The Greater Good [GrindelwaldxDumbledore]

~Chapter Thirteen~ Aberforth

Gellert didn't need Lagunas to guide him in the sky, all magic leaves traces, and the amount of magic Albus' brother tossed around left a glowing trail for anyone gifted to see it. He took the back path rather than the road, expecting there to be a neat garden gate in a well-manicured hedge or stone wall. Instead, he found an unkempt hedge stretching over eight feet tall with branches that groped and scratched at anyone that got too close.

The front of the house wasn't much better, the house looked decidedly grubby and downtrodden compared to its neighbours. The thatch was looking thin in places and a clump of mildew had started to rot out the frame in the dormer windows. Nothing but weeds sprouted up in the dry earth of the garden, even the rose that had once climbed the house had given up hope and hung listlessly from its ties.

Gellert waited on the doorstep, unsure of what to expect of the inside but hoping that due to the hours the boys spent here it might have fared better. But he also knew that Albus' mother had passed away leaving two quarrelling boys to run the house. Even so, he wasn't prepared for what hit him as he took his first steps.

The smell of damp was overwhelming, the once ornate wallpaper peeling from the walls. In the living room what he presumed was the family portrait had been turned so that it faced the soot-stained wall above the fireplace. Half of him thought it might be from their recent loss, the wiser half thought it was to shield the portrait from the mess that had become their home.

Dirty laundry clumped into various piles throughout the room. A half-eaten sandwich was growing a fur coat on a cracked plate. The side table looked as though it had been smashed up at least a hundred times and glued back together roughly, knowing it would likely be smashed up again. There was a large slash in the sofa's fabric that was haemorrhaging stuffing. He caught the faint whiff of singed hair as he got closer.

"Not quite what you were expecting, I daresay," Albus said solemnly, welcoming his owl back on his arm where he could pet her absent-mindedly. "Bit of a state isn't it?" He dropped onto the sofa, sending a fresh wave of stuffing into the air and across the seat.

"I've seen worse," Gellert said trying to spare his feelings, "You should see the damage done at the end of year parties at Durmstrang, seventh years are pretty ruthless on all the furnishings, last year they had to partially rebuild the south wall because they thought it would be funny to put an erumphant in the courtyard."

Albus chuckled and a slither of a smile played on his lips for a second. "Truth is I'm growing tired of repairing things, I wish I could do more to stop the damage happening in the first place."

"Perhaps you and your brother could form a truce, a peaceful pact, something to clear the air and give you both a break," Gellert suggested, nudging his foot against a piece of broken crockery.

"Oh I see, its all my fault," Aberforth spat, running towards them from the kitchen, "that's what you've been telling him? Bunch of lies. I'm the only one trying to stop her from damaging herself. Him, he couldn't care less." Aberforth pointed a finger at his brother.

"I'm sorry, who are you talking about?" Gellert racked his brains for an answer, the only woman ever mentioned concerning Albus was his mother, someone he had presumed dead due to the tombstone he had seen in the cemetery.

"He hasn't even told you about her?" Aberforth shook his head in disgust, "I'd stay clear of him if I were you boy, he is just out to prove himself better than the rest of us, he'll walk all over you first chance he gets. Look how he treats his flesh and blood."

"That's not true Aberforth and you know it," Albus said incredulously. He leapt from his seat and looked his brother in the eye. "She's delicate, we both know that I'm trying to protect her."