevieve.

"Would you like a tour of the house?" Asked Alec.
"Maybe later. Right now it's time for us to eat" replied Genevieve, who wanted to get in and out as quickly as possible.
"You're right. Follow me to the dining room" instructed Alec, as he began leading the way through the house.
"So, tell me Alec, how does a low ranking auror afford a place like this?" Questioned Genevieve.
"This was my parents house, and when they died it was left to me, since I'm an only child"
"That makes sense, because I know that you wouldn't be able to afford anything like this on your salary. But maybe you will move somewhere bigger now that you've cleared out my vault at Gringotts".

"No, I have other plans for that money. Besides, that wasn't your money, for it didn't belong to you" reminded Alec, as the pair stepped inside the dining room.
"It was my Uncle's, and since I'm his only living relative, I inherited it all. So, it'd say that it did belong to me" informed Genevieve, before sitting down in the chair that Alec had pulled out for her.
"But that money didn't belong to Grindelwald either. He took it from those he killed or imprisoned. He didn't earn that money the right way" replied Alec, as he sat down in his own chair.
"Maybe not. But if the money doesn't rightfully belong to me, then it doesn't belong to you either. You gained that money through blackmail, so you hardly earned it through good and honest labour".

"I'm not the villian in this story. You're the one who sided with a murderer and attempted to take over the world with him. If anyone is the bad guy, it's you" admitted Alec.
"I don't think so. Even if I am a villain, you are still blackmailing me, and forcing me to give you my money, against my will... Besides, Gellert was the only family member I had left, he practically raised me, so I couldn't defy him. I had to join his cause and fight beside him" replied Genevieve.
"You were an adult at the time, which makes you responsible for your own actions. You can't blame Grindelwald for all your problems or your actions" countered Alec.

Genevieve groaned, "I know that. And I hate it when people refer to him as simply, Grindelwald. His name is Gellert. Grindelwald is the surname we share, it's not his title or his first name"
"Sorry, it's just that I'm so used to people refering to him as Grindelwald, because that's what the papers called him" apologised Alec.
"I know. But it still annoys me all these years later, for I've never gotten used to hearing it" sighed Genevieve.

"I can understand why that would annoy you, since it is your surname as well as his... What did you used to call him?" Asked Alec curiously.
"There is no need to use the past tense, for he is still alive" reminded Genevieve.
"Yes, but he's in Nurmengard prison, so you're never going to see him again" replied Alec.
"I guess not. Well, for your information I would call him Setä, which is the Finnish word for uncle. But sometimes I would just call him Gellert"
"You don't usually talk this much about him. Normally you shut me down when I ask questions about him"
"Well, normally we meet in a public place, where it would be unwise of me to talk about my relation to a powerful dark wizard. But since we are in a secure location, I don't mind mentioning him. This is also our last night together, so I might as well answer all the final questions you have for me".

"Do you miss him?" Quizzed Alec.
"He wasn't exactly a big part of my life, and I never saw much of him once I got to Hogwarts. So no, I don't really miss him. It's hard to miss someone you barely knew" answered Genevieve.
"It must he hard, being all alone" replied Alec.
"I'm not alone, I have Tom".
Alec rolled his eyes and headed into the kitchen, coming out with two plates a few moments later.

He placed a plate down in front of Genevieve, and one in front of himself.
Alec then sat back down and reached for the wine bottle in the centre of the table.
He poured the wine into their glasses before placing the bottle back down.
"A toast" said Alec as he picked up his glass.
"What are we toasting?" Asked Genevieve as she picked up her own glass.
"New friends" answered Alec.
"Don't go getting any ideas. I am here for one reason, and one reason only, which is to get back my photos. Once I have them, we will part ways".

"Alright then, a toast to one last hurrah together?" Suggested Alec.
"O.K" replied Genevieve, before raising her glass and taking a sip of the wine.
"Like it?" Questioned Alec, after he'd sipped his own drink.
"It's very nice" answered Genevieve.
"Good. Only the finest elf made wine for my guest"
"Something tells me that you don't have a lot of guests"
"I am a bit of a hermit, I guess. But so are you, since you don't have any friends of your own"
"I suppose you've got a point. But I don't need friends, for I have Tom".

"You can't always rely on just one person" admitted Alec.
"I can always rely on Tom. He is the one thing in my life that I can trust, for he is dependable and loyal. He would do anything for me, which is why no one else could ever measure up to him" informed Genevieve.
"But if you've never been with anyone else, then you don't know what other men could offer you" replied Alec.
"I've been around enough men to know that there is no one like Tom anywhere in the world"
"But I-"
"No more buts, I'm not having this argument with you again. Let's just eat and get this dinner over and done with so that you can give me what is mine"
"Fine".

****
Once dinner was over, Alec led the way into the living room, where the pair talked some more, until eventually Genevieve had had enough.
"Look Alec, it's nearly 11oclock. It's time for you to hand over the photographs that you have of me" insisted Genevieve.
"Alright. I will go up to my bedroom and collect them, while you wait down here. I won't be a moment" replied Alec, before exiting the room and heading upstairs.

After Alec's departure, Genevieve's curiosity got the better of her and she began to wander around the room, inspecting all of Alec's things.
There was a small bookshelf in the corner, and numerous artifacts and paintings that littered the room.
One of the paintings was slanted slightly, so Genevieve walked over to it and pushed it back into place.
This caused a quiet grinding noise to echo from the other side of the room where the bookshelf was.
Frowning, Genevieve pushed the picture so that it was turned completely on its side.

More creaking began, and Genevieve's jaw dropped as she saw the bookshelf slide to the side, revealing a hidden door behind it.
She immediately withdrew her wand and approached the door cautiously.
Genevieve turned the handle with ease before pushing open the door.
She stepped through the doorway and found herself in a small dark room with no windows or light source.
"Lumos" mumbled Genevieve, illuminating the room in light.

Genevieve gasped loudly as she suddenly saw that there were photo's of her throughout the room.
There were photographs on the walls, hanging from the ceiling, and covering the desk.
And the pictures weren't just from the battle in Stockholm.
There were images of her; walking to and from work, heading to the Leaky Cauldron, and making her way into Diagon Alley. Everywhere she looked, she saw herself in a different location.
Tom featured in some of the photos, but in the ones he did, his face had been crossed out.

Genevieve felt as if she was going to be sick.
Someone had been stalking her, taking pictures of her without her knowledge, and she had a pretty good idea of who it was, since she was currently stood in his house. Which is when she realised just how much danger she was now in, without Tom around to protect her.
She suddenly felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, so she quickly spun around.
But it was too late, for her stalker had found her.