"What should we do with him?"
Poland, Ministry of Magic.
Grindelwald's capture had brought joy to some and worry to others.
Every member of the International Confederation of Wizards wanted to obtain the right to oversee his imprisonment.
This infamous Dark Wizard had once sparked a revolution that plunged all of Europe into fear.
Now, with the election of the International Confederation of Wizards at a critical stage, the political value Grindelwald represented was enormous.
Grim, the head of the Polish Department of Magical Law Enforcement, paced back and forth, his face filled with anxiety and fear.
"No one can imprison Grindelwald. He's a ghost. Anywhere can become his cradle."
Grim was over seventy years old. His youth had coincided with the height of Grindelwald's power.
The old man knew exactly how terrifying that man was.
What had MACUSA done back then?
Their imprisonment of Grindelwald had increased America's prestige within the international magical community.
And then he escaped.
Grim was terrified that history would repeat itself. He desperately tried to persuade the Polish Minister for Magic.
"We need to think this through carefully, Minister."
"This isn't a blessing. It's a nightmare."
"Grim, are you afraid?" the Polish Minister for Magic asked with a light laugh.
"There is no prison that can hold Grindelwald," Grim said gravely. "We simply don't have that capability."
"It sounds as though you admire him," the Polish Minister for Magic said as he rose from his seat. Walking over to Grim, he reached out and straightened his tie while asking in a low voice, "You're afraid. Right now, you sound exactly like one of his followers."
"I once admired him," Grim admitted. "But Dumbledore made me understand that it was wrong. Grindelwald's revolution was filled with selfishness and danger."
The Polish Minister for Magic paused for a moment, then released the tie with a smile.
"I understand your fear of him," he said, stopping before a painting of a moving windmill in his office. He watched the blades turning gently in the breeze. "But we cannot abandon our responsibilities simply because we are afraid."
"He's not a tool for your promotion!" Grim snapped, tearing off his tie and throwing it aside. "That man will overturn everything we have. I know you want to use him to boost your election support."
"Listen to me, Ing."
Ing was the Polish Minister for Magic's name.
Calling him by name, Grim roared angrily,
"You'll drag Poland into the abyss!"
But the Polish Minister for Magic looked deeply into his eyes and said,
"We're already in the abyss."
"Corruption. Poverty among the people."
He met Grim's furious gaze.
"Tax evasion. A Ministry that can barely afford to pay salaries."
"Tell me, Grim. Has your integrity earned you prosperity in the Ministry?"
"No. The only reason you can stand there with such confidence is because of the inheritance your bloodline gave you."
"Every official who enters the Ministry isn't thinking about how to save society. They're thinking about how to carve another piece of rotten flesh from a decaying society and greedily stuff themselves with it."
With every step the Polish Minister for Magic took forward, Grim took one step back.
Grim's expression changed from anger to shock, and finally to silence.
"Tell me," the Minister asked, "are we not already in the abyss?"
There was nowhere left to retreat.
Looking at the colleague who had become a stranger, Grim asked in a trembling voice,
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to change things," the Polish Minister for Magic said, enunciating every word. "Starting with killing Grindelwald."
"Kill Grindelwald?" Grim cried in horror. "No. You can't."
"Why not?"
The Polish Minister for Magic angrily pointed towards the door.
"Look at what he's done."
"Just because he's Grindelwald, does that mean he should be exempt from execution?"
"The International Confederation of Wizards will never agree."
The Ministers for Magic from every nation all wanted a share of the credit from this massive operation.
All that political capital. All that credit.
"But my people will agree!"
The Polish Minister for Magic looked deeply at Grim.
"I don't want to wait until the same mistake happens again before trying to make amends."
"But Dumbledore..." Grim said with difficulty.
Grindelwald had once been as close to Dumbledore as a brother, right? Even after his defeat, he remained the person Dumbledore cared about most.
"I'll do it myself."
The Polish Minister for Magic paused before continuing.
"I'll kill him in front of everyone."
Grim looked at his back with a complicated expression.
At that moment, the Polish Minister for Magic had become, in Grim's eyes, a lone warrior fighting for magical society.
Originally, Grim had looked down on the Minister. Although he had captured Grindelwald, he had also brought even greater trouble upon the Ministry.
But those words changed something.
After leaving the Ministry, Grim went to the local wizarding district.
It was nowhere near as prosperous as Diagon Alley in Britain, nor did it possess the spacious romance of France's hidden magical settlements.
What remained here were the ruins left by the war that had shocked the Muggle world half a century earlier.
Countless buildings had collapsed. That war had not only devastated the Muggles but had also dragged the wizarding world into disaster.
It was from that moment onward that Grim's admiration for wizard rule over Muggles had shattered.
Against the power possessed by Muggles today, the wizarding world could only struggle to survive.
And compared to the crumbling buildings that seemed frozen in the previous century, the magnificent and luxurious Gringotts looked absurdly out of place.
"He's right."
Standing in the middle of the road, Grim looked around him and muttered,
"We need to change."
...
This was yet another meeting of the International Confederation of Wizards.
On Christmas Day, Barty Crouch Sr. glanced at his pocket watch.
"The gift should have been delivered by owl already."
"Thank you, Pius."
Pius Thicknesse.
He was a fortunate man.
After being controlled, he had been kept alive because his captors still needed to use his identity.
When the Aurors found him, Pius had been fast asleep in a cellar, hugging a bottle of aged wine.
The fact that he was attending this meeting alongside Barty Crouch Sr. showed that Barty intended to cultivate him.
After hesitating for some time, Pius asked,
"Minister, you could easily have arranged for your son to work at the Ministry. Why let him waste his time?"
Hearing the question, Barty Crouch Sr. sighed.
"He's doing well at Silverhand."
Pius wanted to say something but held back.
He knew that Barty Crouch Sr. was trying to make up for what he had done to Barty Jr.
Allowing such an exceptional wizard to spend his days tending flowers in a garden was a waste.
But Barty Crouch Sr.'s guilt towards his son prevented him from being forceful.
Even this year's gift had been sent through Pius.
He should have been at the Inverted Garden with his son, but the responsibilities of being Minister for Magic required him to be here.
As a father, he had once been obsessed with the power in his hands.
Now that he possessed that power, its responsibilities and the emptiness that came with it left him constantly longing for his family.
"This will probably be the last assembly," Barty Crouch Sr. said as he looked at the ministers from other countries gathered in the chamber.
"Germany wants Grindelwald extradited, while America wants to obtain something from him."
Barty Crouch Sr. watched as they argued endlessly.
The British Ministry of Magic should have intervened.
If nothing else, it would have been doing Dumbledore a favour.
But Barty Crouch Sr. remained silent.
His gaze stayed fixed on the Polish Minister for Magic.
At that moment, the Polish Minister for Magic finally spoke.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he said, looking at the two ministers who were arguing, "I believe what we should be discussing is not where Grindelwald should be imprisoned, but how to calm the fear spreading throughout Europe."
"It's very simple. Transfer him to America. We have the strictest security measures in the world and can reassure everyone."
"Rubbish! Grindelwald is connected to the disappearance of our Minister for Magic. We need him to explain himself."
The German and American representatives were on the verge of another argument.
The Polish Minister for Magic raised a hand to stop them.
Then he looked towards the entrance.
Two Aurors escorted Grindelwald into the chamber. Forced to his knees, Grindelwald floated to the centre of the room.
He looked up at the Polish Minister for Magic.
"I have never understood," the Polish Minister for Magic said as he descended the steps and walked towards the centre, "why we are discussing where to imprison him."
"He violated our most sacred laws."
He looked around the chamber.
"Why? Have all of you become blind to this disaster?"
"When did criminals become bargaining chips?"
The representatives from every nation fell silent.
"Then let me tell you the truth," the Polish Minister for Magic continued.
"The other solution that none of you wish to mention."
Grim stepped forward and handed his wand to the Polish Minister for Magic.
The Minister raised it.
The representatives immediately became agitated.
"Ing, what are you doing?"
"Put down your wand!"
"This is a violation of the law!"
"He must be returned to Germany for trial!"
"Shh."
The Polish Minister for Magic raised a finger, signalling for silence.
"You're afraid. Afraid of his followers. Afraid of someone else."
He pointed the wand at Grindelwald.
Fear spread through Grindelwald's eyes, but he was unable to speak.
"In that case," the Polish Minister for Magic said calmly, "let someone who isn't afraid do it."
"I will bear the consequences."
"Avada Kedavra."
A flash of green light.
The silence of death descended upon the chamber.
____
o(*￣▽￣*)ブSupport and Read 12 Chapters ahead: Patreon/Dragonel