It's a discussion thread and she gave her opinion.

 

Grindelwald was a Dark Lord, so for all we know he was animgaus and wards were the only thing keeping him in. Then again, Voldemort just busted in like it was no big deal and murdered him. Does that say something about how strong Voldemort was or just how weak a Dark Lord Grindelwald was?

In the end Grindelwald died trying to protect the Elder Wand's secrets, maybe he could have broken free from there - he made the damn prison - but felt Dumbledore was right or w/e and that he truly belonged there for the death of his sister and so many others.

 

Voldemort broke in with a wand. Grindlewald didn't break out because he didn't have a wand.

 

Canon's plot kept Grindelwald there but beyond that I feel as though he was somewhat content there. He was the former ruler of that prison - if he wanted out, he would have got out, wand or no wand, just like Sirius did it without a wand. And on top of that wizarding security has always been lacking, in my opinion. Trolls and giant snakes roaming freely in a school (I wont even bring up Voldemort of any number of his Death Eaters), several break-ins at the ministry, multiple escapes from Azkaban and the list goes on.

 

I had an idea for Grindelwald out of prison, but its probably not what you are looking for.

My idea was that Harry gets convicted for the murder of Cedric after the tournament and sent to Azkaban. Dumbledore cannot get the government to allow Harry out of jail and soon finds out that Voldemort is about to break into Azkaban, kill Harry and take out his followers. Desperate, Dumbledore gets forces loyalty out of Grindelwald in return of letting him out of jail. Then, they both and break into Azkaban and retrieve Harry before fleeing as all of Europe is after them.

I just don't think Grindelwald is going to escape unless Dumbledore is already dead or he or Voldemort lets him out.

 

I could build a maximum security prison and if I was locked in it I'd still be fucked without a key.

Your point is as ridiculous as it is lacking.

 

The whole point is that we don't know what Nurmengard was capable of or what Grindelwald was capable of. And comparing yourself as the builder of a prison to a fictional wizard and a magical prison is pretty ridiculous.

 

The level of security applied to a prison is going to differ massively from that applied to a school, or to a public access Government building. So its a ridiculous comparison to make, to suggest that because Hogwarts has lax security obviously Nurmengard does as well.

And there was, as I recall, only one actual escape from Azkaban. The other was a break out, in that they were broken out. Doesn't matter how amazing and high security your prison is, if someone walks up and blows down the walls then people are going to escape.

 

I always pictured Grindelwald almost on par with Dumbledore.

[QUOTE="Dumbledore in DH, Chapter 35][...]“Oh, not death,” said Dumbledore, in answer to Harry’s questioning look. “Not what he could do to me magically. I knew that we were evenly matched, perhaps that I was a shade more skillful.[...][/QUOTE]

For "shade more skillful" I understood quicker on reflexes and thinking on his feet.

So, to write a believable Grindewald you have to keep in mind what your DD would be capable of, and notch him down a little.

About Gellert's knowledge of magic, take in consideration this

[QUOTE="Dumbledore in OoTP, Chapter 37]“[...]I knew that Voldemort’s knowledge of magic is perhaps more extensive than any wizard alive. I knew that even my most complex and powerful protective spells and charmswere unlikely to be invincible if he ever returned to full power.[...]" [/QUOTE]

Grindelwald was still alive at the time, so if you take DD's words for granted (and it's a big if), on an exponential scale from 1 to 10: Voldemort's knowledge is 10, Grindelwald's 8.5/9 IMO.

Also we know for a fact that Grindelwald's skills in the political arena were big enough to terrorize magical Europe. So, he has a very charismatic personality and is an excellent strategist.



Vandy222: What is the reason to make Grindelwald free? Assume you succeded in getting him out, what's the year? Who's your main character? Why do you need Grindelwald for? I can't picture what you're going to write about without clearing those facts.

 

Well, the best way is the one you initially thought @Vandy. Maybe have wizards attack the prison Nurmengard and damage it. Grindelwald is moved to Azkaban for the time being for renovation of Nurmengard. Gellert escapes or rather Arcturus Black and Abraxas Malfoy help him escape during the transfer.

 

While I think it's silly to say that Grindelwald definitely could break out if he wanted (and, canonically, it's true that he seems to be content there), I also don't think it's out of the realm of possibility.

For two main reasons:

1. He has a level of magical skill on par (roughly) with Dumbledore. Remember in OotP that Dumbledore expressed disdain for Azkaban's ability to hold a wizard such as he ("I could break out, of course"). Nurmengard isn't Azkaban, but as prisons they may share certain features.

2. Grindelwald designed the place, so if anyone could do it, it would be him.

As for why he hasn't done so already:

1. Canonically, he has repented and feels he deserves to be there.

2. If he did seek to escape, I don't see anything wrong with the suggestion that the process would take him decades to complete. He doesn't have a wand, after all.

From a story writing persective, having him break himself out has two main virtues:

1. It's simple, and doesn't require that you have to go out of the way to create massive conspiracies or explain away very unlikely situations.

2. It places all the focus on Grindelwald himself. If he's going to be the primary antagonist of the fic, you want to build him up in the reader's mind. Having him break himself out is somewhat more impressive than other people breaking him out, so establishes from the start that this is a BAMF.

 

I agree.

If you're setting him up to be this big, you should have Arcturus or whoever plan this elaborate breakout attempt, and then realize when they get about halfway through the inquisitive planning stages that, actually Grindelwald has been missing for about a year, and the ICW has been hushing it up for fear of looking as incompetent as the British when it comes to dealing with dark wizards.

P.S. Grindelwald is not a Dark Lord. Please do not make this mistake.