Here's the next chapter! It's longer than the first one and I hope you like it as well! And I would love to hear what you think so please leave a review. And thank you for the one I already got, it means a lot to me and it always motivates me to go on writing.
I don't own anything except the plot!
It had all happened too fast. First, the argument between his brother and Gellert. He hadn't noticed at first that the two of them had left the house. Otherwise, Albus would have gone with them immediately to prevent a fight. However, he was too occupied with Ariana and didn't notice them leaving.
He wanted to talk to them, make them stop those stupid things they were doing. It was complicated when your brother didn't like the person that was most important to you. But then Ariana had followed him outside – another thing he hadn't noticed. And it all escalated. Aberforth had accused Gellert of being a dark wizard and he said that his friend would even kill people when it was necessary. Of course Gellert didn't let his younger brother say those things. Albus knew his friend very well – and his temperament. His mood used to change very fast, a single word could make him angry, even if he seemed happy before.
However, there was something else about Aberforths words that made Albus hesitate for a second. He said that Gellert would kill people, that he wouldn't hesitate. What made him think that? All their plans for the greater good didn't involve killing, did they? Or was he mistaken and Gellert saw all those things completely different as he did himself? There had been a strange feeling in his stomach.
When Albus noticed the furious expression on Gellerts face, he stopped thinking about it. Gellert was his best friend and he meant so much to him. He couldn't let Aberforth hurt him or vice versa. So when they started to throw curses at each other, Albus stepped between them as fast as possible. There was no time to draw his wand and he knew that it was stupid what he was doing. But the only thought that crossed his mind in that moment was that he would rather die than let those two hurt each other.
Then everything went black.
He had strange dreams; those dreams that made him wonder if he was dead.
He saw many different scenes in front of him. He remembered some of them, but others were completely new. There were his parents, many years ago when they were still young. His mother was talking to Ariana, they were in the kitchen. Albus didn't know what she was saying, but his sister laughed. And even his father, who entered the room had to smile. Aberforth looked happy as well and whispered something into Albus' ear that made him laugh. They looked like a family.
Then the scene shifted and Albus saw another version of himself. He was at Hogwarts, studying. Suddenly, he noticed that Elphias Doge was sitting next to him. That's when Albus realised that they weren't studying. They were making plans for their journey around the world. It was their last year at Hogwarts.
Then he was at Godric's Hollow again. He knew that moment too well, he had thought about it many times in the past weeks. A handsome young man with blond locks and blue eyes was standing in front of him, smiling widely. He held out his hand and Albus took it. "Gellert Grindelwald." He introduced himself and Albus liked the sound of his voice. "Albus. Albus Dumbledore." He replied when they shook hands. When they let go of each other, they stood there for a few moments, both looking at their hands. Gellert frowned and Albus wondered if he had felt the spark between them as well. But then Gellert smiled again as if nothing had happened and asked him if he could show him around the town. Albus agreed immediately.
After that, he saw parts of his conversations with Gellert. Talking about the Hallows and the greater good (Gellert liked the way Albus called it very much, so they used the term all the time now). They had many ideas and Albus really thought that they could make the world a better place. And Gellert seemed to agree with him and his plans.
Before he could think about that any longer, the scene shifted again. And now Albus didn't recognize it. He saw a castle. It was very big and beautiful. However, Albus didn't know where it was standing. After looking at it for some time, he noticed that there were words above the entrance. 'For the Greater Good'. But what did it mean? Where was this castle and even more important, who owned it? Albus had an idea of who made this, but he couldn't follow the thought because the things he saw changed again.
It was a dark night and it was raining. He couldn't see much of his surroundings, but there were a few small houses which looked like they had been built ages ago. Suddenly, there was a person walking towards him. Albus took a step back, afraid that he might be seen. But the person walked past him as if he wasn't there at all. Which he wasn't, obviously. It took him a moment to realize that an older version of himself had just crossed his path. He followed him quickly and saw himself walking towards one of the houses. It stood apart from the others and the older Albus walked in without knocking. Inside, it was dark. There was a small fireplace, but the fire couldn't light up the entire room. The older Dumbledore took out his wand and waved it through the air. The tip of his wand began to glow and now Albus could see the room around him better. There weren't many things here. A few clothes were lying on the floor and on the table he saw pieces of bread and a cup filled with a dark liquid. The older Dumbledore (he couldn't tell how old he was, but he had a beard and wrinkles around his eyes) didn't look around the room. He was walking towards the bed slowly, a carefree expression on his face. "Good evening, Gel. It's good to see you again." When he started to speak, Albus noticed the figure in the corner of the room, right next to the bed. There stood a man, he was very thin and his clothes were torn. His arms were crossed and when the older Dumbledore waved his wand and the light began to hover above the table in the middle of the room, he could see who it was. And the sight nearly made his heart stop. Because this was Gellert. And at the same time, it wasn't the Gellert he knew. He looked bad and was paler than ever. His blond hair was dirty and cut short and even if there was enough light in the room, Albus couldn't see his eyes. He looked older and more than that, he looked tired. As if he had to go through many problems in the past years. But what was this scene? Why weren't they together and both looked like their life had been too difficult and painful?
"Why are you here, Albus?" Gellert asked slowly, not moving from where he was standing. Albus noticed that he didn't have his wand in his hands. It was lying on the bed.
"I wanted to see you." The older Dumbledore replied calmly. At those words, Gellert laughed. But it wasn't an amused laugh, it had this bitter tone in it. The same tone that was in his voice as well.
"You wanted to see me? Really, Albus? After everything that happened?" Gellert's voice was sharp, but also curious. He raised his eyebrows at the older version of Albus.
The older Dumbledore nodded. "Of course."
"Even after all our disagreements. When I noticed that you were here, I considered getting ready to fight. Because that's what they asked you to do, isn't it? To kill me because you're the only one who's able to do it."
"I told you that I would never move against you." Dumbledore replied softly, his voice still calm. He didn't seem to be impressed by the hate in Gellert's tone.
"Then why are you here?" Gellert demanded to know.
Albus walked towards him slowly and let his wand disappear in his pocket. "I wanted to see you. Is that such a bad thing?"
Gellert still didn't seem to be convinced. "After everything that I've done? I've killed many people Albus, you know that. I started a war. Because of our ideas. The ones you didn't want to realise. Because you were afraid."
The older Dumbledore swallowed. "Let's not talk about this. It doesn't matter. I swore that I'd never move against you. I didn't. Why can't those things stay in the past?"
For the first time, the expression on Gellert's face softened. "Albus…" He whispered.
Than the scene in front of him disappeared.
It hurt. His entire body was aching and Albus didn't know where he was. He couldn't be dead. Then nothing would hurt, wouldn't it? He tried to move his body and was surprised when it worked. Everything around him felt soft. Was he lying in a bed? He wanted to open his eyes, but he couldn't do it. So he decided to just lie there for some time. He listened to his surroundings and noticed that there was the sound of breathing close to him. So someone was in the same room. But who could that be? And more important, what happened? Were his siblings alright? And what about Gellert? Albus' heart began to beat faster. He had to know what happened.
He tried to open his eyes again and was surprised that it worked. The light in the room blinded him, but after a few moments he realized that he seemed to be in a hospital. He knew this kind of rooms. Was he at St. Mungo's? He moved his head a little to see who was sitting next to him. What he saw there surprised him.
Gellert Grindelwald was sitting on a chair next to the bed. He was watching Albus intensely, a look in his blue eyes that he couldn't quite interpret. His whole posture was tensed and Gellert had dark rings under his eyes. It looked like he hadn't slept for days. And to Albus' surprise, his lip was split, just like someone had hit him in the face.
They looked into each other's eyes for a few moments – Albus couldn't tell for how long – when Gellert relaxed. A small smile appeared on his lips, however it didn't reach his eyes. "Albus, you're awake." He whispered and Albus tried to smile at him. It was harder than he thought.
"What happened?" It sounded more like a cough than actual words and Albus cleared his throat.
When he heard Albus' voice Gellert tensed again. He frowned and Albus recognized the look on his face – Gellert looked worried. "How are you feeling?" He asked instead of answering Albus' question.
Albus closed his eyes again. He was tired and everything was hurting, but he didn't want to worry his friend. "I'm fine." He muttered and hoped that Gellert would just accept his lie. Of course he didn't.
When he opened his eyes again, he saw the anger on his friend's face. There was this hardness in Gellert's eyes that only appeared when he was furious. "Don't lie to me, Albus!" He said, his tone sharp. "I know that you aren't fine. You look terrible. And for days, the healers weren't even sure that you would wake up again! We thought you were dead! So tell me everything, but not that you're fine." He spat the last word at Albus and crossed his arms – a gesture Gellert always did when he wanted to distance himself from things confronting him.
It took Albus a moment to realize what he just said. "I was… You thought that I was… I've been asleep for days?" He looked at Gellert with wide eyes.
Gellert stared at him for a few more seconds before he sighed. For the first time since Albus was awake he leaned back in his chair. "You completely stupid idiot." He muttered. "Why did you have to stand between us, in the middle of a fight and without a wand? Have you any idea what could have happened to you?"
Albus wanted to change his position so that he didn't have to look up at Gellert anymore, but the pain got even worse as he tried to move. He groaned and gave up. Gellert didn't say anything to his effort to sit up, he just raised his eyebrows. "I couldn't let you hurt each other." Albus explained.
His words didn't seem to satisfy Gellert, since he just shook his head in disbelief. "Really, Albus? Don't you think that I could have defended myself?"
"Oh I'm pretty sure that you could have done that." He said immediately. "I was juts worried about what could have happened. I didn't want you to hurt my brother."
"And what if he would have hurt me?" Gellert asked, a challenging tone in his voice.
"We both know that you're a very skilled fighter. But I wouldn't have forgiven you. Both of you, if something would have happened to the other one. Aberforth is my brother, I can't let anything happen to him. And you mean very much to me, Gellert. I don't want you to get hurt as well."
At his words, the strange expression on Gellert's face returned. There was something that Albus didn't understand. Why was his friend looking to troubled?
When Gellert didn't say anything, Albus asked a question that had been on his mind since he woke up. "Where are the others? Are Aberforth and Ariana alright?"
Gellert nodded slowly. "They're at home, if that's what you want to know. And no one's been hurt. When you fell to the ground Ariana freaked out, but luckily your brother was able to calm her down before something bad happened."
Albus nodded, relieve flashing through him. "Thank you." He whispered and Gellert laughed dryly.
"Why are you thanking me?"
"For letting me know that they're alright."
Gellert leaned forward again. "I was more worried for you in that moment. I didn't really pay attention to your siblings." Somehow, Gellert looked restless.
"Who did it to you? Your lip." Albus explained when Gellert looked at him confused. He already knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it either way.
"Your little brother. As soon as Ariana was gone, he attacked me." Gellert shrugged and to Albus' surprise he really looked like he didn't care. Normally, his friend would be furious when someone did this to him.
"And how did I get here?"
"As soon as I realised that you weren't dead I disapparated and took you here." Gellert explained shortly.
"What happened to me?" Slowly, his head started to hurt as well.
"Are you alright?" Apparently, Gellert had noticed the pained look on his face Albus tried to hide as good as possible. He should have known that he would see it, he had never been able to hide something from his friend.
"I'm fine. And now tell me what happened? I've been hit by a curse, I know that. But which one?" And who cast it? He didn't dare to ask that question. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to know that.
"Should I get a healer? Maybe they can help you with the pain." Gellert still didn't answer his question and slowly, Albus began to feel uneasy. His friend was acting strange, something wasn't right.
"Gel, what's going on?" He asked softly and hoped that he would tell him the truth.
Suddenly, Gellert stood up and the chair fell to the ground with a loud bang that echoed through the room. "I think it was me, if that's what you want to hear!" Gellert said loudly and the sudden change in his tone made Albus flinch. "When you stood between us, I couldn't stop myself anymore. I had already cast the spell. And apparently, your brother had done it too. They both hit you, but it was mine who brought you here! Are you happy now that you know that? That I've nearly killed you, Albus? Your brother was right, after all. I am a bad person. And maybe I am evil, who knows? I didn't think for a second that you could stand between us. If I would, then I would have never used this spell. I didn't want this to happen…" He walked through the room restlessly and Albus realized that this was the reason why his friend had been acting strange. He thought that he had nearly killed him.
"Gellert…" He began, but it didn't seem as if he heard him. He was still walking through the room, muttering things to himself that Albus didn't understand.
"Gellert!" He said, louder this time. The young man in front of him stopped and looked at him silently for a few moments. Then he walked towards the chair slowly and lifted it up again. When he sat down this time, the tensed posture was gone. He looked tired and insecure. "Gellert…" Albus began hesitantly. "Were you here all this time?"
Slowly, Gellert looked at him and nodded. "You've been asleep for eight days by now."
"Have you even slept in all this time?" According to the dark rings under his eyes, Gellert didn't sleep. And his friend shook his head. Albus sighed.
"I've been thinking very much…" Gellert began. "And I don't think that this will work, Albus. I'm sorry. But your brother was right. We don't see things the same way. You're just so good and I'm not and… I fear that I might be a bad influence on you." He ran a hand through his hair and turned his head away so that he didn't look at Albus anymore.
Albus' heart seemed to stop and he breathed in deeply. This wasn't happening, was it? "What do you want to tell me, Gellert?" he asked and his voice was shaking. Was he really saying that he was leaving without him? After everything they've planned together. Was it possible that the person Albus cared about most was going to leave his life forever?
Suddenly, Gellert turned to him again and his expression had changed. There was this hard look in his eyes again. "I think it's the best for all of us if I leave as soon as possible."
"Gel…" Albus began, but he wasn't sure what he should say. He wanted to tell him so many things. That he shouldn't leave. He was sure they could work this out together. That he wanted him to stay. That ne needed him to stay. Because what would he do when Gellert was gone? How could he go on? When they first met, Albus had been impressed by Gellert and it had only taken a few conversations with him before he knew that he liked him very much. Maybe even too much because he wasn't sure if Gellert liked him as well. Or in the same way. They didn't know each other for a long time, but Albus always had the feeling that Gellert knew him better than anyone else. And that he understood Gellert as well. Of course he knew that they saw many things in a different way, even if the idea they had was the same. But they could work it out together, if they just tried. I won't get a chance anymore when he leaves now. Albus thought. We won't get a chance.
"Please, don't do this." He pleaded and for half a second, he thought that he saw insecurity on Gellert's face. However, it vanished so soon that Albus wasn't sure if he just imagined it.
"You know that it won't work, Albus." Gellert said slowly. "We're just too different."
"We can figure it out. Together, if you just give us a chance to do it." Albus tried again, but Gellert shook his head.
"I don't think that it's that easy. And it's better if I leave now, that makes it easier for both of us. I just wanted to wait until you woke up and make sure you're alright." And then Gellert stood up. He looked down at Albus and suddenly, he was sure that Gellert was looking sad. "You're a brilliant person, Albus. And I'm sure that you can do many good things in this world. Just don't give up on your dreams. And goodbye." With those words, he turned around to leave. He didn't even wait for an answer.
Albus was still feeling tired. His body was hurting and he had a very bad headache as well. His heart was racing in his chest and he felt like he was going to die in this moment. We would have liked to call after his friend, to tell him not to leave. He even felt like he would start to cry at any moment. However, he forced himself to stay strong. And at the same time, he gathered all his strength to do something very stupid. He knew that it probably wasn't a good idea, but with everything that was left to him he sat up in bed, reached forward and grabbed Gellerts wrist as hard as he could. As soon as he moved, everything around him began to turn and it wasn't easy to stay conscious.
Gellert gasped in shock and spun around, his eyes wide. He paled when he saw Albus and tried to loosen the hold he had on his wrist. However, Albus refused to let go.
"Please, don't go." He muttered and Albus began to sweat from the effort of staying in this position.
"What are you doing?" Gellert asked in a sharp tone. "You should rest!"
"I won't let you leave like this." Albus said strictly and looked at his friend with a serious expression on his face.
"Albus, I have to go." Gellert said urgently and tried to get away from him again. Albus tightened his grip around Gellert's wrist and he was surprised that he could hold his friend back. Or he just wasn't trying hard enough to leave.
"Gel, we can work this out. But please don't leave me. You aren't a bad person. Don't believe what Aberforth says. I know that you're good. And running away now won't make anything better. We can talk about everything, also about the things we don't see the same way. I don't know what I should do without you. I already told you that you're important to me. And I hope that you don't want to leave as well. Because…" Suddenly, the thought that Gellert simply didn't want to stay with him anymore crossed his mind. What if he would have gone either way? What if he needed a change in his life and what he had right now wasn't enough? "If you really want to leave, I can't stop you." The last words weren't more than a whisper and Albus froze in his position. There was this pain in his stomach now and he knew that it wasn't caused by his injuries.
They looked into each other's eyes for a few moments and Albus was sure that Gellert would say that it wasn't enough. That he wanted to leave and find someone who would help him with his plans, without all the doubts Albus had.
"Alright." First, he thought that he had heard something wrong. Albus eyes widened and Gellert laughed nervously at the confused expression on his face. "I'll stay. But please lie down again, Albus. You look like you're going to pass out every moment. And I'll still be there when you wake up, I promise."
