I was hesitant to do a GindelwaldxDumbledore fic, but I love the pairing and I wanted to tell their story in the way I thought it happened. Thank you.

Please Review! xxxx

The slender, dark haired youth watched the rain pour from his window. It had rained nearly every day since summer had began. But that wasn't surprising, rain seemed to fall endlessly in Godric's Hollow in the summertime. Or maybe the key word was seemed.

"Albus! You git! You're head of the family now, I've been watching Ariana now for hours. Come down here!"

Albus nearly sighed at the nagging voice of his younger brother, Aberforth. He wasn't a fan of dreaming, of fun. He surely didn't dream at all, and if he did, he wouldn't dare let them linger. He let them die. He couldn't imagine living like that. Living without dreams, without hope of ever leaving. Of being free. Of freedom from-

"Albus!"

Albus cocked his head to the side in aggravation.

"Alright, I'm coming down, Aberforth! Don't get your knickers in a knot!"

He looked out the rain splattered window one more time, but the view before him had changed, though still blurry from the rain. Madame Bagshot seemed to appear out of nowhere. She was always a bit odd, he supposed. She was clutching onto her raggedy silk shawl and tugging a white, paint-chipped trunk behind her, very inefficiently it seemed. He wondered why she wasn't using her wand. Perhaps she had broken it. Another figure came into sight. A boy, no, a young man. With wet hair from the rain. It looked like it might be light brown when dry. Or perhaps blonde. Either or. He was muttering words at Madame Bagshot, who paid no mind, it seemed.

"ALBUS!"

"I'm coming!"

He hesitantly turned from the scene and went to greet his brother, who was fuming.

"You were made head of the house, you ought to act like it," Aberforth stated through gritted teeth. Ariana was resting in her yellow armchair by the fireplace. She swayed, and it seemed that she was swaying along with the dancing fire in front of her.

"Albus is here to watch you, Ariana. I've got to go into town, today. He'll watch you," Aberforth said to his sister sweetly.

She looked up at him with large brown eyes. "Don't go," she mouthed.

"I won't be gone long, just a moment, I promise."

He didn't allow himself to look into her eyes again. His feet already felt as if they were made of lead. He left in a curt manner, leaving Albus and Ariana alone in the parlor.

He smiled at his only sister. "Have you had fun today, Ariana? I heard you went to feed the animals today. How was that?"

She didn't turn to face him but for a moment. "Yes. I held one of the little chickens. It was light and yellow, very, very soft as well."

"It sounds like a very good day," he said as he smiled at her softly.

She smiled back, though it seemed distant and not entirely directed at him. She had been a bit off since their Mother had passed, and she was already bad enough before the death of their Mother. Everyone who knew the Dumbledore family was especially concerned for her.

And the rumors. The rumors were the worst. That Ariana had killed her own Mother. That she had done it because she had beaten Ariana while she was still alive. That she was a squib and was chained up in the cellar at all times. The worst part was that some of them were partly, if not entirely, true.

"Would you like some tea?"

She nodded curtly.

He stood and went to the kitchen to boil the water for tea. He watched it simmer for a minute before seeing a movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned to the dusty kitchen window. He always forgot it was there. He opened it and peeked out. The rain was still coming down, but not as heavily as before. He could see the figure from Madame Bagshots front yard. He was in his room drying his hair with a hand towel. It did seem to be blonde in the candle light of the room. And a bit wavy as well.

The tea whistled loudly behind him. He levitated it carefully and prepared a silver tray with assorted china cups from the cubboard. He poured her tea and stirred in 3 spoonfuls of sugar, the way she liked it.

He glanced at the window again.

The man was looking into the kitchen.

Albus spilled droplets of boiling tea onto the wooden floor. He cleared his throat uncomfortably as the man seemed to laugh at his small folly. He wasn't sure if he should say something, or look back at him, or-

"Is the tea ready, Albus?"

He exhaled sharply and shut the kitchen window.

"Yes, the tea just finished," he said as he set the tray on a little wooden table to Ariana's left. "I've prepared it just the way you like it. And look, I got you some little candies as well." He popped one of the cherry candies into his mouth.

She smiled and picked up a lemon drop. "These one's are my favorite. It's sweet, and also a little sour."

He watched her place the lemon drop onto her tongue. He crunched the cherry candy. He placed a lemon drop between his teeth and savoured the tangy taste.

"You know what? I think you're right. These are wonderful. They might be my favorite, too."

Her eyes lit up for a second, and then dimmed again.

There was a thud outside and someone was yelling out curses.

Albus stood. "Cover your ears, Ariana, you don't need to hear those words." He stealthily moved the white curtains and peered outside. The blonde was outside again. He had forgotten two more suitcases which had popped open. His belongings were scattered throughout the yard. He muttered something again. He had forgotten his wand, and Albus could tell.

Albus took his wand out of his pocket and stepped outside. He waved his wand at the now soaked pile of items. They gathered into the suitcases, which latched shut, securely this time.

The young man looked at Albus as if he had never had anyone help him before.

Albus nodded awkwardly, as did the blonde.

"Thank you. I had forgotten my-"

Albus interupted him. "I know, you forgot your wand."

The blonde looked at him suspiciously. "You've been spying on me, have you?"

Albus nearly scoffed. "No, of course not."

"You look like the person in the window. A bit nosey, are you?"

"I could say the same to you, sir."

The blonde cracked a smile. This surprised Albus.

"Grindelwald. Gellert Grindelwald." The blonde extended his hand.

Albus slapped his palm onto his and shook his hand without hesitation.

"Dumbledore. Albus Dumbledore."