Neville was trying to relax in the prefect's bathroom when the door opened. He wasn't technically a prefect so he hunched deep into the tub. He just wanted two minutes to himself! After they had the snowball fight, all of the Gryffindor's were hogging the bathrooms so he figured he'd treat himself to a nice bath but nooo, someone had to come ruin it. He strained his ears and could hear someone shucking off their clothes.
"Marcus, McGonagall will kill us if she finds us here." Percy Weasley's voice echoed and Neville popped his head up. Marcus was only in his boxers while Percy was shimming off his shirt.
"Don't worry, babe! I thought this would be nostalgic. You do remember how often we used to bathe in here, don't you?" Marcus murmured and Neville watched Percy blush bright red. He decided he would just have to drown himself. Myrtle wasn't that terrible, she probably had some good jokes that they could share. He was saying his last farewells when Harry strolled in with Herm right behind him.
"Nev! I can't believe you didn't wait for us." Harry called out and Percy's head snapped around to stare at him.
"Er hello." He waved at the two older boys, ducking his head underwater to avoid any questions. When he finally came back up, everyone was still staring at him.
"I'm shocked, Neville Longbottom! Simply shocked." Harry announced before fanning his face.
"This is our fault, Harry. We should have watched him closer. Poor Neville, turning into a pervert." Herm continued and he spat out the soapy water he had just inhaled.
"I blame Cedric's influence." Harry said as he held his towel in front of himself.
"Oi! It's not my fault that I was trying to take a bath and these two decided to break in! They're the ones who were trying to shag in the tub." Neville cried out and Harry started laughing as Herm gave them disgusted looks.
"You better be joking! People swim in here." She waved her finger in their direction and Marcus shrugged.
"It's fine! The tub gets cleaned every time you use it." Herm still looked grossed out but Harry was already splashing in the water.
"Works for me! I've been freezing all day." He grumbled.
"Don't think I didn't see you and Draco high-fiving, you sneak!" Neville told his friend. He shouldn't be surprised. The two boys were closer than ever.
"I'm sure I don't know what you're referring to." Harry sniffed as Herm sank into the tub next to him.
"I'm having Dobby clean this thing after we're done." She said firmly as the two older boys joined them.
"You better not try anything funny. We're still minors!" Neville threatened them and Percy snorted.
"Calm down, a pipe burst in our flat so we don't have running water. I figured it would be easier to sneak into Hogwarts than to deal with mum." They gave the red headed boy a sympathetic look. Mrs. Weasley was still upset that her smart son had "thrown his future away." Percy hadn't taken the insult lightly and he had been avoiding her like the plague.
"She'll come around." Marcus said and he kissed the back of his husband's hand.
"Don't worry, Perce! I'll fight your mum for you. Us Weasley's have to stick together." Percy ruffled Harry's hair.
"Thanks, Harry."
~~~~~~
Ginny rushed into the room, panting as she tried to catch her breath.
"I'm not late, am I?" She asked the other club members and Fleur answered her.
"Non, you're right on time!" She slumped to the ground before digging some leftover Halloween candy out of her pocket. Herm was very particular about everyone being punctual and the last time she had been late, she had to write lines! It was torture.
"Thank you for coming!" Draco announced as he slammed his gavel on the floor. Snappy was sprawled across his lap and chewing on a suspicious looking black robe. Ginny was pretty sure it belonged to Chad but she wasn't going to say anything.
"Dumbledore is still lurking out there and it's driving me bonkers. Chad said the Dementors haven't found anything yet." Their President said angrily.
"I still can't believe the old man managed to break out of prison." Ron scowled at the ground. She was surprised he was able to get back to Britain so quickly. It was almost as if- "someone helped him." Ginny said and everyone looked at her.
"What was that, Gin?" Neville asked and she sprung up.
"Someone helped him! Think about it, Dumbledore didn't have money or a wand! How did he get to the Isles so quickly? Someone had to have helped him. I bet whoever it is, is hiding him right now." She said and Hermione started scrubbing frantically in her notebook.
"I'm writing down all of the old Order members who might have helped him. Good job, Ginny." She said distractedly and Ginny puffed up. It wasn't everyday Herm complimented others.
"You know who would know how he broke out?" Ron said slowly and they shook their heads.
"The only other prisoner there, Grindelwald." Draco banged the gavel down and said "we're going to Nurmengard."
~~~~~~
Gellert Grindelwald had seen many odd things in his life but the group of children walking up to his cell had to be in the top ten. The leader looked like he could be his grandson, his golden locks fluttering in the wind. The boy by his side had snakes wrapped around him like some type of armor.
"Hello, Mr. Dark Lord!" Snake boy waved at him and he waved back, amused with the nickname.
"Harry, you said you wouldn't talk to him." His probably grandson hissed to the boy.
"Look at him, Draco. He's a sad old man." He pouted and the other boy relented.
"Well don't get too close. He was feared for a reason." The rest of the children nodded their heads. How smart of them. Most people assumed he was harmless because of his age but these young kids understood the danger of having nothing left to lose. He was already in prison, after all.
"How did Dumbledore get out of prison?" His grandson barked out and he laughed.
"If I knew, boy, do you think I'd still be here?" Albus always had been as slippery as an eel. He knew it was only a matter of time before his former lover broke free.
"I read that you liked licorice. It'd be a shame if I accidentally dropped this bag." Snake boy said loudly before nudging it his way. He waited for him to take it back but it continued to roll until it was in his cell. He snatched the bag up and gleefully took a bite.
"I truly don't know how Albus broke out but I know he had some inside help. I'm guessing he either bribed or blackmailed one of the guards." He told them and a bushy haired girl was already crossing out suspects. They were so professional, how cute!
If only they had been alive when he was recruiting, he would have snatched them up in a heartbeat. Good minions were hard to come by. Snake boy sat in front of his cell and handed him more candy through the bars.
"Dumbledore is trying to murder me because he's jealous of my relationship." Gellert nodded his head seriously.
"That sounds like Albus. He couldn't stand not being in the spotlight."
"He wouldn't be in that position if he had stayed by your side. He was a coward." His grandson spat out and he winced.
"It was probably for the best that we went our separate ways."
"You shouldn't have gotten him started." The red haired boy sighed.
"It shouldn't have mattered if you were crazy and evil! Love conquers all. If Harry went off the deep end, I would swan dive right after him. He is the other half of my soul, my reason for existence." Harry's boyfriend continued to rant as the others ignored him.
"Does he do this often?" He muttered and the stocky boy answered back.
"You have no idea." He just continued to snack on his candy. This was the most fun he'd had in years!
~~~~~~
"-and that is how I proposed to my beloved the first time." Ron was pretty sure the Dark Lord was thinking about using his licorice to stab his eardrums out as Draco kept talking about Harry.
The club member's were used to his raving but the old man looked like he was one story away from faking a heart attack.
"That's very sweet, grandson." Apparently the Dark Lord had adopted Draco and wasn't that a surprise? He said the two looked very similar when he was younger.
"I hope I age better than you did." Draco had barked back and Mr. Grindelwald just laughed. Ron was thankful they were able to sneak out. He couldn't imagine how upset his parents would be if they found out he was visiting a retired Dark Lord. Maybe he should tell them, just to get them off Percy's back. You would have thought his brother worked under a bridge with the way his mum acted. Percy was slowly working his way through the ministry. Ron was rather proud of his brother.
"So Albus is trying to get revenge on you for outing his Dark Lord status?" Mr. Grindelwald summarized and Herm nodded her head.
"I also covered his office with tacks. I thought it'd be funny." She said defensively as he raised his eyebrows at her.
"Only you would find maiming someone funny, Herm." Ginny snickered as she shared her chocolate frog with him.
"I can't believe she hasn't murdered the twins." Harry giggled.
"My only suggestion is to be careful. Albus always had a backup plan for everything." He cautioned them and Neville laughed.
"Mister, you haven't met Hermione Granger. She has a backup plan for a backup plan!" Herm blushed.
"There's nothing wrong with being prepared!" She stuck her nose in the air.
"Well if you end up finding him, let me know. I let him borrow my comb, for old times sake, and the jerk never gave it back! My hair is going to get so tangled!" He made eye contact with Fleur and she covered her mouth.
"He sounds like Professor Malfoy!" Neville howled and they lost it. Fleur had steam coming out of her nose and his stomach was cramping from laughing so hard.
"Maybe you really are related, President!"
"Piss off!" Draco glared at them as he wrapped his arms around Harry's waist.
"Like I was saying, Harry and I met up at the train station for our first year-" Ron got comfortable because it seemed like they were going to be here all night.