A/N: This was really difficult to write. I had toyed around with the idea of writing this as a separate fic of how Dumbledore stopped Grindelwald, but I decided to include it in here. I have had this idea in my mind for a long time - since before I started writing this. Again, I do not think this happened in canon, but I think it very possible.

One problem I have with the traditional route of Dumbledore just going and stoping Grindelwald one day is how... uh... dumb Grindelwald would've had to be to agree to it. I don't think Gellert was ever stupid. Why would you agree to battle a wizard capable of stopping you? He wouldn't, in my opinion. He wouldn't be so careless. Can you imagine Dumbledore sending a letter saying, "I want to stop you" and then Grindelwald saying, "Let's do this. My address is ..." Doesn't fit. Also, we know Dumbledore was completely knowledgeable about the Elder Wand. He would've known it was called the unbeatable wand.

Again, I feel this topic is too dark for fanfiction, yet I think Grindelwald has to be seen this way. A problem I have is a lot of people tend to think of Gellert as a... misunderstood idealist. I really don't think Grindelwald was an OK person. Remember, he was considered the darkest wizard of the century until Voldemort came to "steal the crown from him." I think Grindelwald could disguise himself as a good person very, very well (something Voldemort was not as successful in), but he is still horrendously evil. That's what makes Grindelwald more sinister to me than Voldemort (and, to be honest, I think Grindelwald is a better villain).

Sue Clover - I honestly don't give Dumbledore bashing fics much of a chance. They just make me so mad! So I honestly can say I do not read them often. Thank you though, I'm glad you like seeing into Dumbledore's mind - his doubts, fears, decisions, self-loathing, etc. This entire fic is just how I see him as a complicated character... And don't worry! You'll see how Dumbledore beats Grindelwald, though I'm kinda scared of writing it.

Reader AZ - Thank you! I'm honestly surprised how many people hate continue to hate Dumbledore. As for the Albus was supposed to be watching Ariana thing - I came up with that idea years ago because it adds to the load of guilt he feels. Just imagine, he's 10 years old, and he and Ariana go outside to play, but Albus gets distracted with other neighborhood kids and loses sight of her for ten minutes. It's enough to have her abducted. Could you really blame a 10-year-old? No, he was just a kid. But would Albus blame himself for the rest of his life? You bet. So that's what I did to him. I'm so mean.

Brigid - Thanks and bless you too! The only fanfic updated - oh I know the feeling. Isn't it so frustrating when someone writes a fanfic you like but they never finish it? It drives me nuts!

8-Wolke-8 - Yes, Dumbledore is definitely one of the most scarred HP characters! And thank you so much for your kind words. It honestly makes me nervous tying World War II into the Wizarding world. I won't give away more about Albus facing the Holocaust because that's next chapter, but I'll just say it's going to get worse for him. Like JK Rowling said, terrible thing to be Dumbledore, really. I feel so bad for him. Self-blame, self-hatred.

Red Furry Demon - The 1941 part actually came from an idea I saw on tumblr. There was a post that read, "Imagine a middle-aged Dumbledore crying in his office because he knows he has to stop Grindelwald when he partially blames himself for his rise to power" or something like that. I liked that idea!

"'The name Grindelwald is justly famous: In a list of Most Dangerous Dark Wizards of All Time, he would miss out on the top spot only because You-Know-Who arrived, a generation later, to steal his crown.'"

- Rita Skeeter, Deathly Hallows, chapter 18

1945

Gellert Grindelwald was sitting at a large table that morning with the usual insane amount of newspapers in various languages spread out before him - both Magic and Muggle ones. He was perfectly fluent in each one, but like usual, he was disappointed in the fact that most of the newspapers were completely identical in their headlines. World War II dominated everything, and seeing as Gellert had more of an insight into World War II than anyone, it was all either old news or incorrect news.

"Wann ist das Treffen?" asked a man in passing with a yawn.

"Eine Stunde vor Mittag," replied Gellert in a bored voice as he flipped through the pages. In truth, he really did not like dealing with the Nazis. Muggles were all complete fools. He felt like he was the only adult in a room full of children. The vast majority of them were idiots... but they would do. For now, he could tolerate them. Only a very, very select few knew that Gellert was capable of doing magic. Hitler knew, and, for the most part, that was enough. Gellert liked to amuse himself during the meetings because he knew the majority of the Nazis had no idea why Gellert was even around. He was a joke to many of them, a black sheep who seemingly was completely deranged and unqualified to even breathe the same air as them. Hitler stood up for Gellert though. He called Gellert one of his "best men." The thought of him being one of Hitler's best men made Gellert want to laugh. The Muggles were really fucking clueless.

Then something caught Gellert's eye. He was looking at an English Wizarding newspaper. A familiar name had flashed before his eyes. It was a rather small article on page four. The title read: "Dumbledore Abandons Post at Hogwarts School." He read the rest of the article carefully. Apparently, Albus Dumbledore had left Hogwarts three days ago with no explanation at all, and no one knew where he was... The headmaster, Armando Dippet (who was surely incompetent with a name like that) had declined comment. Well, it was about time Albus had seen the light and left that ridiculous school. Albus had always been a very promising individual, and in Gellert's opinion, he completely wasted all of his potential teaching brainless twelve-year-olds how to transfigure a rat into a teacup. Gellert remembered the first time Albus had told him he had always wanted to be a teacher. It had made Gellert laugh. Albus had become a real let-down - a complete waste of talent. Perhaps Albus now agreed or maybe he was having a mental breakdown. Either way, leaving Hogwarts had to be an improvement from where he was.

Then Gellert folded up his newspapers and set about his daily business, listening to the Nazi meetings, corresponding with the generals, and wishing he had an equal. Hitler was no equal. At first practical opportunity, as far as Gellert was concerned, he was going to throw Hitler in one of his own crematoriums one day.

As he walked past the long line of inferior Muggle life forms, he ignored them. Gellert had, at one time, paid a good deal of attention to them when the line of Muggles walking to their deaths was new to him. Now, it was the same thing, day in, day out. He was tired of their pleas for help.

"The war is not exactly going in Hitler's favor," Gellert said in German to the high-ranking Nazi officer walking beside him.

"He has been experiencing some setbacks," the faithful Nazi replied in alarm. "We may have lost some recent battles, but that does not mean we have lost the war! The Führer has said to me many times that he is confident we can be victorious."

Gellert rolled his eyes, his gaze turning onto one of the Muggles. The Nazis never said anything against their beloved Führer. Gellert had told Hitler that using his reserves against the British and Americans was a mistake, but he had not listened. He had clearly underestimated the British and Americans. It was clear to Gellert that the end of the Muggle war was near, but the Wizarding war was just beginning.

A Muggle in the line - a woman - saw him and clung to the fence. Gellert met her gaze and stopped walking. The Nazi stopped too and looked upon the woman with a look of disgust on his face.

"Please," the woman cried to Gellert, her face pale and scratched and wet from tears. "Please, have mercy, I'm pregnant, I'm pregnant!"

"You are pregnant?" exclaimed Gellert as the woman continued to sob. "Well, I thank you for telling me, ma'am. I do not let pregnant women go to the gas chambers." He drew his wand and slashed it in the air so fast that no one could see what it was - they only saw a black object protruding from his hand. The woman's body was slashed open, and the other Muggles in line tried to scamper away, but the guards threw them back against the fence.

"Not pregnant anymore," said Gellert plainly as the woman screamed. Irked by the sound, he raised his wand again, and a jet of green light hit her. Her body crumpled to the ground. He looked around at the pale faces of the Muggles in line. "Is anybody else in line pregnant?" he called. "No? Very well, I thought so."

The Nazi officer looked shocked. "What - ?"

"Top secret new weapon," Gellert said as the couple continued to walk again, his wand once again out of sight. "One of our scientists developed it."

Gellert was surprised to find an owl delivering a letter to him four days later. He had so little contact with wizards anymore that it was almost a surprise to come into contact with anything magical. You're turning into a Muggle, he thought disgustedly to himself as he unrolled the parchment.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked the gray owl in German, which was looking up at him benignly. "I would think -" he began to say, but he stopped suddenly. He recognized this handwriting, though he could not place it at first. He glanced at the signature and saw the name Albus Dumbledore. Had Gellert not recognized the handwriting, he would have easily dismissed it as a prank. It was definitely Albus' handwriting. Gellert had spent countless numbers of hours reading this handwriting over that summer nearly forty-six years ago. Albus had even made the 'A' at the beginning of his name look like the sign of the Deathly Hallows just as he always had done back then. Nobody else could have pulled that off even with magical means, as nobody else knew that Albus used to do that.

Gellert glanced around the empty room as if he was expecting someone to be spying on him. Then he read the letter. He had to stop and reread it several times because he could not believe what he was reading. When he finally read the letter in its entirety, he stared at the bottom of the page for a moment before breaking out into laughter. Then he read it again at a normal pace.

Gellert,

I have followed you and your speeches closely throughout the years, along with the rest of the war. I know that you, in turn, have followed my life in the newspapers because I know you sit down each morning and read them all. It has taken me all this time to come to terms with Ariana's death. I have been damaged on the inside for a very long time, and I think you have always understood this about me. Ariana's death is something that has haunted me every night for the past forty-six years. For most of those years, I have blamed you for her death. I have hated you. I have cursed your name. I have wished for your death often every time I see the name 'Grindelwald' in the headlines. My hatred for you has nearly eclipsed my hatred for myself.

However, something has changed in me. I have read over the interviews you give for the press multiple times, and Gellert, I did not want to admit it at first, but what you say makes a great deal of sense. You were always a great speaker - a great debater. And I have come to gradually see that it is not your fault Ariana died - it was Aberforth's. It is not your fault many oppose you and demonize you. You a force of change, and therefore, you are hated a great deal. Yet this is true for all revolutionaries. All those who bring about profound change are hated. Sometimes the ends do justify the means. I fully appreciate that you are trying to make the world a better place for all people. Unfortunately, this means that some will have to die for the betterment of us all. The bleeding hearts out there would try to convince me otherwise, but I think you and I both know the truth. Accepting all Muggles, taking care of all Muggles, sounds nice, but it is unrealistic in practice. The Muggles are getting more and more difficult to control. So much of the Muggle population is diseased. It needs to be chopped off in order for the rest of humanity to thrive. That is reality. Reality is not always pleasant.

But I am rambling now. The point, my friend, is that I understand what you are trying to say... and you are right. You are completely correct. There was a time not too long ago that I adamantly would have denied you were right, but you are.

Furthermore, to be frank, Gellert, I am tired of my life. I was not meant to be a teacher. I was meant to change the world. I was meant to go out onto the world's stage and be a revolutionary. That is why I am so powerful. I was meant to be a force of change, just as you are swiftly becoming. Are the Muggles you collaborate with intelligent? The others I am surrounded by are not. At all. The children are convincing me, more and more, that the generations of the future will be even less intelligent than their parents and grandparents. Even the Wizarding world is in decline as a population, so I cannot bear to imagine the Muggle gene pool. I have reached a point in my life where I am not content with mediocrity. I am not content at fixing spelling errors as I grade homework every night. This was not meant to be my life. I have wasted so many years.

Yet this is not the worst truth I have come to realize. Gellert, I can just imagine you rolling your eyes at me as you read this, but I am quite isolated. I am quite alone. I have no equal here. You were - and always will be - my equal. And, quite simply, I miss you. It is difficult for me to accept that I have wasted all these years hating you when I should have been loving you.

I know what you're thinking. You are not someone to be fooled. I know you are thinking I am planning on stopping you. I know you are wondering if I know you have the Elder Wand. I do know you have the Elder Wand, Gellert, because like you, I read the newspaper every day. I received your message loud and clear. I am quite shocked that you actually found - and won it - somehow, but I know you possess it. I know I have no chance in winning a duel with you. You have the unbeatable wand. I know this. But I also know that you are correct about everything - or, at least, nearly everything. I know that I still love you. I know that the worlds of Wizarding and Muggle are broken. I have tried to not love you. I have tried to convince myself that I truly hate you and that you are wrong about everything. I have failed on both accounts at last. I think of you every day. You are my greatest weakness, and I know I have wasted away four decades worth of my life hating you when I should have been by your side.

I do not expect you to believe what I am saying. I understand if you can never trust me again. Yet I am asking you... do you want my help? I will help you. You are in control. You have the Elder Wand, and I know I will never win it from you, just as I believe you know this too. I will spend the rest of my life trying to make up for all the years we lost if you allow me. I want to join you and finally live out my life's purpose.

I am always yours,

Albus Dumbledore

Gellert broke out laughing again. This was all so over-the-top. He sat there carefully considering how to reply. He knew that Albus had spent hours working on writing this letter - even days - and he wondered how many drafts he had written before sending this one. Gellert knew he should be just as cautious in his reply. He understood that he should think about how to reply and all the ramifications that could come from his possible responses. He was, however, too eager to reply right away, so he summoned a blank piece of parchment and a pen (the Muggles had invented a worthy tool), and he quickly wrote his response.

Albus received Gellert's reply faster than he thought he would. His heart hammering, he picked up the letter and read it with trembling fingers.

Albus,

Either I was a complete idiot when I was seventeen or you've forgotten who I am. Do you honestly think I believe anything that you've written? I hope not. Either way, you are correct. I do have the Elder Wand. You led me right to it. It was with Gregorovitch after all. So, thank you, but no thank you. I'm doing fine without you, though I do miss your companionship a little, I'll admit. I do not know why you are trying to get word of my location if you know I have the Elder Wand. You cannot beat me. Do you think if you tip off your Auror Department of where I am, they will be able to stop me? They will not be able to either, so you really do not need to bother with this pathetic endeavor.

Gellert

Albus smiled slightly. He had expected such a reply, but he still felt a bit stung. He pushed this aside. His personal feelings did not matter right now. He already had his reply written in wait. He read it briefly to make sure everything fit together and there were no inconsistencies before sending it out the window with the gray owl.

Gellert was surprised when the gray owl came back to him so quickly. That owl did have to fly quite a long distance afterall, so to have him return so quickly was startling. He had expected Albus to carefully consider his reply and take a couple days in order to plan what to say next. This apparently was not the case. Albus must have read his letter and written his own reply straightaway. Seriously curious now, Gellert snatched the letter and read it.

I'm sorry. I love you. I will not bother you again. You can come to England. I will not stop you.

Albus

Gellert blinked. This was not the reply he had been expecting at all. He had expected Albus to take several days to write a pathetic sappy letter of how in love he was and how he would do anything to earn his trust again. Gellert rested his head against his hand as he sat at the table thinking and staring at the letter. Maybe if he ignored it, Albus would write him again. Maybe the reply Gellert had expected was already being written. He can't have given up that easily, thought Gellert. If Albus really wanted to stop him, he would eventually write again. He was quite sure he knew exactly what Albus was doing, but it was Gellert who was the master manipulator, not Albus.

His brain was tired. He wasn't going to be able to figure out Albus Dumbledore tonight. He could think some more tomorrow. Perhaps he would be woken by another owl waiting for him with a new letter. Gellert stood up and took both of Albus' letters with him before retiring for the night.

But Albus did not send him another letter the next day. Or the next. Or the next.

It was raining. Albus was lying on his bed, staring up at the white blank ceiling, completely depressed. An entire week had passed by since he had last written to Gellert. He had not replied.

Albus had planned so carefully what he would do when he found Gellert. He had planned so carefully how he would get the Elder Wand from Gellert that he had forgotten the beginning. He had to first arrive to wherever Gellert was, and he had no idea where that might be, just like everyone else in the world. Albus knew that if he wrote to him again, it would seem like he was obsessed with getting to him, and Albus knew Gellert would never fall for it. He had to appear like he was wanting to be his partner in crime - nothing desperate. It was increasingly looking like Albus' plan had been foiled before it even began. He also knew he could not return to Hogwarts inexplicably with no explanation for abandoning his post. Doing so would also reveal his true intentions.

Albus stood and tried to think of something to do, but there was nothing. He was trapped inside his own skull. It was hell. He went and sat down at the kitchen table as he read Gellert's final letter from forty-six years ago for the millionth time.

Should you ever want to join me in search of the Deathly Hallows, you are welcome to contact me. ... This offer stands no matter how many years pass by, Albus... That is what Gellert had said. Perhaps too many years had indeed passed. Perhaps Gellert had decided Albus was not really worth as much trouble as he originally thought he was. Albus was caught upriver without a paddle. He had been so sure that he would be able to convince Gellert to meet with him again.

Some 1,360 kilometers away, Gellert was writing a letter.

Albus had not taken good care of himself over the past several days in his despair. He was ragged, hungry, dirty, and tired. He had not had the motivation or energy to do much of anything. This changed when an owl Albus did not recognize flew to the kitchen window and tapped at the door. He jumped to his feet, wrenched at the window handle, and opened it. He was gentler with the owl than the window by managing to not grab the letter from its beak. Without bothering to sit, he read the writing on the paper. It was short, and it was in Gellert's handwriting.

Why did you write to me?

Albus balked a bit. It was such a simple question that had complicated answers.

Not quite knowing exactly how to respond, Albus paced for a minute. Gellert had always had a way of surprising him all those years ago, and now he was taken aback by him again. The real answer was, of course, so Albus could stop him. However, the fact that Gellert was asking him this was telling him that Gellert was having doubts about turning him down. Gellert had been correct - of course Albus was out to stop him. Yet now, it seemed Gellert was having reservations about his hasty yet accurate conclusion.

After hesitating for a moment, Albus grabbed a piece of parchment and wrote the most honest answer he could give.

Gellert,

You wrote in your last letter to me after Ariana's death to contact you if I ever changed my mind about joining you in search of the Deathly Hallows. Don't you remember? I still have it... You said I am always welcome to contact you, no matter how many years pass. I understand it was nearly forty-six years ago, but I thought you would remember. I was angry when I received it. I wanted to rip it into pieces. I kept it instead. I surmise you have moved on with your life far better than I have, then.

Albus

Gellert stared at these words, his brain working furiously. Had he said that? He certainly did remember writing a final letter to Albus after Ariana was killed. Why had he written that letter? To see if Albus was still willing to join him... He thought he could vaguely remember writing that. Everything that day had happened so fast - Gellert had truly feared Albus when he realized Ariana was dead, so he ran, but he had considered this as not a good move later on - he was not sure if Albus would blame him or not, so he had written the letter to see... and he had received no response... until now.

Albus was right about one thing. Gellert did have the Elder Wand. It was known as the unbeatable wand. No one in history had ever won it in an honorable way. If Albus was going to try to duel him, Gellert would surely win. The two of them were equals when it came to magical power, but since Gellert had the Elder Wand, there was no way Albus could win. Sure, if Gellert were an average wizard, Albus might win, but they were equals, and Gellert had the unbeatable wand... If Albus was planning on winning the wand by stealth, by taking it when Gellert had his back turned, he would be in for a rotten surprise. Gellert was never going to let his guard down. He protected the Elder Wand with his life.

Gellert too remembered how powerful Albus was. In all his years, Gellert had not come across another like Albus Dumbledore.

A/N: Ohshit, I can't believe I'm having to split this up into 3 (4?) parts. WTF. At the end of this arc, there's going to be one last Harry-Dumbledore thing.