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Albus was sitting in his room at Hogwarts, staring at the resurrection stone placed on his desk.
The small, polished stone shone against the light of the lamps, glowing with a small radiance.
Gellert had given him the stone just after the little show in the restaurant and, since then, Albus had barely had the courage to touch it.
It was ironic, really, because Albus swore that the first thing he would do when he had this stone in his hands would be to use it immediately. Yet here he was, staring at the stone completely motionless and stunned for at least 30 minutes.
As everyone's memories had been erased, no-one had any idea what had happened. This meant that Albus went back to living "normally" without anyone having any idea what had happened and that the resurrection stone was in his possession at Hogwarts.
When he said goodbye to Gellert, saying that the two of them would talk and sort things out later, he was advised by Gellert about the stone.
Gellert knew Albus very well, better than Albus had ever imagined. Grindewald knew he wouldn't use the stone. He was sure that he would enter into a great deal of questioning and reflection with himself and, in the end, come to the conclusion that he didn't need to use the stone to make amends for his issues. His final advice to Albus was that all the consequences of our choices should be faced in their most naked form.
Albus had to admit that he didn't listen that much at first. He was completely glued to the stone in front of him and all he wanted was to be able to use it and finally get rid of the enormous weight that had been on his back since he was 18.
Finally, he hated to admit that Gellert was right, since he hadn't even been able to touch the stone since he'd arrived at Hogwarts.
And perhaps Gellert really was right after all.
Did he really need the stone in order to sort himself out?
Years had passed since everything had happened. Bringing the souls of his sister and parents back to life might not solve anything. In fact, it could make things worse.
He was the one who wanted to talk to his family, but the big question was: did they want to talk to him?
Albus thought he had issues to resolve with his sister and parents, but perhaps they had nothing to resolve with him.
Perhaps they had forgiven him, perhaps they didn't even feel any remorse. Perhaps Albus had no reason to use the stone other than his own selfishness speaking louder than reason.
His parents knew him and so did his sister. No matter where they were, they knew who Albus was. They knew that there wasn't a day in his life that he didn't think about Ariana and his parents. They knew that there wasn't a second he didn't miss them, the longing screaming in his chest. They knew, above all, that Albus regretted with all his heart the choices he had made that had led to this whole situation. And they also knew that if he could, if he had the slightest chance, he would do everything differently and change the past.
He didn't need that. No. The relics of death promised a lot and everyone fell for their promises. But how many people talked about the consequences of using them?
The original tale of the three brothers had already shown that everyone had suffered their consequences for using the relics.
The first brother was murdered.
The second brother committed suicide
The third brother, however long he lived, spent his life hiding from death.
None of them had truly lived. They were all swallowed up by the consequences that the relics brought into their lives.
He didn't want to be another victim of fate. He didn't want to be another one of those tempted by the relics, ruining the long life he still had ahead of him just for a small moment of pleasure.
He had lived until this moment dealing with its consequences, he could very well live much longer.
Finally, Albus went to a small cupboard in the corner of his room and grabbed a small box.
He returned to his desk, picked up the stone and put it in the box. That's where it would stay for as long as it lasted. It was an enchanted box, it had no bottom and the amount of items Albus had already thrown in there would make it practically impossible to find a small stone.
/-/
Albus woke up, taking a deep breath of the morning air. Rays of sunlight streamed into his room through the gaps in the curtain and hit his face. Today, especially, waking up and breathing seemed much easier and lighter. It was as if all the weight that Albus had carried on his back for years had disappeared overnight.
He glanced at the clock, seeing that it was about 1.30 before he had to start his day's commitments, so he didn't bother getting out of bed straight away. He looked over and smiled, finally, after more than 25 years, he could look over and see Gellert standing next to him.
His grey hair fell over his still sleeping face and he breathed as calmly as a child in deep sleep. Albus couldn't help but smile once more. It was still hard to believe the whole situation. Hard to believe that after more than 20 years, Albus had Gellert by his side.
He sat up in bed and ran his hands through his hair. He didn't want to get up. To be quite honest, it was the last thing he wanted to do.
They had talked the night before, just as they had said they would. Gellert opened his heart to Albus and asked him to lose himself on his knees with all his soul. He said that he regretted all the bad things he had done and that he had finally woken up to the reality that his actions would get him nowhere.
Albus hesitated at first; while he wanted very much to believe that it was all true, fear and mistrust still filled his heart.
However, he sensed sincerity in Gellert. He felt the sincerity in his words and could almost sense his feelings.
After receiving an apology with Gellert kneeling in front of him, he finally believed him and decided to forgive him for everything.
Gellert agreed to surrender to the ministry and plead guilty to all the charges levelled against him. He would face up to his actions and deal with the consequences.
In two hours, Gellert would have to meet with the ministry to discuss the next steps in the face of his surrender without the need for his arrest.
Albus got up and started to get a fresh change of clothes from his dresser. It was only after he had finished getting ready that he noticed a slight movement in the bed.
Gellert had finally started to wake up. Covering his eyes as the bright daylight reflected against his face, he muttered something in German that Albus couldn't understand, but thought it was a swear word.
- Good morning to you too, Gellert - said Albus, smiling as he tidied his hair in front of the mirror.
- Hm, good morning - he mumbled as he sat up in bed and ran a hand through his hair - are you going to have to go now?
- Yes - Albus said softly
- Come back to bed and stay with me
Albus wanted to laugh because Gellet was talking like a child.
- I can't - he said simply, - I have a test to take today. And you can't either, remember you have to meet the ministry in two hours.
Gellert spoke again in German, but this time it was loud and clear and Albus was sure it was a swear word.
- You were the one who wanted to do this, deal with your actions
Albus spoke in a sarcastic tone, but Gellert shut his mouth. In response, Albus walked over to the bed and held Gellert's face between his hands.
- I'm proud of you - he said, placing a quick seal on his lips - I've been waiting anxiously for the day when you'd wake up and come back to me.
Gellert looked at him with such affection that Albus wanted to die right there
- And I'm sorry that day took so long, Liebe - he smiled and closed his eyes, taking Albus' hands in his, - I'm going to go and meet the ministry, if that's what you want me to do...
- No - Albus said laughing - you're going to meet and arrange your surrender because it's the right thing to do.
Gellert didn't seem to like the situation, but he just smiled and agreed. As a last gesture, Albus ran his hands through his hair and gave him one last stamp before leaving the room.
Everything was beautiful. Everything seemed so marvellous that Albus couldn't believe it was happening in his life.
And, well, he couldn't believe it because it wasn't actually happening.
Albus sighed as he grabbed the large red tarpaulin on the floor and placed it over the Erised mirror, covering up the reflections it showed him.
The reflections of a perfect life where Albus had managed to heal himself, come to terms with his problems and move on. A life where he could be by the side of the man he had loved all his life. A life where they could end up together like in the typical happy endings of fairy tales
Unfortunately, life is very far from being like in children's stories.
There was nothing more Albus could do to make that reality a truth and it was time he accepted it.
He walked in slow, trembling steps out of the dungeons. He urgently needed to get rid of that mirror. It was already the seventh alternative reality that he had seen when he looked in the Erised mirror.
Infinite and multiple are the realities where he and Gellert end up together and well, and Albus wondered what he had done to live in the only one where they can't be together.