Albus heard a thump coming from inside the house and knocked on Bathilda's front door.
"Come in!" shouted a male voice.
He entered, closed the door softly behind him, and went to the living room. He had to squint to make out the contours of the furniture.
"Um… Good night, Gellert. Is your aunt – "
"Come in here, mate." He made his way around the couch and found Gellert on the floor with an arm beneath it.
"Hello." He lifted his hand in the air. "I came to return a book. Is your – "
"Could you give us a hand, lad?"
"What – What are you looking for?," said Albus as he kneeled down and placed the book on the floor. He took a silver apparatus out of his pocked and clicked it open. The room filled with light.
Gellert's eyes went wide. He sat up and took the cigarette-lighter-shaped instrument.
"Where'd you get this?"
"It's – I… made it."
"You serious?" He looked at Albus for a moment and returned his gaze to the device.
"It manipulates light," he replied and took the deluminator. "Look."
He took a candle from a nearby table and passed his hand over it. The wick ignited. He pushed a button and the deluminator absorbed the flame.
Gellert looked as if he might cry with happiness. "Wicked."
"So –" he hesitated. "What was it you were looking for?"
"You made this?"
He nodded. His hands seemed suddenly without purpose. "Um…"
Gellert sat back and studied Albus. After a while, he said "I read your paper in that magazine yesterday, after I met you." He paused for a reaction. "Mind if I ask you a question?"
Albus said no with his head.
"You argue that when you transfigure between elements the necessary additional energy can be conjured through specific wand movements, as opposed to incantations, but –"
"Actually," he interrupted, his bright blue eyes shone with intensity, "the wand movements are a means of channeling the energy. In some occasions, of course, they can enhance the transfigurative reaction, but they're more of a manipulative tool.
"I always felt the argument in the paper was that nonverbal spells are exceptional in collecting energy from the environment. Certainly more powerful than verbal spells, at the very least."
"So," continued Gellert as he rummaged around the floor. With the place illuminated, he quickly found what he had been looking for earlier. He held what looked like a piece of machinery between his fingers.
"If we were to transfigure this – I don't know what it's made of, but let's say bronze – into a golden cup – "
"The additional energy surge could be conjured, even if your incantation was both verbal and rudimentary, through wand movements, yes."
He took the little object, tapped it thrice with his wand and said "Veraverto". He flicked his wand to the right and made two counterclockwise circles in the air. The object, suspended in mid-air, transformed into a golden cup.
Gellert's mouth opened a little in astonishment. "But there wasn't enough matter to –"
Albus waved his wand desultorily and the cup returned to being a piece of machinery.
Gellert's mouth fell completely open. "How'd you –"
"Silence," he said. "Tends to work better than noise."
"Wiiiiiiicked," he whispered to himself, took the object from the air, and turned to Albus.
"I was expelled from Durmstrang a week ago."
Albus felt his eyes searing into his skin. "What for?" he asked.
Gellert guffawed. "Experimentation, supposedly.
"Mostly for having a mind of my own, I reckon…" He let the idea dissipate.
"I came for the Hallows." His body looked suddenly as if it would explode from all the energy within it.
"Wipe that smirk off your face, mate. Surely you've heard of the Hallows."
Albus nodded.
"Ignotus Peverell is buried here!" he murmured excitedly, as if afraid someone else might listen.
"So, after they expelled me, I figured I might as well give the old Hollow a try." He smiled.
"Matter of fact, I was planning to leave after I found this." He lifted the piece of machinery. "Want to come to the graveyard with me?"
There was something he had to do. Something important, but he could not remember what it was.
"I… yeah. Yes, certainly."
"Brilliant," said Gellert. He patted Albus on the back.
They got up and left the living room.
"So… what exactly does Mr. Future of Contemporary Transfiguration know about the Hallows anyway?"