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In the Dark, A Zabini/ Grindelwald fanfic	By : blaisegellert Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male Views: 1326 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: mature, m/m, Harry Potter fandom, no money is made off this project.

Chapter List
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"I'm sorry," Blaise said, lightly touching Gellert's shoulder in a gesture of obvious sympathy. Gellert blinked, wondering for an instant what he had said to illusive such a response. Oh yes, it must have been his mention of the Mara's abilities...Likely it was the bit about his mind nearly being torn apart more than once in Nurmengard. Now that he was free, thinking of what had happened to him in such blunt yet true terms was a bit jarring and he felt his body wanting to draw in on itself. He shook his head to clear it then forced a smile.
"I survived and if all this is real, my mind appears to be intact."
He was proud of that and felt his shoulders straightening as he spoke the words. His mind was intact. He'd made it out!

"Thank you," he added, the words feeling odd but somehow necessary as he met Blaise's eyes. No one had been sympathetic or even considered what he was going through in a way that indicated they even truly understood the concept, but Blaise's simple gesture spoke volumes. Of course he wasn't looking for sympathy and from others, it could've even been offensive, but from Blaise, it only felt supportive. Having a friend felt nice, and he supposed this was what they were becoming. Friends.

"So you're thinking the Mara could be used to attack Dementors with...sort of nightmares of happiness," Blaise asked and Gellert nodded enthusiastically.
"Yes! Exactly."
And it was no longer a surprise that the other young man completely understood his line of thinking.

"So how do we control Mara," Blaise asked.

"It can be tricky," Gellert replied. "I captured the one who tormented me in Nurmengard, with the intention that she deter the minds of anyone who would attempt to release any of the prisoners I held. In essence, she served as a prison guard until she was made to turn on me."

He could boil with indignant rage at that, but as it would serve no productive cause to do so just now, he continued with his explanation. "There was only the one and she was very difficult to catch. This is because they usually travel in herds and as such they can protect one another if one of them is pursued. Before being fortunate enough to find the one I had, I attempted ensnaring one from a herd, but each would always slip through my traps, then pass word of me along to the others. For this reason I failed in each of my attempts to make a capture until I was fortunate enough to locate one who traveled alone for whatever reason. Through several layers of conjuration and compulsion I managed to trap her and bind her with magical chains which I then bound to Nurmengard castle."

"Do you think if you and I combined our efforts, that we would have more luck capturing them," Blaise asked. "If separating one from the herd sets off too much of a warning, I say we just take an entire herd. I bet with our magic combined, and each of us working different layers of the spells you used, it would work! This method would allow things to proceed much faster and they'd not have time to escape. What do you think?"

Blaise's excited enthusiasm gave way to mild uncertainty as he posed his question.

"I think it could work," Gellert said slowly. "I had no one who could match my skill during my earlier attempts, but yes. If we work as you described I think we could capture at least some of the herd if not all before they could react to escape us!"

As it turned out, Blaise's enthusiasm was contagious, and Gellert found himself thrilling with eager excitement at the process.
"I can show you the required spells before we make the attempt. We have only to decide what to bind our Mara to once they are captured."

"Well as we have no prison, why not bind them directly to us," Blaise asked. "Then they will serve as our own personal form of protection or whatever else we will need from them. You spoke of magical chains. What if we use real ones. We could wear heavy chain bracelets and link the Mara to those. Then when we wish to control them, we can..." and he lifted slender hands in a gesture of pulling on the reins of a horse.

Gellert let out a pleased chuckle. He very much appreciated the finesse in that. "Sounds good! I'm eager to make the attempt."

As they spoke, other conversations went on around them but neither paid attention or even took notice. At least, not until Voldemort's name was mentioned.

"I would like your thoughts on Voldemort as soon as possible, Mr. Grindelwald, as I am hoping you will have some tricks to add to my own when it comes to bringing him down," Wolfgang said. "Because we had to come to Hogwarts quicker than planned today due to the Dementor incident, I forgot the folder of information I compiled on him for you to go over. I will bring it to you tomorrow, though."

Gellert nodded. "I am eager to see what this particular wizard is made of. I look forward to discovering what makes him so special."

"We will meet again tomorrow at breakfast, then," Wolfgang said. "Until then good evening to you all."
He and Millicent took their leave then and Kereston soon followed. Mag left to look into acquiring the silver pendants that Blaise and Gellert required for the various wearable charms they would be making for everyone. "Severus is kindly permitting your father and I to sleep in the staff wing for the time being," Sabra told Blaise. "I am sending Bramble to buy Gellert a few basic necessities such as a tooth brush and comb. He will leave those with your things in the Slytherin dorm. I had him put your trunks in the seventh year dorm because that's where you'll be in a few weeks anyway. I assume you will be kind enough to let Gellert wear some of your clothes until he can get himself some new ones. Bramble packed a few trunks full so neither of you will run out for several days."

"Of course. That's fine," Blaise said.

"Thank you, Mrs. Zabini. That is very kind," Gellert said, inclining his head to Blaise's mother.

With Snape off to help Blaise's parents get themselves settled, the two found themselves completely alone in the Great Hall. Blaise let out a sigh of relief. "Well at least now we won't keep getting interrupted," he said, his entire focus on the blonde wizard at his side. "So what are the most spectacular enchanted items you've ever made," he asked eagerly. "I'd love to hear more about what you can do."

For his part, Gellert was just as relieved as Blaise when the room cleared out. Though Blaise's presence provided a pleasant distraction, the number of people in the room had been constantly overwhelming. At times more and at times less, but always a constant overload upon his senses. The silence should have been deafening by contrast, but it made him relax instead.

He opened his mouth to answer Blaise's question about the most spectacular enchanted item he'd ever made but other words came out instead.

"How can you deal with so many disruptions? I used to have nerves of steel, but alas, I fear my flexible days might be over. I didn't think I was that changed of a man, but perhaps my years of captivity did something to me," he admitted, the words almost a relief. Holding the thoughts and concerns in his mind was proving too difficult to bear. "It's ridiculous, but I kept thinking, 'shut up,' 'get out already,' crazy I suppose, right?" Gellert confided with a self deprecating chuckle.

"Nonsense," Blaise assured Gellert, reaching to lightly touch the other man's arm in a, rare for him, gesture of encouragement.
"You were locked away for over 50 years, with no conversation or true interaction. Of course you were overwhelmed! For me this was a small gathering, but I'm accustomed to this entire Great Hall being full," he said, sweeping his arm to indicate the entire room with its 5 large tables including the staff table at which they currently sat. "Then again no one is ever here in the summer. Still I don't believe for a minute that you've changed that much or lost your edge. You're too brilliant for that. It's just a matter of adjustment, and you'll do fine. Just give yourself time."
Blaise paused to give Gellert his usual slow lazy grin. "Though I must admit to wanting them to shut up by the end of it all too," he confided.

Gellert smiled back. Confiding in Blaise helped even more than he'd hoped. Now that he'd voiced his frustration, the former Dark Lord was able to refocus his mind on such matters that brought him pleasure. Having someone with whom to speak on the topics he held most dear, his research and magical achievements, was a rare thing indeed and a worthy distraction.

"Back to your question, then. The item I made that I found to be the most spectacular wasn't as fancy as the Elder Wand. But it fascinated me to no end. It was a mirror that allowed me to look into the true nature of various beings.
From Dark Creatures to Elemental beings, such as the kobolds. My mirror would see over their illusions, over their glamor, over their physical manifestation, and the results were most striking.
My poor mirror got confiscated at the end, and one of the Aurors who was responsible for transporting it actually broke it. Not even intentionally, because he was angry at me and mine, that I could have understood. No, he broke it due to...plain incompetence..." Gellert sighed with deep regret, trying to decide if it was time yet to reveal to the young wizard exactly how he constructed his mirror.
"If you don't mind me asking, exactly how squeamish are you? I always believed that the results were most crucial, no matter how they would be obtained. At times, according to some opinions, I have gone...overboard in my desire to experiment with the unusual. It's only that some spells require quite a unique ingredient, you see. But not everybody agrees with my methods," Grindelwald concluded tentatively, determined to give the young man a chance to respond to his hints of animal cruelty before he revealed too much and ruined their budding friendship.

Blaise was about to tell Grindelwald of the spider amulet he'd enchanted for himself for protection, but the man's final words had him putting it off a bit longer no matter how much he wanted to impress.
"If you mean the reason you were expelled from Durmstrang I could care less. A particular cow of a trash journalist put it all in a book about Dumbledore in an attempt to blacken his name. Everyone wants to hate someone so people tend to love or hate the man. Either way, whatever you did is too brilliant for the means to matter.

Such a mirror...I never even considered something like that...At least not in that way," he said thoughtfully. "Then again I never had a particular need to see more into magical beings, so how you used it would be fascinating to know as well if you're willing to share. Especially if we could modify it for the Dementors. If we could then use it against them, that would be brilliant!"
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- 13
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In the Dark, A Zabini/ Grindelwald fanfic