"But it's not, Albus, it's not.
"It's anti-natural; that the superior being has to go into hiding for the sake of the weaker one.
"Where's the logic in that?"
"How do you distinguish between the two, Gellert?"
"Don't give me that, mate!
"Think of Ariana. What was done to her was vile, repugnant… but what is being done is worse.
"She wouldn't have to hide, Albus! The Statute of Secrecy would not even exist!
"The wizarding kind would no longer be subject to torture because of its power; its naturally-given power."
Albus smiled a little, without noticing.
"What?!" he said and smiled as well. "Do not mock me, Dumbledore. You know I'm right." He walked over to the couch, let himself fall, and exhaled profusely, as if he was taking time off from a duel. He rummaged through his pocket and pulled something out.
"I got these in London, muggle-lover." He threw the bag of Sherbet Lemons at Albus. They hit a bookshelf and landed on the floor.
"Thank you," he said as he picked them up. "You rarely find them here."
"You don't get them as much as you'd like because you don't want to. But you could."
"Give it a rest already."
Gellert shrugged and extended his open palm, asking for Albus' candy. "My aunt didn't want me to tell you," he said while breaking a sherbet in two with his teeth, "but a letter came in from the Wizengamot yesterday… wanting to know what happened to their brilliant British representative or whatever – "
Albus tried to smile, but his expression contorted into a grimace instead.
"I said give it a rest, Gellert." His factions turned somber.
Gellert sat up on the edge of the couch. "You're wasting yourself here."
"You don't even believe in the Wizengamot."
"You could be the Wizengamot if only you decided to."
Albus lifted his head. Bathilda's living room had grown steadily darker. The sun was coming down. "I have to go home."
"Sure," he answered without lifting his head.
Albus got off the couch and accidentally stepped on a cup of tea they had left on the floor earlier.
"Damn, can I… do you have an extra pair of – " he said and looked down at his shoeless feet.
"Be my guest," answered Gellert and pointed to the stairs. Albus nodded and left the living room.
It seemed strange to him, as he was walking up the stairs, how he had never been to the upper story of Bathilda's home.
He stopped as he reached the second floor landing and realized he could have siphoned the tea off his sock with his wand. He lowered his head and moved it from side to side in disappointment. The brightest wizard of his generation indeed.
He put his left hand to his temple and leaned against the wall. Maybe Gellert was right after all. A couple more months in the hollow and he would not remember he was a wizard at all. The thought barely lasted a moment. He composed himself and was about to go downstairs when he noticed a green glow coming from beneath a door at the end of the hallway.
He took a quick glance downstairs. There was no movement. Gellert must have still been in the living room.
He started walking towards the door. The closer he got, the more clearly he could smell something. The scent was familiar, but he could not make up his mind as to what it was.
His heart beat a little faster than was necessary, and he wondered why. He felt as if he was about to make an enormous discovery. He heard the faintest trace of an explosion behind the door.
"What's taking you so long?" said Gellert from the top of the stairs.
Albus turned around abruptly and bumped his back against the door. "I – " he stuttered. "I couldn't decide which one was yours." He motioned to the doors. Gellert shrugged.
"You could've used magic, you know." He tried to appear nonchalant, but something in his demeanor made evident that he could sense Albus' nervousness. He smiled. He was enjoying it.
"What've you been doing in there?" said Albus and pointed behind him with his head.
Gellert walked up the hall, getting closer and closer until the two were face to face, their backs against the walls.
"I know I'm the small one and everything," he paused meaningfully, "but that shouldn't suggest I'm stupid." He leaned closer to Albus and lowered his voice. "It's not some fantasy land I drift to when I talk to you. Everything I say has thought behind it.
"It is all possible, Albus. Everything. I know it. We can make it happen.
"So when you're done playing housekeeper tonight, think about what I've said, and if you decide to put an end to this senseless underestimating of yours, we can finish our conversation."
He noticed how cold he was when Gellert stopped talking, moved away from him, walked into his bedroom, and shut the door.
He was alone in the darkness.