Notes: This is the story of Gellert Grindelwald and Albus Dumbledore; two young men, plotting, a spectacular friendship, a tradic family and maybe even some bittersweet romance. I'm going to write as close to the truth as possible, that means Albus is going to fall in love. I may change a little though, when it comes to Gellert; is he going to answer Albus feelings? Every other chapter is from either Albus or Gellert's point of view.
Many thanks to my lovely friend and beta Emelle (arwenjanelilylyra).
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter-world is the property of J.K Rowling, I'm just writing down what she missed.
Two Months of Paradise
Prologue
(Albus)
I carefully sat down on the unstable wooden fence. Ariana had finally fallen asleep, and I was allowing myself some rest. Being a talented eighteen year-old wizard in Godric's Hollow, and the head of the family wasn't something easy. I woke up, made breakfast for Ariana and Aberforth, cleaned the house, and talked to the neighbours. Sometimes I wrote some articles to the Daily Prophet and so on.
A waste of talent, some might say. But I had no choice, my mother had died and I had to take care of my family – or what was left of it.
Today was a Wednesday, in the middle June; it was unnaturally hot and I had finished all my chores for today. I knew there was a river nearby, just a few hundred meters away from the graveyard.
"Hey Ab, I'm going down to the river, want to join?"
Aberforth was playing with something that looked suspiciously like a Muggle Football. My brother didn't even look up at me as he shook his head. He was always such a strange boy; not sociable, or smart, or even talented. Preferring to be alone than with friends. I simply shrugged and started heading for the river.
As I arrived there, I found a beautiful vision set out front of me. The sun reflected on the water, and the green grass was filled with crimson and gold flowers. There was a meter of shore cutting of the water from the grass, and I could hear several woodpeckers in the trees surrounding the glade.
And the water. It was so clear that I could see small fish swimming around, and when I bent over the river I could see my own reflection. Intense blue eyes stared back at me, the slightly maroon hair with strands of auburn waving a little in the wind. I could even see the small freckles on my nose.
I lay down on the soft grass, closing my eyes so I wasn't dazzled by the sun. It smelled like summer. And freedom. I thought back to those summers with Elphias. We always spend the lazy afternoons by the black lake, doing homework or just talking. I smiled a little to myself. Those were the days. Missing school maybe wouldn't be a problem if my mother had been alive. Then I could have gone away on the round-the-world trip with Elphias.
All the time lying there, I didn't notice someone watching me.
(Gellert)
When I awoke, I didn't even have time to fully open my eyes, before I had to shut them again. The dazzling light streamed through the window, feeling the intense heat upon my face. I threw off my cover and sat up in my bed. I heard the sound of my Great Aunt Bathilda working in the kitchen and could smell scent of fried bacon, making me stand up, tugging a black T-shirt on that matched my blue checked pyjama bottoms.
I may have lived here now, but that didn't mean I could run around the house half naked.
"Good morning, Gellert. Want some breakfast?" Aunt Bathilda said, smiling at me. I nodded to her and sat down by the little wooden table, attacking the eggs and bacon. A large clock on the wall showed me that it was nearly eleven.
I hadn't had the chance to explore the area until now. I had only arrived last night and by then it was too dark, so I let Bathilda take care of my plate and rushed up to my room.
I stared into the mirror, only to find that my blonde hair was standing out in every direction, the thick locks hanging down, hiding some of my dark blue eyes. I started changing my clothes to a pair of black breeches, a white shirt, grey knee-socks and black braces. My hair only needed some water and then, done.
Practically running down the stairs, I said goodbye to Bathilda, and rushed out of the front door, the light of the sun shining on my face – perfect day for exploring.
Within only a few minutes I was entering the graveyard, my eyes looking for a particular stone tablet. That was the true reason why I had come to Godric's Hollow actually: I needed to know more about the Deathly Hallows. There were suspicions everywhere that Ignotus Peverell – his grave having been placed here – was one of the Three Brothers.
After being expelled from Durmstrang, I knew immediately what I wanted to do. After all, I had carved the mark of the Deathly Hallows into walls of the school.
They were my obsession.
But after realizing that there were over one hundred tomb-stones, and due to the fact it was really hot outside, I gave up my searching. Maybe I could try another day, because right now, I just needed a cold bath or something similar. I thought I could hear a rustling somewhere close and entered the forest to investigate it further.
After walking for a couple of minutes, I entered a vast glade. It was beautiful to say the least; glittering water, green grass, flowers, sand and even some butterflies.
But I wasn't alone.