Ficlet: challenge 24
Summary: Gellert visits with Albus - sort of. Set during HBP.
Written using the prompt from colours_unseen; 'burning the candle at both ends', in addition to the Ficlet Challenge #24; "You see me here, you gods, a poor old man, as full of grief as age; wretched in both!"- King Lear, Act II, Scene IV
Characters/Pairings: Albus/Gellert.
Rating/Warnings: This is my first time writing these characters at all, and I've never read any fics with this pairing. LOL, FAIL SELF. XD
Word Count: 378
There was very little that could lead Albus Dumbledore to shock anymore; he felt that, at his ripe old age, he had seen quite everything there was possible to see. So it took him by absolute surprise when his heart skipped a beat and his stomach twirled at the sight of the man in front of him.
"Gellert?" The other man stared at him, head tilted slightly. His eyes were hollow and lifeless. Despite himself, Albus shuttered.
But no, it wasn't possible. Gellert was dead - at least in the sense that he was no longer living for Albus. (Was he ever?) The man was locked away, no chance of freedom.
"But you're in -"
"I am." Gellert's voice was rough, hoarse. Near unrecognizable. "You're going to die, Albus." Slight recognition in his eyes, though. Regret? No, sadness. Loss.
Love, possibly.
"Did you hear me, Albus? You're going to die." Oh yes, conversation. Albus remembered that. Vaguely.
"I know. Though, it's necessary." He could hear the other man sigh, near imagine him scrunch the hair above his ears in frustration just like -
Just like the old days.
"So it's all for the greater good, even still. Hm, Albus? Only this time, this time it's an entirely different cause?"
He supposes it was the same, in a way. Only this time - this time there was the boy to consider. Such a young boy, still not entirely sure who he is, living with such responsibility upon his shoulders.
So no, not the same. This time, this time the greater good was actually greater. He sat, and Gellert sat beside him.
"You're going to die." The man said again quieter, his voice and self fading.
"I know." The corner of Albus' mouth twitched up.
"I wanted to try and convince you to change your mind. Thought maybe, for once, you would listen to me."
Albus held up his hand; blackened and dead; "I'm already partially dead, Gellert. I would much rather go this way, on my terms."
The other man nodded, conceding to his former friend. (Lover once, thought Albus.)
"I'm not really here, you know."
"I know that, too."
Liz|Gryffindor
Written using the prompt from colours_unseen; 'burning the candle at both ends', in addition to the Ficlet Challenge #24; "You see me here, you gods, a poor old man, as full of grief as age; wretched in both!"- King Lear, Act II, Scene IV
Characters/Pairings: Albus/Gellert.
Rating/Warnings: This is my first time writing these characters at all, and I've never read any fics with this pairing. LOL, FAIL SELF. XD
Word Count: 378
There was very little that could lead Albus Dumbledore to shock anymore; he felt that, at his ripe old age, he had seen quite everything there was possible to see. So it took him by absolute surprise when his heart skipped a beat and his stomach twirled at the sight of the man in front of him.
"Gellert?" The other man stared at him, head tilted slightly. His eyes were hollow and lifeless. Despite himself, Albus shuttered.
But no, it wasn't possible. Gellert was dead - at least in the sense that he was no longer living for Albus. (Was he ever?) The man was locked away, no chance of freedom.
"But you're in -"
"I am." Gellert's voice was rough, hoarse. Near unrecognizable. "You're going to die, Albus." Slight recognition in his eyes, though. Regret? No, sadness. Loss.
Love, possibly.
"Did you hear me, Albus? You're going to die." Oh yes, conversation. Albus remembered that. Vaguely.
"I know. Though, it's necessary." He could hear the other man sigh, near imagine him scrunch the hair above his ears in frustration just like -
Just like the old days.
"So it's all for the greater good, even still. Hm, Albus? Only this time, this time it's an entirely different cause?"
He supposes it was the same, in a way. Only this time - this time there was the boy to consider. Such a young boy, still not entirely sure who he is, living with such responsibility upon his shoulders.
So no, not the same. This time, this time the greater good was actually greater. He sat, and Gellert sat beside him.
"You're going to die." The man said again quieter, his voice and self fading.
"I know." The corner of Albus' mouth twitched up.
"I wanted to try and convince you to change your mind. Thought maybe, for once, you would listen to me."
Albus held up his hand; blackened and dead; "I'm already partially dead, Gellert. I would much rather go this way, on my terms."
The other man nodded, conceding to his former friend. (Lover once, thought Albus.)
"I'm not really here, you know."
"I know that, too."
Liz|Gryffindor