Albus knocked on the front door of the Bagshot residence and straightened his robes for what must have been the hundredth time. He hadn't been to a formal occasion since his mother's funeral and he was rather nervous. Since returning to Godric's Hollow, he had spent all his time on his own or in the company of his siblings, who were not exactly polite society. Bathilda had always been good to him and he wanted to make a good impression.
After a few moments, the door swung open to reveal... a film star? The boy standing there was about Albus' age, but there was a maturity and self-assurance in his bearing that made him seem much older. Without saying a word, he projected an aura of confidence and absolute certainty, as though he was accustomed to having the whole world do as he said. And his face would have made a sculptor weep. Albus had never seen him before.
The boy raised his eyebrows disdainfully as his gaze took Albus in, the look in his cold blue eyes making it clear that he already considered this a waste of time.
"Yes?" he said. "What are you wanting?" He had a foreign accent... German?
Albus recovered his powers of speech and cleared his throat.
"Ah," he said, "you must be Gellert. Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Albus. Albus Dumbledore. Your great-aunt invited me..."
"Oh, Albus Dumbledore!" Gellert smiled, a charming smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Of course, we have been expecting you. Please excuse my rudeness. Come inside." He stood back and allowed Albus to enter the front hall before shutting the door behind them. Turning, he looked at Albus appraisingly. "So, this is the famous Dumbledore!"
Gellert was broad-shouldered and tall, even taller than Albus, who had always been bigger than his classmates. He had hard blue eyes that burned like chips of sapphire. Wavy gold hair framed his face like a lion's mane, and his expression was imperious and stern, as though he was permanently sneering at everything. For a moment there was a searching, almost hungry look on his face as he stared at Albus. He took Albus' hand in his own and shook it forcefully. His hand was warm and his grip was strong, and Albus felt a curious sensation where Gellert's hand touched his.
"Well, I don't know about famous," Albus said. He was a bit taken aback that Gellert seemed to know him, when he knew nothing whatsoever about Gellert.
"Ja," said Gellert. He stood very close to Albus in the narrow front hall, his face just a few inches away, and Albus was uncomfortably aware of Gellert's warm breath. "I have heard of you. Many call you the greatest student Hogwarts has ever produced." He was smiling again, wolfishly, but there was a look in his eyes that Albus didn't much care for. It was a challenging look, as if to say, do you think you're a great wizard? Next to me, you're nothing.
"An exaggeration... certainly, I did well enough at school..."
"Let us go into the dining room, my friend. We are having dinner straight away." Gellert's eyes lingered on Albus' a moment longer before he released Albus' hand, turned and led the way out of the hall.
Bathilda's dining room, like the rest of her house, was small but richly furnished. A long mahogany table stood in the centre, spread with a white tablecloth and set with silver cutlery and fine china. Light shone from the fireplace, as well as some candelabra and a couple of ornate chandeliers suspended from the ceiling. Over the fireplace hung a portrait of an old Bagshot relative, currently empty, as its occupant seemed to have taken off somewhere.
"Albus! How good of you to join us!" Bathilda was seated in the chair closest to the fireplace, but when she saw Albus enter, she stood and swept over to him with surprising speed for a woman of her age. She was wearing an elegant purple gown with a matching shawl. Diamond earrings flashed on her earlobes, gold rings adorned her fingers and a necklace of pearls encircled her neck. When she reached Albus, she embraced him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you very much for inviting me, Ms Bagshot," Albus said, bowing. "And if I may be so bold, you look simply enchanting this evening."
"Does she not?" said Gellert. He was standing on the other side of the table with his arms held behind his back and his shoulders thrown back like a military officer, smiling. "I tried to tell her this, but she did not believe me."
"Oh, you boys!" said Bathilda. "You do know how to flatter an old woman."
Gellert said, "It is not flattery. It is truth. You are very nice to look at."
"It runs in the family," Albus blurted suddenly. Gellert and Bathilda stared at him, and blood rushed to his face, making his cheeks hot with embarassment. He felt like kicking himself. "Uh, what I mean is, uh, that is to say, um, Gellert certainly has the looks to be a film star," he stammered. "Which is all I meant. That is to say, I think the Bagshot family are endowed with good looks, which is quite fortunate..."
"You're right there," Bathilda said. "Gellert has always had the girls chasing after him, ever since he was a boy. Rather like you, Albus. I hear you were very popular at Hogwarts: Head Boy, top of every class, delightful manners, tall and handsome... the girls were lining up for you."
"It is easy to see why," Gellert put in. It took Albus a few moments to realise what Gellert had said, and then he looked at the German boy, hardly daring to believe his ears. "Intelligence is attractive. Also knowledge and power. And I am sensing that Albus is a very powerful wizard, is that not so, Albus?" Gellert grinned. "I feel that we will have much to teach each other."
"I knew you would like him, Gellert," said Bathilda. "Of course, Albus was never very interested in romance in school. He was far too busy with his studies and his intellectual pursuits, for which all of magical philosophy should be grateful. And yet, the poor girls at Hogwarts were so disappointed. Do you know, I first got to know him when I read an article of his in Transfiguration Today on, what was it now, the mechanisms by which mass is conserved during transfiguration? I thought it was incredible that a boy still in school could have such an insight into the fundamental workings of magic. But why are we standing here talking? Let's sit down and begin our dinner."
They moved to the table and took their places. Bathilda returned to her chair at the end of the table closest to the fireplace, while Gellert and Albus sat facing each other, one on either side of Bathilda. Albus felt a flash of irritation. For some reason he wanted to sit beside Gellert. He found the other boy very interesting, in a way that he could not quite explain, perhaps because he didn't want to admit it to himself.
"Birdy!" Bathilda called.
Crack! A house-elf appeared beside Bathilda and sank into a deep bow. The elf appeared to be female, and she was wearing clean, tidy rags.
"Yes, Mistress?" she said in a squeaky voice.
"We're ready for our meal. Bring out the appetiser," Bathilda commanded. "It's nothing too fancy," she added apologetically, looking at Albus. "Quite a simple dinner, really. We only have one house-elf here and I rarely entertain."
Albus replied, "I assure you, anything more than bread and cheese will be like a feast to me. I wouldn't want to put you to any trouble."
"Ach, such a perfect gentleman he is," said Gellert lazily, watching Albus from across the table.
Albus swallowed. He didn't know why, but whenever he met Gellert's eyes, his mouth went dry, his stomach fluttered and he felt his heart beat a little faster.