hollow // credence barebone

35. the seventh of july

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while it was not his initial plan, albus dumbledore always liked a little bit of adrenaline rush in his bloodstream. perhaps it was his inner gryffindor speaking and urging him to do something irrational from time to time. but deep down, he knew that he accepted gellert grindelwald's invitation for completely different reasons. so at this point, did it really matter what the initial plan even was? either way, he was in a crowded bus filled with berliners returning home after another busy day at work.

gellert grew up in a small village nearby berlin. one of their goals ages ago was to return here one day and try german dishes together. it was the kind of culture that knew no segregation between muggles and wizards. everybody loved a good meal.

however, as soon as albus dumbledore entered the restaurant, he couldn't think of swallowing anything at all. he smiled at the waitress as she brought him a cup of tea. he stirred in a cube of sugar and mindlessly gazed towards the clock. no, gellert was not late. it was albus who arrived fifteen minutes earlier, so he could sit and calm down his irrationally fast beating heart. staring into the teacup, he was once again plagued by memories that never seemed to leave him alone.

the summer gellert grindelwald first appeared in godrick's hollow, albus was not planning anything special. he was a perfect student and equally perfect candidate for any job he wished to pursue. he was naturally smart and ambitious, which would later earn him more trouble than life was worth it. but then again, it didn't matter what his plans were because gellert grindelwald made everything crumble right in front of dumbledore's feet.

it was really the moment he saw the blonde boy walk alone an empty street nearby empty playground. the sunset made his cheeks look rosey and his eyes brighter than a glow of a thousand stars combined. tall and slim, he paced as if the ground itself was his to take or give. confident, aloof, and charming by the very way he existed. albus dumbledore never defined that as love at first sight. he found that idea ridiculous. but the truth was, gellert grindelwald had him wrapped around his finger from the moment they looked at each other.

and then came the long summer days and nights, endless and pointless conversations, shared laughs and glasses of liquor, and oh, albus dumbledore questioned everything he'd ever known. there was no doubt to the way he fell deep and hard, with both his soul and his body. gellert was that something that words could not explain. he fit perfectly into his ideas and dreams he never accused himself of having. his life became a before and after.

if there was a moment when albus wanted to step back, it was only because he wasn't sure if he should feel that sort of thing towards another man. he might have taken a detour for a day or two, telling himself he was surely not in love with that boy. nothing but a fragile fascination that would be gone with the summer.

and then there was that night, the seventh of july. gellert had kissed him and albus was ultimately defeated and buried alongside his own doubts. there was no question of should or shouldn't. he had to. he breathed gellert like air and he'd die if he stopped.

maybe he was stupid.

but this love felt like a lightning strike that ignited him from within and make him alive. this love was not a fragile fascination, but a borderline obsession. he fell fast and hard, and never hit the ground. even now, he felt gellert's touch on his body as if the seventh of july was yesterday. all these years, all these fights, all these obvious differences that eventually made them part... clearly, it didn't matter, for it didn't make the seventh of july any less of the seventh of july. real love was when it touched only once and lasted a lifetime. albus dumbledore had long given up the idea of ever un-loving what they could have been.