Chapter 19! I hope you like it, please let me know what you think! And thanks to everyone who reads this story! I made a few small changes, like Armando Dippet being Headmaster of Hogwarts around 1900, even if he first became Headmaster around 1925, but I hope you don't mind that.
I don't own the characters or places!
The next months passed rather quickly. They kept going with their routine – teaching Ariana to control her magic, helping Bathilda with the book and doing a few things on their own. Albus had finished his paper about the uses of dragon blood and it was going to be published, while Gellert kept an eye on the events in the east.
However, nothing appeared in the Prophet again. The only information they got were from Albus' friends at the Ministry or old papers Gellert got from eastern Europe. Sometimes, it said that Muggles just vanished, while other times, the bodies were found and it was obvious that they were killed by dark magic. As hard as they tried to find more, they couldn't make a connection to Dimitri and his friends at Durmstrang. They would leave the school soon, and Gellert already feared that it would get worse then. However, Albus suspected that they would hold back for some time before they began to act more openly.
They just had to keep their eyes open and wait until something big happened. Albus knew that the waiting made Gellert crazy. Because Gellert knew Dimitri, so he also knew that they were responsible for the incidents, as they were called.
To keep his mind off of those events, Gellert started to plan the vacation he and Albus would take once Aberforth finished school. Then Aberforth would stay with Ariana and they could leave. Since that would happen soon, they needed to make a plan. Elphias gave them some ideas for cities and places they should look at, and Gellert tried to plan the route as good as possible. Sometimes, Albus helped him with that. After all, he'd planned the route with Elphias some time ago as well.
Ariana was sad that they wanted to leave, but she didn't complain. She knew how important it was for Albus to see the world. And that he and Gellert couldn't stay at Godric's Hollow forever. She could control her magic better every day and Albus was sure that she would be able to use a wand soon. However, there was still the problem that she didn't attend any school. By now, she was far too old to go to Hogwarts.
Albus and Gellert have thought of teaching her at home, but it would take much time. Time in which they wouldn't be able to do much else. They talked about it many times by now, but they didn't find a solution yet. Maybe Aberforth would have an idea, once they told him that they've been practicing with Ariana. Albus suspected that his brother would get a heart attack first. And maybe try to hit him again since they risked Ariana's life without his knowledge.
Or maybe he would stay quiet about it first. After all, they wanted to go to Aberforth's graduation at Hogwarts with Ariana. And Albus hoped that his brother wouldn't cause a scene in front of all those people.
The day of the graduation came sooner than expected. It was a tradition that there was a party at Hogwarts when the last exams were finished. Then, the families of the graduation classes would come to the school and there was a celebration. Of course it would be still separated into the houses. The tradition was still very new. The headmaster, Armando Dippet, had the idea this year and everyone liked it. Well, most people.
The morning they would leave for Hogwarts, Albus was very excited. Probably not as much as Ariana and Gellert, but he was still nervous. After all, he would see his old school again, the place he loved. Gellert and his sister would see the school for the first time and Albus hoped that they would like it there. Especially Gellert if they could really live there in the future. And then there was the fact that Aberforth didn't know that they would be taking Ariana along…
Albus only noticed that Gellert was there when two arms wrapped themselves around his waist from behind. "Stop worrying." He whispered into Albus' ear and the sound of his voice made him shiver.
"I'm not worrying." Albus threw in immediately.
"But you're nervous, love. So stop thinking of it, it will be alright." Gellert kissed Albus' neck and he turned around in his arms. Gellert was smiling and his eyes were shining with excitement. He was wearing a plain black cloak and Albus thought that he was very handsome.
"I just hope Aberforth won't yell at us." Albus admitted.
"Since Ariana will be with us, he won't dare to do that." Gellert tried to calm him down. "And if he tries to be mean to you, he'll have to deal with me first."
Slowly, Albus relaxed in Gellert's arms. "No one's going to argue today." He said sternly. "We'll all have a nice day."
When they heard footsteps on the stairs, they both looked up to see Ariana walking towards them. She was wearing a dark red cloak Albus had gotten her a few weeks ago. That, together with her braided hair, made her look very beautiful.
"You look great!" He said and hugged her tightly.
"Very stunning!" Gellert agreed and kissed her hand. Ariana just rolled her eyes at them, but she was smiling.
"Do you really think that it's a good idea if I go with you?" She sounded insecure. "Aberforth doesn't know that I can control it now, and I don't want him to be afraid all day…"
"It will be fine." Albus promised. "I'll talk to him."
"And what if I get nervous again? If I hurt someone?" Just now Albus noticed that she was paler than usual.
"We'll be with you the whole time. And remember last week when we went to London together? You didn't get nervous in the crowd, did you?" He smiled at her encouragingly.
"That was different." She replied immediately.
"And why?" Gellert wanted to know.
"Those were muggles. They didn't know anything about my problem."
"And today, no one will know about it as well. They'll just think that you're a stunning young lady who's being taught at home." Albus said calmly.
After a few moments of silence, Ariana finally relaxed.
Albus held out his hand to her. "Are you ready?" When she nodded shyly, Albus turned to Gellert, who was already holding his other hand. "Then let's go."
Albus apparated to Hogsmeade since it wasn't possible to go directly to Hogwarts. From there, they would have to walk. However, they all didn't mind that. It was a warm day in the summer and next to them, there were many others walking towards the castle. Albus recognized some of them from his own time at school. Some even greeted them friendly, asking how everything was. Then, Albus would introduce Ariana and Gellert and they would talk for some time.
The only thing that bothered Albus was that he couldn't hold Gellert's hand. Relationships between two men couldn't be shown in public. Albus knew that it bothered Gellert too, which was probably why he always stayed so close to him.
When the castle appeared in front of them, Ariana breathed in sharply. Next to Albus, Gellert's eyes widened slightly and he smiled. "It's as beautiful as you said, love." Gellert whispered into his ear and Albus smiled.
"I already told you that you'd like it." He whispered back. For half a second, their hands touched, but the contact was over too soon. "Maybe I can show you around."
"That would be great." Gellert replied with a smile.
The party would take place outside, close to the lake. When they got closer, they saw many tables with food and other things. The place was already crowded and Albus recognized many students and a few teachers. Armando Dippet was there, as well as Rufus Downright, the professor for Defence Against the Dark Arts.
It wasn't difficult to find Aberforth in the crowd. He was standing on the edge of the large group and looked rather uncomfortable. Albus knew that his brother hated festivities like this. It was still a riddle to him why Aberforth even agreed to stay for this. In his dark cloak and with the unhappy look on his face, no one tried to approach Aberforth.
Albus took the lead, while Gellert and Ariana followed him. When they saw him, a few of the younger students started to whisper in excitement. Albus, who was used to this, just ignored them. He glanced at Gellert and saw an unreadable expression on his face. He would have loved to know what he was thinking in this moment. Maybe Albus should ask him later since now wasn't the right moment.
Aberforth had already seen him and was walking towards them slowly. Albus suspected that he didn't notice Ariana yet, she was still walking behind him.
Albus smiled at his brother, but before he could say anything, Ariana had walked past him and threw her arms around Aberforth. "Aberforth!" She whispered happily and hid her face in his cloak. In this moment, Albus was glad about that. Aberforth's eyes were wide and next to shock, he could also see anger in them. The last thing he wanted was for Ariana to think that her brother didn't want her here.
"Ariana, what are you doing here?" Aberforth asked, his voice low. Albus could still hear shock in it, but his younger brother had more control over himself than expected. When Ariana pulled back, he even smiled at her widely.
"Albus and Gellert said that I could accompany them!" She explained happily. "I really wanted to see you and the castle. And I'm glad that they allowed me to come, it's so beautiful here." She looked around with wide eyes and Albus had to smile at the wonder on her face. In this moment, he was glad that they'd invested all this time in Ariana's training. Next to him, Gellert was grinning.
"You did a good job." He whispered.
"We did, Gel." Albus corrected him firmly.
While Ariana was scanning their surroundings, Aberforth looked at them with raised eyebrows. Albus knew that he probably wanted to yell at them, but his brother was still holding back. Instead, he just looked at them suspiciously. And a little scared, Albus realized.
"You don't have to worry, I've got it under control." Ariana whispered now. "Albus and Gellert taught me how to do it." She was still smiling widely. "Nothing bad is going to happen."
In this moment, Albus could see several emotions on Aberforth's face. First, anger. Then confusion, mixed with hurt. And in the end, relief. Next to happiness. "How did you do that?" He shook his head. "And don't come me with your long explanations, we'll talk about that at home. I'll also have to tell you what I think of you doing this without telling me anything!"
"Lots of patience." Albus said simply and grinned at his brother. "And besides, you would have never allowed this."
After a few moments in which he watched Ariana silently, Aberforth nodded. "That's true." He hesitated. "I've never seen her this happy." Together, they watched Ariana and Gellert who looked at the castle. "Was it difficult?"
Albus shrugged. "A little." He admitted. "But not too much. I enjoy teaching her."
"Maybe you would really be a good teacher." Aberforth muttered without looking at him. "You're going to leave with Gellert either way, aren't you? When I'm home again."
He nodded. "However, Ariana needs to keep practicing."
"I can do that." Aberforth said immediately. "I'm not such a bad wizard, after all."
"I never said that." Albus threw in calmly. "I know that you can do this."
For a moment, there was surprise on Aberforth's face, but it vanished quickly. Then someone called Albus' name and the conversation was over. The person who called him was a girl from Aberforth's year. Albus remembered that her name was Ella, but he couldn't recall her last name anymore. She'd also been in Gryffindor, which is why Albus knew her quite well. Especially from his time as prefect and Head Boy, since she liked to do many stupid things.
"Ella, it's good to see you!" He exclaimed and could just hold back a surprised gasp when she hugged him tightly.
"How are you, Albus?" She asked with a smile and somehow, he felt uncomfortable under her intensive stare. "I've heard that you wanted to go on a vacation with Elphias."
He smiled back at her. "Yes, we did. However, I couldn't accompany him."
She frowned. "Did something happen?"
Albus was still considering how to answer that question when someone appeared next to him. He didn't have to turn around to know that it was Gellert. Ella also looked at the newcomer and Albus saw that her eyes widened slightly. He couldn't blame her, though. After all, Gellert really was very attractive. Again, Albus wanted to curse because he couldn't hold Gellert's hand in public.
"Oh, and who are you?" Ella asked now and smiled at Gellert. "My name's Ella. Albus and I are old friends." Old friends didn't fit, but Albus didn't correct her. Most probably, Gellert already knew that Albus didn't like this conversation.
"Gellert Grindelwald." Gellert introduced himself and smiled at Ella. "Old friends, hm? I assume you know each other from your time at school?" Even though he was smiling, his eyes were narrowed. Of course he didn't believe the story of old friends.
"We really talked for the first time when I became prefect." Albus explained, not wanting to hear her explanation.
"Albus was always very nice." Ella grinned.
Gellert nodded slowly. "I bet he was…" He muttered. Then he turned to Albus. "Why don't we look for your siblings, Albus? After all, this is a big day for your brother."
Albus nodded, grateful for the way out of this situation. "Then let's go." He smiled at Ella apologetically, but before she could say anything else, Gellert had pulled Albus away from her.
"You're even more popular than Elphias said." Gellert muttered and Albus raised his eyebrows.
"Am I? If this is true, I didn't notice."
Gellert rolled his eyes. "Of course you didn't. People are staring at you. Girls are staring. And they even try to flirt with you." Gellert didn't sound happy. Was he jealous?
"If that was an attempt to flirt with me, it's been very bad." Albus tried to lighten the mood and smiled at Gellert. "As I said, I didn't notice." He leaned closer to him and whispered into his ear. "You know that I see no one but you."
Gellert stopped abruptly and Albus ran into him. For a moment, their faces were nearly touching and they just looked into each other's eyes. Gellert smiled softly and Albus grinned. When they leaned back, the moment was over and they continued to look for Ariana and Aberforth.
An hour later, Albus and Gellert were sitting at a table close to the lake. Aberforth and Ariana were walking around somewhere, he wanted to show her the grounds. Albus suspected that Aberforth also wanted to get her away from too many people since he was still worried.
A few more girls have tried to talk to Albus, but all of them left very fast. Some of them noticed Gellert and didn't try to come closer anymore, while others were scared away by some of Gellert's comments. Albus thought that it was amusing, even if he knew that Gellert did that on purpose.
Suddenly, Albus noticed that Headmaster Dippet and Professor Downright were walking towards them. Professor Downright was smiling widely. "Albus Dumbledore, it's good to see you again!" The teacher for Defence Against the Dark Arts exclaimed loudly. "Who is your friend?"
"It's good to see you again as well, Professor Downright, Headmaster Dippet." Albus shook their hands with a smile. "This is Gellert Grindelwald."
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Gellert said with his most charming smile.
"How have you been, Albus?" Professor Dippet asked when they sat down. "I've heard that there has been an accident in your family and that you were taking care of your sister ever since you finished school?"
Albus nodded. "I've been at Godric's Hollow this whole time."
"But he hasn't been idle." Downright threw in. "From a friend, I've heard that you're searching for uses of Dragon Blood?"
"A way of passing the time, next to helping Gellert's aunt, Bathilda Bagshot, with the research for her new book." Albus explained.
"Your aunt is Bathilda Bagshot?" Dippet looked at Gellert attentively. "She's writing about Hogwarts, I think that it's really exciting. She was here a few times to get material for the book. She's mentioned that her nephew is staying with her, but not that he's a good friend of Albus Dumbledore." He looked from Gellert to Albus and back. Gellert looked genuinely surprised that his aunt had mentioned him to the Headmaster of Hogwarts.
For some time, they were talking about the things Albus and Gellert were doing at the moment. At some point, they even came to Ariana's problems with magic and that Albus and Gellert were helping her with that.
"Are you interested in teaching, Albus?" Dippet asked suddenly.
"I have thought of it, Sir." Albus affirmed.
Dippet smiled. "Well, you might already know that Professor Downright will retire in two years from now. We've been talking about finding a successor some time ago, and during this conversation, your name was mentioned more than once."
Albus looked at them with wide eyes. Next to him, Gellert smiled. "You have considered me as a possible candidate for the position of the Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts?"
They both nodded. "You were always very good at this." Downright said with a grin. "The best student I've ever had. Though Armando argued that you were always better at Transfiguration."
Dipped shook his head. "Because it's true, he would make a good Transfiguration teacher."
"Or Defence Against the Dark Arts. You even admitted that he was good at anything."
Albus could do nothing more than to follow that conversation with wide eyes. Under the table, Gellert took his hand and squeezed it.
"I think Professor Jacksmith will be with us for about five more years." Dippet said thoughtfully. "Maybe we could switch positions then, Albus could teach Transfiguration, while someone else takes the position for Defence Against the Dark Arts."
"You didn't even ask the young man if he would like to be a teacher." Downright muttered.
Now they were both looking at him questioningly.
"I would love to be a teacher, if I would fit into that position." Albus admitted hesitantly.
To his surprise, Dippet laughed. "You would fit in quite well, Albus. That's why we've been thinking of you first." He looked at Albus silently for a few moments. "I'll send you an owl soon. Then you can travel around the world and once you're back, you can replace Professor Downright. I think two years should be enough to see the world?"
Albus chuckled. "More than enough, Sir."
Dippet looked pleased. Suddenly, he turned to Gellert. "And what about you, Mr. Grindelwald? Where do you see yourself in the future?"
Gellert's eyes widened slightly, but Albus doubted that anyone else could see his surprise. "I'm not sure yet, Sir." He said slowly. "I always wanted to improve my magical skills."
"Gellert has been thinking of teaching as well." Albus threw in. He knew that he risked Gellert being angry with him now, but this seemed to be their chance.
Dippet raised his eyebrows. "You did?"
Gellert nodded reluctantly. "Yes, Sir. Even if I don't see how it could be possible."
"You mean because of your problems at school?" Dippet asked. When Gellert's face turned into a neutral mask, he chuckled. "Your aunt talks very much." He looked at Gellert with narrowed eyes. "Did you enjoy helping Albus' sister with her magic?"
"Very much, Sir." Gellert answered immediately.
"And you say that he's a skilled wizard?" This time, the question was directed at Albus.
"I don't know anyone at our age who is better." He confirmed.
"Except for yourself." Gellert muttered.
Dippet smiled at them. "I like you, Mr. Grindelwald." He said finally. "I assume that you won't be far away once Albus comes to Hogwarts?"
Gellert just nodded.
Dippet was still smiling. "I'll send you both an owl."
With that, he stood up and walked towards the castle.
Professor Downright looked after him and shrugged. "He's always like this." He told Gellert. "I think I'll hear from you soon." After a short goodbye, he went to the castle as well.
Albus and Gellert looked at each other. "Did that just happen?" Albus asked quietly.
Gellert nodded. "Either that, or we're both dreaming."
"It's really beautiful." Gellert said with a smile. They were walking through the castle and Albus also enjoyed being back.
"Could you imagine living here someday?" He asked hesitantly, thinking of the conversation with Professor Dippet again.
"Maybe." Gellert admitted. "But Albus, I don't think that they'll let me stay here. I didn't even finish school."
"You heard Dippet. If he really wants you to be here, he'll find a solution."
"But would others accept that?" Gellert frowned.
"Why shouldn't they? Even in that short conversation, you made them both see how brilliant you are. Your explanation about the new spells you're inventing was amazing." Albus looked around and when no one was there, he kissed Gellert on the cheek.
"It was nothing next to you talking about dragon blood and how we're helping your sister." Gellert muttered. Suddenly, he raised his eyebrows. "How does Dippet even know the story with Ariana?"
"He's got relatives in Godric's Hollow. They're living close to us." Albus explained. "Most probably, they saw or heard something. And I think they knew my parents, but I'm not sure."
Gellert nodded slowly. "It was strange, talking about it so openly."
Albus nodded. "But we couldn't lie to them, could we?"
Gellert rolled his eyes, but he grinned. "You're too honest."
"You're getting there yourself, Gel." Albus threw in. This seemed to make Gellert thoughtful.
"I assume you're right." He said finally.
Albus grinned. "It's not a bad thing."
"If you say so." Gellert chuckled. "Could you imagine that? The two of us as teachers for Transfiguration and Defence Against the Dark Arts?"
Albus nodded. "Yes, I can."
"Would be a crazy turn of events, right? Me teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts?" Gellert smiled ironically. "After everything I've done."
"You didn't do anything." Albus reminded him. "And I think it would suit you. All your new ideas about the Greater Good, teaching students to defend themselves would fit in there."
"Don't get my hopes up." Gellert muttered. "It will never happen."
"Wait and see." Albus said. "Dippet didn't seem averse to the idea."
"Let's talk about something else."
So Albus started to tell Gellert old stories from school, fitting to the places in the castle they saw.