Two Months of Insanity

3

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Albus blanched as realization slowly dawned upon him. " Wait just one moment, I do not have to give anyone the time of day if I don't want to, especially to a hobbledehoy who got expelled from Durmstrang, of all places, for Merlin knows what, and is wasting his time staying up till the dead of night to stalk people," He huffed at him. 

The boy let out a hearty chuckle and threw his head back in laughter. The sound tinkled like bells through the leaves and to the sky. Despite being insulted as such, he was laughing. Hard, at that. He wiped a tear from his cheek from the sheer mirth of Albus's comment and struggled out, "Ha! I do not waste my time here. I am on a mission after all, but it is very top secret,"

He held his fingers to his smirking lips in a hush-hush manner and kept his mismatched eyes trained on his elder that was starting to scowl down upon him.

But, despite the fact that he had just met him that day, the boy had hit the bullseye in piquing Albus' interest in his own private affairs. 

Albus tapped his foot, rerolled his sleeves, and folded his arms while thinking about how to extract such information from the mystery boy without seeming like a nosy housewitch. Meanwhile, the boy patiently waited for Dumbledor's answer in the cool shade of the tree using his arms as a headrest.

After turning his wheels thoroughly and pacing a trail in the grass around the washbasin, he came to a conclusion using all 9 years of his wisdom; 
"Very well, but formalities first above all else,"
 
The boy seemed to smirk to himself slightly and dusting himself off and sticking out his hand, said, "Gellert Grindelwald, at your service,"

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Grindelwald allowed Dumbledore to finish his chores before inviting him inside for tea-time and twenty questions in the cushy living room with the eccentric furnishings. The curtains were fuchsia and made the room glow pink when the sun shone through and the furniture was a golden beige that complimented the pink glow. The tables were a simple mahogany that Albus polishes weekly and really pulled the look together. He sat down with him, but before that Ariana was put down for a nap as to not overexcite her.

"All right," Gellert began, putting his tea plate down on the side table. "How shall we do this? Shall we make a limit to the questions one can ask in a row or just go back and forth?"

"We'll go back and forth. I ask one and then you ask one. Yes?" Albus replied, after a sip of his own homemade tea. 

"Yes. I'll go first; how old are you?"

"18 years. How old are you?"

"16 years," Albus was surprised. He thought Gellert looked older, but maybe it was the blonde hair. "What did you major in NEWTs before you graduated?"

"Transfiguration. Exceeds Expectation. Where are you from?"

"Central Europe. Do you live with anyone else here?"

"No, it is just my sister and I. My brother is in school. Where do you live in Godric's Hollow?"

"With my great aunt about four houses to the right of yours. What are your interests?"

"Transfiguration, obviously. On top of that, potions, Quidditch, and foreign wizarding culture. What are your interests?"

"History, Myths, and Muggle Studies... Where are your parents?"

That question hit a spot in Albus that stung a little, like a paper cut when you're eating an orange. He hesitated before answering.
"My father is in Azkaban and my mother is dead."

"Oh. I'm very sorry to hear that..." Grindelwald's demeanor changed ever so slightly to the way of empathy and he cleared his throat. "Do you mind if I pry?"

"Only if I get to pry back," Albus replied in a slightly defensive manner.

"Then it's a deal. Please, pry away." He held open his arms in a welcoming gesture, baring himself to Albus.

"Alright. Were you born with mismatched eyes?"

"No, it was a result of a transfiguration experiment I did in school." This took Dumbledore back even further and he began to look at Gellert as even more strange. "Why do you keep your sister a hermit?"

"She doesn't handle crowds well and my mother's dying wish was to keep her safe. Anything interesting I should know about you?" Albus muttered, not about to tell him the actual reason. A family secret that would die with him.

"Ich spreche Deutsch. Englisch ist meine zweite Sprache. I speak German. English is my second language."

"You can hardly tell,"

"Thank you. What's something you should tell me as we go on?"

"I want to be a teacher when I am older. I had intended to apply with the Ministry after a gap year with my friend Doge, but then my mother passed and I had to postpone it on my own. Why were you expelled from school?"

Grindelwald let out his little bell laugh again and leaned back in the chair as if he was now relaxed. "How about a little warning next time, before you pop a severely personal question?"

Albus started and set down his cup on the side table once more, turning slightly pink in the ears from embarrassment due to his impoliteness. "I apologize, I've pried too much, haven't I?"

"No, no, we're moving right along now. I feel as though you're a wizard I can trust. Don't ask me how I know, I just can. Call it an instinctual divination." His blue eye twinkled mischievously and was suddenly filled with a passion as he spoke about his expulsion.
"The reason I was expelled is as I told you. My brilliance was harshly misunderstood by the professors and headmistress, so they threw me out. But they won't forget me there. I've left my mark on a small bit of history that I intend to expand tenfold."

He calmed himself quickly and turned back to Albus with a kind smile. "Enough about me now though, more on me later. I have a question that, though I would love to hear as a curious boy, you don't have to answer. It is going to be very personal, but I feel as though it may deepen our understanding of one another immensely." His words dripped with honesty and empathy, like he already knew what Albus had been through and what his begrudging responsibilities were like now. 

Still, Albus grew nervous about what the boy would pry into next. "Well, quit spouting off about the intro, and let's hear it." He asked, hastily.

Gellert bent towards Albus, leaning off the edge of his seat with his hands in his lap and another silly smile on his face while his eyes looked serious and caring.

"What happened to your sister?"