“Aberforth, listen to me. Gellert and I only want to do this for the wealth of others. We want the world to be free of all the prejudice and want all Muggles and magic folk to live harmoniously…”

“…You say all that so easily, Albus, but how can you be so sure it will all come true? Ariana needs care. I can’t possibly do that on my own, Albus, that’s why I’m telling you not to go with him. Who knows what expeditions Gellert will lead you on? You could end up dead! I cannot afford that, Albus, you know it. Not one more…”

“…It’s all for the greater good of mankind, Aberforth, trust me…”

“…Codswallop, it’ll only lead to deaths, mark my words…”

“…Aberforth, if I may support Albus’ statements…”

“…Shut up, Grindelwald! Nobody asked you to speak!”

“Well too-bloody-bad! I will talk! Albus and I only want to do this for the majority, even if you choose to be so narrow-minded and caught up in old ways! We want peace of mind for the nations. We want harmony among all races and magic and non-magic folk. Would you stop being so selfish and look at them! They need us…”

“…You Merlin-forsaken bastard. They are the ones who exiled us in the first place! All this talk of ‘changing the world’! For the ‘greater good’ indeed! Vain ambition is more like it! Albus, you have brains. Go be a teacher, go be the breadwinner like you’re supposed to be, like it was entrusted to us when Dad got sent to prison and when Mum died. I’ve already got my hands full taking care of the house and I cannot afford for you to leave!”

-

The ‘discussion’, as Albus Dumbledore had proclaimed it to be when he had called his brother, Aberforth, from his chores, was not following along as it was first planned. What had begun as a civilised talk between peers had eventually evolved into Albus having to stand in between his brother and his friend, Gellert Grindelwald, the latter ready to rip Aberforth to shreds for his comments.

Albus and Gellert had been friends for a few months. They shared the same interests and had the same aspiration – to have harmony, peace and justice for the world’s underdogs. They wanted to have civility for a change. They wanted to do something right for the world as a whole, even if it meant sacrificing a few souls on the way. Both wizards believed that witches and wizards were a higher order of human beings, and therefore, should rule the world. Both apparently only wanted what was best for the majority of the minority, rather than vice versa. They had thought that by travelling and understanding the world’s many cultural environments and habits over the next few years would they be able to start their plans to promote their ideas and beliefs. But Aberforth thoroughly disagreed with them. He felt that Albus needed to share the burden of looking after their younger sister, Ariana, an emotionally-unstable, traumatised witch.

“Step out of the way, Albus,” Grindelwald growled, his teeth gnashing and eyes glittering with anger. “Aberforth deserves what he’s going to get.”

“Oh, I do, do I?” the older Dumbledore advanced.

However, Albus defiantly stood his ground. “Aberforth, Gellert, be reasonable! Let’s just talk this through calmly.”

“We’ve done all the talking that’s needed, Albus,” Aberforth snarled, extracting his wand from his grubby shirt pocket and pointed it over his brother’s shoulder at their guest. “Leave now, Grindelwald, before I do something you’ll regret.”

“Your level of expertise with magic astounds me, Aberforth; really it does,” Grindelwald made no mistake at pointing out with utmost sarcasm, only causing Aberforth to step forward menacingly. Albus quickly retrieved his own wand from a side table and pointed it at his brother.

“Aberforth, don’t do anything rash. Don’t you move either, Gellert!” he commanded, his eye on Grindelwald and his wand on Aberforth.

But neither were listening. Neither could hear the very desperate plea for their sanities to be intact. Both opened fire upon one another and Albus had no choice but to move away lest he got hit. Resigning to defeat and defence, Albus pulled his own wand on both, trying to get Gellert and Aberforth to stop the fight. His own spells were advanced, but his brother and friend were dodging them expertly.

Albus heard movement close by that had no connection to the ongoing battle and as he fired spells, gazed frantically around the room to see who had returned. His eyes fell on the doorframe by the staircase. Ariana was standing by it, looking shocked and ready to scream and cry.

“Ariana! Sister, get out of here!” Aberforth tried to call out over the noise of the conflict. “Go back to your room!”

But it was no use, she could not hear him. She entered the room nonetheless, her eyes fixated on the skirmish. The spells fired made it difficult to see, difficult to locate Ariana throughout the mess and flurry of spells. Red, green, blue, orange; all the colours of the rainbow were distracting Ariana, whose brothers were desperately coaxing her to get out of the room. They could not get to her, which was worrying them greatly.

The fight was intense and Gellert’s excitement coupled with the busyness of the situation fuelled the fires more. The Dumbledores were annoyed with him and the fact that he could remain so calm, collected, and most importantly, the fact that he could enjoy being in such a disarray. He was casually shooting spells at both brothers, willing them to stop, but not stopping himself. The look of glee on his face showed his intentions for them should they cross his path and push the right buttons.

However, none of the Dumbledores got that far. All of a sudden, there was a loud thud on the ratty wooden floorboards. All three wizards stopped. The thud was deafening. Looking around, they found, to their horror, Ariana Dumbledore dead by the doorframe whence she arrived.

---

Author's Notes: I'm finally completing this chapter. This was supposed to already be a song-based chapter, but I decided to hold it off one more just so I could have a prologue. Nothing lengthy, just an introduction. Reviews, constructive criticism and comments appreciated :)

Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling.