The next chapter! I hope you like it, please let me know!
I don't own the characters or places!
"Do you have any idea why Dimitri could have been in New York?" Albus asked and took a sip of his tea.
"No, Professor. Honestly, we couldn't find out anything about his plans. Tina also tried to ask Madam Picquery, but apparently, even MACUSA doesn't know what Dimitri wanted to steal from them." Newt Scamander explained and reached out to catch the Niffler who just wanted to jump towards Albus' spoon.
"I've already told you last time that you don't have to call me Professor anymore, Newt." He said with a smile. "I'm not your teacher anymore."
"MACUSA has to know what Dimitri wanted to steal." Gellert muttered thoughtfully. "Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense..."
"You think they just didn't want to tell Miss Goldstein the truth?" Albus raised his eyebrows at him.
"If it's that, whatever he's been looking for has to be dangerous." Gellert nodded and turned to Newt. "And you're sure that you can't guess anything?"
Newt sighed. "The Obscurus wasn't his main goal." He said thoughtfully. "And he's dead. MACUSA took and destroyed him, Tina saw it." At this, Newt swallowed.
"Most probably he noticed him when he was already in New York and the boy was just interesting to him." Gellert muttered with a frown. "There has to be something he wanted in their headquarter."
"They have many magical objects there." Newt said. "Maybe he was after them?"
"But why would he choose New York and not the Ministry in London?" Albus threw in. "Or do they have something we don't?"
"Many things, I would assume." Gellert sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Under the table, he reached out to take Albus' hand. "This won't lead to anything. If we don't know what Dimitri has been after, we also can't foresee his next steps."
"I still don't know why you are after him." Newt said suddenly, looking nervous. As usual in situations like this, he was avoiding to look them in the eyes. "He's the most dangerous wizard out there, the events in America have proven this. Every Auror is looking for him now, couldn't you leave that to them?" He hesitated. "But you've been after him before, right? That's why you sent me to New York in the first place."
Albus had always known that the young man was clever. "We're following the steps of Dimitri for a long time now, Newt."
"But why, Profe-" He stopped himself and Albus chuckled.
"Call me Albus."
"But why, Albus?" Newt said his name hesitantly, as if he was still unsure if it was alright.
"It's something personal." Gellert replied darkly.
"They knew each other in their youth." Albus added when it became obvious that Gellert wouldn't say anything else.
He could see from the look on Newt's face that the man had many more questions, but he held himself back. Maybe it was better in this moment. Albus knew that Gellert didn't like to talk about this with strangers. Only Albus and Nicolas Flamel knew about his past with Dimitri.
"We'll just have to keep our eyes open." Gellert muttered. "He's planning something, I know it."
"Maybe we should try to find out what he wanted in New York once more." Albus threw in thoughtfully.
"They refused to tell one of their own Aurors about this. I doubt that we'll get more information." Gellert glanced at him.
"Do you remember the time Elphias told us about John Brightwood?" Albus asked suddenly.
Gellert looked surprised. "The Quidditch player who's married this woman from Russia?"
He nodded. "Her brother's working for MACUSA in New York." Albus explained.
Slowly, Gellert's lips turned into a grin. "And you think you can make him talk?"
"It would be worth a try." He said.
"You seem to know many people." Newt threw in and looked at them curiously. "Whatever you're planning, let me know when I can help."
"It could be dangerous." Albus warned him.
"You want to tell me that New York wasn't dangerous?" Newt crossed his arms. "You've already pulled me into this whole business with Dimitri. I want to help you. And I'm sure that Tina would also be willing to help."
Gellert looked at him as if he wanted to say Oh my god, that boy's still crazy. However, Albus smiled at Newt. "Thank you, Newt. We will let you know as soon as we know more."
"The next time, we'll go after him ourselves." Gellert muttered darkly. Albus knew that it still bothered him that Dimitri had escaped in New York.
"Of course we will. But it wouldn't be too bad to have help." He said quietly.
Gellert sighed. "Alright, but try to keep your creatures in that suitcase." He said to Newt. "You can't release them by accident every time you're in a new city."
"It won't happen again." Newt said seriously. In his arms, the Niffler tried to escape again. He was still eyeing Albus' spoon. Next to him, he could see Gellert's lips twitch. There was an amused glance in his eyes. He'd really fallen for the small creature. For a few moments, their eyes met and Albus smiled softly. He would have loved to kiss Gellert now, but unfortunately, they had an audience. So another squeeze of the hand would have to do it for now.
"What are you going to do now?" Albus asked Newt.
"I'll finish my book." The young man explained with a smile. "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them." When he said the title, there was a gleam in his eyes and Albus knew that there was a story behind this.
"That's a wonderful title." Albus grinned. "Will we get a copy?"
"Of course." Newt replied immediately. "I've read Hogwarts, a History, by the way." He said. "It's really good."
This time, Gellert smiled. "It is." He agreed. "My aunt created something spectacular." They started to discuss the book and Gellert also explained how he and Albus had helped Bathilda with her research. Albus just listened to the conversation in silence most of the time. At some point, the Niffler managed to escape Newt's arms and tried to steal Albus' spoon from the table. However, he distracted him with the small chain he was always carrying in his pocket. It was the same one he'd lent Newt all those years ago when he'd first found the Niffler.
"You're late." Aberforth greeted them when they entered the Hog's Head. As usual, he was standing behind the counter. He raised his eyebrows, but there was a smile on his lips.
"There has been an accident in class." Albus explained while his brother walked towards him and they hugged each other.
"He means that my students nearly blew up a classroom." Gellert noted when it became obvious that Albus wouldn't say more to that. There was a slight smile on his lips and he crossed his arms while he leaned against one of the tables.
"How did they manage that?" Aberforth asked curiously.
"Second years in Defence Against the Dark Arts." Gellert sighed. "One of my experts from Gryffindor confused two spells with each other." He grinned at Albus mischievously when he mentioned Gryffindor.
"I'm sure it was one of the Slytherins in the room and you just didn't see it." Albus replied and fought the urge to roll his eyes. Gellert loved to tease him when someone from his House did something stupid.
"Come on, you have to admit that the boy is horrible when it comes to magic." Gellert was still grinning when he moved closer to Albus. "I'm sure Longbottom will never learn it."
"Just give him time." He threw in. "He's a very shy boy. And highly intelligent if you just give him a chance to show it."
"You always see the good in people, love." Since they were alone with Aberforth, they didn't have to hide their affection for each other. Gellert wrapped an arm around Albus' waist.
"And you're too pessimistic." He replied immediately.
"It's good that no one was injured, that's true." Gellert said with a slight smile. "Otherwise, I wouldn't let Longbottom in my classroom again."
Albus chuckled. "You would never do that." He leaned closer so that Aberforth couldn't hear his voice. "You're far too nice for that."
"So he caused a real explosion?" Aberforth, who seemed to sense that they were close to start kissing, asked quickly.
"Yes, it hit one of the walls." Gellert turned to him. "Luckily, I've already been expecting something like that. Otherwise, it might have not ended without injuries."
"I helped him to undo the damage." Albus continued to explain. "I saw a few people running through the corridor and noticed that something was wrong." Even if he knew that it was stupid, he'd been afraid that Gellert was hurt when he'd first seen the panic in the eyes of the students. Of course Gellert was perfectly fine, he'd stopped the explosion with just a wave of his wand.
"Seems like your life at Hogwarts is quite exciting." Aberforth noted and looked at the clock. "Ari's late again."
"Shouldn't she already be back from work?" Albus asked curiously. When she wasn't working late, their sister always returned in the afternoon from St. Mungo's.
"She arrived about two hours ago." His brother nodded. "But she's somewhere in the village again. She does that very often at the moment." He wasn't looking happy about this and Albus exchanged a look with Gellert.
"I assume you know what Ariana is doing then?" Gellert raised his eyebrows.
"I bet she's out with that boy again." Aberforth sighed. "The son of the pharmacist. You remember Mr. Manson who owns the pharmacy here in Hogsmeade?"
Both Albus and Gellert nodded. "Isn't his son her age?" Albus asked curiously. He'd met him before, he was a nice and very polite young man. His name was Timothy and he'd been in his seventh year at Hogwarts when Albus started teaching there. He remembered that he'd been quite good at Defence Against the Dark Arts.
"He is." Aberforth muttered. "They're always walking through the village together."
Albus smiled. "But it's good that she has friends here."
"Only that he doesn't just want to be her friend." His brother grumbled. "It's obvious when you see the way he looks at her."
"Well, it's about time that Ariana finds a partner." Albus noted. "She's old enough for that." He made a mental note to have a closer look at them together soon, but right now, he was just happy for his sister. He knew how lonely Ariana had always been. From what he remembered Timothy was a very nice young man.
"I don't trust that boy." Aberforth threw in. "He'll just hurt her."
"I think Ariana can look after herself quite well." Gellert said. "She would know several ways to get him away from her once he's too close for her liking." At this, he smiled proudly. To Gellert, Ariana was also like a sister.
Albus watched his brother closely. "You're afraid that he'll break her heart." He whispered, suddenly realizing why his brother wasn't happy at all.
"I've seen him with other girls before. It never lasted." He looked at them meaningfully.
"Maybe we should have a look at him?" Gellert suggested.
"We won't scare Ariana's friend." Albus argued sternly.
"I just meant talking to him." Gellert threw in quickly.
He nodded slowly. "Who knows, maybe she'll introduce him to us all by herself?" Albus turned to Aberforth. "You shouldn't worry so much. May I remind you that you also thought that Gellert would never stay with me?" At this, he smiled slightly and Gellert stepped next to him once more.
"And I'm still here." Gellert said softly and ignored Aberforth's snort when he looked deeply into Albus' eyes. Except with Ariana, Aberforth didn't like to show his emotions very much. Which was also why he didn't like others doing that.
Gellert leaned closer to Albus. "You know that I would marry you without thinking about it twice if it would be possible, love." He whispered.
"I do." Albus replied and leaned in to kiss him softly. "I love you."
"I love you too." Gellert smiled softly.
"Alright, that's enough." Aberforth interrupted them loudly. "Sit down, I'll get you something to drink."
They both chuckled, but did as they were told. "The Prophet talked about that dark wizard again." Aberforth told them while he searched for something in one of the cupboards. "Apparently, they're really serious about capturing him after what happened in New York."
At once, their good mood was gone. Albus saw Gellert tense next to him. "That boy you taught a few years ago was also there. What was his name again?" Aberforth narrowed his eyes when he placed the glasses in front of Albus and Gellert. "Scamander?"
"Newt." Albus nodded. "He was on a journey to bring a rescued Thunderbird back home to Arizona."
"And ran into the most dangerous wizard of our time by accident?" Aberforth raised his eyebrows sceptically. "You can't expect me to believe that, Albus. You've been interested in this Dimitri for years." He laughed dryly when he noticed the surprise on their faces. "You can't fool me, brother. I've heard you whisper to each other several times when you thought that no one was paying attention."
Albus sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Next to him, Gellert stared at Aberforth. "Don't tell anyone about it." Albus said.
"You know that I would never do that." Aberforth stated. "Now tell me how close you are to finding him."
"Could be better." Gellert sighed. It surprised Albus that he admitted this in front of his brother. "But we have many contacts. As soon as someone sees him, we'll be informed."
"You should be careful, if he's really as dangerous as they say."
"We can deal with him." Albus replied simply. "We know what we're doing." Dimitri wasn't as dangerous as everyone said. He was worse. After all, no one knew that he had the Elder Wand except for three people. However, Albus would never mention this to Aberforth. He didn't want his brother to worry. Even if he always acted as if he didn't have a heart, Aberforth cared for his family.
"I hope you're right." Aberforth muttered darkly. "Just don't do anything stupid."
Albus chuckled. "You know that I'm always careful."
"If you say so..." Aberforth said, but his eyes wandered to Gellert. It was obvious what he was thinking. Back when he'd met Gellert for the first time, he hadn't been careful at all, thinking about the Greater Good and everything that came along with it. Albus touched the necklace under his shirt carefully.
Suddenly, the door of the Hog's Head opened and two people came in, both laughing happily. It was Ariana, accompanied by a young man. It was indeed Timothy Manson, the son of the pharmacist. He was tall and skinny, with brown hair and brown eyes. His smile didn't falter when he saw Albus, Gellert and Aberforth, though he dropped the hand which had been on Ariana's back seconds before.
"You're late." Aberforth noted, but he smiled slightly.
Ariana blushed. "I'm really sorry, I forgot the time." She explained and smiled at Albus and Gellert. "It's so good to see you again." Albus stood up when his sister came closer to hug him and Gellert did the same.
Albus looked at Timothy curiously, who seemed to feel uncomfortable now. Maybe because it was strange that a former teacher was the big brother of his friend? "Albus, Gellert, Abe, this is Timothy, a friend of mine." Ariana introduced him when she noticed their curious looks.
"It's a pleasure to meet all of you." Timothy said politely. "Ariana has told me so much about you." His eyes rested on Aberforth a little longer, most probably since he noticed that he wasn't actually thrilled to have him here.
"Nice to see you again, Timothy." Albus smiled at the young man.
"You too, Professor." He looked insecure now.
Albus chuckled. "I'm not your teacher anymore. Not for a long time. Call me Albus." He held out his hand and Timothy took it hesitantly.
"Albus." He repeated his name.
"You can call me Gellert, just in case you wanted to start with something else." Gellert said when they shook hands and Timothy opened his mouth. Gellert grinned.
"Now that we're all here, how does dinner sound?" Aberforth asked and looked at Timothy. "Do you want to stay?"
He shook his head immediately. "I'll have to help my father this evening. We'll leave to collect herbs." He said quickly. "But thank you for the offer." He smiled at Ariana again before he left. Albus thought that there was disappointment on her face, but he wasn't so sure.
"Your boyfriend seems to be nice." Gellert said as soon as Ariana sat down.
She stared at him and blushed. "He isn't my boyfriend!" She argued quickly.
Honestly, Albus wanted to start this conversation differently, but now he couldn't make Gellert's words unsaid anymore. "How did you meet?" Albus threw in quickly and then Ariana began to tell them about the first time she'd met him, back when she'd still been learning to be a Healer. Could it really be true that they knew each other for years now and she never said a word? Gellert glanced at him and he knew that he had the same thoughts.
That evening, Ariana mentioned a few more times that they weren't together, but it was obvious that they all didn't believe her. When Albus and Gellert said goodbye, Albus hugged his sister tightly. "I'm happy for you." He whispered into her ear. "But please tell us if he causes trouble. And yes, I know that you can look after yourself, Ari."
She smiled softly. "Thank you, Albus."
Albus walked back from the owlery with fast steps, the letter weighing heavily in his pocket. It was a Saturday morning close to the end of the school year and not many people were awake yet. In the afternoon, there would be the last Quidditch match of the season. Gryffindor against Ravenclaw. On those days, most students liked to sleep in.
His steps echoed through the hallways and he was already sure that he would reach their quarters without being disturbed when someone called his name.
"Good morning Professor Dumbledore!" It was a young girl from Gryffindor.
Albus stopped and smiled at her softly. "Good morning, Lyra." She was in her third year at Hogwarts and a very charming young witch. Her parents were Muggles and she didn't have it always easy.
"I hope I'm not disturbing you, Sir." She said politely, though he noticed that she looked quite troubled, even if she tried to hide it.
"It's fine, what's going on? You look like something is bothering you." He smiled softly.
"It's nothing bad, really." She hesitated again, clearly feeling uncomfortable now that she was speaking to him.
"You know that you can tell me everything." Albus encouraged her.
She breathed in deeply. "I got a letter from my parents yesterday... Saying that..." Lyra bit her lip. "My father..." Albus didn't get a warning when she suddenly started to sob loudly and covered her mouth with wide eyes, but he'd seen enough. He took a step forward and hugged her carefully, afraid that this gesture from a teacher would scare her.
She cried for some time and he simply held her, waiting for her to calm down. Somehow, Lyra reminded him of Ariana when she was younger. "My father's in the hospital. And I can't visit him..." She hesitated again.
"Lyra, would you look at me, please?" Albus interrupted her softly. She drew back carefully. Her eyes were red from crying. "Do you want to see him?" He asked softly.
When she nodded, Albus summoned a handkerchief with a wave of his wand and handed it to her. "Come on, let's talk to Professor Dippet. I'm sure he'll allow you to leave for the weekend." He placed a hand on her back and guided her towards the headmaster's office. He knew that Armando would be awake by now. The letter would have to wait, in this moment, the young, sad girl was more important.
"What took you so long?" Gellert asked once Albus entered his quarters again half an hour later. "I thought you just wanted to go to the owlery."
"I was there, but something happened on my way back." In short words, he told Gellert about his meeting with Lyra.
"You're always so nice, love." Gellert whispered when he wrapped an arm around him.
"You would have done the same." Albus said simply and pulled the letter out of his cloak. "We got an answer."
"What does it say?" Gellert asked eagerly and looked at the person who'd sent the letter.
"John Brightwood says that it's suspected that Dimitri was after an Invisibility Cloak that's stored in one of the storerooms of MACUSA." Albus summarized it in one sentence.
Gellert's eyes widened. "The Cloak." He whispered.
"He didn't get it. And it's not the real one." Albus threw in. "They were able to lift the spell which made it invisible when they had a closer look at it."
Gellert sighed. "How did he even know that they had a cloak like this?"
"No one knows." He shrugged. "However, John also said something else. Which is even more secret than the story about the cloak."
"What is it?" Gellert leaned forward and raised his eyebrows, curiosity in his eyes.
"They're sending a group of Aurors to Paris. Apparently, they got a hint that a meeting of Dimitri's followers will take place there." Albus smiled slightly. "Miss Goldstein will be among them."
Gellert stared at him. "But that's great!" He exclaimed. "We have to go to Paris, then!"
Albus hesitated. "The exams will be in two weeks. We can't just leave now, Gel."
"But this is our chance!" Gellert said loudly. "We can finally get him!"
"It's not even sure that he'll really be there. In the past years, there were many rumours about meetings and nothing ever happened." Albus threw in.
Gellert sighed. "So what do you want to do now?"
Albus smiled. "We'll stay here until the exams take place. In that time, I'm sure that Newt would be happy to see Miss Goldstein in Paris."
"You want to send him again?" Gellert groaned.
"He did a good job in New York."
"His creatures nearly destroyed the city."
"It wasn't that bad." Albus argued. "We can't just leave, Gel. News would spread that two teachers at Hogwarts just vanish two weeks before the school year ends. I'm sure Dimitri would get to know that."
"I hate it when you're right." Gellert complained and ran a hand through his messy hair. "So we'll contact the boy?"
"He's not a boy anymore. And I thought that we could visit him. We don't have any plans before the Quidditch match this afternoon takes place."
"Where does he even live?"
"In London." Albus smiled widely. "Apparently, he's got a spectacular house."
"Can we at least have breakfast first?" Gellert asked and raised his eyebrows.
"We can." Albus leaned closer and kissed him. "But then we really have to leave."
"Alright." Gellert sighed. "Once more, the fate of the whole wizarding world is in the hands of Newt Scamander..." Albus wasn't sure if he sounded resigned, tired or amused. Maybe all at once.