AN: Ok, so this is my second fanfiction published, and I'm planning on writing/publishing more! (When I can find the time, because I do have a busy schedule) Also, I really like boyxboy pairings, so if you don't like that sort of thing… Well you can still read this one. It's not too romancy, (though you should be aware that Dumbledore is gay, and ultimately, this pairing is not to be unexpected, because JKR had it planned, she just kept it underground.) Also, this would be rated K, except for some mildly suggestive implications. Friendship and humor would be the other main categories… Yeah. But if you have hates/complaints/nasty comments, then please do go and buzzer off to another fic that you can appreciate. Please write reviews! They really encourage me to write more! I truly do appreciate them!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, just the original situations. And, I do make up other stuff, though this particular fic is mainly sticking to the book.

Enjoy!

They were three boys and one girl. Laughing. Trapped forever in one moment of pure innocence.

"Play with me, Albus."

Albus opened his eyes, jolted from his daydream revere. Bright, sparkling blue eyes stared down at him, framed by a mess of tangled long blonde hair that fell down, tickling his forehead. A mischievous grin was spread wide across the girl's face, and Albus smiled, as he groaned, rolling over on the grass and closing his eyes again.

A sharp prod in the back caused him to cry out indignantly. "Ari—!"

"You're not dead," she giggled. At this, Albus frowned slightly. "No..."

"Mummy's dead, but you're not," Ariana stated bluntly. Albus glanced up to see her crossing her arms, pouting slightly. When had she learned? Well, he had supposed that she would come to realize eventually... But... She must not understand the concept very well, he decided. It was better she didn't.

"Play with me," she repeated, before adding a hesitant "Please?"

Albus bit his lip, letting his eyes fall shut. The glare of the sun shone through his eyelids, making them red, before Ariana's shadow blocked the light. He sighed. "Maybe later… Gellert will be here soon."

"He can play too!" Ariana exclaimed excitedly, sounding absolutely delighted.

Albus heard her stand up, and the sun came back onto his face.

"You'll play with us, right Gellert?"

Albus's eyes snapped open, and the sun's rays bore ruthlessly into his pupils. He immediately shaded his gaze as he propped himself up, squinting at the newly arrived company.

Gellert's eyes wandered over the two of them, a bemused expression passing briefly over his handsome features. "…What?"

"Ariana wants to play," Albus explained, a bit unnecessarily.

Gellert raised his eyebrows, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Full, pale pink lips the color of dried roses. Secretive lips, that hardly revealed anything, much less a grin, like that of Ariana's. Albus blushed lightly, an awkward smile involuntarily coming onto his own face. He turned to Ariana. "What do you want to play Ari?"

"Um… The… Pretty rollies!" Ariana said, stuttering slightly. "Then… 'Splat!'" She laughed. "I like the pretty rollies..." She looked up at Gellert innocently. "Do you like pretty rollies?"

Gellert seemed lost for words for a moment. "Er…" He glanced at Albus briefly, who smiled at him, blue eyes laughing silently. "Sure I do. In fact, I love pretty rollies, Ariana."

Ariana's small round face lighted up like the sun, eyes shining. She clapped her hands together. "Then you can play! I'll go get them!" She turned, racing back to the house, feet pounding noisily on the back steps. Albus instinctively looked around warily, but, as usual, the house next door was still empty and avid of life, and the house on the other side had the shades drawn, as they always had been. For these reasons, Ariana was always allowed to play in the backyard. She and Aberforth had even created a small garden in the little space there was in the backyard.

Ariana loved to be outside. Whenever she was forced to be inside, she would be found sitting precariously atop the window boxes filled with flowers. Albus glanced up at the window boxes on the second floor, completely unaware that he was smiling, until Gellert sat down next to him, brushing him lightly in their close proximity.

Albus's face turned red, and Gellert glanced at him curiously. "You're really cute when you blush like that, you know," he said, smirking playfully.

The tips of Albus's ears turned pink. When Gellert placed a hand over his own, he felt his body grow warm.

"Knut for your thoughts?" Gellert murmured in his ear.

"Ah..." Albus made sure to keep up his occlumency defenses, as he felt Gellert lightly attempt to read his mind.

Gellert sighed, turning away. "So… 'Pretty rollies'?"

Albus nodded, feeling slightly relieved. "She wants to play Gobstones."

"That's a children's game," Gellert muttered, tone slightly disdainful.

Albus shrugged. "Older people can play it too…" He paused. "Haven't you ever played?"

"What?" The other asked incredulously. Gellert laughed. "Honestly, Albus, can you see me playing something like 'Gobstones'?"

"Honestly, Gellert, were you raised by muggles?" Albus countered, sighing. This received a flushed face from his friend.

"No. I'll inform you, that I have played Gobstones before, Albus— I don't fancy it though."

"Hmm..." Albus didn't say anything to this, as the door opened, and Ariana raced out again, proudly shaking a bag full of marbles. She skipped over to them, happily sitting down next to Gellert. The door opened again soon after, and Aberforth followed behind her, looking over the three of them. When his eyes came upon Gellert, they narrowed ever so slightly in resentment.

"Abby, come play with us!" Ariana cried merrily." Gellert was staring back at Aberforth, and he smirked at the nickname. "Abby, we're going to play Gobstones now— Wouldn't want to miss out, would you now?"

"Don't bait him, Gellert…" Albus murmured softly, as Aberforth, scowling, stalked over to the group. Ariana smiled naively up at him, as she passed him the bag of marbles.

Aberforth took it, grimacing a bit grotesquely as he eyed Gellert, obviously still mistrusting. "You're playing?" he asked, an edge in his voice.

"Yes… I am playing," Gellert answered smoothly. "Do you have a problem with my playing… Or is your face this hideous all the time? I must say, you wear the most bilious expression, Abby dear. Most unpleasant."

Aberforth said nothing, save for what sounded like a small growl. He shook his head as he knelt beside them, and glanced at Albus momentarily. Albus only shrugged in subtlety, withdrawing his wand, and summoning a large flat board out of the air, which fell to the grass with a soft thud. There was a wide circle laid out across the surface, with what looked like string. He turned to Gellert. "How do you want to play?"

Gellert blinked slowly. Most people would think this gesture was one of laziness or indifference, but in truth, Albus knew it to be an expression of surprise, or even confusion. It quickly changed, however, when his friend's gaze landed briefly on Aberforth, who was setting up the game, completely unaware that his mind was being gently penetrated. "Just a classic game, I suppose."

Aberforth glanced up at Gellert, an expression of surprise eminent across his features. By god, you could read the kid like a book, Gellert though disdainfully. He really didn't even need his legilimens ability with Albus's younger brother. After a moment, Aberforth passed Gellert a handful of green marbles, continuing to do the same in distributing the other colors to Albus, Ariana, and himself. "Would you like to start, Gellert?" he asked, placing the Gobstone in the center of the board.

Gellert shook his head. Stretching out languidly across the lawn, he propped himself up by his elbows. "Ariana can go first."

This received a wide grin from the girl to his right, who nodded enthusiastically. She scattered her own marbles across the board, and Gellert watched Albus and Aberforth do the same, before he followed their lead. He sat up, yawning, as Ariana flicked a ball across the board, effectively hitting two of his marbles out of the circle. Oh no, he though sarcastically. I lost two mar—

SPLAT!

Something gelatinous and wet suddenly smacked Gellert in the face, and he spluttered, spitting the foul substance out of his mouth. He could hear Aberforth roaring with laughter as he wiped the goo from his eyes. The stuff absolutely reeked. It was like an awful mixture of pond muck, and mandrake soil. He glared at Albus's younger brother, ready to utter a jinx in turn.

SPLAT!

This time, Gellert was knocked over from the force of the firing gobs. A burst of unfamiliar laughter from his right was heard, and he wiped his face again, to look at Albus with dismay, who stifled a snicker, looking sheepish as he tried to hide his grin. When he saw Gellert's look of betrayal, however, for some reason it only made him laugh harder.

"Albus!" Gellert's scowl quickly turned to a feral grin, as he rid himself of the rest of putrid slime. Albus was still laughing, while Ariana was ostensibly biting her lip, holding back a grin, as she watched gellert with childlike curiosity. "Oh, Albus, it's my turn…" Gellert called softly, picking up his shooter marble, and aiming it carefully at one of Albus's blue marbles. If it hit the stone right, it might knock out multiple marbles, he thought. See how he likes it…

Albus giggled softly, looking up and staring directly at Gellert, as Gellert shot the marble. Then Albus burst into incoherent laughter again. At first Gellert was confused, until… SPLAT! SPLATSPLAT! SPLAT! Then, it was Gellert, who was on the ground covered in green goo. Again.

What?

"Gell, your face," Albus laughed.

My face… I can't find my face, there's so much F**king slime on it, Gellert thought bitterly, scraping at the viscous, utterly foul substance. I don't understand… He wiped the stuff out of his eyes to stare hard at the board. four of his green marbles had been knocked clean off, the shooter—his shot— at the center of it all. it dawned upon him when he heard a stifled giggle. His head snapped up to glare at Albus furiously. "You used magic!"

Albus rolled his eyes divertingly. "Well, it happens a wizarding game, you see, Gell. You're of age as well, are you not? And I think it only appropriate that wizards should use magic. We're different from muggles, that way, you know…"

"You never…" Gellert stopped himself. I'm supposed to know how to play, I shouldn't be complaining about the rules.

"I thought it was a given," Albus responded casually, clearly having read his thoughts. He'd exposed part of them, at least. "After all, you've played before, haven't you?"

"Yes," Gellert responded, a bit tersely. After a moment, a smile slid onto his face that was partly a grimace. "Course I've played before, Albus." He and Albus shared a secret look. Oh, Albus knew he was bluffing, what was the point?

"And now, I think…" Albus plucked the shooter ball from the board. "It is my turn." He grinned evilly.

Gellert raised his eyebrows. "Alright then. You have the floor. Or the board, rather." He laughed. Albus gazed at him thoughtfully, before slowly, carefully, setting up the shooter. Gellert sighed. No way was Albus going to hit even one of his marbles out. I can play this too, you know.

Albus didn't hit any of Gellert's marbles out. In fact, he didn't even try. Gellert frowned slightly, as two of Ariana's maroon colored marbles flew off of the playing board. He'd actually wanted Albus to try to hit him out, he thought, with a bit of disappointment. Ah well. He watched as two large gobs of green slime pelted Ariana in the face, which gave a delighted shriek of laughter. Does she ever get upset? he wondered momentarily, before refuting the idea. Of course she did. She was only human, after all. From what he'd heard from Albus, she was apparently unstable as well. So caught up was he in his own thoughts, that he didn't even see it coming. SPLAT! Gellert could hardly think properly, by this point. What. No, he was just sitting there like an idiot. Covered in this utterly disgusting, treacly slime.

Ariana was in a raucous fit of giggles, and Albus and Aberforth were laughing too… Once more wiping the slime from his face, Gellert glared at Aberforth, coming to the conclusion that it had been his shot. "It's not your turn yet, if you haven't noticed," he said coolly, staring at the younger with ultimate disgust in his gaze.

"Course it's not, Gell." Albus took him by the shoulders, gently, pulling a glob of slime from Gellert's collar. Gellert could only squint by this point. If he opened his eyes any further, he knew he would surely have the awful substance obscuring his vision. "Ariana just has a good aim… She prefers throwing the stuff, I think…" Albus laughed at Gellert's baffled look. Ariana let loose another shriek of laughter from behind them, and Gellert craned his neck to look at her from behind Albus. Try as he might, it was rather hard to be upset with Ariana. The foolish girl was just too… Innocent. Naive. Fragile. Gellert sighed, massaging his forehead lightly. No, that wasn't it. That was just appearances. In fact, more than anything, Arianna reminded him of himself, at times… The girl was smarter than she looked. He sighed. I must be losing it. Look at her; she's already lost it, for god's sake. He absently vanished a bit of the green gunk from his shirt, aggravated by the fact that, not only did the stuff stain clothes, but the spot also still smelled, even after being removed magically.

"It's concocted with Mandrake puss," Albus explained helpfully. "Doesn't really come out too easily; you'll need a potion for that. Dragon blood works too, but it's harder to find."

Gellert shook his head. "It's quite alright." Funny, he'd never heard of Dragon blood being used as a textile detergent before. But then, Albus certainly had some strange methods of doing things. Quite a unique individual, he was. Gellert smiled to himself. Then he looked up, just as Aberforth was making his roll. Oh no— SPLAT! Albus was hit from behind with the stuff, and as a result—

Gellert tried to stop it, really he did… Well. Maybe. Maybe not as much as he could have. However, he soon found himself knocked back on the ground, Albus sprawled on top of him, goo dripping from his fiery hair. His glasses had fallen off, and, of course, their lips had to be pressed together in an accidental kiss..

How cliché. Hmm. Gellert could pretend like he didn't have anything to do with that… But that would be a lie. He'd seen the trick done plenty times before. With couples on park benches; the girl would accidentally fall off balance, and the boy would have to catch her. With children playing in the street; the boy would accidentally run into the girl walking past, so as to give him an excuse to pick up her books. That was just the thing. So-called "accidents" simply didn't happen. It had only taken the quick yet subtle jerk of his wand, as Albus had been about to fall down atop of him, only a few inches off target. He really didn't regret the altered course he'd made.

Gellert found it absolutely amusing, when Albus's crystal blue eyes snapped open wide, a bright blush spreading across his face, as he clumsily pushed himself off of him, clearly flustered. "I— It's not— S-sorry," Albus stuttered, face completely red. He blinked, reaching for his glasses in the grass next to Gellert. Gellert reached them first, however, and Albus ended up grasping Gellert's hand instead. He let out a startled little squeak, sounding unexpectedly girlish, as he drew his hand quickly back.

Gellert smirked. "You feeling alright, Albus?" He propped himself up with one arm, reaching and lightly brushing Albus's forehead with his fingertips. "You're awfully hot. Perhaps we should turn in?" That's right. Special emphasis on "we." Gellert swore he could see the sweat bead roll down Albus's face.

Albus stood up suddenly. "No. No, I need to go Clean—"

"Clean up?" Gellert offered, smirking, as his eyes glittering with unbidden laughter at Albus's reaction to his subtly suggestive comment.

"My hair," Albus ground out, flushing brightly. "I need to clean up my hair."

From behind Albus, Aberforth cleared his throat. "It's your turn, Grindlewald."

Gellert ignored him. "I could help you clean up, if you want, Albus."

"No!" Albus practically shrieked. "I don't need help! S-see?" He directed his wand at his hair, vanishing the slime. "I'm fine," he managed, breaths coming out just a bit shorter.

"Your hair's still a bit of a mess though…"

"Just roll already," Aberforth interrupted impatiently.

Gellert flicked his wand at the shooter, appearing distrait. It succeeded in knocking three of Aberforth's marbles out. SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! Gellert smiled with satisfaction as Albus's brother spluttered on the ground. At least that shut him up for a bit…

"You should sit back down," Gellert commented, as Albus was still just standing there, blushing like an idiot. After a moment's pause, Albus did. He sat very straight, body slightly stiff. Albus really wasn't that great of an actor. His discomfort showed through, plain as the sun. That blasted, glorious sun that had grown just a bit too hot on his back and chest. It really was a shame, Gellert thought, that he himself burned like a vampire in the sun's rays. There was magic for that, of course.

Was it really the sun though? Gellert blinked at his own idea. To think he would even consider… He glanced up to see that Albus was looking at him. No, Albus hadn't been reading his thoughts— He was just intuitive that way. Gellert thought he felt his face grow warm. That definitely wasn't the sun.

Ariana rolled again, ending up hitting one of Albus's Marbles, as well as one of Gellert's. Those globs really were impossible to avoid. They both ended up on the ground again, covered in slime. Then Albus started laughing, and it was contagious. Aberforth and Ariana started laughing as well. Gellert wiped his face. Was it really that funny? When Albus's laughter reached his ears, however, he couldn't help but smile. Albus truly had a beautiful laugh. He had thought it on many such occasions. Gellert sometimes wished Albus would laugh more often.

Gellert's breath caught for a moment, however, when he heard an unfamiliar laugh, until he quickly realized it was his own. When was the last time… A few sparse memories of childhood floated to his mind. He remembered. Everything was… different, back then. He turned to look at Albus, who was grinning at him, covered in slime. Maybe…

He was caught off guard when the redhead suddenly tackled him in a tight embrace, still laughing.

Staring up at Albus, grinning above him, Gellert was still thinking about his childhood. He was thinking that, maybe, somehow… What if everything could be like it was then…? Right. A place where nobody had to die, and people could accept the things they don't understand, and where everyone could be equal. If only. Gellert let out a soft sigh. Now wasn't the time or the place to be thinking about a perfect world, however. He was reminded of that, when a drop of slime hit his face, having dripped off of Albus's hair.

Gellert laughed at that. In fact, he continued laughing, sitting up, and playfully pushing Albus off of him. It was everybody laughing then. Aberforth, Ariana, Albus… He himself was laughing as well. It sounded strange, and yet… When he met Albus's eyes, they twinkled with magic. Perfect.

They were three boys and one girl. Laughing. Trapped forever in one moment of pure innocence.

Gellert stared at the words he had written. He stared at them for a long time, before dropping the black stone, which had served as his writing utensil. It landed loudly, clattering on the cold stone floor of Nurmenguard. Forever. Forever was a very, very long time.