The Greater Good
1925
1 Even though Celestia was itching to just be on her way to the next clue, her sister convinced her to be patient and catch a decent night’s rest. They still had some planning to do, anyway, and Celestia had still not fully recovered from the strains her body had been put through the last few days. Her contact had left her instructions to collect what he had called clues from two different sites in something called Black Rock Forest. The coordinates weren't all too specific, so the group decided to split up into pairs after apparating to the location Celestia had been given, and going from there. Yes, it was all a little vague, but that was for everyone’s protection. If the clues were too easily found, then what would stop the local Aurors from getting to the prize itself with relative ease? No, that must be prevented at all costs.
Frankly, Celestia didn’t like giving Ares Malfoy or that strangely nonchalant Ethel girl the opportunity to find the frozen heart before she did. After all, they were committed to the Grindelwald cause and would do anything to gain an advantage over their powerful enemies at the MACUSA and the Ministry of Magic, among other wizarding governments. It wasn’t as if Celestia couldn’t get behind their motivation. After all, there was a war going on, and in war, every means leading to a final victory were permitted. Even though she felt squeamish about some of Grindelwald’s goals, she had to admit that she wasn’t entirely opposed to his views about the superiority of magical people. Neither was she opposed to his fight against the Statute of Secrecy.
Ares had been more right about her than Nocturna: Celestia really was a lot more committed to saving Alastair and his family than to the Grindelwald cause. Well, to be fair, Celestia had put all the cards on the table and outright admitted the truth, but she knew her sister. Nocturna was enthusiastic and prone to letting herself get carried away by her emotions. She’d always been the more passionate of the two sisters, and she’d been so bubbly about Celestia joining that it was hard to believe she wouldn’t try to get the latter to pick up the mantle of righteousness permanently. It was probably a little cowardly, but Celestia decided, as they all sat in the decrepit brownstone’s living room discussing strategy, that she wasn’t going to keep harping on the fact that saving the Fawleys was her one and only goal right now. Of course she loved her sister and was glad to be close to her again. Of course she had opinions. Of course the current global crisis plaguing the wizarding world didn’t leave her cold.
Of course she felt guilty about lying to Newt after he’d stopped supporting her goals.
Still, she’d set out on this quest with a single goal in mind, and she knew that she must either succeed or perish. This wasn’t just about Alastair or his closest relatives. This was about her validating her own choices. Percival Graves had said that she’d kept out of politics all her life, that it was time she got off the fence and took a side. This assessment of his was partially correct; she had to admit to this. Politics made her squeamish, and she liked to tiptoe around things that made her feel uncomfortable. He wasn’t completely in the right, though. She already had taken a side. Was it selfish? Oh, yes. Would this self-awareness stop her? Would she, if push came to shove, choose the greater good over the lives of the Fawley family? No. No, her mind was made up, and nothing that Nocturna said to her would change this. Celestia would not fail. She couldn’t.
Truth be told, she didn’t think she’d be able to bear losing Alastair, after everything that she had sacrificed to be with him.
With everything going on and all the disconcerting suspicions whirring about in her head, Celestia didn’t think she’d be able to ever fall asleep. She drifted off about ten minutes after lying down and didn’t wake until the next morning.
2 Tina Goldstein was sitting at the kitchen table in the 679 West 24th Street brownstone apartment she shared with her sister, watching the latter cook dinner. She had her hands folded atop the table so tightly, her knuckles were shimmering white through her skin. Her brow was furrowed, her lips pressed together. Her head was aching dully. She had a sour taste in her mouth. Her thoughts were spinning and spinning, always around the same sorry subject: her boss’s order that she should leave Celestia Prewett and all the other Grindelwald goons alone. How could he even ask this of her? It made no sense. Sure, he’d told her that this was all part of the plan, that Celestia Prewett was working for the MACUSA, that Tina shouldn’t worry.
“And you shouldn’t.” Queenie carried two bowls of vegetable soup to the table, set one down in front of Tina, and settled down opposite her.
Tina picked up her spoon and listlessly stirred the steaming contents of the bowl. Nothing about the current situation had a particularly stimulating effect on her appetite. “I try; I really do try.” She rubbed at her forehead and took a deep breath. “But I can’t.”
“Tina…”
“Please don’t give me this worried look. You know me. I can’t ignore this. There are too many questions that Mister Graves didn’t answer.”
Queenie being Queenie, she simply couldn’t stop caring. One didn’t need to be a Legilimens to see the concern on her face. She kept her eyes trained on her big sister. “I looked into Celestia Prewett’s mind. All she wants is to save the man she loves.”
“And there was nothing hidden in there? No intentions muddled by all those sentimental memories she was feeding you?”
Frowning a little, Queenie said, “We’ve talked about you interrogating me.”
Tina chewed on her lower lip. “Sorry. But this isn't right. None of it. I mean” – She dropped the spoon into the bowl, sending some soup drops flying, and threw up her hands in frustration – “look at how odd this all is! Celestia Prewett shows up in New York in search of the one thing that can save her family’s life. We get an anonymous tip and take her into custody for questioning. The same day, she gets busted out violently by her sister Nocturna, who is one of Grindelwald’s most trusted lieutenants. How did she know Celestia was with us? How the heck did she and her friends get through our defences? How did they get out again? Why aren’t we allowed to do everything in our power to track them down?”
Leaning her chin into her hand, Queenie idly replied, “They think of it as budget issues.”
Paying no heed to that, Tina went on, “And then, Graves recruits Prewett as his mole? After two conversations with her and one two-minute reading from you, he suddenly trusts her? Has he even read the file on that family? We should be tracking her every step. We should be doing something!”
“You’re just upset that you’re not the one doing it. That doesn’t mean something isn't being done.” The tone Queenie said this in was so wary, she seemed to be expecting her sister to blow up at her.
Feeling a little like slapping herself, Tina said, “You’re probably right. I should just trust Mister Graves. He knows what he’s doing.”
“You should just learn to let go and understand that the world will turn even when you’re not directly involved.”
“I know.” She picked up the spoon again. “That doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
Not fooled in the slightest by her sister’s nonchalant façade (and Tina had to ask herself why she even bothered), Queenie said, “Please tell me that was just a random thought.”
Tina suppressed a sigh. “I can’t just not do something. I’m an Auror. Defending the law is my job.”
“It won’t be for much longer if you keep ignoring orders.”
“This is something I need to do. I wish you’d understand that.”
Queenie gave her an unhappy look. “I understand better than you realise.”
They ate their supper in awkward silence.
3 The next morning, the group didn’t waste much time. They rose early, got ready, and apparated to a spot that Ethel knew, near the Old Forest Headquarters, on Continental Avenue. Apparating blindly was on nobody’s radar, especially not inside a forest. Merging with a tree was, about now, the last thing Celestia needed.
The air was chilly and humid, but not unpleasant. It was nice to be outside of the huge, noisy metropolis, and breathing in the fresh, leafy, earthy forest air. Celestia pulled her coat closer to her body. “You all know what you’re looking for.”
Ares, obviously too tired to glare or be nasty, pressed his black-leather-gloved fist to his mouth, unsuccessfully tried to suppress a yawn, and nodded. His eyes were bloodshot. He obviously hadn't got much sleep. “Yes, yes. Enchanted galleons. You know how to decode the numbers on them. We follow the trail, gather back here in three hours.”
“Precisely. Good luck.” After nodding at everyone in a fashion she hoped was encouraging, she turned around and trudged into the forest.
Nocturna followed her.
For a few moments, they just walked, as much as one could call it walking. The ground was slippery due to being mostly composed of wet earth and decaying plant matter; the trees – red oak, red maple, bear oak – stood closely together. Roots needed to be stepped over, holes in the ground dodged. Sluggish salamanders scurried away at the approaching alien giants.
Celestia pulled her wand from her coat pocket and whispered, “Invenio.” Naturally, the enchanted galleons were warded against something as mundane as the summoning spell. Anything else would be the work of an amateur, and working with amateurs could prove fatal on such a quest. A blueish light started glowing like a little sphere around the tip of the wand. The closer they got to the spot either of the galleons was hidden, the stronger and whiter the light would become.
“I never thought you, of all people, would be part of something this dramatic,” Nocturna said from behind her, sounding rather amused.
“I know.” Celestia glanced at her sister over her shoulder. “Quite ridiculous, isn't it?”
“How long have you been chasing this damn thing?”
Of course Nocturna couldn’t know this, but the question alone sent a jolt of adrenaline through Celestia’s guts. “About a year.”
“And how long does Alastair have?”
Gingerly, Celestia stepped over a root that stuck out from the ground like it wanted to trip unwanted intruders. “A year.”
“Oh.”
“Yes, oh.” The light started fading, and she stopped. After turning this way and that, she finally found the right direction again. Even though she’d slept like a baby (and no thinking about her baby – there was no time for sentimental nonsense), she felt drained, as if she’d been on the run for days on end without respite. Well, this wasn’t too far from the truth, was it? She had been running. Maybe she was running out of strength. She was definitely running out of time.
“I know what you’re thinking, Tia.” About half an hour had passed when Nocturna spoke up again. Far above, dark-grey clouds had started gathering. It smelled and looked like rain.
“What am I thinking, then?” That came out in a tone that was much more snippy than intended. Celestia kept her eyes trained on her wand. The light sphere at the tip was glowing a bit stronger. Acid sloshed in her stomach. Her brain kept insisting that she’d get close to what she needed so badly, almost close enough to touch it, but that it would be snatched from her grasp at the last second. Growing increasingly irritated with herself, she stomped these nagging and quite useless doubts down as well as possible. It was a waste of time, and worse than that: doubts led to fear, and fear was always paralysing.
“You’re thinking that we’re using you to get to the frozen heart, but that we’ll double-cross you either because we’ve convinced ourselves that we need it more, or because we believe that you have no intention of honouring our deal,” Nocturna said, her tone light and chipper. She skipped over a muddy puddle to her sister’s left.
Celestia glanced at her sideways. “Am I wrong?”
“Yes and no. We all understand that saving Alastair and his family is what matters most to you, and that you’d double-cross anyone in order to achieve that. But other than some of us, I believe that deep down, you’re on our side. Therefore, it’ll all work out just fine. You’ll get to save your paramour, and we’ll get to end this miserable conflict with one decisive strike.”
Far away, thunder grumbled faintly. Above their heads, a breeze was ruffling the dying leaves in the crowns of the tall trees. Some birds flapped their wings. Small animals scurried away. It was getting colder.
“I hope you can convince Ares and the others of this.”
Nocturna snickered. “Ares isn't the problem, and don’t you believe for one moment that I don’t see that you’re avoiding the subject of Apollo.”
The light sphere turned a darker shade of blue. Celestia stopped walking abruptly. She felt both like just lying down in the mud and breaking something, screaming, but of course, she kept her cool. After some more changing directions, the light turned a bit whiter. They were getting somewhere, now. There was no need to lose patience, let alone hope. “I’ve said all I had to say both to and about him.”
“Not to me.”
From the corner of her eye, Celestia caught Nocturna watching her intently. Somehow, this made the former want to just turn around on her heels and run far, far away. It made her want to yell at her sister, too, which was both irrational and unfair. But Celestia had to admit that by this point, her nerves were frayed to the point of snapping. She reminded herself that self-pity was probably the most unattractive quality in a person, especially a witch of her standing. She also reminded herself that Nocturna was correct: they hadn't spoken about Celestia’s divorce. Then again, they hadn't spoken at all for the past two years.
“You haven't been around,” she said, not quite willing to ban the edge of annoyance and resentment from her voice.
Nocturna blew out a heavy breath and scratched her neck with her free hand. She, too, was searching for the enchanted galleons, following the lead of the light sphere emanating from her wand. “I know. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.”
“Alastair was – he and his parents, his sisters, his brother. They were all there.”
“You’re angry. I understand. I have nothing to say in my defence.” A moment later, Nocturna added, “Don’t get me wrong: I’m not apologising for doing my duty to the wizarding world. I made a choice, and it’s the right one. But I truly regret that you had to go through so much misery to get what you wanted, only to have it taken away again.”
Celestia’s stomach cramped. “I haven't lost yet.”
“No, of course not, and you won’t. But still: it must’ve been awful.”
“I try not to think about it. It’s unbecoming and unhelpful.”
They slowed down as the light spheres lit up even more.
“This is something I don’t understand about your decisions, Tia.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well,” Nocturna said, clearly hesitant, as if trying to find words that wouldn’t upset her little sister too much, “you’ve always been a person who put the needs of the many above the needs of the few…or the one. Yours. You married Apollo for political reasons. The family needed it, and so, you sacrificed your own happiness. That was just so…so you. I don’t understand how you could change so much, to the point of risking all the delicate arrangements made – not to mention the fact that you left your daughter-”
“You’re right. You don’t understand,” Celestia cut in sharply. For a couple of seconds, she closed her eyes and gathered herself. “Apologies.”
“Don’t,” Nocturna said, briefly placing her right hand on her sister’s back. “You’re right to be angry, and you should allow yourself to feel it, too. Stomping down your feelings will always backfire at some point.”
Celestia almost asked her if she’d learned this little nugget of wisdom from her great idol, Gellert Grindelwald, but stopped herself just in time. Lashing out at Nana was not the way to deal with her emotional issues. “I wanted to do what was best for the family. I tried; I did. It wasn’t any one thing that made me change my mind. Apollo didn’t mistreat me, or I him. The Malfoys were gracious. My” – She pressed her lips together and bit her tongue – “my daughter is the sweetest, most precious thing, and leaving her behind was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.” The silly knot in her throat was back. Her vision grew blurry. She blinked the tears away as best as she could and sniffled. “But I had to do it. I just…I couldn’t keep living like that. It’s selfish and horrible, yes, but I couldn’t feel anything anymore. There was nothing left inside of me – nothing. I was going through the motions, yes, but I was completely numb. Dead. Gone. Nothing made sense anymore. Nothing seemed like it mattered. I found myself wondering if I mattered.” Incredible. This was the greatest amount of words she ever uttered on the subject to anyone, even Alastair. It felt both mortifying and liberating, but that was nothing new.
A strange little silence ensued. The sound of rain pattering on the tree-tops started getting stronger. It would take a while until the water got through to the ground, though, so for now, there was no need for magical measures. This was just as well: performing too much magic so far away from the city would undoubtedly draw the attention of the MACUSA Aurors.
“You can’t not follow your heart and expect that not to backfire,” Nocturna finally said, her voice quiet, her tone thoughtful. “I came to the same conclusion after I met Grindelwald in Prussia, in case you were wondering.”
Glad of the focus shift, Celestia said, “So your reasons for following him are personal.”
“No.” When Celestia cast her a doubtful look, Nocturna laughed. “Yes, I have…feelings for him. I think we all do. He knows this, too, and is gracious about it. But that’s not the reason I follow him. I follow him despite my feelings, not because. I believe in the cause, Tia. I’d sacrifice anything to see our brothers and sisters freed from oppression. I’d do anything to end these ridiculous secrecy laws. We need to be free to take up our rightful place and end this madness that is allowing the Muggles to ravage this planet unchecked, while we stay in the shadows and bow to their inferiority. No more. So yes, while I love you and our parents and Grindelwald, I am doing what I’m doing for all of us, no matter what this entails. It’s all for the greater good, and the greater good is what I’m living for.”
Celestia let those words sink in for a moment. “Then you’re a better person than I am.” What she didn’t mention was that this little assembly line speech of a fanatic only proved her own suspicions right. These people could not be trusted to keep up their end of the bargain if they thought their goals were at stake.
“You’re fighting for your principles, aren’t you? That’s the same thing. All you need to internalise is that in the end, we all want what is right.” After a few seconds, she added, “Alastair will sympathise, once he’s unfrozen.”
“Yes.” But first, Celestia needed to get the frozen heart and set right what had gone so, so wrong. “He too believes in the greater good.”