"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever."
– Mahatma Gandhi

Third Pov:

Tom reaches the Inn to find Aberforth and Ariana sipping hot chocolate from their favourite mugs.

He couldn't help the slight tenseness in his shoulder from relaxing slightly at the sight.

"You two seem to be enjoying yourselves." Tom drawled not getting annoyed.

"DAD!!!!" Ariana screeches, waving at him happily. Tom blinks at her startled. Since when did Ariana not launch herself at him, arms wide open like she was Jesus.

Tom eyes her curiously.

"Is Valentine not here?" Aberforth asks, after greeting Tom with a warm hug. Aberforth brushes away Tom's attempts to get away.

"No. She'll be here soon." Nott heaves, racing into the room.

"What's wrong?" Aberforth asks, eyes going wide when a bunch of kids come racing into the Inn looking terrified.

"Val-Valentine...." Abby wheezes. "She started a damn tornado."

Aberforth looks at her like the kid was mental. "May I ask why? "

"Grindelwald sent men after you and Ariana. He knows where she is."

"Val is fighting off a dragon. Amazing cousin you have by the way. Is it in your genetics to have so much bloodlust?" Lestrange demands, arms around a frightened Danielle.

Lestrange hadn't fought with them at Hogwarts because he was leading all the children away to safety. He was also making sure the girl in his arms was safe. His bright eyes, were full of concern for the petite girl.

"No not genetics." Aberforth muses thoughtfully, wincing as something bangs on their rooftop.

"That'd be another tree." Pandora gazes up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "Good luck with that in the morning." Her accent was much more heavy and pronounced, with all the running she had been doing.

Tom's eyes were trained on Ariana. Watching her slowly, eyes narrowed deep in thought.

"Thomas me boy? You alright there?" Aberforth smiles at him.

Tom aims his wand right at Aberforth's neck.

"Grindelwald. Do you take me for a fool?" Tom raises a brow, whipping a hand out and shooting a spell so strong at Ariana she goes flying into the wall.

"TOM!! What are you doing!!!!" Greta screeches, looking ready to cry. The blonde girl dashes to try to get to the child but Myrtle grabs her by the waist, hauling her back.

"No. Stop. Look." Myrtle hisses, face contorting in horror.

From Ariana's spot on the floor rises a blond woman, face contorted in rage. She had only one eye and it was glaring at Tom with such hate, if he'd been anyone other than Tom Riddle, he might've flinched back.

However all she was doing was getting on his nerves.

"Smart!!! SMART!!" Grindelwald giggles still using Aberforth's body. He transforms then and looks at Tom with one perched white eyebrow. They'd been using Polyjuice Potion.

"Boo! Did I scare you?" He screeches in laughter.

"Not for a second. And if you had intended for this fiasco to go along further, you should've gotten a better bloody actor than her." He sneers looking at Miranda with a sneer. He tilts his head to the side, glaring cooly.

She flinches back.

"I knew she wasn't your daughter the second I walked in here." Tom drawls, removing his wand and stalking back. He leans back on the Inn's counter and pours himself a cup of steaming hot chocolate.

"Riddle!" Nott hisses at him. "Seriously!?"

Riddle shrugs, eyes turning to slits.

"Valentine will be here soon." Tom drawls. "Would you like to wait for her or shall I kill you both myself... Although she would hate it if I were the one to torture you-" His head points towards Miranda, who looked ready to piss herself. "-without her."

"Why is he so terrifying?" Abby hisses to Pandora who stood beside her eyes wide in horror.

"He's on our side right?" Greta's voice quivered slightly, her hands going to grip Myrtle's arm tightly in her fear.

"He's dating your friend Valentine. Don't act like you haven't seen her go all batshit torture chamber crazy." Rosier speaks up, in his accent. He places an elbow on Chris's shoulder, leaning on the boy.

Chris's cheeks go a bright red yet his eyes seemed to always flicker towards Claude.

"That's funny you should say. One of my men informed me that he'll be duelling her in a couple of seconds and he intends on bringing her here. He'll knock her out cold you see. Win the duel they'll have." Grindelwald picks at his nails, his eyes seeming wickedly pleased.

"You think just anyone can duel Dumbledore? She's probably more powerful than all of you combined." He waves a hand gesturing to all of them. "I mean she did cause you to run away screaming that one time." Tom was scoffing at the utter nerve of this man.

"Credence has this ability. It's very handy you see. He can control dark magic. Control the wizard or witch who uses dark magic too. And your Valentine-" He sighs, shrugging. "I've never seen darker magic than hers."

Tom's blood runs cold. Why couldn't he breathe suddenly? "You're lying." He says cooly. "She handled the wizard with ease at Hogwarts." Tom knew he wasn't though.

Grindelwald simply shrugs. "If you believe I am lying... you shall see for yourself the truth in time." Tom's hands curls into fists at his sides. He imagined Valentine.... so happy and carefree....injured and his anger grew in strides.

No one could harm her. No one could harm her.... expect maybe him occasionally.

"You do know that if you injure her -even a single scratch- I'll have no choice but to murder you." Tom's voice had sunken into his Parseltongue accent... yet he was still speaking english.

He saw a couple of Dumbledore's friends go white in their shock.

"She'd be an incredible asset to my team. I just have to mess around with her memories a tad. Nothing else will be harmed."

Before Tom could even begin to think of a response, his whole mind goes blank.

Screams.

Deadly, ghastly, pained screams.

Her screams.

If they were loud enough to reach them here in the Inn. Good god. She was being tortured. There was no explanation.

"Ahhhh that'd be Credence right now taking my prize." Grindelwald beamed as if the sound of someone being tortured was music to his ears.

Greta seemed ready to be sick. Her face had gone a dark green and she was panicking. "No. No. No. No. Not Val!" She panics, voice frantic.

She watches as Tom had gone still. Very still. As if he'd become stone.

The screams of Val vibrated through the night and Abby could see people in Hogsmeade dashing outside to see what trouble had befallen the poor soul screaming like that.

"Stop! STOP! STOP!!!" Greta was sobbing, hands wounding over her ears to stop the cries from reaching her. "She's scared!! She's in pain!!! Tell him to STOP IT!!!" Greta lunges at Grindelwald.

Greta. Their harmless younger sister. The girl who looked at everyone with bright eyes. The girl who saw the best in everyone. The girl who wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice herself for anyone or anything was standing there now threatening someone.

Her belief that everyone was good.... had been broken. She'd been broken.

Myrtle's eyes whelm up in tears. Val... the girl who'd saved her from herself. Given her hope. Her cries were hopeless.

Gideon was the only one who broke out of the spell that seemed to entrance everyone, grabbing his sister and hauling her backwards. "NO!! NO!!!! They're killing her!!! THEY'RE HURTING VAL!!! I'LL KILL YOU! STOP IT!" She cries, voice cracking. "Gideon MAKE HIM STOP!!" Gideon looked just as pained as his sister felt.

Then as if she'd just realized something, she scrambles away from Gideon and races towards the door trying to get to her best friend.

Just as Greta reached the door, she was hurled back and the entirety of the Inn shines brightly for a single second indicating the presence of a force field. Greta had been blasted with such power, she slumped to the floor unconscious.

"GRETA!!" Gideon and Myrtle lurch forward first, trying to get to her but someone walks in the room.

"Ahhhh. Yes. I wouldn't attempt to leave." The woman states, amused. She was a beautiful woman whose haunting aqua eyes instantly go to Rosier.

Rosier scowls at her, eyes darkening in his rage.

"Sister." He muses his face wiped of all emotions.

"Vinda!!! How delightful you could make it to this historical event! Everyone this is Vinda Rosier. My lieutenant." Vinda strolls over to her brother. Her eyes glinted in disappointment.

"So much potential." She mutters and then dismisses him entirely. "I cast a enchantment around this dreadful place. No one can leave once they enter." She sounded pleased, eyes sneering down at Greta. "She's possibly in a coma." Vinda's expression was pleased. "Might take her weeks to wake up." The woman teases.

Gideon's face goes pale. "Undo the curse on my sister." He points a wand at her and Vinda scoffs, ignoring him completely.

As one Abby, Myrtle, Chris, Claude, Pandora and Gideon all raise their wands at the woman.

"You undo that curse on Greta this instant you bitch." Myrtle seethes.

Vinda turns around, eyebrows raised. "Are we truly going to do this the hard way?" She sighs seeming to be exasperated.

"No. Enough. More and more of my Acolytes will invade and take you all over by force."

"Tell your bitch to bring back my-" Myrtle pauses face contorting in confused pain. "-my... my friend." She ends her sentence.

"Oh fine." Grindelwald himself waves a hand and Greta gasps awake, hair whipping around as she stumbles into a sitting position.

Gideon grabs his sister, hauling her to his feet. She was breathing heavily as if she hadn't been breathing before.

The screams are abruptly put out.

Tom had been frozen the entire time, listening in to the conversation but feeling nothing. Her screams meant she was still alive.

But the screams had stopped.

And now Tom was on a rampage. He felt like he'd lost a part of himself he never knew he had.

His anger had to be placed somewhere and he was going to raise such hell on their heads, even Abaddon would have been pleased.

-When love becomes rage.... you run.