Another chapter! I hope you like it. And please let me know what you think! I love to get reviews, it's always very motivating. And thank you for the ones I already got, it means a lot to me!

I don't own the characters or places!

Gellert was bored. Helping his aunt in the house was nothing he liked very much. However, he had promised her to do it the previous day. He still didn't understand why – maybe because Albus had been there when she asked and he wanted to make a good impression. Either way, now he regretted that he said yes.

The hours seemed to be far too long and Gellert wanted nothing more than to go outside. Maybe he could visit Albus again. He wanted to be with his sister since Aberforth was occupied with the goats. Of course the younger brother wouldn't be happy when he came back and Gellert was there, but he didn't care about that. He still thought that the younger Dumbledore wasn't threat to him, Gellert was the better fighter. And they both had promised Albus not to argue again…

He nodded to himself. When they were finished here, he would go over and see Albus. At that thought, Gellert smiled. He liked to be around Albus. Very much, to be honest. Normally, he didn't like to be around other people. At school, he had been an outsider and he thought that it wouldn't change here at Godric's Hollow, a village he hated even before he had been there. But then his aunt had introduced him to Albus Dumbledore. And Gellert's whole life had turned around.

He couldn't stay away from Albus for a long time, he knew that. It was impossible. After the accident in the garden when Albus had been injured, Gellert wanted to leave. He knew that it was best for Albus and his siblings. Albus would forget him quickly and have a peaceful and normal life, without Gellert and his plans. When he had seen the hurt expression on Albus' face after he announced that he was going to leave, Gellert hadn't been so sure of his idea anymore. Albus had pleaded him to stay and in that moment, he knew that he could never leave him. At least not when Albus wanted him to stay.

It had hurt, to see the nervous expression on Albus' face every time he left after that. He knew that his friend always thought that he was still going to leave once he felt better. Nevertheless, Gellert didn't know how to talk to him about those things. So he had stayed quiet and made sure that they saw each other as often as possible. He hoped that it would erase Albus' doubts. And apparently, it had worked. Now Albus was smiling again when they said goodbye and sometimes, he even told Gellert that he couldn't wait for them to see each other again.

When he said it, there was this strange feeling in Gellert's stomach. And he couldn't stop himself from grinning. Then he would always be very impatient until they had time for each other again.

Right now, Gellert was getting impatient as well, even if he had just seen Albus earlier. When his aunt told him that she wouldn't need him anymore, he excused himself and left very quickly, just in case she had forgotten something. He walked towards the house of the Dumbledores and thought about all the things he wanted to tell Albus. There were many things on his mind right now, maybe the could –

The sound of an explosion ripped Gellert out of his thoughts. He stopped immediately and looked around, trying to find out where the sound had come from. It sounded as if it happened in the direction he was heading to. He looked in the sky and that's when he saw the cloud of dust and smoke. Right above the house of the Dumbledores.

In that moment, everything seemed to happen in slow-motion. Gellert could feel his heart beating fast in his chest. He breathed in deeply, trying to stay calm. He reached for the wand in his pocked and noticed that his hands were shaking. And then he ran towards the house, hoping that everything would be alright once he arrived. He hoped that the explosion had taken place at another house, but he knew that it wouldn't be that way. There were Muggles leaving their houses to see what happened. He just ran past them, not caring about their questioning looks and calls to be careful.

His mind was racing while he tried to figure out what could have happened. Aberforth wasn't there, Albus had mentioned that he would be gone the whole day. So Albus had been alone with his sister. And Gellert knew that his friend would never do something to cause an explosion like this, Albus was a very skilled wizard. Then there was only one thing left. Ariana. Had she lost control of her magic again? Gellert had seen it before, when something disturbed her very much, bad things happened. However, it had always been small things. A cup flying through the air, a shattering window or a piece of paper that burst into flames. Never an explosion like this, which alarmed the entire village and made the ground shake.

When he got closer, Gellert could see that the smoke was coming from the garden. Apparently, the explosion happened outside. He jumped over the fence and ran around the house. His wand was already in his hand and Gellert expected the worst. His heart was still beating heavily. He prayed that Albus was alright.

The garden was a complete mess. The grass was burned and in the dust and smoke, Gellert thought that he could see a hole in the earth. And there was something else – were those noises coming from there? Or did he just imagine that? He raised his wand and waved it – at once the air cleared.

And what he saw there nearly made him sink to the ground.

In the middle of the hole, the center of the explosion, two figures were lying on the ground. Or he thought that it were two because the taller one had his arms wrapped around the other one. Gellert felt his heart racing in his chest. Could it be possible that they were alright? But how…?

Suddenly, the two people moved and Gellert forced his legs to do something. "Albus!" He shouted and ran towards them. When he got closer, he saw that Albus had his arms wrapped around Ariana, who was still shaking. The noises Gellert heard had been her sobs. Albus still looked completely shaken. However, his expression lit up when he recognized Gellert.

Before he knew what he was doing, Gellert wrapped his arms around Albus and Ariana. His friend inhaled sharply and Gellert let go immediately. "What is it? Are you hurt?" He asked and Albus shook his head.

"It's nothing." Albus muttered and smiled slightly. He didn't believe him. Albus' eyes always told him the truth and Gellert could see the pain in them.

"What happened?"

At the question, Albus glanced at Ariana. She was still crying and it didn't look as if she had noticed that he was there. So Gellert had been right, Ariana had caused all this.

He stood up and held out his hand. "Come on, let's get her inside."

Without hesitation, Albus grabbed his hand and he helped him to stand up. However, Albus' knees gave in once he stood and Gellert wrapped his arm around his waist quickly to support him. Ariana was still sitting on the ground and looked at them with wide, teary eyes. "I'm so sorry, this is all my fault." She whispered and he shook his head.

"No, it's not." He replied sternly. "It's nothing you can control. And now come on, let's get you two inside." When Gellert and Albus started to walk towards the house, Ariana followed them quickly.

"You don't have to do this, I'm alright." Albus whispered into his ear, but he didn't want to hear it. He just shook his head.

"I don't want you to break down." He whispered back. "I know that this hadn't been easy. She had used very much magic. And a very strong one. And I bet you haven't been prepared for the attack."

They had reached the house now and once they were in the living room, Gellert helped Albus to sit down in an armchair. Only now he noticed that his friend was still holding his wand in his hand. His knuckles were white. Gellert took the wand from Albus carefully and put it down on the table. Then he looked at him more closely. Albus was as white as a sheet and he was breathing heavily. He had his eyes closed now and Gellert feared that he might have drained himself too much. But what other choice did he have? If he wouldn't have reacted so fast, the explosion would have killed them –

At that thought, he closed his eyes as well and shook his head heavily. He couldn't think about this, not now. Gellert's heart was still racing and losing Albus… He breathed in deeply and kept telling himself that everything was fine.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw that Albus was watching him. There was a thoughtful look on his face and did he look concerned as well?

"I would love to know what you are thinking." Albus muttered and suddenly, Gellert remembered that Ariana was here as well. And that she probably was feeling very bad now.

"Where's Ariana?" He asked instead of answering the question honestly.

Albus nodded towards the couch behind him. When he looked over his shoulder, he saw that she was asleep. Apparently, it had taken all her strength as well.

"And now tell me what you're really thinking." Albus said softly and took him by surprise. He couldn't stop himself from smiling slightly.

"Shouldn't you get some rest?" He asked, trying to sound lightly.

Albus sighed. "I'll tell you what happened, if you tell me what you're thinking." He tried again and Gellert knew that he wouldn't stop asking. He was too curious for that.

He hesitated. "Fine. But only if you let me help you to get up to your room. You should lie down instead of sitting here." He agreed finally and Albus nodded in agreement. "And let me take care of the garden first."

"I can do that tomorrow." Albus protested. "You don't have to do this, Gel."

He raised his eyebrows. "And what will your brother think when he comes home and sees all this? And the Muggles? I know that they can't look into the garden, but they have all seen and heard the explosion."

Without waiting for Albus' reply, Gellert walked into the garden and raised his wand. It only took him a few moments to erase the signs of the precious events. When he finished the spell, he looked at everything more closely. It was just like he'd remembered it. When he turned around, there was someone standing in the doorframe, which nearly caused him a heart attack.

"Didn't I say that you have to get some rest?!" He asked and went to Albus quickly, just in case his knees would give in again.

Albus held up a hand – with the other one he was holding onto the doorframe and Gellert feared that it was the only thing holding him on his legs. "As I said, I'm fine."

Gellert tried to stay calm, but his voice betrayed him. His reply sounded sharp. "Don't lie to me, Albus! She nearly killed you! Both of you. And don't tell me that it was easy to cast the protection spell. I saw it, when I let the smoke disappear. The sphere you've created around yourselves. It was a complicated piece of magic and I know how exhausting those things can be, especially when you're not prepared to use them."

Slowly, Albus' smile faded and he sighed. "There's nothing I can hide from you." He said.

Gellert frowned when he saw that Albus' knuckles were turning white. "Let's get you to your room." He muttered and wrapped his arm around Albus' waist, ignoring his surprised gasp.

Once they were in Albus' room, he sank down on the bed. Gellert hesitated. He wasn't sure if he should sit down on the chair or on the bed. The image of Albus and himself appeared in his mind – his arm wrapped around Albus' waist. He decided to sit down on the bed.

"Now you have to tell me what happened."

His words were followed by silence and Gellert assumed that his friend had fallen asleep. But then Albus opened his eyes and sighed. "We were looking for the cat." He began and Gellert remembered the animal very clearly. Black and brown fur, grey eyes. She came every day and Ariana gave her milk. "Ariana couldn't find her and was already very worried. I even had to climb into a tree to prove that she didn't hide there."

"I would have liked to see that." Gellert muttered and Albus chuckled. Then he turned serious again.

"I had given up searching for the cat. That's when I heard Ariana scream. I ran towards her as fast as possible and saw the cat lying between the flowers close to the fence. She was dead. And then it happened very fast. It was turning cold and somehow, I knew what was going to happen. Luckily, my wand was already in my hand. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to cast a protection spell. After that, I wrapped my arms around Ariana and hoped that I could calm her down again."

Gellert was shocked. He had already expected it, but hearing that Albus had nearly died was something completely different. And then there was something else that bothered him. "You've wrapped your arms around her to calm her down? Do you know how dangerous that was? She could have hurt you even if you cast a spell to protect yourself." She could have killed you. He couldn't say those words to Albus. Gellert started to feel sick when he realized how close he had been to losing Albus. Just because of the dead cat…

His friend sighed. "I know. But she is my sister. And I couldn't just do nothing…"

Gellert breathed in deeply. He had to stay calm, he couldn't let his anger show in front of him. Especially since no one was to blame for the incident. Ariana couldn't control her magic – it had been a simple accident, nothing else.

Suddenly, Albus took his hand and squeezed it. When Gellert looked at him, he saw a small smile on his lips. "Sometimes, I would really like to know what you're thinking." He whispered. And I would like to know what's going on in your mind as well… Gellert thought.

"I've promised you, didn't I?" He asked softly.

Albus raised his eyebrows in confusion.

"I promised to tell you what I think." Gellert explained and then his friend nodded.

"And what were you thinking?"

"Don't you want to know what I'm thinking now?" He asked back with a smile.

Albus chuckled. "You're impossible, Mr. Grindelwald." He muttered.

"The answer would be the same." Gellert hesitated, but when he saw the smile on Albus' lips, his doubts vanished. "I was worried that something might have happened to you. And I thought how happy I am that you are alright."

Albus' expression softened. "Gellert…" He whispered.

"I really don't know what I would do if something happens to you, Albus." He admitted and noticed that they were still holding hands.

"And you think that I would know it? What to do without you?" Those words nearly made Gellert's heart stop. He wanted to say something else, maybe tell Albus how important he was to him. But then he saw the tiredness in his eyes.

"Maybe you should get some sleep." When Albus opened his mouth to protest, he shook his head. "I'll stay here to make sure Ariana is alright. And I'll tell your brother what happened once he comes back. And" he added when Albus opened his mouth again "I'll still be here when you wake up. I promise."

At the last words, Albus finally started to relax. A few minutes later, he had fallen asleep. Gellert looked at him for some time and touched his cheek lightly. He didn't want to wake him. Even if Albus had fallen asleep, they were still holding hands.