A Sign of Things to Come

David had known Robert Lupin for awhile. He and Robert had made agreements early on, when they had come to their posts, to keep each other updated and to work together. They had both seen that times were changing somehow, and it was difficult to know what was coming ahead. It was, at best, a poor crap shoot.

David was following the time honored system of keeping the information secret and securing the owls in a secured location and under protections that only Prime Ministers knew and passed on to one another. With the increase of the murders, David had moved the information and had taken great lengths to be sure that no one muggle ever knew where the information about the wizarding world was kept in the muggle British government. He had worked on this for weeks.

The recent upsurgence of murders in the wizarding community bothered him like he knew it bothered Robert. They had talked about it in a recent meeting. They both knew the signs well. Someone or someones were about to make a bid for power again. They were doing their best to bolster up, to be ready. And they both knew that at any point either of them could be a target for attack. They had made pacts with one another, passed on delicate information. Exchaged things to keep the two worlds bound for the side of right and good and, as Robert put it, "white lighters." The last thing anyone wanted was some crackpot coming around again to try to take over the world.

This morning, he sat at his desk in his office, drinking tea and going over a meeting he was to have in Parliament about some of the muggle fighting that always seemed to continue over oil and fossil fuels. It seemed outrageous to him that the world still had not gotten smarter about that and had not gone to alternatives, but here they were, still spending millions, and spending lives like it meant nothing. It outraged him, but it seemed he could not always move things ahead as progressively as he liked without sufficient kickback.

He took a sip of his tea. It had grown cold. He hated cold tea. He called to his assistant, hoping to order fresh tea.

It was all coming together.

Six decades he had waited, not necessarily for this, this was the messy part of his plan, but six decades for what this would lead to. Six decades he had lurked in the shadows, six decades he had waited, and now it was all, every last part of it, coming together.

At least it was so far.

Tonight would be the true test of power, his first real toe in the water, his first taste of what this world had become. If met by massive resistance he'd know that this government was not something to be trifled with, that all he had planned would need a bit of altering, not too much, but enough nonetheless to warrant some mild concern.

The Muggle Prime Minister, David Cameron, had been incumbent for almost 14 years now, his position being one of peace between their two worlds, one which had apparently resulted in relaxed relationships between the two communities, apparently now their Minister for Magic regularly spoke to their Prime Minister... it was disgraceful, mixing with muggles in such a manner.

Silently Gellert walked through the halls of ten downing street, killing any muggle he saw with a wordless flash of green, before reaching the Prime Minister's office. As he stood outside he heard a call for tea, and smirked, the fool had no idea that more than half his staff had been murdered.

With that smirk still on his face, Gellert Grindelwald walked into the Prime Minister's office and looked the man straight in the face, before drawing his wand and pointing it at him. "My name is Gellert Grindelwald," he said, prefering to keep it simple, "And I am here to kill you," he told him, keeping to that same principle. "Don't bother screaming, they're dead, there's no point in living your last minutes with a sore throat," he said calmly.

It's a funny feeling when someone enters a room, unannounced, during a time like this, where families in London seemed fearful to even open their curtains after dark, in fear of being the next body to turn up on this seemingly mindless rampage taking place. It's almost like a bucket of ice has just been poured down your back, but you're perfectly dry, and the rest of you is warm. It's one of fear, fear of the unknown, and the conclusions that can be drawn from that unknown.

"Wizard," he muttered quietly as the man before him drew a wand, and suddenly it all began to make sense, the killings, the strange weather patterns, everything suddenly clicked, this was what he and the Minister for Magic had been planning for, what they'd been preparing for. It was here, standing in his office.

When the words hit his ears David sprung up from his chair, knocking it over and sending it clattering behind him. His assistant, his staff, all dead behind those doors apparently. This certainly didn't bode well for him.

But maybe he should just accept what was going to happen, the portrait connecting his office to the magic fellow's one was in the next room, certainly too far away for any assistance from that avenue. Maybe he should just accept he was going to die.

No.

That wasn't ever really an option, David enjoyed being alive too much. He had things to do which were far to important to die, this was not what he wanted.

"So, it's you," he said, his voice cracking slightly at the end, "Tell me why," he muttered quietly, "Why is it, wizard, that you are going all of this?" He asked, waving his arms to indicate all the violence that had been taking place of late.

Gellert lowered his wand, letting it hang down at his side as he turned and walked over to the window, looking incredibly casual about the whole business. He had seen the fear in the man's eyes and that was enough to tell him this job would be done eventually. Now he could drop the blood-crazed monster act- that personality was fun for awhile, but he was much too intelligent for that.

His questions were understandable. People thought everything in the world happened for a reason, when really the Chaos Theory told us that every moment in life was simply chance, completely random. And yet, people needed to think that there was some reason when bad things came, because they always needed someone to blame.

"The answer, my friend- because for the next few minutes, I am the only friend in the world that matters to you- is probably more simple than you want it to be. It's because someone has to. Wouldn't you rather it be me? You know, someone who does it with style and flair along the way?" He chuckled. "I'm sorry. Just a bit of humor to lighten the mood."

"Now, my dear minister, realize this isn't personal- unless that would help you. But really, I'm doing this in the best interest of my wizards. Muggles are getting closer and closer and we just need our space for awhile, y'know?" He sighed and raised his wand. "Ready now?"

David looked the man squarely in the eyes before closing his own, just for a second, but it felt like a lifetime. He thought of his friends, his family, some of whom lay in the house with him. His wife was here, his children were out on their own, maybe death would be better, over a life without his beloved. Regardless, that was a decision out of his own hands, this man before him seemed to know all he wanted to do, seemed to hold all of the cards.

Opening his eyes once more and a tear, just a single tear, ran from the corner of his right eye. Not a tear for himself, but for those he had killed, merely by employing. He saw, in those few seconds the mistakes he'd made in this life, and the highlights. He'd never understood the whole "I saw my whole life in the blink of an eye" but now he did.

Breathing deeply David couldn't help but notice things he'd not noticed before, the panelling of his office, the crack in the corner of his family portrait, all those little things that were overlooked and forgotten in day to day life.

"No," he said, returning Gellert's stare, "I don't think I ever will be, I've heard of people coming to peace with their lives, but I'm not one of those people," he said quietly. "I trust that you'll leave the rest of my family as they are," he said quietly, walking over to his liquor cabinet and pulling out a bottle of hundred year old scotch, breaking the seal and pouring a glass, before downing half of it in one mouthful. "If the answer is yes, then I suppose that yes, I am as ready," he said, pausing for a long while, almost seeming as though he was done. "I am as ready as I'll ever be," he said, walking back to his desk and pulling his family picture closer to him, sitting down and looking Gellert straight in the eyes.

Gellert watched the man and bowed his head slightly, his eyes closing and his mouth twitching beneath his small beard. The man was accepting his fate- how very noble of him. Gellert waited while the man seemed to gather his thoughts- Gellert may be a lot of things, but he did not think himself crude nor crass. And to let this man not have the last seconds of his life to himself would be just that.

Finally, David spoke and Gellert slowly raised his head, shadows cast into the crevices of his face, giving him a wise, eerie aura. At his question about his family, Gellert tipped his head. "My job here is a job for one. They will not be touched." He had considered it, naturally, but he prided himself on being artful. Whichever way you looked at it, overkill was not artful.

"Very well. Thank you for your cooperation," he said, the touch of a smile on his face. He raised his wand and in a low voice, practically whispered the fateful spell. "Avada Kedavra." There was the usual flash of green light, a whooshing noise, and the man slumped. Gellert dropped his hand and slowly walked over to the desk, pointing his wand at the desk.

A line for the wand of destiny. A circle for the resurrection stone. A triangle for the cloak of invisibility: A symbol that was destined to follow him forever. He blinked, narrowing his eyes. His job was complete. He looked around and then quickly fixed the man in his chair, before slipping his wand up his sleeve. He turned on his heel and then he was gone. All that was left was a man who looked as though he had fallen asleep at his desk and an etched symbol in the desk...

A flash of green and that was it.

Well not quite, the man did say something which put his mind extraordinarily at ease. His family, the remainder of it, would be safe, this was not an act personally targeted at him, he just happened to be the right man at the wrong time.

It was certainly strange, knowing that a few minutes ago his wife had died, and that he was going to as well. To him it was all so sudden, he couldn't really be saddened, it was almost like an inconvenient, but temporary separation, he would be with her in just a few moments.

The man then said something he certainly hadn't expected. He thanked him for his cooperation. It was all too much really, David couldn't help but feel a quickening in his heart, feel his hands begin to shake violently. This man though, he seemed almost like he regretted doing what he was doing, David really didn't know what to think or do.

Then he heard, or he thought he heard... he certainly saw the man's lips move, then he saw it.

A flash of green, and that was it.