Forty years.
That was how long he had waited.
The man who had once set the world ablaze with his vision sat upon a simple chair, bathed in the dim glow of a single enchanted lantern.
He looked untouched by time, white-blond hair, sharp features, and the same presence that once defied empires. It was as if the final duel had merely paused him, not ended him.
His eyes, sharp and knowing, lifted as the door opened.
And he smiled.
"Albus."
Dumbledore did not speak.
Grindelwald's smile widened, slow and deliberate, as if savoring the moment. "Ah… forty years. I have counted every one of them. And yet, I waited for the moment you would return. The thread of fate is not so easily severed."
Dumbledore stepped forward, his voice measured. "And what else have you counted, Gellert?"
Grindelwald's pale fingers tapped against the armrest. "Regrets. Possibilities. The shape of the world through the eyes of those who still fear me." His gaze flicked toward Nero, sharp and assessing, lingering longer this time. A knowing gleam passed through his irises. "And now I count something new. A singularity… that made today's impossible reunion possible."
Nero remained impassive, but he could feel the weight of the gaze studying him. The scrutiny of a man who had once believed he could bend destiny itself to his will.
Grindelwald's lips curled, intrigued. "It is you, isn't it? The catalyst. The one who unravels the carefully woven pattern of fate. I have seen the possibilities, the shifts in the fabric of the world… and always, you stand at the center. A ripple that provokes a wave."
Dumbledore's jaw tightened ever so slightly. Nero watched as something unspoken passed between the two men, something beyond words, beyond history.
"He is my grandson," Dumbledore finally said.
Grindelwald chuckled. "Family, Albus? You have always been a man bound by duty, not by blood. And yet, here stands your kin, an heir to the legacy you spent a lifetime avoiding."
His gaze lingered on Nero, sharp and assessing.
"Tell me, Nero," he said, voice smooth, "does your grandfather attempt to shape you into his own reflection, or does he leave you to carve your own path?"
Nero tilted his head slightly, studying the man before him. He could feel the weight behind the question, the way Grindelwald's eyes searched him, dissecting, probing, drawing conclusions before a single word had been spoken. The air between them crackled with unspoken tension.
When he finally spoke, his tone was calm, precise. "He doesn't shape me. He lets me see who he is. What he's done right… and what he hasn't. I learn from both."
Grindelwald's lips twitched, something between amusement and approval flickering in his eyes.
He leaned forward slightly, his fingers tapping a slow rhythm against the armrest.
"A flattering way to frame a man who chose absence over action. Still… it says more about you than him."
Nero met his gaze without flinching. "No one is without flaw. Not him, not you, nor me."
He let the words settle, unyielding. "He may have spent decades standing still, but he gave everything for others, never to himself. And now, unlike most, he's choosing to confront the regrets he's carried all this time. Isn't today's reunion proof of that?"
Grindelwald chuckled, shaking his head. "Ah, the conviction of youth." His white-blond hair, caught the lantern's glow. "Nero, do you truly believe his willingness will change anything? That a man who has spent forty years in hesitation will suddenly become the warrior fate requires?"
Nero's expression remained unreadable. "That is for him to decide."
Nero glanced at Dumbledore. "To be honest, I just hope that he can do what he wants to do, instead of following what the masses expect him to. I will stand by him no matter his decision. I just hope that this will not conflict with my own path in this world."
Grindelwald laughed. A low, genuine sound that echoed through the cold stone."Honest. I admire that. It's a rare thing in a world so eager to dress truth in finer lies."
His gaze slid back to Dumbledore, sharp as ever. "You got yourself a good grandson Albus. But you did not come here for introductions, did you?"
Dumbledore's hands rested against the back of a chair, his grip firm. "No."
Grindelwald leaned forward. "Then say it."
A long pause.
"Gellert... you are right. I have been stagnant, like frozen in time, since our last duel, and even before that." Dumbledore admitted. "I convinced myself that my inaction was wisdom, that my passivity was restraint. That by remaining an observer, I was preventing another tragedy."
Grindelwald stilled, his fingers pausing mid-tap on the armrest.
The amusement faded from his eyes, replaced by something heavier.
When he finally spoke, his voice was quieter. "What about now?"
Dumbledore exhaled, a quiet breath that carried decades of weight. "Now, I see that I have simply been afraid."
Silence.
Grindelwald's gaze sharpened. "And what, Albus? What have you been afraid of?"
Dumbledore did not hesitate. "Of becoming you."
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then, Grindelwald laughed again, softer this time, shaking his head. "Ah, Albus. Even after all this time, you are still the same. Do you think you are the first man to fear the weight of his own hands? Do you believe that by doing nothing, you have kept them clean?"
Dumbledore did not answer.
Grindelwald's voice lowered, his tone almost gentle. "I was a fool once, Albus. But I have spent forty years in this cage. And you? You have spent forty years in one of your own making."
Nero observed silently. The tension between them was a quiet storm of complex sentiments.
Dumbledore inhaled deeply, then took another step closer. His gaze, filled with something unreadable, locked onto Grindelwald's. "Do you regret it?" he asked quietly.
A pause.
Grindelwald tilted his head slightly, his expression momentarily unreadable. Then, ever so slightly, his fingers curled against the armrest. "Regret…" he mused. "Such a fragile thing, Albus. It changes nothing. But tell me, would you regret it if our vision had come to pass?"
Dumbledore's expression hardened. "I would regret the path we took, Gellert. Not the desire to change the world, but the way we sought to change it."
Grindelwald studied him for a long moment, something unreadable passing through his gaze. Then, he gave a slow, knowing smile. "Then you are a better man than I was."
Dumbledore exhaled, as if those words carried the final confirmation of something he had long refused to admit to himself. His hands clenched briefly at his sides, then loosened.
"I will move forward, Gellert." Dumbledore said, his voice steady now. "I will no longer remain at a standstill."
Grindelwald's eyes gleamed with something close to satisfaction. "And what do you intend to do, Albus?"
"I will do what I believe is necessary." Dumbledore said simply.
Grindelwald hummed. "A dangerous thing, for a man like you."
Dumbledore's gaze did not waver. "Perhaps. Time will tell."
Silence stretched between them.
Then, Dumbledore straightened, his blue eyes fixed on the man he had once loved.
"And you, Gellert?" he asked, his voice quiet but firm. "Will you stay in this cage forever?"
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