Albus had always been able to appreciate silent strength: his sister had held it, especially as she continued to live surrounded by magic despite being unable to control her own; his bother had it, having had to look after their sister after their mother had died; but Albus didn't.
He had never had the ability to die and be reborn in cycles of forever. He was always swayed away from the things he held dear with a word or a promise that amounted to nothing in the end.
The Greater Good, had been one such promise he had whispered to Gellert along with the warm wind of Summer. It had whittled away at his will until it was all he had left – it was still all he had left: an old man clinging onto a teenage dream.
The only thing he had left was to push forward. One step, then another, until finally he reached the long distant finishing line of life.
All he could do was to try and be the stability he hadn't been to his family, to the children within the walls of Hogwarts – and those that still looked to him from beyond Hogwarts. he'd be their foundation, as rocky as his own was.
It wouldn't be wars and epic duels: rather the simpler delights of mediocrity that most others took for granted.
If possible, he'd like the rest of his life to be a collage of friends and family and forgiveness.
Written for The Golden Snitch: Around the World [Earth]