"My brother is convinced that you're just using me."

"Hello Albus, it's nice to see you too," said Gellert sarcastically. Then the words registered. "And haven't we already established that your brother is an idiot? It's just one of his usual arguments to keep you away from me, although I really thought he'd have gone with something a bit more original." He gave Albus a roguish grin. "Come on, I've got some ideas -"

But Albus did not return the smile. "Are you telling me there is absolutely no truth in what he said? That you're not just trying to get close to me for my brains? That once you've got what you want, you'll just leave me behind? That you're," he lowered his voice a little and then went for the blow, "that you're just fucking me to keep me on your side?"

Gellert's mouth fell open. "Albus, how can you say that? Yes, you have a brilliant mind, but we both know that. And, no, I probably wouldn't be interested in you, or as interested, if you didn't. But this is not just my revolution, Albus. It's ours. Both of us. You and me. I need you, just as much as you need me." He paused. "And as for the suggestion that I'm just - well, I know that did not come from your brother. I can't even dignify it with an answer. If I was just trying to keep you on my side, don't you think I'd have found a better way to do it? Such as, oh I don't know, promising that I could bring both your parents back." He knew the words were cruel even as he said them, but he was too shocked and even angry that Albus could have thought such a thing.

"All right, say that's all true." Albus had relaxed his stance slightly, but he was still refusing to back down. "Can you look me in the eyes and say that the thought never once crossed your mind? That you could just form plans with me, bring me in on what you wanted, and promise me the world, only to then drop me and run away once you had what you wanted from me? Can you?"

Gellert swallowed hard. Albus had not moved a muscle, had not made any motion to draw his wand or anything, had not even raised his voice. But there was something, almost a hardness, in his face that made Gellert uneasy. His mind raced, wondering what he could say. He had a feeling that if he tried to lie, then Albus would realise it straight away. But the idea of telling the truth, of admitting exactly what the other boy had come to mean to him, of how important he had become - he was not sure he could do that either. Even thinking the words scared him and he heard himself breathe out heavily even as his eyes dropped to the floor.

"You see?" Albus laughed, but there was no humour in it. "You can't even deny it, can you? You want to, I can see it, but you can't. Because it's true and we both know it. Well, good luck with your revolution. I hope it's everything you dreamed of."

"Albus, no - wait!" Gellert grabbed his shoulder as he stalked past. "All right, fine - you're right. When my aunt first mentioned introducing us, she told me that you were brilliant, but bored. That you were stifled and desperate to get away from here. And that, along with when I met you and you looked so...run down and fed up - yes, I thought that it would be entirely too easy to get you on side. No one that desperate would pass up the chance. Especially when you looked at me and I could tell you were attracted to me. I'm not a fool, Albus."

A faint flush dusted Albus' freckled cheeks. "So you were -

"But then," Gellert sighed and slid his hand down to clasp Albus', "then I heard what you had to say. I saw you light up and come alive. You just commanded the room without even knowing you were doing it. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. You were - you are - more, so much more, than I'd been led to believe. To be honest, it scared me a little. I wasn't used to being challenged like that."

Albus pulled his hand free and stepped backwards. "What are you trying to say?"

"I," Gellert cursed under his breath and pulled his fingers through his hair. "Albus, I've known a lot of people over the years. Some more intelligent than others, though I doubt that would say very much. Some, I might even have harboured something you might call respect for. But I have never met anyone like you. Every time I see you, somehow, you manage to amaze and fascinate me. I had given up hope that it would be possible, that I could find someone who would share my dreams, much less someone who I would take so much pleasure in being with."

He paused, arranging his thoughts carefully before he spoke. "When you found out why I was expelled, I was terrified. I thought you would be disgusted, that you would leave me without a second thought. That chilled me, Albus, more than I want to admit. Not only because of the plans we made together, but because, for the first time, I found a reason to be glad that I had been expelled. It was as you said yourself; had I not been, then you and I would never have met."

He had expected Albus to soften at those words, to finally give in. No one could mistake the truth in them. But he didn't. Instead, he raised his head higher and fixed Gellert with a flaming gaze. "All right," he said. "Then prove it."

Gellert blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"You heard me." Somehow, without him noticing, Albus had drawn his wand and it was pointed steadily at Gellert's throat. He advanced on him, slowly, but with the certainty of a tiger prowling through the woods. "Prove it." He looked so proud, so determined that, in spite of himself, Gellert backed away a little. He hoped the motion had gone unnoticed, but, of course, it hadn't.

The corner of Albus' mouth twitched upwards. "Scared, Gellert?"

"You...you wish." Gellert's mouth felt very dry all of a sudden. But it was true. Many feelings were rushing through him, but fear did not seem to be one of them. He felt a chill race up his spine and his heart jumped as the tip of Albus' wand pressed against the base of his chin, forcing his head back against the wall.

But he was not scared. Surprised and caught off guard, absolutely, but not scared. He could push Albus away, even without a wand, in a moment. He could just as easily grab him and turn him around so their positions were reversed. Perhaps he should have. But the simple fact of the matter was, he realised, as Albus pressed himself against him, his breath hot and his grip strong, his eyes locked on him as bright as pools of fire...he simply did not want to.

"You know," Albus said then, as calmly as if he were discussing one of their plans, "you were wrong about one thing."

"Oh?" Gellert asked, pleased that his voice did not crack. "And what would that be?"

Oh yes." Albus smiled brightly. "You told me that you need me just as much as I need you. But that isn't quite right, is it? I might need you, that's true, but we both know that you need me far more."

"Really?" Much to Gellert's relief, the word came out sharply, with a note of anger. "Well, do enlighten me on how you think that might be possible."

"Or," Albus countered, "why don't you tell me what chance a teenager who got expelled from Durmstrang would have at doing everything you say, by himself?"

"I...you think I'm not powerful enough?!"

"Oh, no, I have no doubt of that. But not everyone in authority is a fool, Gellert. There are some who would only have to hear your name and they would know you were expelled - and why. Who do you think would listen to you then? Who do you think would follow you? Who do you think would trust you? If you cannot even control yourself around mere students who disagree with you, what hope would you have against those with much more prestige, whether they deserve it or not?"

His smile turned into something closer to a smirk as he began to run his wand down Gellert's neck, resting it in the small hollow at his throat. He shivered as Gellert swallowed once again. "Me, on the other hand? I have dealt with these people since I was younger than you. I know how they work, how to bring them onside and, more importantly, how to keep them there. Not to mention," he paused, a strange parody of an expression of thoughtful modesty crossing his face, "well, not that I wish to seem arrogant, but I have developed quite a reputation of my own, such that when people think of the Dumbledore name, I believe it is no longer my father, but me, who crosses their minds first."

"And what is your point?" Of course, Gellert knew perfectly well what his point was, but he was not going to surrender that easily. Not for anything.

Albus laughed. "Oh, I think you know. Tell me, Gellert," his wand tip now rested quietly over Gellert's heart, "which of us do you think is more likely to be trusted and listened to?" He tilted his head as his smirk melted away into the look of innocent curiosity, though the inferno still raged in his eyes.

"I..." Gellert's mind worked frantically, turning over Albus' logic and trying to find any small frailty or hole in it. But, to his irritation, he quickly realised he could not deny it. Albus was right. He wanted him with him, there was no question about that, but he also needed him more than he had realised.

"All right," he managed, hating how weak his voice sounded, "what did you have in mind? An Unbreakable Vow? Perhaps your brother will bear witness for us," he added, trying for a bitter sarcasm, but well aware that he missed the mark.

Albus snorted. "Please. Do you really think I, of all people, would suggest something so crude?" With little more than a flick of his wand, a book soared across the room and hovered, open, above their heads. "No. Something different. Something more..."substantial."

Gellert lifted his head slightly to look at the page, slowly taking it all in. "A blood troth?" His heart skipped a little and, judging by the small gasp he heard, Albus had felt it too. "That's powerful magic, Albus."

"Yes, it is." Albus' voice had gone very quiet, though no less fierce. "A token of the most powerful magic of all." He pressed himself against Gellert again for one last second before finally stepping away. "And the strongest commitment of all."

Gellert could not quite stop the low moan that escaped his lips, but when he looked back, he could see that he was in fact not the only one who had been so affected. Albus was staring straight at him, his breathing slightly ragged and his fist clenching by his side. But his eyes still shone with that hard blaze and his wand hand was perfectly steady. There was no playfulness about him, no sign that any of this was a joke. He had meant every word, it was entirely clear.

And, for the first time, Gellert felt a little afraid. Because, while he had realised on that first meeting that Albus was much more than he had believed him to be, he had never predicted that he could look so wild, so dangerous.

Nor that it could be so beautiful.

Slowly pushing himself back off the wall, even as his legs trembled with shock, he crossed the room and caught Albus' face between his hands. Albus started and his mouth opened a little, but before he could speak, Gellert swooped in and captured his lips, stealing away any words that might have come out. He heard a faint thud as the book fell to the floor behind him, but ignored it, shuddering as Albus gasped softly, deepening the kiss and pressing them closer together, his soft curls brushing against Gellert's cheek.

Eventually, Albus moved away and opened his eyes. His cheeks were flushed and his heart raced wildly underneath Gellert's hand, but his gaze was still firm. "So? What do you think?"

Gellert barely had to think about it. "All right," he whispered, brushing a loose lock of hair away from Albus' forehead. "If that is what it takes for you to believe me."

Their magic swirled around them, the barn almost crackling with energy. Heavy bright blood rushed through their veins, pulsing in their clasped hands and sending shivers over their skin. It was so wild, so powerful, and yet so perfect, that Gellert hardly dared to open his eyes, afraid he might be dreaming. He felt his breath catch in his throat and his fingers trembled.

A soft gasp made him start and he managed to open his eyes just enough to see Albus, now calm and still, though he was breathing quickly and there was a light glow of sweat on his forehead. Other than that, he appeared to be entirely in control, quite unlike only minutes earlier when he had barely been able to keep his composure, when Gellert had been able to feel him shaking, even before they touched their palms together.

It took Gellert a few seconds to realise that Albus was not watching him, but was instead staring at their unlinked hands, watching closely. Somehow, Gellert could not have said how or when, he had held out his palm as though he was waiting for something. Now, right before their eyes, a small plume of light began to glow in the space between them, slowly swirling and coalescing until it formed the shape of a small pendant, elaborately wrought out of glimmering silver, a single stone of swirling white casting a moon-bright light over both their faces. It hovered, almost cautiously, in the air for a moment before slowly floating towards them, landing between their outstretched palms.

They both watched, almost entranced, as the pendant slid between their fingers, both fighting off a shiver at the feel of cool metal against the heat of their palms. Gellert felt his pulse race again as his thumb slipped under their still intertwined fingers to brush across the scar on Albus' palm, but his words when he spoke were, too his relief, quite steady. "Well? Are you now convinced?"

At last, Albus looked at him, but his expression was almost unreadable. To a distant observer, he might have looked simply thoughtful, as if he was turning a thousand different ideas over in his head. Of course, he might well have been, except that the sharp flame in his eyes never died away. He was examining him closely, searching him for any sign that he might have been played false. Steadily, with all the shrewdness and care of a wolf studying his pack, his eyes swept between their still clasped hands and the pendant as it continued to rest between them, almost watching them.

Slowly, he caught the pendant in his hand, turning it over, studying it from all angles, running his fingers over each elaborate twist in the metal. Whatever he was looking for, he obviously found it because he blinked and, without a sound, he closed his hand around it and led Gellert further back, away from the pale sunlight casting shadows across the barn, until they were leaning beside a tall haystack.

Despite the summer warmth, Gellert gasped and his vision tunnelled sharply as Albus, without taking his eyes off him, draped the chain around his neck. The metal was not cold, but the striking silver glow against his own black shirt sent a shiver through him and made him gasp, oddly thrilled by the sight.

Apparently, Albus agreed, because a bright smile lit up his face, making his eyes as him again, catching him with a breathless huff of bright laughter as they both staggered and tumbled into the haystack. Gellert's brief gasp of surprise was swallowed by a kiss that threatened to set him aflame, making him shudder as the golden hay stirred and whispered around them.