Written for the lovely Lokilette for coming second place in a competition of mine.
Thank you to Nightmare Prince for your help beta'ing and figuring out the ending of this piece.
In The Graveyard At Dawn
When Albus first saw him, he was enraptured. His blond hair was straight and silky, but wild wisps broke free around his face. Deep blue eyes forced him to stare, openly for a moment, into their murky depths. His face was stoic, and yet even in an emotionless state, it lit up with mischief and wonder. Albus didn't think he'd ever seen a face quite like it.
As his senses came back to him, he remembered where he was. The graveyard was usually empty at dawn, allowing him a few moments of respite before he returned home. Home was where he was master, brother, father, saint, and servant. Young as he was, sometimes it was all too much.
He came to the graveyard to think. Graveyards seemed to Albus one of the richest places on earth, so full of ideas as they were. The novels never written, the dreams never reached, the secrets kept locked away - all of this and more had been brought here, at one time or another, to be laid to rest. Albus liked to imagine that if he tried hard enough, he'd be graced with those thoughts himself - that they would rise up from their resting places and settle within his soul, like they once rested in the souls of those long before. It was his secret, his escape.
As Albus realised he'd become lost in his own thoughts, he brought himself back to the realm of the living and noticed the young man he'd been so caught up in was walking towards him. Instinctively, Albus' back straightened as his chin rose, holding himself high and proud to meet the stranger.
"Hello," the blond boy greeted him, his voice betraying an accent that said the language did not come naturally to him.
"Hello," Albus replied with a slight nod. There was a glint in the blond boy's eyes that sat uneasily with Albus, though his stomach began to turn with a strange excitement.
"I'm Gellert, Gellert Grindelwald. I just moved here; I haven't had the time to get to know my neighbours just yet," the boy, Gellert, said.
"I'm Albus Dumbledore," Albus replied, holding out his arm for a customary, polite handshake. "Pleasure to meet you."
"The pleasure is all mine, I'm sure," Gellert said with a smile as he took Albus' hand in his own. Albus couldn't help but notice the chill in Gellert's skin as the firm handshake ended. He found it more than a little unnerving.
As Albus visited the graveyard everyday, so did Gellert. A few days later, it came to light that they had only missed each other for the first week by chance of habit. Gellert had been leaving the graveyard just before Albus arrived, heading home for a few more hours of rest before his Great Aunt awoke him for breakfast. After the first meeting, Gellert's habits began to change, and soon their morning meetings were ritual.
They grew content in each others' company so quickly it was almost frightening, and two weeks later, they sat together as if they were old friends.
"I'm curious, Gellert, what do you think of me?" Albus asked, smiling through his desire to know the answer.
Gellert eyed him with concentration for a moment before speaking.
"I think you're apollonian, stoic. It makes me wonder what you would be like when prompted to excitement,or despair. I'm impatient to see it, if I'm being honest," Gellert replied. Albus ran a hand through his auburn hair, unsure how to take that assessment. It seemed like half a compliment, and half a challenge. "What do you think of me?"
Albus internally kicked himself. He hadn't thought of how easily the question would be turned around on him, how he'd be obliged to answer.
"Well, you have a charisma, and an air of volatility about you. It's rather enticing. There's also something scintillating about you," Albus finished, immediately looking at the cold, grey headstone in front of them, fearing he had said too much.
"And you're a sesquipedalian!" Gellert announced, laughing.
"It's my biggest fault!" Albus replied, joining in, the awkwardness of the brief moment soon gone. That was the way it was already, with the two of them. One would speak without thinking only to fear their words were out of turn, unwarranted, and the other would brush it off like water from a duck's back. Honesty was their catalyst.
"Speaking of unnecessarily complicated words, what do you think of solipsism?" Gellert asked, turning the conversation back to more serious matters.
"The belief that the only reality is oneself. It's certainly an intriguing theory, but not one I've entertained myself," Albus admitted.
"Why not?"
"Because my imagination has never proven itself so vivid," Albus replied with a wry smile.
"A fair judgement. I looked into the theory a few months ago. It led me down an interesting route. Perhaps you'd like to see my research?" Gellert questioned.
"I most certainly would."
Albus was not sure how Gellert Gridelwald's research had taken him from solipsism to this current theory. He knew the reasoning was there, in the paper he'd stayed up all night to read, but it no longer seemed to matter. This idea, half-formed and captured on parchment, ignited something within him. The Deathly Hallows, long forgotten save in a children's tale, were there, littered throughout the history books, ready for a new master. Ah, that was it. If the only reality is ourselves, then it didn't matter if the Hallows were fables or true: Gellert's belief in them would be enough, and Albus' belief would solidify that. And Albus did believe. This was the glory and recognition he'd been craving, the solidification of everything he knew was within himself. Everything that would not find release in these four walls he called home.
He raced to the graveyard early that moment, hoping to catch Gellert with his newfound excitement. His heart leapt when he found the other boy already there, waiting for him.
"This is wonderful," he announced, waving the paper.
Gellert laughed, a melodious sound, and bowed his head. "Thank you, I'm glad you think so."
"I added some annotations and comments; I hope you don't mind," Albus said as he handed the paper back to its rightful owner.
"Not at all; I'm grateful for the second opinion. Two minds are indeed often better than one."
"I must ask though, what is your reasoning behind the whole thing? Why do you want to figurehead this?" Albus questioned, looking at Gellert with curiosity.
"History has shown us time and time again that people need a leader. They need someone to follow, lest discontent spreads. When people don't rally around something, they turn on each other. Belief goes a long way in terms of bringing people and communities together. Instead of religion, I give them myself to believe in," he returned.
Albus was impressed by the reasoning, blinded by his own adoration.
"I already believe in you," he admitted.
Gellert looked at him with an honest smile. "Thank you."
Now that Albus had entered a partnership with the older boy, he found himself growing more and more curious. It was less than a week later when he found the questions that had been forming in the back of his mind growing too strong to hold in anymore.
"Gellert, why did you leave Durmstrang?" he asked, curiosity getting the better of him.
"I didn't leave, they asked me not to return," Gellert replied, his blue eyes turning on Albus with a spark of amusement.
"Why?" Albus prompted.
"I had theories. Theories I wanted to see put in practice. I began to collect blood samples from other students, to test their magical potency. I wanted to know if blood status really did have an impact on magical abilities. It doesn't, if you were curious. But the school board didn't like it when they found out," he finished with a smirk.
A small part of Albus' brain wondered if this revelation should frighten him, but he quelled it. He wasn't afraid, he was awestruck by the brilliance of Gellert's mind.
"Are you scared?" Gellert asked him, fixing Albus with a stare that made his stomach twist uncomfortably.
"No," he replied, not knowing if it was true or not.
"Good," Gellert replied. "I need you not to fear me. Those notes you've read, they're just the beginning. I have great plans, Albus, and I need you by my side to see them through. Can you do that?"
"Yes," Albus replied, holding his chin up a little higher. "Of course I can. It's all for the greater good."
Gellert smiled, as if Albus had said something that he hadn't thought of before. "For the greater good," he agreed with a nod.