AN: Written for round eight of the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition.
Prompt: Dumbledore and Grindelwald's monthly talks
Month One (1945)
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore walked down the hallways of Nurmengard. For one who claimed to know so much, he felt rather lost at the moment. The ages wizard had decided that visiting Nurmengard was what he needed to do, now however, he was having second thoughts.
So lost in his own internal struggle he almost ran into the desk he had been walking towards.
"Name?" Askes the witch at the desk.
"Albus Dumbledore."
"Here to see?"
"Gellert Grindelwald."
Albus looked at the witch for a moment before handing over his wand.
"Down the hall on your left Mr. Dumbledore."
He nodded his thanks and walked down the direction she had pointed out to him.
Albus opened the door to the cell and looked at the man sitting on the floor.
"Hello Albus."
"Gellert."
"Come to gloat?" The prisoner asked, looking up.
Albus forced himself to reply, "No."
"Then why?"
"To talk to you."
Gellert smiled and started to laugh, "Oh Albus," He started. "You didn't come here for me! You came here because you want me to forgive you."
Albus stared at the recently defeated dark lord, "Gellert-"
"You should leave Albus, you won't ever get my forgiveness."
Month Two
"Albus Dumbledore, here to see Gellert Grindelwald."
The witch looked up as he handed his wand over.
"You're welcome to try Mr. Dumbledore," she said, taking the wand. "But he has not been responding to anyone."
Albus thanked her and walked down the dark hallway for a second time.
Albus took one look at the man on the floor and felt his shoulders fall. "Oh Gellert." He hear himself say. What had they become?
For months Albus would consistently return to Nurmengard and speak to a consistently unresponsive Gellert.
Month Four Hundred and Twenty (1980)
For twenty five years Albus Dumbledore continued to visit his once lover once a month. For twenty five years Gellert Grindelwald said nothing in response to his mutterings. He instead remained in his near catatonic state.
Not for the first time the Headmaster of Hogwarts walked down the hallway with a heavy heart. It was not easy for him to sneak away anymore for these meetings. He had considered many a time simply forgetting about them. In the end however; he always managed to get here.
Once again he had spent the better part of an hour telling Gellert about the war and once again Gellert had remained silent. Albus pushed himself off the wall and knocked on the door for the guards to let him out. Just as the door was about to open Gellert shifted slightly and Albus saw that he was smiling.
"Gellert?"
"Oh Albus," he croaked, "It doesn't seem like you'll be wining this one."
As Albus left he couldn't help but fear that Gellert was right.
Month Four Hundred and Twenty One
Albus opened the door to the cell again only to have his hopes dashed. Whatever had brought his friend out of his state at his previous visit was gone. In its place was the unresponsive man he had become accustomed to. Albus spoke into the room for a few minutes before getting up to leave. As he rose he noticed words written in the dust on the wall. Albus Dumbledore smiled for the first time in a long time. The words themselves were a code, one which he knew lead to the elder wand his friend had once possessed.
'Maybe,' he thought as he left, 'Gellert does still have some human emotions.'
Albus Dumbledore would return the next year to tell Gellert Grindelwald of the fall of Tom Riddle. He would admit to him that he had been right, he hadn't defeated Tom. He hadn't been capable of doing so. Instead, the new dark lord had been defeated by a child.
Month Six Hundred (1995)
"He will come here eventually." Albus confessed. "I am so sorry Gellert." Albus turned to leave the room he had barley entered.
"You can't control him Albus."
Albus spun back around to face the shell of a man that was suddenly speaking to him again.
Gellert smirked, "After all," he said "you could never control a dark lord."
Month Six Hundred and Twenty Four (1997)
Gellert Grindelwald sat on the floor of his cell, for the first time not having seen Albus enter the room within a month.
Gellert knew something was wrong, he had asked the guard, who had confirmed Albus' last visit had been over a month ago. He knew that the monthly visits was a self-imposed sentence that Albus had given himself. He also knew that he would never fail to complete his own plans.
As Gellert stared at the walls, a growing sense of dread in his stomach he replayed his friend's words in his head.
'He will come.'
'I am so sorry.'
Alone in his cell Gellert allowed a single tear to escape down his face in memory of what could have been.
"I am so sorry Albus." He whispered, his own words echoing back to him of the brick walls.
Month Six Hundred and Thirty Six.
"Gellert Grindelwald."
Gellert opened his eyes to a man in his cell. If he had been any less intelligent of a man – he would have sworn the creature was a walking Inferi.
"You must be Tom Riddle."
Gellert smirked as he saw the creature recoil.
"I am Lord Voldemort."
"Ah, apologies."
Voldemort smirked at the man on the floor.
"Tell me Grindelwald, where is the elder wand?
Gellert started laughing in such a manner that once would have sent his classmates running.
"Do you know nothing boy?" He asked. "I was more powerful then you could ever hope to be before you knew what magic was."
Voldemort hissed and shot a pain curse at him. "Where is it?"
"Where you will never find it."
Gellert Grindelwald died alone in his cell, defying the very ideology he had once fought to spread.
AN: Thanks for reading, Reviews are always nice :)