Grindeldore || Oneshots || ATadBitAHistory

Do You Like My Brother?

Gellert was reading Ariana a bedtime story, exactly to Aberforth's standards of course. Which translated to nothing over a five year old's picture book, so not exactly fourteen year old, Ariana's usually cup of tea.

Gellert had forgotten most of it the minute he had put it down, something about a Grumbling Goat? He had became friends with Ariana... no, less like friends, more of an acquaintance for when Albus wasn't there. She was decent company, but always had struggled socially, and hardly ever spoke to anybody but him, and even then, she stayed almost silent.

She did have opinions, so many of them, but voiced very few. Gellert excelled at legilamency, If he wanted to snoop around in her head to find her thoughts, he would have done it long ago. But he hadn't. He respects her privacy.

"That was absolutely dire", Gellert exclaimed, through obvious boredom, it was really that difficult to sit through. Ariana giggled. "Does Abe really think that is suited to my reading level"?

Gellert found it a lot more amusing that it was likely just suited to Aberforth's reading capability. "More like if it is just Aberforth's level of reading".
They burst out in Fits of giggles before hearing somebody knocking on the banister from down the stairs. "Will you kids, please be more quiet"?

It was just Bathilda. Gellert's great aunt, he was living with her for the time being. Free temporary accommodation wasn't exactly a deal breaker either, so he'd been staying for a good 4 months now. He had a big fight two months before, with the Dumbledores, but luckily nobody got hurt. Although he was almost officially in her bad books.

Aberforth and Albus were both at a funeral over in Wales, so he and Bathilda took Ariana in to stay with them for the next four days. But it isn't as if Ariana and Gellert had actually intended to listen to Aberforth anyways.

Gellert was going to borrow one of Bathilda's books for Ariana, she Can't be dragged down by below level literature.

"Aberforth thinks I'm incredibly stupid". Gellert looked up. He seen a handful of negative expressions plastered on her face, something she never shown with Aberforth. He had assumed she thought very well of him. Gellert wanted to ask further.

"What do you mean"? Gellert did want to find out more, mainly about what she thought. "Pardon me Gellert, but if we are being realistic he didn't tell you to read me books at nursery level because everyone thought they had the most intriguing content". She reached into the bag she had at her side for an hour glass styled timer, it counted thirty seconds.

Gellert always wanted one of them, just to watch the sand fall to one side, then another. They sat and watched the timer until it was up. They looked back at eachother again, Gellert went to tilt it to the other side before Ariana put the timer away again.

"That's better. He thinks I struggle with that sort of thing, I don't necessarily, if anything he's got a problem with taking in words on a page, but that's beside the point. If Albus was doing that to him, I think he'd tear the house down for accusing him of stupidity".

Gellert guiltily laughed at it, trying to imagine Aberforth literally tearing a house down. He stopped abrubtly, realising Ariana wasn't seeing the same thing.

"Oh no Ariana, he's looking out for you, well, he believes he is, he just struggles to understand". Despite all of Gellert's best wishes, he only said nice things about Aberforth. Ariana tilted her head, perplexed as to how he could possibly be confused by something so simple.

Gellert didn't need to ask her for her question he already assumed it was implied. "You struggle socially, not intellectually, it can appear that way to somebody else, but you know you aren't daft".