Next chapter up! I'll be uploading until I'm done this book then I'll go through and edit. I will be submitting this to the Wattys so fingers crossed!
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"... and you have the instructions for what to do with it?" confirms Linda as she strides into a room with a fireplace.

"Yes Linda, but I hardly think it'll be necessary—" replies Dumbledore.

"It's just insurance that's all," interrupts Linda. "It's just in-case," she says softly. She can see her old Professors worry for her in his eyes. "Don't worry about me sir, I'll be fine," Linda says as she steps into the fireplace, powder in her hand.

"I know you will be," smiles Dumbledore.

Linda gives the man one last smile before turning serious. "French Ministry," Linda commands as she throws the powder in her hand down towards the ground. Within seconds her body is enveloped in green flame, taking her away from Hogwarts.

As the green flame subsides, Dumbledore's smile drops. "She'll be fine," he whispers as if trying to convince himself of his own words.

Linda materializes inside the main foyer of the French Ministry. She walks out of the green flames and confidently makes her way to one of the women sitting at their desks in the middle of the floor.

"Hello my name is Linda Black, I'm from the British Ministry and I'm here to pick up something from the vault of Henri Jarvais," says Linda.

"One moment please," says the woman at the desk. She folds up a piece of parchment in the shape of a paper aeroplane and throws it in the air. The parchment zips through the corridor before disappearing from sight. Linda, who's quite confused about what's just happened, stares at the woman who has returned to her work at her desk. A few awkward moments later, a paper aeroplane rockets back towards them and falls on the desk of the woman.

The front desk lady opens the letter, before standing up. "Please follow me. I'll escort you to my bosses office and he will instruct you on how to use zee vaults."

Linda follows the woman through the elegant marble hallways. It all looks very different from the British Ministry, it's beautiful, but to Linda it feels a little cold and impersonal. Even though her Ministry is a mess, she fells that it adds character and warmth.

"Here it eez Madame," the woman says as she opens the door. Linda walks into the large office as the door is shut behind her. She looks up to see an older gentleman behind a large desk.

"Ah, so you're the one that Dumbledore called in the favour for," says the old man through a thick smokers voice.

"I'm here for the Min—"

"The Ministry, oh yes sure you are," winks the jolly man. "Don't worry, your secrets safe with me. I owed Dumbledore a favour from long ago and I'm just happy I could finally return it." Linda clears her throat in discomfort. "So when Dumbledore asks for a simple favour, for a person who helped liberate our country no-less, it's not hard to bend the rules just a little." The man can see that Linda is getting slightly impatient, but is too polite to say so, so he moves on. "When you exit this office you'll go down this corridor here, and you'll take the second right. Hand the woman at the front desk this, and she'll let you into the vaults. Once you're there all you have to do is call out for the name of the vault you want and the shelves will do the rest." Linda takes the golden slip out of the man's hands and heads towards the door.

"Miss Black," calls the man. "I hope you find what you're looking for, I really do." She gives him a thankful smile in return and takes a look at the golden slip in her hand. This slip could really be the answer to her problems.

Her palms start to feel sweaty, she feels suddenly hot, and nausea over takes her. "You can do this," she says to herself quietly. "A few more moments of pain for a lifetime of happiness."

She silently walks up to the woman at the front desk and hands her the slip. She inspects the slip before depositing it in a box and motions with her hand that Linda may enter the vaults. The double doors whip open and Linda makes her way inside.

Her heart hammers in her chest as she walks up to the railing overlooking the vaults. She pauses for a moment, taking a deep breath to collect herself. "Henri Jarvais." The floating cabinets begin to arrange themselves as a certain one slowly makes its way to the front. It stops right in –front of Linda, and the vault that she had called glows slightly.

She braces herself as she reaches to open the vault. Taking a breath she opens her eyes that she didn't realize she closed. And sitting in the vault is... a single piece of paper. Linda's vision begins to swim. Shouldn't there be stacks of papers with formulas written on them? Shouldn't there be a single miniature potion ready to take? Shouldn't there be something more than a single piece of paper.

She takes the harshly takes the paper out of the vault and opens it. It's a muggle newspaper clipping. Healer Killed in House Fire after Suspected Witchcraft. That's all Linda needs to read before bursting into tears. Her legs give out under her and she slides down the railing onto the floor. It feel like she's screaming but she can't hear anything but all she can hear is the ringing in her ears. She cries like she never has before. Wailing, kicking, screaming, crying, pounding on the floor to make it all stop. It feels like it goes on for hours.

"No!" she cries out. "This isn't how it was supposed to be!" she cries angrily. "I WAS SUPPOSED TO LIVE!" she screams at the top of her lungs. "I was supposed to live!" she yells, but this time softer and sadder.

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Meanwhile...

"Theseus we need to talk," speaks up Leta from her place at the dinner table in Theseus' apartment.

"Yea," agrees Theseus. "We do. But are you sure this is the right time—"

"Theseus we can't ignore it anymore," replies Leeta softly as she places her hands in his shoulders. "You were right, I still feel for your brother," he seems shocked to hear these words yet unsurprised at the same time. " And I'm sorry I couldn't love you with my whole heart. I feel like a monster." Leta takes off her ring and places it gently in Theseus' palm. She goes to retract her hands and leave the table, but he latches onto her hands.

"Leta you're not a monster. It was me too. You know I have feelings for Linda, and I thought I could shake them but I just can't, that doesn't matter now though, I've messed that right up," confesses Theseus. The two share a tender moment as they both realize that they feel relieved that they no longer have to hide their feelings from one another.

"I'm sure you couldn't have messed it up that badly," prods Leta.

"She wouldn't tell me the real reason she's going to Paris. I think Dumbledore's making her get something for him, I'm not sure, but then I saw them whispering in a classroom and I lost it. I pushed Dumbledore and I thought I was going to beat the living daylights out of him," recalls Theseus. "And then I told her to have a nice trip. So yea, it was pretty bad."

"At least you didn't almost marry her sister or something," chides Leta bitterly as she takes a sip of her wine. The two look at one another with serious expressions on their faces, before the expressions morph into smiles and they begin to laugh.

For the first time in a long time, the two genuinely laugh with one another, enjoying each other's company.
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Linda is lying on the floor numb. She lets out a few sniffles as she stares up at the ceiling. In eight months time she would be in the ground. Not able to open her eyes anymore. Just black. No more sun, no more food, no more friends or family; just nothing.

"Are you alright Miss?" calls a male voice.

"Do I look alright to you?" says Linda, motioning to her dishevelled state. Her eyes are red and puffy as well as her nose, and her clothes are no longer as tidy and meticulous as they once were.

She goes to stand up to talk to the man, but notices something when she looks up at his face. Two different coloured eyes. She whips out her wand and points it at him.

Grindelwald raises his hands in surrender. "Please Miss, lower your wand. I only wanted to see if you were alright."

"Bullocks," growls Linda. "Name one reason I shouldn't kill you on the spot."

"What's that?" says Grindelwald motioning to the newspaper clipping on the floor.  He tilts his head to read the headline. "Ah yes, Henri Pinter. An old friend of Dumbledore and I's. He was killed a while back by muggles you see. He'd been healing the town children who had what they called incurable diseases. The townspeople began to question how he was managing to heal so many so far gone. They suspected him of using magic, so one night they went to his house with their torches and pickaxes and lit his house on fire while he was sleeping. He died and all his research went with him."

"I don't understand," cries Linda. "Why would they kill someone for using magic to heal people? He was saving their lives, their children's lives..." says Linda as she tries to search fro the reason that anyone could do such a thing. She doesn't realize that her wand slowly starts to lower.

"Magic is who we are Linda. It's the fault of the muggles, they don't understand how magic can help save the world. And in their nature they seek out to kill everything they don't understand."

"No," protests Linda, raising her wand back up. "My father says they're the same as us witches and wizards."

"They are almost the same as us. One important difference that separates us; magic. But they fear our gift. And they will destroy us for it. They are so willing to do whatever it takes to wipe us off the planet that they would sacrifice the lives of their own children to watch one man burn."

Linda lowers her wand again. Shaking her head as if trying to erase Grindelwald's influence from her mind. He was actually starting to make... sense to her. "No this can't be... how can you of all people...?" she says clutching her head.

"You think I'm the bad guy. But I'm not, that's just how they want you to see me. The world isn't white and black; it's all grey."

"But Dumbledore..."

"I'm sure whatever Dumbledore has said about me was convincing. But answer me this, do you really trust a man who didn't even care to know that his friend was murdered?"

Linda seems to take this in for a moment. Why didn't Dumbledore know his own friend was killed? How did he not know that the research had been destroyed?

"No, no you're... you're..." she says waving her wand at him frantically. "You're a pureblood fanatical murderer. You align yourself with the likes of my nasty cousins who only want to watch the world burn."

"What is your name little one?" asks Grindelwald kindly.

She hesitates for a moment but answers, "Linda. Linda Black." Linda's adrenaline is pumping so fast that she doesn't seem to realize Grindelwald's mouth twinge up at the mention of her name.

"Ah Phineas' daughter. Please have a seat little one," he says motioning for her to sit beside him on the ledge of the railing. She hesitates but decides to sit beside the man. "I assure you that I am not like your cousins. I am simply trying to make sure that the muggles don't destroy themselves and us with them. Your family follows me because they like many others, think that I'm a pure-blood fanatic. But I assure you my mission is so different from that," he says.

"Now Miss Black why did you come here? Because surly a strong woman like yourself wouldn't let Dumbledore send you on a fetching mission," he seems to read the expression on her face and instantly know what she's thinking. "Oh my dear I am so so sorry. You were looking for one of his remedies weren't you?" He ponders his words for a moment before speaking up again. "You know, I've saved a few of his old note books that he'd given me, I'd never been able to make any sense of them but perhaps if we can put them in the right hands we might be able to fix this."

Linda shakes her head, "I'm out of time. I only have eight months left at best. This was my last chance."

"Surely you can't believe that? What is this illness that is supposed to kill you named?"

"They call it Systematic Lupus Erythematous. My liver's been failing, and the nurses can bring it back each time but the time between failures keeps getting exponentially shorter. In five months I won't be able to leave my bed. In seven months I won't be able to wake up, and in eight months...well I'll be dead."

"Prehaps there is something I can do for you," says Grindelwald hopefully. "I have several very skilled healers in my ranks. I can get them to take a look at the Henri's notes and see if there's anything they can do with them. Just come with me back to my apartment here in Paris," he says extending his hand for her to take.

"I'm not so sure..." says Linda reluctantly.

"There's nothing to fear my dear. I don't expect anything of you. I just want to help you," she doesn't seem so convinced by his argument so he adds, "Just think of all the little boys and girls with that disease that I can save... all I need is your help." He extends his hand out a bit farther for her to take and she grabs onto it.