A/N: Albus is now realizing just how foolish he had been to fall in love with Gellert. slash. Albus/Gellert. I do not own Harry Potter.
Submission for:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments): Ancient Runes Assignment #9 - Write about something coming to an end.
Greek Mythology Mega Prompt Challenge: Prometheus – Write about Albus Dumbledore.
The "As Many As You Want" Competition: Albus/Gellert
He should have known. He should have known he would leave him. He should have known he didn't matter to him. All the evidence pointed to it, but he had been stupid. He had been blind. He had been in love.
But now, after everything had been said and done, after he held his sister's lifeless body in his hands, Albus was beginning to see what he hadn't before.
He had been swayed by the allure of adventure. He had been wooed by the promise of fame and glory. He had been beguiled by the boy with the blue eyes and blonde hair.
He had a way of speaking. That's what had really gotten Albus. He spoke with such conviction and ambition, that Albus couldn't not believe. If he said it, it was bound to happen and no one could stop that.
He spoke of a life Albus wanted to have. Albus didn't want to stay home and care for his family. Albus didn't want to be held back by the trivial and mundane. Albus wanted greatness. Albus wanted recognition. And here was someone who was saying all the right things he wanted to hear.
He didn't notice when the admiration turned into desire. It was no longer just the dream Albus wanted but the one behind it. He wanted to be alongside the man who wanted to make all this possible. It was when Albus realized he wanted to be with the man regardless of the dream, that he knew he had fallen in love.
Albus now knew that's when things began to fall apart, but he hadn't seen it at the time. He realized now that the man also knew when Albus had fallen for him and used it to his advantage. That was the day when Albus learnt that he had to make a decision.
...oOo...
"I'm leaving," Albus had said to his brother.
"You're just going to run out on us because of some pipe dream, Albus," Aberforth said.
Albus had rolled his eyes. What did his brother know? He hadn't heard the dream as he had heard it. He wouldn't understand and he didn't want to either.
"It is not a pipe dream," Albus had insisted. "It is the truth. It is the future. It is what I've always wanted."
Aberforth shook his head with a laugh, "It's what you've always wanted since you met him. Before that, you were happy to stay here."
Albus got angry then. One thing he was sure of, even now, was that he was never happy to stay there. But that is something he regrets for it is what drove him to believe in the first place.
There was a lot of shouting afterwards, Albus remembers, before he stormed out thinking the fight was over. He wishes he had stayed and finished the fight then. But he didn't. He chose to believe that his brother would just accept his decision and move on.
...oOo...
He was about to leave the very next day. Everything was packed and they were both so excited. He was excited with the prospect of just the two of them travelling the world together. Albus would have gone anywhere with him then.
Then Aberforth had barged in and demanded he stay and take care of his sister, or take her with him. To Albus' clouded mind, both of these things were out of the question. This sparked a row between him and his brother, to the point where they drew wands. When another wand joined the fight, Albus grinned, feeling flattered that he had come to his aid.
But then it happened. His sister was crying. She was pleading. She wanted it to stop. She lay on the ground dead. No one knew what had happened. No one knew who hit her. He and Aberforth bent down low to her body, but he was gone. He had left with Albus and taken everything with him. He had taken the dream with him. He had taken the love Albus had foolishly held for him.