Warnings: Hints of homosexual relationship, both Mental and physical abuse (though not that much I think) and slight mental disorders. Also probably some angst. There is no way I can make this into a happy cute fic, but I will not wallow in pity.
Disclaimer: The characters, the world and the Quotes in the beginning and end of each chapter are all copyright JK Rowling. I only write this for my own enjoyment, but if you like it I will be very happy.
A/N :This is a fic that has been in my head for AGES. I wanted to see the last HP movie first though, just in case they mentioned something about the relationship between Dumbledore and Grindewald in it. (and I was quite dissapointed that they didn't) And I havent read any other fics on this pairing, in fear of influencing this story too much with thing I liked in other fics. But anyway, here it is. Its will be 7 chapters long (with an epilouge) and will be about my headcanon of these two, and their entire story together. If I get any canon facts wrong I appologize beforehand.
Chapter 1.
Dark and difficult times lie ahead, Harry. Soon we must choose between what is right, and what is easy.
It's still light at the horizon, but the windows are being lit one by one back at the castle. It's probably after curfew but Albus cannot bring himself to care. It's one of his lasts nights on Hogwarts, and he means to make the most of it. Elphias has lit his wand and is trying to draw figures in the air, to join the small lanterns in the shapes of fireflies that Albus has bewitched to float around the small group of last-year students. He's not doing a very good job of it, and some of the Hufflepuffs are laughting. But he just smiles, there's no real malicious intent in the air, not tonight. Albus leans back and tunes out the murmur of conversation, as he looks at the castle that towers over the lake, and the stillness of the water makes him think that maybe the reflection in the water is the real world, and the sky above is an endless ocean of stars. One of the Ravenclaw girls has tried to get his attention all evening, but he's in too good of a mood to really mind. Maybe he'll even consider giving her a chance, just for the night. But as he closes his eyes and muses about how she might feel, just a little closer than she is now, he has to suppress a dismissive smile. He already knows that won't happen. Albus has realized, years ago, that love was not for him. He just didn't seem to have the feelings required.
"Friends! Fellow graduatees!" Elphias called, raising his firewisky to the sky, "Lets drink to our fondest memories from our years at hogwarts!" Albus snickers a bit at how the usually shy and awkward Elphias becomes quite loud and happy with a little firewisky in his system, but raises his glass with the others.
"To the time Hufflepuff won the house cup for the first time in half a sentury!" One of the Hufflepuffs, a small girl with dark eyes, yells and is met with cheers and laughts. The time in question had been a year of severe feuding between Gryffindor and Slytherin students, combined with a high sickness rate among the Ravenclaws, had given Hufflepuff a good 100 points more than the rest of the houses. Albus, who had several friends among the hufflepuffs, thought it had been about time.
"To the look at professor Thorne when he realized somebody had replaced his stack of elk meat with live pixie-gnomes!" A ginger Slytherin named Giles laughts. Rumor has it that he was the one who had put said pixie-gnomes there.
"The moment Silvie said she'd go out with me!" One of the Rawenclaw boys, William Thomson, piped, making all of the students present roll their eyes. Will and his girlfriend Silvie were known to walk around hand in hand and being disgustingly happy with eatch other, and kind of rubbing it in all the single students faces.
"My turn! Lets se… The time when Dawlish agreed to come live with me this summer!" A boy calls from somewhere behind Albus. He doesn't really feel like turning around to look who it was.
"I did not!" A female voice answers.
"Well you were about to!" The first voice says again, and there issome tumult that results in cheers from the other students, the toasts temporarily forgotten. Elphias takes the moment to turn to Albus, clicking their flasks together.
" All the times with you, my friend."
"Don't be silly, Elpias, you have had lots of good times without me. What about that time with Annie Clearwater?"
"Nah. Nothing beats a best friend." Elpias replies with a soft smile.
"Very true. To best friends." Albus says, and raises his glass.
"Best friends."
As the slow burn of the firewisky makes his way down his throat, Albus thinks he sees something gleaming in the air just above Hogwarts. Something like the light that reflects on the wings of a Phoenix on a moonlit night. The moment he looks, however, it's gone.
"Hey, Albus, How about you?" Suddenly all eyes turned towards him. He didn't like to admit it, but the latest years he had become quite well-known among the Hogwarts staff and students. Mostly because of his talent for coming up with new spells, but also for the respect the teachers had started showing him the latest months, as his strength in magic had increased rapidly. It had almost felt like they'd been afraid… But that was a foolish thought. He returned his thoughts to the present and thought about the question, while watching the firewisky flask thats giving off a little smoke where it rests in his hand.
"I'm sorry, but I have no certain moment, because I had genuine love for everything." Even when the other first years had called his father things for being in Azkaban, even when Evelyn Dearborn had yelled all his secrets to the great hall after he had broken up with her.
"To Hogwarts!" He said, raising his flask to the air, soon joined by many more.
"To Hogwarts!" The others echoed, and as the conversation continued towards plans for the summer, Albus thought of his own future.
Elphias had bought a world map on post-order with an information voice that would tell you all about the place where you tapped your wand, and during a long night in their dorm room they had looked through it all and decided on which places they wanted to visit most of all. And the weekend after that had been spent planning each movie carefully. Everything from how many socks they should bring to what manner of transportation they would use to get from India to the Russian border (a travel-agency-issued portkey) had been written down and c ost-calculated in an enchanted notebook that only showed its content when you spoke the words Nitwit, Blubber, Oddment, and Tweak. If you said the wrong password the book would spit green ink at the person trying to read it, and would spell "I cannot keep my nose out of other people's business" on his/her face. It had seemed like a great idea until Elphias had said Oddment before Nitwit and had to walk around with the words on his face for a good forthnight before Albus had come up with a good erasing spell.
They were to leave just a few weeks after graduation, and Albus was really beginning to look forward to the trip. He would miss Hogwarts, of course, but he was sure to be back sooner or later. Somewhere in the back of his mind he had a feeling that he would return to work there one day, no matter what the rest of the world would offer. No place like home I guess, he ponders. Once again, there is a sudden light in the air in the corner of his eyes. This time it is closer, just above the lake a few hundred meters out. This time, as he turns, he sees a shadow of a bird, reflected in the water. As it swerves and flies straight in his direction, he can see the golden feathers on its back.
"Fawkes" he whispers, and rises from his place by the fire.
"Albus? What is the matter?" Elphias asks, ever the observant one.
"It is Fawkes. He must have news from my sister. She… Hasn't been feeling well." He walks out on the waterline to hold out his arm to Fawkes, not hurrying but not lingering behind either, both fearful and anxious to read what the Phoenix's message might read.
One of the fireflies perched on his shoulder, and he reads the letter in its light, feeling the panic rise in his stomach with every word.
"Aberforth. Wake up." The Gryffindor dorms are quiet and dark, and the only source of light is the moon outside the window and the small glow of Albus's wand.
"Albus..?" His brother asks, his voice uneven from sleep and his eyes blinking against the light.
"We have to go home, right now."
"Ariana?" Aberforth said, suddenly wide awake, fear strong in his voice.
"No, not- its- Its mother. Ariana lost control again and-" Albus's voice breaks, the words seemingly impossible to voice.
"She's gone, Abe. Mother is dead."
The truth is a beautiful and terrible thing, and therefore should be treated with great caution.