A-Friendship-Cherished (I) [Chapter 298]

“Hello Albus, how are you?” Gellert asked as he stepped into the cell where his old friend was being kept. Albus used to visit him when he was imprisoned in Nurmengard, so he thought that maybe, he should return the favor. He might be willing to kill Albus, but he still considered the man a friend.

“So, you finally decided to pay me a visit, old friend?” Albus asked with a faint smile on his face as he slowly turned around to face his old friend. There was nothing in the cell to keep him occupied, so he usually meditated while revisiting his old memories, wondering what he should have done differently.

“I have been meaning to pay you a visit, but I have been busy with everything going on” Gellert answered as he pulled out his Wand and Conjured a chair for himself. Albus didn’t miss the fact that Gellert was still using his old Wand, which meant Harry was probably in possession of the Elder Wand.

“Oh. Tell me” Albus asked eagerly. All of his meals were delivered by House Elves, but none of them ever appeared in front of a chart. So, Albus was well and truly confined in the cell with no means to gather information or the goings of the world. A part of him was afraid that it was probably too late.

Gellert gave him an excited look as he began to speak. “My friend, a lot has happened in the past few days. Did you know that there is a secret organization called the Royal Mages, whose sole objective is to protect the Royal Bloodline?” Gellert revealed and Albus had to admit, he knew nothing about such a group.

“Fascinating and they have been functioning for centuries, right?” Albus asked, looking equally excited and after getting a nod from Gellert, his excitement only seemed to increase. “Truly fascinating” Albus muttered gleefully.

“Then you will hate to know that they decided to mess with Harry and he decided to mess back with them. Unfortunately for them, they bit off more than they could chew” Gellert revealed gleefully. He might care about his old friend, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t going to make his life miserable.

Albus lost all of his excitement. “...I see” Albus mumbled with a pained look on his face. “Are they dead? Did Harry kill all the Royals?” Albus asked in a fearful tone, already fearing the answer. With Harry aware of the Horcruxes, Voldemort would lose, eventually, and with Voldemort gone, there would be nothing to stop Harry.

“Surprisingly, no” Gellert answered with a shake of his head and when he noticed the askance look on Albus’ face, he decided to elaborate with a smirk on his face. “The leader of the Royal Mages is smart. She knew when to cut her losses, so she surrendered and cut a deal with Harry” Gellert explained in a slow tone.

“And as for the Royals, they are still alive, but if they decide to mess with Harry, then they won’t be for long” Gellert revealed with a smile on his face.

For a moment Albus didn’t know what to say… “I see… Then you must be really happy. Isn’t this what you wanted? The Muggles living under us?” Albus asked solemnly, but Gellert gave him an annoyed look.

“Don’t act like you are a saint, Albus. You also wanted to enslave them” Gellert pointed out with a sneer, but he ignored the rest of the questions since a part of him was glad with what Harry was doing. Now, only if Harry had any desire to take over the world.

“I was young and foolish-” Albus began to speak, but Gellert cut him off with a scoff.

“You can give as many excuses as you want, but that is not going to change the truth. If it wasn’t for Aberforth then you would have joined me and we would be already ruling the world. There would have been no Voldemort. No Voldemort means no Hhadrian Potter” Gellert gushed out while glaring at the old man.

Albus opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out of his mouth. Maybe, his old friend was right… If Aberforth had never arrived on that fateful day, then the three-way duel would have never happened, Arianne would have been alive, and he would have joined Gellert’s campaign.

However, he couldn’t live his life thinking about what-ifs… Arianna might have died that day, but her death managed to open his eyes, otherwise, he would have become a monster not very different from either Gellert or Voldemort. “Maybe, I was never meant to join you” Albus pointed out.

Gellert hummed at those words. “Probably…” Gellert agreed. The would have been a very different place today if Albus had joined him. “Recently, I faced Voldemort. He wasn’t anything you made him to be. He is dangerous, I wouldn’t disagree. He has too much power but no finesse” Gellert revealed.

Albus perked up at the revelation. “Truly? You have faced him?” Albus asked, eager to know how his friend fared against the man.

“Yes. Would you like to watch the memory?” Gellert offered. There was nothing his old friend would be able to do with the memory since Harry didn’t have any plans to let him go. Albus was going to die whether he liked it or not. Either Harry was going to kill him here, or wherever Harry fancied. That much was certain to Gellert.

“Do you have a Pensieve?” Albus asked, but Gellert simply shook his head.

“I am afraid that we would have to do this old way. I hope you are still good in Mind Arts” Gellert said with a smile, earning a smile from his friend.

Albus was always gifted when it came to Mind Arts. He was already better than Gellert when they were young, and he had only improved since then. “Well… It is not going to be easy without a Wand” Albus mused aloud as he stared straight into Gellert’s eyes. Gellert felt the probe against his Shields and allowed the man to enter.

Gellert decided that maybe he should visit his friend from time to time so that they could catch up like they did in the good old days…