Chapter eight! I hope you like it, please let me know what you think!

After the incident with Ariana, it took Albus only a few days to recover and gain back his strength. Gellert only left his side at night since Albus refused to let him sleep on the couch. His friend seemed to be worried, Albus saw it in his eyes when Gellert thought that he wasn't looking. The first day, Gellert had always stayed close in case Albus might stumble again.

To be honest, Albus had liked having Gellert so close. And to have him around all the time was great as well. However, he refused to think about the evening after the explosion and what happened in his bedroom. Albus didn't want to know what might have happened – the thought would just disappoint him. And he wasn't even sure if Gellert had seen the situation in the same way. What if Albus was interpreting it all wrong?

Surprisingly, Aberforth didn't say a word against Gellert being in their house all the time. Albus still wondered what they had talked about when he was asleep. Ever since, they had stopped insulting each other. Now there was a silence between his brother and his best friend. They only talked when it was necessary. Nevertheless, they couldn't hide the annoyed glances they threw at one another from Albus. Then he would just exchange an amused look with Ariana, who noticed that too.

Ariana had apologized for her outburst many times. Albus knew that she was feeling guilty because she could have hurt him. He told her many times that it wasn't her fault and apparently, Gellert and Aberforth had told her the same. However, his sister didn't seem to believe him and she was still crying when she thought that no one would notice it.

He would have loved to help her. To make her feel better so that she didn't have to be afraid all the time. Maybe there was a way… He wanted to talk to Gellert about it, maybe they could figure out a way together.

At the thought of Gellert, there was always this strange feeling in his stomach. After the explosion and the fear in Gellert's eyes when he had found them, Albus finally knew what it was. He was falling in love with his best friend! A wizard of whom he didn't even know if he was interested in men or women. They had never talked about this subject – for Albus it wasn't a surprise because he had never been in a relationship before.

But what about Gellert? He had told Albus many things about his time at school, but he never mentioned relationships or love. Maybe because that never existed for him since his biggest obsessions have been the Deathly Hallows and magic of all kinds?

Albus really didn't want to know if Gellert had been in love before. And mostly, he wasn't sure if he wanted to know how Gellert saw their relationship. Of course things would get more clearly someday, but Albus could wait for that day. To be honest, he was afraid of that day. Because there were two possibilities. Everything would be alright, or his whole world would shatter. And his heart too.

Right now, he was sitting next to Gellert under a tree in their garden. It was a cloudy day, Albus thought that it was going to rain soon.

"What are you thinking?" Gellert asked and it took Albus a few seconds to realize that the question was directed at him. He looked at his friend and raised his eyebrows.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

At the question, Gellert began to laugh. "Alright, you are really lost in thoughts. So tell me, Albus, what are you thinking?" Gellert had changed his position and now he was sitting opposite Albus, so that they could look into each other's eyes without turning their heads. This didn't make it easier for Albus since the intense and impatient look of his friend made him nervous.

"Well-" He hesitated, searching for the right words. Now it was Gellert's time to narrow his eyes.

"What's wrong? Normally, you don't have to search for words this long."

His friend really noticed everything. The expression on Gellert's face turned from amused to concerned. "There is something wrong, isn't it?" He was looking at Albus intensely, like he was searching for signs of discomfort.

Albus hoped that he could hide his nervousness from Gellert. He cleared his throat. "There's nothing wrong, Gel. I'm fine." He was surprised that his voice sounded calm. And that his cheeks weren't red by now.

Gellert crossed his arms and leaned back. Until now, Albus hadn't noticed that they had been so close. "So what is it? You have been silent for the last hour. There has to be something that bothers you, otherwise you wouldn't be this quiet."

They didn't talk for one hour? To Albus, it had seemed like a few minutes.

"I just thought about the events from the previous days." Albus replied slowly. "I don not like to see Ariana this upset."

Gellert nodded and changed his position again – now he was lying in the grass and looked at the sky. "I've been thinking about that as well." His friend confessed, which surprised Albus.

"You have?"

"She was very sad, after she had caused the explosion. She's afraid that someone will get hurt the next time it happens. That it hits one of us; Aberforth, you or me." He chuckled. "Me, can you believe it? She said that for her, I already belong to your family."

For me, you're a part of our family as well, Gellert. Albus would have loved to say this to him, but his friend continued without giving him a chance to reply something.

"Well, let's just say that she surprised me. And I've been thinking of how we could help her. If there would be a way to make her gain some control…"

Albus looked at his friend thoughtfully. Gellert was still looking at the sky, a frown on his face.

"But how can we do that?" Gellert continued. "When her magic comes out, there's no way of controlling it. It nearly killed you, and you are one of the most skilled wizards I know. You didn't even have a chance to do something else than defending yourself." Now Gellert had closed his eyes and Albus wondered if he had just imagined the pained look on his friend's face when he said that Ariana had nearly killed him.

"You have to keep in mind that I wasn't prepared for the attack." Albus reminded him calmly. Gellert opened his eyes and leaned on his elbows so that he could look at Albus.

"What do you mean?"

"I haven't seen it coming. So there was no time to react. What if there would be time? If there would be a chance to do something…"

"It would be dangerous." Gellert pointed out.

Albus shrugged. "Not more dangerous than to be around her when she loses control. You see what happened last week. And what happened to my mother."

Did he imagine it, or was Gellert looking worried again?

"You are talking about upsetting her intentionally." His tone made it clear that he didn't like Albus' idea.

"She will never be able to control it when it stays inside of her." Albus said slowly, hoping that Gellert would understand. "And the longer it remains there, the stronger her outbursts will get. You saw the explosion yourself. A year ago, Ariana would have never been able to do that. And before out mother died, we would have never expected that she could-" He stopped, not able to say the words. Suddenly, Gellert moved towards him and touched his arm. It was just a light touch, but it told Albus everything he needed to know. That Gellert understood him; that he knew that Albus was still sad while talking about his mother.

"It's alright, I know what you mean." Gellert said softly. "And I understand that the power inside Ariana is dangerous. Believe me, I would be happy if she could control it. Then you wouldn't be in danger anymore. But teaching her to control it will be even more dangerous. No one knows what she's capable of."

Albus raised his eyebrows. "Didn't you just say that it would be good if she can gain control of her magic? And now it's too dangerous?"

Gellert breathed in deeply and suddenly, there was this gleam in his eyes that always appeared when he was upset or angry. "I said that she needs to control it. But that doesn't mean that you can just put yourself at risk and try to help her with it, Albus! I won't let you do something that is so risky."

Albus stared at Gellert, not sure what he could say now. He had expected many things his friend could say, but not this.

"I would rather do it myself than to risk you getting hurt again." Gellert stood up abruptly and began to walk around in front of Albus. "Do you know how worried I've been? First, the incident with Aberforth. You were in the hospital and unconscious for days, Albus. For days! And then Ariana… How you even survived that. It shouldn't have been possible, most others would have just died there!" Gellert had raised his voice and now, Albus was happy that Aberforth and Ariana were gone with the goats. He stood up slowly.

"And now you tell me that you want to help Ariana. I understand it, she's your little sister. It is normal to be worried. But you will risk your life a third time. And a fourth. Maybe a fifth. And more times, if everything works out well! But who knows that it will? Who tells you that you will be able to help her even once? It's dangerous, Albus!" Gellert was furious, but there was something else in his look. Albus recognized it as worry. Or was there more? It had been a long time since he last saw Gellert this upset and angry.

"Gellert…" He began and tried to stop his friend, but he shrugged off his hand.

"Just listen to me, Albus." He protested and suddenly, Albus had made up his mind. With two steps, he was in front of Gellert and grabbed his arms to make him stand still. Slowly, he was getting upset as well. He narrowed his eyes.

"No, now you will listen to me, Gellert." Albus said in a low voice. Gellert had just shouted enough for one day. "And listen carefully, because I only say this once. I know the risks. I've thought about them closely. I've considered every possible way things could go wrong. And yes, there are many bad things that can happen. However, I will not let my sister live with this all her life. I will at least try to help her. If it doesn't work out, it's alright. But that means that I've tried to do something." He paused and waited for Gellert to say something, but his friend stayed silent. He just looked at him wide-eyed. "I understand that you are worried. I would be worried too, if you would consider doing this. I am worried too, Gel. But please, trust me with this? We'll figure out a way to help her. Slowly, we won't do something thoughtless. And it will work, I am sure of that."

"Wait…" Gellert muttered, still looking into Albus' eyes. There was a frown on his face now. "You said that we-?"

That's when Albus couldn't stop himself anymore. He chuckled and tried to ignore the confused look on Gellert's face. "Yes, we will do this together. Of course only if you want to. You really thought that I could do this without you?" At the last sentences, he became serious again.

"Albus…" Gellert whispered, the shocked expression still on his face.

Albus breathed in deeply. Confession time? Now seemed to be a good moment. "I can't do this without you, Gel."

Gellert let out a shaky laugh. "You are impossible! First you let me think that you want to do this alone and now you just say that you…" He didn't finish his sentence. Instead, he wrapped his arms around Albus and hugged him tightly. Albus gasped in surprise and held Gellert tightly. They stayed like this for some time – Albus didn't know for how long.

When they let go of each other, there was a smile on Gellert's lips. It seemed as if he wanted to say something, when the sound of thunder interrupted him. When the first raindrops started to fall, neither of them moved. They stood in the middle of the garden, looking deeply into each other's eyes. Their faces were just inches away from each other, but neither of them moved.

"Maybe we should get inside." Albus suggested when he noticed that Gellert's blond locks were completely wet. He knew that he probably didn't look much better.

Slowly, Gellert nodded. "Sounds like a plan." He muttered and they started to walk towards the house. They were both completely wet. When they were inside, they were both surprised to see Ariana and Aberforth sitting at the table. Ariana laughed when she saw that they were soaked and even Aberforth had an amused look on his face.