This themed is for the Slytherin House, prompt being Pensieve - 642 words
Albus sighed, dragging his fingers along the edges on his Pensieve. He had used it numerous times before, but only for viewing the memories he didn't want to lose.
This type of usage, however… it was only theoretical, proposed by a man who was widely considered to be insane, and Albus knew not a single person who had dared to use the Pensieve like this - it was too risky. But he was about to die anyway: a little risk-taking here wouldn't change his fate at all, and Albus had always been too curious for his own good.
Taking a deep breath, Albus cleared his mind of any stray thoughts and lifted the Elder Wand to his temple, concentrating on that memory. It was one of those memories he kept at the very back of his mind, barred from the rest of his thoughts. Not once had he scolded himself for doing so, labeling himself a coward and a fool, but not even his judging heart could force him to unearth this memory - at least, not until now.
He consciously chose not to look too closely at the memory as he extracted it from his mind and flicked it into the Pensieve. It floated over lazily, entering the bowl after several seconds, and created a miniature storm amidst the memories already inside.
After the storm calmed, Albus could clearly see the azure background of the summer sky, and two boys sitting very close to each other. The blond boy said something to the auburn haired one, causing the other to fall onto his friend's shoulder, clutching his sides as he laughed. Albus' heart squeezed a little as he watched the scene unfold. He and Gellert had not met each other face to face ever since their duel in Dresden and Gellert's subsequent imprisonment in Nurmengard.
How could those two boys - for that's what they were, two schoolboys who knew nearly nothing of the reality outside school - be so happy? How?
Taking another deep breath, Albus raised his wand and paused. He knew he was stalling. He was afraid. Afraid this mad idea would work, and in the same time afraid it wouldn't work. Both options were terrifying, and Albus had no idea which one scared him more at the moment. Could he really do it? He started to lower his wand. He wasn't really ready to say goodbye just yet...
You're a coward, Albus.
Aberforth's - and his own - words echoed in his mind, burning him and forcing his wand hand up. He had been a bloody coward throughout his life, but damn it, he wasn't going to die like one!
Finding the determination again, Albus pointed the wand at the Pensieve and flicked the wand sharply up, then to the left. The memory swirled and flew upwards, creating a delicate latticework right over the Pensieve, connected to it by the single string.
Here came the hardest part. The memories weren't actually removed when they were pulled out - they were merely suppressed. Even the Obliviate couldn't get rid of the memories completely; it merely locked them behind the steel doors.
There was only way to destroy the memories completely. Albus had to reject them, then blast them with pure magical power.
Albus let his magic flow through him and into the Elder Wand, mind laser-focused on the lingering feeling of affection - love - he associated with the memory.
"What you show never happened. I am no longer that foolish boy. This is not, and never was, my memory."
Goodbye, Gellert.
A current of electricity coursed through Albus veins as he said those words, freeing his magic and sending it crashing into the delicate silver latticework. His magic obliterated the last fond memory he had kept of Gellert, and erased any lingering affection for Gellert from his heart.
He could die in peace now.