Chapter 127: Action-Is-All-That-Left (I)
~~Grindelwald's Cell, Nurmengard Castle, Austria~~
Thankfully, the cell door stayed open even after the alarm was triggered or all his subtle, but hard work would have gone down the drain… His hard work did go down the drain as soon as the alarms were triggered, but he at least had something to show for… He waved his hand in the air with a dismissive look on his face, releasing a specific amount of raw Magic in the air to contaminate the Magic around him. He didn't want anyone tracing back the Magical Signature to him.
After that, he finally entered the cell, only to find the palest man he had ever seen sitting in the far corner of the cell. The man was staring at him with his mismatched eyes and Harry could clearly see that the man was extremely curious about him… The man wasn't scared, nor did he seem to be afraid of Harry, but he was simply intrigued by Harry. All four of the man's limbs were shackled to the wall, not that Harry was worried about the man trying to attack him. Right now, Harry was physically 147% stronger than a Ritually enhanced adult Wizard.
He could probably push that number to 150% before turning himself into a broken pile of flesh and bones, but Harry decided to stay his hand as the number 147 was a multiple of 7, and 7 is probably the most powerful Magical number. Now, Harry was planning to create some sort of hard exoskeleton under his skin… He will start working with his head, his neck, and his torso before creating an exoskeleton for all of his limbs.
He wondered if Nymphadora could replicate this feat as he got the idea of physically modifying his body from her… He believed that it should be possible even though her Powers worked differently from the way he was doing things. Alas, she wasn't a part of the Lost Garden… Maybe, he would show her how to use her Morphing powers more effectively if she ever joins Lost Garden. Well, anyway, he decided to ponder about the clumsy Metamorphmagus on a later date as he had other important things to deal with… Like the former Dark Lord staring at him with unhidden curiosity.
"So, who do you work for?" The man asked curiously.
Harry simply snorted in amusement at that question before Morphing back into his real form… He admired Gellert Grindelwald on some level and he believed that this conversation needed to be done from face to face… It might sound foolish of him, but he believed that a face-to-face conversation would bear him better results. A look of recognition appeared on Gellert's face but simply ignored that and waved his hand in the air when he heard some noises down the hall.
Gellert frowned as he felt something shift around him, but he couldn't put his finger on it… "What did you do?" Gellert asked Harry with a frown.
"You are quite a perceptive man. In a sense, I changed our location so that nobody can interrupt us" Harry claimed softly. He simply transported Gellert and himself into the mirror dimension, so even though everything around them looked completely the same, they were no longer inside Nurmengard Castle. Though Harry was surprised that Gellert was able to notice the shift… Not to be arrogant or anything, but Harry's control over the Spell was even better than the Ancient One's, but he was still noticed.
"Hmm… I will take your word for it" Gellert hummed thoughtfully. "So, what brings you here, to my humble abode, Mr. Potter?" The man asked with a polite grin on his face.
"I see… Dumbledore has been visiting you quite regularly" Harry stated firmly and Gellert simply shrugged dismissively. "For whatever reason, that man seems to be obsessed with me… Do you have any idea why?" Harry asked as he casually sat down on the other side of the cell.
"And I should answer your questions, why?" Gellert asked mockingly, wondering if the boy was going to threaten him or not. He had so many questions in his mind… He had heard a lot about the boy from Albus, but the boy being a Metamorphmagus was not one of them. Then there was the fact that the boy was able to break into Nurmengard… The break-in wasn't as smooth as the boy was probably expecting it to be as the boy triggered the alarms, but the boy still managed to get past the Wards… That was most impressive.
"Is there a reason why you wouldn't?" Harry asked as he raised his brows at the man and the man gave him a toothy grin.
"That's true" Gellert admitted. "There is a Prophecy about you and the madman named Voldemort. Apparently, only you can beat him" Gellert revealed nonchalantly.
"Hmm… Interesting" Harry inclined his head with a thoughtful look on his face. He already knew that much. "And yet here I am, not under his thumb… That fact must be frustrating for him" Harry stated and Gellert barked out a laugh.
"You have no idea" Gellert assured Harry. "So, why are you really here? I don't believe you broke into Nurmengard just to have a casual chat with me" Gellert asked, losing some of his amusement.
"I am here for your knowledge" Harry answered honestly as he wouldn't gain anything by beating around the bush from a man like Gellert Grindelwald.
"My knowledge?" Gellert asked as he inclined his head with a frown. "You already know Legilimency" It wasn't a question. It was a statement. "Albus has no idea what he is messing with" Gellert added with a mirthful glint in his eyes. He didn't hate Albus, in fact, he cared about him, but Albus could be too controlling for his own good.
"Yes, on all accounts" Harry answered with a smirk, making Gellert nod his head in understanding.
"Am I going to live through the night?" Gellert asked casually. With how forthcoming Harry was being, he didn't believe that he was going to live through the night. He didn't feel anything except for acceptance…
"That depends" Harry stated, making Gellert blink in surprise. With a bit of hesitance, he simply urged Harry to continue. "You have two options in front of you… First, we make a deal. I will get all of your knowledge and in exchange, you will have your freedom, but you will have to join Lost Garden, my group" Harry revealed and Gellert couldn't help but give Harry an incredulous look.
"And the second?" Gellert asked sarcastically as there were a few problems with the first option the boy gave him. First of all, he was still in this prison because he wanted to and secondly, why would he ever agree to work for a 14 year old? He would admit, Harry was not a normal 14 year old. That much was confirmed as the boy was able to break into Nurmengard, but there was a limit to how good a 14 year old could be.
"The second, I rip the knowledge you possess straight out of your mind before turning you into a Mindless doll and then have you working for me" Harry stated coldly as the amusement disappeared from his face, only to be replaced by cruelty. Gellert was quite aback by the shift, but to be honest, he didn't believe Harry could achieve that.
"Funny! Do you really want…" Gellert froze when he felt a mental probe pierce right through his Occlumency shield like a hot knife through butter. Gellert would admit that his Occlumency shields weren't as strong as they were in his heyday, but they were still unmatched except for a few exceptions…
Gellert winced back in pain as there was nothing he could do to stop the mental probe, but instead of shuffling through his Mind, the mental probe retreated after all of his Occlumency shields were pierced. He realized that the boy was only giving him proof that he could carry out the second option without any issue.
For the first time tonight, Gellert felt afraid… Dying was one thing. He had accepted that long ago, but becoming someone's Mindless slave was not something he ever considered… It was a Fate worse than death, Gellert decided.
"Now, do you believe me?" Harry asked coldly as he stared straight into Gellert's eyes. He really wanted Gellert to join Lost Garden as having someone like him in their group was going to be extremely useful. He wanted Gellert to join Lost Garden with his Mind intact as he would be more useful to him that way, but he could still use a Mindless one… The Mindless one was going to be a lot weaker as the doll would lose the ability to think on its own, but having the Mindless one was still better than not having him in Lost Garden at all.
Harry speculated that Voldemort was stronger than Grindelwald when it came to raw Magic… While both of them were Magical Titans, Voldemort had pushed himself further through Rituals, which gave Voldemort an advantage. Alas, raw Magic wasn't everything… Grindelwald possessed unmatched experience on his side to even the odds. While Voldemort had also led Death Eaters from the frontlines, he never faced any opposition as Grindelwald did. Voldemort always butchered his way through with pure Might.
Harry wouldn't say that Voldemort wasn't skilled, but he wasn't as skilled and experienced as Grindelwald when it came to Magical combat… Yes, he had fought Dumbledore during the War, but Dumbledore was no longer in his prime and Harry suspected that Voldemort is only able to match Dumbledore because of Dumbledore's lack of ruthlessness. Meanwhile, Gellert Grindelwald had no such problems… Having the man on his side would be a great boon.
"So, what is it going to be?" Harry asked as he raised his eyebrows at the former Dark Lord…
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