"Albus," Minerva says, twirling her wand in her hand, "what's Death like?"
"Death?" Albus strokes his white beard thoughtfully. "What is there to be known? He walks the Earth, waits in the shadows for his victims."
"Yes, but what is it like to meet him?" Minerva presses.
Albus shifts around in his portrait, looking pensive. "Strange as it may sound, Death visited me as I was falling. He asked me if I had chosen to die, or it had been simply a cruel twist of fate."
"And?"
"What do you think, Minerva?"
It takes her all but a second to answer. "You chose to die."
"I did. I knew about the Malfoy boy's ill-schemed plot to murder me, he wasn't exactly trying to conceal it. But I also knew that it would happen inevitably, whether by his hand or someone else's. Lord Voldemort almost always got what he wanted, one way or another. So I chose to die on my own terms, rather than by his."
"That's why Voldemort feared you," Minerva states, clarity dawning on her aging face.
"Of course he did. I was the one person he feared the most, more than even Harry. He was never able to defeat me, and I knew the secret to his downfall. And even though he was behind my murder, he didn't kill me himself. Instead, he had one of his followers kill me."
Minerva laughs ruefully. "So you knew all along how to cause his collapse, but it didn't occur to tell anyone until right before your death."
"I had to...make sure that I was correct in my suspicions."
"So Potter destroying the diary didn't give you enough confirmation?"
"I wasn't there, Minerva," he reminds her. "I needed to witness it myself. Which is why I sought out the ring."
"The ring...the curse on your hand…" Minerva mentally puts all the pieces together. "And Severus gave you a potion to hinder the curse…"
"He told me I had about a year to live," Albus affirms smoothly. "I was going to die anyway, so why not sooner than later?"
Minerva rolls her eyes. "You have guts, Albus Dumbledore," she snorts.
Albus shrugs, his eyes twinkling. "I know."
368 words
Assignment 1, Mythology Task 10 - Write about someone who is feared (restriction: cannot be Voldemort or a Death Eater).
Auction - (color) white
Writing Club - Disney: T3. Wisdom and Knowledge - Write about somebody wise.; Cookie's Crafty Corner - Knit Stitch - Restriction - include a character whose name starts with V.; Em's Emporium - 6. Lin (Marvelgeek42): Write a story set in Hogwarts.
Truffle - Milk (word: smooth)