Monster's best friend
Thursday 6th July 1899
/GG/
The iron-flavoured water from Bathilda's well was a nice icy refreshment that stopped my eyes from closing. I sat down at the edge of the well, a bucket of water just drawn up beside me on the edge, and I scooped up another glass, careful not to spill the papers and ink on my knees. It had rained overnight, and some dirt from the trees above had caught on the sieve by the well. Bathilda had told me several times that the water was not drinkable, but she had not yet harmed me; plus it was ice cold and fresh, unlike the one I could squeeze out of the tap at home. I blinked a few times, stretched, and gave the boy a convincing sleepy smile.
Albus was barefoot, otherwise dressed still the same. His unkempt necktie irritated me, so I immediately adjusted it, taking care of its appearance as he walked over to me and sat down on the edge of the well.
“There you go, much better…” I offered him also the glass with water, but the auburn boy frowned in disgust.
“You got to be kidding me, right? You are drinking… this? Abe is cleaning our floor with water from the well. Bleh,” he grimaced again and set my glass down. I stared at him with a raised eyebrow before realizing again.
"Ah sure, Hogwarts… Sorry, I almost forgot you're from the spoiled school," I added with a smirk, looking down at his bare feet. "Hot?"
He shook his head, clearly ignoring my comment about school. "No, I couldn't find the shoes. Do you know where they went?" He asked, shrugging his shoulders, desperately trying to figure out what those papers were on my lap. I smirked.
"It must have been Bathilda. She is just always cleaning like that, so sometimes you lose things. I had to ask her not to go into my attic room, but since I have only been here for a while, she does not understand because there she says it settles too much dust. I told her that cleaning charms are probably the easiest thing there is, but when I accidentally knocked over a glass of water with it once, she forbade me to clean up. That's why I prefer to come here to drink."
Albus smiled and I smiled back; I needed him to accept us as friends again. I had no idea if he would start a conversation about our kisses and especially about what happened under the cherry tree. I did not need to hear it again, it was confusing and horrible enough to know that something like this had happened. Since we have been actively researching since then, there has not been time to discuss it, thankfully. But now, that I had only a few measly parchments on my lap and we were sitting in the friendly surroundings of the well, he could...
"Gellert, can I ask you something?" Oh no. What is next?
"Hmm? What?"
Step number one: pretend I overheard him and did not understand him. This could be repeated possibly once more, then once more, and the path could be branched: for a, it is true that both of them start laughing and 'forget the question' - one starts to tell how this happened to him once before and it was extremely funny. For b, the other asks again and clearly, or even shouts; there was no way out of it.
Then step two; divert attention or draw attention to something else. That could be faked well enough with fools, and unfortunately, Albus certainly was not.
So there was nothing left but step three; ask too. I hated step three because then it looked and hit me in the eye that I did not understand the situation. However, I had no choice. Albus repeated his question.
"Ah, sure: I wanted to ask something too..." I blurted out, looking pleadingly into his blue eyes. Please, I need to ask first, Albus…
"Then talk, this will wait..." I could see from him that he could not wait. He wanted to ask as soon as possible, and every passing minute hurt him. You should never have taken it to heart, Albus. You should never have allowed it. It was a simple desire and a test. It was wrong, more than anything, and you, being a genius, should have known it.
"It's about what we did yesterday, the locating charm. You remember it revealed a place worth exploring. Then I thought... You cannot just leave; you have underage siblings at home and a sister who is. .. Well, erratic. In addition, you are not sure your brother can handle her. So you can't - couldn't - leave with me if I chose to, could you?" I hoped.
Albus took a breath; I could see his heart clench and he had to swallow to be able to breathe. Now his pale blue eyes were looking at the grass, his hands now clenched tightly between his knees. I tilted my head. I had to go on.
"I understand it's hard for you to talk about a situation like this, Albus… It must be awful and I cannot imagine. It is bothering you. However, if there was any way to work it out so you could come with me after all, I was hoping you would figure it out sooner. You are, well, smarter… Remember last night," I encouraged him, but Albus did not respond; instead, he began to sway slightly back and forth, his body shaking slightly. Oh, Albus...
"Come on," I stroked his cheek with my thumb and looked up at him. He looked at me forcedly, but it seemed that at least it worked a little.
"Hmm, I'd like to go with you, yes, but-"
"In that case, we'll work it out. Do you think Batty could take care of them for two days? It should not take us much time with the relocation; we might be able to do it in a day. It would be one night and two days alone for Aberforth and Ariana. They were left alone tonight too, weren't they?"
/AD/
It was worse than a stab in the heart. No, no, this was no match for a stab. It was as if he took my heart out of my chest, lit it on fire, and then stared at it in amazement. Like I was losing my soul, but I could not do anything about it. Confused, with tears in my eyes, I nodded. I was suffocating.
"I guess... I guess so..." I could not say more. With great effort, I got up from the stone well, accidentally knocking over the bucket of water. “S-sorry...” Another stutter, trying to pull the bucket back up, but it fell and clattered back into the water.
"I have to go home..." I excused myself and looked at my blond friend in confusion. Meanwhile, Gellert pulled the bucket back.
"Can I accompany you?" he asked as if my shaky voice and tears were invisible. I wanted to scream at him, kiss him, hit him and hug him all at the same time. I shook my head.
“No, no it's o-okay, ‘s a-alright, just… I need to go…”
Without another glance, I ran out of the backyard, nearly knocking Batty over as I frantically searched the hallway for my shoes.
"Albus! Come on boy, watch the road… Where are you in such a hurry?"
"N-nowhere, I'm just... I'm looking for my shoes and... I have to go home, it's... I shouldn't have left them there alone, I'm sorry, bye..." I put on my shoes, tied them with charm shoelaces and headed out the door, not bothering to close it. I heard Bathilda calling after me and then I heard his voice calling my name. No, don't even try. Not you.
I ran home; I saw Ariana sitting quietly with Aberforth at breakfast.
"So you came home after all, huh?" I didn't answer. I headed straight for my room, now angrily slamming the door and sliding down it onto the floor. My knees and hands were shaking, it was a wonder I managed to run home at all. I felt hot tears streaming down my cheeks and tried in vain to stop them. I didn't want to cry, but my body gave me no choice and became completely uncontrollable. I had to take deep, loud breaths to keep from choking.
Devastated, I clenched my knuckles between my teeth to keep from screaming. I couldn't even see because of the tears and my sinuses were so filled with tears that I couldn't even hear. I locked my door at the last minute when I felt my brother kicking it and trying to get inside. No no no no...
The tears continued to roll down my face, like waterfalls, like something that would never stop. Every breath I took hurt more and more because of the crying I was holding back until I had nothing else to do and I had to use a silencing charm on the room.
Then I stopped controlling myself completely.
Knowing no one can hear me now, I slammed my bitten fist into the ground, leaving traces of blood on the floor. Devastated, I crawled to the edge of the bed - I also hit it - and remained sitting half-propped up on the mattress. Only then did I start to focus on how I felt.
My heart was breaking, breaking into a million pieces and I did not know how to put them back together, what would help me stop this pain. No, I knew what would help me, but I could not. At that moment, doubt crept into my soul.
It was not right and I knew it, I knew it from the very beginning and I knew it from school. It just was not supposed to be like this, it was all twisted and I was sure it was going to ruin my whole life. No one, no one in the whole world had it like this. No one. Just me, on the whole planet. Even muggles were not like that. So why me? Why can't I be... normal? Why can't I be perverted in any other way? Why like this?
I knew it was simply and well wrong. That was perhaps an understatement. However, did he know that too? If so, why didn't hedo anything about it? It was perhaps the reason why yesterday I...
Of course, it does! By Merlin, I was so incredibly stupid and blind. By all saints, no, please no... Could it ever stop hurting? Could it stop?!
I kicked the bedside table and broke the oil lamp on it. The oil spilt over my shoes and pants, so I flinched and curled up into a smaller ball half-sitting by my bed. It still hurt, it did not stop and it did not let up.
"I'm so sorry..." I whispered to myself, but the words were directed at my dead mother. I looked at the ceiling. Maybe somewhere she is listening. Maybe she can hear me...
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to, I..." I had no idea why something like this was even happening. I had no idea why, and what to do. All I knew was that it was extremely wrong. That something is wrong with me. Doubts turned to certainties and little voices in my head telling me that I was simply spoiled and abnormal. That it is all one big perversion.
It is just as horrible a thing as what they did to your sister. It is just as twisted and abnormal, and someone like you did it. Don't you know how it interferes with normal life? With a normal happy life? How is it foreign to the normal world and does it belong in an insane asylum?
My head started to ache, I hung it in my hands and tried to press my forehead to stop the pain, but it escalated to immense proportions until it seized me and I threw up on the floor next to me. I was instantly relieved. Instead of my heart, my stomach was now clenching and turning over and over a million times like on a swing. I wanted to breathe in, but the tears blocked my nose, so I had to breathe heavily and intermittently through my mouth. I threw up again.
I don't know how long I sat there like that; I may have fainted for a moment with exhaustion, but I was only conscious when I heard two angry boys' voices outside my locked door and even the cracking of the doorknob. I quickly cleaned the room with my wand, the floor was cleaned, and the oil lamp, without oil, returned to the bedside table in its entirety. I tried to stand up but my knees were like jelly and couldn't keep me on my feet. I fell hard on them until it thudded and I moaned in pain. The voices grew louder, but I had to undo the silencing spell to make out what they were talking about.
"...from you and slammed in there! I told you before, you idiot moron-"
"...the fault that he's crying, you keep stopping him..."
"...he understood that he had someone better..."
I sat up on the bed with wide eyes. It was like a race between time and space. I managed to get up from here and took my wand, holding on to the bed frame with my other hand.
"...if you weren't like that!"
"...my fault? Mine?!"
Three steps towards my desk as I walked around the bed. My chest was burning as I tried not to breathe so as not to sob. Breathing through my nose was out of the question and I suppressed the urge to throw up again. The door slammed horribly and someone kicked it furiously when spells were not possible due to my complicated lock.
"...IDIOT! YOU STUPID IDIOT!"
A thump of something against the door, like a dull blow. I wiped the tears from my eyes and managed to climb over the chair onto the table. On the table under the cherry tree. I saw him again, lying in this place. His blond hair contrasted with the dark wood, and the blue-collar matched his eyes…
"...LET ME IN!!!"
"...you think he'll just let you in?!"
"...INSIDE! LET ME IN! OW!"
"....he hates you...he will always hate you..."
Cry. My brother's cry. "...INSIDE! LET ME IN! please... Albus...!"
Over the table and the windowsill to the branch of the cherry tree, not a single glance down. High, second floor. Another cry. Leaves. Tree in Blossom.
"...'m so so'y..." Hiccup. Another loud slam on the door. Just a few more steps.
"...Albus!!!"
Another branch.
"...ALBUS PLEASE!"
A trunk, followed by a few twigs like a ladder down the tree. Grass and wet clay ground. I ran to the backyard gate, running through the back entrance. They must have heard a window crack, dammit.
I didn't make it halfway across the meadow, screaming and with tears streaming down my face again before I slammed into something. I ran blindly, knowing the way. The impact made me dizzy, I was worried that I might throw up again. I took a step back, turned slightly to the left and was determined to keep running.
But someone's hands caught me, making it impossible for me to run any further.
"...GET OUT!" I heard a distant shout, "I'M SAYING TO YOU, GET OUT OF HERE!"
I had no choice but to accept reality and look around.
Of course, he was there. And his hands now gripped my still thrashing body. Over his shoulder, I managed to catch a glimpse of my brother running in our direction. I tried to free myself from Gellert's grip but to no avail. He held me still tighter, and before I could do anything, and before Aberforth had run up to us, the whole meadow was turned into a kind of a jumble of images and colours, and for a moment I could see nothing, and then I fell heavily to my knees.
He apparated with me from the meadow. I had to raise my head, but it was hard to do so since it was spinning so badly.
We were in some kind of forest, probably not far from here. It took a moment before I realized his hands were pulling me up to stand up. I couldn't do anything but let myself go, but as soon as he pressed me to him, I started punching him in the chest. But he didn't seem to mind and kept holding me close. I heard his voice only after a while, but he must have been talking to me the whole time.
"…it's going to be okay, everything's going to be fine… Just calm down and it'll get better, Albus… This happens sometimes, I understand… Don't be afraid of me, please…"
His violent movements and clenching forced me to calm down and my breathing calmed down. I felt hot tears on my face again, but at least I was able to breathe and even if I didn't want to, it was easier and more comforting to burrow into his shoulder. I let my tears drip down his shirt. I pressed myself longingly into his body again. It was such a comforting feeling to have someone hug me. He pressed me to him, he didn't speak anymore. I felt my heart calm down and I was able to perceive better. After a while, I pulled away from his shoulder with one last sob and before looking into his eyes I wiped my tears on my sleeve and then all over my face. I must have looked terrible.
"Better?" he asked, holding my elbow. I nodded and looked up.
He looked different than usual and I realized it must be his dishevelled hair and slightly sweaty forehead. Unfortunately for me, I was perhaps even more attracted to this look than the modified one. I wanted to dig into him again and hug him. Remorse gripped me again and I started digging my nails into my wrists behind my back until it started to burn.
"Be'er, mhm," I stuttered, swallowing back tears. I tried to smile but I was at my wit's end. I knew I couldn't go on like this. I gasped in pain. "Gellert..."
But he didn't let me. Shaking his head, he moved closer to me and lifted my chin. Painfully and longingly at the same time, I tried to zoom out and look away, but he wouldn't let me.
"Albus, you don't have to explain anything to me. I understand," he added and I shook my head, now having to push his hand away. I came to the edge of the forest and sat on a tree stump, hanging my head and trying to hide from the world.
“You don't understand,” I whispered as I felt him approach me. I had to swallow again to suppress the urge to kiss him. It was wrong, wasn't it?
"And you'll explain it to me, then?" he said in a slightly distant voice and stopped a few steps away from me, probably looking off into the distance at the town's valley. Just the thought made me look up, and he looked exactly as I had seen him even with his eyes closed. His hair had fallen slightly, but remained dishevelled and thus slightly darker than normal. His cheeks were still slightly pink, but only slightly, so it could be the sun reflecting off his pale skin. His hands were loosely behind his back, and I could tell he was probably playing with his fingers. He was looking, with his gaze fixed somewhere away, at the view from here. As he took a breath, his eyes closed slightly and he smiled slightly at something. I couldn't break this moment.
"Albus?" he addressed me and took a few steps towards me. I felt every muscle in my body stiffen. I blinked and looked up at him. He crouched next to the stump I was sitting on and held out his hand to me. "I can?" he asked and I nodded painfully.
"But you shouldn't," I added, unable to hold it in any longer. "You should never do anything like what happened before.”
It hurt me to say it, it was worse than lying. That hurt too, but when it was for a good cause, it was bearable.
"And why not?" he asked and I had to smile sarcastically.
"Why not? By Merlin, Gellert, don't say you don't know. I doubt Durmstrang and Hogwarts are that different. Is this normal? No, it's not, you see-"
"And how do you know? How do you know it is not normal? You liked it so much, Albus…"
"Don't torture me!" I cried out, tormenting myself. I felt as if my head, my mind, and even my body and heart were only a prison for my soul. "By Merlin…" I grabbed my head, almost tearing my hair out. I tried not to knock myself out and to keep at least a little sane. However, that was too difficult after the situation I had just experienced.
"I don't want to torture you, Albus," he assured me, taking my hand carefully. I had to look away and he smiled gently. I left him only my hand now, otherwise, I turned completely to the other side. I felt my cheeks burning with the splitting of my soul. I wanted him so much with me, as close as possible, but at the same time, I wanted to remain a good and proper person. I did not want to be a monster. Why didn't it upset him too? I ran out of words, my feelings could not be expressed. I would love to hit him for what he did to me, but at the same time, I want him to start kissing me again.
In addition, for the first time since I'd known him, it all got worse when I felt a twinge of desire. I hid my face in my free hand and tried not to focus on him stroking my wrist. It was annoying and nice at the same time.
"It doesn't make you a bad person, Albus," he added after a moment, as if reading my mind, "you can't dictate who you're best with."
I frowned, took my hand back, and looked at him. "But I can choose not to be a monster. To get over it. I do not know why it's happening. I don't understand it and it scares me. I know it's wrong, Gellert. No one in the world has it like this but me, and it's just wrong. For all my great intelligence, I just belong in a madhouse..."
I got up from the stump and walked over to the tree, folded my arms and looked up at the sky, determined but confused. The clouds were starting to turn grey, it was going to rain.
Gellert also got up from his previous spot and walked up to me, so close that I had to take a step back.
"What better to do with your - our - research?" he suggested and I felt most of the weight lift off of me. I thought he wanted nothing to do with me. That she'll also think I'm a twisted monster. But his voice sounded so friendly…
"Yes, I guess so. I'm sorry for... This mess, I... I don't even know why I did it, I just suddenly..." I felt terrible. I was embarrassed and wanted to get as far away from here as possible. I wanted to erase his thoughts of all the perverted kisses with me and leave him with only our research as best friends. Maybe I can pretend we're just best friends.
Who kissed five if not six times?
Agh! I pushed the voices out of my head and tried to smile convincingly at Gellert. He smiled back, his usual lazy smile. It gave me some reassurance.
"There's nothing wrong, I've told you. You're in a difficult situation Albus, and I've added to it - if we'd met under different circumstances than after your mother's death, maybe things would have turned out differently. Maybe you would he have seen otherwise. Don't worry about it, I'm here for you if you need me." I realized that he said the same words to me the first time he said goodbye when he walked me home under an umbrella. I smiled, much easier now.
"Okay. However, I want to go back now and pick up where we left off yesterday. How about repeating the localization charm? Do you think it would be worth it?"
He shook his head. "No, no, we won't do that again. Whatever I did before brought me here, to the grave of Ignotus—and as you know, there was nothing there. And I've done the spell twice, and I can say that it's away from Scotland. No, I don't know how it works - I think it always tries to show the last owner first, see?"
I shook my head and glared at him. We were going down the hill now, I was careful not to slip on the wet roots. Gellert walked slightly ahead of me. His golden hair sparkled strangely in the sun before the storm. "I don't understand," I added and he took a breath.
"Well, I thought; the first localization charm sent me to England in general. Unfortunately for me, that was a pretty big step, but whenever I did the charm, I kept seeing different places in England—unfortunately, it was never a specific place, but rather cities or districts. Before I left for England, of course, I knew that Ignotus was buried near my great-aunt. Bathilda had written to me about it several times when I was younger, and as a historian, she thought fit to introduce me to all the various places of interest in the world and that she lived near the grave of Ignotus Peverell she was particularly proud of. It suited me well. However, when I did the spell again and at Bathilda's house, poor Ignotus's grave appeared twice. I thought that perhaps it was—but the cloak seemed nowhere to be found. Yes, according to the tale, he passed it on to his son, but I was expecting something more than what we found. He had no idea he had admirers," Gellert smiled, helping me down a particularly tall protruding root on the way down. I let go of his hand as soon as I was back on solid ground.
"Then why did it show you the grave?" I asked, still not sure, if I was getting it right, but I wanted to at least try. "You think the cloak could somehow be connected with what we found in the grave? With those poems? But that's stupid, isn't it?"
"Yes, that's silly, but I think he's simply connected to its creator. In addition, he is still lying dead in the grave. If he made the cloak, or somehow got it, the cloak must have been forever connected to him. I think he used his blood to make it. That's to be expected with such complex spells."
“So you think all three deathly hallows are black magic?” I asked with a frown and together we set off down the now groomed path down towards the village. Gellert pulled me aside to avoid a passing horse-drawn carriage.
"I don't think they're made of black magic or anything like that. No, I think it is a completely different kind of magic. Magic he never knew before them. Look at it this way; black magic usually dies with the death of the creator. All three brothers but they've been six feet under for a long time now, so I don't think ordinary black magic would be enough. Of course, all three of them were powerful, yes, they could probably make their items last, but don't you think that after so much use have they lost their effectiveness and thus their meaning?
I nodded thoughtfully now as we approached the town. Deathly Hallows seemed to be a hope that I would forget my feelings. I thought again.
"Hmm, how about starting at number one?" I asked, and Gellert and I walked down a set of stone steps leading from a dirt road to a path between two farmhouses on the edge of town. He frowned at me.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, we could start with the wand. It belongs to the first of the brothers, doesn't it?" I made sure completely unnecessarily.
"Yes, it belonged to Antiochus. He supposedly had a record few hours with it, but I do not believe that. He would not be a fool to brag about it, would he? He couldn't be the least bit stupid when he invented something so powerful..."
I nodded again and slowed down a bit, I was getting hot and stuffy from the storm. Gellert stopped, letting me catch my breath before we slowly continued on our way.
"Still, I think it's a good idea to start with him. Having that wand, so . . ."
"You can do anything in the world," he added and I could have sworn I saw a glimmer of desire in his eyes.
"Yes, and perhaps better learn where the cloak and stone are, eh?"
"It could be possible…, “he said leaving the rest of the sentence hanging in the air as he was lost in his thoughts and didn't want to talk about the stone either. The last time I had to tell him about Ariana was when we talked about it. And from then on it was... Strange. But at least I had a goal.
/GG/
Albus was much better to work with now. It was clear to me that he was so preoccupied with the deathly hallows that he had no time to think about what he felt. On the one hand, I felt sorry for him for taking everything so seriously. If he saw it as just an ordinary kiss, then, like me, he would not have to constantly run and hide somewhere. This was the second time I had caught him crying like this. We were descending the hill and I was now concentrating on my thoughts. I was not going to deal with any feelings, I was glad Albus was busy with the Deathly Hallows. Even so, I could not shake the feeling that he was extremely attracted to me. For example, his cologne.
If it were easier with him, he would let me try other things. However, he demanded love, and I had the feeling that we all see it differently and not the same. For me, love was when I had a reason to be jealous, but for him, it was the romantic entanglement that appeared in every story. He wanted to be loved, to have someone to set his heart on fire. Someone who would die for him. However, I was obsessed with him, not in love.
In my way, I loved how brilliant he is, how he can stick with something until he figures it out. I liked his approach to most things and his willingness to help and believe in me without limit. I liked receiving this love from him, but he still was not able to give me what I wanted.
I was in love, once, at least I would say I was. She was beautiful, but not stereotypically. She was beautiful by being interesting. Atypical. I was jealous of everyone who has to spend time with her. On everyone who could touch her. To all the ones she left behind. I do not know if it was obsession or love. However, the way she tried to get me and I never let her was driving me crazy. She tried so hard that she would do anything. She was afraid to swim, but she knew I was watching. She let herself go and jumped into the water so she would not be the only one who did not. And that discouraged me.
She changed because of me and was no longer extraordinary.
However, Albus did not change, not for me, not on purpose, not to convince or impress me. No, he was changing because he had to and he was still suffering. And that, in a way, attracted me the most, second only to his same desire for the Deathly Hallows.
"Look at this," I pointed to one of the maps of Scotland. We stood by Albus in the living room, both of us successfully ignoring Aberfoth's swollen complaints.
"...one can't even sit down... such a mess, if Batty saw it, she'd immediately-"
"How about you go do your homework young man?" he snapped at Albus' younger brother and I chuckled. Aberforth gave his brother an evil look, his brow furrowed under his brown bangs, and he disappeared from the living room.
"What did you say?" Albus repeated when we were alone again, leaning his hands on the map. I tapped the mentioned place again and Albus wrote it down on our list of places we were going to see. There were several buildings around the Cairngorm Mountains that we found suitable. Even so, I was starting to agree more and more with Albus' previous suggestion and was leaning towards the fact that we should get the elder wand first.
So we made a few more plans - it cost us a lot of written parchment and spilt ink, one lunch and a snack before we both realized it was evening again. Sighing, I closed the last book and walked over to Albus, who was currently bending over another map, connecting different places with dots.
"I think we should go to bed," we suggested, pulling Albus to his feet by the elbow. He stretched brokenly and yawned.
"Sure. My head is full of it and I don't even know where Scotland is," he joked, rubbing his face. It made him red and ruffled his hair slightly. He yawned again, his tired eyes wandering over my face. I put my hand on his shoulder.
"We've just been together way too long, since Tuesday, and today is Thursday, Albus…"
He frowned in confusion. "Really? We've been together... For a while," he added and I smiled.
"Yes, it got away. We met on Tuesday, I slept here with you when you fought with your brother. On Wednesday you told me about your sister and in the evening we went to rob a grave and viola, today is Thursday. You should give me rest..."
"No! Uhm, I mean… I think the time we spend together is helping me deal with… All this…" I could see him confused and struggling with his own words. He wished I forbade him to associate with him because I was attracted to him. I knew it, it was blatant and only a fool would not notice Albus looking at me. But the way he treated me suited me, so I didn't want to forbid him, even though I suspected it would save him trouble. Or maybe it would be even worse. I laughed.
"Well, well, someone got used to me. So good. I'm glad it's helping you. But now you have to sleep. Tomorrow..." Nothing kept me here anymore. Thanks to Albus, I was able to explore the tomb sooner than I expected. We could have easily left, gone to Scotland and continued our search for the mantle. That would probably be the original plan, but I met Albus. And he was the exact opposite of a burden for me. He couldn't leave two siblings alone at home and Aberforth would never come with us. Well, there's nothing left to do but wait until Albus' brother goes to school.
"Tomorrow?" Albus repeated after me and I snapped back to the present.
"You come up with a plan tomorrow. Or not, I'd like to practice wandless magic. Don't you want to teach me?" I asked cautiously and Albus' eyes lit up. Hit.
"Me? You? Of course...! But you have to come to us, I can't afford to leave again, okay?" His puppy dog eyes were eager to convince me and I couldn't say no. I nodded.
"I'll be back in the afternoon. Get a good night's sleep," I added on my way out of the living room. Albus followed me. He took his shoes off and kept his socks on - I could see why. He didn't want to run after me when I left. And we both knew he would. His tortured face, as I left, gave me something like satisfaction. I tried not to smile, not to bite my lip and not to pierce him with my eyes. I preferred to turn around while putting on my raincoat and then just give a fleeting smile.
"Goodnight Albus," I murmured over my shoulder and didn't even have to turn to see his naive and hopeful expression as I ran down the stairs into the rainy street.