Title: Never To Return
Author: OCDegrassi (Holly)
Pairings: Albus Dumbledore/Gellert Grindelwald
Rating: K+
Warnings: Mentions Of Violence
Note: This is for kitty-re's "I Never Loved You" Challenge. The challenge was to write a story and include the quote: "I never loved you." This is slash. It's rather short, but I enjoyed writing, so I hope you enjoy reading it.
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Albus Dumbledore stood in the single cell at the top of Nurmengard prison. His former friend sat on a small cot in the corner of the room. For the first time in his life, Gellert Grindelwald looked weak. Their duel had taken a lot out of him. Albus felt a great sense of guilt upon seeing the other's sickly appearance, but he knew he had done the right thing. He had to stop Gellert and end the war, but that still didn't make it easy.
How does someone force themself to fight a person they once loved with all their heart? It was almost impossible. It had torn Albus up inside to duel him. Why did the right thing always have to be so hard? Gellert ignored him and stared out the window, pretending to be deep in thought. Albus knew better. "I'm sorry, but… it had to be done." Gellert laughed cruelly at this. "You're sorry? What happened to you, Albus? You used to agree with me about this. You've changed, and not in a good way."
Albus started to feel anger rise inside him. "I may have changed, but it was for the better. We were children when I agreed with you, and we were foolish. You, unfortunately, never grew out of it." Nobody besides Gellert could push his buttons to the point where he snapped. The defeated wizard looked at him and spat venomously, "I knew you weren't sorry that you had to duel me. You probably loved beating me, didn't you? Gave your life some excitement?"
Albus was taken back. How could his former lover ever think that about him? "Of course I didn't enjoy it. How could I? We once loved each other." Gellert shook his head. "I never loved you." Albus's breath caught in his throat and the whole world seemed to go silent. He didn't mean it, he told himself. He was just angry and lashing out. But his eyes said otherwise. They were harsh, but sincere.
He turned from the man that had once been his whole life, and walked out of the cell. He felt like his world was crumbling beneath him and his heart was breaking. This was it: The End. They could never go back now. Gellert had ruined it. He had ruined who they were –who Albus thought they were. It had all been an act. Albus had lived his entire life with memories of a lie. He refused to look back as he walked away from the prison, and he knew that he would never return. There was nothing for him to return to.
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A/N: Please Review! It makes my day.