Well this is a loong chapter. Sorry about that^^;
So, dear imaginary readers of mine, i hope you like this chapter, because there LOTS happening. And then there's just two more chapters! My my.

So yeah I dont really have anything else to say. Byeeee

And now, Harry, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.

The actual break-in had to wait, however. Ariana was in one of her bad weeks, and Albus conscience made him stay home to watch over her more carefully. It could not stop him from wanting to plan, and share his ideas and thoughts with gellert, so Gellerts Owl Nicolas would fly between their houses many times a day. And when the poor bird was exhausted Albus would send Fawkes, who always regarded him cooly but did as instructed.

Albus

I think it's time we realize that if we do find the Hallows, they should not be used solely for our own benefit. Think of what we could do to help the wizarding community. – Gellert

Gellert-
I have been thinking of this myself. It is not fair of us to keep the powers of the Hallows for ourselves. The wizarding world may be stable, but it has been somewhat chaotic lately, with the banning of the giants, and the constant killing of the dragons. But the elder wand is a dominance tool. We might need a shift of power at the ministry, yes, but I am not sure that power is wise to hold, as well as the mastery of death. - Albus

Do you fear that power so much, Albus? Do you not, as I have, see the folly of the ministry, and thought of a solution? Like the thing we spoke about before, about the muggles and the Statute of Secrecy. Would it not be of benefit both to the muggle community and our, where we to work together, using our magic as a common resource? The muggles are like children, Albus. They need to be supervised by their betters, lest they destroy everything they put their hands on. Like an adult supervising children, would it not be done for their own good? If we were to find the Hallows, find them and learn how to use them, we could easily find ourselves in the position that we might make these changes for ourselves. Wouldn't it be wonderful, my friend, to find ourselves on the top of the world? We do not need to seize power for ourselves, only show the ministry that we know the better solutions, and that we do have the means to make them happen . You and I, the greatest minds of our time, nothing would be able to stop us. – Gellert

At the words you and I, Albus feels a strange sensation grow in his stomach. There is a fear somewhere deep inside his mind, that won't disappear no matter how hard he tries. It is the fear that one day; quite soon, Gellert will leave Godrics Hollow, and never come back. And Albus will be all alone again, forced to take care of his younger siblings, as yet another friend leaves him for great adventures. But to see himself included in one of Gellerts grand schemes, and he does have a few of those, gives him the slightest hope that this time, this time he might have found someone who would be beside him, no matter what. He takes a deep breath to calm his mind, and tries to find the right words. It is important not to let Gellert know exactly how important it is for Albus to be involved in his plans. Elphias might have been satisfied with being the lesser of their friendship but Albus would not, could not, let slip just how much he needed someone else. He wrote a shaky letter to reply, agreeing to points he had never really thought about before, but when seen in Gellerts point of view, he could understand them. He does point out that they need to be discreet, and make sure that above all else, this would not be a plan where innocent people got hurt. Gellert always tended to be quick in judgment of those he deemed lesser than himself. So he underlines his worries, while hinting at Gellerts indiscretion back at Durmstrang and how that had been a mistake. Before sending it, however, he adds a small note that he does not complain anyway, because had he not been expelled, Albus would never have met Gellert. He ponders over the last wording a little longer, feeling the nerves piling in his stomach. Was it too close to a term of endearment? Would Gellert find him soft for admitting such a thing? He scowls at himself for over thinking, and folds the letter quickly before he can change his mind, and sends Nicholas on his way into the night. Within seconds he can hear the small pecking noise at Gellerts bedroom window next door. He tries not to listen for the sound of the window opening, but he hears it anyway.

He sits on the bench by the window for a while, watching the sleeping Ariana turning in her sleep. She has been screaming about dark cloaks and keys in the dark most of the day, and Albus was relieved when she finally fell asleep. He misses the way she would smile at him on a good day, and reprimand him for being miles away once again. Aberforth had been gone to visit a friend for the most of the day, and that was one of the reasons for Ariana's screams. For some reason, Aberforth was the only one who could stop her when she threw one of her tantrums. He would shush at her, and sing songs quietly to her and she would hold his hand and calm down almost instantly. When Albus did the same, the screams would only double. The phoenix ruffles his feathers in the quiet room, and he walks over to stroke its feathers, but is only rewarded with a sharp bite on his finger.
"Is everyone against me today?" He says quietly to the bird. There is a rustle of wings outside the window, and Albus hurries to meet the dark-winged Nicholas as he arrives. The note is small, as if scribbled in haste, and Albus tries not to be disappointed when there is no comment on his last note.
What did you expect? Him to write "yes that is true, come, let us be star-crossed lovers and live forever together" Albus pushes the thought away instantly. Lovers did not fit into this equation, he wouldn't allow it to. And if his dreams and subconscious was telling him otherwise, then they could both sod off. He didn't need them. But he could at least have written something like "Yes at least something good came out of that" or even "Maybe that's true". No, the note simply said

This requires more discussion. I just had another thought however, and need to go down to the cellar. I will let you know of my findings. - Gellert

And with that, Albus decides that he might as well go to bed. The conflicting feelings of disappointment and shame of his own silly behavior just might go away if he slept on it.

But sleep, of course, never comes when you ask for it.
His thoughts found their way to a sixth year boy in Ravenclaw, to whom he had looked up during his fourth year at Hogwarts. He had been filled with admiration towards the way the boy had figured things out, no matter how difficult, with just a few quick reasonings. He had been head boy, quiddich captain and had the best grades in school. His hair had been dark brown and carefully cut around his ears, his eyes a piercing gray and his walk serene but determined. And though many claimed him to be pretentious, he had quite a large amount of girls following his every move. You didn't have to be a genious to realize that the boy wouldn't look twice at Albus if he told him of his admiration. At first Albus had figured that it was simply hero worship from his part, and a wish to be great like him.
But then he caught himself dreaming of just what the boy might look like where someone ever do ruffle his hair properly, and unfasten his tie just a little, and maybe get a proper look at that birthmark just beneath his left ear… That's when he realized that something was wrong with him.

The boy had never looked his way, and after a few intense dreams, Albus made himself stop thinking about him, and not even glance his way. By the next year he had mastered spells even that Ravenclaw boy could, and he finally saw through the perfect façade and found the older boy quite pathetic.

He had heard of others who would break the taboo. Men who would live with other men as one would with a wife. When he heard about that, Albus thought for a long time about perhaps being one of those outrageous men who would only seek the company of other men. He had looked at Elphias, where he sat on the floor doing his divination homework, and scratching himself behind his ear with his wand, so that small sparks fell on his robe. He had stared intensely at his friend, trying to find the kind of arousal that the girls so often giggled about. Elphias proceeded to light part of his quill on fire with his wand, and put it out with one of his heavier books, completely crushing the feather. No, there was no arousal there whatsoever. There was affection, yes, but nothing beyond what one would feel for a friend. Nothing close to what the Ravenclaw boy had made him feel.

So he had figured it to be a silly misunderstanding of a young boy, and proceeded to go out with several girls from his year. When that didn't work either, he simply decided to give up.

And he had felt nothing close to love since then.
And what he felt for Gellert…. That was simply appreciation of someone of his own caliber.

He awoke from his slumber by a sudden light, and as he opened them he found the Dragon Patronus sitting on his chest. It was a weird sensation, seeing the shape there but not feeling any weight of it.
It looked at him with eyes that looked eerily like Gellerts eyes, and began to speak.
"I have found an old parchment with a password to get into the laboratory. It's time we give it a try. Come." Then it watched him for a few more seconds,"Please" it added, in a strangely timid voice. Perhaps Gellert finally understood the importance of him being home with his sister. But that didn't matter now, he had called and there was no way Albus would stay at home now. Aberforth would be home in the morning, and Ariana was asleep, so she could manage.

He quickly put on his darkest shirt and waistcoat, thinking of the need of stealth, and a pair of soft fabric boots before sneaking through the house, and down the stairs.
Gellert is waiting by the gate, also dressed in black and sporting a huge smile.

"Come, my friend! We have secrets to discover, and treasures to find!"

They make their way through the quiet village, and though the black clothes turns out to be unnecessary (They could have been dressed as a two-piece horse, and there would still be no one there to question it on the dark streets) Albus finds himself grinning at the thrill of the moment and a sense of power spreads through his body. Tonight, he thinks, the world is ours.

They sneak around the back of the factory, getting one of the backdoors opened with a quick Alohomora on the rusty lock. They walk between machines the size of Albus's house, and he can feel the disapproving look Gellert gives them as they pass. Gellert uses a magic-allocation spell, searching the factory floor for any signs of magic underneath them. It takes about ten minutes of quiet searching before they find a spot where the tiles are unevenly placed as if slowly pressed apart from each other by the ground itself. They use some quick transportation spells to clear the ground of the tiles, and underneath they find a stone with the same symbol that Gellert now wears around his neck.
"Veritas" Gellert says, and the stone cracks in the middle before opening to a small ladder that disappears into darkness.
"Lumos"Gellert Wispers, and without hesitation starts climbing down the ladder.

It's cold underneath the stone. The walls are ornamented with the Deathly Hallows symbol, surrounded with mythical creatures and faces of wizards long dead. In the east end of the room, there is a big archway that leads into a room filled with a very faint blue light. As they approach the archway, Albus notices an inscription on it, lit up by the faint glow of their wands
Those who seek the truth may enter the inscription says, But it may not be the truth that they wish to hear. A strange chill runs down Albus spine as they pass under it, wondering for the first time in many weeks whether he really should continue down this path. The faint blue light comes from an object on a piedestal placed upon a small dais, in the far end of the room. Discarded potions-bottles lay smashed on the ground all over the room, and several cauldrons and some instruments that Albus could not identify lay broken under glass tables that were placed along the room.
"The laboratory!" Gellert whispers extatically, and turns directly to run towards the pillar in the other room.
One of the hallows, Albus thinks as he tries to make out the shape of the glowing object as he approaches, it has to be. Gellert reaches it first, grabbing the object, that looks like a wand, with a triumphant yell. Then something changes in the room. The atmosphere feels colder the light of the object flickers out and Gellert collapses, letting out a cry of pain as the wand starts glowing fiery red, as if it is burning him.
"GELLERT!" Within moments, Albus is by his side, trying to stop his contortions in order to get hold of the wand, taking it from him, or share his pain, he's not sure he just knows that he has to do something!
"LET GO OF IT! GELLERT LET GO!"
"I C-CANT! HURTS- I-" They the wands glow turns bright white, and then the lightchanges in Gellerts pain-struck eyes, new gaze within them stare with such a burning intensity that he has to close his eyes, still fumbling to take the wand from Gellert. A hand is placed on his chest and pushes him away with such force that he skids several meters away from Gellert. He opens his eyes again, and sees the younger man standing up, not in his usual self-confident way but with his head tilting to his side and his muscles too relaxed, almost like a puppet pulled by strings hidden in the dark. As his lips start to move, another voice comes out.
"YOU DO NOT SEEK THE TRUTH, FOOLISH BOY. LEAVE."
"Who are you?" Albus asks, pushing through his fear.
"IGNOTIOUS PEVRELL WAS MY NAME ONCE" The creature that inhabits Gellerts body says.
"Then you can tell us how you created the Hallows!"
"NO! YOUR FRIEND WANTED THE TRUTH, AND HE HAS IT. YOU ARE NOT LIKE HIM. FIND YOUR OWN PATH IN LIFE, YOUNG WIZARD. A BETTER PATH. ONLY DEATH LIES DOWN THIS ONE. NOW LEAVE."
"Not without my friend!" He yells, getting to his feet and holding up wand. The creature laughs, and as it echoes in the room it so old and so powerful that Albus almost drops to the ground again.
"THOSE WHO SEE THE TRUTH CANNOT LEAVE, FOOLISH WIZARD. THAT IS THE NATURE OF THIS PLACE. IT WAS CREATED TO MAKE SURE THAT SUCH THINGS AS THE DEATHLY HALLOWS MUST NEVER AGAIN BE CREATED."
"FINITE INCANTATEM!" Albus yells, but the spell just bounces off.
"RENNERVATE!" Please something just work please
"STUPEFY!"

"THE CONTRACT IS CLEAR, BOY. THE ONE WHO TOUCHES THE FAUX WAND IS MINE. GO NOW, I AM GROWING IMPATIENT." Ignotius says, turning his back to Albus. But only the one who touches it…Albus , something to work with.
Pointing his wand against Gellerts body he thinks very carefully the right words, then he turns the wand towards himself. There is a strange noice in his ears, as if the world itself is objecting to what he is doing, and then he moves. He feels a strange presence in his mind, like a piece of his brain had been shoved aside to room something cold and damp and ancient. Then, with a screech ringing in his ears, the being left, and returned to where it had been hidden inside the faux wand. A few meters from where he had been when he last opened his eyes, he finds himself on his knees, completely drained. Beside him on the floor lies the faux wand, once again glowing slightly blue. And in front of him… Gellert. No no no please be alive please- He finds a pulse, and breathes out in relief, the pounding in his head finally slowing down. Pull yourself together, Albus. You need to get out of here and make sure he's all right. Using a levitating spell he pulls Gellert up into his arms, and walks out through the archway. As he emerges on the factory floor, he uses a spell to make the floor above the lab cave in, burying the lab and its contents completely. You have made your point Ignotius, he thinks to himself as he walks through the village with Gellert in his arms, making sure to erase all the markings and arrows when he passes them. I will not search for the means to make the Hallows anymore. And neither should anyone else.

It's just a little more than an hour since they left their street, but it feels like days, months and years. Knowing that Gellert wouldn't want Bathilda to know about any of this, he uses a silencing spell when he walks up the stairs to Gellerts bedroom. He's been there before, when the dust and darkness of the cellar had gotten on their nerves. It's a simple room, with silly flowery wallpaper and a few half-dead potted plants in the window. The only thing that witnessed of Gellerts presence in the room was a big briefcase and a few notes nailed to the wall. He puts Gellert down on the bed, and sits down on the stool beside it, not quite sure what to do now. He sees a glass on the windowsill, so he fills it with a quick spell and dabs some of the water on Gellerts face.
"Come on, wake up. You are worrying me." A quick flash of the idea to kiss him awake runs through his head, but he banishes it immediately. There has been enough drama for one night, don't you think? And thankfully, his thoughts are dispelled by Gellert slowly opening his eyes, and groaning as if in pain. Albus quickly gives him the glass of water, and he drinks it carefully before throwing his head back to the pillow.

"I thought I was going to die" he says, weakly. "How did you..?"
"Switching spell. Never used it on humans before though." Gellert lets out an exasperated laugh.
"You are amazing you are." Albus hides a blush behind his arms, and pretends to rub his eyes. When he looks down again, Gellert is serious.
"Thank you, Albus. You saved my life, and risked your own to do so. No one has ever done that for me before. I am in your debt." This time Albus doesn't bother trying to hide his blush, and simply shrugs, looking out the windows. Inside, he feels warmer than he has for a long time.

"Ignotius told me that he had shown you the truth." He says, changing the subject before he says something stupid. Grindewald scowls at that, and turns his head towards the wall.

"He did." His voice breaks slightly as he speaks.
"Well? Did you learn about how to make the Hallows? Or where they are?" Gellert just shakes his head, still watching the wall.
"Then what?"
"He showed me the truth, and nothing less. He showed me what the hallows had done in the past, and what they will do in the future. He showed me how they broke his brothers one by one, until he was the last one left, paranoid and hiding under his invisibility cloak for most of his life. And then he showed me the future. There will be wars, Albus. Terrible, terrible wars. And it will be the muggles who start them, but the wizards will be hurt just as badly. Then he told me there was nothing I would ever be able to do about it. Men like me, he said, will only ever make things worse. And then-" he moved his head slightly, looking at Albus through intense blue eyes "He told me to die."

Suddenly, he sits up, only wobbling slightly with the blood rush.
"But I didn't!" He exclaims, gesturing with his hands. "Don't you see what this means? I survived, with the knowledge of the future! We can stop it! We can change it!" He smiles, his eyes wild with excitement.
"We can make sure that the wizarding world is ready, or maybe even stop the whole thing before it begins!" He grabs a notebook and a pencil from his desk and starts writing. "Of course we will need the Hallows. The wand will get us far with the magicians, but the stone… We could raise armies, Albus! Armies would be precisely what we'd need to stop this. To make them see. Right, Albus?"
But Albus doesn't answer. He stares the manic look on Gellerts face. He has seen it before, flashing by in conversation, or when he thinks Albus isn't looking, but never like this.
"Inferi does not know the good people from the bad, Gellert. The will not fight for you." He says quietly.
"Of course I will have to modify the imperius curse to work on inferi, or just keep them locked up and apparate them into the enemy armies, and- " Albus gets up from his chair, walking away from the man on the bed. For the first time since they met, Albus is genuinely scared of the younger man. Such terrible things, said without a simple cringe or bat of eyelash. Gellert stumbles out of his bed, stretching out a hand towards Albus, with a surprised look in his eyes.
"For the greater good, Albus. Bad things must be done for the greater good."
"You frighten me, Gellert." Albus whispers, looking at the outstretched hand. "I cannot stand by you through such terrible things, my friend." Gellert takes a step towards him, putting one hand on either shoulder, looking him deep in the eye.
"Then don't do it as my friend." It is manipulation. Albus knows it. Gellert is aware of his own innocent-like looks. Gellert knows the effect he can procure in anyone with just a look and a tone in his voice. He has known Albus long enough to know exactly what to do to win him over to his side. Yes, Albus knows all this. But he is not an idiot, and he has seen behind the lies, the manipulation and deceit. He has seen the real Gellert, who is a brilliant, but scared little boy. One who actually cares about Albus, more than he'd like to admit.

So when Gellert moves his hands down Albus chest, and places them on his waist, just where his trousers meets his waistcoat, and draws him in close, Albus knows he's being used. And when the younger man lets his lips trail across his neck, Albus knows that Gellert would never do this had it not been means to an end. But as their lips meet, he can feel the emotion slipping through, like water through a dam with cracks so small you can't even see them. And as Gellert pulls him towards the bed, he can feel the affection from the other man, even though he would never hear it pronounced.

So he lets him unbutton his waistcoat, because maybe this is something they both need.
He lets him pull his shirt over his head, because tonight, when he almost lost him, he needs to feel him close against his skin.

And when he kisses his way down Gellerts chest, the blue eyes watch him intently. I am only using you, the eyes say.

Perhaps, Albus' eyes answer, perhaps that is just what I want you to.

It does not do well to dwell on dreams and forget to live.