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Written for - Hogwarts - Care of Magical Creatures - Assignment 5
His Greatest Fear
It was an ordinary day when it happened. Nothing seemed out of sorts, nothing hinted that his life was about to be blown to pieces, leaving behind only a broken brother and a broken sister. He had no way of knowing that in minutes, seconds, an accident would leave him as the head of the family, sending his plans up in smoke.
Albus glared at the table. He was sad, of course, that his mother had died, but he was also angry. He was entitled to be himself, to show his brilliance, to prove his genius to the entire world. Aberforth was awkward, not very intelligent, not a conversationalist. Ariana, was... special, and not in a good way.
Of course, Albus loved his sister, and his brother. He really did. He just didn't want to be tied down into looking after them, didn't want to be kept in the little village that held nothing for him but bad memories and broken dreams.
Then, he came.
Gellert was everything Albus wanted to be. He was smart, and he had ideas, big, amazing ideas for the future of the Wizarding World. He was charismatic, and he had Albus hanging on his every word. The best thing about Gellert though, at least in Albus' opinion, was that he was interested in Albus beyond his family. He wanted to know about him as a person, a single entity, rather than a big brother, or the son of a Muggle hater.
They shared ideas, and they bounced off one another. The Greater Good, their slogan, would be known all over the world, and they would be revered by Wizards and Muggles alike when all of their plans came to fruition. Occasionally, if Gellert would say something that Albus didn't like, he would let it pass, because without Gellert, Albus would go back to being a carer, nothing, nobody.
Aberforth and Ariana faded into the background of Albus' mind. He made sure there was always food for them to eat, but he left them to their own devices so long as they left him to plan with Gellert. Aberforth took over the care of their little sister, and it was fine.
It was almost the end of the summer when it happened. An ordinary day. Nothing out of sorts. An argument, quickly spiralled out of control, and Albus' life was once again blown to pieces, this time irreparably so.
His little sister, his Ariana, who he had neglected to care for, to look after, was gone, and Albus wasn't sure if it was a spell from his own wand that did it. Aberforth was wrought with grief, anger at Albus being his primary emotion. Albus couldn't blame him. If it hadn't been for him and his idea's of grandeur, of reverence and glory, his little sister would still be alive.
Gellert, of course, was gone the same night, coward that he was. Albus couldn't find it in himself to be surprised. He had always known. He had chosen to ignore.
The days following were the bleakest Albus had ever lived through. Worse than his mother dying, worse than his father being sent to Azkaban, worse than not being able to go on his round the world trip. None of those were his fault. No blame could be laid at his feet.
But this time, his little Ariana, his little sister, was dead, and it was all his fault.
Years passed, and Albus learned to hide his horror, his shame of what happened on that ordinary day, and he grew to be one of the most well known wizards in the world. Many sang his praises, sat on the edge of their seats waiting to hear whatever wise thing he would say next, wanted to be his friend, his confidant, his protegee.
He kept them all at arms length, allowing himself to have friendships, but never close enough to see into his fears, his greatest fears, that he was the one to cast the spell that ended his sister's life.