Absolutely, you hit the nail on the head😭😭😭
This is indeed an utter tragedy, and the crux of it lies in Gellert's undeniable love for Albus.
To me, Gellert's love for him is so fervent and genuine, yet cruel and wild. It's as if he loves him in the same intensity with which he hatred for him.
In many ways, Gellert remains that 16-year-old boy from the summer of 1899, the ruthless child who seemed to value nothing else but Albus Dumbledore. While it was his choice to turn his back and flee, he behaves as if he was the one abandoned. He couldn't bear that he was no longer Albus's top priority and that Albus chose to stand against him.
His anger is directed at Newt and anyone who seems to come between him and Albus, but ultimately, his deepest resentment is reserved for Albus himself. This is because the cruel and selfish boy loved Albus with the same intensity as his hatred for him. He still stuck in the summer of 1899, lamenting with betrayal and rage, and that each provocation, every envious word, every murderous intent, all seem to silently scream:
Albus, how could you not stand by me?
HOW COULD YOU NOT CHOOSE ME?
Perhaps in the boy's heart, he and Albus were meant to be one. Even if the whole world stood against them, even if they stood on opposing sides of Ariana's corpse, he never imagined that Albus would genuinely abandon him. It was supposed to be just a temporary separation, but never a final goodbye.
He should be the most important thing in Albus's world, above all else, like air, like water, like a wand to a wizard, like the greater good to them. Albus shouldn’t even have to think about it: Gellert shouldn't be a choice, but the only one. Isn't that right?
But in the end, Albus stood against him.
Such a supremely egocentric yet inherently assumed conviction of being the ultimate priority ... I wonder if the word 'love' is even sufficient to encapsulate such a fiercely intense emotion. This feeling is so terrifying and brutal that, after that summer, it revealed a winter-like cruelty and a storm's intensity. But the passion that runs through it—the heat hotter than summer and the cold that burns like ice—is undeniably compelling and moving.
Indeed, the true tragedy is that Gellert did love Albus. He loved Albus with his entire being, pouring into it all the love a sociopath could muster, and it took him a lifetime to truly understand how to love.
In 1997, did Gellert know of Albus's death? It's something I've always pondered. And I believe he did.
Perhaps due to his Seer's foresight? Or maybe he received a copy of the Prophet in Nurmengard (even if it was outdated)? Could it have been a jailer? Or possibly someone deliberately informed him during a prison visit? (Who?)
Regardless, I believe that when Gellert received the dreadful news, beyond the heartbreak born out of love, he felt a whirlwind of emotions. To him, Albus meant much more than just a lover; losing him was like losing half of himself, a life once vibrant and a purpose once pursued. There, at his fateful end, after languishing for 50 years in prison, a mere shadow of his former self, Gellert was dealt the final blow—Albus’s death.
I’d like to believe that Gellert’s final act of protecting Albus’s grave was born out of genuine remorse, rooted in the summer of 1899 when they were but boys. Now, those boys are relived once more, with all feelings cleansed of their initial calculations and ambitions. What remains is love in its purest form.
Oh yes, Merlin, Gellert did love him.
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