Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
Travel Go Challenge: Singapore
The Legendary Gods and Goddesses Competition: Ra
War
Dumbledore surveyed the wreckage that was once perhaps a rather peaceful village in the countryside. It was a battle field now, the very grass themselves held bloodstains that turned their calm green into a bloody red. Bodies of fallen witches and wizards lay scattered on the ground, dead from both sides of the war lying on the same ground united by death.
There were not many fighters left and the ones that still remained were showing visible signs of exhaustion. They had all seen too much, too much blood, too much hatred, too much death. It was the first war that had broken out in the last century. No one had been fully prepared for the massacre that was war because although it was not entirely unexpected it had still been a shock when the war had actually come and the witches and wizards had been forced to fight for the delicate peace they had managed to hold onto.
His old friend, Grindelwald was leading the opposing faction of the war and from what he had heard was still fighting for the beliefs they had once shared as teenagers. Their shared past was a secret to the majority of the wizarding world that had remained well preserved for years. Dumbledore had not wanted this for them, he had not wanted for them to become enemies no matter how distraught he had been over his sister's death. He had told Grindelwald to leave but Dumbledore had never expected that the next time they met would be when they stood against each other on the battle field. Dumbledore did not deny the pang of regret that filled him when he saw Grindelwald, they could have been so much more than the good friends they had been before their argument.
Dumbledore and Grindelwald locked eyes and stared at each other without moving for a long moment as the other fighters remained separated and watching them carefully. They had decided to duel and the victor would be the winner of the war, Dumbledore had been the one to convince Grindelwald of the idea in order not to lose any more lives than absolutely necessary and despite being the Dark Lord, Grindelwald disliked the spillage of wizarding blood and had agreed readily.
That was where they stood as each waited for the perfect moment to strike, each judging the other's posture and what they knew of each other's dueling style, thinking and planning their spells and actions, both holding the deep desire to win the duel and subsequently the war.
They both needed to win, they both wanted to save lives of people, they both wished to protect the precious thing they knew of as magic. The only thing they fought for was how to save the wizarding world, such a trivial thing but something that had to be fought over. Dumbledore wished that it had never come to this and that the two of them could simply debate their methods out and make allowances for each other.
That trust was gone as if it had never been.