Albus pushed open the black, wrought iron gate of the cemetery. It groaned as it swung inward, leaving specks of rust on his fingers. The graveyard was empty but for a tall, familiar figure standing amidst the tombstones. Albus passed uneasily under the marble gaze of the grimhounds and proceeded in Gellert's direction. His steps were loud on the hard soil, but Gellert did not look up, not even as Albus drew close to him.

"Peverell," Gellert muttered. He looked up and seemed to notice Albus at last. "Good morning."

"I received your note," Albus said. "Some might call this an odd place to meet. A cemetery."

"They do not understand." Gellert knelt and stared intently at a gravestone. "What better place than this? Death is the beginning of all our journeys. And the end."

"You're not going to start with that death business again, are you? I thought a few days in polite society would have cured you of your morbid obsessions."

"My great-aunt has been trying to 'cure' me for a long time. I already told you, nothing has worked. Besides, genius is not a disease." Gellert reached out and touched the headstone, tracing the symbol etched into it. It was the eye.

"Ignotus Peverell," read Albus.

"Well named. His name means 'unknown'. And his family well kept their secrets."

"This is about the Hallows. So you were serious when you said you were after them."

"Always I am serious."

Albus folded his arms, his eyes sliding to the marble slab on which Gellert had kissed him all those days ago. He wondered if Gellert remembered.

"Could we go somewhere else?" he asked. "It's a nice, warm day. I don't like it here."

"In one moment." Gellert's fingers up and down the tombstone, probing gently, as though he were feeling the forehead of a sick child. It seemed to Albus that Gellert was skilled in the Old Magic.

"Are you looking for a magical trace? Ignotus Peverell died centuries ago. There's not likely to be anything left."

"Ja. You are right." Gellert sighed heavily and stood for a moment, his head bowed. Then he smiled. "It is better this way. Finding the Hallows must not be easy. Only the worthy should be able to find them." He glanced at Albus, and his eyes seemed shadowed. "Do you feel this? It is almost a holy place."

"Well, this is the church graveyard…"

Gellert shook his head impatiently.

"Not the church. This grave. This is one of the men who came closest to conquering Death." Gellert inhaled deeply, as if seeking to breathe some inspiration from Ignotus' presence. Again that odd smile flickered on his face. "It will be mine," he said with quiet certainty.

"What?"

"The Cloak. The Stone. The Wand. All three of them."

"Provided they exist."

"They exist. Come." Gellert grabbed Albus' hand and tugged him along.

"Where to now?"

"Wherever you wish. You said you do not like it here."

Having not seen Gellert for several days, Albus felt rather absurdly shy around him. He trailed behind Gellert, looking at his hand, then at him, until Gellert chastised him for walking so slowly.

"Did you enjoy socialising with your great-aunt?" Albus asked, as they left the graveyard and headed down the main street. It was still quite chilly, being barely past seven o' clock, but the morning sun was deliciously warm. There were few others about.

"It was not too bad. Actually, it was a bit boring meeting all these people. But it was a good opportunity also for making political connections. Last night we visited some Mr and Mrs Rosier, and there were much ministers and politicians at their house." Gellert smirked. "Also their daughter was quite pretty, although she talked too much. I had some fun with her."

Albus felt as though Gellert had punched him in the gut.

"Why did you tell me that?"

"You asked if I enjoyed myself."

Gellert thinks it's fun to hurt my feelings, thought Albus. Everything is a game to him.

As they walked past the post office, Albus noticed Sharon Bannister arranging some stock outside the front window. Before he could say good morning, she looked at Gellert and a tortured expression creased her face, her whole body going rigid. She darted inside and slammed the door behind her.

"What was that about?" Albus asked.

"Mmm?" Gellert hadn't seen her.

Albus frowned. A suspicion was blooming in his chest; a suspicion that Gellert had "had fun" with Sharon, too. And how many others? Who knew?

They reached the outskirts of the village and turned into another field, as they had on that fateful day… that day when Gellert had lain on top of Albus and kissed him.

"I am starting to understand you now," Gellert said all of a sudden.

"Really? How so?"

"Your sister is deranged, isn't she?"

Albus stiffened.

"That is why you are so concerned about people with inferior abilities."

"Well, perhaps…"

"And you lied to me about your grandmother."

"I beg your pardon?"

"You told me you know so much quotes from the Christian Bible because your grandmother was a Christian. But in fact, it was your mother."

Albus stared at Gellert.

"How do you know that?"

"I only suspected first. And then I saw her gravestone in the cemetery. No Magians will put a cross on their gravestone."

Albus looked at the ground.

"Now," Gellert said, "I know why you are so sympathetic to the minorities. Because your family..."

"I suppose you hate me now."

"No. We cannot help what our parents are. That does not affect you. My own father… I am nothing like him." Gellert shook his head, as if dislodging an unpleasant thought. "But now you must understand that your judgement is being impaired by your closeness to your family. Your heart is ruling your head. Emotion is interfering with reason."

"Do you think my sister deserves to die?" Albus said. "I could never support someone who believed that."

"Of course not," Gellert said.

"But you said you wanted to eliminate inferior individals…"

"Only in the extreme cases. Your sister is no harm to anyone."

She killed Mother.

Albus slumped to the grass and buried his face in his hands. Gellert knelt beside him.

"Do you want your family back? Your mother and father?"

"No spell can wake the dead."

"We can do it together," Gellert whispered. "Help me find the Hallows." He reached out and smoothed back Albus' hair.

A/N: My last exam is on 27 June. Next update planned for July 1.

Note: Hi peeps. I'm afraid I have some bad news. I'm going to have to put this story on hiatus for a while. I know this will be a disappointment to many of you, but I'm just not enjoying writing it at the moment. Focussing on the relationship between Albus and Gellert, it's too emotionally intense and claustrophobic. This is a pretty dark story and I'm in a dark place in my life at the moment. Trying to get into a mental space where I can write this story is making me even sadder.

I write fanfiction for fun and to escape from my life. For the past few updates, I've had to keep pushing myself, but the enjoyment hasn't been there... I want to spend some time writing my other, less popular stories, because they involve action and comedy and wide open spaces, which makes me feel like I'm getting away from my problems. I think I put too much of my own depression and feelings of love into Summer of my German Warlock, because I find it difficult to read now - it makes me feel emotionally raw and uncomfortable, like I've exposed too much of myself.

I want to thank everyone who left reviews encouraging me to keep writing and letting me know you enjoyed the story. You have no idea how much they meant to me. They made me feel happy and fulfilled during difficult periods in my own life. It's because of a sense of obligation to you that I won't abandon this story completely. I don't know when I'll feel ready to continue this. It might be months or years.

First I'm going to give myself two months to see how I feel. I will leave another note on September 1 letting you know how I'm going. But I make no promises.

Once again, thank you. And I'm very sorry.

August 12: Sorry, still nothing. Check back on September 1.