#dark!credence

Well those most certainly weren’t the words she was expecting, a fierce blush overwhelming her cheeks as her gaze locked to the ground, hand grabbing her arm shyly. “M-My alpha?” She repeated, thinking, processing the words that he was saying as she tried to think on how to respond. “Then.. Then I would be...” She swallowed, looking up to him shy, thinking. 

nun liebe Kinder gebt fein Acht.

tl; dr: Young auror Percival Graves risks his career to save a little No-Maj boy instead of a  prominent wizard, but after his superiors are all murdered and the little boy disappears, he’s back on track. Ten years later he’s Director for Magical Security and series of strange murders are occurring all over New York, suspiciously similar to the ones that took place all those years ago. 

Percival Graves qualifies an auror with record scores for duelling and combat (both close and range), and within a year he has a reputation to be your go-to man in a crisis situation.

By the time he’s 25, he’s handled a lot of crisis situations. He’s already heading up his own crack team and they’re being called for almost every other week. There’s a new rising faction of Pureblood supremacists whose mo is to attack multiple targets simultaneously, stretching his already overworked team to breaking point. But it’s work worth doing, work that needs doing and besides, he’s being groomed to take over from the current head of the East Coast when Fizwiz gets promoted up at the end of the year.

One night they receive a tip off that No-Majs are going to be attacked; Graves’ team is en route when he’s informed that they’ve heard of that another possible target is the Director of No-Maj Misinformation and they’re to switch immediately. Another team will deal with the No-Majs. He follows orders and it’s close, so close but a huge success. The Director and his family are safe, and they’ve captured a number a dark wizards,

He’s running high on praise and the triumph of a job well done. He’s leaving with the the rest of his team for a congratulatory drink when they see the Obliviators with the surviving No-Maj victims from the other attack. The replacement team didn’t get there in time.

They’re a pitiful sight, bruised and bloodied, most of them still in their bedclothes, some of them barefoot. It’s the crying and terrified children, some of them newly orphaned that gets to him.

We could have saved them, Graves thinks. We would have made it in time.

The following week the call comes in that there's been an attack on the New Salem Philanthropic Society headquarters paired with a simultaneous attack on another magical target. And who cares about the Second Salemers? They’re a pain in the entire Law Enforcement’s ass. Thing is Graves knows that Barebone woman has kids. He’s seen them. The two she’s adopted, a sad eyed little boy and a fair haired girl, plus all the street kids she collects with the promise of a warm meal and a dry place to sleep. He’s not going to have the lives of those children on his conscience so he says fuck it, refuses to follow orders and directs his team to the Second Salem Church.

It’s too late by the time they get there. It’s all over, the church is a smouldering pile of rubble, Mary Lou Barbone’s corpse a grisly centerpiece, eyes open and staring, skin pale and marked with some sort of magic spell Percival hasn’t seen before. The children were caught when the building collapsed, they pull the girl out and her small and broken body breaks his heart. And they need to clear out now and leave this for the No-Maj police, but they haven’t found the little boy yet and he’s searching through the wreckage miserably when he hears whimpering and Mercy Lewis, Graves has found him. The boy’s barely conscious and he passes out soon afterwards. At the hospital he’s obviously suffering from some sort of hex, they don't know if he will survive the night, but the healers tell  Graves he did the right thing and because of him at least little Credence Barebone will have a chance.

Meanwhile the attack he refused to go to did not go well and Percy's superior's are furious. How dare he pick some worthless No-Majs, scourers and witch burners no less,  over the life of the prominent wizard who was killed. Graves can kiss that promotion good bye and If he can't follow orders he might need some time to think about whether he's fit to be an auror ... and before he can stutter out some sort of apology he's demoted to the wand permit office.

A week ago he was the golden boy, now he's an outcast... Graves’ whole life has collapsed. His former team give him the cold shoulder. They won’t even look him in the eye and no knowing what else to do he goes to the seediest bar he can find gets drunk. Hours later finds himself in hospital at Credence's bedside where he pours his heart out to the unconscious child.

He says "I don't regret saving you, do you understand? It’s these assholes, these dumb fucks that think they can put a price on the life of a child? Who are they to say you're worthless? I'd do it again tomorrow but Merlin, it's so unfair. I was only trying to do the right thing and they've ruined me. It's not up to us to determine who should live or die - but the Director, the Head of Law Enforcement, fucking Fizwiz - they forget that our first duty is to protect the helpless and the innocent! They've no right to be aurors. They've no right to live. I wish they’d all drop dead!"

He’s starting to sober up now and feels a bit ashamed of his outburst, but he feels better for getting it out. He kisses the boy on the forehead which isn’t strictly professional but what more can they do to him? "You're the best thing I've ever done, kid. You gotta pull through." and then he goes home to sleep it off.

Next morning he's woken up by some of his panicking colleagues. Everything's chaos. The Director of Magical Security, The head of Law enforcement and head of the New York Division have all been killed. They were found in their homes and offices with the life drained out of them, strange marks - similar to the ones found on Mary Lou Barebone, covering their bodies.

Graves jumps back in and does the best he can - when he gets half a second to think he goes to check on the boy, only to be told that he disappeared last night and Graves almost take’s the poor healer’s head off. What does he mean? He’s disappeared?

No one ever learns who killed the higher ups, or who took the Barebone boy, but at the end of the day Graves finds himself head of NY Law Enforcement and at an even better political position than ever.

The years pass, and Graves is the second most powerful wizard in the country. As Director of Magical Security and Head of Law Enforcement, he’s the President’s right hand man. He’s never forgotten the Barebone boy. Once a year he goes to the site the Second Salem Church once stood as an act of remembrance. “You are not forgotten,” he tells the boy silently. “One day I’ll find out who took you.”

Strange murders start popping up all over the country. They’re suspiciously similar to the the ones ten years ago, there are rumours about someone they call the "Monster", the "Obscurus" - if you tangle with him, you'll end up dead for sure, he shows no mercy.

They say the Obscurus kills anyone who sees his true face

Almost ten years to the day, he rescued Credence Barbone Graves rescues Gnarlak the goblin from what he's sure is an attack from the Obscurus.

Graves goes to his cell to talk to him, to try to get him to turn witness, but the goblin's scared out of his mind. He tells Graves that he's a goner for sure, and Graves ought to let it drop when he is killed otherwise he'll share the same fate. Graves tells him not to be ridiculous, he’s in a MACUSA cell, nothing’s going to get to him here without Graves’ say so.

When he returns to the cells a few hours later, there is an eerie silence. All the guards are dead and Gnarlak’s gone. Graves follows, hot on the trail, until he ends up at the CIty Hall Subway Station. Gnarlak’s kneeling on the platform, cowering from a tall, this figure. Gnarlak yells at him to run, but Graves doesn’t run.

He stays but can do nothing but watch as the figure transforms into a black, oily, undulating cloud. It consumes the goblin, lifts him high into the air and when it spits him back out again, he’s dead, just like all the others.

The Obscurus reforms into the shape of a man, slips into the shadows, and Graves has a feeling this might be the big one, but he is who he is and he will not run and hide.

Graves calls out to the man to show himself. “I’m arresting you for the murder of Gnarlak the goblin! If you surrender now I’ll see to it you’re treated fairly. I am the Director of Magical Security- “ as if it means anything to this thing and then a surprised voice says “Mr Graves?”

“That’s right,” Graves says. “Show yourself!”

“I hoped I’d see you again,” the man says. “Obviously, not like this, but I always hoped. I’ve never forgotten you, you know? Have you forgotten me?”

Graves steps forward cautiously, squinting as he tries to recognise the man, but he’s shrouded in darkness, too deep into the shadows . The voice is unknown to him, but there’s something - something - familiar.

“Come into the light!” he shouts. “Let me see you and maybe then I’ll recognise you.”

“No you haven’t forgotten,” the man says. “I’ve watched you, all these years. I know you go back to the church every year when it happened. I know you think of me.”

Graves’ heart skips a beat. “Credence?” he says faintly, not wanting to believe it. For ten years he hoped, he prayed that the boy lived, that he’d survived - but not to become this. “Credence Barebone?”

The man giggles. “There was a time I went by that name,” he says. “But it’s not my true name, just the one that bitch gave me. She gave me that name and took everything else away from me. Your people never found my letter did you? She burned it, threw it on the fire before my eyes - and she’d have thrown me on it too if I hadn’t- “

“Credence,” Graves steps closer, still straining to see. He can just about make out a pale man - still a boy really - with a dark black hair that curls at his neck and falls into his eyes.“It’s okay. You aren’t to blame for what she did to you. It isn’t your fault. Listen, my boy, we can help you. We can get you help -”

“There you go, Mr Graves,” the boy says, and Graves can hear the fond smile in his voice. “Still trying to help me all these years later. You’re special, you see.”

“Special?”

“You saved my life,” Credence says. “I heard them talking - if you hadn’t found me when you did, if you hadn’t brought me to hospital I would have died. But you saved me, and you’re still trying to save me. Even after you’ve seen what I can do. What I’ve done.”

“I am,” Graves says. “And I will, but Credence you have to come with me. You have to let me help you. The first time was an accident, but this? This is murder! Killing isn’t the way. It’s never the way - “

Credence laughs out loud then, so much he bends over double with it, and Graves, struck dumb, just watches him until it passes.

“Mr Graves,” Credence says, and there’s that terrible affection in his voice. “I’m so pleased you’re the Director now. You’re an important man I hear, only answering to the President.”

Graves’ blood turns to ice as Credence continues talking.

“Though, weren’t you demoted because you saved me. I heard you, when you came back to see me. I heard what those men did to you, how they were going to ruin you because they thought I was worth nothing, less than nothing.”

“No,” Graves whispers. “Please, no.”

“You wished they were dead,” Credence says. “I heard you.”

He steps into the light now and he’s beautiful, like a fallen angel. Beautiful and deadly and sharp like a whetted knife.

“I wanted to pay you back,” the boy says. He walks forward until he stands besides Graves, who’s so horrified, so numb by what he’s hearing that he can’t move. “I was supposed to die that night. You’re the one who resurrected me.”

“Credence,” Graves says finding his voice. “All this, what you’re doing. It doesn’t have to be this way. Let me help you. You can stop.”

Witches Live Among Us

He was just another man in a bar, no one could see anything really off about him. Not anymore, years earlier, he was seen as a freak. A good little boy of God that believed everything was sin. If his Ma could see the little devil he had become.. 

Credence Barebone, a common but also tragic name. No one can see him, the true him until he had them at his mercy, usually covered in their blood. A serial killer nicknamed Obscurus on the other hand.. people would shudder at that. If anything his attacks could at times be random or the victims themselves had a history of abusing others. Who could put the quiet and kind Credence and the monster Obscurus together and fit in any pieces? None.