(Dumbledore POV)
"I'm sorry, what did you just say?"
"Gellert Grindelwald."
"That Gellert Grindelwald? The dark lord? The one who burned France and tried to overthrow the ICW? The one you put in Nurmengard?"
"…Yes. That Gellert Grindelwald."
"Are you hearing yourself? You are telling me that that man will help my son? Not kill him on sight?"
I understand his doubts. And frankly, I don't have an answer to these questions myself.
"Believe me, I don't like this idea any more than you do," I say, for I really don't. "But… It is the only person I can think of who may have a solution. Of course, there is no guarantee that he has a solution or if he will even help. But I can't think of another name."
He tries to reject the idea, adamantly against asking Gellert. But all that is silenced by Mrs. Patil's question, "Do you have a better idea?"
That got him considering. For all his crimes, Gellert is still the only hope for their son. And that hope, that is the only thing that they can hold onto.
"I don't," Mr. Patil admits, then continues, "But give me some time. Let me try to think of something."
The man has numerous connections. It is a requirement for being an ambassador. I just remind him not to let other people know Ansh's condition, and to make haste in his decision, as an obscurus eats away at its host every moment.
So, it was decided. 2 weeks. Mr. Patil would try to find a solution, and if, after 2 weeks, he comes up empty, I will talk to Gellert.
"But wouldn't he hate you? You put him in prison. Why would he listen to you?" He asks.
I try to convince him that I am the best person to talk to Gellert, but he refuses to believe me. Worrying that seeing the face of his nemesis will squash any hope of Gellert cooperating. I hesitate before replying. But looking at that young wizard's face, I believe a few secrets of mine are a small price to pay for a chance at his life.
So, I tell them. About Gellert's and my shared past. About the bond we once shared, and lost. I could see it on their faces as I told my story—disbelief, fear, and the heavy weight of doubt, not just in my story, but in me. But in the end, I managed to convince them.
She looks down at her son, brushing his hair back with trembling fingers. "We'll take Ansh with us for now."
I hesitate, then shake my head. "I advise against that," and before they could argue, continued- "After observing him, I can say with certainty that he doesn't realize he has developed an obscurus. And we want to keep it that way. The obscurus would feed on his negative emotions, and once he learns about it, it may break him. He has already read about them, so he may already suspect, but a possibility and a certainty are entirely different matters. We don't want to confirm his fears."
"So I suggest we merely say that he has been afflicted with a curse. And Mr. Patil is looking for a curse-breaker to look at him."
"Okay. I get the part about not telling him about his condition. But after telling the lie about the curse we could just keep him at home." Mr. Patil says.
"Yes, you can. But what will he do at home? Brood over his curse or think about his inability to cast magic? All the people his age, all his friends, are here. Let him spend time with them. Take his mind off of trying magic. While I don't believe we can fully stop him, we can make sure it is reduced a lot."
"But what about when he has to perform magic in classes? What then, when he is unable to do it, while watching everyone else succeed?" Mr. Patil worriedly asks.
I think for a moment, about possible solutions, and then say, "I will make it so that no practical class is conducted in the next 2 weeks. All the professors will only cover theory for 1st year students. And he is great at flying, and somehow still able to fly on a broom. Our flying instructor even wants to teach him. I will make it compulsory for him to learn from her. He'll be doing something he loves, while not having to wave his wand in class, or watch others do it. I'll even talk to his friends, enlisting their aid in keeping him occupied." And then add as an afterthought, "and you'll be surprised by how rarely students use magic outside of their classes. So, he should have his mind off it for most of the time."
I can see he hesitation on their faces, but after a few back-and-forths, they agree. Mr. Patil immediately leaves to talk to his connections, while Mrs. Patil stays around for Ansh to wake up and explain to him about his curse.
And I try to prepare myself to face that which I have been running away from all this time, talking to my old friend.
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A/N- tried a different way of writing. More paragraphs and less back-and-forth lines. tell me which style you prefer.
And sorry about my already scarce update frequency becoming even less. I am now in 4th year of college, and that means placement time is here. So, that has all my attention at the moment. As soon as i find a good job (hopefully really soon), I'll pump out a couple chapters back-to-back, and even try to bring back the regular frequency of a chapter a week.
So you want more chapters sooner, hope/pray I get placed in a decent company soon!