Chapter Thirty-Seven: Building Blocks

The warm air brushed against her face as Cordelia travelled further up the hill, moving like a snake within the long grass. It was only when she reached the oak tree on top of the hill that the young witch finally came to a stop, choosing to linger on the opposite side of the trunk so as to not draw the attention of the two wizards on the other side.

"Time flies fast, doesn't it, Albus?"

The boy in question was easy to identify, what with his familiar auburn hair and twinkling blue eyes. Time certainly had taken its toll on Dumbledore, but there was no doubt that the boy leaning against the blond's shoulder on the other side of the trunk was none other than Professor Dumbledore.

"Before long we'll be leaving this city. The world will be yours to take, Gellert."

The white-haired wizard seemed to perk up at his response, with his hand falling to play with the long weeds of grass around them even as he spoke.

"Come with me."

The words were but an octave away from a whisper, almost as if Gellert was afraid to admit that he sought Albus's company. However, they were loud enough for both Cordelia and Albus to catch his words, urging the latter to turn towards his friend with furrowed brows.

"Gellert-"

"Come with me, Albus. This was always our dream, not just mine. It feels wrong to go off without you."

Time itself seemed to come to a stop as the two wizards fell silent, with Gellert nervously searching for an answer within Albus's gaze while the latter attempted to come up with a response. In the end, the small, defeated sigh he let out said enough for the white-haired wizard to leap up in a desperate attempt to help his friend see reason.

"This is our plan, our legacy. We've spent years plotting and talking about ways to make our society better, to make it safer. And not for me, for you! For you and your siblings who have been turned away from this world because of those muggles. Albus-"

Gellert fell to his knees as he spoke, reaching for one of his friend's hands with both of his palms as he nervously licked his lips and continued.

"-this world is ours to take. Ours. And I need you by my side to do that."

Cordelia couldn't quite comprehend what she was witnessing, not when the boy leaning on the opposite site of the tree trunk was so awfully different from the man she had come to trust and respect. Not when the two friends quarrelling before her were the very people who would be the face of the light and dark: the hero and the villain.

How could two people so awfully opposite in the future have been friends with similar values in the past? Moreover, how exactly could someone who had seemingly orchestrated the plans that led to the rise of the first Dark Lord be the very person to plot his downfall?

As she sunk further against the tree, Cordelia couldn't help but feel her head reel due to the rush of questions and emotions flowing through her.

Albus Dumbledore wasn't as pure as everyone had made him out to be. But perhaps, it was that very quality, that very insight into both the good and the bad, that allowed him to turn away someone he held so close to his heart.

"I- I can't."

The words weren't very significant, but the weight they carried was enough for Grindlewald to go into a howling fit, with his voice and magic both rising in order to try and make his friend see reason. However, Cordelia wasn't able to linger long enough to witness what happened next, for the scenery around her suddenly seemed to collapse in on itself until she was once again back at Dumbledore's office.

For a moment, all remained silent as Cordelia found herself slinking against one of the bookshelves by the back wall, unwilling to let her gaze up from the carpeted floor until she had processed the newfound information enough to be able to form a coherent sentence.

"You were friends?"

"Perhaps, even more than that."

Dumbledore let out a sigh as he leaned against the front of his desk, watching as Cordelia's gaze finally snapped to meet his before once again continuing.

"It is our relationship in the past that hinders my prowess in the fight against Ge- Grindlewald. However, it is also this very relation that allows me the insight I need to turn your situation around."

Cordelia chose to ignore his little slip-up as she finally gathered herself, abutting from the bookshelf and instead moving closer to the centre of the room. It was staring how different yet similar the man before her was to the boy she had just seen, both physically and mentally, however, it was this difference that helped ground her.

The wizard before her was nothing like the boy from his memories, that was a fact that anyone could accept. However, what was to be seen was whether or not this change could be used to their advantage.

"How so?"

"Grindlewald has always been one for flamboyance. That fact remains to this day. If you leverage it correctly, this can help you locate his headquarters in France."

Dumbledore was quick to shut her down the second Cordelia let out the slightest bit of an argument, with his hand dismissively waving in the air as a hint that he wasn't quite finished yet.

"If you are to work alongside me on this, you will do so as an informant, not a soldier."

It was only then that Cordelia found it in herself to voice her protests, having thought of her role in the war as a little more than a mere witch slinking in the shadowed halls of the enemy's palace while everyone else risked their lives on the battlefield.

The comparison left a sour taste in her mouth, but even so, Cordelia's trust in Dumbledore never wavered.

"But professor-"

"No student of mine belongs on the battlefield."

"I am skilled enough to fend for myself out there!"

What was the point of besting the best the wizarding world had to offer if all that left her with was a mere title that did nothing to change the way she was perceived? Especially by those who mattered.

"But that doesn't mean you should."

His response seemed to calm the flames of ire flickering within her heart, however, it wasn't nearly enough to satiate the annoying feeling of injustice that tugged at her mind, a feeling every witch had to become accustomed to at one point or another.

A feeling of never being considered equal to those of the opposite gender.

"Then what would you have me do?"

If Dumbledore sensed her unease on the matter, he chose to ignore it with little more than the bat of an eye, instead turning the conversation to more pressing matters.

"Exactly what we discussed. You are to be a spy, Cordelia. You will be the eyes and ears of the light and gather the intel I need to locate Grindlewald."

"You, Cordelia, will be the key to victory in our fight."

She knew what he was doing.

Cordelia had manipulated and twisted people's minds enough to be aware of how Dumbledore's carefully curated words were said in a way that could stroke her ego and tame her heart. But even so, the young witch couldn't help but feel enticed by the proposition presented to her.

Perhaps, it was her very intrigue that would be the end of her, however, Cordelia found that for once choosing to rely on her instincts rather than her head seemed to be the right choice.

"And how exactly will I do that, professor?"

A small smile tugged on the corner of Dumbledore's lips as he moved away from the desk to instead return to his seat, gesturing for Cordelia to do the same.

"By doing what we purebloods always do. Socialise and disseminate."