Prologue

Nor knew long ago who his grandfather was. The name Grindelwald chiseled into his brain with the clarity of his very first memory.

His mother whispering terrible things, wishing he was never born. That he was the bane of her existence, and the continuation of that terrible man's legacy. That he would herald the end to come.

It was hardly the things a child should be hearing, tiny fingers reaching above mismatched eyes curiously with a giggled coo. Grasping for a mother who refused to touch them. Taking her own life in front of eyes wide and innocent.

Eyes, that didn't understand. That never would.

Until hunger drove the bundled baby to cry. The constant cold of the barren house seeping through its too thin cover as it began to sniffle.

Days passed, with no one to care for it. The crying got weaker, until it stopped entirely. The small figure laid as motionless as the figure that was once its mother.

Death was near.

Only the magic within kept the tiny heart beating, forcing the lungs to take breaths, the malnourished body to slumber. It was if the magic itself wished the infant to live. Biding its time until help arrived.

Finally, it did.

Five days after birth, hope in the form of a common house elf arrived. The poor thing was distraught, seeing the prone figures lying on the floor. Not a sound to be made as heavy snow outside brought temperatures to unbearable levels, cracked windows frosted completely over.

The elf ignored the mother. Going straight to the body of its master with tears in its eyes, afraid it failed the task of protecting its young charge so soon.

The elf hurriedly picked the little figure up, pushing a pulse of magic through. A soft hum of life responding back as the little thing finally moved with a disgruntled sound, nose scrunching in displeasure as eyes opened.

Its relief was everything. Smiling gently at the sleepy coo the baby gave.

With what sounded like a crack of a whip, the elf quickly Apparated. Disappearing with the bundle in his hands. He cared not for the dead witch. For nothing was more important than the baby who would soon inherit his original master's name.

The Heir of Grindelwald was finally here.