Work Text:
"No, you always do this, Gellert!"
"If I'd known you were going to ruin the fun, I would've stayed in the Hollow."
*****
Gellert huffed as he looked out of the window of Bathilda's kitchen, tapping the windowsill impatiently. His mismatched gaze was focused on a specific spot. The Dumbledore house's front door.
"Come on, get out already..." he muttered under his breath. "Leave, you goat-screwing..."
"Gellert," Bathilda sighed, looking up from her manuscript. "He cannot hear you, and it is not nice to say those things, the poor boy has been through enough."
Gellert glanced at her only a moment before turning back to the window. "It is not my fault, he's taking too long to leave. And I can't go see Albus if he's still there or a fight will break out."
Bathilda chuckled lightly. "Again, you mean? Aberforth is a fine young man. I do not understand this hatred you seem to have for him," she said. "I think you should try to befriend him, you might learn a thing or two."
A look of genuine offence flickered through Gellert's eyes as he looked back at her. "From him? What would I learn? How to pet a goat?" He began pacing. "No, thank you. I think I would rather die. Besides, my Dumbledore tolerance is in full occupation with Albus and Ariana already, I cannot fit him into it even if I wanted to."
Bathilda went to say something when Gellert stopped, looking at the window, lighting up.
"Oh, finally!" He smiled, rushing to the door and grabbing his cloak. "Do not wait for me, I will stay out late!" he called out, opening the door to leave.
"Gellert, you were not sent here to run off every three hours," Bathilda said, though Gellert was already outside the door. She sighed, shifting in her seat and dipping her quill in the ink. "Don't be out too late, and stay out of trouble!"
Gellert scoffed. "Yes, ma'am!"
The door slammed shut.
The summer wind immediately whipped his hair, messing it up and letting the curls loose as he put on the cloak and waited for the younger Dumbledore to be out of sight. Then, he made his way to the Dumbledore house and knocked on the door.
It barely took a few seconds for it to swing open.
"Were you waiting for him to leave to show up?" Albus squinted at him, stepping aside to let Gellert into the house.
Gellert glanced at him briefly. "For thirty minutes, at least." Albus let out a laugh. "But I needed him gone. I've got an idea."
Albus raised an eyebrow. "That's rarely good... whatever it is, I'll just say no to get it out of the way."
"You haven't even heard it yet. And I've never really seen one of those, so you have to take me." Gellert smirked, jumping onto the kitchen counter. "You can't say no, it would be mean, and you are not mean."
A sigh fell from Albus' lips. "Very well... what is it?" he asked.
"We are going to the beach. And we are taking Ariana."
He didn't have a chance to brace himself.
"Have you lost your mind? We can't take Ariana to the beach!" Albus hissed, stepping closer to him. "Do you have any idea what can happen? She could get overwhelmed, she could lose control. She-"
"Listen, all of those things can happen in here. Far more likely to happen here, really, with me and Aberforth in the same room. And she will be with us, it'll be fine." Gellert cut him off, tilting his head, his mismatched gaze never leaving Albus'. "Trust me, alright?"
Albus leaned against the wall. "Trust you? The last time I trusted you, you set fire to three houses just down the street. I still don't know how Bathilda hasn't made you pack your things and leave."
Gellert rubbed the back of his neck. "Alright, first of all, that wasn't planned, but they did deserve it. And Bathilda doesn't know it was me, and I would like to keep it that way. But we are not setting anything on fire, and even if I did, there will be water there to put it out." He flashed Albus an innocent smile.
Albus rolled his eyes. "Always a solution for every possible catastrophe, huh?" Gellert didn't respond; he just blinked. "I'm going to smack that halo you pretend to have over that blond head of yours." He glanced back at the staircase, hesitant. "Alright. But on one condition." He took a step closer to Gellert, pinning him to the counter with one hand on each side of his lap. "If something starts to feel wrong, we come back. I will not allow an episode outside of the house."
Gellert couldn't bite back the laugh that tore through him. "Of course, it is far better that it happens here, destroys the house, Muggles see, and the rumors spread further," he said. "That sounds very... Hogwarts-smart."
Albus frowned and lightly hit Gellert's arm. "Don't disrespect Hogwarts. You wouldn't last a day in apparition class."
"Apparition class? You needed those? You're very bad at all of this... seeing who's better thing." He slid off the counter, standing in the space between the wood and Albus. His gaze dropped slightly for a moment, and he saw Albus' breath hitch. "Aren't you moving away?" he asked almost inaudibly, inching closer.
"I'm testing a theory..." Albus' tone matched Gellert's, but his voice trembled slightly as his grip on the wood tightened until his knuckles turned white.
Gellert tilted his head, inches from Albus' face. "A theory? Which theory?" His mismatched gaze returned to the blue eyes burning into him.
Albus felt his heart pounding in his chest, gaze dropping to Gellert's lips as he tried to close the distance between them.
"Albus?"
Albus pushed back with so much force that he hit the wall, wincing as his head hit the stone. Gellert barely bit back the startled laugh at the sight.
"Ariana." Albus turned to the stairs, where the youngest Dumbledore stood, eyes wide and hand clutching a book of Muggle fairytales. He smiled, trying to ease his heart and cool off his face. "What- what do you need?"
Behind him, Gellert was still leaning against the counter, one hand covering his mouth to try to hide the laughter.
Ariana didn't seem to have noticed what she'd nearly walked into. "I thought I'd heard Gellert. I wanted to say hello."
"Well, aren't you sweet?" Gellert approached her. "Isn't she the sweetest? Sweet enough to deserve some fun." He glanced at Albus with a smirk.
Albus groaned. "Fine. Let's go..." he muttered, pulling out his wand. "Ariana, go fetch your cloak. We are going somewhere."
Ariana's eyes lit up, looking between Albus and Gellert. "Out?" she asked, voice quiet as if she were afraid of getting too excited for nothing. But Gellert smiled, he smiled that genuine smile he always saved for her excitement, the smile that always told her go ahead, scream and jump. "I'm going somewhere?"
"Have you ever seen the sea?" Gellert's gaze dropped to the book in her hands briefly.
"The sea? Like The Little Mermaid?" She began to bounce. "We're going to see the sea?!"
Albus crossed his arms, trying to look authoritative. "We are not going anywhere until you have your cloak on, young lady."
Ariana gasped and grabbed Gellert's hand, yanking him up the stairs. "You have to help me!" she squealed. "I have to look pretty in case there is a prince!"
Gellert laughed. "Alright, then. Show me the options."
Albus scoffed, sitting down on the couch and picking up a newspaper.
DURMSTRANG'S GRADUATION CEREMONIES ON HOLD AFTER RECENT THREATS.
He tossed it back onto the seat beside him. "They deserve it..." he muttered.
A few moments later, Gellert returned, stopping halfway down the stairs. "She's a princess. I gave her a crown and everything."
Albus looked up and laughed. "You are spoiling her too much, Gel. Aberforth is going to hate you even more if she ends up liking you more than him." He stood, approaching the stairs and standing just below Gellert. "Where did you get a crown?"
Gellert shrugged. "Well, I would hope she acquires better taste; it's working wonders for you." He smiled. "And I made the crown, obviously. I would never give her something cheap and meaningless." He tilted his head, leaning against the banister. "I think she looks like a masterpiece."
Quick footsteps approached the staircase. "Albus! Albus, look! I have a crown!" Ariana emerged wearing her blue dress, a brown cloak Albus was sure wasn't hers, and a flower crown on her head, the lilies popping up in her light brown hair. "Gellert said I look like a European princess!"
"You are far more beautiful, but yes." Gellert turned to her and held out his hand, bowing his head slightly. "Your Grace."
Ariana giggled and took his hand excitedly before running down the stairs. "Come on! Come on, let's go!" She jumped up and down, still holding Gellert's hand.
Gellert glanced at Albus and held out his hand. "Do the honors?" He pulled Ariana closer as Albus reached out to take his hand. "Now, stay very close to me. As close as you can," he told her. She stepped closer, wrapping her arms around his waist.
Albus took his hand, and the world faded out of focus for a moment.
The next thing they knew, their shoes sank into the soft sand of the beach. It was completely deserted.
Gellert smiled and let go of Ariana, who stepped back and looked around in awe. "Don't run off too far."
Ariana was already running to the shore.
Albus chuckled, watching her with a raw happiness Gellert wished he could capture and keep forever in his eyes.
After a moment of admiring the Hogwarts graduate, Gellert stepped closer. "So, where were we?" he asked, reaching to take Albus' hand and intertwining their fingers.
"Well, before that..." Albus turned to him, but placed his hand on Gellert's chest. "Did you say you never learned how to apparate?"
Gellert frowned. "I know how to apparate. You've seen me apparate before... multiple times." He pushed Albus' hand off his chest, but didn't move. He could see the look in Albus' eyes. "What?"
Albus tilted his head. "I know you know how to apparate, but no one taught you how to do it properly." Gellert opened his mouth to argue, but Albus spoke before he could. "Come on, I'll teach you."
"I don't need you to teach me anything, Al-"
"You are not apparating halfway across Europe without proper training."
Gellert glared at him. "I will kill you."
Albus smirked. "Not if you splinch before reaching me."
Gellert glanced at Ariana briefly, seeing her sit down at the shore. "Absolutely not."
"Gellert." Albus' voice was final. Gellert didn't flinch. "You said it yourself, you already know the basics."
"The basics? I'm certain I can apparate better than every wizard graduating from Hogwarts." Gellert stepped back. "I don't need-"
"No," Albus said. "You always do this, Gellert! What am I supposed to do when you get hurt and don't come back? What happens to the plan then?"
Gellert rolled his eyes. "If I'd known you were going to ruin the fun, I would've stayed in the Hollow..." he muttered. "Fine. Once."
"As many times as-"
"And then you let me try something with Ariana."
Albus paused, gaze drifting to Ariana briefly. "What something?"
Gellert grinned. "No. I do the stupid training, you don't question me."
"Fine."
Gellert pulled out his wand before Albus could instruct him to. He didn't need it, but he knew Albus well enough to know he'd want him to channel the magic through it or whatever.
"Alright..." Albus stepped back. "Apparate near Ariana. But- wait," he said. "You need to focus, feel the ground as it feels there. You need to push your body through space without letting any of it tear, and don't think about anything else, otherwise you'd end up in different places and that would end terribly. Push your essence through-"
Gellert blinked. "You know, it would be a lot easier if you either let me do it or simply spoke English." He scoffed. "What does 'push your essence' mean? Just say, go from point A to B without dying," he said. He closed his eyes, the thorn of his wand digging into his palm as it usually did when he feared having a vision at the worst time.
Albus watched as Gellert vanished from where he was standing, the magic cracking like a whip before he apparated beside Ariana. Only then did he follow.
Gellert kneeled next to Ariana. "Do you want to see something?" He shifted his grip on the wand, looking at her. "It is fit for a princess, I promise."
Ariana looked up at him and then at the wand, confused and afraid, though the fear mixed with awe and excitement to see what Gellert wanted to show her.
"Look." He moved his wand, and a muffling spell surrounded the wand's tip to avoid startling her. "Avis," he said softly.
With a muffled sound, half a dozen birds erupted from the tip of Gellert's wand. His mismatched gaze shifted to Albus briefly, who stood a few steps behind, and dropped to Ariana, who watched with the wonder of a twelve-year-old who shouldn't know pain and fear the way she did.
She reached out, trying to touch one. "They're beautiful..."
Gellert smiled. "They are..." He didn't glance at Albus. "Do you want to try it now?"
Ariana hesitated, fear crossing her eyes.
"Gellert," Albus warned, reaching for his own wand. "Don't-"
Gellert raised one hand, handing Ariana the wand slowly. "Try, I'm here. Albus is here. Nothing will happen to you for trying a harmless spell," he reassured both Albus and her. "I'll hold the wand with you." He placed the wand in her hand. "I'll guide you, okay?"
Ariana nodded.
Albus pulled out his wand, but he didn't say a word.
Gellert held Ariana's hand. "Good. Now, say, avis," he said softly, guiding the wand movement.
"Avis." Ariana's voice was small and afraid, but the wand understood the incantation. As the birds began to pour out, she screamed and dropped the wand, startled.
Albus froze, eyes wide.
"Gellert..."
Gellert picked up the wand and stood. "I know." The smile on his face wasn't just excitement. It was hope.
"Why did you want to try that?" Albus asked, uncertain.
"Maybe, if an Obscurial learns to control their magic, the Obscurus will disappear before it's too late."
Albus looked down at his sister as she jumped up to try to catch the birds. "You think you can save her..." he trailed off. "That's- there is no record of any Obscurial making it past 13."
Gellert nodded. "I know. But I won't let her die without trying. These spells make her enjoy magic. I think this is the way to start."
"Aberforth will kill you."
Gellert glanced at Ariana briefly. "Yes... I know, but maybe I can keep her alive long enough to stop him."
"That entire idea is madness."
"Isn't everything we do?"
Albus smiled a bit, putting away his wand and holding a hand out to Gellert, which he took without hesitation as Ariana ran off after the birds.