AU. Voldemort kills Dumbledore but is defeated by a child. In the aftermath, Snape becomes the Headmaster and radically changes Hogwarts. Harry Potter of House Slytherin begins his Third Year at Hogwarts Battle School and realizes that friend and foe are too similar for his liking. Competing with allies and enemies, Harry finds there is a cost to winning.

The Battle of Nurmengard ended in a stalemate. Half a century later, Harry Potter feels adrift in a world teeming with millions of fantastic folk. Armed with a talking wand, he forays single-minded into the noble art and sport of Duelling, until one book leads him on the path to discovering his ill-fated parents' efforts to conceal a most dangerous magical secret.