'...It was Death.'

The touch was cold like damp earth. For a short moment Gellert’s skin paled. It felt as if all life was being sucked out of him. His vision blurred oddly. Death’s Elderitch form seemed to flicker and melt into the shape of his spiritual guide, the Black Shuck or Grim as wizards knew him. The sign of misfortune and harbinger of death.

He could hardly believe what he had heard. Gellert did remember Ariana as a sweet and timid girl, often melancholic and sad, however always drawn to him and Albus, wanting to hear the stories the alluring stranger told. And Gellert had no problem with supplying what she wanted. He had never wanted her dead.

When Death let go of him, Gellert dropped on the ground like a puppet. Blood smeared accross his face and hands. He listened to the Elderitch raging at him. His heart seemed to freeze as he heard the words. Death could not lie. That was impossible.

You did it. You killed her. Oh, God. Albus would lose his mind if he learned of this. His best friend, his lover had killed his sister. Gellert caught himself wheeping. Why was he crying now? In front of death? Shouldn’t that be embarassing?

His biggest nightterror, his deepest fear had just become a shocking reality. It sunk itself deep into his heart and spread through his bones and flesh. His eyes glazed over in unnamed pain. What was the point in this debate anyway? What was he trying to prove? That he still was the master of his own destiny? And to whom? Himself? Death?

What did it matter anymore? Gellert had reached a dead end. Quite literally. “It was an accident”, he whispered, “None of us wanted her dead. Me in particular. I saw Albus. It broke him. Do you honestly think I would hurt the person I love the most like this? I am not that selfish.”

Gellert stared down at the mud before him. His eyes graced Death’s cloak. Animal. Nobody had ever called him like this. They had said monster, mad man, lunatic, bastard and many more terms. But never animal. It hurt almost just as much as the knowledge that he had ended Ariana’s life.

All I ever wanted was to be something more. Gellert exhaled slowly. He carefully pulled out the Elder Wand, which he had carried safely in his inner pocket. Turning the thinner tip towards his own face, he offered the handle to Death.

“Then finish me off”, he demanded, “Who cares if it happens sooner or later? It is not like anybody would mourn a person like me. You clearly showed that I have nothing to lose or gain anymore. Neither in this world nor in the other.”

“...No, I don’t think you intended to harm him--which is why I think you still have some redeemable qualities.” At seeing the Elder Wand, Death snatched it from Gellert’s fingers, gently examining the thing and swallowing hard as he did so.

The bursts of colors was surprising but also… welcomed. There was a part of her that wanted to understand what any of it meant (wit beyond measure is man’s greatest treasure; the same was true for knowledge) but at his words she allowed herself to simply watch the foreign rainbow that made up his thoughts. What it must be like to be an entity like him.

She blink as the colors suddenly vanished but the afterimage of them remained momentarily in her vision. His explanation made sense, she supposed. She wasn’t a higher power so she had no inclination as to the rules of how the cosmosphere worked. But that certainly didn’t stop her from wanting to know everything she could. They say curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back. That statement was much more ironic when she considered her unique situation.

His last statement caught her off guard for a moment. He was frightened of her? Even if he said “a little” the mere idea that she scared Death… well, she wasn’t entirely sure how it made her feel. Empowered? The ability to make a powerful being such as Death afraid despite one’s smaller part in the universe had to increase one’s confidence at least somewhat. But she knew she was also scared. The fact that she was such an anomaly, a glitch in the system, that is frightened him… what did that mean for her? What did it mean about her?

“I understand. But I don’t know how any of this happened. I— she never believed in anything like what you’ve mentioned so far, so it’s not likely religion plays a part in this. There isn’t magic that I— she’s ever done, at least not purposely, to cause this either. Actually, I don’t know of any spell or potion or anything that is capable of forcing reincarnation.”

“Yes--well,” Death chuckled, as if he could sense her thoughts, “I’ll tell you one thing about being something like me--it’s long. It’s unbearably long, many people fear you and believe you come for their souls, when what you really do is make sure they don’t get lost. And even if you explain, many resist you and hate you for no discernible reason, while their creator happens to be your best friend.”

It could have easily been mistaken for venting--a fact that Death was very much aware of--if the eldritch didn’t follow it with: “...But it’s also incredibly rewarding; you get to reunite families, and if you meet anyone, it’s like meeting old friends.” He chuckled softly, “The number of times I’ve met a man, and he’s introduced me to his friends over a cup of coffee in heaven is astounding, if I’m honest.”

At her words, Death nodded softly, listening intently as he processed what she was saying. That’s when a thought hit him, and his eyes slowly opened. Turning to Rachel, he began to explain,

there was many things worse than living, but he never cared about others. it was all a distraction. maybe at one time he may have tried to branch out to care about someone other than himself, but it always ended the same way. bloody. a reason to why after a while he stopped. it just wasn’t worth it and being alone was better. especially when it came to him. “so, trading one master for another.” typical. “i think i’ll pass.”

Bella entered the room just in time, as she stepped back && observed the scene before her. Was that actually Potter? Though, he seemed… much more threatening for the young boy she had met a year ago.  ❝What’s going on here?❞  

As of cue, Tom quickly went over to her side and pretended to lovingly hug her as well as whispering to her ear. ❝Bella, we are going to get the Elder Wand back, && give it to this lovely man… DEATH.❞

For somebody who had gone through hell and back, it was surprising nothing could shake him again. Not even Death’s true form itself. It was difficult to actually scare a Seer, especially someone like Gellert Grindelwald, who had foreseen death and destruction since he was very young. You did not turn into one of the greatest threats of the Wizarding World without foretelling that to a certain degree.

“Mistake?” Gellert laughed. “Albus never made a mistake. I am his mistake! The only mistake he ever made was framing me for Ariana’s murder when nobody knows who actually struck the death blow. Hell, it might have even been the poor child herself.” The mockery and anger faded away for a few seconds and a flimmer of compassion, care and pity flickered over his face.

“And why should I fix my mistakes?” Gellert gestured. “I am sorry to tell you, Death, but our culture would not believe me. They already painted me as the villain. Even if I were to stop my cause from one day to the next, they would not believe me.”

“Besides I am fixing my mistakes. In my own way. Maybe not as perfect as a good Christian should. But then Catholic and Protestan Redemption has never really sit well with me.” Not since his mother had died.

“That is not what he told others,” Death stopped him in his tracks as he spoke, “He did not say that you killed Arianna. He said that he did not know who killed her--only that when your wands were pulled apart, she lay dead.” And with that, Death wrapped a skeletal hand around Gellert’s throat,

“Oh, and thank you for reminding me that you animals slaughtered my wife.” His voice had turned to a snarl, “Surprised? That I would refer to Arianna as my wife? Well, allow me to tell you a story. A story of a being whose form was so horrid, it drove others mad. Not her, though--Arianna showed me nothing but admiration and kindness. And while you two bickered over your own matters, Ari suffered with an obscurus inside her. She had to look to me for comfort--and do you know what happened, Gellert?”

“No shite I didn’t do this, I just told you. If you know so much about my life then you should know I never would have wanted this.” At his request, she did in fact give him a look,going so far as to take a half step backwards. “Sorry if I’m a little wary of you in particular getting anywhere near me.”

She couldn’t exactly deny him, though, could she? Though she may have immediately gone on the offensive with her words, there was still a part of her (a very large part of her) that feared him. He was Death. It was humanity’s natural instinct to avoid him, fear him, find any possible way to prevent him from taking them. Though she had considered once or twice before to deny this instinct, she had never gone through with it. Her brothers needed was the usual reminder why she needed to live. Sometimes it was that she still hadn’t figured out what this was, this being her existence, reincarnation and all. Now it was the war. Now she had to fight to protect all she cared for because there was no way in hell she would leave the world in a worse state than when she entered it.

With every nerve and muscle taunt enough they nearly snapped, Rachel approached Death.

Death held a hand to her forehead, and for a brief time, his thoughts were laid bare to Rachel--as bare as they could have been, at any rate. Where there should have been words, images, something sensible, instead...all Rachel saw were colors. Vivid things, shades there were no names for, like prismatic visions of another dimension entirely.

“Don’t bother,” Death remarked, “You are not an eldritch--you won’t be able to see much more than alien colors. It’ll look pretty, but not understandable.” Mere moments later, he pulled his hand away from her head, and put it into his pocket. “Look--reincarnation is a normal process in the cycles of birth and death; most of the time, those who are reincarnated are of the Indian-born religions-- Buddhists, Hindus, those and others like them. The thing is, upon being reincarnated, most of them do not keep their memory. There have been a select few exceptions to this, but us in the cosmosphere always know when it will happen. Can you see now why you frighten me a little?”

❝A-alright, alright.❞ He groaned in irritation. He honestly didn’t think that Death was stupid; he was being honest for once && it just backfired.  ❝I ordered Bella to hide it away from me. It was no longer bending to my will, && I didn’t want anyone else to try && use it. I will ask her where she had hidden it && all will be well. You’ll have your err… daughter back in a snap.❞

I owe replies to the following peeps:

@kxngandquccn @fairglenned @freedomisbeforethee

“Do you think I am stupid?!”, Gellert yelled back, “Do you honestly think I do not know what I did?! Of course not! You may be Death itself but you are not in my head, so how can you know the mess that is going on there?” He looked back at Death with tears glimmering in his face.

“I remember them all.” His voice was hoarse, the wire of circumstances pushing down upon his throat. “I remember each and every one of them. They find me in my dreams. They taunt me, they tell me how what I do does not bring any prosperty to anybody. I know that what I do is not right. And I know that even if I were to argue with you, Death, you would not find it worthy to respond.”

He looked back at the otehr one. “Hell’s empty”, he breathed, “All the devils are already here. The crowning glory in this hatefullness is men. Forgive me, Death, but I think and act like men. So how am I supposed to know better? And please, you should be wiser instead of calling a person, who frames his closest friend for murder, graceful.”

“Because I am DEATH,” He hissed, his true, terrifying eldritch form flashing before Gellert, “Because I see them all die, and I see who made them die. I am the guilt at night that nips at your ear and reminds you of what you’ve done. I am the shadow that follows you at every turn--that feeling when you feel like someone is behind you, but no one is there. I am your worst nightmare.” 

Finally, Death slowed his words, shutting his eyes to think for a moment, before saying, "...Yet, none of them taunt you more than you taunt yourself. And if only--devils are not the monsters you believe. They are the punishers--the ones who deliver unto the damned of hell their due punishment.”

“Liar!” The call was that of a desperate man. While Gellert was not afraid of dieing, the prospect of the aftermath haunted him. The idea of not even having rest after the world had turned its back on him and he no longer walked its ground. He had known from the moment he and Albus had fallen for one another that he was a damned man.

“Nothing that occurs in nature can be unnatural. If magic breaks the laws of the universe, then why do we have it? Because it is a part of nature. And even if the killing curse does what you describe, where does the soul go afterwards? It does not change the cause set for it. People that die by it still are judged from what you say to me.”

He was panting. “The only people it does an ‘ungodly’ offence to are the murderers. They pay the consequences in their heads and hearts. Is that not enough for you? That murder leads us down the path of damnation? Must you judge us even then?!”

“Says fucking who?” Death hissed, “Who the hell are you to tell me, Me, how the cosmos and the universe works?” He nearly roars, “How dare you presume to know how the cosmos functions you tiny little man. How dare you presume to take up gifts that were not meant for you.”

“Sure, you can ask,” Frank said, smiling sarcastically, “And you just did so… goodbye!”

Charlotte stood up from her circle and placed her wand behind her ear, she turned to the man with a much kinder smile than her brother’s “Well I thought we where doing a ritual,” she replied, “But I think we were actually just foolling around! I’d explain further but…” he might be a muggle, was what truthfully followed that sentence, but instead she finished it with, “You would probably laugh,” which was probably just as truthful an answer

there had once been a time when he would have said ‘yes’ right away. it would have been so easy to simply say it now, but he wasn’t going to force himself through some hope for it to just be shattered. no, aaron would have to eventually make his peace with this…. even if he hated it with every fiber of his being, “what if the consequences are worse than what i am now? what if…what if…it changes nothing? ”

❝ Listen…  DEATH. The wand. I no longer have it. ❞ Oh how it hurts him to say it, but it was the truth. The wand no longer responds to him, so he had taken on a new one && simply hid the elder wand. ( In which he had commanded Bellatrix to hide it somewhere he doesn’t know.)  ❝B-but I can find it—I mean, HER for you.❞

To say that she was startled would be an understatement. Proof was what she needed, and she got it. All sense of doubt immediately left her mind.

“No, not really… That’s rather interesting.”

Rodolfo signaled to one of his servants to bring wine to his company and to fill his glass as well. With that done, he turned back to the man, in time to get the last line.

“Die?” He asked, sipping from his drink and almost chocking on it when he registered exactly what he said. “Die? Now? Why does Afonso leave me in the worst of times.” He whined. “How do you know that? Can’t they die at a better time? Tomorrow? Or even better, next week?”

Considering she already was reaching for a handful of Death’s fries, she takes that statement at face value and stuffs her handful of stolen fries into her mouth. Death’s fries mind you, not some out of one of the other containers, the ones directly from Death’s pile of food.  Her “Thanks” is a bit muffled by a handful of fries.