The young wizard was already wondering whether their little outing had been discovered. Grindelwald had intercepted him outside Filch's room with suspicious precision.
"I'm not hungry, eat if you'd like."
Grindelwald sank into his office chair and slid the dragon egg dish toward Ian. He looked unbothered, far from furious about whatever mischief Ian and Aurora had been up to.
Then again, Grindelwald had pulled more heists in his day than most Dark wizards combined.
"There's nothing odd in it, is there?" Ian asked cautiously, though the smell was tempting. He eyed Grindelwald and then glanced toward Aurora.
The girl lowered her head slightly, making Ian even more hesitant to take a bite.
"The eggs are fine, it's the tea you need to worry about." Grindelwald plucked off a piece of egg and ate it with visible satisfaction, nodding toward the discarded teacup.
"You overdid the Veritaserum..."
Ian wrinkled his nose as he picked up the scent and gave Aurora a pointed look.
Grindelwald wasn't the least bit angry; instead, he gave Aurora a sly smile and said, "Go on, brew another cup of tea for your friend here, let him learn a thing or two."
Ian blinked, puzzled by what sort of 'lesson' this was meant to be. His confusion deepened when Aurora hesitated for a brief moment, then pulled out a hefty phial of Veritaserum. It was the very same batch she'd used on that dodgy Knockturn Alley trader, so potent Ian doubted the poor fellow would ever fully recover.
"Whoot whoot gu~"
Under Ian's wary gaze, Aurora poured a generous measure of Veritaserum straight into the teacup, casually tossing in a few dried tea leaves from Merlin-knows-where.
"All done."
Her voice was tinged with regret.
"?????"
Ian gawked.
What in Merlin's name was that brewing method?
Most would at least dilute the Veritaserum with water, not steep it like actual tea! And why did Aurora look so disappointed, like she'd hoped to hoodwink Grindelwald and missed her chance?
"Are you feeling alright?" Ian reached out, touching her forehead with concern.
"????"
Aurora rolled her eyes and batted his hand away.
"You ought to teach her properly," Grindelwald chimed in mildly, apparently unbothered by having nearly been dosed with truth serum. "She missed out on a lot growing up, poor thing. At this rate, she's not even performing at the level of our Muggle Studies professor."
"…"
Ian silently suspected this entire family line might be a bit mad.
"Let's just move on to the task at hand," He said, changing the subject.
"Those three crates over there, carry them down to the dungeon classroom for me," Grindelwald replied, gesturing toward a corner of the office. He seemed entirely uninterested in pressing Ian about Aurora's failed plot.
"Alright, sure!"
Ian whipped out his wand and cast a smooth Levitation Charm, guiding the crates effortlessly. At least Grindelwald didn't make him lug them by hand, unlike Snape, who always insisted on the traditional back-breaking method.
As he floated the crates toward the staircase, Ian noticed that both Grindelwald and Aurora were following him out.
"What's in them?" He asked, curiosity getting the better of him.
"I told you, class preparation. Each crate represents a different kind of danger you lot might face. If you'd like to give one a go now, be my guest."
Grindelwald's smirk was far too encouraging.
"Do you want to try one?" Ian asked Aurora.
The German girl shook her head with exaggerated vigour.
"Then I won't either."
Ian was no fool. He knew Grindelwald well enough by now to be suspicious of anything he presented with a smile.
"No matter. You'll get your turn soon enough, once term resumes," Grindelwald said with a wistful tone. "But do brace yourself, this time, you might not fare so well. Might even make a fool of yourself in front of your classmates."
It was an obvious provocation.
But also a direct challenge.
Ian found himself piqued.
"Three boxes, huh? Unless a Bowtruckle in a tutu pops out, I doubt anything could surprise me." He boldly selected the centre crate.
"You certainly know how to pick."
Grindelwald arched a brow. "I'll have you know what's inside is truly horrifying. Even Albus wouldn't fancy facing it in front of a classroom."
He said it gravely.
With a straight face and a meaningful tone.
"I don't suppose you've stuffed one of my mates in there?" Ian muttered, before unlocking the crate and lifting the sealed lid without hesitation.
In that instant, Aurora had already backed well away from him.
And Grindelwald took a few deliberate steps backward.
His sharp eyes stayed fixed on the box's dark interior, his demeanour more serious than Ian had expected. Ian tightened his grip on his wand, already preparing to cast Lumos if needed.
"A Boggart..."
Ian narrowed his eyes.
He caught a flicker of movement inside the gloom. A Boggart, it sees into your heart and becomes whatever it finds lurking in your fears. The counter-spell, Riddikulus, forces the creature to take a humorous shape, laughter being the key to its defeat.
Of course, with a crowd watching, a Boggart becomes muddled, unsure of whose fear to reflect. Laughter, real and full, sends it fleeing in a puff of smoke.
"Yes, it's a Boggart," Grindelwald confirmed, his eyes never leaving the crate Ian had opened.
Aurora, still standing a safe distance away, looked genuinely intrigued.
Both seemed keen to discover Ian's most dreaded fear... Ian swallowed hard, staring as the figure began to emerge from the shadows.
It was a man, tall, lean, with piercing blue eyes behind half-moon spectacles, and a long, silvery beard flowing from a crooked nose.
"You're afraid of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore?" Aurora sounded almost let down, perhaps she'd expected something a bit more dramatic or exotic.
"Hardly surprising. Anyone who's properly acquainted with him would be," Grindelwald interjected with a knowing gleam in his eye, throwing Ian a mischievous glance.
However,
Before he could finish his thought,
As Albus Dumbledore's full form emerged from the crate, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's voice faltered mid-sentence, and the smirk that had been playing on his lips froze solid.
Aurora's eyes flew wide with disbelief.
For there, on the back of Dumbledore's head, was a second face, clear as crystal and disturbingly lifelike. It was the very face of Grindelwald himself, unmasked and undistorted.
Worse still, the mouth of that second face gaped monstrously wide, unleashing a steady stream of raging Fiendfyre.
"My professor! My friend! Terrifying enough for you?" Ian cried out dramatically, staggering backward as though overwhelmed by fright, inching closer to the door all the while.
"You rotten little rascal!" Grindelwald's expression turned positively thunderous.
Now within reach of the exit, Ian wasted no time; he spun on his heel and bolted, vanishing from the room in a flash, leaving only Grindelwald and Aurora behind in the now eerily quiet classroom.
"Get back here!"
With a sharp flick of his wand, Grindelwald forced the Boggart to return to its original, formless state. It was yanked unceremoniously back into the crate, which sealed itself with a heavy click as the lock snapped shut.
"I've clearly underestimated that little scamp..."
Grindelwald strode toward the trio of boxes with purpose.
"He's afraid of you, and Headmaster Dumbledore?" Aurora asked, genuinely surprised. She still seemed inclined to believe in her friend, though part of her suspected this might all be a clever ruse on Ian's part. Grindelwald, however, gave no answer.
The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor simply opened the remaining two crates. Then, without a word, and under Aurora's astonished gaze, he raised his wand and destroyed both Boggarts with a final, decisive spell.
"Was that deliberate?" Aurora furrowed her brow, regaining her composure.
"Just a coincidence," Grindelwald replied quietly.
His gaze lingered on the door Ian had dashed through only moments before.
"A shame, really, we didn't get to see the real truth."
He sighed, soft and distant.
In Grindelwald's pale eyes shimmered a vision only he could see, Ian Prince standing atop the spine of a colossal, skeletal dragon, while walls of Fiendfyre roared and spiralled up around him, darkening the very sky overhead.
A single vision.
No further details.
Grindelwald couldn't make full sense of what he had seen.
But he knew.
He knew it was connected to the 'awakening' dream that had come to him the night before, one that held something deeply sinister, buried in its core.
For in that dream, the slightly older Ian Prince loomed high above the world, powerful and commanding... yet the wand in his hand was slipping, slowly, helplessly, from his grip, and unmistakable fear clouded his eyes.
(End of Chapter)
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