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[boyobscured]

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[chambermusicandtenpins]

I'm afraid you did. That may have been for the best, with all that's happened.

I wanted to tell you -- Gellert is gone.

He left the town, I think. There's no trace of him, no coma, no sign that he is anywhere else. If he'd died again, he would have been back by now, so I'm afraid -- I think he may simply have woken from this place.

[boyobscured]

Oh.

[ He's quiet for a moment. He isn't sure what to feel. And more than that, he's not sure how to offer any sort of comfort. He's aware of Albus's feelings for Grindelwald, even if he can't sort out his own on any given day. ]

I'm sorry. I don't know what happens when people wake up.

[ Did he ever tell Albus that Grindelwald had been here before? He doesn't remember, but he doesn't want to bring it up now. It seems callous to say sometimes people forget. The best case scenario is probably that Grindelwald never comes back to this town, for his own sake, and maybe for Albus's.

Credence, however, doesn't want to wake from this nightmare. Not yet. Maybe not ever. ]

[chambermusicandtenpins]

Thank you, Credence. I'm sorry, too.

[He doesn't entirely know the exact tenor of Credence's relationship with Grindelwald, but he's sorry that Credence has lost him as well. For a moment, he remembers their odd little pack they'd formed once, and it felt strange to realize that the head of it had no vanished into the ether, like smoke.]

I suppose he's awake now. I'm sure he's back in our world as he was before.

[And he was sure he remembered nothing, as much as it broke his heart to think of it.]

[boyobscured]

It's okay. I don't think anyone controls any of this. It just...happens.

[ He's never gotten the impression that people wake up on purpose, anyway. They certainly don't wake themselves up. Most of them would leave if that were the case. Credence himself isn't sure he wants to wake up just yet. It's a complicated thing. ]

Yeah. That's probably true. Do you...can I do anything?

[ Wow, he has no idea how to be comforting here at all. Is that even the right way to be? ]

[chambermusicandtenpins]

I imagine you're right. It's...difficult. But it is beyond our control.

[He doesn't think Gellert would leave, not now, not after everything. But knowing that doesn't make anything better or worse. The hollow ache in him would be left behind no matter what else happened.

With a sad smile, he says:]

Thank you for the offer. I don't know if there is anything anyone can do, exactly.

[As if Credence were offering to fix all this, and not, say, some sort of consolation. But he doesn't know how to acknowledge that.]

It is what it is, I'm afraid.

[boyobscured]

After all these months, it's...surprising, I think.

[ Though Newt had been here for something like a year, hadn't he, and then he'd woken up. That had been hard, too. Credence misses Newt sometimes, even now. ]

Well, um, if you think of anything that you need or that I can do, I will.

[chambermusicandtenpins]

Thank you, Credence. I appreciate the offer.

[With a slight, pained humor in his voice:]

If you ever wanted to stop by, I would appreciate it greatly. It would be good to speak with you in person sometime, when we are not in the middle of being attacked by something.

[boyobscured]

That would be nice. I'll come by the next time I have a day off work, if you like? That's usually Mondays.

[ A pause. ]

Albus. Do you...think you could teach me magic? Real magic. Not just...the kind that hurts people. I have a wand.