"I'm full!"
Half an hour later, Goku patted his round belly, a satisfied grin plastered across his face. It had been a long time since he'd managed to eat a meal this satisfying.
More importantly, the food tasted incredible. The hospitality made him feel a sudden, warm fondness for both Hogwarts and Dumbledore.
"Goku, would you mind telling me where exactly you come from?"
Seeing that Goku was fed and happy, Dumbledore began the conversation in earnest.
"Mount Paozu," Goku answered without hesitation. He was an open book; whatever Dumbledore asked, he answered truthfully and completely.
"And that power you used to destroy the roof in the Great Hall—what was that?"
"That's a move my Grandpa Roshi created. It's called the Kamehameha!"
"And who is Master Roshi?"
Through this back-and-forth, Dumbledore quickly gained a much clearer picture of Goku's background. As he listened, he drifted into deep thought.
With his mastery of mind magic and a lifetime of experience, he didn't even need to know that Goku wasn't lying. Yet, the things Goku described were so fantastical they sounded like they belonged to another world entirely.
Having lived over a century and traveled to every corner of the globe—including China—Dumbledore knew for a certainty that the world Goku described was not the world they were currently in.
Rufus Scrimgeour believed Goku had accidentally touched a Portkey that sent him from China to Knockturn Alley. That assessment was incorrect.
Goku hadn't touched a Portkey, but something functionally similar that worked across much greater distances. Muggles had long studied the stars and believed in extraterrestrial life; wizards had similar pursuits. In the Department of Mysteries, the Space Chamber was dedicated to the study of planets and the universe.
Goku might have been transported from his planet to theirs. Or perhaps he had crossed over from an entirely different universe. There were still too many unsolved mysteries in existence for anyone to say for sure.
Beyond planets, the Department of Mysteries studied the brain, time, prophecy, death, and love—forces that even modern wizards could not fully grasp.
"You mentioned that by gathering seven Dragon Balls and summoning a Dragon, you can actually bring the dead back to life?" Dumbledore breathed out, his voice trembling slightly. He looked up at Goku, his eyes fixed on the boy's face.
This was the question he cared about most. His hands were shaking beneath the table.
"Of course! I used the Dragon Balls to bring Upa's dad back to life," Goku replied confidently.
A vision flared in Dumbledore's mind—Goku summoning a great dragon to resurrect a fallen man.
'It's true... it's actually true. The dead can be brought back...'
As Goku answered, Dumbledore had permitted himself a brief use of to glimpse that specific memory. He usually avoided such intrusions, but the answer was too vital; he was willing to compromise his principles for this.
The greatest pain and regret of his life was the death of his sister, Ariana. He had spent a lifetime wishing for her return, even once being tempted by the Resurrection Stone, despite knowing its hollow nature. If a Dragon could truly bring her back, he would willingly give his own life for the chance.
"Mr. Goku... if I wanted to summon the Dragon to bring my sister back, would it be possible?" Dumbledore's eyes were filled with a desperate, fragile hope.
Goku nodded. "Sure! But the Dragon Balls can only be used once a year, and I already promised to use them to bring back some soldiers who died because of me. If you need them, you'd have to wait until the year after next."
"That doesn't matter. I can wait years, decades—as long as I can see her again before I die," Dumbledore whispered, his eyes misting over. For the first time, he felt a genuine ray of hope. His heart swelled with gratitude toward the young boy.
"So... can we start our duel now?" Goku asked, hopping up from his chair. With a full stomach, he was in peak condition.
Dumbledore stood as well. "We can. But we'll need a more suitable location."
Given the power Goku had shown in the Great Hall, he feared a duel within the castle might result in there being no school left to teach in.
"Fawkes!"
At his call, the ancient phoenix Fawkes soared down from a high gilded perch behind the door and circled over Dumbledore's head.
"Apparition!"
With a flash of fire, Dumbledore transported them both from the eighth-floor office to the sprawling expanse of the Quidditch pitch. Apparition was impossible at Hogwarts, even for the Headmaster, but through the power of a phoenix, those restrictions could be bypassed.
"Begin!" Dumbledore said, drawing the Elder Wand.
Beyond fulfilling Goku's request, he wanted to witness the boy's true potential. Based on the earlier skirmish and Goku's stories, he had an idea of what to expect, but he needed to feel the weight of that power for himself.
"Here I come!"
Goku bowed, dropped into the Turtle School fighting stance, and vanished. He moved so fast that he was a mere blur to the human eye.
"!"
Dumbledore couldn't track Goku's physical form—the boy was moving significantly faster than he had in the castle. However, as a master of Legilimency, Dumbledore didn't need eyes. He used his mental awareness to track Goku's location signature and unleashed a massive wave of flame.
Against Goku's speed, targeted spells—even the Killing Curse—were useless; they simply wouldn't hit. Only large-area magic could restrict a speedster like him.
Facing the wall of fire, Goku didn't try to power through it. He leaped high into the air, aiming to strike from above. But the fire was under Dumbledore's control. With a flick of the Elder Wand, dozens of fiery whips lashed out from the sea of flames, ensnaring Goku in mid-air.
Against a normal wizard—even one as skilled as Snape or McGonagall—this would have been the end of the match. But Goku wasn't a wizard. He was a martial artist fueled by Ki .
With a mighty roar, Goku flared his aura, the sheer pressure of his snapping the fire whips like dry twigs. Suspended in the air, he took aim directly at Dumbledore.
"KAMEHAMEHA!!!"
Instinct told him that Dumbledore was an opponent who deserved everything he had.
***
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