Desperate pleas lingered in the heavy air. –Don’t hurt them, please! Hurt me instead!†But there was not a single pause to listen. Jets of light continued to spark from the three wizards’ wands, each more powerful than the next. The smoke in the room was so dense it was almost suffocating. The only sight remotely discernible in the cloud was a pair of eyes with a steely glint and three other pairs of clear, crystalline blue.
Suddenly, the brightest light of all immersed the room. No one knew what it was or who it came from. All they knew was, at that moment, time had stopped.
It was a foggy morning. A dull mist lingered in the air and the blades of grass glittered with early morning dew. The neighborhood of Godric’s Hollow was eerily quiet that day, not even a bird’s tweet was heard.
Albus stood on the edge of the winding road, staring across the way, and spotted a new figure in the mist. The great-nephew of Bathilda Bagshot had come to visit. He had a wild look about him, all bright eyes and hair of fine spun gold, with mannerisms laced with regality despite a mischievous glint in his eyes and a crooked smile. He was extremely well-mannered for a boy who was just expelled from school, but perhaps that was part of his allure. Bathilda’s face was full of mirth as she spoke to him, for she was clearly charmed by this wonderful boy.
But who wouldn’t be?
He was perfect.
And Albus knew he was staring for far too long.
Gellert Grindelwald was a fascinating person to anyone who had the fortune of meeting him. Albus was no exception to this rule. As time passed, he often found himself observing him more than any other. He was intelligent and cunning, and undoubtedly ambitious. Every decision he had ever made was calculated, precise, and meticulous in every way. This was not merely a personal preference. Rather, it was a means to achieve his goals. He knew what he wanted and sought to get it, no matter what it took. He had a plan.
–We are the ones who possess magical powers. We have supremacy over all others based on that fact alone. We have the ability to achieve greatness, Albus. Don’t you understand? As wizards, we were meant to reign supreme over muggles, squibs, mudbloods, and all the rest who are beneath us. I assure you, muggle subservience is what is best for the new world order!â€
The gleeful, mischievous look was strangely blurred from Gellert’s face at that moment. It was twisted, his features subtly contorted to an evil grimace. Eyes that normally laughed as they sparkled were instead coated with frigid malice as he revealed his plan.
–This notion of coexisting with muggles is nonsense. Who are we to consider those vermin our equals? And as for the weak, the useless, we must do something about them.â€
Without thought, Albus looked over at the quaint patch of wildflowers visible through his kitchen window, and saw his sister Ariana crouched next to the grass with a bird cradled in her hands. Her porcelain features drooped slightly as feelings of distress and loss washed over her. The bird was tiny, defenseless, and injured. Tears streaked Ariana’s cheeks as she held the poor bird and tried to find a way to help. After a few moments, however, she set it down gently in the grass and walked away when she thought she could do no more.
–But why must we go to such extremes?†Albus asked.
The bird flew away.
–For the greater good, Albus. It’s all for the greater good.â€
–The Deathly Hallows?â€
–The Deathly Hallows,†Gellert repeated. –Obviously, the wand is the best. I know I would use it to defeat everyone who stands in my way. But when one possesses all three, they would become the master of death.â€
Albus pondered for a moment. The Elder Wand was the most powerful in the world, and would surely defeat any challenger in a duel. The Invisibility Cloak, seemingly the weakest of the three, was quite useful in the art of concealment and evasion of death. However, the object that particularly interested Albus was the Resurrection Stone. It would appear an unremarkable rock to some. But to Albus, it was a means of filling the void his mother’s passing left behind.
–Look,†Gellert said, interrupting Albus’ thoughts. He proceeded to point to an odd-looking mark on the Peverell gravestone. At first glance, it was not unlike an eye. It was a curious symbol, composed of a circle within a triangle with a line down the middle. –It’s strange how my beliefs can be encompassed in one simple mark.â€
Albus knew that Gellert adapted the Peverell brothers’ symbol as his own. The mark was scrawled on everything, from notebooks to his own skin. It was never a surprise to see it etched into a wall or written in a library book.
–We are going to find these hallows.â€
It was not a question, nor a request. It was Gellert’s command.
–I would not go so far to say we would be nothing without them,†Gellert continued. –But I know we would be invincible. If we can successfully conquer death, nothing will be able to stand in our way. Would I be able to find them myself? Perhaps. But there’s no question, no doubt in my mind, that I need you to help me.â€
Albus would never admit this to anyone, but his spirits suddenly lifted despite the rush of guilt he continued to feel as he spent more time with Gellert.
–You will stay by my side, Albus, won’t you?â€
He knew he should say no.
He knew what was right.
So he chose to say nothing at all.
–How dare you think of abandoning your family at a time like this? Especially with Ariana the way she is! You are no brother of mine, Albus! You are a coward!â€
Albus could not bring himself to look his brother in the eye, but instead chose to look emotionlessly to one side. Aberforth Dumbledore was never too keen about the likes of his brother’s new confidant, but his brother’s current indifference put him over the edge.
–Don’t just stand there, look at me and say something!†He didn’t. –This was your plan all along, wasn’t it?! You can’t stand bearing the responsibility of taking care of your worthless brother and damaged sister when you could be out earning another trophy for the mantle!â€
That’s not true. At least, it was not entirely true. Albus loved them both dearly, but---
–And you!†Aberforth roared, storming over to Gellert who had been lurking in the doorway. –You selfish, loathsome cretin! From your twisted, unspeakable experiments at Drumstrang to this new world order you want to enact, everything you do is unforgivable and wrong. Where do the weak and defenseless stand in this plan? They will be left behind, and they can’t do anything about it! How is that even remotely right?â€
Yes, Gellert has done wrong, but so has everyone else in this world.
–You must be thrilled, Albus,†Aberforth continued. –You’ve finally found one of your caliber, an equal, someone actually worthy of your presence.â€
He refused to admit the validity of his brother’s words. He tried desperately.
–Enough!†All eyes turned to Gellert after his sudden outburst. Upon closer inspection, he was no longer the boy Albus met nearly two months ago. His eyes flashed angrily and his lips curled into a cruel snarl. He immediately pointed his wand at Aberforth’s throat and stared menacingly into his eyes. –Don’t you dare preach all high and mighty when you don’t even understand our aims! Why should you, a mere schoolboy, be able to tell me what’s right and what’s wrong?†His voice was cold as stone, his face pale with anger. He was enraged, but he couldn’t let Albus see the maniacal side of him. Not yet.
–You want to do this then?†Aberforth murmured. –You want to duel? Fine, let’s duel.†He used both hands to shove Gellert away harshly and whipped out his own wand as well. –We’ll settle this once and for all. I’m not averse to killing you.â€
Ariana, the Dumbledore family’s youngest, walked into the room once curiosity got the best of her. Aberforth’s eyes widened, worried that the girl had heard much more than she should have.
–Reducto!†Gellert cried, blowing a framed photo next to Aberforth’s ear to smithereens. Albus stood, frozen and in shock as Gellert continued his tirade. –You will never understand! No one understands! The world doesn’t need people like you, brainless and brute. And her,†he indicated Ariana. –She can’t even control her magic. There’s so much room for improvement. We can do so much better.â€
Gellert wasn’t making sense anymore. His statements grew progressively jumbled every time he spoke, as if all his ideas were blurred together into one mass of indignant fury. His eyes twitched and flickered with poisonous animosity as he slowly raised his wand once again, aiming at Aberforth’s chest.
–Don’t hurt them, please! Hurt me instead!†pleaded Albus. But it was no use.
The first jet of light erupted from Gellert’s wand, and Aberforth managed to evade it just in time. Aberforth countered with a bellow of –Petrificus totalus!†and missed. Albus could not merely stand there and watch the horror unfold any longer. He decided to fight back, to fight the man he thought was his best friend.
Gellert couldn’t believe it when the disarming charm hit him. He was in a state of alarm before he scrambled to pick up his wand across the room. –Albus,†he said gravely. –You’re making a huge mistake. Are you really willing to cast aside the greater good? I thought you were doing this for me, for all of us. You said so yourself, remember?â€
–This notion of coexisting with muggles is nonsense. Who are we to consider those vermin our equals? And as for the weak, the useless, we must do something about them,†Gellert glanced over at Albus solemly. Albus was instead preoccupied with the view from outside the kitchen window of Ariana in a patch of wildflowers.
–But why must we go to such extremes?â€Albus asked, his gaze still affixed to the scene outside.
–For the greater good, Albus. It’s all for the greater good.†There was no hint of hesitation in Gellert’s response. His words seemed rehearsed, repeated mercilessly as a mantra. Albus looked over and studied the expression on Gellert’s face, which was both placid and inhuman all at the same time.
–Surely the greater good doesn’t mean killing the innocent,†Albus asked, unsure. –We need to keep morality in mind.†Gellert didn’t respond, but instead looked at no particular point in the distance.
There was no use in reasoning with him. Albus could only follow him or get left behind. However, there was a feeling in his gut that told him that this could not end well. Albus knew that many innocent people would be hurt by the Greater Good, including the people he loved. But some inexplicable force kept him from saying anything negative to Gellert, preventing him from standing up to these ideas that went against his own values. Albus didn’t want to yet again get left behind by someone he cared about, so he hesitantly sided with his best friend.
–Let me help you,†Albus said, cautiously. Gellert was a volatile being, so Albus could not let him see any doubt. –I promise I’ll stand by you every step of the way.â€
–No matter what?†Gellert asked almost meekly.
–No matter what.â€
–I am the one you should follow,†Gellert said, interrupting Albus’ thoughts. –Me. Not anyone else. You know this, Albus. You know in your heart.â€
Albus couldn’t say a single word. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Here they were, after seemingly an eternity of friendship, shattering at a blink of an eye. Albus understood, of course he understood. He knew what the greater good was since he helped craft it himself. The more he examined Gellert, the more he realized they weren’t meant to collaborate anymore. They could see right through each other, and neither person liked what they saw.
What happened next was chaos.
Jets of bright light sprouted every which way when all three boys continued to duel. A stray spark singed Aberforth’s sleeve, but that didn’t stop him from continuing to attack Gellert. Ariana saw the angry looks on each of the boys’ faces and clearly wanted to stop the fighting, but she was too frightened. Her feet remained planted to the tiled floor as she stayed helplessly still, blinded by her own tears and the bright light around her. Stronger and stronger still, the lights flashed, the smoke grew, and the fury in the air was almost tangible. Faster and faster they commenced, so there was no sense of direction or sensation or reality anymore. It was just the four of them, and no one else in the world until---
Until…
The light flashed green.
The smoke cleared.
Albus and Aberforth stared at the place by the wall, where Ariana should have been. No one knew what it was, or where it came from, the rogue spell that had hit her. All they knew was she was gone, and time had stopped so callously.
And Gellert Grindelwald was nowhere to be found.
Right then, Albus finally realized who Gellert truly was.
Albus gazed somberly at that engraving on the family tombstone. On the other side of his half-moon spectacles, the skin around his eyes was slightly creased. His features were marred with fatigue. The wispy beard he sported when he was younger was now long, the auburn slightly streaked with gray.
Since that fateful, unfortunate day, many things had changed. The world had entered a dark age after Grindelwald fled Godric’s Hollow. He became a household name in much of Europe in the most infamous manner, and –For the greater good†had become a slogan that many had come to fear. Although Albus did not fear Grindelwald, or any of his plans, those words still haunted him.
And the bitter disappointment never went away.
–You won, Albus! You won!†Grindelwald cried from behind thick bars. –You took the Elder Wand from me---no---you took EVERYTHING from me! What else do I have? Why don’t you just kill me already, rather than leave me here in my misery?!â€
Albus bent down and lightly touched the engravings on the cold marble. He felt empty ever since his mother’s death, but the hollowness within him continued to manifest after the duel. That day, he lost his sister, and his brother in a way as well. Grindelwald was not the only one who has experienced loss. Actually, Albus’ own life was gone from the moment he met Grindelwald. Through being with him, he lost sight of what was right and what was wrong. Albus shuddered as a rush of tumultuous guilt consumed him for the first time in years. He felt as though he allowed his loved ones to suffer because he devoted so much to Grindelwald, especially his unconditional faith.
He would never be able to trust anyone so wholeheartedly again.
–Did I know, in my heart of hearts, what Gellert Grindelwald was?†Albus said in a barely audible murmur. –I think I did, but I closed my eyes.†He delicately pressed his fingers on the chiseled lettering once again, smiling longingly at the names. He would never be able to get them back, but at least he did something to avenge them, somewhat.
Albus rose and slowly walked away from the grave. He did not feel triumphant, nor did he feel lost after defeating Grindelwald. He felt reassured that life does move on, and time does not need to stay relentlessly still. He walked, through the chilly morning air with a longer stride, and disappeared into the foggy mist.