Pairing: Albus Dumbledore/Gellert Grindelwald
Prompt: Love hurts
Albus doesn't want to face Gellert, to fight him once more. Not because their fight could kill other innocents, like the last one killed Ariana, but because he knows Gellert knows who killed his sister. And he doesn't know if Albus could live with himself if he was the one who had done so.
He may have resented his sister and brother, for they were holding him back, but he would never kill either of them intentionally. Because he loved them, just like he loved Gellert. And he never wanted to have to choose between his siblings and Gellert, because he loved them all so fiercely, therefore the choice would be difficult. Then Ariana's death chose for him.
And it hurt; losing everyone he loved in a single night nearly killed him – Oh, the irony.
He had shamelessly let tears streak down his face as he turned to face his very dead sister. Gellert had left immediately, before Ariana's body even hit the floor. And Albus wanted to be angry at someone, at anyone, at himself; but he put his emotions down and tended to the damage his love had caused.
(What's that saying, dear Albus? Oh, that's right – love kills.)
And after all this time, he needs to face Gellert. He needs to save those innocent people that are just in the way of Gellert's plans. But he's still quite terrified that he won't be able to handle the truth of who actually murdered Ariana that night.
Even though he doesn't want to, Albus knows he has to. Seeking out Gellert, he makes the decision to fight him once more. On a snowy day in late 1945, Albus travels to Frankfurt, Germany where Gellert sits at the height of his power.
As Albus faces Gellert for the first time in over forty years, he takes in the changes. Gellert's blonde hair has long since faded to gray and he's thinner than as a youth, but he still wears his hair long and lets a crooked smile grace his face. And Albus feels his heart skip a beat.
He wasn't anticipating this reaction. Because he thought he had long ago replaced the love with anger and the devotion with hurt. But as the wound feels like it's reopening, he realizes he could never actually stop loving Gellert. And that hurts. Because Gellert will never love him. He learned that the hard way.
(But that's how the saying goes, isn't it, dear Albus? Love hurts.)
"Albus," Gellert greets him, bringing Albus out of his painful thoughts. "It's been a while since we last saw each other."
He nearly smiles at Gellert's tactic, but he doesn't. Instead, he agrees. "It has."
Gellert raises one eyebrow. "And to what do I owe this pleasure?"
"You know why I am here, Gellert," Albus replies, not allowing his emotions to lace his voice. Because he can't allow his feelings to guide his words. He can't afford to do that.
Waving his hand, Gellert dismisses the thought. "Those Muggles and Wizards were meaningless," he informs Albus. "I didn't need them in the grand scheme of things."
Albus narrows his eyes at Gellert. He feels anger bubbling to the surface and it takes a significant amount of will-power not to let it show. Gellert enjoys playing with emotions like love and anger, but Albus won't give him the chance.
"They were innocent people, Gellert."
He laughs. "There was a time where that didn't matter to you," Gellert points out. "Where you dreamed of a world like the one I've created."
"I've grown up since then," Albus says immediately.
"No, you are just a blind man, guided by fear," Gellert replies easily. "Fear of losing."
(Oh, dear Albus, how wrong he is. You're not afraid of losing. You've already lost everything that mattered.)
Albus gives him a small smile. "Sometimes, fear is the appropriate response." And Albus can see the anger flash in Gellert's gray eyes. It feels satisfying to make him angry.
Before Albus can say anything else, Gellert draws his wand. But it isn't his wand. It's the wand they looked for all those years ago – the Elder wand. For a split second, Albus admires the wand. How could he not? It's one of the most powerful wands in existence. But then that awe is replaced by disgust, because looking for that wand ultimately led to his sister's death.
"I see you recognize the wand," Gellert says casually. He pretends to admire it himself. "I won possession over it years ago. Stunned the previous owner – Gregorovitch or something like that," he continues, wanting to prove his worth to Albus.
When Gellert turns his eyes back on his former friend, Albus wordlessly casts a stunner. And with that, the fight has begun. They dance around one another, dodging spells and hexes. Their fight attracts bystanders, and Albus wishes it wouldn't. He really doesn't want this fight to end in bloodshed, especially not innocent people's blood.
The sun starts to sink below the horizon, bathing the sky in beautiful colors; but the fading light urges the pair to finish the fight as quickly as possible, or they will be fighting in darkness. And while the darkness would provide advantages, the disadvantages outweigh them.
Even though it would end the fight more quickly, Albus isn't fighting to kill – because he still loves Gellert – but Gellert is. Gellert casts the Killing Curse and the Cruciatus Curse without blinking. But Albus can't do that to him as much as he would like to.
"What is it, Albus? You can't bring yourself to kill me?" Gellert taunts, trying to get a rise out of Albus. But Albus isn't going to respond. "Is it because you're still infatuated with me? Or perhaps it's because I know who killed Ariana that night, and some part of you wants to know the truth," he continues, knowing all the right buttons to hit to get a reaction.
That statement causes Albus to see red. He's never been this angry, where his entire vision is pure red, and a small part of him is terrified by his reaction to a simple statement.
He hears Gellert cry out in pain and, if he's being honest, he's not even sure what spell he just cast. But the pained cry clears his vision and he sees his former friend kneeling on the ground, trying to catch his breath. And he knows it's going to be his only chance to defeat Gellert, so Albus stuns him before tying his arms with ropes.
Albus sits on the ground next to Gellert, waiting for Aurors to cart him away to a prison, maybe Azkaban. He immediately dismisses that thought. No matter what Gellert does, Albus could never condemn him to Azkaban, because he loves Gellert too much. The stunner wears off moments before the Aurors arrive.
Before they can take Gellert into custody, Albus looks into Gellert's eyes. "Who killed Ariana?" he questions.
"You did."
At those words, he shrinks away from Gellert and his heart stops momentarily. He searches Gellert's eyes, looking for the truth. But Albus finds nothing to disprove Gellert's statement. He wants to believe Gellert is lying but he isn't so sure. And that hurts.
(Oh, dear Albus, haven't you learned that he lies?)
A/n – Written for the Tim Burton comp as well. My quote was from the movie 9:
9: "You are just a blind man, guided by fear."
1: "Sometimes, fear is the appropriate response."
A million thanks to kci47 for beta-ing this for me!
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