Chapter Text
Gellert Grindelwald was not known for being merciful. It was known that if anyone had the pleasure of being a guest of Grindelwald’s, it was not an event to forget. For Percival Graves, it was just that.
The first thing that happened once he was knocked unconscious during his duel was being thrown into a cell and shackled to the wall. He was deprived of food and water except to keep him alive for the first few weeks of his captivity. Then he was released and Grindelwald’s minions were allowed to have their way with him via beating the living shit out of Percival. Afterwards, his wounds would be healed but not very well so whatever bones were broken were still painful and kept him from moving around too much.
The thing Grindelwald enjoyed the most was picking important parts of the body such as the hip or shoulder joint and just shattering the area with potent magic. Over and over again, his limbs were shattered only to be mended but then shattered once more. Percival forgot what it was like to live without his body being in constant agony. His throat was on fire from all of the screaming. No training prepared him for the endless pain of Grindelwald’s torture.
Another activity Grindelwald enjoyed was this spell that Percival never heard of. It involved focusing on a bundle of nerves of something such as a kidney or a nerve bundle of his lower back and “tickling” otherwise translating to Grindel physically pinching the nerve over and over again. It happened with such frequency and such ferocity that surely it caused permanent damage. The times where Percival was left alone, he suffered random spasms that left him barely able to breathe.
The cell he stayed in was so dank and cold that coupled with the torture sessions, he was constantly drenched in cold sweat. His immune system being already compromised by the other activities, Percival finds himself getting sick. It always got to the point of near death before Grindelwald will sort of heal him but never fully so that there is always a lingering sickness. He probably went through illnesses from a cold to flat out pneumonia from his living conditions.
With the constant half-ass healing, it ensures Graves can never escape because all of the bones have been put back together improperly. He tried once but it resulted in dragging himself along the ground after he couldn’t even list himself with his arms. Everything about him is weak and broken and it weighs on him when he tries to think through the haze of pain. He vaguely knows that the reason for him being alive is for Grindelwald to impersonate him and infiltrate the American Ministry. When he thinks about all of the people who could get hurt from this, it tears him up inside and during his most vulnerable times, he cries himself to sleep or his body gives in to his exhaustion.
The day he wakes up in the hospital, he sees Queenie sleeping next to him. He finds that he can’t really move or feel his limbs. He can’t be sure that it’s even her. Although Grindelwald didn’t really spend time playing with his mind, Graves thinks that there’s always a time to start. He can’t stop himself from coughing which wakes her up. Her eyes light up at the sight of him awake and aware that she gives him a big smile. Her hand touches his face and for the first time in ages, he feels a kind touch. Before he can help it, he feels tears stream down his face and with what little strength he has, he launches himself up to grasp Queenie in a desperate hug. His face buries itself in her shoulder and his chest heaves with sobs. Sobs of pain, sobs of despair, sobs of happiness to have finally been found. Queenie tries not to read his mind but she can feel how strong his emotion are from the whole ordeal and she can’t help but cry with him. She rubs his back with her hand and quietly shushes him trying to calm him. She doesn’t know how long they sit there but at some point, Percival passes out from the over-exertion so she gently places him back on the bed. She touches his face again, tracing over the sharp features caused by malnutrition and abuse. It would take a long time for him to ever even think about being on his own. Too many injuries to heal still for both mind and body.
The doctor gives Tina and Queenie a diagnosis on Percival and it doesn’t look good. Multiple bones would have to be removed and regrown with skelegrow and even then, until he has the energy to move himself, there is no way to tell if there is joint or ligament damage. Unfortunately there is a huge tear in his left shoulder muscles that can’t be healed meaning Percival might never regain full mobility. They were able to identify the areas where Grindelwald overstimulated the nerves and they are not sure of the gravity of lingering damage until he wakes up. Even with medication, his various illnesses caused scarring of his lungs so he would have a persistent cough for the rest of his life. Despite all of that, the doctors are hopeful that with love and support, Percival can get through all of this. Tina and Queenie realize that they are not equipped to deal with this by themselves so they enlist help from Jacob and Newt who came back from Europe once he heard they had a lead on Percival.