Dictating Fate

Chapter twenty-seven

The cheers from the crowd seemed almost endless. Albus looked at everyone for a moment, speechless as he held the cup in his hands. Ember stood up as quickly as possible, clapping for his victory. As he looked around, a small smile was finally able to make way on his face. A feeling of pride washed over him as he proudly held the cup in the air, showing off what he was able to do.

The only ones who didn't yell in glee were the ones that seemed to stand out to him. Looking over at the two other schools, it was clear that they were feeling a different way. At first, he thought they were just staring at him until noticing the two others make their way out of the maze after looking behind him. His gaze set on Violet first before looking over at Gellert. He wasn't sure what he was feeling, he couldn't read his face but something in him wanted to know. Was Gellert upset that he won? Would he be mad at him? He thought about these things before remembering that this was a competition. He took a deep breath as he heard the announcer say that he was the winner, and how this be remembered in the history of the tournament.

Professor Phineas walked up to Albus, standing next to him proudly before glancing over at the other two headmasters, giving them both a smirk as if he was mocking them. Albus noticed but didn't say much, knowing that the pride held for Hogwarts was important to some.

**

After some time, the crowds calmed down and the seats started to get more empty with each passing moment, he let himself think. He did this, everything he did lead him to victory. He didn't think about these things for very long though, since seconds later he felt someone pull him into the tightest hug, almost making him fall over.

"I'm so proud of you!" Ember yelled, refusing to let go of him. Before Albus was able to say anything else, she kissed his forehead quickly before pulling away from the onesided hug.

"Thanks," He answered, noticing that Elphias and Leopold weren't around her. "The other two left you?" he asked as he got pulled along, exiting the arena for probably the last time.

"Well, kinda. Leopold had to go back, but Elphias rushed over to the common room, they're trying to get everything ready so we could hold another common room party. I hope you know how much of a big deal this is."

"It's a huge deal, it would be silly of me to not."

"Right well, I'm glad. Well then, prepare to have a great celebration, all for you."

**

It took longer than usual to set everything up, probably because no one knew who would win. Once it started though, Albus got nothing but a sea of compliments, hearing a few say that they expected nothing less from a Gryffindor like himself. He thanked mostly everyone with a few words and a kind smile, allowing himself to take in all of the emotions he felt while watching the others enjoy himself. Most of the time, the Gryffindor parties ranged from calm and collected to being completely wild, and even though this one was calm for the most part, it still felt like he was too much in a tight spot. He slowly moved away from it all, avoiding the eye contact some others tried to give as he went to the door, going outside. He let out a sigh as he felt how the air felt chilly when it was just himself.

At first, he ignored the sound of someone walking, not thinking much of it at all, well, not until he chose to look up. "Gellert?" he asked out loud. Usually, he saw him in his usual Durmstrang uniform, so seeing him in something more causal was a bit underwhelming.

"Hey," he started, " I assumed there would be a party, unless the thing Ember told me was incorrect."

"No, no there is. I just chose to step out for a moment I suppose."

"Hm, why? Is something wrong?" he asked, making Albus look over at him. He sure did ask that a number of times, and though he assumed it was all in good intentions, he felt like he thought there was always something wrong."

"No, I mean, maybe...? I'm not sure. But everything is just a lot to take in, especially how we acted to each other during the maze."

"It was a task, Albus. I hope that doesn't leave a bad taste in your mouth. We were after one thing, and sometimes you have to bring others down to get there, but that's over now."

"Yeah, I get it," Albus answered, walking a bit closer to him. "I'm also trying to take in that it's over, that soon you're...you're gonna need to go. This is the problem with meeting people like this, I meet someone only for them to go after a connection we made. Though I must admit, this is the first time this has happened with romantic feelings involved."

"I'm not going to just abandon you, there are other ways of communicating. We'll write to each other and-"

"I know that, Gellert. But that's not enough. I want to see to you in person, hear the way your voice sounds after you speak...how your arms wrap around me and feel how your lips are soft against mine-" he stopped. "Sorry, I was getting ahead of myself."

"Don't be sorry, we'll figure out something," he said before placing his hands on his waist after stepping forward, bringing him closer then what he was before. He noticed the other allowing himself, felling Albus' hands make his way up to cup his face. "Right now, we can do everything you're afraid of losing." He said before leaning in closer, his eyes fluttering shut so he could allow himself to lock lips with the other.

Albus closed his eyes and kissed him back, trying to not show how much he needed this right now, how much he believed that he should kiss him like it could have been their last. With this in mind, it wasn't surprising when Gellert ended up pulling away from it first. They looked at each other for a moment before Albus dropped his hands, and Gellert let go of his waist.

"Shall we go inside now? It's your party, after all."

Albus crossed his arms before nodding, which was enough to make Gellert speak once more.

"Good. Oh and, congratulations on the win, Albus."