1980

Rain pelted her travelling cloak as she Apparated in Hogsmeade. The woman readjusted the swaddle of cloth in her arms protectively as she travelled on foot towards the castle.

…

"I know I have no right to be here let alone ask for your help but I didn't know who else to turn to. I wouldn't have come if it wasn't important. I've made a terrible mistake"

"You were first and foremost my pupil, despite the choices you have made since meeting Edmonde Grindelwald. As I've so said, the consequences of the choices you make are yours to bear, although I do find myself sympathising with you as I understand all too well the natural flair and charisma all Grindelwalds seem to possess. I believe, however, that there are no mistakes in this life, no coincidences, no matter how unpleasant in order to learn what we need to learn"

The young woman looked dubious as she gently unwrapped the bundle in her arms to reveal a sleeping newborn.

"And it appears sometimes even an old man such as myself is proven otherwise" Albus Dumbledore said lightly, though in no manner was he taking the gravity of the situation as such. "I take it the father is yet unaware of your actions?"

Helene Marceau shook her head. "I was still worn from the delivery when he finally left my side; it was the only chance to get my daughter out of there and I seized it. I am nowhere near as skilled as he is and we both know it. He'd kill me in an instant if he knew"

"What exactly is it that you're asking of us, Marceau? Protection? We cannot harbour you, a Dark Witch no less within these walls no matter what your circumstances are, you know that" Minerva McGonagall spoke up.

"I ask only that you hide her, keep her safe, whatever it takes so she will not follow in her family's footsteps. There has only ever been one Grindelwald heir every generation. Granted her great-grandfather is still locked away in Nurmengard thanks to you, but I know her father and grandfather will come for her and seek to raise her in their Dark ways. You are the only one who can keep her safe, they fear no other wizard but you. It is too late for me, but not for her. Please, let her have a chance for a normal life. Her father and I are beyond redemption but she is innocent. Please."

"And what will you give me in return?"

She had not expected the great wizard to ask for something in return to her request, but it only seemed fair. "What is it that you ask of me? I won't have much longer to live once he finds out" she replied.

…

"I can see that you are angry but I did warn you she wasn't to be trusted. And I certainly don't appreciate having my house destroyed" Marlon Grindelwald told his son warningly. At the age of sixty and three, he was still very much at his prime as a wizard, in the spitting image of a young Gellert Grindelwald he had been told on more than one occasion. He remained seated on a grand highback chair, calmly watching his son fire spell after spell, tearing and destroying everything within sight. It was times like this that made him wonder why he ever had a child in the first place. Because you were too young, stupid and careless to keep your hands off that Veela, that's why, his subconscious pointed out.

"Angry!? Oh, angry is an understatement, Father, I'm beyond that!" Edmonde Grindelwald bellowed. The shoulder-length white-gold hair he had inherited from his Veela mother was wild and his blue eyes alight with fury. "I'll kill that traitor and then I'll find my daughter if it's the last thing I do!"