Author Notes - it's good to be back with an update so soon. This is the start of the second strand of the story, but we'll be back with Harry and Cedric in the next chapter. Hopefully you will enjoy how the whole thing comes together! As ever, please review and share and I'll be back with another update as soon as possible.

Rating – T

Note – I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters. That privilege belongs to JK Rowling.

CHAPTER TEN

Death's Hollow

The graveyard in Godric's Hollow had become familiar territory for Albus Dumbledore. It had been nearly three months since his mother had died in an accident involving his sister. Every day since the funeral, Albus had walked the familiar path from the house his family lived in to St Jerome's Church and the graveyard where she was buried. For the first few weeks, he had hoped that he might find his mother there waiting for him, smiling and telling him that it was all some stupid mistake. But it hadn't happened and Albus had been left alone to look after his younger brother and sister.

The village was hundreds of years old and had one of the largest wizarding settlements in the country. The Dumbledore family had moved there to escape the accusing eyes of the wizarding world after Albus' father had attacked a group of Muggle boys. Only Albus' family knew the truth of what had happened that day: that Percival Dumbledore had been left devastated by what the boys had done to his youngest daughter and had set out to bring them to justice. But, like all plans born out of rage and heartbreak, it had gone horribly wrong and Percival was now serving a life sentence in Azkaban – and Albus doubted he would ever see his father again.

Albus' sister, Arianna, had been permanently damaged by the attack. She could no longer control her magical abilities and they only manifested themselves in moments of extreme emotion. It was at one of these moments when their mother had been killed. The shift from childhood to adulthood had made Arianna even more unpredictable and prone to violent outbursts. It had been a simple argument between Arianna and her mother about the state of her bedroom that had led to the explosion. Albus had been planning his excursions around the world with his good friend, Elphias Doge, when it happened. He heard the explosion from Doge's house and rushed back to find his mother dead and his sister weeping over the body. He doubted he would ever forget the sight of it.

He and his brother, Aberforth, had managed to convince the village that it had been a terrible accident involving a malfunctioning wand – and they had buried their mother with as little fanfare as they could manage. The family hated attention because they feared that if anyone truly discovered what was wrong with Arianna then she would be taken away to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries permanently.

And so Doge had gone off on his travels and Dumbledore had been left in Godric's Hollow. He didn't know how to feel – his grief was mixed with a terrible anger that such wonderful opportunities had been denied to him. He had come back from Hogwarts with the best grades anyone had ever achieved at the school and with the entire world open to him. But he was now rooted in one small village, locked away from the world outside, and forced to care for his family. He resented his mother for not being more careful with his sister. And he resented his father for not having the self-control not to go searching for those Muggles or the intelligence not to get caught afterwards.

"Back again Albus?" asked a small voice from somewhere behind him.

Albus turned, shaking himself out to his reverie, to see Bathilda Bagshot standing behind him. She was a friendly witch – about 30 years older than Albus – who also lived in Godric's Hollow. Albus had met her only a few times but knew that she had a wide and extensive wizarding family with connections all over the world. In different circumstances, Albus might have found it fascinating to talk to her about her experiences. She was a magical historian and had already written several highly-regarded books. But right now Albus was merely irritated that she had interrupted his train of thought. The last thing he needed now was another reminder that he was trapped in the village of Godric's Hollow for what he was sure would feel like forever.

"Oh, Miss Bagshot," said Albus, as politely as he could manage in the circumstances. "How are you?"

"It's not me you need to worry about," she said, smiling at him. "How's your family doing?"

"Surviving," replied Albus honestly.

"And what about you?" she asked, taking a step forward and surveying him kindly. "What are you going to do now?"

"What do you mean?" said Albus suspiciously.

"My dear boy, we all know about your talents. Your abilities. You must have great plans to do good in the world."

"Those plans will have to wait," said Albus shortly. "My family...my family needs me."

Bathilda Bagshot surveyed him sadly for a moment. "Of course," she said. "I've been meaning to you to talk anyway. My nephew will be coming to stay for a while and I think the two of you have a great deal in common. He's just out of school himself and wondering what next to do with his life."

"I see," said Albus. "I look forward to meeting him."

"He's looking forward to meeting you. I've already told him a lot about you."

"Oh yes?" asked Albus, his natural suspicions kicking in once again. His family had learned long ago that to avoid the eyes of the wizarding world meant that as many people should know as little about them as possible.

"Just the good things," she said earnestly. "He was fascinated when I told him about your talents. Like you, he was one of the best students his school had ever seen."

"Is that so?" said Albus, his curiously more than a little piqued. "Then you must tell him that I look forward to discussing the various shortcomings of our educations in due course."

Bathilda looked nervous for a moment and then let out a small laugh. "Indeed I shall. Goodbye Albus." And with that, she turned around and started walking towards the entrance to the graveyard and back on to the small street which served as the main thoroughfare through the village.

Albus sighed and sat down on the grass in front of his mother's gravestone. For the first time in three months, his spirits lifted a little. After three months of stagnancy and limbo, it seemed finally like something interesting was about to happen. He had been too full of remorse and guilt when Doge had left to seriously consider what staying behind would mean. Now he had the chance to meet another powerful young wizard and – if luck was with him – to start making plans.

He knew that his family had wanted him to achieve great things, but circumstances had got in the way. But Albus was certain that his destiny was not to be stuck in the village of Godric's Hollow for the rest of his life. He was certain that he had a far greater role to play in wizarding history. He felt the familiar surge of anger he felt whenever he thought of those Muggle boys who had attacked his sister. They had started this whole chain of events; they were the ones who might stop him fulfilling his potential. The small-minded bigotry of Muggles had done this to him. Just like the small-minded bigotry of the wizarding world made him conceal who he truly was. Both worlds needed to be upended and the balance of power shifted. He had decided long ago that that would be his mission.


It was almost an hour later that Albus returned to his family home. He had spent the intervening time just wandering the village, fantasising about the changes he would make to the wizarding world. The arrival of Bathilda Bagshot's nephew, who seemed to have many of the same qualities as Albus, had reignited his passion and need to achieve.

The Dumbledore house was large and impressive and stood at the outskirts of the village. His family had inherited a large fortune, passed from, they believed, the heirs of Godric Gryffindor himself. Albus was never sure that he truly believed these stories but, wherever it had come from, the gold provided enough for his family to live a comfortable life away from the major centres of magical power. Going to Hogwarts had been a revelation for Albus. Never before had he been near so many wizards and witches of his age. He had been talented and popular, and went to become Head Boy. But now his contemporaries were travelling the world and making their mark while he was not.

He returned to find Aberforth waiting in the dark kitchen. "There you are," he said gruffly. "You've been gone ages. Arianna is getting hungry."

"Well it wouldn't be beyond your ability to make some food would it?" snapped Albus, his familiar resentment and anger welling up inside him again. "Must I do everything for you?"

"You know perfectly well that Arianna is only calm when you are here," said Aberforth. "I didn't dare take the risk of preparing dinner without you. It would have upset her."

"I see," replied Albus, his anger subsiding a little. He didn't really blame Aberforth after all. His younger brother had had to come home from Hogwarts at the news of his mother's death and had missed the last two months of his studies. "Well, go and bring Arianna down to the dining room please and I will make supper."

Aberforth looked at him for a moment, and then nodded and walked out of the kitchen, heading for the wooden staircase which led to the upper floor and the bedroom where Arianna spent most of her time. Albus sighed as he set about making food for the three of them. He had always hated cooking and, even now he could use magic outside of school to speed the process up, it always felt like an inconvenience which he didn't have time for.

A few minutes later, the three of them were seated around the long wooden table in the dining room. The table had been set for four at Arianna's insistence. She always believed that her father would one day walk back through the door and join them for dinner. Albus and Aberforth had never had the heart to tell her that it seemed extremely unlikely that their father would ever be released from Azkaban or that he would be in any way recognisable if he was. Albus had visited him once soon after he was imprisoned and the Dementors had had such a terrible effect on him that he had vowed never to return to that fortress for as long as he lived.

The three of them ate in silence. Albus had prepared a simple meal of chicken and vegetables and sat there eating unenthusiastically. His sister kept glancing between her two brothers and then back to her plate as though she wanted to say something. Aberforth meanwhile was staring resolutely ahead at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room and avoiding eye contract with either Albus or Arianna. And this was what most of the time the three of them spent together was like.

"Where is mother?" asked Arianna, breaking the silence after what felt like forever.

Albus and Aberforth looked at each other nervously. Arianna couldn't remember what had happened, couldn't remember that she was the one who had killed her mother. Albus and Aberforth had agreed that the only thing to do would be to wipe her memory of it. It was simply impossible for her brothers to explain what had happened to their mother because it would have almost certainly meant Arianna losing control and causing another disaster and they couldn't risk that. There was every chance it might be even deadlier than the last.

"Erm," said Aberforth, shifting uncomfortably in his seat and looking at Albus for help. "We told you Ari, she's had to go away for a bit."

"Oh," said Arianna, looking down at her plate again. There was another moment of silence and then she said, "When will she be back?"

Aberforth nervously set his fork down on his plate and looked at Albus, as though pleading him to intervene. But Albus didn't know what to say. "Soon I think," said Aberforth in the end. "She misses you though," he added, as though it might help comfort his little sister.

"I want to see her now," said Arianna.

"You can't Ari," replied Aberforth. "But she'll be back soon I promise."

"You say that every time," said Arianna, a definite hint of distress evident in her voice now. "I think you're lying. She's not coming back is she?"

Albus looked at her, a feeling of dread in his stomach. This was the first time in nearly three months that Arianna had shown any sign of breaking through the memory charm that he and his brother had put her on. Normally she simply accepted that their mother would be back soon. But this time she was showing signs of resistance.

"Of course she's coming back," said Aberforth. "She's just got things to do."

Arianna started to rock back and forward a little in her chair. "She's left me behind," she whimpered miserably, and tears began to appear in the corner of her eyes.

"No, she hasn't!" said Aberforth quickly, his voice panicked. "She loves you Ari, she'll be back!"

The light in the gas lamp above them began to flicker and Albus noted that the wind definitely seemed to be getting louder, rattling the old windows of the house. He stood up and made his way over to his sister's chair. "Ari, listen to me," he said calmly. "There's nothing to worry about. Mother will be back soon."

She looked into his eyes but continued to rock in her chair. A moment later one of the water goblets on the table smashed into pieces. Albus jumped backwards to avoid a flying shard of metal. "You're lying!" screamed Arianna, tears now streaming down her face.

"She's losing control," shouted Aberforth. "Albus! Do something!"

Albus stepped back from the chair and reached inside his pocket for his wand. He pointed it at his sister and said, "Stupefy." Arianna slumped backwards in her chair. The gas light stopped flickering and the windows stopped rattling. Calm descended again upon the dining room.

Aberforth rushed over to Arianna and picked her up in his arms. "Did you have to?" he asked, looking at Albus with disappointment in his face.

"You said it yourself, she was losing control. We couldn't risk another explosion!"

"I'll take her upstairs," said Aberforth. "She'll need to be somewhere familiar when she wakes up. I'll make sure she finishes her food as well."

Aberforth turned and started making his way towards the staircase once again. Albus watched him for a moment and then said, "Aberforth." Aberforth turned and looked at him, still cradling their sister in his arms. "Thank you." Aberforth nodded slightly and then proceeded to carry Arianna out of the room.

Albus looked around the deserted dining room for a moment and felt an immediate crushing sense of claustrophobia, so much that he could barely breathe. He needed to get out the house. He practically ran to the front door and threw it open. Feeling the cold evening air on his face, he took one or two deep and steadying breaths before hurtling out of the door and starting to run down the road towards the village square. He needed to get away from the house and there was only one place he could think of going.

He passed the square and ran into the graveyard of St Jerome's Church. He stopped for a moment and then sat down heavily on the grass, feeling the cool air on his face. He knew that he would have to go back, that he couldn't Aberforth with Arianna in such a fragile state, but he wanted just for a moment to escape from it all. To dream once again of what he could do if he was free.

His thoughts were interrupting by a sudden crack, which marked the sound of someone apparating close by. Albus stood up, reaching for his wand. He could make out the shadow of someone just out of his field of vision. "Who's there?" he asked.

"So sorry," replied the stranger. "I didn't mean to startle you."

He stepped forward. It was a young man, who must have been about Albus' age. He was strikingly attractive and had long golden hair which fell down to his shoulders. His face, although extremely pretty, had a slight hint of mischief about it. He smiled a wide smile and Albus found himself transfixed by the stranger's deep blue eyes.

Although initially entranced by the young man, Albus did not lower his wand as the stranger moved to stand just about ten feet in front of him. "Who are you?" asked Albus.

The young man smiled more broadly and stepped forward again, proffering his hand to Albus. "My name is Gellert Grindelwald. And if you'll forgive me for saying so, I've come to take you away from all this."