Disclaimer: Obviously, neither I nor Blackmoon own Harry Potter, and quotes and portions of text have been paraphrased from the fifth book.

AN: All right, here's another fine piece of literature written by my dear Mr. Moony, known to all of you as Blackmoon. Mr. Moony wishes to state... Nothing. Except that "Fire Style: Great Snake Jutsu" is not a canon jutsu.

"It was foolish to come here tonight, Tom," said Dumbledore calmly. "The Aurors are on their way--"

"By which time I shall be gone, and you dead!" spat Voldemort.

The duel of magic commenced with a flash of light, a waving of wands, and the debris of the Ministry of Magic sent flying through the air. Despite the impressive display, however, neither wizard was visibly harmed.

Dumbledore drew back his wand and waved it, as if it were a whip; a long, thin flame leapt from it, and ensnared the Dark Lord. For a moment, it seemed Dumbledore had won, but the fiery rope became a serpent of flame, relinquishing its hold upon Voldemort, and facing Dumbledore with a hiss.

It reared back to strike, and at the same moment, Dumbledore brandished his wand in one long, fluid movement- the snake flew into the air and vanished in a wisp of dark smoke; the water in the pool in the center of the hall rose up and covered Voldemort like a sphere of molten glass.

For a second, Voldemort was visible only as a dark, rippling, faceless figure, shimmering and indistinct in the midst of the roiling waves, struggling to throw off the suffocating mass- then he was gone, and the water fell with a crash upon the ground, drenching the polished floor.

"Stay where you are, Harry!" bellowed Dumbledore. Voldemort strode from the shadows of the hall, dripping water as he went.

"Wow... what was that one?"

"Oh, you like that?" responded Dumbledore. "That was my Water Prison Jutsu. What was your giant snake trick?"

"Fire Style: Great Snake Jutsu, of course."

"Interesting trick, Tom," mused the wizened sorcerer.

There was a long pause, and both combatants stared at one another; then, at the wands in their hands; then back at one another. Tom and Albus shrugged simultaneously, in silent assent, and cast aside their wands to the edge of the mirrorlike hall. Dumbledore was the first to move, placing his hands together at lightning speed; his hands blurred as they formed strange and mysterious signs, and the great mage chanted under his breath, "Ushi, ne-zumi, ousu, ushi, uma, ne-zumi, tora, ushi, o-hitsuji, saru, tori, o-hitsuji, sagi, ushi, ne... tori! Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"

The water spilt across the floor burst to life, churning and rising into the air in the form of a great dragon, which charged towards Voldemort, sending a fine mist flying through the hall. Just as it was about to meet its target, Voldemort made his own hand sign, bit his thumb, and pressed his palm to the ground, crying out, "Summoning Jutsu! Come forth, Manda!" There was a burst of smoke and a flash of light, and a colossal violet snake appeared from nowhere, filling the Ministry hall. The Water Dragon splashed against its scales to no effect, and the great snake Manda hissed...

---------------

Far across the world, an equally epic struggle took place. Deep within an artificial forest, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi, was locked in mortal combat with a former student calling himself Orochimaru. Orochimaru had raised his Kusanagi blade for a lethal strike, and it glinted in the dim sunlight- but, sensing something was amiss, he paused. Normally, this would have been enough to incite the Third to make his attack, but he, too, felt a disturbance elsewhere. The two enemies forgot their differences for the time, and in a sibilant voice, Orochimaru asked of Sarutobi, "Did... did you just get a strange urge to wave a wand at me?"

"As a matter of fact, I did..."

There was a lengthy pause, and neither of them made a sound, until at length, Sarutobi said, "...well... it was probably nothing."

"Yes," nodded Orochimaru, "just a genjutsu... or something..."