A/N: Oneshot posted on my Quotev here - https://www.quotev.com/Bellatrix394/journal/5666336/Socks-Grindeldore-FanFiction
The year was 1899.
Albus Dumbledore sat under a tree in the cemetery near Godric's Hollow. He was seventeen-years-old and had just finished his seventh and final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He had graduated at the top of all his classes - easily the smartest in his year, in not the whole school.
While he was proud to proclaim himself so intelligent, it became so boring, interacting with people who could never meet the level of his whits.
So there he sat, alone, reading a book on old magic - far too advanced for wizards and witches far above his age. However, he was flying through the book as if it were a picture book. He mastered the concepts with ease. Two weeks out of Hogwarts and he had already flown through the book that sellers claimed to be impossible to understand.
Albus sighed, tucking the book back into his small bag and standing up, heading towards the house he hated to call his home. He lived with his brother and sister. His mother had died only a week ago; his father had died before Albus even began school.
Personally, Albus didn't feel too much distress; he was never close to the woman. His siblings on the other hand, were more of a mess than usual. Aberforth was enraged. He clearly hated his brother - was most definitely jealous. Albus wasn't quite sure why his brother disliked him. But honestly, he didn't quite care either. His sister though, was a squib. He had never really been sure how to feel about the girl - Arianna. She wasn't magical, but he could always feel some sort of powerful aura coming off of her that he wasn't too sure how to explain. So, he just left her to Aberforth and went off whenever, knowing the others wouldn't accept his help even if he offered it.
As he approached the doorstep of his home, he was surprised to see one of his neighbors - Bathilda Bagshot with a boy who looked about Albus' age, knocking on the Dumbledore's door.
"May I help you, Miss Bagshot?" Albus questioned politely as he stepped up to the door of his house.
"Oh, Albus! I was just coming to see you!" the woman said with a soft smile.
Albus rose an eyebrow as he pulled his keys out of his bag to get into his house.
"My great-nephew is staying with me for the summer, and he's so much like you. Intelligent and powerful. I thought you two would get along swimmingly. And, I'm sure you need someone to distract you after what happened to Kendra," she said, gesturing towards the boy at her side.
Albus glanced up at him, his eyes widening slightly. He didn't know the boy, but he had to admit, that he was very good looking. He had shoulder length, platinum blonde hair and two different colored eyes - one a pearly shade of white and the other a piercing black.
"Gellert," he said simply in introduction, holding his hand out for the other to shake. "Gellert Grindelwald."
Albus rose his eyebrow slightly, slowly raising his hand to shake the other's.
"Albus. Albus Dumbledore."
"Well, Gellert and I should get going," Bathilda said cheerfully. "But, I sure hope to see you two together soon. I'm sure you'll both get along!"
The two boys nodded at each other as a goodbye before Bathilda and her great-nephew turned around and left.
Albus let out a breath he didn't know he was holding as the two left. He wasn't quite sure what he was feeling, but he had certainly felt something when around the other. Gellert Grindelwald.
~~~
Albus sat in a small clearing in the graveyard of Godric's Hollow. He leaned against the trunk of an old tree, reading once more.
He had always come to that particular spot whenever he had spare time. It was peaceful to him. It was quiet.
He was reading a rather odd book for him - a children's book titled The Tales of Beetle the Bard. He was currently reading a story on the three brothers who met death.
"The Tale of The Three Brothers?" questioned a soft voice from behind Albus. "I've always liked that one. My mum read it to me when I was younger. Before she died, that is."
Albus whipped around to see who it was. He felt as though his heart nearly stopped, realizing that it was the boy he had met the day before - Gellert Grindelwald.
"Oh, yes," Albus muttered, standing up. "Gellert, right?"
"Yes. Albus, correct?"
"Correct."
"You know, I've heard that that story - The Tale of The Three Brothers, I mean - is true," Gellert said, leaning against the tree.
"It's just a fairy tale."
"Ah, but that's where you're wrong."
"What do you mean?"
"You know the three gifts that death gives the brothers?"
Albus nodded as he answered, "Yes. The elder wand, the resurrection stone, and the cloak of invisibility. What about them?"
Gellert stepped a bit closer as he spoke, "They're real. That's part of why I'm staying here this summer, actually. The elder wand. I tracked the current owner."
The ginger furrowed his eyes brows slightly, not understanding what the other ment. He hated not understanding. It sounded ridiculous - everything Gellert was proposing. But, he believed him. He wasn't sure why, but he believed him.
"Alright," Albus said. "Why're you telling me this?"
Gellert smirked slightly. "I can feel how powerful you are. I want your help."
~~~
And so, Albus gave Gellert his help. Not only help, but so much more. He gave him a best friend. Someone closer than a brother.
But, Albus felt more than he knew he should. He was feeling romantic attraction towards the other and he hated it. He hated that he liked other guys. He hated that it wasn't allowed or accepted. He hated that it could never happen because of the cold, unaccepting world.
The two boys were in Gellert's bedroom, Albus was sitting at the desk as the other laid upside down from the bed, twirling his wand around his fingers.
They were sitting in a comfortable silence. That is, until Albus raised his voice to speak.
"Gellert?"
"Yes?"
"Can...Can I ask you something?" Albus asked nervously.
"Of course," Gellert responded, sitting up at the serious tone in the other's voice.
"What...What do you...do you...?" Albus stumbled over his worlds as he struggled to get the question out.
"What do I what, Albus?"
The ginger wizard sighed before taking a deep breath and responding. "What do you think of homosexuals?"
"Homosexuals?" Gellert asked.
"Yes. People who romantically like people of the same sex-"
"I know what a homosexual is, Albus. And frankly, I couldn't care less about them. They can date whoever the hell they want. I don't give a shit," Gellert said flatly. "Why do you ask?"
Albus smiled slightly as he heard the other's reaction, but his expression turned to one of anxiety at the question.
"Albus?" Gellert asked. He had taken too long to answer.
"Um...yes?"
"Are you trying to tell me that you're a homosexual?" he questioned.
Albus nodded shakily.
"Albus, I honestly don't care if you like cock. You're the most powerful wizard I've ever met - besides myself of course - but, moreover, I couldn't care less about who you like."
"Really...?"
"Yes. And, to answer your next question, yes, we can legalize it in our new world."
Albus grinned as he recited the phrase the two often said to each other, "For the greater good."
"For the greater good," Gellert repeated.
~~~
Soon after Albus came out, the two were hanging out again. This time in Albus' room. He was happy to see that nothing had changed between them since he came out.
But, part of him wished that things had changed. In a good way.
Everytime Albus looked at the other, all he could think about was how badly he wanted to kiss him. It was distracting him from their plans and he hated it. But, he couldn't help it.
"Alright," Gellert said, spinning around on Albus' swivel chair. "What's your deal?"
"What do you mean?" he questioned.
"You've just been staring at me all morning!" Gellert said, exaggerating his words with another spin.
"Oh...I...uh..."
"You haven't been acting this weird since you told me you liked dick!"
"Gellert, I need to tell you something."
"Well, go on," he said, still spinning around in the chair.
"Promise me nothing will change if you think it's weird?"
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."
Albus sighed before speaking.
"Gellert...I...I really like you. Like. Really like you. Like...like like you."
"Oh, god. I think I'm about to vomit-"
"I'm so sorry! I knew it would be weird and-"
"No. Not that. I'm just feeling nauseous from all the spinning. Give me a moment," Gellert said before vomiting into a wastebin. "Oh, and about you liking me, I knew."
"What? How did you know?"
"You talk in your sleep. More specifically, you talk during your wet dreams," he said calmly.
Albus blushed violently as he remembered all the times he had slept over at Gellert's or Gellert had slept at Albus'.
"Oh my god..." he muttered softly, hiding his red face in his hands.
"It might help to mention that I like you too."
"You...you do?" Albus asked, slowly picking his head back up.
"Duh."
Albus immediately stood up and walked over to him, kissing him roughly. Gellert stood up in return and wrapped his arms around his waist, never breaking the kiss. Albus wrapped his arms around his neck, trying to get as close to him as possible.
Gellert nearly slammed Albus onto the desk, pinning his hands down roughly.
"ALBUS. SHUT THE EVER LOVING HELL UP-" came the screaming voice of Aberforth Dumbledore as he stormed down the hall.
Albus panicked, shoving Gellert off of him and into the closet.
"Stay in here," he muttered, leaning against the doors of the closet, clearly panicked.
Albus jumped slightly as Aberforth slammed the door open.
"Why're you being so loud?" Aberforth nearly screamed.
"Uh...."
"Wait. What're you hiding?"
"What? Hiding? I'm not hiding anything! You're hiding something!" Albus struggled to keep the doors closed as Gellert cursed out Aberforth under his breath, punching the door softly out of rage.
"Albus, what's in the closet?"
Albus panicked and said the first thing that came to mind - "Socks! Fuzzy, embarrassingly patterned socks!"
Aberforth looked at the other like he was insane.
"Okaaaay," the younger drew out, slowly backing out of the room and closing the door.
Albus let out a breath as he stepped away from the closet, allowing Gellert to fall out.
"Socks?" Gellert questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"I panicked!"
"Whatever, nerd," he teased softly.
"Shut it, socks."
Gellert chuckled softly, thinking the nickname would be a one time thing. "Now, shall we continue what we started?"
"Definitely, Socks."
"You aren't going to stop calling me that, are you?"
"Nope."
"Dick."
"Socks."
~~~
The year was 1991.
Professor Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry stood in front of the Mirror of Erised with young Harry Potter.
"So, if I see my parents, what do you see, sir?" Harry questioned, looking up at the headmaster.
Dumbledore smiled softly as he glanced into the mirror, looking directly into the face of his old lover - Gellert Grindelwald.
He chuckled softly as he recalled an old memory he had shared with the wizard before answering Harry's question.
"Socks. Myself with a pair of fuzzy socks."
