1945
Nurmengard, 6th of September 1945
Dear Albus,
So, you have been granted the Order of Merlin First Class. Even the Austrian papers have been full of it for weeks. Congratulations are in order, I suppose. I am glad that I could contribute a minor part to your success and recognition, my friend. According to your latest interview in the Daily Prophet, however, you will remain a teacher at Hogwarts? I do not have a doubt that you have been approached, Albus, by more than one member of the British government, to take the post of Minister for Magic after the tragic death of Hector Fawley two months ago. I am sure it is due to your modesty, your noble spirit, your wisdom and not last your great passion for teaching, that you refused. I do hope that you can find satisfaction and diversion in this profession.
Best wishes,
Your friend
Gellert
P.S.: How does my wand work for you? Does it live up to your expectations?
***
Nurmengard, 2nd of November 1945
Dear Albus,
I must admit to being slightly disappointed in you. I have always taken you for a courteous man, Albus, and curtsy would surely have demanded a reply to a well-wisher, if only in a few short lines. Curtsy would also have demanded an inquiry after my health, my dear friend, as you have been so closely involved in its poor state. I can ease your conscience, however, in saying that my injuries have healed well and are now almost painless, although I will require a cane from now on. Fortunately, the damage in this is not too great, as I will not do too much walking in the next years. There is only so much exercise one can do in the hour’s time in the yard that is granted me here, so rest easy.
In short, your silence saddens me, Albus, but I cannot say that it surprises me, as I surmise that the owls that reach you daily have been too numerous to allow you the time for a few lines to a boyhood friend.
In hopes of your best health and that Hogwarts is thriving under your grooming,
Your friend
Gellert
***
Nurmengard, 25th of December 1945
Dear Albus,
A merry and relaxing Holiday to you! I can see the corridors and the Great Hall of Hogwarts Castle in front of me, doubtless being decorated in the most festive way. I hope that you are granted a few days of leisure from your straining duties for a bit of reading and thought. Knowing your superiority of mind and remembering your hunger for an equal, however, I must presume that you are somewhat lonely without a colloquist to fertilise your mind. If you ever require a correspondent to discuss the theory of transfiguration or the implications of the Second Goblin War, you know how to reach me.
I assume that you will now pity me, Albus, as you read these lines, sensing an almost desperate plea for diversion. I can assure you, however, that it is a mere inconvenience to be confined in this cell, nothing that can truly bother me. We know each other, we know each other intimately. I have no doubt that you and I are the only minds that could tolerate such an outlook, a life of confinement barring any human contact, without much damage. I have always lived most of my life inside my own head as you know, Albus, just as you have. There is so little diversion to be found in the exchange with ordinary people. Politics, the formation of a liberation movement, the world at large, have been projects for me and I admit to missing them a little, but my true occupation has always been my own thoughts. ‘A mind needs challenge and constant stimulus to keep growing’, you told me once, but I beg to differ. An able mind only needs itself as a challenge and can grow indefinitely. Thus, if you want my honest thought, I am undecided about which of us got the best of the bargain. You, living in freedom and seemingly endless possibilities but constrained by your own timidness and so much occupied with menial tasks that your mind must thirst for true challenges, or me, with infinite time to develop my mind, but no possibility to ever impress my beliefs on the world again.
I realise I got a bit carried away, Albus, do forgive me for being sentimental. It must be the view from my window, as the trees have been tipped with snow for the first time this year, or else the expectation of the coming Christmas. You know how deeply the Orthodox mentality is ingrained in me.
Yours
Gellert
***
Hogwarts, 27th of December 1945
Gellert,
You can spare your time in writing to me. Neither your taunts nor your pleas will make me correspond with you. The hurt you have caused me personally I could well forgive you given the time, but the suffering you have brought over the wizarding world is so monstrous that I cannot think of you without disgust.
Despite my ‘noble spirit’, as you have put it, I can find only very little pity for you within me to be frank, and it is certainly not enough to make me entertain you to ease your loneliness.
I can certainly not say that I wish you the best, Gellert, as you have gotten exactly what you deserved. What I wish you, however, is that you find some remorse in future years so that you can die and move on with more ease.
Albus