A burning summer

Night, 30th June 1899

The sun had now receded its long warm rays and Godric's Hollow was becoming the realm of shadows, but Albus continued to burn. His cheeks were hot at the thought of all the kisses he and Gellert had exchanged, yet nowhere was as burning hot as his heart. Oh, how much he had missed that feeling, it was something like that beautiful bliss that had warmed his belly as a child when he had huddled with his siblings and parents around the fireplace at Christmas, only now it was infinitely more intense.

Some of his friends at Hogwarts had fallen in love and described their feelings as butterflies in the stomach. What Albus felt were not butterflies at all, it was a storm, a strong wind singing a beautiful song, they were golden flames, it was like magic.

This was what the young English wizard was thinking about as they walked back from the grove to the square. They were silent for once, they had already said a lot that day.

When they reached the point where their paths would usually part, Albus held Gellert's hand tightly in his.

"Come on, I'd like to show you my house" he said to him.

The blond didn't answer, or at least he didn't say anything out loud, Albus just knew what he was thinking. It occurred to him all the times he had told him he couldn't come to his house, but tonight he added in his thoughts that by now Gellert had entered his heart and therefore it no longer made a difference.

"Please come, we have a piano" he told him again.

At that point the other smiled: "Ah well, a piano ... it's definitely a good way to bribe me."

They walked to the house of the Dumbledores along the long evening shadows. Until a few days before the prospect of showing up at home with Gellert and explaining his presence to his brother would have terrified him, but not tonight, that evening Albus was burning with the fire of a phoenix.

When they arrived the darkness had already taken over and suddenly the auburn haired realised that as they approached the house the darkness did not decrease, there was no light that could be glimpsed from the windows, if not a very faint glow that it came from the living room.

Albus swallowed, suddenly he felt a cold shiver run down his spine. He exchanged a look with Gellert and they ran for the door.

"Aberforth!" he shouted into the dark corridor.

"Aberforth, what ...?" he called again, but stopped when he heard a voice answer him from the living room. It was Ariana.

"Hello Albus! Aberforth isn't here, he said he'll be back soon. Did something happen?" his sister asked and stumbled upon coming to meet him. She giggled in amusement when her older brother grabbed her before she could fall to the ground.

"Oh, it's all dark now, I didn't even notice!"

Her laughter screeched with his concern, almost annoyed him.

"What ... Where is Aberforth?" he asked, his head humming in a strange state of confusion. His sister took him by the hand and led him into the living room where an almost completely burnt candle wrapped in her halo of light a sheet of paper with a drawing of a bouquet of flowers.

"I was finishing my drawing and Ab told me he would go out for a moment" his sister explained as if it were obvious, Albus still didn't understand.

"Let's have a little more light, shall we?" proposed Gellert, who until then had been silent. His hand moved slightly in the gloom and all the lamps in the room lit up.

The young English wizard let his sister greet his companion enthusiastically and took a look at the candle near which Ariana had drawn, it was surely burning for more than an hour already.