Grindeldore // The Hallows That Divide Us

~4~

The letter...

Your point about wizard dominance
being FOR THE MUGGLES OWN GOOD-
this, I think is the crucial point, yes,
we have been given power and, yes, that
power gives us the right to rule, but
it also gives us responsibilities over the
ruled. We must stress this point, it
will be the foundation stone upon which
we build. Where we are opposed, as we
surely will be, this must be the basis
of all our counter-arguments. We seize
control FOR THE GREATER GOOD.

And from this it follows that where
we meet resistance, we must use only
the force that is necessary and no more.

(This was your mistake at Durmstrang!
But I do not complain, because if you
had not been expelled, we would never
have met).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Albus turned the note in his hands. He had made a copy of the original he had wrote years ago to his dear friend, Gellert.

The other letter lay in the hands of said friend, he'd hoped the man had still kept the note in which he strongly argued for and against his newfound opinions on Grindelwald's plans.

It was a long shot.

Not that Gellert wouldn't have initially read the letter he'd sent back in 1898, in the present day as he was now, but thinking back, he'd known that Grindelwald had expressed his sincere gratitude for Albus' opinions.

This then followed by the arrogance he got for changing his mind a few years later.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How could you Albus! After all this time, we had planned to stratify the order between the magic and non-magic world. We could have been unstoppable together!"

"You fool, I never wanted that, I wanted you. It was always you..."

"And there lies your weakness, my friend. Love is formed to grow as a bond but if you tether yourself too tight dear friend, sooner or later, it will break."

"My love for you will not stop me from defeating you, Gellert. I had thought our love would break in both of us...I was clearly mistaken."

"For the greatest power is power itself!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Albus shook off the memory, dabbing his head with an embroidered cloth with his initials on it. From his sister, he suspected.

He had hoped to contact Gellert after all these years, but hearing of the escape was to be expected.

He'd thought to be surprised...but he wasn't.

Knowing Gellert better than anyone, except maybe his aunt, Albus held dearly the memories he could never get back. Maybe it had been all a hoax to get his admiration solely towards Grindelwald.

If so, he didn't want to know. The stories were true in his own minds-eye. The fact of the matter could not be perturbed because as he recalled them every day, Albus had wanted more than anything else to go back to the time when things were simpler.

When the grass was green, he wanted to smell the summer air as it whistles through Gellert's golden hair.

When the summer drew close in Godric's Hollow, he wanted to feel the touch of his skin. Holding his own palm out so they could slide into each other like a conjoined pair.

When he'd heard the news of Grindelwald's escape, Albus held a smile. He knew it was wrong, but after all this time, and after all those deaths, he knew no vault could hold the man that held the key to his heart.

But he had been right about one thing.

Albus' refusal to move against his rival was ultimately down to his love for him. It had grown into his biggest weakness over time, and that is what made Gellert even more powerful.

To not stand against his adversary meant he could rein free to wreak havoc, along with his followers, Albus could not go.

Which side was he on?

He had decided all those years ago, for choosing a side had cost him his friend, his lover, and to act upon his other feelings would surely make matters worse.

It would make the tables turn. And the sides would surely be changed.

~~~
Notably another contextual chapter, but I feel it was needed. The letter at the top is the actual letter Albus sent to Gellert in 1898, first seen in 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.