Gellert Grindelwald

Gellert Prometheus Grindelwald (b. January 11, 1870) is a half-blood wizard and former student of Durmastrang Institute of Magic.He attended between 1880-1889 but was expelled one year before graduation for conduct unbecoming of students.  He later went on to become a Dark Lord and terrorize the entire world for nearly forty years before his defeat at the hands of Albus Dumbledore in 1945.  He was imprisoned in Nurmengard, but secretly escaped in 1989.

## History

### Early Life

Gellert Grindelwald was born in Norway in 1870 to two half-blood wizards who taught him the importance of wizards and magic.  In 1880, he began attending Durmastrang Institute and proved to be one of the school's most gifted students.  Grindelwald achieved perfect marks on every assignment and proved himself a quick study and gifted wizard.  However, he also showed a particular affinity for Dark Magic and immersed himself in the field.

In 1889, one year before he was set to graduate, Grindelwald orchestrated a massive dark ritual the killed three students and a professor of the school.  However, sufficient evidence could not be obtained, so he was simply expelled.

### Meeting the Dumbledores

In 1891, he moved to England to live with his aunt in Godric's Hollow.  Bathilda Bagshot introduced him to a young wizard named Albus Dumbledore who lived nearby.  The two quickly became close as they were both exceptionally gifted and more talented than all of their peers.

Particularly, the two grew close over the thought of revealing the magical world to the muggle world and asserting wizardkind as the dominant force on the planet.  Grindelwald was aware that his friend didn't actually believe in the cause; he was only venting his frustrations over the loss of his mother, father, and sister (who was insane) at the hands of muggles.  Still, he took advantage of his friend's grief and allowed him to further the plans that Grindelwald was making.  He also took advantage of the growing feelings that Dumbledore was developing for him.  Though he himself was uninterested, he recognized that the other boy was more likely to stand by him if he seemed to reciprocate his feelings.  To that end, he feigned interest in the other boy to strengthen his hold on him.

The two were particularly interested in the Deathly Hallows: three relics said to have been created by the God of Death, Thanatos, and gifted to humanity.  The two presumed that they would wield the items and channel the power of gods to rule over the world.

Unfortunately for Grindelwald, Albus' younger brother, Aberforth, was not blinded by his feelings to Gellert's darkness.  At the end of the summer that Gellert spent in Godric's Hollow, the sixteen-year-old confronted both Gellert and Albus and said that they needed to put a stop to the madness.  Albus was supposed to take care of Ariana when Aberforth returned to school, and he couldn't do that while trying to seize control of the wizarding world.

Gellert realized that he was losing control of Albus, who was starting to recognize his brother's correctness.  Therefore, he attacked the boy.  To Gellert, who was sure of his belief that he could control Albus, all he needed to do was eliminate the one who was making his friend doubt, and they would remain partners.  The two had known each other for three months, and Gellert had started to realize that Albus was likely more skilled than he was.  In order for him to take control of the wizarding world, his friend could not stand in his way.

Initially, the attack on Aberforth stunned Albus.  He did not respond to the attacks with violence of his own.  Instead, when Aberforth started firing spells back at Gellert, Albus began begging them to stop fighting.  As Gellert realized that Albus was maneuvering to stand next to his brother, Gellert lost his temper and used the Cruciatus Curse on his friend's brother.

This proved to be a mistake as it broke Albus of the stupor he was in and he began dueling against Gellert in earnest.  Spells were flying through the room, and Gellert realized as the Dumbledore brothers forced him backward that he was not going to win the duel.  Then, he saw young Ariana.  The girl was standing beside her brothers, and Gellert took his opening.  If the brothers defeated him, he would certainly be arrested.  So, he fired a powerful explosion at the girl and killed her.  The shock provided the cover Gellert needed to escape their onslaught and flee Albion.

### Intermittent Years

Gellert spent the next twenty years furthering his magical knowledge and understanding further than nearly anyone alive had ever taken it.  He studied complex forms of magic, was trained as a mage, and even located the famed Elder Wand during this time.

He also began the recruitment for the armies he would use to terrorize the world.  Thousands of wizards from across the continent flocked to his banner as the savior of wizardkind.  Soon, he was ready to stage his attack.

### War on the Magical Governments

For forty years, Grindelwald waged war on every inhabited continent in an attempt to both break the International Statute of Secrecy and topple the wizarding governments.  His reign of terror killed millions, and no government was immune from the onslaught.

It was only in 1945, when he former friend Albus Dumbledore confronted him at the height of his power, that Grindelwald was defeated.  They fought each other for three hours and the battle waged across the entirety of the Romanian countryside.  Historians agree that it was the greatest duel to ever take place among to masters of magic.  However, despite his studies and despite the strength of the Elder Wand, Grindelwald was defeated and imprisoned in his own fortress of Nurmengard: a prisoner in the building he helped create.

### Captivity

Grindelwald spent his years of imprisonment studying what little magic he could.  Without a wand, and with magic-suppressing handcuffs, his options were limited.  However, there was one skill that he had develop over his years of study that was unknown to the world.  One skill that would possibly be capable of helping in his escape: his animagus form.

Gellert knew that magic-suppressing handcuffs were not perfect; the magic would weaken over the course of decades and eventually fade entirely.  However, he was willing to wait.  He spent his time studying the guard schedule that watched his prison and the time that they used to bring him his food.  After more than forty years, the handcuffs had weakened enough for his departure.

Summoning his powers after breaking the shackles, he successfully transfigured the food that the guards had given to him into a perfect replica of his deceased body.  It wouldn't survive scrutiny, but he correctly guessed that no one would want to question if he was dead.  When the guards discovered the dead Grindelwald the next day, he was declared dead and the world rejoiced.

Turning into a parakeet, he flew out of the small window in his cell and escaped a free man.  The conditions of his cell meant that he was relatively healthy, if out of practice magically.  For that reason, he fled the countryside and found himself a wizard family.

Without giving them the chance to fight, he used his powers as a shape mage to transform into a chimera and kill them on the spot.  With their deaths, he had access to their wands and was able to apparate to Britain.

### Coup

The choice of Albion had been an easy one: they were the primary victims of the most recent war against Voldemort (he often heard the guards talking about it) and would, therefore, have the weakest defenses.  Taking a chance, he arrived at King's Landing and discovered just how weak they truly were: the wards around their king's castle were almost completely destroyed.

Suddenly struck with an idea, Gellert snuck inside and attacked the young king Edward Pendragon while he slept.  The young man didn't even have a chance to retaliate before he was defeated and Gellert was placing the glamours on himself necessary to look exactly like the young king.  The King's Guard, which defended the castle, had been nearly wiped out by Voldemort in 1973, and the continued attacks on the castle throughout the rest of the war meant that they were still not fully recovered eight years after it's end.  He managed to perfect this entire plan before the night was over.

Now with a new position in front of him, he sealed the young king in a magical glamour and searched for the cells of Castle Camelot to throw him into.  There were certain duties and papers that only a king could do, and he needed him there to coerce into taking said actions.

With powerful glamours, he not only transformed the king's appearance into that of a pauper, he rewrote the young man's memories to convince him that he was, in fact, the prisoner rather than the lord of the household.  With that success, he began his new life as Edward Pendragon.

## Powers and Abilities

Gellert Grindelwald is an absurdly powerful wizard.  He as attained magical mastery in every field of mystic study, and he is counted among the worlds most dangerous magic users in history

* **Dark Magic:**Gellert Grindelwald is a master of Dark Magic.

* **Shape Mage**: He is a shape mage.  Not only does this provide him with more advanced and long-lasting transfiguration abilities, it allows him to take the shape of any magical creature he sees with all of the powers and abilities that that creature has at its disposal.

* **Ward Mage:** Grindelwald's abilities as a ward mage allow him to see and manipulate most ward structures fasted and more skillfully than ordinary wizards.