An astronomy class from his last year at Hogwarts unwound in the back of Albus' mind as he blinked for the second time. He had been testing himself for information on clouds and drifted to a particularly fascinating lesson on the environments of the moons of Pluto. He had meant to write a paper on the subject at some point.
The sky was so clear it looked as if a storm had just ended. The grass, sprayed with the remainders of morning dew, prickled the nape of his neck and wet his back.
He blinked again. For a moment, the universe seemed to consist only of the endless mass of invisible matter above him. He focused so much on the air he was beginning to see it vibrate, but his concentration was broken by a familiar voice.
"Albus!" Bathilda Bagshot stood waving at him from the lane before the Dumbledores' front yard.
But he barely noticed her. Next to her, stood a boy with wavy shoulder-length blond hair, who looked clearly as if he was being held there against his will. His anxiety was so palpable he looked to Albus as if he was trembling. He sat up.
"Hello, Bathilda," he said and waved back. The lady bid him closer with her hand.
Albus had difficulty getting up. There was something about the boy with Miss Bagshot that excited him, a feeling that he was in the presence of someone somehow remarkable.
He walked up to where the fence separated the garden from the lane.
"Good morning, Bathilda." The left corner of his lip rose a little.
"Morning, Albus," she said as she hugged him over the fence and kissed his cheek. "There's someone I'd like you to meet."
She gestured for the boy, who was further away than Albus had made out at first glance, standing by some bushes, holding his left arm with his right hand, to come closer.
Albus went to the door in the fence and stepped from his front yard to the lane.
"Gellert, this is Albus."
The blond boy extended a hand and smiled crookedly at Albus.
"Albus, this is my nephew – great nephew, Gellert. He's… Well, he's on a holiday of sorts –"
Albus took the hand and shook it. He looked at the boy's eyes and saw something in them that made his breathing accelerate.
"…and is staying with me for a while."
The boy nodded without releasing his hand.
"Albus graduated from Hogwarts this summer. He wrote a brilliant paper for Transfiguration Today when he was still in his sixth year," continued Bathilda.
Albus had never had to concentrate so much on a person's words in order to make sense of them. He held on to the boy's hand.
"Gellert's a brilliant wizard, Albus. Could use a little positive influence if you ask me, but –"
"Never mind that," interrupted the boy. He let go of Albus' hand. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you," he mimicked.
Bathilda stepped back and looked at the young men as if she were examining a recently finished creation. "Well… I have some errands to run. I'll leave you to get to know each other."
Albus nodded in understanding. Or he thought he did. He could not really tell.
"Lovely lady, huh?" said Gellert when his aunt had walked away. He swung himself back and forth on his shoes. His uneasiness seemed gone all of a sudden.
"Brilliant, too," answered Albus after a considerable time. He wondered silently if he had ever spoken to someone in such a ridiculous fashion.
"I'll – I'll see you around, then," he pattered and walked in his aunt's direction.
Albus' mind slowly eased itself into functioning again.