There's a difference between lack of regret and taking perverse glee in the acts. [ He's not surprised by the anger and the hurt but he's also not surprised that it pushes Albus just off balance enough. A part of him thinks frightened young man is a look that suits him, but Gellert will never say as much. ] Für das höhere Wohl. You know that too. I have to be willing to do what it takes to free all of us from self-imposed tyranny and imprisonment. We're like animals in a pen.

[ He stills, taking a breath. ] I made mistakes in America. Credence was... [ His brow knits as he thinks of how to word it. Credence instead of the Barebone boy is on purpose. ] The woman that called herself his mother abused him until he was barely functional as a person, much less a wizard. The Obscurus would have certainly killed him. He could have been so much with the proper control, Albus.

[ A sigh. It's quiet. ] I could have helped him. But I ruined it when I met Newton Scamander. When I saw that he'd caught your interest, I got... Jealous. That he'd caught your eye. Things fell apart after that. [ And funnily enough this much is true. The thought that someone else's intellect could hold Albus' interest had tugged at the parts of him that can't abide being shown up.

When Albus moves Gellert watches him silently, eyes following his path. In this proximity he stays immobile. Something in him tenses when Albus first touches his face but then it drains out of him, gaze flicking away before he practically tips his head into the touch. It's been so long, after all. ]

I didn't know it was him at first. I only knew there was someone like her in New York. Credence was trying to find who it was but it was himself. For a few short moments I believed it was his younger sister. [ A self-depreciating smile. It almost suits him. Almost. ] I didn't want to make the same mistakes. [ His expression slips into a frown and-- ] Because of my foolishness the Aurors didn't listen when I told them to stand down.