Hogwarts - Era of Darkness

When Dumbledore appeared, he came through the floor of the Astronomy Tower, emerging from a hidden staircase. Of course, we couldn’t see him nor hear his silenced steps, the latter being probably the work of some kind of spell. To our luck, I was right because he didn’t use any large-scale or powerful revealing spells. He was too afraid and cautious, avoiding alerting Flamel, who was just outside, keeping watch.

Staying still and ready, I wasn’t even blinking, not wanting to miss any moment to act. My eyes were starting to burn, wondering what the hell he was doing for so long, not knowing that he was already standing before the two artifacts. Maybe he was still thinking, and, just perhaps, he realized that he had already killed for it, pushing himself over the line, making sure he could not turn back anymore. It was a death that made him abandon those old dreams, and it was another death that now put him back on track. I know I was right with my conjecture because I heard him whisper when I saw a hand appear from nowhere, holding an old, faded wand.

"Not even Death will be able to claim me anymore..."

Knowing it would alert everybody when he made a move to dispel the spell on the box, his hand moved so fast that it left afterimages, looking like he used two spells at once. One was for destroying the box along with the protective spell, and the second was unlocking his own hex, which he placed on the Elder Wand. Yet, before being able to touch it, a stunning spell flew straight at his back. I watched him twitch and react in a flash, swirling to face the spell, deflecting it while the cape he wore was thrown backward on his body. Despite his age, he was nimble and dangerous, not only deflecting Nevile’s attack, but as the others jumped in, he easily knocked them back, be it Hermione or Krum, leaving Dumbledore to only worry about McGonagall, Zevron, and Neville.

There was no room or time to talk because everyone knew there was no time to spear. Everything was based on reflexes and how well one could improvise. Maybe it was by design, as Dumbledore didn’t want to give us enough time to plan out anything, something that has been a thorn in his side since he returned to Britain. As they fought, I could already hear the rushing footsteps from below, belonging to more mages and, most importantly, to Flamel. No matter how strong Dumbledore was, he was alone. His only advantage was that those who fought with him for decades, like McGonagall, couldn’t bring themselves to indeed try and hurt him, giving him enough freedom to cast his spells.

"Fools..." I thought, but both Quincy and I remained hidden, not interfering. Yet. Which was the best decision because I had a hunch that this would happen.

I watched as Dumbledore raised a magical ice wall, separating himself from the rest before he reached towards the Elder Wand. The moment his fingers touched it, proving that no more tricks were protecting it, we also made our move.

It was the first time I felt that I managed to match Grindelwald’s speed. Maybe I really did because my disarming spell flung the wand out of his hand, right into the claws of Quincy, who swooped down from above, catching it mid-air and flying out of the Astronomy Tower. She was, without thinking, heading towards Grindelwald at the owlery, not giving Dumbledore a chance to try and catch her either by hand or a spell.

However, Dumbledore was still Dumbledore. Losing the wand made him reach for the Philosopher’s Stone instead, managing to warp his fingers around it. Yet, it also gave me enough time to act a second time. Without any more hesitation, I transformed into a basilisk, focusing my eyes on his body, his face... his eyes. I don’t know if he knew it or if it was a coincidence, but he pulled the cloak over his head to avoid my gaze. My change was instant and sudden, so our eyes met while he was right in the middle of closing his eyelids behind the cover of the coak.