The manhunt for Gellert Grindelwald lasted for months now. Over several continents, the Ministries of Magic of at least a dozen countries, and even Albus Dumbledore, were involved in the search, but Grindelwald was neither caught nor found.
That was, until now...
It was a cold, snowy December evening when the unlikeliest of wizards, quite accidentally, stumbled across the clue that led to the discovery of Grindelwald's hiding place.
Newt Scamander was not a man who went looking for an opportunity to duel or see his name in the newspapers. Quite to the contrary even: he usually stayed away as far as possible from things like that, but this information on Grindelwald's location looked very solid, and at least worth investigating.
Newt had simply overheard a couple of wizards talking in a tavern earlier in the evening, and he had to admit it all sounded way too good to be true. Still, it felt wrong to dismiss it as bollocks immediately, and only a few short checks later, Newt could only conclude that this might be the clue they had been hoping for.
Newt knew he had to act fast, or Grindelwald would slip through their fingers once again.
The information he found led to an abandoned estate in Scotland, not even that far from where Newt was now, and he decided in a split-second that he would go and check it out.
Supposedly, Grindelwald stayed there alone at the moment, but that could very well be a trap of course.
It would be dangerous, very dangerous even, but there was no time for doubt. Grindelwald had eyes and ears everywhere, and would know in a heartbeat that he had been discovered, so there was no time to lose.
Before he left, Newt sent word to everyone he could think of being involved in the manhunt here in Britain, but he would not wait for them. No, he had to act immediately.
He tried not to think of the possibility that he might not survive this, and what that would mean for his creatures. That he would escape the inevitable duel unscathed was unlikely, but Newt had made his decision: if he didn't act now, it would be too late. And he at least owed Dumbledore this level of commitment and faith.
So, for now, and probably against his better judgement, Newt set off on his own...
Newt Apparated at the beginning of a lane, lined with tall trees, that ended at a handsome mansion. One of the Scottish lochs in the distance reflected the moon overhead, and the fresh snow crunched softly under Newt's feet as he hurried up the lane.
The lack of defences as he carefully made his way to the mansion set Newt unbelievably on edge. It was highly unlikely that a wanted criminal and exceptionally skilled wizard like Grindelwald, would not have any defensive spells in place to fend off intruders. Still, so far, Newt encountered nothing.
The entire mansion was dark, except for one window on the ground floor. A faint light escaped through drawn curtains, betraying someone was in that room.
All of Newt's senses were in a state of highest alert as he approached the front door. At any moment, curses could start flying his way, and he knew those would not be innocent Body-Binding curses...
The front door of the mansion stood slightly ajar, almost as if to welcome him in. Newt pushed it open and stepped into the hallway, wand at the ready. He halted for a moment, looking sharply around for movement that announced an oncoming attack, but all remained eerily quiet and desolate.
"I must say, I am disappointed."
The voice came from the living room to the right side of the hallway. Newt apprehensively crossed the threshold, and found Gellert Grindelwald sitting in an armchair by the hearth fire.
Even though Grindelwald had his back turned to him, Newt knew very well that the wizard's wand was pointing towards him.
"What disappoints you?" Newt ventured the question. His eyes darted around the room for a possible ambush from Grindelwald's allies, and yet again he saw none. Grindelwald indeed seemed to be alone here.
"I had rather hoped to see my old friend Albus," Grindelwald replied, still not looking at Newt. "And no worries, Mr. Scamander, I am quite alone here."
Newt nervously took another step closer, reducing the distance between himself and Grindelwald to less than three metres.
"That's close enough." The menace dripped from Grindelwald's voice.
Newt readied himself for the attack that could start any second now. He was well aware that he alone would likely be no match for Grindelwald, not even with Grindelwald being without allies, so delaying was his best strategy.
"I might be able to persuade Dumbledore to come here," Newt tried.
Grindelwald scoffed. "You and I both know he is already on his way. But he is not coming for me, he is only coming here for you."
"Dumbledore doesn't care about me," Newt lied.
"Well, you might be right," Grindelwald sneered, "sending you here is tantamount to killing you, so maybe indeed he doesn't care... or he just grossly overestimates your abilities."
Newt fidgeted his hands together without slackening the grip on his wand. He would not be able to keep Grindelwald talking for much longer. The only thing Grindelwald wanted was to kill Newt and disappear again before anyone else arrived, and Newt was sure he would do so sooner rather than later.
Grindelwald slowly rose to his feet, back still turned to Newt. "Any last words, Mr. Scamander?"
Newt kept his gaze firmly fixed on Grindelwald, taking in every minute movement, but he refused to answer that question.
"Have it your way," Grindelwald mumbled venomously.
In a flash, Grindelwald spun round. The first curse was already flying before he was even fully facing Newt.
A jet of green light flashed past Newt's head, but this attack was what he had been expecting. He fairly easily dodged the curse and sent his own counterattack in Grindelwald's direction. Grindelwald blocked Newt's curse, immediately sending the next one flying.
Newt was not fully able to dodge or block this one. He felt the intense pain of the Cruciatus Curse flood his body, but he willed himself to remain upright. If he ended up on his knees, Grindelwald would be able to finish him off before this duel had even properly started.
Newt bit through the paralysing pain of the curse, and with immense power of will, managed to send a jinx hurtling towards Grindelwald.
Grindelwald had clearly not been expecting this. Newt's jinx hit him square in the chest, and the force of it threw him backwards against a bookcase. His reply, however, was instantaneous.
"Diffindo!"
It was the first curse Grindelwald actually spoke, but he did so with so much menace that the word alone instilled fear in Newt. There was no chance for him to block this curse, and he only half managed to leap out of its way. The curse only scraped the right side of his chest, but it still left deep gashes across Newt's ribs. Warm blood spilled onto his shirt and hands, making the grip on his wand slippery. The injury left Next momentarily unaware of his adversary. A mistake he immediately regretted.
Grindelwald cast the Diffindo-curse again, hitting Newt across the back of his shoulders. Fresh wounds bit into Newt's flesh and sent him crashing to the floor.
Grindelwald seized this opportunity to cast the Cruciatus Curse again. This time Newt caught the full force of the curse, seizing him with an excruciating pain.
To Newt it felt like hours later before Grindelwald lowered his wand and lifted the curse.
Newt lay on the floor, panting and trembling as the after-effects of the torture curse still flowed through his system.
"What shall we do next?" Grindelwald taunted, glaring down at Newt with a look that promised a whole lot of misery.
Newt's vision was blurry, but he did his utmost best to keep his focus. If he didn't act now it would surely be the end of him.
Grindelwald obviously did not expect Newt's next move, or he just believed Newt was already beaten.
With the last of his strength, Newt tightened the grip on his wand and rolled himself onto his back, ignoring his painfully protesting wounds.
Now with an unobstructed line of fire, Newt bellowed his curse."Reducto!"
It knocked Grindelwald clean off his feet, throwing him to the ground a few metres across the room.
"Expelliarmus!" Newt quickly disarmed Grindelwald before the wizard could even think of another curse to cast. With another flick of his wand Newt made ropes appear which tightly bound Grindelwald and left him unable to move.
"Newt?"
The familiar voice of Albus Dumbledore was heard only faintly from outside, but to Newt it was the sound of saviour.
"In here," Newt answered. He suddenly became aware how weak his own voice sounded.
Black spots blurred his vision all of a sudden, and the world swam around him. He firmly closed his eyes, willing the unpleasant sensation to pass. It only got worse, though, and Newt had to grab hold of a nearby desk to keep himself on his feet.
"Newt?"
He startled to hear a voice from so close by and hands suddenly resting on his shoulders. Newt opened his eyes. The blurry shape of Albus Dumbledore, standing in front of him, slowly came into focus. "Professor?"
"You don't look too good, Newt." Concern was written all over Dumbledore's face and laced in his voice.
"I- I'm f-fine..." Newt hadn't even fully finished his sentence when his legs would no longer support his weight. Dumbledore caught him by the armpits before he could fully collapse, and guided him to sit down on the rubble-strewn floor. "I got you, take it easy now."
Blood stained Dumbledore's hands as he released his grip on Newt. He carefully pulled Newt's coat a little aside to reveal the wounds to the magizoologist's chest.
Dumbledore's brow furrowed into a concerned frown. "This looks serious, Newt. You injured your back as well?"
Newt nodded weakly, but did not find the strength to answer with words.
"We need to wait for Ministry officials to take him away." Dumbledore motioned over his shoulder to Grindelwald. "But then I'm going to take you to have those wounds treated, okay?"
"It's not looking good, is it?" Newt wasn't able to keep the tremble and the hint of fear out of his voice.
Dumbledore gave him a reassuring smile. "You'll be fine, Newt."
They had to wait for at least another 15 minutes for the Ministry officials to arrive.
Newt remained sitting on the floor. Even just breathing hurt him, and he was still losing blood. All his muscles hurt with the after effects of the Cruciatus Curse, and suddenly he felt cold as ice. Altogether, Newt knew his condition was deteriorating fast now, but he just had to hold on for a little while longer.
Dumbledore stood leaning against the desk in the room, hands buried deep in his trouser pockets and his gaze directed down at his own shoes. His eyes often darted in Newt's direction, but not once did he acknowledge that Grindelwald was in the room, too.
Grindelwald, on the other hand, was glaring at Dumbledore. The ropes Newt had conjured were still binding him tightly and made it impossible for him to move.
Several times it looked as if Grindelwald would speak to try and provoke Dumbledore, but he never actually did.
Voices from outside announced the arrival of the Ministry officials. Within seconds the room was filled with at least a dozen Aurors from the Ministry of Magic.
Dumbledore hurriedly spoke to one of the Aurors, while the rest safely incarcerated Grindelwald and inspected the rest of the house for other possible threats.
"We need you to come with us to the Ministry, Dumbledore," the Auror with whom Dumbledore had spoken suddenly said.
"No." Dumbledore shook his head. His tone was friendly, but final. "I have more urgent obligations at the moment, and I'm sure the Ministry can handle this alone."
The Auror looked ready to protest, but Dumbledore had already turned his attention to Newt.
"Come on, we need to have you looked at." Dumbledore rested a hand on Newt's forearm. "Merlin's beard, you feel like a popsicle." He shook off his coat and carefully draped it across Newt's shoulders for extra warmth.
"Thank you," Newt mumbled. He only now realised he was the 'more urgent obligation' Dumbledore had to attend to. "Where are we going?"
"The only place that is always safe," Dumbledore winked, before moving away to collect his things.
Newt slowly hoisted himself up onto his feet by the desk. He felt even worse than before, and his exertions did not improve the pain much either. As soon as he stood, he was in immediate danger of collapsing again. Vertigo hit him like a sledgehammer, and he swayed ominously on his feet.
Dumbledore caught up on the situation, hurrying over to Newt's side again. "That's not such a good idea." He slung an arm around Newt's waist for support. Newt stammered some objections, feeling slightly embarrassed.
"I won't have it, Newt." Dumbledore shook his head. "You are coming with me, whether you like it or not."