Chapter 7
The whole British Ministry of Magic was just a bunch of losers. How were they able to lead a whole nation was a mystery to Anastasia. They put her in front of a board of minister officials and started her “trial”. It was similar to what Dumbledore put her through. They made her take veritaserum and kept her hands cuffed with magical manacles.
“State you full name and age.”
“Anastasia Karina Grindelwald, 16 years of age.”
“State the names of your parents.”
“Gellert Grindelwald, mother unknown.”
“State your home address” Anastasia snickered at that.
“Austria.”
“More specifically please.”
“Nurmengard.” Murmurs filled the room.
“Seem fitting he kept his own child in prison. Maybe you could help us though. Where is said Nurmengard located?”
“Australia.”
“Specify.”
“I do not know.”
“Liar! How can she not know the location of her own home? Search her mind!” people started shouting at Anastasia and at each other. She felt the chairman trying to get inside her head. For the sake of this charade ending sooner she let him, showing him only the things needed to affirm her previous statement.
“She is telling the truth. Next question.”
“What is your business in Britain?”
“Education at Hogwarts”
“Are you here to harm anyone?” Very unspecific question.
“No.”
“Did Gellert Grindelwald sent you here to spy on or to corrupt the resistance against his cause?”
“No.”
“Do you know his intents or plans for future attack or rallies?”
“No, he never disclosed anything about it.”
They drilled into her relentlessly even though it was obvious she really didn’t know anything regarding the war. Father was no fool, he wouldn’t sent her here if she knew something. He always said he wanted to keep her safe and to not worry her pretty little head with ugly and heinous things happening in the world. She knew he had done most of that horrible stuff himself, but she kept telling herself he had to do them to ensure better future for Anastasia and others. For greater good.
After what felt like hours Anastasia was finally cleared to go back to Hogwarts and stay there. The bureaucratic nonsense like paperwork of her stay in Britain and registering her into their system to put her directly on their watchlist took forever. They made her visit almost every floor of the building for taking her pictures, her fingerprints and scans of her wand. The wand specialist was quite surprised about the combination of elder wood with fairy wings.
“Where did you even get a wand like that, Western world stopped using fairy wings several decades ago. And to pair it with elder wood? Such a feeble and unsteady core and of all things elder?” he murmured to himself rather than asking Anastasia directly. She said nothing. They didn’t need to know a thing more about her.
When it was finally over, she flooed back to Dumbledore’s office, which was fortunately empty. She glanced at the clock, 8 am. If she wasn’t so tired and sleep deprived, she would perhaps search his things a little, try to dig out some nasty secret of his, but that would have to wait. In less than 10 hours kids various ages will fill the castle and Anastasia wanted to look representative. Maybe even a little pretty. Her mind slipped to Tom Riddle.