Chapter 42
ALSBUS DUMBLEDORE
Many years ago, three Muggle boys had come upon a troubled little girl. The little girl was a witch who had just been introduced to the world of magic, and seeing the little girl doing these unspeakable feats, the three boys had attacked her.
They were so brutal in their attacks that the day of excitement soon turned into a tragedy as the girl's magic became convoluted, and the girl turned into an obscurial.
Few people remembered the girl or the three boys today. Yet he remembered them all rather clearly. He remembered them, for the girl was his sister Ariana. And those three boys became the catalyst for the events that would then ultimately lead to the rise of Grindelwald.
It was a tragedy remembered by no one, and yet those three boys were the first time Albus had ever raised his wand to end a life. That had been the start of his journey onto a path that would lead him to his friendship with Grindelwald, a partnership that would only end after he would see the folly of his ways.
Yet that realization would come at the cost of his sister's life.
The world believed that the three boys had been killed by their father, Percival. But that was a lie. No. It had been him. The three of them had died by his wand, and yet his father had given him a chance to redeem himself. The world had given him a chance at redemption, and perhaps that was why Dumbledore believed so much in forgiveness.
Not because he was a pacifist. No, for he knew that without forgiveness and a second chance, he would never have become the man that he was today.
Still, even Dumbledore has his limits, and the sights in front of him pushed well past them all. He was aware of that the year ahead would be a troubling one, for war was tearing up the outside world.
He had hoped to provide the younglings peace and hope in this time full of hate and despair, yet Voldemort had taken that away from him.
The carnage that he had witnessed on the Express had made his blood boil with rage, as he realised that perhaps he had been mistaken in his kindness, and that the mercy he offered had been a mistake indeed.
The world thought him old and frail, but they did not know that his defeat of Grindelwald had come with a boon itself, for he now possessed the wand of Death itself. The elder wand pulsed with his rage, as his magic tore through the train's cabins in a single blow.
One second, the train was filled with fighting between Tom's men and his student, yet in the next second, it all stopped as they sensed his presence. The sight of his own students lying there, bleeding on the ground was enough to rid him of what little mercy he had.
"It's him! It's Dumbledo..." and yet the world had not even left his mouth fully, before he simply fell to the ground, as Dumbledore moved ahead without uttering a single word.
The Death Eaters may have heard rumors about him, yet this was their first time facing him in battle, and they tried and tried to attack him, yet none of their spells could even make him flinch as he moved from one cabin to the next, dispatching them all with but a single wave of his wand.
He saw the students look to him with hope and relief, and it ached his heart seeing their desperation. Yet a part of him was thankful that they had held out as long as they had.
And he gave a sigh of relief, for even as he dispatched the Death Eaters guarding the last compartment, he had yet to see a dead body. Many of the students were indeed injured rather gravely, and many would carry scars of this day forever, yet none had lost their lives.
But that all changed as he heard the shrill voice of a witch from beyond the door.
"Avada Kedavra," and his heart drew still, as he quickly dispatched the last of the guards and moved forward, before Voldemort's voice tore through his ears.
"Crucio!" and he heard the grunts of a boy, as Voldemort unleashed his rage while he tore apart the separation and walked into a sight filled with absolute devastation.
Lucius and Bellatrix were the first to spot him, and yet they were both sent tumbling back as he waved his wand, and quickly aimed his wand at Tom who had raised his wand at a bound, bleeding and helpless Alder.
"Avada..."
"Tempest," and the lightning bolt rushed towards Tom's back, who was forced to turn and face him once more. He had changed even more since the last time they had met, and the rituals and the dark magic had begun to morph his face, which now resembled a snake more than it did a human.
Albus cast a glance at the cold remains of the Slytherin girl who had been slain at his orders, as he prepared himself for what he was about to do.
"Professor Dumbledore," Tom began, as their eyes.
"Here to spoil my fun once again," and he could only lament that he had come sooner, for now a precious life had been lost. A life that had been symbolic for the change that he had hoped to bring through the school, and now she was gone.
Narcissa Black, a girl who had broken the shackles of ignorance and prejudice, was now dead, and their entire world was worse for it. And so, he readied his heart and took out his wand.
"I am afraid I have no kindness for you anymore, Tom," and for the first time in years Albus had now raised his wand to kill, and for years the Elder Wand had tempted him with this desire, and yet now he would fulfill its desire.
"I never had any need of it," and so the battle began.
"Avada Kedavra..."
"Tempest..." and the blue and green lights crashed in the middle, and as his lightning pushed back the green arcs of his spell, he saw Tom's eyes widen as he found himself overpowered for the first time in his life.
Still, he tilted his wand slightly, and lightning arched beyond him, and passed around his body, forcing Tom to grunt as he let go of their clash. As he transfigured all the seats around him into snakes that all came at him at once.
And it was a sign of his arrogance for even Gellert, with all his might, had never used transfiguration against him, and all it took was a single wave of his wand, as the snakes all stopped, and turned into spikes which rushed towards Tom with a single swing of his hand.
He was forced to cast a shield to defend himself, giving him the time to pull back Alder's body from behind, and he chose the moment to retaliate as he pushed the body behind him so that he could let loose.
And as he defended against Tom's barrage, water rose from the lake around them at his command, before it suddenly began to surround Tom in a dome, and he tried to burn through it, yet he grabbed his leg with a whip of water and pulled at it, disorienting him for just enough time to gain the upper hand.
Still, as Albus pushed forth, Tom realised his mistake and decided to run away, and he saw his body rise in the air as he tried to fly away, yet just as he flew through the open roof, Albus vanished with a pop and appeared at the roof of the train, as he cast an animation charm on the magic around him.
Water rose quickly, and before he could take flight, two massive columns of water rose and crashed into Tom, throwing him onto the roof and at his mercy.
"ATTACK!" he snarled, as the dementors followed his words and began to surround him once more, and the heinous creatures had kept a distance until now in fear of retribution, and they should have done just that.
"Expecto Patronum," and a wave of light rose forth from him as a glistening phoenix rose into the air, and began to push away the horde of dementors, as his spells continued to push Tom to his limits, and in the end, he saw the opening and cast away.
"Tempest," and the shield could not rise up in time, as the lightning hit his body, and within the blink of an eye he had taken his wand from him, as he did onto him exactly what he had done to Alder, as he tore apart the train's metal to bind him in his place.
"AGHHH!" he struggled, but Albus walked forward as Tom continued to bristle against his new restraints, and as Dumbledore held his wand to his face, his former student smiled.
"Do you really have the heart to do it, Professor?" and he tried it in his heart to search for mercy, and yet found none. He tried to search for the hint of the boy he had met in that little orphanage, yet once more he saw only a monster.
"I will have to," he strengthened his heart, yet Voldemort began to laugh.
"Oh, but it is impossible. You cannot kill me. No one can, for I am the man who has conquered death itself," and now he frowned at those words.
"No one can conquer death," Albus answered, as lightning rose at the tip of his wand.
"Oh, but I have...."
"Tempest," and lightning raced towards his face, and exploded it.
BOOOM!
His face exploded, as Dumbledore let out a sigh, only to be taken aback by a laugh, as his heart sank in despair, as Voldemort began to rustle once more in his restraints.
"Impossible..." he whispered, yet he saw it. And before he could strike him down once more, a wave of darkness rushed out of him and pushed him back.
"AGHH!" Albus grunted as the bindings became undone, and he was pushed back as Voldemort rose into the skies, his face still half destroyed, and yet he was alive.
"How?" he gasped, as he gave him a crooked smile.
"You may have bested me today, Dumbledore. But you can never defeat me, for I have conquered the final enemy. I have conquered death, and nothing shall stand in my way anymore!" and with that, he saw the dementors come and surround him, as the Death Eaters began to escape, and Tom himself vanished as a cloud of darkness rushed out of him.
WOOOOOOSH!
Albus raised his arms to cover his face, and when the skies cleared, no sign remained of Tom, while a hundred questions lingered in his mind.
"What have you done, Tom...."
.
.
.
Miles and miles away, Mr and Mrs Evans sat in an airport as they waited to board their flight to Australia. And though the couple had only ever faced their twins with a smile, their worries were evident on their faces.
"Will they truly be fine?" Mrs Evans questioned, as she turned towards her husband.
"They are both grown up now," he answered after a second of silence.
"The Wizarding World is their world now. As much as we may wish to help them, there is little that we can do for them in that world," and even still, they were trying as much as they could to help them.
He reached for her hand and gripped it tightly.
"The best thing we can do for them is to not have them worry about our safety," and she nodded, though she had had more than two children.
"And what of Petunia?" and they had begged her to come back home. They had begged her to come with them, and yet all their attempts at reconciliation were met with absolute indifference.
"She has made her choice," and it was not a good one. She had met men like Vernon before and knew very well that life with such men was never easy.
"And what of that Alder and Lily?" she added, and their trip into the magical world had revealed quite a few secrets about the twins as well, as they were introduced to James Potter and Narcissa Black.
And now her husband sighed as he leaned back.
"Well, the boy's situation is easier. His family seemed very well settled, and they seemed to genuinely like Lily quite a bit," and she raised a brow at that.
"He seemed a bit spoiled to me," and her husband shrugged.
"One could say the same for our Lily," and James Potter was a good boy, yet she had always thought that Lily would end up with Severus. The two of them made for quite a contrasting pair, and yet it seemed to her that such a thing might not happen in the end.
James and Lily had quite similar personalities, even though Lily would never accept that.
Though the same could not be said for Narcissa Black and her son.
"As for Alder's girl. Well, I can only pray that her life becomes a bit easier," and she had seen pure pain in that gaze when she had walked into Alder's room for the first time. Pain and fear, not for herself or her future, but for her son.
That one moment had been enough to tell her all that she had needed to know about her, and the more she had learned about her circumstances, the more she had come to pity her.
"She is a good girl," she added, and her husband agreed.
"She is, but the circumstances surrounding her are too complicated," and he was right to worry about all that.
"It's Alder," she answered with a small smile, which was soon shared by her husband, and for years now, they had both reached an understanding that their son was not a simple person. He was special, and to this day, he had never given them a reason to doubt him.
And they weren't going to start doubting him now.
"He always did like a challenge...." and just as they were talking, a man came and stopped in front of them. She looked up and immediately frowned as she recognised the face quickly from the wedding.
"Ted..." and his red eyes and flushed face immediately had her on her feet.
"What happened?" she asked, as her heart sank at once.
"You need to come with me," he answered, and his voice quivered as he delivered those words.
"There has been an attack..."
0000
As always, you can read ahead and support me through my Patre 0n. Your support and patr 0nage are what make all this possible. So, drop a sub if possible. It would mean a lot to me.
www.Patre 0n.com/Drkest
Have a fantastic day!