Sharp and Bright against a Golden Sky
Jan. 3rd, 2015 03:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
starfishstarSHARP AND BRIGHT AGAINST A GOLDEN SKY
Summary: Gellert was gilded, aureate, bedazzling, resplendent; he was aureolin pigment on a blinding canvas, rays of light through beads of amber, stalks of goldenrod against a sunlit sky. And Albus Dumbledore had never before thought he needed a thesaurus just to talk about the evidence of his own eyes.
Characters: Albus Dumbledore, Gellert Grindelwald
Words: ~750
Notes: I’d been thinking vaguely about these two characters anyway, and then![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
huldrejenta specifically asked for stories about them, and I was happy to comply! I think this might eventually be part one out of three, but we’ll see.
Update! This is now the first of three in series called "Golden, Ripe and Rotten." Link to the second story at the end.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sharp and Bright against a Golden Sky
Gellert was golden.
No, that word didn’t nearly suffice. Gellert was gilded, aureate, bedazzling, resplendent; he was aureolin pigment on a blinding canvas, rays of light through beads of amber, stalks of goldenrod against a sunlit sky.
And Albus Dumbledore had never before thought he needed a thesaurus just to talk about the evidence of his own eyes.
The first time Albus saw him, Gellert was standing in the lane outside Bathilda Bagshot’s house in Godric’s Hollow, the sun forming a halo behind his head as he stood in the middle of the road with his head raised high, surveying the sleepy village, with one eyebrow quirked and something of a smirk playing around his lips. He caught sight of Albus, coming up the lane to see Professor Bagshot, who’d invited him to meet her young nephew visiting from the continent.
“Oh, hallo,” Gellert said. A hint of something romantic and foreign clung to his vowels, a whiff of the night air along the banks of the Danube or the bite of a mountain breeze high in the Carpathians.
And Albus fell.
*
If Gellert’s physical beauty was dazzling to the eyes, it was nothing to match the dizzying sharpness of his mind.
Albus possessed a lofty intellect, if he did say so himself – and he did, though not in public, for that was unbecoming – but Gellert inhabited heights of which Albus had not yet dreamed.
“Come now, Albus,” he would tease, sunlight dancing through his golden curls. Gellert was always in motion, seeming to be everywhere at once, even when they were just lounging in the long grass of the back garden, Albus scratching notes on a length of parchment as Gellert’s hands created visions in the air and his melodious voice vanished the overgrown garden in favour of a better world. “Are you going to dream or will you be someone? Winning school prizes and corresponding with decrepit academics is all very well when you are a child, but the world could be ours for the taking.”
Albus’ quill had slowed and stuttered and finally gone still, as he forgot to write and simply watched his friend. Gellert’s voice dropped lower, impossibly warm, like sun-drenched velvet.
“Have you felt true power?” Gellert whispered, his bright gaze fixed on Albus, entirely on Albus. Even his eyes seemed flecked with gold. “Don’t you want to know what that feels like, to hold raw power in your hands?”
Albus felt it somewhere deep within himself, that it was a conscious choice, a letting go. That this was a fork in the road, and the path was his for the choosing.
“Yes,” he said.
*
“Albus the white,” Gellert laughed, as they sprawled in the garden on a warm afternoon at the height of summer. “Albus the bright. You are going to be your England’s white knight, I am sure of it. Rescue your people from ignominy, bring magic back to rule.”
“And you, Gellert the strong spear?” Albus teased back. It was a novel thing, a friend with whom he could laugh. Someone who understood him, and didn’t need everything painstakingly explained. “Where will your kingdom be?”
“My kingdom will be everywhere,” Gellert said solemnly, stretching up to pluck a still-green apple from a low branch of the tree above their heads. Then his eyes danced. “The question is, will you follow me, my white knight? Will England be enough for you, or will you help me make the whole world new?”
He held out the apple and Albus leaned in, bit it forcefully to break the unripe skin, and felt its sourness explode across his tongue. He coughed, and laughed, and Gellert moved closer to lift the fruit to his own mouth, his face just inches away. He kept his eyes on Albus’ as he bit down and swallowed the apple’s tartness without flinching.
Albus leaned in again, though Gellert’s hand still held the apple poised at his own lips. He held Gellert’s eyes, unafraid now, because Gellert had surely seen inside him, Gellert who saw everything, and he hadn’t run yet. Albus bit down, feeling golden sharpness burst across his senses until his eyes watered, and Gellert, still holding the apple between their nearly-touching lips, stretched out one finger to stroke Albus’ cheek.
“I’ll follow you,” Albus whispered. “To the ends of the Earth, to the breathless peaks, to the pits of Hell. You know I will.”
Gellert chuckled, and flung the apple across the garden, its half-eaten core already discarded and forgotten. He closed the distance and met Albus’ lips.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Second of the three stories: Ripe as Summer Quinces.
Summary: Gellert was gilded, aureate, bedazzling, resplendent; he was aureolin pigment on a blinding canvas, rays of light through beads of amber, stalks of goldenrod against a sunlit sky. And Albus Dumbledore had never before thought he needed a thesaurus just to talk about the evidence of his own eyes.
Characters: Albus Dumbledore, Gellert Grindelwald
Words: ~750
Notes: I’d been thinking vaguely about these two characters anyway, and then
huldrejenta specifically asked for stories about them, and I was happy to comply! I think this might eventually be part one out of three, but we’ll see.Update! This is now the first of three in series called "Golden, Ripe and Rotten." Link to the second story at the end.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sharp and Bright against a Golden Sky
Gellert was golden.
No, that word didn’t nearly suffice. Gellert was gilded, aureate, bedazzling, resplendent; he was aureolin pigment on a blinding canvas, rays of light through beads of amber, stalks of goldenrod against a sunlit sky.
And Albus Dumbledore had never before thought he needed a thesaurus just to talk about the evidence of his own eyes.
The first time Albus saw him, Gellert was standing in the lane outside Bathilda Bagshot’s house in Godric’s Hollow, the sun forming a halo behind his head as he stood in the middle of the road with his head raised high, surveying the sleepy village, with one eyebrow quirked and something of a smirk playing around his lips. He caught sight of Albus, coming up the lane to see Professor Bagshot, who’d invited him to meet her young nephew visiting from the continent.
“Oh, hallo,” Gellert said. A hint of something romantic and foreign clung to his vowels, a whiff of the night air along the banks of the Danube or the bite of a mountain breeze high in the Carpathians.
And Albus fell.
*
If Gellert’s physical beauty was dazzling to the eyes, it was nothing to match the dizzying sharpness of his mind.
Albus possessed a lofty intellect, if he did say so himself – and he did, though not in public, for that was unbecoming – but Gellert inhabited heights of which Albus had not yet dreamed.
“Come now, Albus,” he would tease, sunlight dancing through his golden curls. Gellert was always in motion, seeming to be everywhere at once, even when they were just lounging in the long grass of the back garden, Albus scratching notes on a length of parchment as Gellert’s hands created visions in the air and his melodious voice vanished the overgrown garden in favour of a better world. “Are you going to dream or will you be someone? Winning school prizes and corresponding with decrepit academics is all very well when you are a child, but the world could be ours for the taking.”
Albus’ quill had slowed and stuttered and finally gone still, as he forgot to write and simply watched his friend. Gellert’s voice dropped lower, impossibly warm, like sun-drenched velvet.
“Have you felt true power?” Gellert whispered, his bright gaze fixed on Albus, entirely on Albus. Even his eyes seemed flecked with gold. “Don’t you want to know what that feels like, to hold raw power in your hands?”
Albus felt it somewhere deep within himself, that it was a conscious choice, a letting go. That this was a fork in the road, and the path was his for the choosing.
“Yes,” he said.
*
“Albus the white,” Gellert laughed, as they sprawled in the garden on a warm afternoon at the height of summer. “Albus the bright. You are going to be your England’s white knight, I am sure of it. Rescue your people from ignominy, bring magic back to rule.”
“And you, Gellert the strong spear?” Albus teased back. It was a novel thing, a friend with whom he could laugh. Someone who understood him, and didn’t need everything painstakingly explained. “Where will your kingdom be?”
“My kingdom will be everywhere,” Gellert said solemnly, stretching up to pluck a still-green apple from a low branch of the tree above their heads. Then his eyes danced. “The question is, will you follow me, my white knight? Will England be enough for you, or will you help me make the whole world new?”
He held out the apple and Albus leaned in, bit it forcefully to break the unripe skin, and felt its sourness explode across his tongue. He coughed, and laughed, and Gellert moved closer to lift the fruit to his own mouth, his face just inches away. He kept his eyes on Albus’ as he bit down and swallowed the apple’s tartness without flinching.
Albus leaned in again, though Gellert’s hand still held the apple poised at his own lips. He held Gellert’s eyes, unafraid now, because Gellert had surely seen inside him, Gellert who saw everything, and he hadn’t run yet. Albus bit down, feeling golden sharpness burst across his senses until his eyes watered, and Gellert, still holding the apple between their nearly-touching lips, stretched out one finger to stroke Albus’ cheek.
“I’ll follow you,” Albus whispered. “To the ends of the Earth, to the breathless peaks, to the pits of Hell. You know I will.”
Gellert chuckled, and flung the apple across the garden, its half-eaten core already discarded and forgotten. He closed the distance and met Albus’ lips.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Second of the three stories: Ripe as Summer Quinces.
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no subject
Date: 2015-01-03 11:21 pm (UTC)I'm dying!!
This is perfect, and I love it very much! Thank you!
It's beautiful, and it says so much about what pulls Albus to Gellert in very few words. It's easy to sympathize with young Albus, finally meeting someone who matches his intellect and who's charming and full of energy, talking about the world out there and what they can acchieve.
Your prose is gorgeous, and I always love it when a fic makes me look up the dictionary :) The line that got to me the most, though, was this:
He held Gellert’s eyes, unafraid now, because Gellert had surely seen inside him, Gellert who saw everything, and he hadn’t run yet.
Oh, my heart...
You're amazing, thank you so much!
(And if this turns out to be part one of three, I'm all in favour of that :))
ETA: Sorry about the edits, obviously I can't type anymore...
no subject
Date: 2015-01-04 05:19 pm (UTC)Definitely playing around with a somewhat different prose style (and making good use of a thesaurus myself!) so I'm glad you liked it!
I know roughly what parts 2 and 3 will be like, so I do think I'll write them, but probably not just yet, since this week is the week I'm moving... Warning: the relationship only gets more tragic from here on out. :-( Oh, poor Dumbledore. I do think he burned himself so badly on his first love that he never dared again.
Thanks for inspiring me to write about these two!
no subject
Date: 2015-01-05 12:28 pm (UTC)Ah yes, talk about your angsty pairing... I'm not usually one for really heavy angst, but I'm so fascinated by their relationship. And to think how it must've been for Dumbledore to meet Grindelwald in their famous duel...
(Now I actually crave an AU where they work it out, lol)
no subject
Date: 2015-01-05 09:26 pm (UTC)..."An AU where they work it out". I really can't even imagine what that would look like! Grindelwald...repents, and later becomes a valuable asset to the Order of the Phoenix? Dumbledore...turns evil and joins him in world domination? Heh!
no subject
Date: 2015-01-06 12:10 pm (UTC)I've always remained rather sympathetic towards Dumbledore, his role towards the end was certainly not one to envy. And thinking more about his youth made me feel more for him :/
no subject
Date: 2015-01-06 10:53 pm (UTC)Snowflake Challenge, Day 14 and 15
Date: 2015-01-16 10:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-01-26 09:01 pm (UTC)Such golden and romantic descriptions of glamorous Gellert ('aureate' is a new one that I must remember!) show exactly how hard Dumbledore has fallen. He's shining off the screen at me as well here. I like the parallels with another famous couple in a garden and the temptation of an apple, too. It's clear that equally as intoxicating as the physical attraction is the fact that this is someone who can challenge and stimulate Albus intellectually. (Argh, it also makes me think how lonely he must be later on.) But oh dear, I do fear Gellert has indeed seen everything, and will be using it to his own advantage.
My favourite lines:
Albus felt it somewhere deep within himself, that it was a conscious choice, a letting go. That this was a fork in the road, and the path was his for the choosing.
“Yes,” he said.
no subject
Date: 2015-01-27 05:56 pm (UTC)But oh dear, I do fear Gellert has indeed seen everything, and will be using it to his own advantage.
Well, interesting you say that, because story #2 in this series didn't turn out like I thought it was going to (what I thought about Gellert's attitude towards Albus and what I ended up writing about it are somehow very different) so if you ever feel like it, I'd actually be very curious to know what you were thinking here, what direction you thought Gellert might be going in! (And, if you happen to read the second story at some point, I'd certainly be curious to know if it seemed realistic/fit at all with what you were thinking... I'm still on the fence about the choices I made in part 2, and am wondering if I was too hasty in posting it...or if maybe there are going to need to be 4 stories total instead of 3!)
Oh, Dumbledore, yes, intellectually lonely *and* not trusting himself ever to love again! Yet somehow he seems to have managed to construct a life for himself, in later/canon years, in which he's able to get real joy from seeing *other* people love and be happy.
no subject
Date: 2015-01-28 09:40 pm (UTC)Ha! Well it clearly didn't stick in my head, lol. Though there is a lot of that book to stick, and it was actually one of the reasons why I was curious what you made of it on the book meme. I enjoyed it but it's not a book that has stayed with me at all. (The one thing that has is Susanna Clarke taking ten years to write it. Which I find greatly encouraging.;))
I shall definitely be reading part II, even though there might be a slight diversion into Sherlock waters as well. And I'm even more intrigued now I know it seems to have surprised you a little...
Yet somehow he seems to have managed to construct a life for himself, in later/canon years, in which he's able to get real joy from seeing *other* people love and be happy.
You're making me think about the significance of "Dumbledore would have been happier than anyone..." When I first read HBP, I took the line to mean he was fond of Remus and it was the perfect response to everything Voldemort stood for. Now, years on, and with JKR's comments and the later books, both thoughts are still probably valid, but there's the added knowledge that he seems to get joy from seeing others find the happiness he was denied - and also how well McGonagall knew him.
no subject
Date: 2015-01-29 11:45 pm (UTC)I definitely think of Dumbledore this way: throughout the books, he's basically the author's conduit for her life philosophy on the importance of love, and as a character, I think he's got very specific reasons for that – he learned the very, very hard way both the importance and the pitfalls of love, and he seems to have renounced any chance of romantic love for himself, in favor of helping others find it...
As for JS&MN (can we abbreviate it that way??) I agree, I enjoyed reading it, but I don't think there's a lot that will stick with me closely. It was intellectually engaging all the way through, but I found it didn't really become emotionally engaging until the very last pages, and that's a bit late!
no subject
Date: 2016-01-17 01:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-18 08:20 pm (UTC)