Fic: Two Months of Insanity
Title:
Two Months of Insanity
Author/Artist:
DHFiccer aka Lynn
Rating:
PG-13
Pairing or Character(s):
Gellert Grindelwald/Albus Dumbledore
Disclaimer:
Not mine, naturally. Owned by J.K. Rowling, though I hope to do them justice.
Author's Note:
Wow. Almost a month since I posted the last chapter. My apologies. Only two more updates left, though! I plan to try and have them done before next Sunday. Whether or not I'll be successful, I can't say.
Chapter Eleven
The Final Hour
“Good morning, Gellert!”
The blond teenager winced at the sound of his great-aunt’s cheery voice. He had reached the bottom step of the staircase and had hoped to slip out of the house undetected. Obviously, the gods were not so kind this morning.
“Good morning,” he responded, and he sighed when she came out of the library, where she had been enjoying a cup of tea until she heard him on the stairs.
“Albus!” She looked at the auburn-haired young man behind Gellert on the stairs. “I didn’t know you were here.”
“I,” Albus hesitated, looking at Gellert, who shrugged his shoulders, “dozed off here last night, Miss Bagshot.”
“Please, call me Bathilda,” the woman replied, smiling widely at the two youths. “It’s wonderful to see that you two are getting along so well!” She looked between Albus and Gellert, and, when neither of them said anything, she spoke again. “Albus, would you like to join Gellert and I for breakfast?”
“Actually, we were going to--” Gellert began.
“That sounds wonderful,” Albus chimed in.
Gellert glanced at Albus, and he sighed a little. They would have to have breakfast here now.
“Wonderful!” Bathilda beamed at the two of them. “Now, you two just go and make yourselves comfortable, and I’ll get some food on the table!”
Albus descended the stairs and headed for the library. He stopped in the doorway and looked back at the stairs, where Gellert still stood.
“Are you coming?” he asked.
“Yes.” It was still a few moments before Gellert stepped off the last stair and followed Albus into the library. He seated himself on the divan beside Albus and looked at his friend. “You didn’t have to accept,” he said quietly.
“It’s no trouble.”
“We have work to do.”
“Gellert, the Hallows are not going to vanish from the face of the earth in the half hour it will take us to have breakfast with your aunt.”
“Great-aunt,” Gellert corrected. “She is my grandfather’s sister. Calling her my aunt makes her sound like she’s immediate family.”
“Gellert!”Gellert looked at Albus, unused to the scolding tone in his voice. “You act like you don’t like her.”
“I don’t, really. She interferes too much. Always wants to know what I’m doing, where I’m going, when I’ll be back.”
“That’s because she cares.”
“Well, I don’t.”
“She’s letting you stay here,” Albus pointed out.
Gellert shrugged his shoulders, “I’m grateful for that. I simply don’t see why she has to know everything that I am doing at all times.”
“She means well.”
“I can take care of myself.”
Albus chuckled. “Yes, I know.”
It was not long before Bathilda’s voice was heard. “Come on you two! Breakfast is ready now!”
Before long, Gellert, Albus, and Bathilda were sitting at the kitchen table. Gellert picked at his food while Albus and Bathilda spoke about one topic and then another. Gellert was beginning to think that they would never cease talking. He glanced out the window, swallowing a bite of sausage. It took him a few moments before he realized that his name was being said.
“Gellert,” he finally heard his great-aunt saying, and he turned his head toward her.
“Yes?”
“Aren’t you going to eat any more than that?”
“No.”
“You’re certain?”
“Quite.” He rose from the table, and he looked at his friend.
“Albus, we were going to go for a walk.”
“Shouldn’t we-” Albus began, but Gellert shrugged his shoulders before he could finish.
Albus sighed and followed Gellert out of the kitchen and, eventually, out of the house. He looked at his friend, and Gellert noticed the expression on Albus’s features.
“What is it?” he asked as they walked down the street together.
Albus was quiet for a moment. “Don’t you think you were a little rude to Miss Bagshot?”
“Was I?” The sincerity of the question almost made Albus laugh. The notion of not having been polite had not occurred to Gellert!
“I think so.”
“I will apologize later to her.”
“Gellert,” Albus reached out and caught his friend by the arm and stopped walking, “is something the matter?”
“Of course not. Why would you think something like that?”
“You’re acting differently,” Albus replied. “You haven’t wanted to come and see me at my home for days, and even Ariana is acting differently. She can hardly be coaxed out of her room, even by Aberforth. She won’t go near the piano.”
Gellert looked at Albus for several moments. His hand rose in a familiar gesture, and his shoulders shrugged. “I do not know what is the matter with your sister, Albus. I wish I did. She acted rather strangely the last time that I was there, and I have not wanted to upset her by coming around again.” Albus did not reply, and the two began to walk again. Gellert spoke again when he stopped at the kissing gate of the cemetery. “I suppose I am a little anxious myself, though.”
“Anxious? Why?”
Gellert led the way into the graveyard, and Albus was close behind him. They stopped at the grave of Ignotus Peverell. Gellert irreverently sat upon the gravestone, and he regarded Albus with a faint smile.
“It’s time, Albus.”
“Time?”
“Can’t you feel it?”
“Feel what, Gellert?”
“It’s time to find the Hallows. To leave Godric’s Hollow behind, to embrace destiny, to do what we have been planning these last two months. It is time.”
Albus looked at Gellert, aware of that gleam in his hazel eyes. It was not that different from the shine that had possessed them when Gellert had first asked him to share his dreams, the glory he saw for himself. It was the same look that had been there when Gellert had seen this grave for the first time. It was rather similar to the spark that had been present when Gellert had ranted about Muggles after having been struck by one. It was a look that had only recently made Albus consider that there was a fine, fine line between what made a man brilliant and what made a man mad. Of course, he had no doubt that Gellert was the former.
“You really think so?” Albus finally replied, and he seated himself on the ground near Ignotus’s grave. “Where will we go first?”
“Back to Germany.”
“For the Elder Wand?”
“Precisely.”
“Do you know where it is?”
“I am very close to knowing,” Gellert assured his friend.
“And after we have the wand?” Albus smiled a bit, but something in his tone left a sour taste in Gellert’s mouth. The thought crossed his mind, though it was pushed away the next moment, that he was being coddled, that Albus was treating him as someone might treat a child talking about a world that they had conjured up in their own minds. “Where shall we go then?”
“Perhaps stay in Germany,” Gellert responded. “We could start to gather a following there. We could tell people about what we see for the future, what we can do to make their lives better. With the Elder Wand in hand, no one could force us to be silent.” He paused, and his eyes shut briefly, as if he was savoring the idea. His eyes opened slowly as he continued, “We would start in Germany, and I know we would soon have all of Europe behind us. After that, it is only a matter of time before everyone else sees sense as well. Once they see what a paradise we will bring, they will flock to us.”
Albus smiled a little more and nodded. “We would finally bring the two worlds together. Muggles and Wizards could live together, not be afraid of one another.”
“Wizards would be in their rightful place, lords of the land. They would have their power and their responsibilities. We would make sure that everything worked as it should, that everything was right.”
“We can care for those unable to care for themselves,” Albus murmured wistfully.
“We will be able to punish those that do not know their place,” Gellert added. “We will see that everything is as it should be. We will be liberators; we will go down in history. Our names, paired together forever.”
“They will talk about us long after we’re dead.” Albus was grinning, his eyes wide with the excitement of the idea. Gellert’s passion was as infectious as always.
“Long after,” Gellert repeated. He smiled a bit, looking up at the sky. “And it all begins with a Hallow.”
“We don’t even really need it,” Albus pointed out, and Gellert tensed a bit. He looked at Albus with an arched brow, and Albus shrugged. “We don’t. It will lend us credibility, and we can use that. We’re too young, most will say. Too young to know what we’re doing. Having the Elder Wand will let them know that we’re just as powerful as they are, but, when it all comes down to it, we don’t really need a Hallow.” Gellert did not look convinced, and Albus went on. “We’ll still get them, all of them. Why shouldn’t we be masters of death? I just mean to say that our position will convince people, even without the Hallows.”
Gellert relaxed slightly, but he did not seem fully convinced.
Several hours later, after discussions of topics ranging from the everyday to the extraordinary and more than a few kisses, the young men got to their feet. The backs of their shirts were stained with dirt, and their trousers had not been spared either. Gellert attempted to brush off his trousers, but he was unsuccessful, so he settled for combing through his ruffled hair with his fingers, trying to tame it a bit. Albus was straightening his shirt, and he glanced at Gellert with a chuckle.
“You know, I don’t think it’s proper form to pin someone on a grave.”
“You hardly seemed to mind. If I recall correctly,” Gellert responded, pausing to give a bit of a laugh himself, “you seemed rather keen on pinning me shortly after.”
“An eye for an eye,” Albus replied, and both chuckled again.
Gellert approached Albus and caught him in another kiss, and Albus responded with a similar level of intensity. Gellert’s fingers hovered over the buttons of his friend’s shirt, and he amused himself with the temptation of undoing them right here. He resisted, though, and took a step back. Albus watched him.
“Come back to my house, Gellert,” Albus said, a bit breathlessly. “Aberforth won’t bother us. We could-”
“A tempting offer,” Gellert cut him off, and he ducked his head for another long, heavy kiss. He pulled away after a few seconds, a bit of color in his cheeks, and he shut his eyes. After another moment, he opened them again and smiled apologetically. “I should go back and speak with Great-aunt Bathilda. You were quite correct. I was rude to her earlier, and I should apologize.”
“You really have chosen the worst time to show your gentlemanly nature,” Albus replied, but he was smiling. “Perhaps later tonight?”
Gellert considered this and smiled as well. He licked his lips ever so faintly as he responded, “Perhaps.” As he and Albus walked toward the kissing gate, he bent his head slightly to whisper in his friend’s ear, “Perhaps we could slip out of the house and come back here even.”
“You really are horrible,” Albus replied. He whispered as well, even though there was no one around, and he stole a look back at the tombstone out of the corner of his eye. Gellert looked back as well and smirked, hungry for the risk such a thing would carry.
Upon reaching his home and seeing Albus enter his residence, Gellert made his way immediately up the stairs. He heard his great-aunt in the kitchen, but he did not even consider going in. Instead, he let himself into his bedroom and shut the door once he was inside. It had been foolish not to take Albus up on his immediate offer, and Gellert knew that. He was regretting the decision more with every moment that passed, and he glared at Loki when the bird gave a small hoot.
“Of course I want to go,” he said, even though he knew that the bird had no idea what he was thinking, and it probably did not know what he was saying. “However, there are more important things to do.”
The owl hooted again, and Gellert gave it another glare as he seated himself on the bed.
“Albus seems to be losing interest in the Hallows. Doesn’t he see how important they are? As the masters of Death, as the possessors of the Hallows, we would have everything. Everything. No one could deny us anything.” He gave a snort of frustration and stared at the desk in his room. In other moments of annoyance, impatience, or simple idleness, he had taken a small knife, picked up on the Muggle streets because it had caught his eye, and carved on the desk. The image was plain, the lines deep in the wood. It was the mark of the Hallows. The straight Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone, and the Cloak of Invisibility. The Hallows were at the very center of everything. How could Albus forget that?
How could he think that there was anything for them if they did not possess the Hallows?
Gellert touched the gold chain that was still around his neck. He tugged on it and stared at the pendant. Carefully, he took it in hand and raised it up, watching the black liquid as it moved within its glass sphere.
As he had told Albus, it was time. It was finally time.
Carefully, he twisted the top of the triangle, and it come off. Gellert hesitated for a moment, staring at the black liquid. There was no reason to trust what that man had said, no reason to think that what he held was anything but poison. And yet…
“I will pay whatever price I must pay to possess the Elder Wand,” he whispered. He raised the strange pendant and put the opening to his lips. The liquid rushed into his mouth, and it burned. He swallowed before replacing the cap on the gold triangle. For several moments, he felt nothing, save for a burning sensation in his throat. He started to rise, meaning to get a drink of water, but he was forced to sit back down when the room spun. He gave a quiet gasp as light seemed to flash before his eyes, then everything went dark, yet he still felt like everything around him was spinning. He felt sick. The bile was rising in his throat, and he gagged, but nothing came up.
Finally, all sensation ceased, and he collapsed on the bed.
Two Months of Insanity
Author/Artist:
DHFiccer aka Lynn
Rating:
PG-13
Pairing or Character(s):
Gellert Grindelwald/Albus Dumbledore
Disclaimer:
Not mine, naturally. Owned by J.K. Rowling, though I hope to do them justice.
Author's Note:
Wow. Almost a month since I posted the last chapter. My apologies. Only two more updates left, though! I plan to try and have them done before next Sunday. Whether or not I'll be successful, I can't say.
Chapter Eleven
The Final Hour
“Good morning, Gellert!”
The blond teenager winced at the sound of his great-aunt’s cheery voice. He had reached the bottom step of the staircase and had hoped to slip out of the house undetected. Obviously, the gods were not so kind this morning.
“Good morning,” he responded, and he sighed when she came out of the library, where she had been enjoying a cup of tea until she heard him on the stairs.
“Albus!” She looked at the auburn-haired young man behind Gellert on the stairs. “I didn’t know you were here.”
“I,” Albus hesitated, looking at Gellert, who shrugged his shoulders, “dozed off here last night, Miss Bagshot.”
“Please, call me Bathilda,” the woman replied, smiling widely at the two youths. “It’s wonderful to see that you two are getting along so well!” She looked between Albus and Gellert, and, when neither of them said anything, she spoke again. “Albus, would you like to join Gellert and I for breakfast?”
“Actually, we were going to--” Gellert began.
“That sounds wonderful,” Albus chimed in.
Gellert glanced at Albus, and he sighed a little. They would have to have breakfast here now.
“Wonderful!” Bathilda beamed at the two of them. “Now, you two just go and make yourselves comfortable, and I’ll get some food on the table!”
Albus descended the stairs and headed for the library. He stopped in the doorway and looked back at the stairs, where Gellert still stood.
“Are you coming?” he asked.
“Yes.” It was still a few moments before Gellert stepped off the last stair and followed Albus into the library. He seated himself on the divan beside Albus and looked at his friend. “You didn’t have to accept,” he said quietly.
“It’s no trouble.”
“We have work to do.”
“Gellert, the Hallows are not going to vanish from the face of the earth in the half hour it will take us to have breakfast with your aunt.”
“Great-aunt,” Gellert corrected. “She is my grandfather’s sister. Calling her my aunt makes her sound like she’s immediate family.”
“Gellert!”Gellert looked at Albus, unused to the scolding tone in his voice. “You act like you don’t like her.”
“I don’t, really. She interferes too much. Always wants to know what I’m doing, where I’m going, when I’ll be back.”
“That’s because she cares.”
“Well, I don’t.”
“She’s letting you stay here,” Albus pointed out.
Gellert shrugged his shoulders, “I’m grateful for that. I simply don’t see why she has to know everything that I am doing at all times.”
“She means well.”
“I can take care of myself.”
Albus chuckled. “Yes, I know.”
It was not long before Bathilda’s voice was heard. “Come on you two! Breakfast is ready now!”
Before long, Gellert, Albus, and Bathilda were sitting at the kitchen table. Gellert picked at his food while Albus and Bathilda spoke about one topic and then another. Gellert was beginning to think that they would never cease talking. He glanced out the window, swallowing a bite of sausage. It took him a few moments before he realized that his name was being said.
“Gellert,” he finally heard his great-aunt saying, and he turned his head toward her.
“Yes?”
“Aren’t you going to eat any more than that?”
“No.”
“You’re certain?”
“Quite.” He rose from the table, and he looked at his friend.
“Albus, we were going to go for a walk.”
“Shouldn’t we-” Albus began, but Gellert shrugged his shoulders before he could finish.
Albus sighed and followed Gellert out of the kitchen and, eventually, out of the house. He looked at his friend, and Gellert noticed the expression on Albus’s features.
“What is it?” he asked as they walked down the street together.
Albus was quiet for a moment. “Don’t you think you were a little rude to Miss Bagshot?”
“Was I?” The sincerity of the question almost made Albus laugh. The notion of not having been polite had not occurred to Gellert!
“I think so.”
“I will apologize later to her.”
“Gellert,” Albus reached out and caught his friend by the arm and stopped walking, “is something the matter?”
“Of course not. Why would you think something like that?”
“You’re acting differently,” Albus replied. “You haven’t wanted to come and see me at my home for days, and even Ariana is acting differently. She can hardly be coaxed out of her room, even by Aberforth. She won’t go near the piano.”
Gellert looked at Albus for several moments. His hand rose in a familiar gesture, and his shoulders shrugged. “I do not know what is the matter with your sister, Albus. I wish I did. She acted rather strangely the last time that I was there, and I have not wanted to upset her by coming around again.” Albus did not reply, and the two began to walk again. Gellert spoke again when he stopped at the kissing gate of the cemetery. “I suppose I am a little anxious myself, though.”
“Anxious? Why?”
Gellert led the way into the graveyard, and Albus was close behind him. They stopped at the grave of Ignotus Peverell. Gellert irreverently sat upon the gravestone, and he regarded Albus with a faint smile.
“It’s time, Albus.”
“Time?”
“Can’t you feel it?”
“Feel what, Gellert?”
“It’s time to find the Hallows. To leave Godric’s Hollow behind, to embrace destiny, to do what we have been planning these last two months. It is time.”
Albus looked at Gellert, aware of that gleam in his hazel eyes. It was not that different from the shine that had possessed them when Gellert had first asked him to share his dreams, the glory he saw for himself. It was the same look that had been there when Gellert had seen this grave for the first time. It was rather similar to the spark that had been present when Gellert had ranted about Muggles after having been struck by one. It was a look that had only recently made Albus consider that there was a fine, fine line between what made a man brilliant and what made a man mad. Of course, he had no doubt that Gellert was the former.
“You really think so?” Albus finally replied, and he seated himself on the ground near Ignotus’s grave. “Where will we go first?”
“Back to Germany.”
“For the Elder Wand?”
“Precisely.”
“Do you know where it is?”
“I am very close to knowing,” Gellert assured his friend.
“And after we have the wand?” Albus smiled a bit, but something in his tone left a sour taste in Gellert’s mouth. The thought crossed his mind, though it was pushed away the next moment, that he was being coddled, that Albus was treating him as someone might treat a child talking about a world that they had conjured up in their own minds. “Where shall we go then?”
“Perhaps stay in Germany,” Gellert responded. “We could start to gather a following there. We could tell people about what we see for the future, what we can do to make their lives better. With the Elder Wand in hand, no one could force us to be silent.” He paused, and his eyes shut briefly, as if he was savoring the idea. His eyes opened slowly as he continued, “We would start in Germany, and I know we would soon have all of Europe behind us. After that, it is only a matter of time before everyone else sees sense as well. Once they see what a paradise we will bring, they will flock to us.”
Albus smiled a little more and nodded. “We would finally bring the two worlds together. Muggles and Wizards could live together, not be afraid of one another.”
“Wizards would be in their rightful place, lords of the land. They would have their power and their responsibilities. We would make sure that everything worked as it should, that everything was right.”
“We can care for those unable to care for themselves,” Albus murmured wistfully.
“We will be able to punish those that do not know their place,” Gellert added. “We will see that everything is as it should be. We will be liberators; we will go down in history. Our names, paired together forever.”
“They will talk about us long after we’re dead.” Albus was grinning, his eyes wide with the excitement of the idea. Gellert’s passion was as infectious as always.
“Long after,” Gellert repeated. He smiled a bit, looking up at the sky. “And it all begins with a Hallow.”
“We don’t even really need it,” Albus pointed out, and Gellert tensed a bit. He looked at Albus with an arched brow, and Albus shrugged. “We don’t. It will lend us credibility, and we can use that. We’re too young, most will say. Too young to know what we’re doing. Having the Elder Wand will let them know that we’re just as powerful as they are, but, when it all comes down to it, we don’t really need a Hallow.” Gellert did not look convinced, and Albus went on. “We’ll still get them, all of them. Why shouldn’t we be masters of death? I just mean to say that our position will convince people, even without the Hallows.”
Gellert relaxed slightly, but he did not seem fully convinced.
Several hours later, after discussions of topics ranging from the everyday to the extraordinary and more than a few kisses, the young men got to their feet. The backs of their shirts were stained with dirt, and their trousers had not been spared either. Gellert attempted to brush off his trousers, but he was unsuccessful, so he settled for combing through his ruffled hair with his fingers, trying to tame it a bit. Albus was straightening his shirt, and he glanced at Gellert with a chuckle.
“You know, I don’t think it’s proper form to pin someone on a grave.”
“You hardly seemed to mind. If I recall correctly,” Gellert responded, pausing to give a bit of a laugh himself, “you seemed rather keen on pinning me shortly after.”
“An eye for an eye,” Albus replied, and both chuckled again.
Gellert approached Albus and caught him in another kiss, and Albus responded with a similar level of intensity. Gellert’s fingers hovered over the buttons of his friend’s shirt, and he amused himself with the temptation of undoing them right here. He resisted, though, and took a step back. Albus watched him.
“Come back to my house, Gellert,” Albus said, a bit breathlessly. “Aberforth won’t bother us. We could-”
“A tempting offer,” Gellert cut him off, and he ducked his head for another long, heavy kiss. He pulled away after a few seconds, a bit of color in his cheeks, and he shut his eyes. After another moment, he opened them again and smiled apologetically. “I should go back and speak with Great-aunt Bathilda. You were quite correct. I was rude to her earlier, and I should apologize.”
“You really have chosen the worst time to show your gentlemanly nature,” Albus replied, but he was smiling. “Perhaps later tonight?”
Gellert considered this and smiled as well. He licked his lips ever so faintly as he responded, “Perhaps.” As he and Albus walked toward the kissing gate, he bent his head slightly to whisper in his friend’s ear, “Perhaps we could slip out of the house and come back here even.”
“You really are horrible,” Albus replied. He whispered as well, even though there was no one around, and he stole a look back at the tombstone out of the corner of his eye. Gellert looked back as well and smirked, hungry for the risk such a thing would carry.
Upon reaching his home and seeing Albus enter his residence, Gellert made his way immediately up the stairs. He heard his great-aunt in the kitchen, but he did not even consider going in. Instead, he let himself into his bedroom and shut the door once he was inside. It had been foolish not to take Albus up on his immediate offer, and Gellert knew that. He was regretting the decision more with every moment that passed, and he glared at Loki when the bird gave a small hoot.
“Of course I want to go,” he said, even though he knew that the bird had no idea what he was thinking, and it probably did not know what he was saying. “However, there are more important things to do.”
The owl hooted again, and Gellert gave it another glare as he seated himself on the bed.
“Albus seems to be losing interest in the Hallows. Doesn’t he see how important they are? As the masters of Death, as the possessors of the Hallows, we would have everything. Everything. No one could deny us anything.” He gave a snort of frustration and stared at the desk in his room. In other moments of annoyance, impatience, or simple idleness, he had taken a small knife, picked up on the Muggle streets because it had caught his eye, and carved on the desk. The image was plain, the lines deep in the wood. It was the mark of the Hallows. The straight Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone, and the Cloak of Invisibility. The Hallows were at the very center of everything. How could Albus forget that?
How could he think that there was anything for them if they did not possess the Hallows?
Gellert touched the gold chain that was still around his neck. He tugged on it and stared at the pendant. Carefully, he took it in hand and raised it up, watching the black liquid as it moved within its glass sphere.
As he had told Albus, it was time. It was finally time.
Carefully, he twisted the top of the triangle, and it come off. Gellert hesitated for a moment, staring at the black liquid. There was no reason to trust what that man had said, no reason to think that what he held was anything but poison. And yet…
“I will pay whatever price I must pay to possess the Elder Wand,” he whispered. He raised the strange pendant and put the opening to his lips. The liquid rushed into his mouth, and it burned. He swallowed before replacing the cap on the gold triangle. For several moments, he felt nothing, save for a burning sensation in his throat. He started to rise, meaning to get a drink of water, but he was forced to sit back down when the room spun. He gave a quiet gasp as light seemed to flash before his eyes, then everything went dark, yet he still felt like everything around him was spinning. He felt sick. The bile was rising in his throat, and he gagged, but nothing came up.
Finally, all sensation ceased, and he collapsed on the bed.