Name: nott theodore (Signed) · Date: 14 Jun 2017 04:05 PM · For: Dream

Kaitlin!  How did I not know you'd written an Albus/Gellert story??

 

(Although, of course, you have to go and break my heart with it again.  I'll forgive you this time since there's no real happy ending for this pairing.)

 

The opening of this story was so perfect and idyllic - you sketched out such a wonderful, happy scene for us to enjoy and it was so sweet to think of them having that life together.  I don't think I've ever found a story which has even a version of what could have been for them, if their paths had turned in a different direction, so it was lovely to see this scene.  I liked the fact that you chose a subtle, quiet moment to showcase the strength of their relationship and their happiness together.  They just seemed so happy and relaxed and I really wanted this to be real for them.

 

It was a great idea to include Ariana too - I think in a way seeing her there, playing with her dolls, made me realise that this scene wasn't meant to be entirely real.  It fit better in the imagined version of reality that Albus had - and his version probably included her in this way because of what had happened and the fact that they had never truly thought of her when they planned their future - but it did make me smile to see her so happy and carefree, and part of Albus's family in a way that he doesn't ever get to see in life.

 

I thought the way that you broke down the imagined reality and brought us back to what was actually happening was really well done.  Until that point, I hadn't considered that it was anything more than Albus's dreams of what might have been that were conjuring the scene, but the realisation that he's standing in front of the Mirror of Erised is written really well.  It's around this time Harry asks what he sees there and Dumbledore lies about it - I loved that you filled in this gap in canon with your interpretation of what Albus really sees in the Mirror, and that I got to see him and Gellert happy together.  I'm clinging onto the fact that's actually happening in an alternate universe.

 

Sian :)

Author's Response:

Hey Sian! 

 

I suppose because with the quantity of stories I have on my AP, it's easy for one specific one to get lost.

 

Yeah. Usually, Albus/Gellert is always super angsty, but there had to be good moments for Albus to have held onto. I imagine they must've had quiet moments reading together or loud moments where they got excited about ideas. Obviously, Allbus has created an idealistic version of them here, but I wanted to find something that could've been at least plausible.

 

I put Ariana in it because I think in Albus' fantasy, it's not just about him having Gellert. It's about him having a whole, intact family and a sense of normalcy. 

 

I remember the moment about the Mirror of Erised being very poignant...even more so in retrospect once we know what Dumbledore has been through. For me, I always headcannoned him seeing his family happy and whole, the same way Harry does.

 

ahh. Maybe someday I'll write you a fluffy Gellert/Albus AU.

 

Thank you for the lovely review! 

 

~Kaitlin