Until I Found You

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He looked around. Now he could perceive the room more clearly again. There, at a door, he saw Gellert standing. He looked in Albus' direction. Did he want him to come over to him? Albus stood up and crossed the room, Gellert opened the door and went in before Albus had reached it.

Before the door could fall shut, Albus held it and squeezed through. It was quite dark so he lighted his wand, "Lumos," he muttered. A stone staircase appeared in front of him, leading into a basement. Probably the pub's warehouse. Wondering what Gellert was up to and whether it was wise to follow someone he had only known for an hour, Albus went after him.

He still had his wand in case of need and to be honest, he wasn't bad at dueling, although one should never underestimate one's opponent, and Gellert seemed like a gifted duelist. And even if Albus couldn't explain it exactly, he trusted this stranger and couldn't imagine that he would attack him from behind.

He arrived at the bottom of the stairs, where he turned a corner and indeed the warehouse revealed itself before him. "Gellert?" he asked hesitantly, nothing happened for a second, but then a wand flamed out of the darkness a few feet away from him. Albus walked towards the source of the light and saw a hand that seemed to reach for his. He gave Gellert his hand and he gripped it gently. A shudder ran through Albus, but he did not find it unpleasant.

"What are we doing down here?" whispered Albus, but all that came from Gellert was a whoosh and he felt Gellert put a finger to his lips to silence him. His hand gripped Albus' chin and then slowly moved to the back of his neck. He didn't know why, but even though his heart was beating so hard that it should have been heard outside his body, he felt very relaxed and safe at the same time.

"Albus," Gellert put in, "I think you are someone very special. There aren't many people I've ever said that to. But I like you" a shiver crept down Albus' spine, with all his tension he hadn't noticed Gellert's voice coming closer to him, but now he felt his breath on his face. No matter what he had imagined would happen tonight, this wasn't it. And before he could form another thought, Albus felt Gellert's lips softly on his own.

At that moment, a thousand thoughts exploded in his head at once. He had no idea what had just happened and much more how it had happened. Only one thing he was sure of, it had felt good. Slowly their lips detached from each other "Breathe" Gellert whispered in his ear. And indeed, he hadn't even noticed, he had held his breath for some time.

He disengaged himself and looked into Gellert's blue eyes, which were faintly visible by the light of the wand. These looked directly into his. Without knowing why, a sudden impulse seized him and he kissed Gellert, who did not flinch. The latter replied and pushed him backwards slightly, causing Albus to bump his back against a shelf.

Without protest, he let Gellert take full control. The latter seemed to know exactly what to do and Albus just let himself fall. Gellert detached himself from his lips and continued to massage his neck, a low moan escaping Albus as he did so.

But suddenly a harsh noise pulled them out of their thoughts. Gellert had pushed Albus against the shelf once more, but this time several bottles had fallen out and been broken. Immediately they heard footsteps hurrying down the stairs. "Reparo," whispered Gellert and the next moment they were in a veil.

It felt as if his entrails were being pushed outwards and his whole body was being squeezed through a tube that was far too small. But as quickly as that feeling had come, it had disappeared and they were standing in an alley from which Albus could see the village centre fountain.

"I must go, but we will meet again soon Albus" Gellert said and kissed Albus one last time before disapparating.

For a moment Albus stood petrified in the alley. The last five minutes had definitely passed too quickly for him. He fled back to the cellar in his mind and felt Gellert's hand on the back of his neck as if it were still there. Albus reached for his neck, but to his disappointment there was no hand.

Infinitely happy, he made his way home.