Author's Note: This is written for the Battleships Challenge in Diagon Alley II. I'm sailing S.S. The Greater Good, which is Albus Dumbledore/Gellert Grindelwald, so this will be a 10-part collection of one-shots that highlight moments in their life together. Pieces are dated, to make it easier. For this piece, the prompt was first meeting.

As always, reviews are lovely, and appreciated, and make me squee like a fangirl. I've written a lot of Grindeldore and always want to try to make sure I approach it in a fresh, new way. But I want to thank some lovely readers/reviewers who have seen most of them and still read them (and hopefully don't groan when I come out with more): .Xanda, Gitana del Sol, NightmarePrince, and alyssialui.

[1899]

"Where should we go first?" Albus spread the map out on the table of their room in the Leaky Caldron as he spoke. There were twinkling stars marking their intended destinations. It was a bit flamboyant, perhaps, but the circumstances warranted it. This was his chance to escape the infernal grasp of Godric's Hollow, once and for all. "What about Egypt? Lots of history there, plenty to see. We could visit the wizarding communities in the desert. Or we could go to the Amazon. Imagine the things we could discover in the rainforest!"

Elphias pulled himself up to sit on the edge of the table, wrinkling the map in the process, and Albus shoved him back off with a huff, smoothing out the parchment.

"What about Romania?" Elphias asked, pointing to one of the twinkling dots in Europe. "We could go see the dragons."

"We've seen dragons before. We should start this trip off with something more grandiose than that."

"All right, how about Greece? Lots of history there, too. You never know what we might find. We could study the Chimaeras for a bit. From a distance, of course."

Greece? It certainly was ancient enough and had plenty of history to explore. It had birthed quite a number of powerful wizards—Herpo the Foul, Andros the Invincible, and a plethora of famous Seers. It was also regarded as a place of many firsts, including both the initial Basilisk and the first Animagus. Perfectly suitable to be the primary destination of what promised to be a Grand Tour, as well.

"Greece it is!" he declared, tapping the map lightly with his wand. It immediately shuddered and began tucking itself back into a small, tidy rectangle that he then stuck back in his robes.

Elphias pulled himself back onto the now-vacant table and kicked his legs hard against the wood, creating a drumbeat bass for their conversation.

"Mykonos," he sighed dreamily. "Just imagine all the big-shots who are likely vacationing there this time of year. Think I can gain some political clout while I'm there? Work on getting connections?"

"If anyone can, it'd be you. You're the smoothest talker I know."

Albus pulled a journal out of his bag and thumbed through it. Little was truly known about the Chimerae, and even his notes on the subject were pitifully sparse. Still, he wondered if it was possible to tame one. Or a whole group of them, even. They would make powerful allies, in any case, and an interesting study. Oh, sure, they were classified as XXXXX and were well-known wizard killers, but he could hold his own just fine.

"Besides you, of course, is what you really mean."

Albus glanced up from his book to find Elphias staring at him with a goofy, lopsided grin plastered on his face.

"Don't sell yourself short, Elphias. While it may be true that you can't match me as far as magic is concerned, your people skills far outshine my own."

Elphias went to argue, but his words were drowned out by a sharp rapping on the window. With a frown, he ceased his kicking and slipped off the table.

"You don't think it's my mother again, do you?" he asked, frown deepening as he knitted his brows.

"You know she worries. After all, you're the last chance to keep the pure Doge line alive. If something happened to you, it'd go extinct. Can't have that."

"What's really going to do me in is all these owls. This is the fourth so far. Can you believe that? Four. In one day."

Albus shook his head and smiled, flipping his notes to 'Three-Headed Dogs.' They were rare and wondrous creatures, and, from what he had heard, Greece was the best place to find one.

When he glanced up, Elphias had paused in front of the window, hand outstretched, and Albus could almost feel the inner turmoil flash across the man's face. To open it, or not to open it.

"Go ahead. If you don't, the next thing she sends is likely to be a Howler."

With a reluctant sigh, Elphias pulled the window open, but the owl soared right past him.

"What's this?" Albus frowned at the letter that had been deposited in his lap. He picked it up gingerly, inspecting the frantic, scrawling print that addressed it to him. He'd recognize that lousy excuse for handwriting anywhere. Aberforth. For a second, he considered placing it aside and claiming that he never received any letters. But if it was important...

Against his better judgment, he opened it and began to attempt to decipher its contents. His brother's writing was worse than usual, but he had at least managed to keep the message brief.

There's been an accident. Mum's dead. Come home.

His breathing staggered, and the walls of the room felt like they would crush him at any moment. Of all the sick jokes...of all the possible pranks...

"What's it say?"

Albus read the note again, and then reread it once more for good measure. No, this wasn't a prank. Aberforth was dimwitted, for sure, and impulsive, and mischievous, but he wasn't wicked.

"Albus? Are you all right?"

He glanced up at the voice and suddenly became aware that there was another person in the room. His hands were shaking, and he tried to steady them as he slipped the note back into its envelope. He had to go back. There was no avoiding it. They needed him.

"I'm afraid you'll have to go on a Grand Tour without me, Elphias." The calmness in his voice surprised Albus when all he really felt like was raging against everything. If he didn't control himself, if he didn't hold it all in, he was afraid the magic would come spilling out on its own accord, and the ensuing wreckage would be less than pretty. "It seems my mother has died. I need to return to Godric's Hollow."

Even as the words escaped, he barely believed they were true. It had been perfect, everything planned just so. If he could just break free, his brilliance would certainly lead to greatness. If only he could get out from the shadow the vexatious town cast, his genius could shine.

Every time he tried to stretch his wings, he was pulled back into that dank, festering hellhole. Albus was starting to get the feeling that he would waste away and eventually die before ever having the chance to escape Godric's Hollow.

…o0o...

Gellert stopped just outside the door, tracing the gold lettering with his eyes. He ran a hand through his long, blond curls, inhaling simultaneously to steady his nerves. Now was no time to misrepresent himself. It was important that he maintained his composure, regardless of what happened.

When he was positive he had collected himself, he knocked lightly and waited for the invitation to enter.

"You wanted to see me, Headmaster Hadzi?"

"Mr. Grindelwald. Please, sit."

The headmaster motioned to the chair across the desk from him, and Gellert acquiesced, folding his hands in his lap.

"It has come to my attention that you have been performing some...unsavory, shall we say...spells within my walls."

"I'm not sure I know what you mean, sir."

Gellert locked eyes with the old man, searching through the muddy-brown pools—probably so colored because he was full of shit—for any answers they might divulge. All he could determine was that this meeting wouldn't bode well for him.

"It's no secret that you've never been particularly good at following the rules..."

Gellert wanted to argue that he followed the ones that made sense. The rest were obviously written by incompetent gits who were likely inebriated, judging by the horrible logic that went into them. Instead, he bit his tongue.

"...but the rules are there for a reason. We pride ourselves on having a certain atmosphere here, one that is based on order."

"Have the other students complained of my so-called 'unsavory spells'?"

"Well...no, not explicitly."

"Do you have any proof other than rumors?"

"I have a student, who is stuck in a rather unfortunate phase of a botched Animagus transformation, who says that you used Dark magic to try to force her into becoming an Animagus."

Of course. He had been so sure that he had chosen his subjects carefully: all determined wizards who were interested in perfecting their knowledge of Dark Arts, regardless of what the cause entailed. Until one of them insisted on involving his rather lily-livered younger sister, whose magical prowess could fit in a thimble.

Gellert had accepted the challenge, only because she was the closest he could get to a Muggle without actually finding one. If he could amplify her magic, then there might just be something worth pursuing in that vein of research.

"I didn't force her to undergo anything, merely encouraged her academic pursuits."

"I'm sure you did."

The headmaster looked a lot like a rat, Gellert realized, as he leaned back in his chair and drummed his fingertips together. He had a long, gaunt face with high cheek bones and teeth that were clearly too large for his head, and the effect was only further highlighted by the way his smugness lent an eerie glow to his features.

"The problem, Mr. Grindelwald, is that this isn't your first transgression, and someone with your mentality poses a risk to the well-being of the school. I can't have students experimenting on each other."

"You have yet to prove that any of these rumored experiments ever occurred."

"The beauty of being headmaster is that I have no burden of proof. We are both well aware of the truth here, and you have no intention of yielding to any sort of authority. As such, I have no choice but to expel you from Durmstrang."

Gellert stood up stiffly, clenching every muscle in his body in an attempt to keep his composure. If he didn't, if he was unable to steel his emotions, the resulting wreckage would be impossible to explain away. He left the Headmaster's office without a word, convinced that the old codger wouldn't like any that he had to offer, anyway.

He left the school without looking back. There was no sense in arguing with his expulsion. It had been a long time in the making, with the way Hadzi both feared his wit and coveted his talent. That was fine. Durmstrang was holding him back from everything his future held, anyway.

Before he left the school grounds, Gellert made sure to leave his calling card on a wall of a school: a circle within a triangle with a line bisecting the two. Future generations would know he had been there, even long after he was gone.

Gellert turned his attention to the dank, festering hellhole that his great-aunt lived in: Godric's Hollow. There was surely something to be learned there, the resting place of one of the Peverell brothers, as long as he didn't wither away and die of boredom first.

...o0o...

Enough was enough. When Gellert could tolerate his great-aunt no longer, he made his way to the graveyard, where he knew the villagers were hesitant to go, drew his wand, and let the magic flow of its own free will. It emerged in explosions and bursts of flame, which he targeted at nearby leaves, relishing the way they shriveled and crackled in the quiet night.

...o0o...

Enough was enough. When Albus could tolerate his siblings no longer, he escaped into the cool, night air and trudged down Church Lane toward the graveyard. He had hoped to be alone, what with the rumors of it being haunted causing most to give it a wide berth. Instead, he was greeted by the intermittent flash of fire and the crackling of burning foliage.

...o0o...

"Do you have a grudge against that particular bush, or do you just enjoy setting random things on fire?"

"You object to my actions?"

There was a brief pause.

"No. Burn it all down, for all I care. It'd be the most interesting thing to happen around here in quite some time."

Two pairs of blue eyes locked with each other, warring over dominance, sizing the other up. Neither bent under the scrutiny; neither broke the connection.

Gellert smiled, slowly, and Albus followed suit.

"Gellert Grindelwald."

"Albus Dumbledore."

(The next day, they would be introduced formally by Bathilda Bagshot, and they played along because the night belonged to them, and the secret was theirs to keep. It was one of many they would share.)

Image Credit: "Harry Potter Deathly Hallows Wallpaper" by MrStonesley on DeviantArt.