With a crack, the remnant soul vanished.
"..."
Grindelwald stared at the empty space, pausing for a moment before waving his wand. The blue Fiendfyre surged forward, completely consuming the wild, red flames.
I didn't expect the creature to be such a coward. He thought. I could understand being cowardly towards Tom Riddle; after all, Tom Riddle is a monster. And I could understand being afraid of Albus Dumbledore and me together; no one can defeat both of us simultaneously without Tom Riddle. But for the remnant soul to escape so readily when facing only me? That I don't understand. Perhaps it was simply terrified? Or is it just too afraid of death?
"Forget it, let's go back." Grindelwald's expression turned grim, as if struck by a sudden realization. "I knew I'd never hear the end of this from that kid."
...
"You're really quite hopeless."
Back at the train station rest area, Tom seized the opportunity to tease Grindelwald without hesitation upon learning that he couldn't even contain a residual blood socket essence.
"Ahem, Tom," Grindelwald retorted smoothly, "I have to save you face, don't I? If I easily defeated the remnant soul, wouldn't that be embarrassing for you? So, I held back. No need to thank me."
"Excuses, excuses. You need more practice, old man." Tom scoffed, relentlessly needling him. It was nothing personal, really. It was just that he had a better relationship with Nagini than with Grindelwald. And since Nagini wasn't particularly fond of Grindelwald, Tom wouldn't hesitate to stir the pot. Sorry, Gellert, but I need to vent my little snake's frustrations. At worst, you can go cry to Dumbledore. After all, beating one old man is the same as beating two! His favorite pastime, really.
But…if Nagini and Grindelwald actually went head-to-head, wouldn't Dumbledore most likely side with Nagini and beat up Grindelwald? Tom chuckled inwardly. Ah, poor Gellert.
Grindelwald looked at him, puzzled. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, just thought of something amusing." Tom settled into a more comfortable position.
"..." Grindelwald didn't understand, but he didn't dwell on it. He glanced around. "Hey? Where are those kids?"
"They went shopping, said they wanted to buy some local specialties and souvenirs."
"Is that so? You don't want to go?"
"I've already 'bought' my souvenirs." Tom grinned smugly, casually pulling out a Webley revolver and brandishing it. "This should be a Birmingham specialty, right?"
"..." Grindelwald stared at the pistol, hesitant. He was aware of Muggle weaponry, but he also knew that Muggle weapons couldn't be openly displayed. Why is Tom even interested in this thing? He noticed Muggles were staring, their expressions shifting from curiosity to doubt.
Grindelwald sighed, casually erasing their memories and casting a Muggle-Repelling Charm.
Tom, however, seemed unfazed, continuing to toy with his revolver. "This one's got a bit of history, probably about your age." He looked at Grindelwald curiously. "Speaking of which, didn't you meet Mustache before? What, didn't he give you a couple?"
"Sigh, let's not talk about him." Grindelwald waved his hand, his expression wistful. "He… he was alright. I quite liked his personality, but unfortunately, we were destined for different paths."
"But I do have something like that," he added. "Not a gift from him, though. I've taken quite a few Muggle things for research." Grindelwald looked troubled. "Including these, but I don't know where they are now. Some of my old things were taken by my followers, but most were cleared out by the Ministry of Magic. I think those Muggle weapons were probably taken by the Ministry too, right?"
Tom nodded slightly. He seemed to recall seeing a pistol collection in Theo's office; likely seized from Grindelwald years ago and kept as a memento of his defeat.
"Let's not talk about this." Grindelwald adopted a sorrowful expression. "You didn't join those kids to play, but what about your girlfriend?"
"Oh?" Tom raised an eyebrow. Since you've walked right into this mess, don't blame me. "She said she didn't want to see that bad old man."
"So she went shopping with Cassandra and the others?"
"What does that bad old man think about it?" Tom's words silenced Grindelwald, a wry smile tugging at his lips. "..."
"Tom, you know, that's a matter of perspective."
"But I'm sure I didn't do anything to that girl, at least I didn't hurt her… probably. To be honest, I don't even have a very strong impression of her." Tom knew that it was only because Nagini was friends with Credence, and Grindelwald was interested in Credence, that Grindelwald may not even have remembered Nagini.
"That's none of my business, and I'm not interested in it." Tom countered. "Go tell her yourself." He concealed a smile, deliberately adopting a serious expression. "But I have to remind you… If she wants to beat you up, I'll help her, you know."
"..." Grindelwald's feelings were a tangled mess. I never imagined I'd get beaten up for something like this. He couldn't be sure if Tom was telling the truth or not; after all, the kid was impulsive. But he knew for certain that his relationship with Tom wasn't as strong as Nagini's. In other words… Grindelwald was convinced Tom would actually take action.
Seeing Grindelwald's bewildered expression, Tom was pleased and stopped teasing the old man. "Don't worry, even though Nagini doesn't like you, she probably wouldn't ask me to beat you up for no reason. Otherwise, she would have already done it."
"Then if she asked you to beat me up, would you do it?"
"Of course I would."
"..." You little brat! Hitting an old person is wrong!
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